Mu Canglan pulled a rough earthenware bowl from under the counter, poured himself a bowl of wine, and gulped it down before feeling alive again. "New goods from the south" was a code he used with his old associates in the Spirit Vein Bureau, referring to intelligence on the court's movements. He wiped his mouth. "Where are the people wearing bamboo hats?"
"He came again yesterday, and I told him he was out buying goods. He left a message saying, 'See you at the usual place.'"
Mu Canglan nodded, took out a few pieces of silver from his pocket, and tossed them to the waiter. "Go to the restaurant across the street and get two catties of mutton, and a pot of tea for yourselves. Don't take my wine, you can't afford it." The waiter chuckled, took the silver, and ran out. Mu Canglan closed the shop door, squatted down behind the counter, and took out a roll of thin hemp rope and a small copper tag from a hidden compartment. The tag was engraved with the old emblem of the Spirit Vein Bureau and an eye-shaped rune.
He turned the bronze plaque over; on the back were engraved three words: Observatory.
In the northwest corner of the capital, there is an abandoned observatory, an old site left by the Imperial Astronomical Bureau of the previous dynasty. The platform has three levels. The upper level is a stone armillary sphere, which is already badly rusted. The lower level has a semi-underground stone chamber, which was originally a place to store star charts and scrolls. When Mu Canglan arrived, the door of the stone chamber was half-open, and there were three small circles drawn on the ground at the doorway, which was the code for "safe".
He pushed open the door and saw a thin figure sitting on a stone bench, with a handwritten copy of the local gazette spread out in front of him. The man heard footsteps, raised his head, and revealed a pale face and sunken eyes.
" Shen Guannan," Mu Canglan called out his name, "It really is you. I thought it was Old Zhao or Little Tang."
Shen Guannan was once an astrologer at the Spirit Vein Bureau. He happened to be out of town observing the stars when the Spirit Vein Bureau was in trouble, and thus escaped unscathed. In recent years, he had been living in anonymity, making a living by running a fortune-telling stall in the south of the city. He stood up and pushed the official gazette in front of Mu Canglan: "Have you seen it? This morning's gazette."
Mu Canglan read it through in the dim light of the stone chamber. The official gazette was a brief report on court affairs released by the government, and there was indeed a message on it: The Court of Judicial Review was ordered to seal off Xuan Abyss Workshop and seized more than fifty sets of Puppet Armor. The main culprit, Liu Yanzhao, has been detained; in addition, Meng Qi, the former head of the Jingji Circuit, was suspected of colluding with Liu Yanzhao and was ordered to be suspended from his post pending investigation and was not allowed to go out.
"'Stay home and don't go out.'" Mu Canglan sneered. "This is essentially placing him under house arrest, giving those people in the court room to maneuver. Meng Qi has cultivated his influence in the capital for twenty years, with disciples and associates throughout the Six Ministries. Given time, he can turn 'collusion' into 'oversight,' then 'oversight' into 'ignorance,' and finally downplay the seriousness of the matter."
Shen Guannan shook his head. "It's not that simple. Look at the last line."
Mu Canglan read on, and the last line of small print read, "The old cases of the Spirit Vein Bureau are hereby ordered to be reinvestigated by the Dali Court of Judicial Review. The original arrest warrant is temporarily suspended." He frowned. "Suspended? Not revoked?"
"That's the problem." Shen Guannan's voice was low, hoarse from years of not speaking to others. "The suspension means the Emperor has left himself some leeway. If the Spirit Vein Bureau's case is overturned, the arrest warrant will naturally be withdrawn; if it isn't... or if something goes wrong during the overturning process, the arrest warrant can be reinstated at any time. Snow Empress is still a criminal; she cannot appear in public, cannot appear in court as a witness, and cannot even leave the capital, because the arrest warrant is only 'suspended.' If she appears at the city gate, the guards can still arrest her."
Mu Canglan slammed the official gazette onto the stone table. "What can we do then? With Snow Empress's temper, if she knew about this 'postponement,' she definitely wouldn't wait patiently."
"That's why I came to find you." Shen Guannan took out an oil paper package from his pocket. "This is a batch of files that I secretly hid under the foundation of the Observatory when the Spirit Vein Bureau case broke out. Inside are the drafts of Meng Qi's forgery of evidence of the Spirit Vein Bureau's treason. Back then, he bribed a clerk in the Spirit Vein Bureau to forge seven 'secret letters' with the Seventy-Two Caves of Southern Frontier. These secret letters later became the key to the case. But that clerk kept a backup plan. He secretly copied the original draft that Meng Qi gave him and hid it in a hidden compartment in the Spirit Vein Bureau's archives. On the day the Spirit Vein Bureau was raided, I mingled with the servants and went in to retrieve that draft."
Mu Canglan took the oil paper package; it felt heavy in his hand. He didn't open it, but just looked at Shen Guannan: "You've kept it hidden for ten years. Why are you only taking it out now?"
Shen Guannan lowered his eyes, his withered fingers tracing the edge of the stone bench. "Because I was afraid. Back then, when over three hundred people from the Spirit Vein Bureau were escorted to the execution ground, I was watching from the city wall. Snow Empress was tied to the first pillar, and when the torch was raised, she looked up, her gaze sweeping over the crowd on the city wall. I felt she was looking at me. I felt she was asking me why the living didn't go to save them." His voice grew lower and lower, until it was almost a whisper. "For the past ten years, I've dreamt of that look every night. I set up a fortune-telling stall, reading faces, divining, and interpreting characters, but actually, I'm the one who needs my fortune told the most, to find out if I still have the face to live."
Mu Canglan remained silent for a long time, finally reaching out to pat Shen Guannan on the shoulder. "Let's go. Come with me to see the Snow Empress. Tell her these things yourself."
Snow Empress did not sleep.
She sat on the windowsill of the safe house in the east of the city, leaning against the window frame, clutching the copper bell in her hand. Yin Wujou was fast asleep on the bamboo couch in the inner room, his breathing even and deep. Occasionally, he would turn over, and the bamboo couch would creak. Snow Empress listened to his breathing for a while, and only after confirming that he was sound asleep did she quietly jump down from the windowsill and walk to the table in the outer room to sit down.
On the table lay a copy of the imperial edict she had copied from the Court of Judicial Review. She read it through again, word by word, her gaze lingering on the seven characters "the original arrest warrant is temporarily suspended," her fingertips leaving a faint mark on the paper. She understood the meaning of those seven characters, of course. Back then, Meng Qi was able to uproot the Spirit Vein Bureau entirely thanks to the intricate network of relationships within the court. Now, the Emperor had issued an edict for a thorough investigation, seemingly a swift and decisive measure, but a "thorough investigation" itself was a lengthy process: gathering evidence, joint trial, recantation, more evidence gathering, another joint trial—it wouldn't be surprising if it dragged on for a year or two. And as long as Meng Qi could weather this storm, he would have plenty of ways to escape.
As she was thinking, two short knocks followed by one long knock came from outside the window. It was Mu Canglan's signal. Snow Empress got up and opened the door, only to see a thin stranger following behind Mu Canglan.
" Shen Guannan." Mu Canglan stepped aside. "A former member of the Spirit Vein Bureau. He said he has something he wants to personally deliver to you."
As Snow Empress looked at that pale face, a vague outline from the depths of her memory gradually became clear. She remembered a young astrologer from the Spirit Vein Bureau who always huddled in a corner of the observation platform taking notes, speaking in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz. Once, when she was returning from a mission with her team, she passed by the observation platform, and that young man chased after her and handed her a package of oiled paper, saying it was freshly roasted chestnuts for her to eat on the way.
"It's you." Snow Empress's voice was calm. "You're still alive."