"You found evidence?!"
"Where is it?!"
Everyone looked at Chen Ji, their scrutinizing, questioning gazes bearing down on him at once.
But he stood his ground at the door to the main room and repeated with absolute certainty, "I found evidence."
Lin Chaoqing's piercing gaze passed over Bright Rabbit and settled on Chen Ji, whose face was still covered. "And who is this?"
Cloud Goat stepped forward, blocking half of Chen Ji's body. "This is a falcon of our Secret Intelligence Directorate."
"So he's a falcon. He hasn't become a full-fledged secret agent yet, so I presume he has some special identity that requires him to conceal his face." Lin Chaoqing asked gravely, "But sorry to trouble you, falcon, could you clear something up for me? What evidence is in the book? If you're lying, I'm afraid you'll have to accompany me to the inner prison as well."
Chen Ji tugged the gray cloth covering his face higher and looked at Cloud Goat. "Can I tell him?"
"Tell him."
Chen Ji nodded. "Lord Cloud Goat, please take out those two books and let Commander Lin have a look."
Cloud Goat took the two books from his robes and handed them to Lin Chaoqing.
Lin Chaoqing opened them and looked through a few pages. "They're ordinary books. Where's the intelligence?"
Chen Ji explained calmly, "If you aren't familiar enough with Chapter and Verse Commentaries on the Four Books, it's certainly hard to spot anything wrong. But the method used to hide intelligence in this book is actually very simple. You only need to compare it with the original."
"The original?" Cloud Goat took the two books back from Lin Chaoqing. He opened one, and Bright Rabbit opened the other. The two of them read by the moonlight.
Chen Ji said, "The original sentence reads, 'Gain it in the heart and do not lose it,' using shi, the character for 'lose.' But when Zhou Chengyi copied it, he deliberately wrote, 'Gain it in the heart and do not attend to it,' replacing the character for 'lose' with shi, the character for 'affair.'"
"Look farther ahead, on the third page. Where the original should have cheng, the character for 'sincerity,' Zhou Chengyi changed it to cheng, the character for 'accomplish.'"
These characters were scattered throughout the book, separated by several pages. Unless someone checked it word by word against the original, the differences were indeed hard to spot.
Chen Ji had originally thought Zhou Chengyi might have used hidden-character methods, character-verification methods, fanqie phonetic methods, or character-splitting methods, all of which people had actually used according to historical records.
After analyzing it, however, he discovered that Zhou Chengyi had used a simpler method.
Lin Chaoqing took the two books and compared them. Sure enough, it was just as Chen Ji had said. His brow eased a little. "What is the complete message conveyed in this book?"
Chen Ji said, "There wasn't enough time, so I couldn't compare the entire book. So far I've only found one message: 'Once the affair is accomplished, the director will meet with you.'"
"The director!" Cloud Goat's eyes suddenly flashed. "Are you certain the message mentioned the director? I thought it would be extraordinary enough if a section chief came, but I never expected the director of the Military Intelligence Directorate to come to Luo City in person!"
Bright Rabbit said gravely, "We must send word back to the capital as soon as possible. Whatever could bring the director of the Military Intelligence Directorate south in person must be a matter of enormous importance... What on earth does this Liu family member intend to do to earn such trust from the Military Intelligence Directorate?!"
The murderous tension in the residence abruptly loosened. Chen Ji could even feel everyone let out a long sigh of relief.
Lin Chaoqing sheathed his saber, and Bright Rabbit ran her thumb across her forehead. The cut healed instantly, leaving no trace.
Lin Chaoqing looked at Chen Ji and said steadily, "Young man, you're still only a falcon in the Secret Intelligence Directorate, without even an official rank. Why not come to my Bureau of Punishments?"
Cloud Goat said, "Hmm?"
Bright Rabbit said, "Hmm?"
Lin Chaoqing continued, "I know you found all these clues and evidence tonight. There's no way Cloud Goat and Bright Rabbit could have done it themselves. With your abilities, I guarantee you'll rise step by step once you join my Bureau of Punishments."
"Lin Chaoqing, poaching my man right in front of me-have you no shame?" Cloud Goat roared.
"In your Secret Intelligence Directorate, he's nothing but a tool to earn merit for you. But in my Bureau of Punishments, he can serve His Majesty and serve the realm," Lin Chaoqing said with a cold laugh.
"He belongs to my Secret Intelligence Directorate!"
"He doesn't belong to your Secret Intelligence Directorate yet. If he agrees, I can write a memorial tonight requesting that he be rewarded for his service," Lin Chaoqing said. "Well? Can the two of you do that?"
Cloud Goat and Bright Rabbit exchanged a glance, hesitating over whether to give up the merit already within their grasp.
Lin Chaoqing sneered. "Why not let him choose for himself?"
Everyone looked at Chen Ji, but the young man stood beneath their gazes, his expression hidden by the gray cloth covering his face.
After a long silence, Chen Ji said, "Thank you for your kind offer, Commander, but for now I would rather work under Lord Cloud Goat and Lady Bright Rabbit."
Lin Chaoqing said, "Very well. Everyone has his own aspirations. But if you change your mind one day, you can come find me at the Bureau of Punishments office in Luo City anytime. I should be here for the next two months."
"Thank you, Commander Lin."
As they spoke, a commotion erupted outside the residence. Several hundred members of the Liu family had surged over, surrounding Liu Shiyu's residence so tightly that not even water could have trickled through!
Someone shouted from outside, "Lord Cloud Goat, that was a fine use of the cicada-sheds-its-shell stratagem, but our Liu family doesn't sit around eating for nothing. If you don't give me an explanation, I, Liu Mingxian, will avenge the old master today! If the court wants to chop off my head afterward or exile me to Lingnan, I'll have no complaints!"
As his voice fell, they heard people outside piling up dry firewood and splashing oil about. The pungent smell of oil hit them full in the face!
Everyone inside the residence exchanged looks.
This time, Lin Chaoqing took the initiative. "Li Dabing, Li Dapao, take some men out and hold the Liu family back. No one is to set fire to the residence. Anyone who does is to be killed on the spot!"
With that, he looked at Chen Ji. "Where is the evidence to convict the Liu family member? How can we be certain Zhou Chengyi's message was meant for him?"
Tonight's affair had begun with a Liu family member dying in the inner prison. Although the Secret Intelligence Directorate had found important intelligence, this book only showed that the director of the Military Intelligence Directorate would soon head south. How could it prove that Zhou Chengyi had intended to pass the intelligence to the Liu family member?
If they couldn't prove it, the Liu family still wouldn't let the matter rest.
Chen Ji raised the book in his hand. "Everyone, how many sections are there in Chapter and Verse Commentaries on the Four Books?"
Lin Chaoqing answered calmly, "Thirty-nine in total. Each section is printed separately, making thirty-nine books altogether."
Chen Ji asked again, "Then which section is 'On Governance, Second'?"
"The eighth section..." Lin Chaoqing answered.
Chen Ji nodded. "No one would start copying from the eighth section. He must have started with the first, then the second... and copied them in order until he reached the eighth. I didn't find handwritten copies of the first seven sections in Zhou Chengyi's home, so he must already have sent them out. In other words, Zhou Chengyi should already have passed on intelligence seven times under the pretext of borrowing and copying books."
Understanding dawned on Lin Chaoqing. "As long as we find where those seven copies in Zhou Chengyi's handwriting are, we can prove who received the intelligence!"
"That's right." Chen Ji raised the book in his hand. "This is the seventh section of Chapter and Verse Commentaries on the Four Books, 'On Learning, Part One,' which I just found in Liu Shiyu's room. Judging by the handwriting, Zhou Chengyi copied it himself. This is enough to convict Liu Shiyu."
His words struck the ground with a ringing force, like a clap of thunder piercing the layers of mist that had shrouded the night, pointing everyone toward the truth.
The others entered the room and searched the bookshelves, while Chen Ji looked elsewhere. When he opened a cabinet in the inner room, he suddenly froze.
The moment he opened the cabinet, the icy current that had lain dormant in his body for so long began to surge again.
There were several wooden boxes in the cabinet. Chen Ji opened them without betraying any reaction. The first contained two white jade bracelets, the second some account books, and the third... a ginseng root!
He glanced behind him, took the box out, and set it on the table, intending to touch the ginseng.
Before he could touch it, Lin Chaoqing's voice drifted over. "Young man, none of the property in a convicted official's home may be touched. My Bureau of Punishments oversees the Secret Intelligence Directorate, and our most important duty is to prevent secret agents from lining their own pockets. Put those things back. The inner court minister will send people to confiscate and inventory the household later."
Chen Ji said, "..."
He had thought that people in the Secret Intelligence Directorate, who confiscated households and silenced people, could pocket valuables as they pleased... No wonder Cloud Goat had looked so pained when Chen Ji bargained with him. The Bureau of Punishments was watching them every day!
Standing before the table, Chen Ji tapped his fingers against the box. After thinking for a moment, he finally put it back. He returned to the bookshelf, took out a book and leafed through it casually, then pushed it back into place as well.
By then, the others had found all of the first seven sections of Chapter and Verse Commentaries on the Four Books and confirmed that they were all in Zhou Chengyi's handwriting!
Cloud Goat let out a long breath. "We've won! The Liu family case is finally closed. Whether Old Master Liu died of anger or illness, our Secret Intelligence Directorate handled the case impartially. This is a great achievement!"
Lin Chaoqing said casually, "I hope you won't scrape through to victory by such luck next time. You were fortunate this time, but if you run into the Hu Clan, Xu Clan, or Chen Clan next time... there may not be anyone to protect you."
Cloud Goat sneered. "Thank you for the reminder, Commander Lin."
He smoothed his hair and straightened his rumpled clothes, then picked up the stack of books they had gathered. "Let's go. We'll take the evidence and shut the Liu family up!"
"Wait," Lin Chaoqing said coldly. "No one is allowed to leave here with property concealed on them. Let's have a search."
Cloud Goat and Bright Rabbit turned out their sleeves and patted down their clothes from top to bottom. "Just a few copper coins. We haven't concealed anything," they said impatiently. "We know the rules!"
Lin Chaoqing looked at Chen Ji, who turned out his sleeves helplessly and patted down his clothes as the others had. "I haven't concealed anything either."
"Very good."
Everyone headed outside together. By the time they reached the entrance, a little black cat had risen from a beam in the room they had just left and stretched lazily.
Dark Cloud leaped lightly down from the beam and picked up the ginseng root Chen Ji had just returned to the cabinet. Carrying the ginseng, she climbed onto the bookshelf and took the book Chen Ji had just leafed through into her mouth as well.
Black and fluffy, Dark Cloud surveyed her surroundings. Once she was sure no one was paying attention, she climbed back onto the beam and slipped through a gap into the night.