The smell of blood hung in the medicinal herb storeroom. Whether by design or accident, as the bureau officer twisted his dagger through Shopkeeper Yuan's heart with his right hand, he gripped Yuan's jaw with his left and turned the man's fat face toward Chen Ji.
As a result, Chen Ji could see Shopkeeper Yuan's fear and resentment with perfect clarity as he died.
The bureau officer studied Chen Ji's expression and remarked in admiration, "I remember you'd never taken a life before. Now that you're going to deal with Cloud Goat and Bright Rabbit, I killed someone beforehand to give you an initiation. I didn't expect it to be rather unnecessary."
As his words fell, Shopkeeper Yuan finally breathed his last.
Chen Ji saw a stream of grayish-white ice emerge from between the man's brows and drift into the spot between his own. It was smaller than the stream Zhou Chengyi had provided.
Just as I thought!
He had been waiting for this stream of ice to confirm his suspicion: not only officials of the Ning Dynasty produced it, but those of the Jing Dynasty did too.
As the stream of ice flowed into his body, the stone weighing on Chen Ji's heart finally dropped. He suddenly said, "My lord, you shouldn't have killed Shopkeeper Yuan."
The bureau officer said calmly, "Now that you've joined our Military Intelligence Directorate, cast aside that womanly compassion. Your current mission is of the utmost importance. He feared a scion of the nobility like you would compete with him for the Gyrfalcon position Zhou Chengyi left vacant, so he was bound to trip you up, openly or in secret. With such selfish motives, he absolutely could not be allowed to stay."
Chen Ji shook his head. "My lord, I'm not being merciful to him. What I mean is, he hadn't told you what time or where he was supposed to meet that 'Long Whale' tonight."
The bureau officer was silent for a long time. "...It doesn't matter."
He looked at Chen Ji. "While you're getting close to Cloud Goat and Bright Rabbit, don't forget your original mission. As long as the prince's estate and the Liu Family show enough sincerity, the director can meet with that important figure at the estate to discuss the next stage of our cooperation. You need to find another opportunity soon to approach her and ask when she'll deliver the goods."
Chen Ji's heart tightened.
An important figure? Which important figure?
Can't you just give me a name? I still don't know who this important figure is. How am I supposed to contact her?
Judging by their attitudes, Chen Ji leaned toward Consort Yun being the important figure.
First, on that night at Evening Star Court, Consort Yun had clearly treated him better, while Consort Jing and Nanny Chunrong had genuinely intended to kill him.
Second, afterward, Consort Yun had sent Xibing to the medical hall carrying White Prajna. That was very likely a way for Consort Yun to exchange information with him.
Thinking of this, Chen Ji recalled that the last time Xibing came to the medical hall, not only had he revealed nothing, he had also prescribed the cat a fifty-year-old ginseng root...
If Consort Yun really was that important figure, she must have been terribly confused...
Seeing that Chen Ji said nothing, the bureau officer asked in a grave voice, "What is it? Is there some difficulty?"
"No." Chen Ji cupped his hands and took his leave. "My lord, I came today on my master's orders to buy ginseng. It wouldn't be good to stay too long."
The bureau officer nodded and wiped the blood from his hands with a rag. "We have ginseng in stock. Pay for it in the main hall, and you can take it with you."
Chen Ji asked, "Can I get a discount?"
The bureau officer was puzzled. "You're buying ginseng with Taiping Medical Hall's money. What do you want a discount for? Do you know how many of our Jing Dynasty spies are supported by the Hundred Deer Pavilion? Don't help outsiders take advantage of our own people."
Chen Ji said, "...That makes sense."
After leaving the Hundred Deer Pavilion, Chen Ji let out a long breath.
Every pass was hard to cross, yet he crossed them one by one. Every step was hard to take, yet he took them one by one.
Whether it was the Jing Dynasty's Military Intelligence Directorate or the Secret Intelligence Directorate, he had no choice.
Once he had disappeared into the crowd, the bureau officer stood silently behind a window on the second floor of the Hundred Deer Pavilion and asked, no one knew whom, "Are you sure no one was watching him?"
A voice answered, "No one. Perhaps Cloud Goat and Bright Rabbit really do trust him now."
The bureau officer pondered for a long time. "Let's see whether he can truly prove his loyalty..."
The capital, inside the imperial palace.
At the very top of the tower reserved for the seal-holding grand eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, the doors and windows were tightly shut and candles burned inside, even though it was daytime.
A middle-aged eunuch with a pale, beardless face hurried through the palace, holding up the hem of his robe with one hand.
He wore a plain blue robe embroidered with a single python, giving him an air of great distinction.
There were two kinds of python robes in the Ning Dynasty: single-python and seated-python robes. They had to be personally bestowed by the emperor and could only be worn by those of high standing and imperial favor.
Guards in black stood in ranks outside the seal-holding eunuch's tower, silent and unmoving.
When the middle-aged man in the python robe approached, he said to one of the guards, "I wish to see the inner minister."
The guards wore long sabers at their waists, and the words "Relief from Troubles" were embroidered on their cuffs. One of them signed: What business?
These guards could hear, but could not speak.
The middle-aged man said, "Three messages have arrived by carrier pigeon from Luo City."
The guard turned and went upstairs to report. A moment later, he returned and gestured for the man to enter.
The middle-aged man climbed the wooden stairs and knocked three times on a door at the top. "Lord Inner Minister, Wu Xiu has an urgent matter to report. There is news from Luo City."
Only after he heard a copper bell ring inside did Wu Xiu push the door open and enter.
Inside, the inner minister himself was nowhere to be seen. A screen blocked the desk in the dim room, and a seated python embroidered on it faced the visitor.
Anyone entering the room for the first time would likely be startled by the giant python.
Outside the screen, Wu Xiu lowered his head. "My lord, three messages have arrived from Luo City. They are from Lin Chaoqing of the Bureau of Punishments, Cloud Goat of the Secret Intelligence Directorate, and Dream Rooster of the Secret Intelligence Directorate. Which would you like opened first?"
No one answered from behind the screen for a long time, but Wu Xiu, despite the high standing and favor his python robe signified, did not dare raise his head.
After an unknown length of time, the person behind the screen spoke unhurriedly while writing a document. "The Bureau of Punishments."
Wu Xiu hurriedly took three slender bamboo tubes sealed with wax from his sleeve. He opened the first and pulled out a rolled-up sheet of white paper.
He unfolded it to find it densely covered with writing. A moment later, Wu Xiu said in some surprise, "My lord, Cloud Goat and Bright Rabbit have found evidence of Liu Shiyu's crimes."
Someone in the darkness behind the screen said, "Oh? Those two?"
Wu Xiu hurriedly said, "I also think those two are reckless. Perhaps we should send Jinzhu over instead."
The inner minister behind the screen, however, gave no indication of his opinion and did not answer for a long time. Wu Xiu bowed lower in alarm. "I spoke out of turn."
Someone said in the dimness, "Continue."
Wu Xiu continued reading the sheet, then looked up. "It wasn't Cloud Goat and Bright Rabbit who earned the credit. According to Lin Chaoqing, a masked person helped them find the evidence. The situation was urgent at the time. A moment later, and Lin Chaoqing would have escorted Cloud Goat and Bright Rabbit back to the capital."
"Who was the masked person?"
"Lin Chaoqing doesn't know. He only said that this person first helped Cloud Goat and Bright Rabbit find the xuan paper shop, then helped them find evidence of Liu Shiyu's crimes... That's all the letter says. Which one should I open next?"
"Cloud Goat's."
Wu Xiu rolled up the sleeves of his python robe, opened another bamboo tube and broke its wax seal. Then he hesitated. "Cloud Goat and Bright Rabbit have praised themselves to the skies, but haven't said a word about the masked person."
The inner minister was silent for a moment behind the screen. "Those two brats have some nerve. They're trying to steal someone else's credit again."
Wu Xiu read further and raised his eyebrows. "My lord, Cloud Goat and Bright Rabbit opened the coffin to examine the body and found no one inside Old Master Liu's coffin. He may not be dead. The Liu Family has some nerve, daring to perpetrate a fraud even in this."
He quietly raised his eyes, hoping to observe the inner minister's reaction through the screen, but could make out only a blurry figure.
For the first time, the inner minister stopped writing, his brush suspended above the paper. "What are Cloud Goat and Bright Rabbit planning?"
Wu Xiu said, "Cloud Goat and Bright Rabbit have requested that the Secret Intelligence Directorate's nearby Trouble-Resolving Guard be sent to Luo City to open the coffin and examine the body in public, exposing the Liu Family. My lord, the Liu Family has just petitioned His Majesty for a posthumous honor for Old Master Liu. If this is true, they are guilty of deceiving the emperor!"
The inner minister considered this in silence.
Wu Xiu added, "My lord, this is a chance that comes once in a thousand years."
The inner minister said, "Let Cloud Goat and Bright Rabbit coordinate the Trouble-Resolving Guard's deployment. Our Directorate of Ceremonial knows nothing about it. Destroy the note."
That meant whatever Cloud Goat and Bright Rabbit did, the two of them had acted on their own authority.
If they succeeded, so be it. If they failed, the two of them would naturally be the scapegoats.
The next moment, Wu Xiu crumpled the note into a ball and deftly swallowed it in front of the inner minister.
After swallowing the note, he said, "My lord, there is one more letter, from Dream Rooster. I'll open it and have a look... Wasn't he in Kaifeng Prefecture? Why did he use a carrier pigeon from Luo City?"
A moment later, Wu Xiu held the note between his fingers. "My lord, Dream Rooster says Cloud Goat and Bright Rabbit paid him a great sum to come to Luo City and use a grade C dream to test whether Imperial Physician Yao's apprentice, Chen Ji, was a Jing Dynasty spy. Something is odd here. Why would they test a mere apprentice, and even need Dream Rooster to make the trip himself?"
When the inner minister did not answer for a long time, Wu Xiu mustered his courage and raised his head to ask tentatively, "My lord?"
The inner minister said calmly, "This young apprentice of Imperial Physician Yao is the masked person who helped them capture the spy. Write to Cloud Goat and have him send me the apprentice's information."
"Yes." Wu Xiu bowed again. "My lord, Bai Long has learned that the heir to Prince Jing's Estate is on his way back to Luo City from Eastern Grove Academy. The young man has gathered a number of jianghu heroes around him, including quite a few high-ranking operatives registered with our Directorate of Ceremonial. Do you think we should do something to keep him from gaining influence?"
In the dimness behind the screen, the inner minister replied evenly, "There's no need. They're only some jianghu heroes. Take fame and fortune as blades, and you can cut down nine parts in ten of the world's chivalrous spirit."