Chapter 88 Chapter 88 The palace maid passed by...
When the maid passed by Jiang Wan, she stood up, stopped her and asked, "Sister, what is this cake called? It looks delicious."
"This is Poria cocos cake," the maid said, holding the plate with both hands. "It's served to every distinguished guest. Please wait a moment."
Jiang Wan touched the bottom of the plate with his right hand and smiled, "The plate looks great too. Go ahead and do your work. Thank you."
The maid nodded and walked away. Jiang Wan sat back down next to Hua Qingzhi, who asked curiously, "It's just an ordinary plate. Why are you making porcelain plates yourself? Why are you being so weird about it?"
"It's not a plate." Jiang Wan opened his hand, and on his palm was a piece of transparent paper with adhesive on the back and the word "Dong" written on it.
"Dong?" Hua Qingzhi picked up the sticker and looked at it. "What does this mean?"
"East Corner Gate." Jiang Wan's face was serious. "Sit down first. I'll go take a look."
She changed into the clothes of an ordinary palace maid, borrowed Hua Qingzhi's rouge to make herself look like a forty-year-old woman, then slipped out through the side door and came to the east corner gate.
There stood a gate guard with his head bowed.
She quickened her pace and walked towards the guard. The guard noticed her, raised his head, looked anxious, and seemed to want to say something but hesitated.
Jiang Wan walked straight up to him, opened his palm, and showed him the sticker with the word "Dong" written on it.
The other party saw the sticker as if they had found a savior, and hurriedly pulled her sleeve: "Aunt, please ask His Highness for help! Our base has been blocked, and the Jinyiwei are searching. They have mobilized almost all of the Jinyiwei this time, and they have found a lot of food and unfinished weapons. Zhao Youtie and many informants have been arrested and interrogated. If they confess, then, then that place..."
"What!" Jiang Wan pretended to be terrified, "Have they found that place?"
"Not yet, but the mountain is not far away, and there are so many of us, we will find it sooner or later!"
Jiang Wan's eyes rolled. The "place" the guard was referring to must be where the Third Prince hid his troops. The fact that he knew about it meant he held a high position within the Third Prince's camp. In the mountains not far from Lin'an City, where the military training was taking place on a large scale, it must be a sparsely populated, tall mountain... That meant there were only two places, Fangshan and Xiaoshan.
She continued to test the waters: "Is the information authentic? How many informants do we have left?"
Guard: "It's absolutely true, I escaped from the dyeing factory in the north of the city. The other forty-nine informants were trapped inside, and I happened to be at home taking care of my sick mother, so I escaped. I don't know what happened inside, but no one escaped. Aunt, please go and ask His Highness to save us!"
Apparently, he considered Jiang Wan the head aunt of the Third Prince's residence. With this identity, he could explore the specific location of the private soldiers' training, thus avoiding the Jinyiwei's interrogation.
But how can I ask this question without arousing suspicion? What is the difference between Fangshan and Xiaoshan?
Jiang Wan patted the guard's shoulder soothingly: "Don't worry, I will report the truth. By the way, is there any way to temporarily relocate the people there?"
"No, the terrain is too dangerous and too high, and there are too many people to evacuate. I'm afraid we won't be able to get down for a while." The guard said with a frown.
"I understand." After hearing this, Jiang Wan guessed that it was Fangshan, and it should be near the top of the mountain.
"You wait here, I will go report to His Highness." Jiang Wan said.
Back at Kunning Palace, she sent word to the Empress's maid, asking her to find a reason to go to the East Corner Gate, tie up the guard, and bring him back to Kunning Palace, where he would be held captive for the entire day. She then borrowed the badge from her aunt, the shopping shopper, and left the palace for the Fulai Inn.
The inn had already been surrounded by layers of Jinyiwei. The owner, staff, and guests alike had gathered in the lobby for questioning. Two or three informants had already been apprehended, and Shen Jianqing and Wen Shen were personally interrogating them.
Jiang's mother and Jiang An were of course not on trial. They were sitting on the specially arranged soft chairs drinking tea. Seeing Jiang Wan coming back, Jiang An asked in surprise: "No sister, why are you out? Did something happen in the palace?"
"Well, I found the hiding place," Jiang Wan said briefly to the Jinyiwei outside without further explanation, "Please inform them that I need to see Lord Shen and Master Wen."
Since entering Lin'an City, Jiang Wan had been in close contact with the Jinyiwei, and her confidants all recognized her, so they did not search her and took her directly to the interrogation room.
Jiang Wan peeked inside. A blood-soaked figure was tied to a wooden stake in the center of the room. Shen Jianqing stood facing him, holding a pair of fire tongs. Wen Shen sat nearby with a sullen expression, a ferocious look like a demon from hell.
She had never seen him like this before, and she took three steps back. But then she realized that facing a spy who relied on secret communications with the Xiongnu to exchange resources for the maintenance of his private army, she had to be more aggressive to intimidate him, so she took two more steps forward.
Wen Shen turned around and saw Jiang Wanshi with a flash of surprise in his eyes. He immediately put away his fierce expression and asked softly, "Miss Jiang? Why are you here?"
Seeing that his expression had returned to normal, Jiang Wan breathed a sigh of relief. As soon as he stepped into the interrogation room, a strong smell of blood hit him in the face.
She covered her mouth and nose, coughed twice, and said, "I have found the place where the private soldiers are trained. It's on the top of Fangshan Mountain."
"What!" Shen Jianqing jumped up and shouted, "Miss Jiang, how did you know?"
Wen Shen glanced at him and patted his shoulder with his left hand: "Let's go talk next door."
Jiang Wan nodded gratefully and was the first to leave the bloody interrogation room.
It was like a slaughterhouse, with charcoal burning, and it was stuffy and hot. The smell was so strong that her nose almost failed.
She briefly recounted what had happened in the palace and suggested, "Although I stopped the guard who reported the news, the Jinyiwei have come out in full force this time, making for quite a big show. In a few hours, the Third Prince will also learn of the news. The Empress can keep him at the Hundred Flowers Banquet, but she can't keep his men, so we must quickly find the hiding place of his private soldiers before he reacts."
"In that case, Jianqing, you go to the palace to report to His Majesty. We will first go find the place where the troops are hidden." Wen Shen said.
Chen Jianqing nodded: "Then I will report to His Majesty. It is now the hour of Wei. Before the hour of Xu, I will obtain an imperial decree to lead the troops to surround Fangshan. We will communicate by smoke signals. I will leave these men in your care. If you encounter any difficulties, don't force yourself. Light the smoke signal and call me."
He took out five cigarettes from his sleeve, looked at Wen Shen worriedly, and then took seven or eight from a few of his confidants and stuffed them into Wen Shen's pockets.
The most dangerous burden fell on Wen Shen and Jiang Wan. Not only did they have to find the hiding place within three hours, but they also had to avoid being discovered. If the Third Prince's reaction was quick enough and the private soldiers on the mountain got the news, they would face a blanket search.
If he could hold out until Shen Jianqing arrived and lit the signal cigarette, the Third Prince's guilt would be sealed. Otherwise, he would have to give up his life at Fangshan.
Wen Shen and Jiang Wan looked at each other and saw unwavering confidence in each other's eyes.
"Don't worry." He gently held Jiang Wan's hand.
Shen Jianqing “tsk tsk” twice and sniffed exaggeratedly: “Why do I smell a sour smell? Who made vinegar?”
Wen Shen kicked his calf: "You're the only one who talks too much."
"How heartless! You forget your brothers when you have a woman! I work hard for you in and outside the palace, and you actually kicked me. It's so disheartening." Shen Jianqing dodged flexibly and pinched his throat to pretend to cry. The Jinyiwei around him turned their backs, with an expression of "the leader is crazy, don't look at anything inappropriate" on their faces.
Jiang Wan burst out laughing at the funny scene, tugged at Wen Shen's sleeve, and said softly, "Okay, stop messing with Master Shen."
The latter stopped obediently and watched Shen Jianqing change into his official robes and get on the carriage to drive towards the palace.
At the foot of Fangshan Mountain.
A Jinyiwei looked up at the rolling mountains and wiped his sweat: "Sir, how do we find it?"
This Fangshan mountain range, a hundred miles from Lin'an City, is surrounded by nine peaks, each towering into the clouds and covered in dense forests, blocking out the sun. The mountain is sparsely populated, and from the foot of the mountain, there are almost no buildings to be seen, while above halfway up the mountain, the entire area is obscured by thick fog, making it impossible to see anything.
If Jiang Wan didn't know that this was the Great Zhou, he would have thought that he had entered Baihu Ridge and that an old man transformed from the White Bone Demon would soon appear on the mountain.
Although it is speculated that the hiding place of the troops is probably near the top of the mountain, but do we have to search all nine mountains one by one? That would take forever.
"Is there anything special about this place where we can train soldiers?" Jiang Wan asked.
The professional General Wen thought for a moment and replied, "First, we need a large, flat area. Besides the usual sword and spear training, we also need to practice formations, horseback riding, and simulate battlefields, which requires a large, flat area."
"Secondly, we need a large, treeless cave. This mountain is shrouded in mist and rain, making it difficult to set up tents. The soldiers' rest camp can only be located in a sheltered cave, preferably a stone cave. If there are trees around, cooking fires could easily cause a wildfire, so there must be no trees inside the cave or near the entrance."
"Third, it can't be too steep. The army needs doctors and cooks to set up camp. These people don't have martial arts skills, so they can't climb up steep and difficult terrain. We can use ropes to carry weapons and supplies, but ropes will easily break on cliffs that are too high."
"Fourth, the mountain must be intact, and the soil must not be too loose. To reduce climbing time and physical exertion, passages are dug into the mountain. Sometimes, the soldiers themselves dig simple passages to reach food, lodging, and bathing areas. This places high demands on the quality of the mountain itself."
Jiang Wan gathered her thoughts. The upper parts of these peaks were shrouded in mist, making it impossible to discern any large plains or caves. As for the quality of the mountain, she knew that mountains covered with trees and vegetation, where the soil could be improved by the plants, were generally of high quality.
The slopes could rule out two peaks; the two in the southeast corner were extremely steep and difficult to climb. But the other seven… Jiang Wan suddenly had an idea and closed his eyes.
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