The courtesan casually tidied her messy hair and said with a charming smile.
"He said a lot! But most of it was just wishful thinking, saying things like what would happen if I became successful in the future, or what would happen if I became the head of the family."
The courtesan lightly covered her lips, her smile both charming and alluring.
Mr. Jin raised an eyebrow and took out another gold ingot for her.
"That's ten taels of gold, isn't that enough? What else?"
The courtesan's smile deepened as she carefully put away the two gold ingots before speaking seriously.
He said something I didn't understand.
"What?"
“He said the position of Crown Prince would definitely belong to the Eighth Prince. When the Consort lost the Seventh Prince, the Emperor made that promise to her.”
After the courtesan finished speaking, she hesitated for a moment, then lowered her voice and added another sentence.
"He also mentioned the Seventh Prince before, in a strange tone, saying that the Seventh Prince was more sensible and intelligent, but unfortunately he was in the way."
Mr. Jin's expression changed drastically. He didn't bother to try and get any more information out of her. He simply waved his hand and dismissed her.
After everyone left, Song Xinian couldn't help but ask him.
"When did you start secretly getting involved with that courtesan?"
"What do you mean by seduction? The girls at this brothel only care about money, not people. If I give them a lot of money, they'll naturally tell you everything they know."
After Mr. Jin came to his senses and retorted a couple of times, his expression suddenly became more serious.
"Hurry! We need to get out of here quickly and send this message back immediately."
Without waiting for Song Xinian to ask any questions, Mr. Jin grabbed him by the collar and quickly fled the scene.
A gust of cold wind sobered them up considerably, and they immediately headed back home.
The place they returned to was not the Song residence, but a mansion that Mr. Jin had bought under an alias.
Today, this residence also serves as a communication center for the Eastern Palace's secret guards.
Thanks to the business they've been doing these past few months, it's become much easier for the bodyguards to switch identities and pass messages.
Song Xinian mainly runs a pharmacy business. Other businesses are nominally managed by Mr. Jin. Outsiders only see Mr. Jin as Song Xinian's major client and are unaware of the inside story.
Although Song Xibai could not communicate directly with his family, he could still convey his orders through this method.
Back at home, Mr. Jin felt much more at ease.
"Your sister is truly remarkable; she actually thought of using the internal conflicts within the Shu family to arouse the Emperor's suspicion."
Song Xinian corrected him with a stern face.
"She should be addressed as Lady Liangdi."
Over the past few months of collaboration, Mr. Jin and Song Xinian have gotten along very casually, like longtime friends, and their conversations have become much more relaxed.
"Now, all that's left is the Imperial Guard..."
The two whispered and discussed for most of the night until dawn, when they finally wrote down the information in a secret letter and sent it out.
Just as the two of them fell asleep, Song Xibai had just woken up at the manor in the suburbs.
After washing up, changing clothes, and having breakfast as usual, Song Xibai took a short walk in the courtyard and saw Granny Fangqi coming over with the "Today's Morning Post".
"Judging from the old woman's expression, it seems there's good news?"
Song Xibai smiled and sat down on the stone bench under the grapevine trellis.
Granny Fangqi curtsied and presented the secret letter.
The secret letter had been processed, using encryption methods devised by the secret guards, with the page numbers and line numbers of the secret book as markers.
The secret letters were under the control of Commander Yue. Every time a secret letter was received, it had to be translated before it was delivered to Song Xibai.
After Song Xibai found out, he added another layer of security measures, writing the code with special ink and then covering it with ordinary text written in ordinary ink.
That special ink could only be revealed after being soaked in her specially prepared solution.
In short, with double insurance, there's no need to worry about leaks.
Every morning, after Commander Yue finished translating, he would hand the translation to Granny Fangqi and deliver it to Song Xibai. This was Song Xibai's regular "morning reading" routine during this period.
She took the two sheets of paper and began to read them, word by word.
When I first saw the first picture, it didn't seem like much. The Imperial Guards weren't so easy to win over, after all, they were an army directly under the emperor's control.
There were military officers who were on good terms with the Crown Prince; General Xuanwei was one such example.
However, most military officers either held nominal positions or were stationed at the border or in local areas. Any unusual activity could not be kept secret from the person on the dragon throne.
Around the capital, whether it was the Imperial Guards inside the city or the Beijing Garrison outside, the leaders were all staunchly loyal to the emperor and upright officials.
The only person Song Xibai could think of was the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard.
Unfortunately, there have been no results so far, and we can only wait patiently.
With a sigh, Song Xibai turned the page and looked at the second page.
The next moment, her gaze sharpened, and two glints of light flashed in her eyes.
"The Seventh Prince?"
Granny Fangqi couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong with the Seventh Prince?"
Song Xibai took a deep breath.
"Does the old woman know how the Seventh Prince died?"
Granny Fangqi was very puzzled, but still replied.
"Didn't the Seventh Prince die of illness? That was eleven years ago. At that time, the Seventh Prince was only three or four years old. His wet nurse ate something wrong, which caused his body to suddenly become red and swollen, and his throat to become blocked. He passed away before the imperial physician arrived."
Speaking of this, Granny Fangqi couldn't help but sigh.
"That child was well-behaved, sensible, and intelligent. He could recite poems when he was two years old, and by the age of three, he could recite the entire Three Character Classic."
A cold glint appeared in Song Xibai's eyes.
"According to the nanny's description, the Seventh Prince should have died from an allergic reaction. But the wet nurses in the palace who take care of the princes always check their food and other items repeatedly, so how could these things have gotten mixed in?"
Granny Fangqi naturally couldn't possibly know, she said hesitantly.
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