After waking up, Qin Qianluo was also deep in thought. If there was opium, where was it grown? She had already investigated last night and found no foreigners. Judging from the number of shops in Xuanyuan Kingdom, it seemed that they grew it themselves.
Yesterday in the capital, she saw no fewer than ten shops. According to 001's investigation, almost every county has such shops. The required quantity cannot be met by smuggling alone.
It seems I need to find the shadow guards lurking in the capital today. With that thought, Qin Qianlu changed into men's clothing and, after dressing up, found the leader of the royal guards.
Qin Qianluo stepped forward and asked, "Brother Xuanying, does anyone know where the Shadow Guards are hidden in this imperial city? I need their help with a small matter."
Xuan Ying pointed to Xuan You and said, "Your Highness, the Shadow Guard's information is with Xuan You. You can take Your Highness there."
Xuan You nodded, and Qin Qianluo nodded as well. After they finished eating, they took Xuan You out of the space. Xuan You climbed out of the window, and Qin Qianluo closed the window and went out the door.
Without stopping along the way, they arrived at an inconspicuous noodle shop. Xuan You did not conceal his presence. After entering the noodle shop and exchanging the secret code, he was led to the backyard by the shopkeeper.
The shadow guard who stayed in the shop today heard someone use the secret code, and it was even the royal code. He thought that someone from the royal family had arrived, so he hurriedly left the room. He was stunned when he saw a man who was obviously a shadow guard, followed by a young man who looked quite young.
After realizing what had happened, the shadow guard bowed and said, "I was unaware of your arrival. Please forgive my lack of hospitality."
Qin Qianluo didn't put on airs. Instead, she told him to get up. She respected the shadow guards; being an undercover agent wasn't easy. "Is it safe here?"
After standing up, the shadow guard paused for a moment upon hearing the question: "Rest assured, esteemed guest, this place is absolutely safe."
Qin Qianlu nodded, indicating that he should lead the way to the room to talk. Unless absolutely necessary, she did not want the space to be exposed to too many people. The guards were helpless, as they had been following her all along and would find out sooner or later, but for the rest of the people, the fewer people who knew, the better.
After settling into the room, Xuan You explained Qin Qianluo's identity and showed the Shadow Guard the Emperor's token. The Shadow Guard then said, "I didn't know it was Princess Qingyun. May I ask what Princess Qingyun needs the Shadow Guard for?"
Qin Qianluo, concealed by her sleeve, took out a rolled-up map of the imperial city, unfolded it on the table, and looked at the shadow guard, asking, "Do you know where poppies are planted in the imperial city? They are opium poppies."
The shadow guards were initially surprised to see such a large map, wondering how such a large map could be placed in such a small sleeve. However, upon seeing the map's exquisite detail, they were overjoyed, as it was exactly what they needed.
Upon hearing Princess Qingyun's question, he looked at the map. Although he didn't know what poppies were, he did know about opium. He pointed to the location of the royal garden and said, "There is one here, and there are two farms outside the imperial city that also grow opium."
Qin Qianluo looked at the location he pointed to, her eyes turning slightly cold. Poppies were being grown in the royal gardens. This Emperor Xuanyuan was truly something else. She pondered how to get in. She couldn't just leave so many unattended. Within her capabilities, it would be better to destroy them or bring them into the space.
Seeing that Princess Qingyun didn't speak but instead stared coldly at the spot he had just pointed to, the shadow guard looked at Xuan You with surprise and suspicion. He didn't know the dangers of opium, but he had only seen it in Xuanyuan, and he subconsciously felt that it probably wasn't a good thing.
After thinking it over, Qin Qianluo looked at the shadow guard and asked, "How many people are guarding the royal gardens and these two farms? Do you know?"
The shadow guard thought for a moment about the information they had gathered: "There are more in the royal gardens, with two or three teams, and fewer in the farms, with only one team."
Qin Qianlu nodded, pondering how to remove it, when 001's voice rang out, "Does Luo Bao want to burn down these three places?"
Upon hearing this, Qin Qianluo said, "We can't use fire. If we burn it, the toxic smoke will be uncontrollable. It's safer to uproot it completely. Besides, poppies can be preserved as medicine. They have excellent therapeutic effects on wounds and burns, and also have anesthetic, analgesic, and antitussive effects. It would be a waste to destroy them directly; it's better to process them into medicine."
001 replied, "So, is Luo Bao planning to go to these three places to eradicate those poppies completely? That's a bit dangerous."
Qin Qianluo was also pondering how to infiltrate the area so that she could simply store the infiltrator in her spatial storage. However, infiltrating the area was proving difficult due to the presence of numerous guards.
The shadow guard was somewhat frightened, but Xuan You quickly grabbed him and gestured for him to be quiet. The shadow guard suppressed his fear. The voice he had just heard was Princess Qingyun's, right? But Princess Qingyun didn't open her mouth. Who was the other child's voice?
He was filled with questions but no one could answer them. Xuan You couldn't explain it to Princess Qingyun either, so he could only pull him back and tell him to keep quiet and not reveal his true feelings.
After thinking for a moment, Qin Qianluo looked up at the shadow guard. Then, as if remembering something, she used her sleeve to conceal the medicine and poison in her spatial storage and placed them on the table, saying, "Keep these for when you need them. I will be staying in room number three of the Tongshun Inn for the next few days. If you need anything, you can come and find me."
The shadow guard nodded, puzzled again at how so many things could be taken out from such a small sleeve. Seeing that Princess Qingyun was about to put the map away, he didn't bother to think about it anymore.
He hurriedly said, "Princess, may I have this map? I..."
Before he could finish speaking, Qin Qianluo nodded in agreement. She already had many of these floor plans, and had printed several extra copies when 001 was printing them. If the Shadow Guards needed them, she would leave them to them.
Before leaving, Qin Qianluo looked at the shadow guards and said, "You've worked hard. Be careful. There have been frequent searches in the imperial city recently, so take good care of yourselves."
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