Before Fourth Master and Thirteenth Master had finished their meal, Li Wei had already arrived. His task wherever he went was to gather information on the scholars' thoughts at places where they frequently gathered. This was a task specifically assigned to him by Fourth Master.
"How did you know we were here?" Su Peisheng asked when Li Wei sat down next to him with a keen eye.
"Of course, you should ask that young clerk at the inn. Since you've come to West Lake, you must have come here to taste Hangzhou's most famous West Lake Fish in Vinegar Sauce," Li Wei said.
The meal was eaten very slowly. Fourth Master and Thirteenth Master would occasionally whisper to each other, and Su Peisheng and the others ate slowly as well, naturally not daring to urge them.
As the sun slowly began to set, Fourth Master and his companions emerged from Louwailou. A bright red sun hung to the left of Leifeng Pagoda, and the famous Leifeng Sunset was right before their eyes.
"Fourth Brother, I hated Fahai the most when I was a child. Why did he have to break up a couple in love? Just because humans and demons can't be together?" Thirteen asked, looking at Leifeng Pagoda.
"Humans and demons are ultimately opposed, and Fahai should represent traditional moral values," Fourth Master said softly.
They walked slowly along West Lake, and when they were almost at Broken Bridge, they saw a group of people pointing and talking about a fool.
"Look at this fool, saying there are monsters under the broken bridge," someone said as if they had heard a huge joke.
“She’s an idiot, and you actually believed her,” another person said.
"There really is a monster! The White Snake Lady has returned! She's here to take revenge on Fahai!" A dirty, madwoman-like woman jumped out of the crowd and spat indiscriminately at those surrounding her.
Seeing the fool like this, the crowd could only wipe the saliva off their clothes, mutter "madman" under their breath, and walk away.
"There really is a White Snake Goddess! There really is a White Snake Goddess!" the madwoman shouted, baring her teeth, but no one believed her.
"Su Peisheng, go and give that person some food," Fourth Master said. This was because Su Peisheng had specifically packed up the leftover snacks from their table when he came out of Lou Wai Lou.
When Su Peisheng saw that Fourth Master had spoken, he naturally dared not refuse and immediately gave the madman a crab roe bun.
When the madman saw that someone was offering him food, he immediately grabbed the steamed bun that Su Peisheng handed him and stuffed it into his mouth.
"You just said there's a White Snake Lady? Where is she?" Fourth Master walked up to the madman and suddenly asked. Thirteenth Master and the others followed behind him. When they saw Fourth Master ask this, they all broke out in a cold sweat: It was just the madman's nonsense. How could someone as wise as Fourth Master ask such a question?
"Right under this broken bridge, every first and fifteenth of the lunar month, when the moon is full, the White Snake Lady swims beneath this bridge, making squeaking sounds. It's terrifying," the madman said solemnly when someone asked.
"Does it only appear on the first and fifteenth of the month?" Fourth Master asked emphatically.
"Yes, the White Snake Lady rests at the bottom of the lake most of the time, only swimming back to the surface on the first and fifteenth of the lunar month. Her enormous snake body thrashes against the broken bridge; it's terrifying." A look of fear appeared on the madman's face, as if he had personally witnessed the legendary giant snake.
"Tomorrow is the fifteenth. Will the White Snake Lady appear in Luoyang?" Fourth Master asked again.
"Yes, tomorrow is the fifteenth, the White Snake Lady is coming, the White Snake Lady is coming~~" The madman seemed to be stimulated and hurriedly ran away, quickly disappearing into the crowd on the broken bridge.
Fourth Master looked in the direction she disappeared, then thoughtfully glanced at the bridge piers beneath the broken bridge.
"Fourth Brother, you don't actually believe that madman's nonsense, do you?" Thirteen asked hurriedly when he saw Fourth Master actually going to check under the broken bridge.
"What do you think?" Fourth Master glanced back at Thirteen, then walked forward with his hands behind his back. Su Peisheng and the others immediately followed.
They strolled along, stopping frequently to appreciate the beauty and charm of West Lake. Thirteen had been wondering why Fourth Master had asked the madman, until something occurred to him. Excitedly, he ran to Fourth Master's side and said, "Fourth Brother, the madman's words aren't entirely unbelievable. Maybe she really heard something."
Fourth Master nodded to Thirteenth Master and said, "The madwoman's words are mostly true; she's just stating what she's heard and seen. If you want to verify her words, why don't you come with me again tomorrow night and listen? Let's see if there really is a White Snake Lady underwater!"
Meanwhile, at the residence of the Eighth Master in the capital, the Eighth and Ninth Masters were practicing their chess skills.
"Is the fourth prince's princess about to give birth? How are the preparations going?" Eighth Prince stared at the black and white chessboard, determined to fight his way through the encirclement of black pieces with his white pieces.
"Speaking of this, I'd like to ask Eighth Brother for a favor. Isn't Eighth Brother right next to Fourth Prince's residence? When Yan Yu gives birth, if Eighth Sister-in-law could go and visit her, Fourth Prince's wife wouldn't have time to keep an eye on things over there." Ninth Prince had already learned about Yan Yu's entire plan from Fang Yun.
"That's not difficult. What about Fangyun? Is she reliable?" Lao Ba continued to ask.
"Don't worry, she's firmly on our side. With these two pawns, it'll be much easier for us to find out what the Fourth Prince is thinking. Right now, he's in Hangzhou, so we need to take advantage of this opportunity to get Yan Yu to give birth as soon as possible," Ninth Master said.
"The silver from Hangzhou Prefecture hasn't reached them yet, and I'm afraid it will take the fourth brother some time to arrive. The amount that person owes is not small," the eighth brother said.
"They're all insatiable wolves. Our bank can't process that much money right now. We can only let them drag their feet on Fourth and Thirteenth Princes." It's rare for Ninth Master to be in trouble with money. You have to understand, they've helped several provinces. Even if they're incredibly wealthy, they can't just come up with that much money all at once.
"You can't catch a wolf without risking your cub. They'll all have to pay for it eventually," Eighth Master said meaningfully.
“Eighth Brother, I’m a little worried about what’s going on in Hangzhou. I’m afraid Fourth Brother will find out something,” Ninth Master said.
"Don't be so paranoid. He did it so discreetly; he's not a god, he can't predict the future or calculate things," the Eighth Elder comforted the Ninth Elder. But wherever the Fourth Master was, the Ninth Elder was just as worried. Ding Die'er was an unexpected turn of events. They couldn't believe that an inconspicuous woman from the slums could bring that scented cloth containing the names of missing persons to the yamen. This was completely beyond the Eighth Master's expectations. Their operation was incredibly secretive; if he found out, it would be a catastrophe.
"Better safe than sorry. Eighth Brother, should we make them stop? We can wait until Fourth Brother returns to Beijing before doing anything else." Ninth Master said this solemnly, his brows lowered.
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