Chapter 371 Game
Night falls.
The bricklayer changed into a half-worn indigo coarse cloth shorts and quietly blended into the bustling crowd in Qinggefang.
The alley was brightly lit, with stringed instruments and noisy voices interweaving together. It was the busiest time of the day.
Two days ago, he wandered from the east to the west of the city and took out a bamboo tube.
After losing his upper and lower connections, the Cui family did not provide him with any new contacts.
They used the pre-arranged channels for gaining trust, and did not meet anyone.
In addition to an instruction, there was also an ink stick in the bamboo tube, which was now in his arms.
His target was clear: Huichuntang Pharmacy in Qinggefang.
Huichuntang Pharmacy has now recovered some of its vitality.
Under the leadership of Fang Zheng, the farce gradually subsided, no one came to cause trouble, and the shop became lively again.
After all, the pills they sell to enhance pleasure are quite effective.
Who cares who makes the elixir, patrons seeking pleasure? As long as it works, it's all that matters.
The bricklayer mingled among the passers-by, circled around a few times to test the waters, and finally came quietly to the alley outside the backyard.
He had already found out the exact location of the target, and with a quick sense he saw the small house against the wall, with a dim light shining through the open window.
After confirming that there was no one around, the bricklayer quickly took out a mask from his pocket and covered his mouth and nose, leaving only his eyes exposed.
He climbed up the low wall as nimbly as a civet cat, his movements so light that he made no sound.
His eyes locked on the half-open window, and he suddenly raised his arm.
With a soft "puff" sound, a thick oil-paper bag accurately passed through the window frame and fell on the thin bedding on the bed in the room.
Chen Yu, who was sitting at the desk reviewing his lessons, was frightened by the sudden noise and trembled all over.
She suddenly looked up, her horrified eyes swept over the oil-paper bag that fell on the bedding, and then quickly looked out the window.
All I saw was thick darkness, and no human figures were found.
Chen Yu took a few deep breaths, then stood up carefully, walked to the bed, and untied the oil paper bag.
There was only an ink stick inside, and a folded piece of paper underneath. When it was unfolded, there were only two lines of scribbled words:
"For provincial examination essays, the key sentences must be written with this ink.
If you disobey the order, or if the handwriting is different, your father and younger brother will be killed immediately!"
Chen Yu's pupils dilated instantly, and the hand holding the note trembled constantly.
The whole person froze in place, as if all his strength had been drained away, leaving only a pair of panic-filled eyes staring at the dark ink streak.
The chisel hidden in the darkness did not move at all.
Xuanji Guard had already kept all the people involved with Chen Yu under their control.
Arresting people now? There's absolutely no need.
The bricklayer who delivered the letter was just a small pawn, and there must be a mastermind behind the scenes.
If you alert the enemy and cut off this line, the other party is likely to use other candidates or more covert methods.
In any case, Chen Yu would never use that ink stick again, thus solving the risk of fraud at the source.
Now that we have control of the intelligence network, we just need to monitor it and close the net at any time. The most urgent task is to ensure the smooth completion of the provincial examination.
But... Dou Zuan's brows frowned slightly.
He was not good at intelligence, but he felt that it was going too smoothly.
After thinking for a while, he sent a message to Chen Yu to reassure her.
Anyway, Yinzhe is in charge of the overall situation, so he just needs to protect Chen Yu safely.
On the other side, in the secret room in the backyard of Qingjianzhai Bookstore.
Shen Yuanzhang was looking through the information.
After today, they completely cut off the intelligence network they had just established in Dongcheng.
Regardless of whether they have been targeted by the Xuanji Guards, they are now discarded pawns and must be completely eliminated.
Losing his hands and feet doesn't mean he has completely lost the channels for collecting intelligence.
When it comes to the provincial examination, you can use the most common rumors and casino odds in the market.
The underground gambling houses offered various odds for this provincial examination, and their analyses and predictions for the various popular candidates were quite varied.
Shen Yuanzhang's men collected a large amount of seemingly useful information without any effort.
However, although there seem to be many choices, there are very few goals that can truly be used by me.
Originally, there was Zheng Huiyin as a backup, but unfortunately she didn't even qualify for the initial test.
Combined with the news that came back earlier, the empress is really ruthless.
None of the women who seemed to be related to the four major families were included in the list.
The aristocratic family has been operating in Fengjing for generations and has deep roots. Naturally, they have some deeper and more secretive arrangements in secret.
But Shen Yuanzhang was walking on thin ice at this moment, and was afraid to act rashly.
The shadow of Xuanjiwei’s previous thunderous raid is still there. Who knows how much they have mastered?
Despite the difficulties, Shen Yuanzhang did not feel annoyed at all.
Staying calm in times of crisis is a basic quality of a spy with many years of experience. Instead, the huge pressure aroused the fighting spirit that had been dormant for a long time.
He picked up the celadon teacup beside him and took a sip of the tea slowly.
When things get messy, focus on the most basic intelligence screening.
There is a thick stack on the left hand side, all from the gambling houses in the city.
He didn't mind the complexity and read every one of them.
The stack of information on the right is much thinner, but extremely valuable, and comes from secret agents in various mansions.
This is one of the family's trump cards, a top-secret list that exists only in his mind and has never been put down on paper.
These nails are buried deep in the major mansions of Fengjing, and some have even been lurking for more than a generation.
He got married and had children in the mansion, and his identity had long been cleared.
It will never be used unless it is a matter of life and death or an extremely urgent moment.
Shen Yuanzhang judged that this was an extremely urgent moment.
For safety reasons, this launch only transmits intelligence and does not involve any direct contact.
After the secret agent completed his mission, he disappeared into the sea again.
Shen Yuanzhang flipped through this stack of books very slowly.
Compare and verify every sentence on the paper with the information in your mind repeatedly, trying to select the most suitable target.
Wen family...Wen Tingwan?
This woman has some talent, but she is not the best.
He ranked eleventh in the second class of the preliminary examination, barely making it into the upper middle class.
According to common sense, if she performs steadily, she may be able to pass the exam by chance, but her ranking will definitely be low.
Huh? Wait!
Shen Yuanzhang's gaze was fixed on the information about the Wen family, and his pupils suddenly contracted.
"The first test topic was obtained from Pei Mansion."
"This time, the Wen family spent a huge sum of 100,000 taels from the public treasury to purchase the Yu Pei Mansion again."
Pei Mansion? It actually involved the Pei Mansion!
The person who provided this information was the old nanny who had served the Wen family's ancestor for thirty years. It must be true.
Shen Yuanzhang's mind connected like lightning.
The Wen family is the paternal family of the Sixth Princess Qin Zhaoyue, and the infamous Sixth Princess does have a relationship with Pei Xueqiao.
Others don’t know, but he naturally masters it.
The provider of the information was the imperial guards who had returned from disaster relief. At that time, the flood that broke the dike washed away many soldiers and horses. In the end, it was the Sixth Princess who saved the eldest son of the Pei family.
Shen Yuanzhang's first reaction just now was absurdity.
One hundred thousand taels to predict the topic? Who would dare to offer such a price?
Leaking the exam questions? That’s unbelievable!
The Prime Minister of the dynasty, Prime Minister Pei, is so shrewd and calculating that he would never allow such a mistake to happen in his government.
Although the eldest son of the Pei family is a little green and clumsy in handling official affairs, he is by no means such a bold and reckless person who does not know the seriousness of the matter.
Unless... unless it was because of the life-saving grace, Pei Xueqiao kept this matter a secret from his father.
There is no way those secret agents buried deep in the major mansions could pass on false information.
The intelligence clearly stated that the old lady of the Wen family had used a huge amount of public funds, and her determination was unprecedented.
If the Wen family had not received the absolutely certain information, how could they be willing to pay one hundred thousand taels of silver to buy an illusory "prediction of the topic"?
The more this kind of information looks fake, the more likely it is to be true.
This is the intuition Shen Yuanzhang gained from years of immersion in intelligence and countless experiences and lessons.
If this information is true, then there must be a key link that he has not yet known.
A key link that is enough to make the Pei family, or Pei Xueqiao, take risks.
Shen Yuanzhang narrowed his eyes.
Unfortunately, his intelligence network is currently in tatters, and the two nodes of intelligence...
The secret agents of the Sixth Princess's Mansion had long been cleared out by the former captain of the Qingluan Guard.
Prime Minister Pei’s residence was like an iron barrel, where neither a needle could be inserted nor water could be poured in.
Shen Yuanzhang's gaze seemed to have taken root, fixed on the words "Wen Tingwan" and "One hundred thousand taels from the Pei Mansion".
As time passed, the candlelight danced in his deep eyes.
One hundred thousand taels, a figure that would make anyone's heart flutter, a bait pointing to the behemoth that is the Pei Mansion...
Is it worth risking everything on this crucial bet?
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