Another week has passed in the blink of an eye.
Because of the improvement in his eyesight and health, the Chief Supervisor was in a much better mood. He was able to walk briskly when he went out to investigate cases, and he rarely used any terrible tortures anymore. He was like a gentle breeze.
However, his enemies were already terrified just by seeing his smile.
Cao Anmin was in a good mood, so he stopped restricting her freedom too much.
Xia Yixin could even wander around the Eastern Depot and the Eunuch's Mansion freely. There were no "rooms that you can't go to" as mentioned in many novels. On the contrary, many rooms in the Eunuch's Mansion were empty.
Xia Yixin, through close observation over this period of time, discovered that Cao Anmin was different from what she had previously thought.
Aside from the initial sense of pressure and coldness, he was actually polite and knew how to conduct himself appropriately. Although he was still cold, he had become much gentler.
A typical example of someone who is stubborn on the outside but soft on the inside.
Even the original story doesn't explain Cao Anmin's past.
He's probably only twenty-seven or twenty-eight.
Although they hadn't spent much time together, Xia Yixin keenly sensed that Cao Anmin wasn't interested in her; rather, he was just lonely and perhaps needed someone quiet to keep him company.
After all, everyone understands the saying that it's lonely at the top. However, she still hasn't found out about Cao Anmin's life before he became the Grand Eunuch. She only knows from Cao De that he once had a woman.
Unfortunately, throughout the entire Governor's Mansion, apart from the East Garden where Cao Anmin lived, which she couldn't visit, there wasn't a single thing belonging to any woman other than her.
During this period, since she could not meet at the Eastern Depot, she chose to exchange information directly with the Northern Martial's undercover agents in the capital.
It's a tea shop called Lefulai.
The chubby boss, surnamed Qian, looked very kind. Apart from him, none of the other waiters knew that they had a special information network leading to Beiwu.
For safety reasons, she didn't get information from the Eastern Depot. Instead, Xia Mingyu got information from the young emperor in the palace. The people in the Eastern Depot probably never imagined that their puppet emperor had already been turned against them.
Thus, unknowingly, after eliminating the second prince of Nanlin and consuming half of Nanlin, the Yushang army's battle lines were stretched out, and they unknowingly fell into a protracted war of attrition.
The tug-of-war lasted for half a month.
On this day, as usual, she had her acupuncture done in the morning and then had breakfast with the Grand Eunuch. After he went to the morning court session, Xia Yixin was followed by three "little tails" as they left the Grand Eunuch's residence.
Shadow Seven and the others couldn't show themselves, so they followed from the shadows.
The constables from the Eastern Depot who saw her along the way all nodded politely to her. However, the common people outside did not know that she was the legendary "Madam Li." Even in the teahouses, customers were gossiping about her.
"Hey, have you heard? The Grand Eunuch is now living and eating with Madam Li. I don't believe there's anything fishy about it!"
"This widow and this eunuch, how could they... well, women over thirty are like wolves and tigers."
"Tsk tsk, I didn't expect you to be so knowledgeable, Brother Wang?"
The two men in the conversation were both playboys from the capital. When they saw a woman enter the teahouse, they muttered a few words and ran away.
The plump owner of the tea shop greeted her warmly, "Madam Li, you've come at the right time. The small-leaf tea from Lingnan that you wanted has arrived. Please wait a moment, I'll bring it to you and you can have a taste."
"You're too kind, Mr. Qian." Xia Yixin went up to the tea room on the second floor with ease. The two head constables from the Eastern Depot who were responsible for protection (monitoring) stood guard outside the door. Chunlan followed her upstairs.
Before long, Boss Qian brought out the brewed tea and, while she tasted it, recounted how the tea team had searched for this small-leaf tea in Lingnan.
Mr. Qian was kind and humorous, and his storytelling was like a stand-up comedy routine. Chunlan was young and was always captivated by his stories, so she didn't notice that Xia Yixin had taken the letter folded into small chess pieces from under the teacup.
Having received the information, Xia Yixin tasted the tea, bought a few ounces of it, and even specially packed a small packet for Cao Anmin.
After all, she needed to please the male supporting character.
She wandered around the other shops before returning to the governor's mansion. By then, it was already dark, and as expected, the governor had not yet returned.
After finding an excuse to send Chunlan away, she took out a folded letter from her storage ring. To her surprise, it wasn't a message from Xia Mingyu, but rather a time and place.
[At the hour of Hai (9-11 PM) in the western wilderness of the Governor's residence]
After wandering around for the past few days, Xia Yixin did know that there was an abandoned courtyard in the Eunuch's Mansion. There were actually two more like it, since the Eunuch's Mansion currently only had a dozen or so people in total, including the master and servants.
That night, Cao Anmin did not return home. The battle at the front was becoming increasingly intense. After Xia Jingfeng led the Beiwu people to provide support, the Yushang army had suffered more defeats than victories. He needed to personally study and make decisions on many matters.
After Chunlan rested, Xia Yixin used a sleeping potion to knock out both Chunlan and the dozing constable outside, and quietly went to the West Wilderness Courtyard.
The area was overgrown with weeds, and a dark figure emerged from the shadows.
She thought it was Xia Mingyu, but it turned out to be Shen Shaoyang.
Shen Shaoyang was stunned for a moment when he saw her, then said as if he had confirmed something, "Liu'er, it really is you."
When Shen Shaoyang first learned that Bei Wu had suddenly intervened in the war with Nan Lin, he suspected Xia Mingyu. Later, he did see him in the palace. When he was focused on dealing with Shen Shaoyang, he also saw her. At that time, he had suspicions, but he couldn't be sure.
Unfortunately, he was later surrounded and captured by the Eastern Depot and had to temporarily retreat to the capital. Only now, due to the escalating war and Cao Anmin's shifting attention, has he been able to return to the capital. His first priority is to track Xia Mingyu.
Sure enough, they discovered that there was something wrong with that teahouse.
Now, smelling her faint fragrance again, Shen Shaoyang immediately recognized her.
Xia Yixin wasn't as calm as him. Seeing him step forward, she subconsciously clenched her hands. "Should I call you General Shi now, or Young Master Shen?"
Shen Shaoyang's eyes dimmed slightly.
Xia Yixin had long worried that this day would come, but she didn't know if Shen Shaoyang would still make the same decision as before.
Since they were in the Governor's Mansion, Xia Yixin didn't dare to talk to him much. Shen Shaoyang was also afraid of being discovered by the Eastern Depot. In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he left the Governor's Mansion.
When Xia Yixin returned to the West Garden, she climbed through the window and found Chunlan still fast asleep, showing no signs of sleepiness.
The scene from before was still in my mind.
Shen Shaoyang took out a general's token from his hidden pocket. It had the words "Bei Wu" written on it and was the general's token that originally belonged to him.
“I will not change what I said before. Since you saved me, I will not betray Beiwu. But as for the identity of Shi Niu, I think even if I wanted it, you would no longer acknowledge it.”
He came today to personally return the token to her.
Xia Yixin knew he was referring to the military equipment reshuffling in various places after he left Beiwu. Since he could find the teahouse, it wouldn't be difficult for him to find out about these things.
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