Night falls.
The bricklayer changed into a slightly worn indigo coarse cloth outfit and quietly blended into the bustling crowd at Qinggefang.
The neighborhood was brightly lit, with the sounds of string and wind instruments mingling with the boisterous voices of people, making it the liveliest time of day.
Two days ago, he wandered from the east of the city to the west and obtained a bamboo tube.
After losing his online and offline contacts, the Cui family did not provide him with a new contact person.
They used pre-arranged channels to obtain information, but didn't meet anyone.
Inside the bamboo tube, besides an instruction, there was also an ink stick, 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 guidance of the shopkeeper, the farce gradually subsided, and no one came to cause trouble. The shop became lively again.
After all, the aphrodisiac pills they sell are quite effective.
For pleasure-seeking patrons, who cares who's making the elixir? As long as it works, that's all that matters.
The bricklayer mingled among the passersby, circled around a few times to test the waters, and finally quietly arrived at the alley outside the backyard.
He had already ascertained the exact location of the target, and with a slight sense of his surroundings, he spotted the small house next to the wall, its windows open and letting in a dim, yellowish light.
After confirming that no one was around, the bricklayer quickly took out a face mask from his pocket and covered his mouth and nose, leaving only his eyes exposed.
He nimbly climbed the low wall like a cat, his movements so light that he made no sound.
His gaze locked onto the half-open window, and he suddenly raised his arm.
With a soft "plop," a package wrapped in thick oiled paper pierced precisely through the window frame and landed on the thin bedding on the bed inside.
Chen Yu, who was sitting at his desk studying, was startled by the sudden noise and trembled all over.
She looked up abruptly, her horrified gaze sweeping over the oil paper package lying on the bedding, before quickly looking out the window.
All they saw was a deep darkness, and they couldn't find a single person.
Chen Yu took a few deep breaths before carefully standing up, walking to the bedside, and unwrapping the oil paper package.
Inside was only a single ink stick, with a folded strip of paper underneath. When unfolded, it revealed only two lines of hastily written characters:
"The key sentences for breaking through the questions in the provincial examination essays must be written with this ink."
If you disobey this order, or if the handwriting is different, your father and younger brother will be executed immediately!
Chen Yu's pupils dilated instantly, and her hand holding the note trembled uncontrollably.
He froze on the spot, as if all his strength had been drained away, leaving only his eyes, filled with terror, staring intently at the dark ink bar.
The chisels hidden in the shadows remained completely still.
The Xuanji Guard had already firmly grasped the situation regarding everyone involved with Chen Yu.
Arresting someone now? There's absolutely no need.
The bricklayer who delivered the message was just a nobody; there must be a hidden hand manipulating things from the shadows.
If we alert them and cut off this connection, the other party may use other candidates or more covert methods.
In any case, Chen Yu would never use that ink stick again, thus eliminating the risk of fraud at its source.
Now that we have the intelligence network under control, we can just keep an eye on it and close in whenever we want. The most urgent task is to ensure the smooth completion of the provincial examination.
However… Dou Zhan’s brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
He wasn't particularly skilled in intelligence gathering, but he felt things were going far too smoothly.
After thinking for a while, he sent a telepathic message to Chen Yu to reassure her and then let it go.
Anyway, with Yin Zhe overseeing the whole situation, he can just focus on protecting Chen Yu.
Meanwhile, in a secret room in the backyard of Qingjianzhai Bookstore.
Shen Yuanzhang was looking through the intelligence reports.
From this day forward, they completely severed their newly formed intelligence network with Dongcheng.
Whether or not they have been targeted by the Xuanji Guard, they are now expendable pawns and must be completely cut off.
Losing his hands and feet did not mean he completely lost his channels for gathering intelligence.
Since it concerns the provincial examination, one can make use of the most common rumors and gambling odds circulating in the city.
The underground gambling dens offered a wide variety of betting odds for this provincial examination, and their analyses and predictions for the popular candidates were incredibly diverse.
Shen Yuanzhang's men collected a large amount of seemingly useful intelligence without lifting a finger.
However, while there seem to be many choices, very few are truly "useful for my purposes".
Originally, there was Zheng Huiyin as a backup, but unfortunately, she didn't even qualify for the preliminary test.
Adding to the previous reports, the Empress's methods are truly ruthless.
On the surface, none of the women who were associated with the four great families were included on the list.
The powerful family had been operating in Fengjing for generations, deeply entrenched, and naturally had some deeper and more secretive arrangements in the background.
But Shen Yuanzhang was walking on thin ice, hesitant to act rashly for fear of harming the innocent.
The shadow of the Xuanji Guard's previous thunderous sweep is still lingering; who knows just how much they have actually acquired?
Despite the difficulties ahead, Shen Yuanzhang showed little frustration.
Maintaining composure in the face of major events is a fundamental quality of a seasoned intelligence agent, and the immense pressure actually ignited his long-dormant fighting spirit.
He picked up the celadon teacup beside him and slowly sipped the tea.
When things are in complete chaos, focus on the most basic information screening.
On the left was a thick stack of papers, all from gambling dens in the city.
He didn't mind the complexity and read through each document.
The stack of intelligence on the right is much thinner, but extremely valuable, and comes from spies in various mansions.
This is one of the aristocratic family's trump cards, a top-secret list that exists only in his mind and has never been written down.
These spies are deeply embedded in the various mansions of Fengjing, some of them having been lurking for over a generation.
Having settled down and had children in the mansion, her identity had long been completely cleansed.
It will never be used unless it is a matter of life and death, or an extremely urgent situation.
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