Chapter 337 Establishing an Intelligence Network
After the New Year, Xie Wanyun and Song Mingyan moved to the city with their three children and Xiao Xuanwu.
Xiao Xuanwu spent his days helping out at the restaurant, hoping to save money for tuition before enrolling in school.
After the Lantern Festival, the three children will be starting school. The house they live in was bought by Pei Huaiji for Yun Zhaoxue.
This time, we brought them rice, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn to the city so that they wouldn't have to worry about food and drink.
Xiao Xuance handed Xie Wanyun a money bag containing one hundred taels of silver.
They moved a couple of days ago, and he gave it to them once, but they refused. This time, he brought it over again.
Xie Wanyun declined again. They still had some money left over, and if they went to work at the shop in the future, it would be enough to support themselves and their two children. She offered to let them live in her house for free.
She was already very grateful and couldn't accept any more money from them.
Xiao Xuance said, "Eldest sister-in-law, second sister-in-law, please accept this. Fifty taels is the profit from selling the grain, and another fifty taels is tuition for the three children. It is a small token of my appreciation as their third uncle to my nephews."
“We only contributed our physical labor by working in the fields. Even if there is a profit, we shouldn’t take such a large share. I help out in the kitchen of the restaurant, and my second sister-in-law takes on embroidery work. We can earn money ourselves, so we really can’t accept this.”
Song Mingyan nodded in agreement.
She had calculated that she could earn twenty or thirty coins a day by taking on embroidery work, enough to support herself and her son, and with some savings, there would still be some left over.
The principal for renting the land and the cost of the seeds were all paid by the third brother and his wife.
They didn't contribute any money to the profit sharing; they only put in a little effort. Ten taels of silver would have been too much for them. They really wouldn't dare take a hundred taels.
Yun Zhaoxue placed the money in Xie Wanyun's hand, saying, "Sister-in-law, you need to raise your children, so you should keep some money on hand for emergencies. You live in the city, while we live in the village. If anything happens, we won't be able to help you in time. We'll feel at ease if you have money for emergencies."
Her space contained the entire national treasury's wealth; this amount of money was nothing to them.
We went to the restaurant 15 minutes later.
The carriage stopped in front of the restaurant, and the waiter who was greeting customers at the entrance approached the carriage with a smile.
"Sir, would you prefer the main dining area or a private room?"
"A private room!"
Waiter Zhao Jiu, "Princess...?"
Lao Liao and the others decided not to return to the capital and to stay in Lingnan.
The restaurant happened to be short of staff, so Yun Zhaoxue asked them to come and work.
They mainly acted as waiters and thugs; if anyone dared to cause trouble at the restaurant, they could keep the situation under control.
The restaurant changed its menu and became very popular, which inevitably attracted jealousy and envy from its competitors, who sent people to sabotage it.
Before the Lunar New Year, some people bribed customers to cause trouble at the restaurant multiple times. They put rat heads in ducks and then loudly complained that the restaurant's food was unclean, and some even said that eating chili peppers would cause poisoning...
Before they could even cause a scene, Lao Liao led his men to drag the people out, threw them into an alley, beat them up, interrogated them about who had sent them, and then reported the incident to the authorities.
We arrived at a spacious private room upstairs.
Old Liao and his brothers came to pay their respects.
"Princess."
Yun Zhaoxue handed the second child to Zhuiying, then sat in the main seat, with Xiao Xuance holding their eldest son beside her.
When Lao Liao saw her sitting in the main seat, he guessed that she was the one in charge.
Prince Xiao was the man who supported her from behind.
Although she was a woman, her methods, courage, and strength were no less than those of men. They respected capable people and were willing to follow her orders.
"Do you all feel wronged by being assigned to work as waiters in this restaurant?"
“We are not wronged. Our lives were saved by the princess and the prince. If it weren’t for you, we would have died long ago. Even if you wanted to take our lives back, we would not complain.”
"There are many things to do before the Lunar New Year. I am still in my postpartum period and cannot go out. There are some things I want to explain to you personally."
Old Liao and the others clasped their hands in greeting and said in unison, "We are at the Princess's beck and call."
"You all have mastered excellent martial arts skills, so it's really unfair to make you serve tea and water, but..." She changed the subject, "I've arranged for you to work in the restaurant, ostensibly as waiters, but in reality, I want you to be spies."
She stood up and walked over to Lao Liao and the others. "Uncle Liao, you've traveled all over the country and seen a lot. Even if the guests don't mention it, you should try to find out more about the grain prices, salt permits, and freight losses that the guests talk about during the meal. Keep it in mind, filter out the important information, and write it down."
Old Liao was taken aback, then nodded vigorously, "Yes! I've remembered. Princess, please just call me Old Liao. I don't deserve to be addressed as Master Liao."
The effort to save them and then make them spies must have been far from simple.
Zhao Jiu keeps talking about rebellion, it's probably going to come true soon.
She then said to Zhao Jiu, "Zhao Jiu, you have a transparent skin and you should go to the private rooms on the second floor. When the nobles are drunk and chatting, you should pay attention to who is close to whom, who is dissatisfied with whom, and even a glance from them."
Then came the third, the fourth... The arrangements were so detailed that they included who was responsible for keeping an eye out for unfamiliar faces in the city, and who was responsible for purchasing and getting acquainted with the street vendors.
Finally, she stood before the five men, her eyes suddenly sharpening: "It's our duty to run the restaurant well, and the restaurant will continue to pay you your wages as usual. In addition, I will also pay you an extra monthly salary for being undercover agents."
What I'm asking you to do, you must keep it a secret. Don't reveal it to anyone, not even your closest confidants. Otherwise, you'll be useless, with nothing to your name!
"Yes! We will absolutely not reveal a single word to anyone else, please rest assured, Princess."
"Very good. I'll make do with you as shop assistants for now. We'll open a branch or warehouse later. If you perform well, I'll promote you to manager or supervisor. I appreciate capable, loyal and trustworthy people."
Yun Zhaoxue planned to train them as spies, to infiltrate the city and gather intelligence. In this era of poor communication, information was money and lives.
Panyu Town is strategically located at the confluence of the Pearl River estuary and the West, North, and East Rivers. Through a dense network of inland waterways, it connects various regions of Lingbei, Southwest, Jiangnan, and even the Central Plains. Merchants and travelers from all over the country frequently pass through, making it an ideal place to gather information.
If there are any unusual developments in the north, they will receive the news in the south as soon as possible and be able to take countermeasures in advance.
Using Lingnan as a base, they slowly infiltrated northwards.
Lao Liao and the others looked at each other in bewilderment.
Finally, Hu Feng stepped forward and said, "Princess, I have a question."
"speak."
"I heard that Prince Xiao and Zhao Xuan are partners. He sent men to ambush and kill us on the road, killing several of our brothers. We work for you. If Zhao Xuan finds out, will it cause you trouble?"
They didn't want to implicate their benefactor.
Xiao Xuance said, "There are no permanent enemies or friends, only permanent interests."
"With constant fighting in the north, people are fleeing to the south. We need to plan ahead and build up our strength to protect ourselves."
"Yes! I understand."
He said it himself: Yun Zhaoxue and the Third Prince's wife have a grudge against each other, and there have been constant frictions on the way to exile. It's impossible for her to sincerely cooperate with the Third Prince. The cooperation is only for the sake of interests. So they can rest assured. The day they break up will be the day they take their revenge.
Old Liao didn't know what constituted useful information. Recalling the gossip he'd overheard while working at the restaurant these past two days, he realized the men were talking about a certain courtesan, a newcomer from a brothel, or whose young lady was the most beautiful, while the women were discussing which shop had the most attractive cosmetics, silks, and gold and silver jewelry...
These are all useless messages.
Only merchants from other places would talk about the major events that had recently happened in the north, complain to those around them about how difficult business was, which roads had many bandits and which routes to take detours, or discuss which supplier they could sell their goods to for higher profits...
People from out of town...
"Princess, I have made a significant discovery."
"What discovery?"
“Yesterday, a group of suspicious people came to the shop. I suspect they are spies from Dajing.”
Yun Zhaoxue raised her eyes, "Are you sure it's a spy?"
Old Liao replied, "I can't be sure if they are spies, but I can be sure they are from Dajing. Although they speak the Central Plains dialect, they have the accent of barbarians from the northern grasslands. Also, the calluses on their hands are very thick, as if they were formed from riding and shooting since childhood. One of them is wearing sheepskin boots and has a scimitar at his waist."
Zhao Jiu also said, "I also remember them. When I delivered the wine to them, I had just reached the door and closed it when I heard one of them angrily put down his wine glass and slam his hand on the table, saying, 'What kind of lousy job is it to send us all this way to bring a woman?' Another person chimed in, saying something like, 'Even heroes can't resist the charms of a beautiful woman...' I was afraid they would find out, so I didn't dare to listen anymore."
"You did a great job. You deserve credit. Now you can get back to work."
Xiao Xuance had already guessed who sent those people. His large hands holding the child tightened inch by inch. The baby in his arms felt the ruthless killing intent emanating from his father and looked helplessly at his mother, letting out a soft "Eek~".
"Be careful of the child." Yun Zhaoxue felt sorry for him and took Da Bao into her arms.
Xiao Xuance's brow bone broke into a deep furrow, his eyes narrowed into a sharp arc, his gaze as cold as an ice-cold blade, "Find those people out, leave no one alive!"
The baby in her arms had her eyes darting around, glancing out the window and then at her parents.
Chao Yun Zhaoxue reached out, wanting her to hug her.
"Don't scare Erbao, go and hug him quickly."
Xiao Xuance suppressed his murderous aura and reached out to take Erbao.
Erbao wouldn't let him hold her, her little hands pressed against his chest, her dark eyes fixed on her mother.
Yun Zhaoxue could only carry two at a time.
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