“Found the evidence?!”
“Where’s the evidence?!”
All eyes turned to me their gazes filled with scrutiny and doubt.
Standing at the main room’s door, unflinching, I repeated firmly: “I found the evidence.”
Lin Chaoqing’s sharp gaze passed Jiaotu, landing on my masked face: “And you are?”
Yunyang stepped forward, shielding half my body: “He’s a Harrier of our Secret Spy Division.”
“A Harrier, not yet a full spy, likely hiding his face for a special reason,” Lin Chaoqing said gravely. “Please enlighten me, Harrier. What evidence is in the book? If you’re lying, you’ll join me in the Inner Prison.”
I adjusted my gray cloth mask, looking at Yunyang: “Can I speak?”
“Speak.”
I nodded: “Lord Yunyang, take out the two books and show them to Commander Lin.”
Yunyang pulled the books from his robe and handed them to Lin Chaoqing.
Lin flipped through them briefly, saying flatly: “An ordinary book. Where’s the intelligence?”
I explained calmly: “If you’re not familiar with The Four Books Annotated, it’s hard to spot. The method is simple—just compare it to the original.”
“The original?” Yunyang snatched the books back, opening one, while Jiaotu opened the other, both reading by moonlight.
I said: “The original text says ‘attained in the heart and not lost.’ The character for ‘lost’ is ‘shi.’ But Zhou Chengyi, in his copy, wrote ‘attained in the heart and not served,’ using ‘shi’ for ‘affair’ instead.”
“Look further, on the third page. Where it should say ‘sincerity’ with ‘cheng,’ Zhou Chengyi wrote ‘success’ with a different ‘cheng.’”
These altered characters were scattered across pages, hard to notice without word-for-word comparison to the original.
I’d initially thought Zhou Chengyi might use hidden word, verification, phonetic, or dissection methods—historically documented techniques.
But after analysis, he used a simpler method.
Lin Chaoqing compared the books, confirming my words, his brows easing: “What’s the full message in the book?”
I said: “Time was short, so I couldn’t compare the entire book. I’ve only decoded one message: ‘Affair complete, the Division Lord will meet you.’”
“Division Lord!” Yunyang’s eyes blazed. “You’re sure it mentions the Division Lord? I thought a Division Officer was big—didn’t expect the Jing Dynasty’s Military Intelligence Division Lord to come to Luocheng himself!”
Jiaotu said gravely: “We must send this news to the capital fast. For the Division Lord to come south, it’s huge… What did the Liu family do to earn such trust?”
The tense atmosphere in the residence eased. I felt everyone exhale in relief.
Lin Chaoqing sheathed his sword. Jiaotu wiped her thumb across her forehead, her cut healing instantly, leaving no trace.
Lin Chaoqing looked at me steadily: “Young man, you’re just a Harrier in the Secret Spy Division, without rank. Why not join my Chief Punishment Division?”
Yunyang: “Hm?”
Jiaotu: “Hm?”
Lin Chaoqing continued: “I know you found these clues and evidence—something Yunyang and Jiaotu couldn’t do. With your skill, join my Chief Punishment Division, and I’ll ensure your rise.”
“Lin Chaoqing, poaching my man to my face? Have you no shame?” Yunyang snapped.
“In your Secret Spy Division, he’s just a tool for your merits. In my Chief Punishment Division, he’d serve the Emperor and the realm,” Lin Chaoqing sneered.
“He’s my Secret Spy Division man!”
“He’s not officially yours yet. If he agrees, I’ll write a memorial tonight to commend him,” Lin Chaoqing said. “Can you two do that?”
Yunyang and Jiaotu exchanged glances, hesitating over losing their merit.
Lin Chaoqing smirked: “Let him choose.”
All eyes turned to me, my expression hidden under the gray cloth.
After a long silence, I said: “Thank you for your kindness, Commander Lin, but I prefer working under Lords Yunyang and Jiaotu.”
Lin Chaoqing said: “Fair enough. To each their own. But if you change your mind, find me at Luocheng’s Chief Punishment Division office. I’ll be here for two months.”
“Thank you, Commander Lin.”
As we spoke, commotion erupted outside. The Liu family’s hundreds swarmed, surrounding Liu Shiyu’s residence front and back!
Someone shouted: “Lord Yunyang, clever golden cicada trick, but our Liu family isn’t soft. Give us an explanation, or I, Liu Mingxian, will avenge my grandfather today. Let the court behead or exile me to Lingnan—I’ll have no regrets!”
We heard firewood being stacked and oil poured outside, the acrid smell hitting us!
Inside, everyone exchanged looks.
Lin Chaoqing spoke first: “Li Big Pie, Li Big Cannon, take men and hold off the Liu family. No one burns this house, or kill without mercy!”
He turned to me: “Where’s the evidence to convict the Liu family? How do we know Zhou Chengyi’s message was for them?”
Tonight’s trouble stemmed from a Liu family scholar’s death in the Inner Prison. Though the Secret Spy Division found key intelligence, the book only showed the Division Lord’s coming south. How did it prove Zhou meant it for the Liu family?
Without proof, the Liu family wouldn’t relent.
I held up the book: “Everyone, how many chapters does The Four Books Annotated have?”
Lin Chaoqing answered calmly: “Thirty-nine chapters, each printed separately, thirty-nine volumes.”
I asked: “And ‘On Governance II’ is which chapter?”
Lin Chaoqing replied: “The eighth…”
I nodded: “No one starts copying from the eighth chapter. They’d start from the first, second, and so on. I didn’t find the first seven chapters’ handwritten copies at Zhou Chengyi’s, so he must’ve sent them out. That means he used borrowing and copying as a pretext to pass intelligence seven times.”
Lin Chaoqing realized: “Find those seven handwritten copies with Zhou’s writing, and we’ll know who received the intelligence!”
“Exactly,” I held up the book. “This is the seventh chapter, On Learning I, found in Liu Shiyu’s house, in Zhou Chengyi’s handwriting. It convicts Liu Shiyu.”
My words rang like thunder, piercing the night’s fog, revealing the truth.
Everyone searched the bookshelf. I checked elsewhere in the room. Opening a cabinet in the inner room, I froze.
As it opened, the dormant icy current surged again.
The cabinet held wooden boxes. I opened them discreetly: the first had two white jade bracelets, the second account books, the third… a ginseng root!
I glanced back, placing the box on the table, reaching for the ginseng.
Before I touched it, Lin Chaoqing’s voice drifted over: “Young man, you can’t touch a convicted official’s belongings. The Chief Punishment Division’s key duty is preventing Secret Spy Division members from pocketing spoils. Put it back—the Inner Minister will send someone to catalog the raid.”
I: “…”
I thought Secret Spy Division types, raiding and killing, could grab loot freely… No wonder Yunyang winced when I haggled—he was watched by the Chief Punishment Division!
I tapped the box, thinking, then put it back. Returning to the bookshelf, I grabbed a book, flipped through it, and tucked it back.
The others found all seven prior chapters of
The Four Books Annotated, confirming Zhou Chengyi’s handwriting!
Yunyang exhaled: “We won! The Liu case is closed. Whether Old Master Liu died of rage or illness, the Secret Spy Division acted justly—big merit!”
Lin Chaoqing said casually: “Hope you’re not so lucky next time. You got fortunate. If you face the Hu, Xu, or Chen families next, no one might save you.”
Yunyang sneered: “Thanks for the reminder, Commander Lin.”
He adjusted his hair and wrinkled clothes, gathering the books: “Let’s go—show the evidence and shut the Liu family up!”
“Wait,” Lin Chaoqing said coldly. “No one leaves with spoils. Check them.”
Yunyang and Jiaotu showed their sleeves, patting their clothes: “Just some copper coins—no spoils. We know the rules!”
Lin Chaoqing looked at me. I showed my sleeves, patting my clothes: “No spoils here either.”
“Good.”
We headed out. At the door, a small black cat rose from the rafters, stretching.
Dark Cloud leapt down, grabbing the ginseng I’d returned to the cabinet, then took the book I’d flipped through from the shelf.
The black, fluffy cat scanned the room, ensuring no one noticed, then climbed back to the rafters, slipping into the night through a gap.