After leaving the small temple, Fan Xian had been followed by three people. He didn't know if they were spies from the Brocade Guard or people from the palace, but no matter which side they were from, Fan Xian would not allow anyone to follow him today.
After pulling out these three spies, Fan Xian confirmed that no one was following him, and then he began his next step. After leaving the alley, he did not take a carriage, because any opportunity to come into contact with people could leave behind clues that Northern Qi could find. On the wet street, the number of people gradually increased. Using the crowd as cover, Fan Xian lowered his head and walked silently among the people of a foreign country.
According to the Overwatch Council's anti-tailing rules, he should be looking for a cloth shop and then go through a back door. After a few more turns, he would be able to reach his destination. But Fan Xian did not use this method. First, he was confident that no one was following him. Second, he thought that if he made too many turns and came into contact with too many people, it would be easier for him to be discovered. Along the way, he carefully snuck into an official's manor.
Coincidentally, it began to rain again in Shangjing. The rain was silent, but it was tangible, and it effectively hid his tracks.
...
...
Near the Musical House in the south of Shangjing, there was a residential area for commoners called Zhangjiadian. This place was a mix of good people and bad people, but it had been relatively safe these past few years. In addition, living expenses were cheap, so it gradually became lively. The small peddlers who did not have much capital began to muster up their courage and save up extra money. They bought a few shops on this street and began to do business.
This place was not like Xiushui Street, where daily necessities were sold. The prices were cheap, and the quality was not very good. The third shop from the east was such an ordinary place. This shop sold oil. The oil was palm oil from Dongyi. Although it was cheap and tasted good, the color was not very good. Especially during the winter, there was always a layer of white flocculation. So, generally, wealthy families with a bit of money would rather use rapeseed oil from the east of Qi.
Fortunately, there were always many people who did not have spare money, so this oil shop that did not even have a signboard could still survive. However, they did not dare to hire too many people. Other than an old shopkeeper, they only hired a helper and a waiter.
It had rained repeatedly today, so there were not many pedestrians in Zhangjiadian. Today, it seemed even more empty. However, the oil shop's business had nothing to do with the weather. Whoever ran out of oil would naturally come, so the old shopkeeper of the oil shop was not in a hurry. Instead, he moved a long stool and sat in front of his door, staring blankly at the rain outside the shop.
Perhaps the shopkeeper was really getting old. The young workers in the shop felt that the number of times the shopkeeper was in a daze this year was much more than before.
"Shopkeeper, I want to buy oil." A person stood at the entrance of the oil shop, blocking the dim sunlight outside. The old shopkeeper waved his hand, indicating for him to enter by himself.
The man took off his rain hat, revealing a plain face. He smiled, walked into the shop, and said to the yawning shop assistant, "Young man, I want to buy oil."
The shop assistant smiled and said, "What kind of oil do you want? Other than palm oil, our shop also has a new batch of rapeseed oil from Qi Donglai. " The shop assistant's attitude was respectful, but he was muttering to himself, Of course people who come to our shop want to buy oil. Isn't this nonsense?
The man said, "Give me half a catty of palm oil."
The shop assistant replied crisply, "Okay." He nimbly poured oil into the scale, and then found that the man's hands were empty. He couldn't help but scratch his head. "Sir, what do you use to carry it?"
"Do you have a pot here?"
"Yes, a wooden pot is three copper coins." The shop assistant was very happy to have made another business.
The man did not speak after taking the oil pot, as if he was still thinking about something.
The shop assistant asked curiously, "What else do you want?"
"Do you have sesame oil?"
…
…
"Do you have sesame oil?" The question was very soft and not very loud, but the old shopkeeper's withered right hand, which was sitting outside the shop and propping itself up on the bench, trembled slightly.
The shop assistant said unhappily, "We don't have such good goods in our shop. In the whole of Zhangjiadian, who can afford to eat sesame oil?" As he spoke, the old shopkeeper had already slowly walked back to the counter and waved his hand to signal the shop assistant to leave. He looked at the customer with a face full of smiles and explained, "Sesame oil is too expensive. Except for when it's used to worship the heavens, no one usually buys it. There's still half a year until the day of worship, so our shop hasn't stocked up yet."
The man smiled and said, "Other than worshipping the heavens, worshipping people is also possible."
The old shopkeeper's smile became even more respectful. He said, "Then tell me the quantity. We can order it on your behalf."
The conversation had reached a crucial point, so both of them spoke softly. However, that person's memory must be very good, so he was able to clearly state the weight of the next batch without any ambiguity. "I want to buy seven catties, three taels, nine qian and four hao … palm oil."
The old shopkeeper was calculating with his abacus, and then he looked troubled. He said, "There's a problem with the price. Sir, let's go into the inner room and talk."
"That's fine."
The old shopkeeper ordered the shop assistant to keep watch outside, and then he led the customer into the back room. The shop assistant now knew that the man wasn't here to buy oil, but to sell oil. He couldn't help but stick out his tongue, thinking that he was lucky he hadn't offended the owner of the sesame oil business.
— — —
This sesame oil merchant was, of course, Fan Xian in disguise. He followed the old shopkeeper into the back room, only to find that it was completely different from the meeting place he had imagined. It was actually bright and clear.
There was no tea, no small talk. The old shopkeeper stared into Fan Xian's eyes, and there was a trace of caution in his old, muddy eyes. He said, "Sir, you came from the south?"
Fan Xian nodded.
The old shopkeeper made a gesture of invitation. Fan Xian sighed in his heart, thinking that Yan Bingyun's procedure was a bit complicated. Helpless, he could only report another number that he had firmly memorized.
Only now did the old shopkeeper confirm the other party's identity. Only then did he relax. He took out a small knife dipped in poison from his sleeve with trembling hands and placed it in his hand. Fan Xian knew that if the man was a spy from the Kingdom of Qi, the old shopkeeper would have to kill him as soon as possible.
This was also why Yan Bingyun felt so humiliated after being captured alive.
The old shopkeeper looked at him and said, "Sir, what position do you hold in the Overwatch Council?"
Fan Xian shook his head. "I don't think the situation at hand allows us to be long-winded."
The old shopkeeper laughed bitterly. "It's already been a year. It's been a whole year since we've received any news from above. After the incident, the court hasn't sent anyone to take over. I thought the court was going to let us enter a period of silence."
The so-called period of silence was when, as soon as a gap appeared in the spy system of an enemy country, they would immediately stop all operations to avoid being exposed. This period could only be a month, or it could be … ten years.
Fan Xian frowned. Yan Bingyun's capture was the most unlikely thing to happen in a spy war between the two countries, because Yan Bingyun didn't need to carry intelligence back to his country and personally investigate such dangerous matters. But the Eldest Princess's move had paralyzed the entire network of the Overwatch Council in the north.
Yan Bingyun had always been in the hands of Northern Qi, and the court and the Overwatch Council didn't dare to take the risk of contacting them. That was why there had been a year of silence.
"I hope that after a year of silence, everyone's bodies haven't rusted."
"Sir, please be at ease." The old shopkeeper knew that if this man had come to take over Yan Bingyun's position, he must be an important figure in the Council, and he could faintly smell the scent of blood on him. The old shopkeeper's reply was especially careful. "Sir, please give the order."
"Three matters, some urgent, some slow." Fan Xian looked at the old man in front of him. He knew that this old man, as well as the countless other spies in the Council, must have had a difficult year. They were like wandering orphans with no home to return to, so he deliberately softened his tone. "The most urgent thing is to immediately find out where Xiao En is being held. The second matter is to investigate the real reason for the enmity between the Empress Dowager and the Emperor. "
This was something that Fan Xian had never understood. The young Emperor seemed to have eaten too much.
The old shopkeeper's expression didn't change. Although he knew that either of these two tasks would be extremely difficult, he only quietly waited for the man in front of him to issue the third order.
"Investigate Xiao En's matter quickly. The matters in the palace can wait." Fan Xian muttered to himself, "As for the third order, I think you should know that the palace treasury has been smuggling goods northward for the past few years."
The old shopkeeper narrowed his eyes. For the first time, a strange light appeared in his eyes. "That is a problem in Xinyang. Sir, has the Council finally decided to act?"
Fan Xian shook his head and quietly said, "Investigate … investigate thoroughly for me. However, don't touch a single hair on them. You have to control all of the joints that can be controlled. If the Council wants to act in the future, you have to make sure you have enough things in your hands to salvage this entire trail clean."
"Understood." The old shopkeeper knew that this was a long-term task that could be taken slowly.
But Fan Xian was thinking about something else. He didn't know if the matter with Master Cui was a test from his mother-in-law, or if she had something to ask of him, so he had to bear with it for now. Although Xinyang had never known that Fan Xian was the culprit behind the incident with Yan Zhi and Guangxin Palace, the conflict in the great hall of the Ministry of Justice had gradually brought the conflict between him and the Eldest Princess to the surface.
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