"How should I reply, sir?"
This was a crucial point. Fan Xian didn't know how Yan Bingyun had managed to communicate with his subordinates, so he didn't dare act rashly. He only said quietly, "Within two months, there shouldn't be any specific executors coming to Shangjing, but I will temporarily assign someone to be responsible for contacting you."
The old shopkeeper looked worried. "Sir, please be careful. Although the Brocade Guard of Northern Qi couldn't compare to the Red Cavalry of Northern Wei in the past 20 years since Xiao En was captured, I still have to consider the children under me."
Fan Xian nodded. This was why the Overwatch Council hadn't dared to take the risk of contacting these "orphans" even after a year. He said quietly, "Don't worry. The person I'm looking for is the one least likely to be followed in the Council."
Without question, he was talking about Wang Qinian, the one who had spent his entire life following others, but had never been followed by anyone.
He couldn't stay in this place for long. After saying a few more words, Fan Xian got up and prepared to leave. Before he left, he suddenly said, "Change the secret signal."
"Yes, sir." The old shopkeeper bowed slightly.
"One three one four five two seven seven seven seven seven seven."
"Yes, sir." The old shopkeeper repeated the seemingly random number without a single mistake.
Fan Xian nodded, somewhat satisfied. He returned to the front hall and saluted the old shopkeeper like a merchant, not forgetting to carry the two pots of tung oil in his hands. Seeing the merchant leave, the young shopkeeper joked, "Boss, you're ready to bring in the oil so early?"
The old shopkeeper looked at the only shopkeeper in the shop and smiled. "Yes, there's a big deal coming."
The shopkeeper thought to himself, could his shabby oil shop be like those oil merchants in Dongyi and do a few big deals? A few hundred catties of business was a big deal. The young man couldn't help but look down on the shopkeeper's lack of ambition.
— — —
On the way, Fan Xian carefully disposed of the oil in his hands. He didn't dare give it to the beggars on the street, nor did he dare throw it away. One of the most important rules of the Overwatch Council's secret agents was not to underestimate the enemy's ability. Although Shen Zhong, the commander of the Brocade Guard of Northern Qi, did not appear to be very powerful in that rainy night in the brothel, Fan Xian knew that was definitely just a facade.
After cleanly disposing of the oil pot, Fan Xian set out on his way back to the diplomatic mission. The sky was already dark, and there were few people on the road. As he passed the arch bridge over the Yuquan River in Shangjing, Fan Xian rubbed his face a few times under the canopy, wiping away all of the rouge and rouge from the young lady's home. He squeezed it into a small yellow and red powder in his palm.
His palm gently stroked the lion on the stone arch bridge. The powder fell from his palm and quietly mixed with the river water under the bridge. No one could find any trace of it.
Descending the bridge and passing through the alley, Fan Xian emerged from the side of a house. He had already restored his original appearance. He had taken off his rain hat and flipped his robe. He looked just like he had when he had just parted with Haitang. His face was delicate and his expression elegant.
…
…
He swaggered back to the diplomatic mission. The Brocade Guard, who had been drinking tea for many days, looked at him strangely. Fan Xian knew that the news of the three spies' deaths must have reached Shen Zhong's ears. But the Brocade Guard could only swallow this loss. As for when they would be able to retaliate, that was not within Fan Xian's scope of consideration.
In the most secluded courtyard of the courtyard, under the long eaves, Yan Bingyun was lying on a low couch. The couch was piled with soft brocade blankets. Although Fan Xian had treated his wounds, the torment he had suffered over the past year could not be healed in a short period of time. His body was injured all over, and could not withstand strong contact. So Fan Xian thought of a way to bury him in a pile of cotton. Fortunately, the weather had not been too hot.
Although he knew that this indifferent northern spy chief was now physically and mentally exhausted and needed time to rest, Fan Xian still felt a bit ashamed to disturb him. Because in these last few days in Northern Qi, he had to rely on Yan Bingyun's methods.
After a brief explanation of the day's situation, Yan Bingyun looked at Fan Xian gloomily and said quietly, "I hope you did not leave behind any traces. Otherwise, if all my subordinates were to be uprooted, even if you are the Commissioner of the Council, I will definitely report you."
Fan Xian shook his head. "I know you have more power than just this line of communication. Although one-way communication is safe, the efficiency is too low. You must think of a way to move the other areas as well. But I don't think I have the time to deal with them. I am going to hand them over to Wang Qinian. What do you think of this proposal?"
A strange look flashed in Yan Bingyun's eyes. This was the youngest high-ranking official of the Council. These days, his performance could only be described as average. His greatest strength was that he was good at listening to Yan Bingyun's opinions. But today, he had exposed the northern network with a single sentence. It seemed that he had some ability.
"I am not worried about Wang Qinian …" He thought for a moment. "Master Wang is one of the earliest people to be hidden in the north."
Fan Xian was slightly surprised. He had not expected Wang Qinian to have done such a thing. He heard Yan Bingyun say, "According to your plan, we will cooperate with Shang Shanhu to dig out Xiao En's whereabouts. But I do not want the people of the Council to get too involved."
Fan Xian agreed to his request. He knew that Yan Bingyun did not want the people hidden in the north to sacrifice too many lives for the sake of the internal strife of the court. "Don't worry. I know what I am doing."
Yan Bingyun frowned. "Shang Shanhu is a lion. Unfortunately, in the deep waters of Shangjing, he could not find a place to borrow his strength. That is why he sought the help of the Eldest Princess. As officials, it is only natural that you and I act according to the will of the Eldest Princess. However, you must know your limits. I believe that the day Shang Shanhu makes his move to save Xiao En will be the day the Empress Dowager and Shen Zhong purge the army. "
Fan Xian knew that this cold-faced official of the Overwatch Council had guessed what he wanted to do, so he didn't say anything more. He only said quietly, "This is exactly what I want to see. I will not underestimate Shen Zhong's ability to monitor Shangjing … let them fight it out. In any case, it will not harm the Kingdom of Qing."
Leaving the rear courtyard, Fan Xian found Wang Qinian and gave him the task. Wang Qinian remembered the string of numbers clearly. He knew that in the following days, he would have to shoulder this dangerous and important task. He was not the old shopkeeper of the oil shop. He was Fan Xian's most trusted aide, and so he gathered his courage and asked, "One three one four five two seven seven seven seven seven … Master, this string of numbers seems to represent something."
"All my life, I love money money money." Fan Xian laughed. In the dialect of Danzhou, the pronunciation of money and seven was very similar.
— — — —
The old shopkeeper of the oil shop had been doing well these past few days. He had sold a few barrels of oil, and a piece of information hidden in the dark began to circulate through the northern department of the Fourth Bureau of the Overwatch Council, which had been silent for a year. It did not take long for the spies, who had disguised themselves as the various commoners of Northern Qi, to receive their first task after a year.
The information began to be fed back through various channels. It was summarized at several points on the line, and finally delivered to the oil shop in Zhangjiadian.
At the same time, the Qing diplomatic mission held a few banquets, and their drinking capacity had increased considerably. Naturally, shopkeeper Sheng of Xiushui Street could not help but make a few trips to the diplomatic mission's courtyard, and flatter Fan Xian a few times. He believed that from Fan Xian, he had obtained the information that Xinyang and Shang Shanhu had always wanted.
The person who handled a lot of information and analyzed it, and finally came to a relatively accurate conclusion was Yan Bingyun. Over the past few days, the sound of his coughing could often be heard coming from the rear courtyard.
Fan Xian did not have much to do. After all, he was the head of the diplomatic mission. Drinking and greeting were the proper things to do. On this day, he entered the palace accompanied by Haitang. A few days ago, Haitang had told him that the empress dowager had invited him to the palace to discuss important matters.
Drinking, for Fan Xian, had always been a happy thing, and drinking with the empress dowager of an enemy country was not a depressing matter. But when Fan Xian returned to the diplomatic mission, all of his officials and subordinates knew that he was in a bad mood, but no one knew why.
Inside the room, Fan Xian looked coldly at Lin Jing. "In this diplomatic mission, am I the head envoy, or is it you, Sir Lin?"
Lin Jing was uneasy. "Why do you say that, Sir Fan?" he asked nervously. "Naturally, the diplomatic mission will follow your lead."
"Good, good, good." Fan Xian laughed. "Then tell me, Sir Lin. Why did the empress dowager say that the princess of Northern Qi was going to be married to the great prince of our dynasty? What a big deal! Why was it that I did not know about this even after I left? You had already made all the arrangements for the princess' marriage at the Office of the Grand Herald and Taichang Temple. Only now did I know that I had to send off the bride on my way back! "
Lin Jing let out a sigh of relief. So that was what had happened. He laughed. "Sir," he replied, "please do not blame me and Sir Lin Wen. The diplomatic mission only passed on the empress dowager's handwritten letter to the empress dowager of Northern Qi. How could we, the officials, have known that it was two women who had decided on the marriage of their own children in the letter? When word of this came out of the palace, what could we say? We were supposed to inform you of this, Sir, but you have been away from the diplomatic mission for a few days, so we were delayed. "
Lin Jing rolled his eyes. He knew that this young man was a little angry. He smiled and handed over a letter. "The official letter will arrive soon. This is a secret letter from the court, expressing the attitude of His Majesty and the empress dowager. Of course, they are willing to carry out this marriage... In fact, there are two other happy events that I wish to congratulate you, Sir Fan."
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