Becoming a literary master starting from the story of Minglan

A few days later, at the Sheng residence.

To ensure he wouldn't fall too far behind in his studies for the upcoming imperial examinations, Sheng Changquan, despite his physical disability, was using his uninjured left hand, somewhat clumsily but with utmost concentration, to peruse a volume of "Essentials of Policy Essays." His brow was slightly furrowed, as if he were pondering something.

The dim candlelight cast a soft shadow on his serene profile, and his tightly wrapped right hand rested on a specially made cushion, silent yet striking.

"Master."

A very soft call rang out at the study door.

Xu Changqing entered silently, as if blending into the shadows, carrying a hint of the cool night breeze.

He stopped three steps away from the desk, bowed slightly, and said in a very low but clear voice, "There's news."

Sheng Changquan did not look up; his gaze remained fixed on the book. He simply tapped the edge of the page with his left index finger, signaling him to continue.

“Zhou Xueniang went to ‘Tingyuxuan’ to pay more money to urge ‘Guoshanfeng’ to take action.” Xu Changqing spoke steadily and clearly. “We managed to bribe ‘Bald-tailed Rat’, a confidant of ‘Guoshanfeng’ who was a heavy drinker and a loose tongue, through a friend in the underworld nicknamed ‘Mudfish’.”

"That guy lost all his money at the gambling den last night, and then 'Mudfish' made him drink several jugs of cheap liquor, leaving him as drunk as a lump of mud. 'Mudfish' pretended to sympathize with him and, through some trickery, managed to pry the key information out of him!"

"Lin Qinshuang seems to have bribed a second-class gatekeeper named Zhang Laosi at the west gate of our mansion. This man is addicted to gambling and has a huge debt to pay. The two parties agreed that at midnight the day after tomorrow, when the guards in the mansion are changing shifts and are tired, Zhang Laosi will secretly open the side gate, leaving a crack."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "'Guoshanfeng' has already received the hefty deposit from Lin Qinshuang and has gathered four desperados who are hiding in the abandoned dye house 'Yongchangji' in the west of the city. The plan is to sneak into the mansion through the gap in the side gate opened by Zhang Laosi at the end of Hai hour the day after tomorrow. The target is clear—to go straight for Zeyutang and completely cripple your right hand, young master."

"The method... judging from that bald-tailed rat's drunken talk, it was probably caused by dismembering and breaking bones to disguise him as a thief who broke in during the chaos."

The intelligence that Xu Changqing brought back was cold and precise.

His ability to so clearly grasp the treacherous schemes of Linxi Pavilion and "Guoshanfeng" was not due to the vast secret power he possessed at that time, but rather to the connections and information channels he had accumulated over the years among all walks of life in Bianjing through his superior intellect and deliberate cultivation, coupled with the shrewdness, prudence, and action of his trusted confidant, Xu Changqing.

Inside and outside the Sheng Mansion, the seemingly monolithic Linxi Pavilion is actually full of loopholes in the eyes of those who truly care.

Zhang Laosi, the gatekeeper, was a man Sheng Changquan had also heard of. He was a compulsive gambler who had accumulated huge gambling debts and was already struggling to breathe due to the compounding interest.

Xu Changqing learned about a friend he had made in his early years in the streets named "Mudfish"—a seemingly insignificant peddler who was shrewd, well-informed, and especially familiar with the thugs who ran several underground gambling dens in the west of the city.

Entrusted by Xu Changqing, "Mudfish" had long been keeping an eye on Zhang Laosi, who was desperate to lose money, at the gambling den.

After several "chance encounters," "Mudfish" first deliberately had "bad luck" at the gambling table, losing some small money to Zhang Laosi. Then, when Zhang Laosi had lost everything and was being pressured by his creditors to the point of jumping into the river, "righteously" lent him a sum of "life-saving money," quickly building a closer relationship and becoming Zhang Laosi's "good brother."

The night Zhou Xueniang secretly met with Zhang Laosi, "Mudfish's" cousin happened to be "strolling" nearby and witnessed the two of them whispering and plotting in the corner.

Afterwards, "Mudfish" took the opportunity of treating Zhang Laosi to drinks to "calm his nerves." After a few drinks, coupled with the "brotherly" sentiment and the implication of "let's make money together," he easily tricked the gambler into revealing that "someone had offered him a large sum of money to open a door on the night after tomorrow." He even revealed most of the details, including the amount of the deposit and the specific time of the agreement. As for Zhou Xueniang's whereabouts, they were even less noteworthy.

Zhou Xueniang thought her disguise was flawless, but little did she know that every time she left the mansion, her whereabouts were being monitored by Xu Changqing's simple but effective "spies".

These "eyes" were not professional spies, but rather the old man who sold pancakes in the back alley of the Sheng Mansion year-round, the honest and unassuming cobbler on the street corner, or a few peddlers who carried loads on their shoulders and walked the streets and alleys and had some nodding acquaintance with Xu Changqing.

Xu Changqing only casually mentioned a few things during their daily activities, asking them to be on the lookout for anyone acting suspiciously or frequently entering or leaving the back alley of the Sheng residence.

They don't track; they're only responsible for observing within their familiar "territory" whether any targets matching the description appear, when they appear, and roughly in which direction they go.

Zhou Xueniang thought she had shaken off any possible tails by taking a roundabout route, but little did she know that the time she left the mansion and the general route she took had already been confirmed by these scattered "eyes" in a relay, and finally pointed to that chaotic area in the west of the city.

Based on Xu Changqing's judgment that "Tingyuxuan is suspected to be a spy for Prince Yong" pieced together from other fragmented information, and the informant's description of "Guoshanfeng" Zhao Mang's highly recognizable physical characteristics—broad shoulders and thick back like a bear, a slightly bowed gait, and slightly bulging temples—Xu Changqing concluded that the person who had contact with Zhou Xueniang was most likely "Guoshanfeng".

The credit for identifying the most important abandoned dye workshop stronghold, which is also the location where "Guoshanfeng" was hiding, should be attributed to the Tiger Might Escort Agency.

Sheng Changquan instructed Xu Changqing to inform Wang Feng of the Tiger Might Escort Agency that "Guoshanfeng" might appear at "Tingyuxuan".

Wang Feng had a subordinate nicknamed "Ground-Sweeping Knife" named Sun Xiaoyan. Although his fighting skills were not top-notch, his ability to track and hide was first-rate, especially in the complex urban environment where he was good at surveillance.

Sun Xiaoyan was ordered to stake out the vicinity of "Tingyuxuan". Sure enough, shortly after Zhou Xueniang left, a burly man with features very similar to "Guoshanfeng" left furtively with several menacing-looking subordinates.

With his thorough knowledge of every street and alley in Bianjing and his excellent concealment skills, Sun Xiaoyan followed closely behind, like a persistent leech.

The other party tried to take a detour several times, but he cleverly avoided their sight each time. Finally, he confirmed that the group had entered the most dilapidated "Yongchangji" dyehouse in the abandoned workshop area in the west of the city.

These seemingly fragmented pieces of information from different channels—the drunken ramblings of the gambling doorman, the observations of the street spies, and the tracking by the allied bodyguards—were like trickling streams that eventually converged, sorted, and verified in the hands of Xu Changqing, the "hub," piecing together a complete and clear picture of the poisonous plot.

At this moment, he stood before Sheng Changquan, succinctly reporting the core intelligence: "...Young Master, the situation is roughly as follows. Lin Qinshuang is desperate and 'Guoshanfeng' is greedy and reckless. The two sides hit it off immediately, and the next day or night is the agreed-upon date for their operation. Zhang Laosi's side gate is the entrance they have chosen."

Sheng Changquan finally looked up from his book. In the candlelight, his eyes were as calm as a deep pool, without the slightest ripple.

The tapping sound had stopped sometime ago.

His mind raced, calculating every step that would take under the cover of night: the enemy's numbers, routes, and intentions; and how his own forces could leverage their advantage and launch a counterattack…

In a flash, a complete counter-strategy had taken shape, and a cold, all-knowing smile curled at the corner of his lips. (End of Chapter)