Proud Feather

Chapter 136 The Key to Fate
“I am a servant born into the Wei family and was chosen to be a guard when I was young. Because I was quite clever, I gradually gained the trust of the head of the family. Eight years ago, the head of the family said that he had a task for me, so I concealed my background and went to the capital.”

"In the past few years in Beijing, I have changed many identities. I have worked as a driver, a vegetable vendor, and since the year before last, I have been working in a bookstore."

Chu Ling nodded. No wonder Ge Dahai looked so refined; it turned out he was using a disguise.

"What have you been doing in Beijing these past few years?" Jiang Shijun asked.

Ge Dahai replied, "Gather all kinds of information and pass it on to Fifth Master."

Jiang Shijun narrowed his eyes: "The Fifth Master you mentioned, is it Fifth Master Pang of the Jingping Marquis's Mansion?"

"Yes……"

Jiang Shijun glanced at Chu Ling, and their eyes met, understanding each other perfectly.

This Ge Dahai is an intelligence agent, and he seems to be of high rank, likely acting as a liaison.

What kind of information are you looking for?

Ge Dahai paused for a moment, then replied, "...The Eastern Palace, mainly news from the Eastern Palace." Having come this far, he decided to be blunt and tell everything, "Every few days, all sorts of people come to make contact, informing us of news about the Eastern Palace. Some are palace servants, some are eunuchs, some are guards, and some are even blacksmiths or street vendors..."

Chu Ling listened silently, a pang of pain in her heart.

It turns out that my older brother had been under close surveillance for a long time.

"I also started by gathering information from all over the place. Fifth Master saw that I was doing a good job, so he became a liaison at the bookstore. Would the princess like the list?"

Ge Dahai looked at her tentatively.

Chu Ling remained calm, and Jiang Shijun said, "Tell me, and I'll send someone to get it."

Ge Dahai replied, "You can't get in; there are other people inside that bookstore."

"So, if you don't go back, people will find out?"

“Of course.” Ge Dahai looked at them cautiously. “I remember most of the list. You can memorize it.”

Ge Dahai glanced at Chu Ling, nodded, and told the young man to bring paper and pen.

Ge Dahai was covered in injuries and his face showed pain, but in order to gain merit, he could only endure the pain and write.

Before long, the paper was almost finished. He thought about it several times, put down his pen, and handed the paper over: "I remember these. Most of the people who come often are here. There are some who don't come often, and I can't remember them very well, or I may have missed a few."

Jiang Shijun took it, glanced at it, and handed it to Chu Ling.

Chu Ling flipped through them one by one, her brows furrowing slightly.

Ge Dahai wrote down code names, which she naturally didn't recognize, but he also wrote down his general identity and appearance, which made her heart pound.

These people weren't of high status, yet they were everywhere, densely packed together. She could almost see her eldest brother's family being watched by countless eyes, their every move being monitored! No wonder her sister-in-law and Jin'er died unjustly in her previous life; with so many spies, even just one or two who could get close enough to harm them!

"Are these people still around?" she asked.

Ge Dahai replied, "After the Crown Prince passed away, most of them were no longer around. Some left on their own, and some were replaced."

Chu Ling nodded and handed it back to Jiang Shijun.

Jiang Shijun understood what she meant. He would check again later to see if any had slipped through the net, so as not to harm the Crown Princess and the young prince.

"Besides that, what's the deal with Wenxianju?" he continued.

Ge Dahai replied, "The abbot of Dahuai Temple is also one of my informants. About half a year ago, I received a recipe for incense from him and gave it to Fifth Master. Not long after, Fifth Master asked about the recipe, so I invited the abbot of Dahuai Temple to meet at Wenxianju."

“Jinghui appears to be compassionate, but he is actually a greedy and greedy person. I only revealed my identity slightly, and he quickly surrendered. He not only handed over the incense recipe, but also told me how to combine it with poison.”

“I will hand these over to Fifth Master intact, and then…” “Then what?” Jiang Shijun pressed.

Ge Dahai glanced cautiously at Chu Ling and whispered, "Then Fifth Master took me to see the master..."

We've finally gotten to this point.

Chu Ling's fingers gripped the cup lid, her gaze calm yet chilling as she stared at him: "Who is the master?"

“I have never seen his face.” Ge Dahai did not dare to meet her gaze and lowered his head. “When we met, there was a gauze curtain between us, and I only saw a blurry shadow.”

Jiang Shijun glanced at Chu Ling and pressed, "Where did you meet this person?"

Ge Dahai replied, "On the painted boat."

Chu Ling's lips curled slightly. They really knew how to pick a place; a pleasure boat would make it impossible to trace them.

“However…” Ge Dahai continued, “Although I have never seen what my master looks like, I can guess that his identity is not simple.”

"Oh?"

A flicker of fear crossed Ge Dahai's eyes as he slowly continued, "He... he wore a jade belt around his waist, which was accidentally revealed once; it had python patterns on it..."

A jade belt with python pattern! Exclusively for a prince!
Chu Ling remained surprisingly calm and continued, "How old is he? Do you remember his voice?"

Ge Dahai replied, "I remember, he sounded to be in his early twenties, definitely no more than thirty."

Chu Ling stopped speaking, and Jiang Shijun had nothing more to say.

There are only a few princes in the capital. Prince Fu and Prince Kang are both old men, and there is only one young man—Prince Xin!
After a long while, she spoke softly: "So, you know who you're working for, right?"

"Yes." Ge Dahai lowered his head, his body trembling.

"So you also know who those poisons were used on, right?"

Ge Dahai swallowed hard and replied, "I didn't know at first, but I found out when news of the Crown Prince's death spread..."

Chu Ling nodded, her eyes slightly reddening, and looked at him: "You should be very happy, right? The master behind you is such an extraordinary person."

Ge Dahai lowered his head and dared not speak.

Chu Ling was filled with anger, but she knew it wasn't the time to vent it, so she tried her best to think calmly.

Ge Dahai confessed, continuing this lead. But how could she use it to turn it into irrefutable evidence? A single piece of evidence is insufficient; his testimony alone is not enough. Moreover, witnesses could recant, making Ge Dahai unreliable…

"The past is over, why do you need to buy medicine again?" Chu Ling continued to ask.

Ge Dahai hesitated.

Jiang Shijun coldly shouted, "Is there anything else you haven't confessed? Are you trying to hide something at a time like this? Do you really not want to live anymore?"

"No!" Ge Dahai steeled his heart, kowtowed suddenly, and pleaded, "Princess, I won't live if I can't go back! I'll say whatever you want, I just beg you to save my life!"

Chu Ling looked at him: "What do you mean?"

Ge Dahai raised his hand, revealing the inside of his upper arm, where there was a noticeable purplish-red patch.

She recognized the thing immediately, her expression changed, and Jiang Shijun exclaimed, "Poison? You've been poisoned?"

"Yes!" Only then did Ge Dahai finally reveal his true weakness, "I have been poisoned and must take the antidote regularly, otherwise I will die. Princess, I am willing to serve you, I only beg you to spare my life!"

　Sorry I'm late again today. I have a biopsy tomorrow, and I can't sleep well tonight. I hope it goes well, otherwise it'll be a bit complicated to handle.

　　(End of this chapter)