The Empress has abandoned me? I'll support a new emperor and destroy your kingdom!

The faint rustling of leaves and footsteps outside the door, though deliberately suppressed, were as clear as the beat of a drum in the dark to Su Che's extraordinary perception. He didn't stop, walking back to his study with an unchanging expression. The moment he closed the door behind him, his eyes sharpened like knives.

"At least two hundred men, lightly armored and armed with crossbows, divided into four teams, have surrounded the mansion and blocked the front and back streets." Su Che's voice was very low, but his speech was fast and clear. "Under the willow tree outside the southeast corner of the wall, there is a group of three sentries, who should be experts."

From the shadows of the inner room, Zhao Jianing quietly appeared, his face no longer showing any confusion, only the cold, stern expression of a soldier. He had clearly heard the commotion as well, and upon hearing this, his eyes flashed with a chilling light: "They dare to force their way into the Marquis's residence? This is an imperial residence!"

"Just a cage bestowed by the emperor." Su Che walked behind the desk, his fingertips tracing an inconspicuous pattern on the surface. The bookshelf on the side silently slid open a crack, revealing a narrow entrance just wide enough for one person to pass through, from which a faint light shone. "Come in and we'll talk."

The two quickly entered the secret room, and the bookshelves were returned to their original positions. The room was small, containing only a table, two chairs, a perpetually burning oil lamp, and several locked iron cabinets. The walls seemed to be specially made, providing excellent sound insulation.

"Sir, this is..." Zhao Jianing looked around the secret room, unaware that Su Che had set up such a trap in the imperial residence in just a few days.

"A cunning rabbit has three burrows, let alone a man?" Su Che gestured for him to sit down, then took out a small copper key from his pocket, opened one of the iron cabinets, and took out several rolls of blueprints and a thin booklet. "The day this mansion was bestowed upon me, I had Pang Xiaopan arrange for absolutely reliable craftsmen to secretly renovate this place under the guise of repairs. Those people outside don't dare to openly rush in yet; they're waiting, waiting for a more 'legitimate' reason, or waiting for the next decree from the palace. But this encirclement itself is an attitude; we're already considered turtles in a jar."

Zhao Jianing's face was ashen. He lightly slammed his fist on the hard black iron wooden table: "This is outrageous! Sir, why... why did you agree to hand over power so readily? The Shadow Guards and the Listening Guards are your life's work, and they are our only remaining support in the capital! Handing them over to that good-for-nothing Gao Tianci is tantamount to cutting off our own arm! This humble general... truly doesn't understand!" His words were filled with suppressed anger, and even more so with deep doubts about Su Che's decision.

Su Che didn't answer directly; instead, he pushed a thin booklet in front of Zhao Jianing. "Take a look at this."

Zhao Jianing opened the booklet with a puzzled look. Instead of names or contact information, it contained seemingly random symbols, numbers, and simple diagrams, interspersed with a few place names. "This is…"

"This is the real 'Shadow' command mobilization code, as well as the identification method and emergency activation code for 72 of the 360 ​​hidden agents, which are 'hidden agents of hidden agents'." Su Che's tone was calm, as if he were talking about the weather. "It is 70% the same as the list that is about to be handed over, but the most crucial 30% of the core, as well as all the verification, countermeasures and backdoors, are here, and in my mind."

Zhao Jianing suddenly looked up, his eyes flashing with a sharp light: "Sir, you mean...?"

"What I gave Gao Tianci was both bait and a cage." Su Che traced the simple map on the booklet with his fingertip. "The list is real, most of the locations are real, and even the initial contact information matches. But the people inside either already received orders for a silent transfer, or they have dual identities, and their allegiance has never changed. If Gao Tianci follows the map to receive them, he will only catch some insignificant peripheral figures, or... trigger the 'surprise' I've set in advance."

A cold smile curled at the corner of his lips: "As for the Shadow Guards, out of the three hundred, one hundred and twenty are brothers I arranged to 'die in battle,' 'retire due to injury,' or 'disappear' three years ago under various pretexts. They have long since gone into hiding, scattered in various places, and only obey my orders. Of the remaining one hundred and eighty, more than sixty are true confidants whom I have secretly observed and recruited over the past few years. Tomorrow, Gao Tianci can take over no more than one hundred, and figuring out which of them are human and which are ghosts will be enough to give him a headache."

Zhao Jianing was deeply moved and shocked. He had never imagined that Su Che, while loyally assisting Lin Chu, had secretly laid so many contingency plans! This cunning and foresight sent chills down his spine, yet also made his blood boil.

In his past life, Su Che was foolish enough to trust Lin Chu and reveal all his trump cards. Looking back now, it was truly not worth it...

"Sir, your wisdom and foresight are truly admirable!" Zhao Jianing clasped his hands in a fist salute, his doubts dispelled and replaced by admiration. "However, now that the mansion is surrounded, how can we turn the tables on them? And how can we escape?"

"There's no rush to escape. They're surrounding us but not attacking right now, firstly because they're wary of my title 'Marquis of Anning,' secondly because they're hesitant to act rashly and are unsure how many tricks I still have up my sleeve, and thirdly..." Su Che looked towards the only ventilation shaft in the secret chamber, where a very faint, rhythmic knocking sound came from—three long and two short. "Our Ministry of Revenue official has arrived."

He got up and pressed a few times on another part of the wall. A brick moved aside, revealing an even smaller hole. Soon, a slightly plump head wrapped in a black cloak, his face covered in oil and sweat, poked his head in somewhat disheveled state. It was Pang Xiaopan. He was still clutching a bulging oilcloth bag tightly in his hand.

"Sir! Jia Ning!" Pang Xiaopan gasped for breath, disregarding etiquette, and plopped down in an empty chair. She grabbed a large gulp of the cold tea on the table before her face turned pale and she said, "Something terrible has happened!"

"Speak slowly." Su Che pushed the teacup closer.

Pang Xiaopan took a breath and spoke rapidly, her voice filled with panic: "Just an hour ago, Gao Tianci's tax collectors and city defense officers suddenly broke into our 'Huitong Grain Shop' in the West Market, 'Baigongfang' in the South City, and 'Shunfeng Warehouse' at the dock. Under the pretext of 'investigating smuggling and tax evasion,' they sealed off the shops and arrested the managers and accountants! I rushed there after receiving the news, but they even stopped me, saying that I, as a secretary in the Ministry of Revenue, might be involved and wanted me to go to the yamen to 'assist in the investigation'! Seeing that things were not going well, I slipped out the back door and took a long detour before finally coming back from the same old spot!"

He patted his chest, still shaken: "They're clearly targeting all our businesses! On my way here, I even saw another group heading towards our silk shop in the East Market! Sir, they're trying to cut off our livelihood and get me, the one in charge of the money, arrested too!"

Zhao Jianing angrily said, "That scoundrel Gao Tianci, he's really quick! He's targeting the army, the secret guards, and now even the businesses!"

Su Che's eyes were deep and unfathomable. This was around the same time as in his previous life, but it seemed more urgent. It appeared that his prompt relinquishment of power had only made some people more uneasy, accelerating the purge.