In the thirteenth year of the Tianbao era: I became Yang Guozhong's eldest son.

As expected, Afu brought back the news in the evening.

As soon as he entered the room, without even catching his breath, he said in a low voice:

"Young master, we've found out."

Three days ago, a rider came down from Chang'an. He passed through the post station in the middle of the night without stopping, and only stayed in the duty room for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

"Are they government officials?"

"He looked like it, but he was wearing a straw raincoat over his uniform, and his face wasn't visible. An old man boiling water at the post station said that after that person left, the next day, Zhou, the postmaster, went through all the recent appointment records and even asked if there had been any officials recently demoted from Chang'an."

The expressions of the people in the room simultaneously darkened.

That confirms it.

Zhou Yicheng's foolishness was not accidental.

He was waiting for them to come.

Afu licked his dry lips and said again:

"There's one more thing."

"The two couriers who kept staring at us this morning, someone just saw one of them go to the back door and pass something to the outside. It was a folded piece of paper, which he stuffed into the sleeve of the man selling hay."

Pei Zhao's eyes sharpened.

"Did you see clearly?"

"I didn't see what was written on the paper with my own eyes, but I did hand over the item."

Ah Fu said.

"Sister Caifan saw it too. She said that when the courier came back, his shoes were covered in mud from the back wall, not the soil from the front yard."

That eliminated even the last shred of hope.

Sure enough, someone was spreading the news from Yongxing Post Station.

Yang Xuan did not react immediately.

He was silent for a moment, then smiled.

"it is good."

"very nice."

Everyone looked at him.

"There were eyes outside last night, and hands tampering with things inside the post station today. Since they're so eager to know our true colors, we should return the favor with a gift."

Cui Shen was the first to react.

"What does Dalang want to do..."

"Give them something they can take back and report."

Yang Xuan raised his head, a hint of coldness slowly emerging in his eyes.

"Otherwise, how will they get a good night's sleep?"

At this point, he raised his hand and pointed to the travel permit and post station register on the table.

"Cui Shen, go to the front later and add one more sentence to Zhou Yicheng."

"Just tell them that my injury is recurring and I probably won't be able to get up early tomorrow and will have to set off in the afternoon."

Cui Shen's heart skipped a beat.

"But we'll be there tomorrow..."

"Leave before dawn tomorrow."

Yang Xuan said calmly.

"The fire won't be extinguished, the carts won't be unloaded, and everyone will act as if they're going to be late tomorrow."

"I want to see if the people outside who received this message will change their location overnight to wait for us."

The people in the room exchanged glances, and their breathing became lighter.

This was the first time since they left Chang'an that they were not just passively being watched, but were actually throwing a hook out at someone.

The hook is not big.

But it's enough to test people.

Pei Zhao grinned, but his smile carried a sharp edge.

"That's a good idea."

"If there really are people waiting for us to travel slowly in the afternoon, they will find nothing when we break camp tomorrow morning."

"More importantly..."

Yang Xuan said softly.

"Whoever is in a hurry to send out these words is the one who should be kept a close eye on."

As dusk settled outside, lamps were lit one by one in the post station.

......

That night was anything but peaceful.

As dusk fell, the atmosphere inside and outside Yongxing Post Station gradually changed.

Most of the traveling travelers, minor officials, and porters who used to come and go during the day have dispersed by this time.

In the front yard, only a wooden bucket leaned against the well, its rope hanging wetly over the well opening. When the wind blew, the rim of the bucket would gently touch the stone edge, making a very faint hollow sound.

There weren't many lights in the post station.

A lamp in the duty room.

A lamp under the eaves in the backyard.

The embers from two more kitchens barely illuminated the thin layer of night along the courtyard wall.

At first glance, it looks like an ordinary post station at night.

However, upon closer inspection, one can see that something is amiss.

The two couriers in the front yard, who were usually slow and dawdling during the day, were running around more frequently tonight.

One of them, under the pretext of adding hay, passed by the stable three times.

When the other person carried hot water into the backyard, he should have been heading towards the kitchen, but he stopped near the main vehicle and glanced at it a couple of times, as if he had done so unintentionally.

These movements are not significant.

But there were few lights in the inn, and the night was quiet.

A little bit of unnecessary extraneousness becomes especially clear in this context.

Yang Xuan leaned against the low couch in the backyard hut, with a soft mattress behind him and the post station book he used to process documents during the day spread out on his lap.

He wasn't actually looking at the words.

Just by turning the pages, I gradually memorized the figures reflected on the window paper.

Wen Bo had just changed his dressing, and a faint smell of medicine still lingered in the room.

The smell was a mixture of the old wood from the post station, the dampness of the hay, and the smoke from the kitchen; it wasn't exactly pleasant, but it wasn't unpleasant either.

It looks exactly like the road right now.

Not clean.

But they can still walk for the time being.

"Da Lang".

When Cui Shen lifted the curtain to come in, he first turned around and pressed the curtain down firmly before lowering his voice.

"I've already glanced at the post station register over there."

Yang Xuan looked up.

"how?"

"The number of people, carts, fodder, and lodgings that came and went during the day was not recorded in detail. But Zhou Xian personally made a postman rewrite our entry."

Cui Shen frowned slightly as he spoke.

"Moreover, he had clearly stated that we had overstepped the rules, but when it came to the record, he didn't even write the word 'inquiry,' only 'verified documents are correct, overnight leave is permitted.'"

Yang Xuan smiled.

"He's afraid of leaving evidence."

"Yes."

Cui Shen nodded.

"The more afraid he is, the more it shows that he has something to hide. I deliberately stood at the door of the duty room for a while, but Zhou Xianlian wouldn't even let me take a second look. Obviously, there's something inside that he doesn't want anyone to see."

Yang Xuan tapped his fingers lightly on the edge of the post book.

"No rush."

"Something more valuable than the post station will reveal itself tonight."

Cui Shenben wanted to say something more.

But the words stuck in his throat.

He has now gradually figured out Yang Xuan's temperament.

If this man simply says "wait," he is often not really waiting.

Instead, the hook had already been lowered.

We're just waiting for the fish to come and bite us.

Then, a series of very light footsteps sounded outside the curtain.

First, three times.

Then it paused for a moment.

Add two more strokes.

It was a pre-arranged signal.

When Afu crawled in, his forehead was covered in fine sweat, but his eyes were very bright.

"Young master, we've caught a bit of the tail."

"explain."

"Next to that abandoned vat in the west corner of the backyard, one of the porters we brought here squatted there for quite a while under the pretense of urinating. At first, I thought he was really in a hurry to urinate, but after he finished, he didn't go back to his bedding. Instead, he shuffled around the wall toward the side door."

Ah Fu spoke quickly and softly.

"Sister Caifan saw it from under the window, but didn't say anything, only told me to follow her."

"And then?" Cui Shenxian asked.

"Later, the man didn't dare to actually go out. He just stood inside the side gate for a while, as if waiting for something. Not long after, the courier who had unloaded hay for the caravan that afternoon came over carrying half a bucket of swill. When the two passed each other, their movements were not big, but I saw it clearly: the porter's sleeve bulged outwards, as if he had stuffed a roll of paper out."

The room fell silent.

After Afu finished speaking, fearing that Yang Xuan might not believe him, he added:

"I dared not alert the enemy, so I did not pounce on anyone on the spot."

"Well done."

Yang Xuan nodded.

Afu felt a sense of relief.

What he fears most is that he might misjudge the situation and let a lead slip away unnecessarily.

Hearing "You did the right thing" now makes me feel energized.