The Grand Secretary has no heir? His concubine gives birth to triplets.

Pei Yan didn't look at her, and took a wolf-hair brush from the brush holder.

Write a reply to Lu Yunzheng.

Jiang Guo'er was stunned.

"You can decide the content, but you must not include the meeting place."

He dipped the wolf-hair brush in ink, lightly scraped away the excess ink on the edge of the inkstone, and then spread out a sheet of plain paper.

"Give it to Xiao San when you're done writing it."

Jiang Guo'er opened her mouth, but remained silent for a long time.

Does this mean he... agreed to help her?

"Tomorrow, Xiao Liu will swagger around near Chang Ji Clothing Shop to distract those who are watching him."

"The real reply was delivered directly to the Lu residence by Xiao San."

"If Lu Yunzheng can respond correctly to the code, then tell him to go to the South City Villa to meet you."

"You can choose the code, but you must also tell Xiao San how to verify it."

Jiang Guo'er felt a sense of relief as her shoulders relaxed, and a warm feeling welled up in her heart.

This person is really awkward.

When kind words get into his mouth, they probably have to go through three rounds of sifting before they're actually spoken, leaving only a few hurtful ones. Can't he just be a little more frank?

"Archers cannot be stationed in the villa," Jiang Guo'er reminded.

Pei Yan turned his head to the side and frowned.

"Are you afraid I'll detain him?"

"One should always be wary of others; this is what the Prime Minister taught me."

"It is not necessary to set up an open ambush."

"What about in the shadows?"

"There must be people on the perimeter."

"Brother Lu can only bring one follower at most, and Xiao San can only guard the outer perimeter."

"The truth must be present."

Jiang Guo'er immediately refused.

"We're going to talk about the past of the Murong family."

"I'm investigating a case, do you expect me to hide away and serve you tea?"

"Then you mustn't interrupt without reason, and you can't turn against me just because of a form of address."

Pei Yan's face was grim.

"When has the truth ever changed because of how you address someone?"

Jiang Guo'er raised an eyebrow at him, too lazy to expose him.

The two argued for another quarter of an hour before finally settling the matter completely.

Jiang Guo'er took out a brush and ink, intending to write "Shun Shun is still alive, the old promise can be fulfilled", but the brush tip stopped when it touched the paper.

If these eight words fall into the hands of someone else, it is equivalent to telling that she is still alive.

She bit the pen and thought for a while, remembering the code words her brother had taught her and Lu Yunzheng when they were little.

The three agreed to hide what they wanted to say in an ordinary piece of clothing size.

The first number is the page number, the second is the line number, and the third is the word number.

The corresponding original text is the "Complete Essentials of Military Classics" in my brother's study.

Lu Yunzheng must still remember; it's obvious at a glance.

Jiang Guo'er put down her pen and wrote down a line of garment measurements on the paper.

The length of the garment is three feet two inches and seven-tenths inches, the sleeve width is one foot four inches and three-tenths inches, and the waist circumference is two feet one inch and nine-tenths inches.

She told Xiao San:

"If Brother Lu understands, he'll, as usual, tell you the neckline size."

Pei Yan stood behind her and looked down at the line of text.

He doesn't understand.

His gaze lingered on the paper for a couple of moments, and when he looked away, his expression had clearly darkened further.

Jiang Guo'er put down her pen, blew on the ink, and turned around to see him like this.

"What's wrong? Is the Prime Minister unhappy again? He taught us this code when we were kids, so we can't just teach it to you."

Pei Yan's face was expressionless, but his jaw was taut.

"I don't want to know at all."

One day, he will make Jiang Guo'er tell him willingly.

"Then why are you wearing such a dark expression?"

"He didn't actually have a black face."

Jiang Guo'er stared at him for a moment, blew the paper dry, rolled it up, and handed it to Xiao San.

She turned her face away and muttered under her breath, "Loading goods."

"What did you say?"

"I said that the Prime Minister is a man of great vision, a strategist, and a broad-minded person."

Xiao San accepted the letter, and after much effort, he quickly bowed and withdrew.

Just as the door closed, a sound suddenly came from Jiang Guo'er's stomach.

The sound wasn't loud, but both people inside the room could hear it clearly.

Jiang Guo'er's face flushed, and she picked up the map of the capital's neighborhoods on the table to cover half of her face.

"That bowl of fish porridge has gone cold."

Pei Yan looked towards the door.

"Lvyi, take the fish porridge to a hot place, but don't let it boil for too long."

Luyi had been anxiously waiting not far from the corridor. Upon hearing this, she quickly came in and took away the porridge.

Before long, the hot porridge was served again.

The aroma of rice mingled with the fresh scent of fish, and a thin layer of rice oil floated on the surface, while finely chopped ginger sank into the white porridge.

Pei Yan took the bowl, picked up the white porcelain spoon, scooped up a spoonful, blew on it to cool it down, and then brought it to his lips to test the temperature.

Jiang Guo'er reached out to take it.

Pei Yan moved the bowl closer to himself.

Open your mouth.

"...I can eat by myself."

Your left hand is still shaking.

Jiang Guo'er looked down and, sure enough, her fingers were still trembling slightly as she gripped the pen too tightly while writing the letter.

She quickly looked at the white porcelain spoon again.

Just now, when Pei Yan tested the temperature, his lips touched the rim of the spoon.

Now he's going to feed her with the same spoon.

Jiang Guo'er's ears were slowly warming up.

Open your mouth.

Jiang Guo'er hesitated for a moment, then finally lowered her head and took the spoonful of porridge into her mouth.

Her lips lightly touched the edge of the porcelain spoon.

Pei Yan's fingers tightened.

It was clearly just a mouthful of porridge, but that soft touch felt like a feather brushing against his gums.

When she looked up at him, her lips were still glistening with moisture. He paused for a moment, then quickly looked back at the bowl of porridge.

On his second bite, Pei Yan deliberately picked the ginger shreds to the edge of the bowl.

With her mouth full of porridge, Jiang Guo'er asked in a muffled voice, "How did you know I don't eat ginger?"

Pei Yan did not answer.

She would secretly push the ginger slices aside every time she ate; he wasn't blind.

Jiang Guo'er swallowed the porridge and was fed another spoonful.

The warm fish porridge slid into my stomach, warming me from the inside out.

The map of the capital's neighborhoods was still spread out on the table.

Pei Yan pinched a shallow mark on the location of Tonghua Lane in the south of the city with his fingernail.

She ate her porridge while staring intently at the mark.

She will be able to see Brother Lu in three days.

I haven't seen him for five years. I wonder if he's lost weight.

Pei Yan held a spoonful of porridge to her lips, but after a moment, she did not react.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Regarding the matter of meeting."

"Missing Lu Yunzheng?"

Jiang Guo'er came to her senses and sighed inwardly.

Fortunately, she didn't plan to spend her whole life with Pei Yan, otherwise, he would suspect her every few days, which would be infuriating or annoying.

"Think of a route."

She stretched out her finger and tapped on the map.

"The villa in the south of the city has two entrances. Brother Lu, it's too conspicuous to go in through the main entrance, you can go through the alley on the east side."

"The alley on the east side is narrow, making it difficult to escape after an attack. Go through the south gate."

"The south gate is next to a tavern, which is crowded and noisy."

"The tavern will be closed for renovations tomorrow."

"You even arranged this?"

Pei Yan then handed over a spoonful of fish porridge.

"Don't talk with food in your mouth."

There are so many rules.

Jiang Guo'er had no choice but to swallow it down and then look down at the unfolded map.

Their sleeves touched, the final route was decided, and the porridge in the bowl was finally emptied.

Pei Yan put down the porcelain spoon, took out a handkerchief, and wiped away the little bit of rice oil from the corner of her mouth.

Jiang Guo'er subconsciously turned her head away.

Pei Yan used two fingers to support her chin and turned her face back.

"Don't move."

Through the thin handkerchief, he gently pressed his fingertip against the corner of her lips.

Jiang Guo'er's eyelashes trembled.

The two, who had been arguing back and forth just moments before, suddenly fell silent.