The low-key prince summons trainees from the Imperial Household Department at the start of the game.

The night wind at Tongzhou Wharf carried the fishy smell of the river water, lapping against the stone embankment on the shore in gusts.

After the banquet at Hai Sha Lou ended, Qiu Wu did not return to his bedroom.

Instead, he took a horse and quietly left Tongzhou Wharf under the cover of night.

He changed into an inconspicuous gray cloth robe, and wrapped the pair of Fen Shui Emei daggers at his waist with cloth, stuffing them into the satchel next to the saddle.

Horse hooves trod across the bluestone slabs, through the sleeping streets and alleys, heading towards Osmanthus Lane in the southeast corner of the capital.

Deep within Osmanthus Lane lies an inconspicuous three-courtyard house.

There was no plaque above the door, nor were there any lanterns hanging at the entrance; it looked like the private residence of an ordinary wealthy family.

However, the courtyard wall was built three feet higher than that of ordinary houses, and broken pieces of porcelain were buried on top of the wall.

Qiu Wu dismounted at the alley entrance, tied the reins to the old locust tree at the alley entrance, walked to the side gate of the house, and knocked four times, three lightly and one heavily.

The door opened a crack, and an old servant poked his head out.

Seeing that it was him, she nodded slightly, stepped aside to let him in, and then silently closed the door.

Deep inside the courtyard was a study, with bookshelves on all four walls. Instead of books on classics, history, philosophy, and literature, the shelves were filled with stacks of account books and maps.

A young man dressed in a dark blue casual robe sat behind a desk, reading through a secret report by the light of a solitary lamp.

His features were delicate, but his eyes and brows revealed a gloomy look that was incongruous with his age.

It was none other than the Third Prince, Zhou Ying.

After entering, Qiu Wu knelt on one knee, clasped his hands in a salute, and said in a very low voice, "Your Highness, I have returned."

Zhou Ying put the secret report aside, raised her head, and glanced at Qiu Wu.

He noticed a small tear on Qiu Wu's cuff.

That was caused by the Emei dagger being deflected by internal force.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, his tone calm yet carrying an undeniable air of scrutiny: "You fought with him?"

"Yes, I am ashamed." Qiu Wu lowered his head and recounted the events that had occurred in Hai Sha Lou from beginning to end.

From Luo Heng's provocation and being defeated with three palms, to personally taking action and being unable to defeat his opponent within ten moves.

Then, Shangguan Jin Hong took the initiative to propose a cooperation plan and hinted that the Marquis of Anxi's mansion was backing her.

Zhou Ying listened without saying a word, her fingers slowly tapping on the table, the rhythm getting slower and slower, finally stopping at a very light tap, and then she didn't lift her fingers again.

"The Marquis of Anxi's residence." He repeated these four words in a low voice, as if he were chewing on an extremely sour plum.

He leaned back in his chair, staring silently at the flickering flame of the solitary lamp on the table for a long time before slowly speaking, "He proactively asked you to investigate the Anxi Marquis's residence?"

"Yes, he said he is a partner of Shengyuan, so he can be considered half an 'insider' of the Marquis of Anxi's mansion."

"My judgment is that he wasn't saying this to me, but to the person behind me."

"He had long suspected that the Hai Sha Gang had someone behind them, and he had also long suspected that person would ask him and Sheng Yuan who their backers were."

"So he took the initiative to lay out the answer, saving us from beating around the bush. This guy is not only tough, but also frighteningly cunning."

Zhou Ying nodded slightly, and her fingers began to tap on the table again, this time at a faster pace than before.

He wasn't thinking about the relationship between Shangguan Jin Hong and the Marquis of Anxi's mansion, but rather about something deeper.

Marquis Cao Jun of Anxi was the father-in-law of the sixth prince, Zhou Ke.

The sixth prince's principal wife, Lady Cao, was the illegitimate daughter of the Marquis of Anxi.

This marriage wasn't considered particularly prestigious in the imperial court back then, but the Marquis of Anxi's household controlled the military pay reserves for the northwestern border army, making them a true military leader.

If Shangguan Jin Hong really has a cooperative relationship with the Marquis of Anxi's mansion.

Then what he held in his hands was not just the dockworker business, but the military food transport line for the Northwest Frontier Army.

"Do you think this person can be recruited?" Zhou Ying suddenly asked.

Qiu Wu hesitated for a moment, then raised his head and looked directly into Zhou Ying's eyes: "Your Highness, let me tell you the truth."

"This man's martial arts skills are no less than mine. I exchanged ten blows with him, and he only defended and did not attack throughout, and he only used his right hand."

"If it comes to a life-or-death struggle, I am not confident that I can last for fifty moves."

"A martial artist of this level cannot be suppressed by force; the only way is to invite them with sincerity."

"Sincerity?" A faint smile appeared on Zhou Ying's lips, a smile devoid of warmth, filled only with calculation. "Tell me about it."

"Shangguan Jin Hong once said that he was looking for peace of mind. Thousands of brothers at the docks were following him to make a living. If he didn't settle them down, he wouldn't be able to sleep soundly."

"This doesn't sound like a lie. He set rules at the docks, set wages, and went head-to-head with the Bamboo Gang. Every step he took was for the sake of those porters."

"This kind of person is loyal and righteous. Money can't buy him, and power can't crush him. But if someone can help him keep his brothers' jobs, he will be grateful."

Zhou Ying stood up from her chair, put her hands behind her back, and walked to the window.

The moonlight streamed in through the window, dividing his face into light and shadow.

People who are loyal and devoted to their friends are the most difficult to manage, but also the easiest.

Because once such a person has chosen a master, they will not easily betray him.

People you buy with silver will sell you out for more silver.

Those who use power to subdue you will be the first to turn against you when you lose power.

But those who are won over by kindness and righteousness will entrust their lives to you.

"Investigate him." Zhou Ying turned around, her gaze sharp as a knife. "From the first day he entered Tongzhou Wharf, where was he from? What was his family background? Why, with such high cultivation, was he willing to be a foreman?"

"And who his cronies are at the dock, and how deep his relationship with Sheng Yuan is—not a single detail can be missed."

"Find everything you can find out; for things you can't find, it's better to leave them blank than to alert the enemy."

Qiu Wu clasped his hands in acceptance of the order, and then asked, "If Your Highness finds him suitable after the investigation, under what pretext should you recruit him?"

"No rush, let's find out what he wants first."

"If he wants money, give him money; if he wants power, give him power. If he doesn't want anything, that's the most troublesome thing."

"But you said he worked his way up from the bottom. Such people are often not fighting for themselves, but for those behind them."

"He has a thousand porters behind him; those thousand porters are his weakness, but also his armor."

"If you can protect them for him, he will risk his life for you."

Zhou Ying suddenly stopped speaking at this point.

Qiu Wu lowered his head and remained silent.

He was certainly aware of the Third Prince's methods.

"Check" means to investigate the details.

"招" means to recruit or attract.

If after investigation it is found that recruitment is not possible, then only one word remains.

The Third Prince would not allow an uncontrollable seventh-rank martial artist to grow powerful under his nose.

But he also knew that Shangguan Jin Hong was not so easy to kill.

Those martial artists who can defend without attacking within ten moves and still be at ease, when it comes to a life-or-death struggle, it's uncertain who will live and who will die.

"By the way, Your Highness, there is one more thing." Qiu Wu raised his head, "Heshengyuan, I sent people to investigate this business. More than a year ago, it was just an inconspicuous little grocery store in a corner of the West Market."

"To have achieved this in Beijing's business world in just over a year..."

He held up one finger, "Besides the Marquis of Anxi's mansion, there are probably other forces behind them."

"I believe that if we can also figure out the Heshengyuan line, Your Highness's reach in the capital's business world can extend from the docks to the banks."

Zhou Ying sat back down at her desk, tapping her fingers twice more on the table than before. "Go and do it. Investigate Shangguan first, and I'll have the Liu family investigate Sheng Yuan's matter."

He spoke of the Liu family in an unusually calm tone, as if he were talking about a trivial matter.

Qiu Wu felt a chill run down his spine.

The Third Prince's principal wife, Lady Liu, was the illegitimate daughter of Liu Wenzhao, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

Liu Wenzhao spent more than a decade in the Ministry of Rites before finally climbing to the position of Right Vice Minister, while the Left Vice Minister Zhou Bangyan, who was above him, was a favorite student of Grand Tutor Kong Yan.

If Liu Wenzhao wants to advance further, he can only rely on the Third Prince's connections.

The Liu family's use of connections to investigate Heshengyuan was more discreet and less likely to alert the enemy than the Haisha Gang's involvement.

Qiu Wu clasped his hands in agreement, rose, and left the study.

The old servant silently escorted him out through the side door, which then closed silently behind him.

Zhou Ying sat alone behind the desk, picked up the secret report and continued to read it.

The light from the oil lamp illuminated a chilling smile in his eyes.

The eldest brother has the Grand Tutor, the second brother has the Grand Commandant, and the two of them are fighting to the death. What about him?

He had nothing, so he had to carry everything himself.

The Hai Sha Gang was acquired, the Liu family was acquired, and next, Shangguan Jin Hong, he wants to see if he can acquire this person as well.