After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

…………

Just before entering, Qian Sijin suddenly reached out to block the way and mouthed, "It seems like there's someone inside."

He paused for a moment, then had Qian Sijin, who was more skilled, impersonate him and go in. At the same time, he secretly gave a hand signal, ordering the Imperial Guards and servants from all directions to quietly surround him.

The "fox sister" we caught was quite pretty and had a great presence. In terms of looks, she was a top-tier courtesan, and she even had a Beijing accent.

Her speech was like that of a courtesan... No ordinary woman, not even a woman from the martial arts world, could be so bold.

Even if they weren't prostitutes, they were still closely connected to brothels, having been exposed to them for many years.

Another dancer.

The name also contains the character "素".

Li Wei was assassinated last night, and Heyuan is so close to the government office.

A woman... yet she managed to assassinate the heavily guarded Governor-General of Jiangnan and cause such a commotion.

She must have planned this for a long time and made a plan; she must be a woman who has infiltrated Li Wei's side.

In this way, it becomes much easier to guess the other party's identity.

It must be Zhen Susu, the famous courtesan from Beijing whom Li Wei hired.

But Li Wei probably never imagined that Zhen Susu was actually an assassin who planned to kill him.

Ning Nan's lips twitched slightly.

Knock, knock, knock, Xu Xiyin was knocking on the door.

"You've come at the perfect time."

Ning Nan asked Qian Sijin to go in and open the door, and to stand guard outside. Qian Sijin immediately agreed.

In the past, Qian Sijin would never have dared to leave his son-in-law alone in a room with Xu Xiyin and this assassin of unknown origin.

But ever since that night when his son-in-law commanded them to slaughter that Tartar cavalry and a hundred Green Standard Army soldiers, he had been unable to resist obeying his son-in-law's orders.

"You..." Zhen Susu stared blankly at Ning Nan, as if she were looking at something extremely rare.

"Don't act like that." Ning Nan put down his pen, his face full of helplessness. "Your identity is so easy to guess, only a fool wouldn't figure it out... How exactly do you guys do your undercover work?"

His tone already carried a hint of blame and disdain.

Ning Nan frowned slightly, looking somewhat troubled.

For undercover agents and spies, you simply can't hire someone as good-looking as Zhen Susu.

One must have an ordinary appearance, looking truly plain and unremarkable, honest and simple, in order to avoid attracting attention.

Chen Ruhai is a better example.

Chu Feixiong, for example, is a bit overweight.

He simply needed this classmate, who was extremely talented in business, to act as his representative in Jiangbei, which is why he sent him over.

As soon as the door opened, Xu Xiyin glanced past Qian Sijin and saw that the self-righteous woman was already sitting obediently opposite the cult leader, and couldn't help but sigh.

"Fortunately, the cult leader showed mercy and didn't kill her."

With this thought in mind, the composed and beautiful Taoist nun entered the side room to apologize.

"Vice Envoy Ning, please forgive me," Xu Xiyin said, stepping forward and bowing her head.

Only those at the altar master level know the identity of the cult leader.

Zhen Susu was the head of the incense offering ceremony of the Northern Qiantian Temple in Beijing.

Having made many contributions in Beijing, he is expected to become the head of a forum at the Xiangshan Conference.

But since she hasn't been promoted yet, I naturally can't say much to her.

When Zhen Susu saw Xu Xiyin's appearance, she felt a chill and was secretly annoyed.

No wonder that stupid Taoist nun said she should just stay on the roof beam. Even if the other party found out, they would just hand her over to this Vice Envoy Ning for punishment.

It turns out that the top scholar from Ning already knew that the nun Xu was a member of the Heavenly Principle Sect!

"Which jar did she use?" Ning Nan asked curiously.

Xu Xiyin blushed: "The North Qiantian Altar, the altar of Chen San Altar Master."

Master Ning nodded, then asked curiously, "How did you get her in here?"

Infiltrating Crane Garden is not difficult, but infiltrating Elegant Gathering Pavilion is not so easy, since the Imperial Guards and servants are stationed outside in shifts of twelve hours a day.

Only Xu Xiyin and I live here. If it's not me, then only Xu Xiyin could have brought the other person in.

Xu Xiyin's forehead was covered in a fine layer of sweat as she lowered her head and said:

"I received word that they were going to make a move against Li Wei tonight. I happened to be at Heyuan Garden, so I met them there. At the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), I met this woman."

"The two servants who were guarding the southwest corner of the Elegant Gathering Pavilion last night had suffered minor injuries, and I had been treating them for the past few days. While chatting with them, I mentioned that I had returned from gathering herbs, which temporarily distracted them. This woman then slipped into the Elegant Gathering Pavilion from the other side."

Xu Xiyin spoke freely about everything she knew.

Ning Nan nodded again: "Those two servants will be fined three months' salary and given ten strokes of the cane. You should apologize to them afterwards."

Xu Xiyin said, embarrassed, "Thank you, Vice Envoy Ning. Your subordinates and the two servants apologize."

Ning Nan glanced at her indifferently: "Since you're in the mission, in the future, you should inform me beforehand about similar matters and not act on your own initiative again."

"yes!"

The female Taoist priest immediately nodded. After being reprimanded by the sect leader, she felt relieved.

It was as if she had been walking alone under the scorching sun for a long time, her mouth was dry and she was almost dying from the heat, when suddenly she saw a shady spot where she could lean against a tree.

Zhen Susu felt uneasy, her delicate brows furrowed, and she looked at Xu Xiyin with suspicion:

"What is his relationship with my church?"

Could he also be a member of the sect?

Zhen Susu's eyes suddenly brightened for a moment.

"Chirp!"

At this moment, Xu Xiyin did not answer her, and an unsettling sound came from the room.

The female Taoist priest flicked her whisk and with a slight movement of her right hand, removed the front half of the whisk's handle.

Pull it out, and a sharp, thin blade is revealed inside.

A cold glint flashed in the dimly lit room.

Ning Nan's eyes showed a hint of surprise.

Xu Xiyin placed the cylindrical, thin blade on Zhen Susu's fair neck.

The female priest calmly said:

"Huang Shulin is dead."

Despite being a female Taoist priest on her own side, Zhen Susu seemed completely unsurprised that she had placed a thin blade against her own neck.

Upon hearing this, Zhen Susu's eyes dimmed further, and she remained silent.

Huang Shulin plays the sanxian (a three-stringed plucked instrument) very well, and she's only seventeen. She joined the church at twelve, and the first person to see her declared boldly, "Sister Susu, when I grow up, I will definitely marry you!"

"Before Huang Shulin was tortured to death in prison, he uttered a sentence: 'You clearly entered Li Wei's room last night...'"

The female Taoist priest's eyes darkened, and she said in a rare, cold voice:

"Why didn't you kill him?!"

…………

Huai'an Prefectural Government Office.

Inside a quiet study.

Thump, thump, thump, Li Wei, the Governor-General of Jiangnan, paced back and forth in the room in silence.

A moment later.

He yelled angrily, "Damn it! Did you find it or not?!"

The steward and his advisor, who were searching frantically for the secret memorial in the study, were sweating profusely as they frantically searched through the documents.

But fearing that it would disturb the master's study, they had to search and tidy up at the same time.

Memorials, official documents, books... piled up here and there.

The clerk, his forehead covered in sweat and his face contorted in distress, stammered, "My lord, this...this...this..."

Seeing his expression, Li Wei stopped in his tracks, waved his hand angrily, and shouted, "Get out! Get out of here!"

He had been searching for it for a long time and knew that it was most likely lost.

After the advisor, feeling as if he had been granted a pardon, ran out, leaving only the middle-aged steward who had served him for twenty years in the room, the Governor-General of Jiangnan suddenly became anxious and angrily said to the steward:

"It was most likely that stupid girl, Su Niang's daughter, who took it!"