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

"North, Luo, Alliance."

Three crooked, simple blood-red characters.

Qian Sijin waited quietly at the entrance of the flower hall, keeping an eye out for anyone spying on him.

Ning Nan braced himself against the strip of cloth, which was no more than two inches wide, and his pupils first showed a hint of doubt. Suddenly, his pupils contracted instantly!

…………

Dusk.

The recent cold snap has been severe. In an alley not far from Qipan Street in the inner city, a dozen or so beggars gathered together, eating hot sesame cakes and taking turns sipping a pot of wine.

In the middle, a one-legged beggar sat upright on a moved-in rock, holding a jug of wine in one hand and a piece of braised donkey meat in the other, laughing heartily with a smug smile:

"Am I right? A southern dog is a southern dog. Let him beat us up, so what? He'll still have to obediently pay us compensation!"

The other beggars, some missing hands and some missing feet, burst into laughter and clung to each other.

"You're really something, Xu the beggar! You can take down whoever you want. You've been catching them every time these past few days. A beating is enough to fill your stomach for days!"

Xu the Beggar smugly shook his head and said, "I'm known throughout Baoding for my sharp eyes! I can tell at a glance who's safe to touch and who's not! I've never been to jail! I'm not leaving this city of Beijing without making a good fortune!"

The other beggars were immediately filled with envy. One beggar, eyeing the braised donkey meat in Xu's right hand, swallowed hard and secretly reached out with his dirty hand to examine it. Xu, as expected, had sharp eyes. He raised his right hand and chuckled.

With his remaining right foot, he kicked the beggar hard.

"Come on! Beat him up! After you've beaten him, I'll share this piece of meat with you bunch of bastards!"...

At the end of the alley.

Two middle-aged men in gray clothes, who were chatting, turned away from the corner of their eyes and looked at the beggars.

One person stayed there to continue selling candied hawthorns, while the other turned out of the alley.

After walking about half a mile, they jumped onto a horse-drawn carriage.

I lifted the curtain and went inside.

"Sir," the man in gray whispered, "he's just a beggar from Baoding who specializes in swindling people in that area."

The young man in the black mandarin jacket and melon-shaped hat nodded slightly and cleared his throat: "Alright. Keep an eye on things. See if anyone comes looking for that beggar. If they do, arrest him without holding back."

"Yes."

The man in gray, with half his head bald, jumped off the carriage and stood in front of a bare old locust tree, watching the ordinary carriage drive away.

Heading north along Qipan Street to Daqing Gate, then east onto Chang'an Street, continuing east along Chang'an Street to Dong'an Gate, exiting Dong'an Gate, and traveling northeast for a while, the carriage finally stopped in front of Yonghe Temple.

Before the current emperor ascended the throne, he was granted the title of Prince Yong, and Yonghe Palace was the emperor's former residence when he was a prince.

Today, it is the location of the Shangyu Beiyongchu, which is the office of the Sticky Rod Office.

Yue Le, a young man in a black riding jacket and a second-class guard of the Sticky Rod Office, jumped off the carriage and went straight in.

They arrived at the study of the Minister of Administration, Mushu.

Mu Shu was reading in his study when Yue Le reported:

"No abnormalities reported in the Southern Region."

Mu Shu put down his book, calmly looked up, and said, "Keep an eye on things. How's the Embroidered Uniform Guard's investigation going?"

Yue Le, with his fair complexion, nodded and said:

"Many were rounded up in Beizhili, most of them were killed, a small portion are being monitored, and there may be some left. But there are people watching at every pass, and the information they can send back is all from us, some true and some false. They will soon become deaf and blind."

Mu Shu, who was forty-four years old, nodded and said:

"After the delegation meets with the Emperor tomorrow, negotiations will begin. It will be at least mid-March before they reach an agreement. By then..."

Mu Shu thought for a moment and said, "Apart from those who surrendered to us, we don't need to keep an eye on the rest. Just kill them all."

"Yes!" Yue Le nodded.

Mu Shu said, "His Majesty has issued an order that none of the Southern Kingdom's delegation members are allowed to leave. All the soldiers in their camp outside the city can be killed, but those inside the city should be spared as much as possible, especially Ning Baixuan. His Majesty just sent someone to say that he should not be killed."

Yue Le laughed and said, "Does His Majesty intend to keep him alive to avenge Prince Yi?"

Mu Shu shook his head: "What the masters want to do is not something we servants should ask. Let's just do as the Emperor says."

The smile on Yue Le's face vanished, and he solemnly replied, "Yes."

"Rest assured, sir, the entire delegation is under surveillance, and none of them will be able to escape. As for Ning Baixuan, although he has a group of Imperial Guards with him, once he enters Beijing, he will be nothing more than a chicken or a dog."

The young man sneered, "At that time, this servant will surely capture this traitor alive and hand him over to the Emperor!"

Mu Shu remained noncommittal, picked up the scroll on the table, and calmly said:

"The merit of destroying a country is enough to make us rich for ten generations with just one bite."

He turned a page of the book with his right hand and waved it in the air.

"Go."

…………

Qingfeng Xiaozhu (Clear Breeze Abode)

Flower Hall.

"The Northern Dynasty...and the Rakshasa...have formed an alliance..."

Ning Nan gripped the cloth tightly with both hands, his pupils shrank to a tiny size, and his face suddenly turned deathly pale!

The recent cold snap has been severe, and valuable red charcoal is burning in the flower hall.

But a chilling aura rose from Ning Nan's very bones.

After a while, Ning Nan called Qian Sijin over and handed him the strip of cloth.

Qian Sijin took the strip of cloth, glanced at it, his eyes widened, and after a breath, he froze on the spot.

"Burn it," Ning Nan said.

Qian Sijin didn't reply. Ning Nan glanced at him, and then Qian Sijin swallowed hard, came to his senses, folded the strip of cloth, and threw it into the charcoal stove.

The strips of cloth curled and shrank in the charcoal fire, then suddenly burst into flames, turning charred black, and a burnt smell rose in the flower hall.

"Young Master," Qian Sijin's voice trembled, "I'll go and fetch him here, and give it to you in person..."

Ning Nan raised his hand and shook his head in refusal:

"He must have his reasons for doing this."

That beggar surnamed "Xu" is either Xu Cheng or someone closely related to Xu Cheng.

Such big news, why not come directly to him? Why not contact the Imperial Guards in the capital, and instead send it through this kind of means?

Of course, whether this news is true or false remains to be seen.

Ning Nan recalled that the secret memorial from Yongzheng to Li Wei that was intercepted in Huai'an last month did indeed contain the words "major event".

"Son-in-law," Qian Sijin said, his face pale, "regardless of whether the news is true or false, I will immediately arrange for someone to deliver it back."

Qian Sijin of Ningnan Dynasty frowned and said:

Are the Embroidered Uniform Guard's spies in the capital reliable?

Qian Sijin nodded subconsciously: "They are all loyal to the emperor and patriotic..."

Ning Nan raised his hand to stop him: "The Duke of Yansheng is also loyal to the emperor and loves his country."

Qian Sijin was immediately speechless.

Master Ning narrowed his eyes and asked, "How many secret agents does the Embroidered Uniform Guard have in the capital?"

Qian Sijin said, "Commander Liu sent three people to make direct contact with him. Two were centurions and one was a chiliarch. Centurion Chen Yaoqing runs a teahouse in the capital. Centurion Zhao Yunji is a blacksmith on Dong'anmen Street in the capital. Chiliarch Shi Sidong runs a restaurant in the capital..."

As Qian Sijin spoke, Ning Nan's fingers tapped slowly on the table.

His brows furrowed slightly.

Xu Cheng went north with the dark-skinned woman. Xu Cheng is here, but where is the dark-skinned woman? Where did she go?

Furthermore, if Xu Cheng arrived in Beijing and that disheveled, emaciated beggar was indeed Xu Cheng himself… Ning Nan's heart sank slightly… Xu Cheng had a broken leg?

They didn't contact the Imperial Guards in the capital, nor did they contact the envoys directly; they wouldn't reveal their identities even if they encountered me...