Governing the country, enriching the people, an unparalleled imperial tutor

The woman in the dark green dress didn't answer directly. She took a step forward, stopping three paces away from Lin Yanzhou's desk. She turned slightly to the side, loosening the already shallow gap at the collar by a fraction—the movement was so subtle it was as if a breeze had ruffled the fabric—then tilted her head slightly, her gaze falling on the side door behind Lin Yanzhou, and smiled, "Last winter, when Ashina Gule, the Left Khan of the Northern Barbarians, secretly met with Zhang Lin outside Pingyang City, one of his bodyguards was a woman in disguise. That person was me."

The hall fell silent for a moment.

Lin Yanzhou's gaze lingered on her face: "You infiltrated Ashina Gule's guard?"

"I followed him for two months," she said. "From the border to Pingyang City, I followed him the whole way. Zhang Lin promised him countless amounts of gold, silver, silk, and ironware; his maids all knew—because I was one of those maids."

She straightened her collar and returned it to its original position, her tone as calm as if she were discussing what she had eaten that day: "So, I had already planned this before I came. Whatever information the Imperial Advisor wants, I can find out. Whatever information the Imperial Advisor needs, I can get it back using whatever method."

Lin Yanzhou remained silent for a moment. Then he looked at the third woman—a young woman with a pure and innocent face, around eighteen or nineteen years old: "And you?"

She spoke, her voice a degree deeper than her appearance suggested: "What I excel at is being someone's bedmate."

She spoke very frankly, without embellishment or pauses.

"This commoner girl was sold into an opera troupe at the age of eight, and at fourteen, she was bought by a salt merchant to be his mistress. That salt merchant had business dealings with the Northern Di, and half of what he talked about in his sleep at night was the destination of his goods and the time they would leave the border. This commoner girl stayed by his side for two years, memorizing all his routes and secret codes, and then ran away when he went on a long trip."

She paused, then said, "I'm not trying to prove I can do it; I've already done it."

Lin Yanzhou shifted his gaze from her to the fourth person—the woman with a dignified appearance but concealing a thin blade.

She spoke, her voice unhurried: "I am different from those three. They approach men to gather information, but I turn men into information."

Lin Yanzhou looked at her: "How will you change?"

"I can make someone willingly tell me everything they know, and after they've told you, they'll feel like a hero, like they were truly loved by me." She spoke without a change in expression, as if describing something someone else had done; her dignified exterior didn't reveal a single crack. "The longest I've ever done this was with a prefect from Jiangnan, who took forty days. He told me everything about his correspondence with Northern Di merchants, how much silver he had embezzled, and what intelligence he had secretly sent to the Northern Border."

"How did you get him to say that?"

"Let him think he's the only one who has captured my heart. Let him think that the secrets he holds are his bargaining chips that make him worthy of me." She slightly raised her eyes, a gentle smile playing on her lips before returning to its original expression. "Men talk the most when they feel they are being treated with sincerity."

Compare them side by side.

The old man responded with a "Yes" and left.

Lin Yanzhou leaned back in his chair and remained silent for a long time. Then he stood up, took out four blank wooden plaques from a box on the corner of the table, picked up a carving knife, carved the character "密" (secret) on each plaque, then put down the knife and looked at them.

"I can believe half of what you say. The other half needs to be verified." He walked up to the four women and handed them four wooden plaques. "The first thing I want you to do is—there's an official in the south of the city named Zhao Huaiyi, a former clerk in the Ministry of Justice. Zhang Lin accused seven accomplices during his investigation, but I suspect he himself isn't clean either. You four have three days to find out everything he's done in private over the past few years: who he's met, what he's received, and who he's corresponded with. Write it all down and send it back."

The woman with peach blossom eyes took the wooden plaque, her fingertips lightly brushing against the back of his hand as he handed it over—so lightly, as if it were an accidental touch, yet the arc she traced was long and steady: "Rest assured, Grand Preceptor, the memorial will definitely be delivered in three days."

Lin Yanzhou withdrew his hand, not looking at her: "I didn't ask you to seduce him, I asked you to investigate him. Each of you use your own methods, and send back the results in three days. Those who do well will stay, those who don't—"

"If I can't do it well, I'll leave on my own." The woman in the dark green dress spoke. "I won't trouble the Imperial Advisor."

Lin Yanzhou nodded: "Go ahead."

The four turned and left the side hall. As the door closed, the queue below fell silent for a moment—someone saw the woman with the peach blossom eyes slightly tilt her head as she exited, her gaze seemingly fleetingly sweeping across the face of a young scholar in the queue before returning to its original position, as if nothing had happened. The scholar's ears turned red instantly. He quickly flipped through the draft paper in his hand, as if searching for where he had left off.

Lin Yanzhou stood by the window, watching the four figures disappear outside the courtyard gate. The old man in the gray robe was still standing at the door, bowing slightly and waiting for his reply.

"Go and investigate their backgrounds, the more detailed the better," Lin Yanzhou said.

Lin Yanzhou returned to his desk and sat down. The bluish-white jade seal was still beside the brush holder, the candlelight reflecting off its surface and casting the shadow of the wooden plaque with the character "密" (secret) obliquely onto the table.

The interviews continued until evening, when the line outside finally dispersed. By the time the last person left, dusk had already blanketed the entire courtyard.

Lin Yanzhou sat at his desk, two lists laid out before him—one a thick stack of names, densely covered with the names of public officials recruited by the Six Departments; the other, on a separate sheet of paper, listed the Secrecy Department: directly under the command of the Grand Preceptor. Four names were listed for now, their positions, staffing levels, and salaries all confidential.

He looked down at the four names—Su Wanqing, Liu Ruyan, Shen Tinglan, and Gu Qingci—and then glanced at the small print at the end of the page: "Heming Teahouse, Qingci and Red Cloth."

He folded the paper and placed it next to the secondary seal in his pocket.

A night breeze slipped in through the cracks in the window, causing the last unmarked page of the answer sheet on the corner of his desk to flutter slightly. He reached out and pressed the page down, while his other hand touched the cool edge of the jade seal in his pocket. Then, he picked up his pen and wrote two words at the end of the answer sheet: "Accepted."