Fangzhou Xier, starting with failing the art exam

She was still a child after all. No matter how much she longed to investigate cases, when she truly faced the ugliness of human nature, the impact was far beyond what she could easily bear.

He waved his hand, signaling everyone in the room to leave, then sat down on the edge of the bed, picked up a damp cloth, and gently wiped his sister's burning cheeks.

"Qingyan, it's my fault...it's all my fault..." he murmured to himself.

Just then, the seemingly weak and powerless little hand under the covers suddenly moved and grabbed his wrist.

Lin Yue was taken aback, lowered his head, and met a pair of clear and cunning eyes.

There was no trace of the confusion that comes with illness in those eyes; they were clearly brimming with the satisfaction of a successful scheme.

"Brother, you're finally back." Lin Qingyan's voice was full of confidence.

"If you don't come back soon, my health will really be ruined by this smell of medicine."

Lin Yue understood everything in an instant.

He was first stunned, then a surge of anger rushed to his head, and he almost lost his temper on the spot.

But looking at his younger sister's face, which was covered in some unknown substance, he forced himself to suppress his anger, leaving him with nothing but helplessness.

"Nonsense!" he scolded in a low voice.

"Do you know how worried I was outside just now? You're playing this kind of joke on your own health!"

"I didn't." Lin Qingyan sat up from under the covers, threw them off, and revealed her neatly dressed clothes underneath.

“I just want you to come back. I have something very important to tell you, but you’re always at the government office and never home.”

As she spoke, she pulled a piece of ginger from under her pillow, waved it in front of Lin Yue, and pointed to her flushed cheeks: "Look, with this on, doesn't it look like I have a high fever?"

Lin Yue was so angry he couldn't speak. He pointed at her, and after a long pause, he managed to utter two words: "You..."

"Brother, don't be angry." Lin Qingyan quickly grabbed his arm.

"I really do have something important to do."

"You can't just exclude me from that case, Liang Yuan's case!"

"No way!" Lin Yue refused without even thinking.

"This case is too complicated and too dangerous; it's not something a young girl like you should get involved in."

"You've already done a great job by finding a clue today. Leave the rest to me."

"Why not? Just because I'm a little girl?" Lin Qingyan stood up defiantly and stared at her brother.

"Brother, don't forget, I studied at the Celestial Master's Mansion for five years!"

"I've learned thunder magic. Although I haven't officially graduated yet, dealing with three or five ordinary strong men is definitely no problem!"

"I still have the ability to protect myself!"

She puffed out her small chest, looking proud.

Lin Yue looked at her and felt both annoyed and amused, but she had to admit that her sister had a point.

Even those who come from the Celestial Master's Mansion, even if they are only quasi-Celestial Masters, are far more powerful than ordinary people.

"This isn't a matter of whether I know martial arts or not," Lin Yue explained patiently.

"The officialdom is treacherous; those people will do anything for their own benefit."

"It's easy to dodge a spear in the open, but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark. You have no experience, so you can easily fall into a trap."

"That's precisely why I need to learn from you!" Lin Qingyan argued forcefully.

"Moreover, precisely because I am a girl, and a teenage girl at that, they are even less wary of me!"

"Think about it, all of you from the Dali Temple exude an air of officialdom. When you stand there, who can't tell?"

"It's different when I go. I can disguise myself as a maid or a flower girl. Who would notice me? It's like the darkest place is under the lamp!"

Lin Yue fell silent.

He had to admit that his sister's words had hit the nail on the head once again.

Often, the key to solving a case lies precisely in those inconspicuous details, and an unremarkable young girl is indeed the best disguise.

He thought of His Highness the King of Qin.

His Highness never sets a precedent when employing people; he only looks at their abilities.

Your Highness entrusted Zhang Cheng, a Vice Minister of Works who was inept at interpersonal relationships, with important responsibilities; Your Highness also entrusted yourself, a Junior Minister who was being suppressed, with great confidence.

Why should I use worldly perspectives to restrict my sister's talent now?

Seeing that her brother's expression softened, Lin Qingyan pressed on, adopting a coquettish tone and shaking his arm:

"Good brother, please let me try!"

"I promise, I'll do whatever you say. If you tell me to go east, I'll never go west!"

"I'll just run errands for you and gather some information. I absolutely won't do anything reckless on my own, okay?"

Lin Yue sighed deeply. If he didn't agree today, who knew what kind of trouble this girl would cause tomorrow?

He looked into his sister's eyes, at her unwavering determination to uncover the truth and her pure sense of justice, which reminded him so much of himself when he was young.

"Fine, fine, I really can't do anything with you." He finally relented.

"However, I have conditions."

“Tell me! Don’t just say one, ten will do!” Lin Qingyan immediately beamed with joy.

"Your safety is the top priority. I will send people to protect you secretly. No matter where you go or what you do, you must not leave their sight."

"no problem!"

"You cannot act alone. All plans must be reported to me first and can only be executed after I give my approval."

"Tell me about any discoveries immediately, and don't make any decisions on your own!"

"I guarantee I will!"

“Third…” Lin Yue hesitated for a moment, then took out a file from his pocket.

“Other places are too dangerous, you don’t need to investigate them. Your task is this.”

Lin Qingyan curiously took the file, opened it, and saw that it contained information about the newly appointed township head, Liu Jing.

"Liu Jing?" she asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Wasn't he a positive role model promoted by Wang Qinian and his group? What's the point of investigating him?"

“Your Highness and I believe that his typical example is precisely the biggest flaw,” Lin Yue explained.

"I don't believe there's no story behind how a student from a poor background, who usually performs averagely, can suddenly soar to great heights."

"In order to make this story believable, they will definitely focus on Liu Jing's family background."

"What you need to investigate is whether there are any loopholes in the story they fabricated."

He pointed to an address on the file: "This is the residence of Liu Jing's relatives, in the south of the city."

"Go there, pretend to be a little girl selling needles and thread on the streets, chat with the neighbors, and listen to what they have to say about the Liu family. See if anything has changed recently."

"For example, has anyone suddenly become rich, or have any strange relatives come to visit?"

Lin Yue felt that this mission was relatively safe.

The shantytowns are inhabited by ordinary people who are not cunning. Sending my younger sister to gather information about everyday gossip would be a good way to utilize her advantages as a woman without exposing her to any real danger.

“Okay! I’ll take this task!” Lin Qingyan agreed readily, full of confidence.

Seeing his younger sister's renewed vitality, Lin Yue stood up and gave her one last piece of advice:

"Remember, be careful in everything you do."

"If you sense anything is wrong, leave immediately. No case is more important than your safety, understand?"

"I know, brother, you're even more nagging than my mother." Lin Qingyan stuck out his tongue and made a face.

Lin Yue shook his head helplessly, turned around and walked out of the room.

Outside the door, the night was deep. He looked up at the waning moon on the horizon, hoping that his decision today was the right one.

Inside the room, Lin Qingyan was already excitedly changing clothes, gesturing in front of the mirror, and thinking about what identity to use and what opening line to give tomorrow.

……

The next day, inside Dali Temple.

Lin Yue sat in the main seat, listening to reports from several of his trusted subordinates.

"Sir, there's been some activity from Wang Teng's side." Wang Wu, who was in charge of keeping watch, lowered his voice and looked somewhat excited.

"He left the mansion this afternoon and went to a place furtively."

"Where?" Lin Yue asked.

"West of the city, Hanlin Pavilion."

As soon as the name was uttered, everyone's eyes in the secret room turned to it.

"Hanlin Pavilion?" Lin Yue frowned.

This place is the most famous writing implement shop in the capital, specializing in all kinds of precious papers, ink sticks, and inkstones. It is frequented by high-ranking officials, nobles, and renowned scholars, and is known for its refined taste.

What would Wang Teng, a spoiled brat, be doing there?

"He went shopping?"

"It doesn't seem like it." Wang Wu shook his head.

"After he went in, he didn't stay in the lobby on the first floor. He was directly led to a private room on the second floor by a man who looked like a manager."

"Our people dared not get too close; they just kept watch outside."

"About an hour later, he came out empty-handed. But our people could see clearly that his clothes were bulging when he went in, but deflated when he came out, as if he had sent something in."

“Delivering something…” Lin Yue’s fingers tapped lightly on the table.

Just then, the person in charge of the other direction, Zhang San, who had been sent to impersonate a rich young master, also spoke up.

He looked tired, with sunken eyes, clearly having been exhausted from social engagements these past few days.

"My lord, I've also inquired at the Hanlin Academy." Zhang San's voice was a little hoarse.

"Oh? What did you say over there?" Lin Yue perked up.

"That middleman called Third Master contacted me again last night," Zhang San said with a wry smile.

“I’ve spent nearly ten thousand taels of silver on him these past few days, and he’s finally starting to treat me like a real big customer.”

"He confided in me that there are special channels for selling calligraphy for the provincial examinations."

"What channel?"

"He didn't dare say it outright, only that the money for this deal couldn't be paid through ordinary money shops because the amount was too large and would easily attract the attention of the Ministry of Revenue and the Censorate."

"They have their own method: through a few trusted shops, they exchange silver for fine goods, which are then resold by the shops. In this way, the accounts show it as a normal business transaction, and no one knows anything about it."

“An elegant object?” Lin Yue pondered the word.

"Yes, those are the works of famous calligraphers and painters, antiques from previous dynasties, and rare cultural artifacts," Zhang San explained.

"For example, a painting might be worth a thousand taels on the market, but they can record it as worth ten thousand taels."

“The buyer gave the shop 10,000 taels of silver and took the painting. The shop then transferred 9,000 taels of silver to the seller under another pretext.”

“In this way, the silver was cleaned up.”

A collective gasp filled the sealed room.

This method was far more sophisticated and covert than they had imagined.

"Is the shop he mentioned Hanlin Pavilion?" Lin Yue asked pointedly.

Zhang San nodded vigorously: "Yes!"

"He mentioned several other places, but he said that Hanlin Pavilion was the most stable one, with the deepest background."

"He said that the owner of the Hanlin Academy has connections everywhere. Not to mention the Court of Judicial Review, even the censors of the Censorate have to give him some face."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yue's thoughts instantly became clear.

Wang Teng didn't go to a pen and ink shop at all, but to an underground bank!