64: Chapter 64: The Four Women's Operation – Each Showing Their Skills

The sunlight had just crawled over the eaves as Chen Xuan squatted before the kitchen stove, adding firewood.

The flames licked the bottom of the kettle, and the muffled sound of water turned into a light boil. He lifted the kettle, poured himself a cup of tea, and blew on it. Just as he was about to take a sip, the courtyard gate opened with a creak.

Leng Shuang was the first to enter, her footsteps light as if treading on snow. She carried a package of ointment; she remembered that he had scraped his arm while practicing his skills last night.

Zhao Hongling followed closely behind, her boots thumping against the ground. "Stop hiding in your room acting all aloof! We all saw that paper you wrote this morning. 'Need people, need leads, need stability, need concealment'—it's written like an account book. Who wouldn't understand it?"

Dugu Xue entered a step slower, standing by the screen wall to straighten her cuffs. Her tone was calm. "If you investigate alone and something happens, no one will know. We aren't here to cause trouble; we're here to lend a hand."

Liu Ruyan arrived last. She didn't speak, only placing a stack of old ledgers gently on the stone table. The cover read "Annual Records of the Jiangnan Music Houses."

Chen Xuan set down his teacup, rubbed the tip of his nose, and smiled. "Are you all forming a group to stage a coup?"

"We're helping you."

Leng Shuang spoke. Her voice wasn't loud, yet it was like a knife cutting through ice. "Wherever you go, I will guard. You don't need to ask; I won't leave."

Zhao Hongling stood with her hands on her hips. "My father runs the Ministry of Works, and my mother knows every noble lady in the capital. Is it that hard to sniff out some rumors? Besides, those ladies love to gossip most when drinking tea; they're more effective than spies."

Dugu Xue walked to the table and tapped the ledger with her fingertip. "Relying on one person to chase leads makes it easy to hit a dead end. By moving separately, we can see the full picture. You can hide your plans, but you can't hide your brow; it hasn't relaxed since yesterday."

Liu Ruyan finally looked up, her eyes clear. "My origins shouldn't be uncovered by someone else on my behalf. I want to visit the places from back then, even if only a place name remains."

Chen Xuan looked at them. Every one of them was standing; not a single one sat down. It was as if they had discussed this beforehand and were just waiting for him to nod.

He sighed, pulled the folded paper from his robe, and spread it on the table. "Since you're all here, let's make things clear."

There are three principles: do not meet up, do not cross paths, and do not return to the manor to report. Each person takes one line, use messengers to pass word, and I will provide separate addresses. If anyone is exposed, the others must cut contact immediately."

The four women looked at each other and nodded simultaneously.

"Leng Shuang," he looked at the woman in white, "monitor my daily movements and guard my path in secret. I won't show any flaws, and you shouldn't let anyone discover you're there either."

Leng Shuang stood with her arms crossed and gave a slight nod, accepting the task.

"Hongling," he turned to the woman in red, "go into the noble circles to gather information, especially regarding the seizure of banned books in the West Market. The Ministry of Internal Affairs is making quite a move; there's bound to be something behind it."

Zhao Hongling patted her chest. "Leave it to me! There's a tea party for noble ladies this afternoon, and the wife of the Vice Minister of Works is sure to be there. Getting information out of her will be child's play."

"Dugu Xue," his gaze turned to the Princess of the Northern Border, "you will set up a sand table and analyze the situation. Map out official transfers, troop movements, and changes in the city's districts. See if there are any commonalities."

Dugu Xue nodded. "I've already had someone bring a map of the capital and copies of the court bulletins from the last three months. I can produce the first version of the deduction tonight."

"Ruyan," he finally looked at the courtesan, "investigate your own past. Human traffickers, recommenders, entry procedures into the music house—don't miss any details. But remember, do not meet strangers alone. If anything happens, notify the messenger first."

Liu Ruyan gave a soft acknowledgement, her fingers brushing the edge of the ledger.

"Also," Chen Xuan looked around, "no one is allowed to take risks. I don't want heroes; I want living people. Failing to find something is a matter of ability, but a dead person can't do anything."

Zhao Hongling curled her lip. "Why do you make it sound like we're going into a dragon's den or a tiger's lair?"

"This isn't a dragon's den," he stared at her, "it's a snake pit, the silent kind. If you're bitten, you won't even know who delivered the venom."

The group fell silent for a moment.

Leng Shuang suddenly said, "I'll stay at the West Street Inn. It's closest to the path you take when you go out, and the rooftop has a good view. I can hear any movement at night."

"I'll stay in the South Pavilion; it's convenient for contacting various informants," Zhao Hongling said. "If there's news, I'll send it directly via carrier pigeon."

"I'll set up my operations at the Northern Border Envoy House to avoid suspicion," Dugu Xue added.

"I'll go to the Jiangnan Guild Hall first thing tomorrow morning," Liu Ruyan said quietly. "The rosters from twenty years ago are kept there."

Chen Xuan nodded, refolded the paper, and tucked it back into his sleeve. "Then it's settled."

"In three days, I will use the compilation of the 'Martial Forest Records' as a pretext to request access to the peripheral materials of the Imperial Court History Records Room. That's the first step, and also a probe. Your intelligence must be sent over before then."

After the others dispersed, he returned to his study and sat at the table, staring at the kettle boiling again on the stove. The white steam rose in curls, making the window paper glow faintly.

That evening, Leng Shuang had already changed into black clothes and was lurking on the roof of an inn on West Street.

She curled up behind the roof ridge, her gaze sweeping over the entrance of the alley Chen Xuan passed through daily. The night wind brushed her face, but she remained as motionless as a statue.

Zhao Hongling attended the tea party on time, dazzling in a red dress and full of smiles.

During the gathering, she intentionally brought up the search of the West Market bookstores. "Oh my, banned books? Surely it couldn't be that 'Ten Beauties of the Spring Night' my family has hidden?" Her comment drew a burst of laughter from the guests.

As the party ended, she secretly slipped a box of rouge to the wife of the Vice Minister of Works. Inside was a small note: "If you want to know what the Ministry of Internal Affairs is investigating, meet at the corner gate of the West Garden at noon tomorrow."

Dugu Xue spread out a sand table in a guest room at the Envoy House, using small flags to mark the residences of officials.

She overlaid recent troop movement records with the city's defense maps and discovered that three military officers had privately swapped patrol times without reporting it to the Ministry of War.

She took up her brush and wrote: "Point of suspicion one: abnormal military orders; point of suspicion two: high overlap in city district blockade zones; point of suspicion three: Ministry of Internal Affairs actions are linked to the flow of old imperial family archives."

She sealed the letter and handed it to a trusted aide to be sent out by fast horse.

Liu Ruyan walked into the Jiangnan Guild Hall alone and flipped through a yellowed "Roster of the Xinyou Year." Her finger stopped on a name: "Granny Wang, recommended three girls, entered the pleasure boats."

She noted down the address and headed to an old alley in the east of the city the next morning. That house was already empty, with a relocation notice posted on the door, the ink not yet dry.

She carved a tiny character for "Yan" on the inside of the threshold and turned to leave.

Three days later, in the morning, Chen Xuan sat in his study with four secret reports laid out before him.

Leng Shuang's letter was the shortest: "No anomalies on the return trip, no one following. However, the manager of the West Street Inn received a silver ingot last night from a certain runner of the Ministry of Internal Affairs."

Zhao Hongling's letter was written vibrantly: "Found it! The list of banned books includes 'Abridged Genealogy of the Previous Dynasty' and 'Supplement to the Records of Imperial Marriage Relatives'—all obscure things. That lady said someone specifically named these to be collected."

Dugu Xue's report was the most rigorous: "Three paths point to the same conclusion: someone is systematically cleaning up records related to the imperial Bloodline. Troop movement routes cover three old archive storage points, and the timing matches."

Liu Ruyan's letter had only two lines: "The human trafficker moved away three days ago.

The neighbors said she left in the middle of the night, taking a man in a black robe with her. I stuffed a note into the crack of her door with my mother's name on it."

After Chen Xuan finished reading, he pressed the four pieces of paper side-by-side under his inkstone.

He stood up, walked into the courtyard, and looked up at the sky. The clouds were thin, allowing the sunlight to filter through and cast mottled patches on the blue brick ground.

He straightened his collar, felt for his waist token, and prepared to head out.

Today, he was going to the palace to formally submit his documents and request to consult the peripheral materials of the Imperial Court History Records Room.

The reason was perfectly legitimate, and his actions were calm and unhurried.

The net behind the scenes had already quietly opened a corner.

He stepped out of the courtyard gate with steady steps.