As night fell, noodle stalls were set up, with steaming hot vapors rising into the air.

A bowl of freshly made plain noodles, sprinkled with some scallions, was served to a dining table set up by the roadside.

At the corner of the table sat a New Year picture doll mask. Its owner also had the appearance of a cheerful young nobleman. When the noodles were served, he hurriedly cupped the bowl with his cold hands to warm them, revealing a satisfied and simple smile on his face.

Zhang Yuehui was sitting by the roadside eating noodles when suddenly Qi soldiers surrounded him, roughly clearing away all the people in the vicinity. Gusha sat down across from Zhang Yuehui in great agitation.

“Everything’s going to hell, and Manager Zhang is still sitting here eating noodles?!”

Zhang Yuehui slurped his noodles and feigned a look of surprise: “General Gusha, what do you mean by this?”

Gusha was extremely anxious.

On this Lantern Festival night, when crowds gathered and festivities abounded, it was easy for covert operations to occur. He had insisted on implementing a citywide curfew—no flower lanterns, no painted boats, none of it should happen. But Wanyan Jun’s position was different. Since he needed to build ships, he had to win over many people, so the Lantern Festival had to be celebrated grandly and openly.

Higher rank crushes lower rank. Wanyan Jun had gone to enjoy himself on the painted boat, while Gusha still had to patrol, guard the city, and nervously strengthen defenses.

Damn it!

What made Gusha most anxious was that his spies reported unusual activity from the Candle Bureau, with their target seemingly being the painted boat. But he couldn’t figure out exactly what those people were plotting.

Once information couldn’t be obtained, one fell into a disadvantageous position.

He wanted to deploy additional personnel to the painted boat, but the number of people on the boat was fixed. If his men went aboard, some of the guests invited by Wanyan Jun would have to disembark. That clueless Wanyan Jun naturally wouldn’t allow it.

So he ordered the closure of the only lock leading out of Li Du Mansion, planning to inspect any vessel before it departed. But even so, he still felt uneasy, sensing there were still some traces he hadn’t caught.

Gusha was anxious and had been looking for Zhang Yuehui without finding him anywhere. When he finally located him, the fellow was actually eating noodles.

As if he were the only person in the entire city who was worried.

Gusha angrily slammed the table, causing oil droplets from the noodles to splash directly onto Zhang Yuehui’s face. Zhang Yuehui frowned with a “tsk” sound and leisurely pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his face.

“General Gusha, don’t get worked up. Speak slowly about whatever’s the matter.”

“Manager Zhang, do you know something? Name your price—I want to buy all of tonight’s information!”

Zhang Yuehui put on a look of difficulty: “General Gusha, it’s not that I’m unwilling to sell, but some information is hard to verify as true or false. If I get it wrong, it would damage Guilai Hall’s reputation.”

“Name your price.”

“It’s not about the money.”

“Three thousand taels!” Gusha directly pulled out bank notes from his chest and slammed them on the table.

“But if the information isn’t true…”

“Then I’ll accept my bad luck!”

Zhang Yuehui lifted the noodle soup, taking a large gulp of the hot, rich bone broth that warmed his entire body, then unhurriedly wiped his mouth. Under Gusha’s hopeful and earnest gaze, he pushed the bank notes back.

“General truly takes me for such a money-grubbing person? This Guilai Hall of mine doesn’t engage in just any kind of business. If the General is truly uneasy… you might as well guard the Sifang Bridge exit lock tightly—don’t let even a fly escape.”

These words clearly indicated he knew something.

Gusha became urgent. Closing the lock wasn’t a long-term solution. If nothing was found, Wanyan Jun would definitely be unwilling to have his Yangtze River pleasure trip obstructed. In the end, they’d still have to open the lock. Gritting his teeth, he pulled out another stack of bank notes, pressed them on top of the previous stack, and pushed them over: “Manager Zhang, how about five thousand taels? You take the money, I get the information, and whatever happens afterward has absolutely nothing to do with you.”

Zhang Yuehui paused, still pushed the bank notes back, and smiled slightly: “General, I want hard silver.”

Profiteer!

Gusha suppressed the twitching at the corner of his mouth and raised his hand to summon someone: “Go carry five thousand taels of hard silver to Manager Zhang’s mansion!—Manager Zhang, now you can speak, right?”

Zhang Yuehui elegantly beckoned with his finger, and Gusha leaned his ear over like a little dog.

“According to what I know, Xie Zhu has already been secretly placed on the painted boat, and there’s another person who will also board the painted boat tonight.”

“Who?”

“Prince Ling’an.”

Gusha’s eyes suddenly widened. This was enormous news—no wonder Zhang Yuehui had been so secretive about it!

Zhang Yuehui dipped his finger in the tea from his cup and drew a horizontal line on the table, indicating the Quleng River. He paused at a point in the middle: “This is the Quleng River. Yongguiqiao ferry dock is in the center of Li Du Mansion city—this is where Xie Zhu boarded the boat—”

His finger moved to the end of the horizontal line: “This is the Sifang Bridge lock, the final checkpoint for leaving the city. According to the plan, the painted boat will stop here to take on the last batch of passengers. Prince Ling’an will board here, then follow the painted boat downstream directly to the Yangtze River… However, the Candle Bureau conspirators have planned meticulously. They’ll wait until the people on the boat send a signal confirming safety before Prince Ling’an boards.”

“How will they send the signal?” Gusha asked in a lowered voice, immediately becoming tense.

“When the painted boat approaches Sifang Bridge, if they see the lock is open, they’ll release the signal. But opening the lock is ultimately a risky move—catching turtles in a jar means you can’t let your own jar have holes first. So I suggest the General not take risks. Just deploy heavy troops to lie in wait at Sifang Bridge and capture Prince Ling’an on shore. The one on the boat will naturally have nowhere to escape.”

A sinister smile flashed across Gusha’s face: “If we keep the lock closed, the people on the boat won’t send the signal. Prince Ling’an is cautious—he won’t come out until he sees the signal.”

Zhang Yuehui smiled: “Is the General preparing to stake everything on one throw?”

With a plan forming in his mind, Gusha thought: without taking risks, how could one achieve tremendous wealth and honor? Even his voice gained confidence: “Manager Zhang, I’m buying this information exclusively—don’t sell it to anyone else.”

“Naturally so.”

Gusha grabbed his sword and was about to leave: “A bunch of cunning dog Han people—I’ll catch them all in one net.”

Zhang Yuehui kindly reminded him: “I’m also a dog Han person.”

Gusha’s expression stiffened. Too lazy to make pleasantries, he clasped his fists and strode away with large steps.

The painted boat departed from Yongguiqiao ferry dock, already crowded with guests and extremely lively.

Everyone had gathered in the main hall to admire the flower lantern scenery along the banks, leaving the private rooms temporarily unoccupied. At the end of the boat’s cabin was an elegant chamber where Xie Zhu sat upright.

After this period of hiding, he seemed to have aged considerably, his complexion also appearing pale. He wore a drab gray robe, having mixed in under the guise of a worker moving miscellaneous items.

Everything had gone smoothly up to this point, but they were still far from the crucial moment of drawing blades. Tonight’s operation concerned his future, so naturally he was tense throughout his body, not saying a word, afraid of missing any movement.

Chang Yan waited at his side, vigilantly pushing open a crack in the window to observe the situation at the ferry dock, then turned back to say: “Master Xie, please remain calm. Your honored wife and daughter should be boarding the boat now. I’ll go receive them together.”

“Miss Chang Yan, be careful in all things.”

Chang Yan walked a few steps toward the door. Due to a spy’s instincts, she had been feeling vaguely uneasy in her heart. It was too smooth—everything was too smooth. If things really developed as Xie Liu had told her, and she turned around to betray them, this trap would be perfectly formed. The Qi people could catch all the Candle Bureau conspirators on this boat in one net, including Prince Ling’an.

The painted boat was isolated on the river—they wouldn’t even have an escape route.

Xie Sui’an was bold but naive, but such a large-scale plan couldn’t possibly be her doing alone. Was the entire Candle Bureau willing to take such risks?

Grasping that thread of suspicion, Chang Yan decided to take a risk. She suddenly turned back, staring at Xie Zhu with a cold tone: “Master Xie, we’re all in this together—why are you hiding things from me?”

Xie Zhu was startled and didn’t immediately understand: “Miss Chang Yan, what are you talking about?”

Actually, Xie Zhu’s reaction was already quite quick. He rapidly concealed the trace of guilt in his eyes, but Chang Yan still caught it.

Intelligence work sometimes came down to a hair’s breadth.

Chang Yan’s response was also seamless: “This plan is quite risky after all. If the plan leaks, not only would we die in vain, but it would be difficult to ensure His Highness’s safety. Master Xie clearly has a backup plan—why didn’t you inform me in advance so I could be prepared?”

Xie Zhu showed a bewildered expression: “Miss Chang Yan, what do you mean? When Xiaoliu informed us of the plan, Miss Chang Yan and I were both present. How would I know of any backup plan? Furthermore, the Qi people have the city guarded so tightly that not even water can leak through. Without taking some risks, how could we possibly get Prince Ling’an away?”

Chang Yan fell silent for a moment, a trace of sorrow appearing in her eyes, but it quickly transformed into resolve: “Master, Chang Yan understands. Tonight can only succeed—failure is not an option.”

Chang Yan pushed open the door and left. The moment she stepped outside, her expression changed.

Any normal person would feel anxious about executing a plan, yet Xie Zhu appeared too calm, completely following Chang Yan’s lead in his explanations about why there was no backup plan. Who among those involved in the situation would fixate on this issue? The key point should obviously be Prince Ling’an’s safety.

But strangely, Xie Zhu’s focus wasn’t on Prince Ling’an but on convincing Chang Yan to believe him. This absolutely didn’t align with Xie Zhu’s position!

Or perhaps he simply knew that Prince Ling’an wouldn’t board the boat, so he didn’t need to be nervous.

Chang Yan realized this was a deception. Perhaps her identity had long been exposed, and Xie Sui’an and the others were simply going with the flow, using her mouth to pass along false information. They had grasped the Qi people’s desire to set a trap to capture Prince Ling’an. If Prince Ling’an could appear, what harm was there in letting Xie Zhu board the boat? He was such excellent bait.

Deliberately creating citywide turmoil and undercurrents, drawing all military forces to Sifang Bridge. But what if the Candle Bureau’s goal was simply to get Xie Zhu away?

Then the painted boat wouldn’t stop—as soon as the Sifang Bridge lock opened, it would flow directly downstream and leave Li Du Mansion. There was only one ferry dock for leaving the city; once out, pursuit would be difficult.

She had to quickly get this information to her master!

Chang Yan walked through the empty corridor, only her hurried footsteps echoing rhythmically on the wooden boards. Suddenly, she realized there were two sets of footsteps!

She whipped around to look—a shadow pressed toward her.