Late at night.

Yongding Bridge.

Xie Zhifei stood on the bridge, gazing at the pleasure quarters lining both banks. He turned to Zhu Qing behind him:

“Tell the brothers that if the Embroidered Uniform Guard won’t withdraw, neither can we. Later, Third Master will treat them to drinks at the flower houses.”

“Yes!”

After Zhu Qing left, Xie Zhifei could no longer keep himself upright from exhaustion and plopped down on the ground.

The Zhu family matter alone was already overwhelming, and now a Tartar spy had surfaced… Heaven wasn’t even giving him a moment to breathe.

“Well, well, Third Master?”

Xie Zhifei looked up to see Cai Si of the Northern Pacification Office of the Embroidered Uniform Guard mounted on his horse, his sharp eagle eyes staring intently at him.

Cai Si dismounted, tossed the reins to his attendant, walked over to Xie Zhifei, and also plopped down beside him.

“Fourth Master, this is…”

“Only you’re allowed to rest, and I’m not?”

Only then did Xie Zhifei notice that the man’s gaze wasn’t sharp at all—it was clouded with dark circles, his eyeballs bloodshot.

The Northern Office was responsible for the imperial prison.

If even the prison officials had been mobilized, one could imagine how much pressure was coming from above.

“Found anything?”

“Found nothing!”

Cai Si thought about how in this freezing weather he couldn’t cuddle his warm little vixen to sleep, and his mood soured.

“That damned Bu Liu dumped that bastard at the Embroidered Uniform Guard headquarters this evening, patted his ass and left. Once this is over, I still have to go back and interrogate his bastard.”

The corner of Xie Zhifei’s lips curved silently upward.

Bu Liu had listened.

“That bastard was beaten within an inch of his life. How am I supposed to interrogate him?”

“How you interrogate him isn’t my concern—just don’t kill him. At least keep him breathing for me.”

Xie Zhifei held up five fingers. “Third Master will personally deliver your reward later. It won’t be less than this amount.”

Sitting on the cold bridge in this freezing weather, Fourth Master Cai had been waiting for exactly this statement.

Earlier, Third Master had sent someone with a message, asking him to keep the man alive but saying nothing about rewards.

Who the hell does favors without benefits?

Cai Si smiled with satisfaction and hooked his lips. “You little bastard, who are you keeping this man for?”

“Don’t ask.”

Xie Zhifei kicked him with his foot. “By the way, can you spare one or two men from your side?”

Cai Si: “What for?”

Xie Zhifei: “Help me find someone.”

Cai Si gave him a look, thinking: You damn well know what the situation is right now.

“Can’t spare anyone.”

“Think of something.”

Xie Zhifei leaned closer. “Next year, Third Master will ask Old Master Zhu from the Directorate of Astronomy to get you a talisman.”

A talisman from the Zhu family—that was something money couldn’t buy!

People like them might look glamorous, but they were actually walking around with their heads tied to their belts. Dangerous business!

Cai Si was immediately tempted. “Speak. Who are you looking for?”

Xie Zhifei: “Someone named Geng Songsheng.”

“Geng Songsheng?”

Cai Si slowly furrowed his brow. “That name sounds a bit familiar!”

Xie Zhifei was shocked. “You’ve heard of him?”

“Seems a bit familiar.”

Xie Zhifei knew he had extensive connections and a wide network. He quickly said: “He’s from Luoyang Prefecture. Later went to study at the Imperial Academy, and then later because of the spring examination cheating incident…”

Spring examination cheating?

Cai Si slapped his thigh. “Isn’t that kid tall and somewhat dark, doesn’t look like a scholar at all, but has quite a handsome face?”

“Yes, yes, yes! You know him?”

“What the hell is he to me?”

Cai Si snorted coldly. “Why would I know him?”

That year during the spring examinations, the Northern Office had sent sixty men to patrol and stand guard. That kid was caught cheating with a small note during the exam—it was the Northern Office’s men who caught him.

No wonder it sounded familiar!

“I say, Third Master, what do you want with someone like that?”

“Ah, my dear Fourth Master, stop asking so many questions. Do you know where this person is now?”

“How would I know about him!”

Cai Si’s voice had just risen shrilly when his expression suddenly changed. “Wait, I think I heard someone mention…”

“Mention what?”

“Don’t interrupt, let me think!”

Cai Si scratched his head. “A few years ago, someone mentioned him to me. Don’t interrupt, don’t interrupt!”

After thinking for a long while, he couldn’t remember.

Cai Si looked toward his horse-holding attendant. “Where’s Ni Er? Go call him over.”

“Yes!”

Xie Zhifei asked: “Who is this Ni Er?”

Cai Si: “The man who caught him cheating that year.”

Hearing this, Xie Zhifei was about to stand up. “I’ll go with you to see him!”

“What’s the rush?”

Cai Si grabbed him. “He’s right over there across the river doing inspections. I’ll have someone call him over immediately. Quick, tell Fourth Master how you got involved with the Directorate of Astronomy again?”

Xie Zhifei had no mind for this and said casually: “The Directorate’s old master is my sister-in-law’s natal family.”

“Oh my, look at my memory, damn it!”

Cai Si smiled slyly. “Could you have someone from the Zhu family help me check my residence’s feng shui? My residence…”

“Fourth Master, my dear Fourth Master, first let’s find the person. Everything else is negotiable.”

Xie Zhifei propped himself up on his shoulder and stood, craning his neck to look toward the other side of the river.

After watching for just a short while, the man called Ni Er arrived.

Cai Si briefly explained the situation. Without even thinking, Ni Er immediately shouted:

“This person seems to have become a monk at Mount Wutai. A few years ago when Xu Qi went there to investigate a case, he ran into him. He came back and told me about it, saying how these days even Buddhist monasteries are full of corrupt scholars.”

Became a monk?

He actually became a monk!

Xie Zhifei quickly asked: “Who is Xu Qi?”

Ni Er: “Northern Office. My brother.”

Xie Zhifei: “Where is he? Can you bring him here?”

Ni Er: “You’d have to go to the netherworld for that.”

Dead?

Xie Zhifei was stunned.

“Lost his life investigating a case.”

Cai Si patted Xie Zhifei’s shoulder meaningfully. “Third Master, our line of work isn’t easy.”

Xie Zhifei’s smile was strained. He pulled out a banknote from his chest. “Brother Ni Er, could you tell me in detail about Geng Songsheng’s cheating incident that year?”

Ni Er didn’t dare reach out to take it. He looked up at his superior.

Boss Cai’s face darkened. “What, is my brother’s silver too hot to handle?”

Ni Er quickly accepted it with a face full of smiles.

“Third Master, the moment I laid eyes on that Geng Songsheng kid, I knew there was a problem. Nervous expression, shifty eyes.”

Xie Zhifei knew that anyone accepted into the Northern Office had keen eyes.

“During the day, the kid was quiet. But toward evening, he started getting restless, his legs shaking like mad. After shaking for a while, he sneakily reached into his chest.

I took a quick step forward. He jumped in fright and quickly pulled his hand out of his chest, but that piece of paper came out with it.”

Recalling his feat, Ni Er’s face lit up with animation.

“I picked it up and took a look—good heavens, that paper was covered in dense writing, characters so tiny they looked like ants. Made my head spin just looking at it.”

“And then?”

“Then I reported directly to the Ministry of Rites examination supervisor. The supervisor immediately had him expelled from the examination hall.”

At this point, Ni Er sneered.

“You could say this kid was something else. When he heard he was being expelled, he performed a scholar’s salute to the supervisor, straightened his back, flicked his sleeves, smiled at himself, and just patted his ass and walked out.”

Xie Zhifei was shocked. “He could still smile?”

“Exactly! My brothers and I were stunned. We even discussed how when scholars become shameless, they’re truly invincible under heaven.”

Ni Er shook his head. “If it were us, we’d just hang ourselves and be done with it.”

Xie Zhifei: “…”

He too was stunned speechless.