“What did they transport?”

Xuan Yi shook his head. “Everything was packed in burlap sacks, so I couldn’t tell what it was. Those people were extremely cautious, so your subordinate didn’t dare get too close.”

“Continue watching them. You must be careful not to be discovered.”

Qi Shuo arranged to meet with Lin Hao.

“Do you have news?” The moment they met, Lin Hao asked impatiently.

These past two days, her thoughts had been entirely focused on Chen Mu, who had suddenly appeared in the capital. After pondering it for so long, she even began to suspect that the person she was looking for might be connected to Chen Mu—otherwise, why would all these coincidental encounters happen on Changchun Street?

“I’ve found that person’s whereabouts.” Qi Shuo carefully explained what he had discovered. “The location for whatever they’re plotting should be on Jinxiu Street. They’ve been scouting Jinxiu Street these past few days.”

“No wonder they’re staying near Changchun Street. They transported unknown items to their residence and plan to take action on Jinxiu Street with the goal of sabotaging relations between Great Zhou and Yuliu—” Lin Hao analyzed, her eyes showing alarm. “Could they be planning to blow up the Yuliu envoys on Jinxiu Street?”

Jinxiu Street was precisely the road the authorities had been focusing on repairing lately—the route the Yuliu diplomatic mission must take.

Qi Shuo raised an eyebrow. “You mean—gunpowder?”

Lin Hao nodded, her heart pounding violently. “Though I don’t know if there are people of noble status among those coming from Yuliu, even if they’re ordinary envoys, if something happens to them on a main street in Great Zhou’s capital, it would be enough to make Yuliu and Great Zhou enemies.”

“That makes sense.” Qi Shuo agreed, then raised a question. “How did you think of gunpowder?”

Gunpowder had existed in Great Zhou for a long time, mainly used for fireworks and firecrackers. Its use as a weapon for killing was quite rare. First, it wasn’t easy to make; second, its power wasn’t great; and third, outside a battlefield environment, it was very easy to be discovered when carrying it.

“It was just my first instinct. Does the Heir remember the incident where the Heir of Marquis Pingjia made a fool of himself? Wasn’t it because firecrackers suddenly exploded and he was startled?” Lin Hao quickly found a reason.

But in reality, it stemmed from her understanding of her teacher.

Daoist Mingxin was a person of great talent. To help Emperor Pingle reclaim his empire, he had turned gunpowder meant for creating beauty into an extremely powerful weapon of death. She had once witnessed gunpowder explode with her own eyes—a lively piglet turned into roast pork.

If it could blow up a pig, naturally it could kill people.

This was why, after hearing the news brought by the Heir of Prince Jing, her first thought was gunpowder.

“Actually, whether it’s gunpowder or something else, it’s certain that these people are planning to act on Jinxiu Street.” Qi Shuo voiced the plan he had already considered. “If the goal is simply to stop this conspiracy, regardless of whether these people live or die, it’s actually quite easy to handle.”

“How?”

Qi Shuo smiled. “Just let Jinlin Guard Commander Cheng Maoming know about this matter. Cheng Maoming has offended the Crown Prince, so he won’t refuse such an opportunity to secure his position in His Majesty’s heart.”

“If it’s convenient for the Heir, then please inform Commander Cheng.” Lin Hao said without hesitation.

Qi Shuo looked at her deeply.

“What’s wrong?”

“Then these people’s fate probably won’t be too good.”

Lin Hao’s expression was somewhat strange. “People like this who only care about their own selfish interests and disregard the lives of common people—isn’t a bad fate exactly what they deserve?”

Could the Heir of Prince Jing actually feel sorry for them?

Qi Shuo silently took a sip of tea.

Understood—she was only protecting that young man who had been following her.

“I’ll find an opportunity to confirm what they transported to their residence, then inform the Jinlin Guard.”

“Then I’ll trouble the Heir.”

“Such words are too formal.”

Lin Hao’s heart skipped a beat, and she heard the person across from her say, “As long as one is a person of Great Zhou, one shouldn’t turn a blind eye.”

“Yes, the Heir is right.” Lin Hao agreed without changing expression, while inwardly despising herself.

How troublesome—ever since the Heir of Prince Jing had revealed his feelings, she couldn’t help but overthink things.

“Moreover, this is something you care about.” The handsome young man’s lips curved in a smile, his voice flowing past the young woman’s ears like a clear spring.

Lin Hao gulped down a large mouthful of tea.

Confirming what those items were proved extremely difficult. Those people always ensured at least two remained at the residence, maintaining strict vigilance.

Fortunately, Qi Shuo had sufficient patience and finally waited for an opportunity.

On this day, one of the two people staying at the residence had an upset stomach, making trip after trip to the privy. Qi Shuo had Xuan Yi do something very simple—quietly remove most of the toilet paper. The man rushed into the privy like a gust of wind, only to discover when he needed it that there wasn’t enough toilet paper.

Left with no choice, he raised his voice and shouted, “Sixth Brother, quickly bring me some toilet paper—there’s no toilet paper left!”

Sixth Brother looked disgusted as he cursed under his breath and went to deliver toilet paper.

Qi Shuo took the opportunity to slip inside, quickly opening one burlap sack. He saw it was wrapped in multiple layers—in such a short time, there was no way to examine it thoroughly.

The person delivering toilet paper could return at any moment. He rubbed his finger against it, and black dust particles stuck to his fingertip—something that had leaked from inside. He brought it to his nose and sniffed, detecting a faint, peculiar odor.

It was the smell of sulfur!

With this discovery, Qi Shuo immediately withdrew. Just as he finished hiding, Sixth Brother returned.

Sixth Brother glanced inside, then sat back down in the chair by the door to rest.

The glance was out of caution, but psychologically, he obviously wouldn’t imagine that in the brief time it took to deliver toilet paper, someone had come in to investigate.

On his way back, Qi Shuo instructed Xuan Yi, “Continue watching them, don’t alert them.”

“Your subordinate understands.” Xuan Yi responded with a calm face, but inwardly he was crying.

He shouldn’t have complained that watching from afar was boring. Today, following the Heir as they snuck in certainly wasn’t boring, but his nose was still full of the privy’s stench even now.

Qi Shuo first returned to the mansion to change clothes before going to a teahouse not far from the Jinlin Guard headquarters.

The one who went to the Jinlin Guard headquarters to deliver the message was the servant Changning.

“The Heir is looking for me?” Cheng Maoming was somewhat surprised to receive the message, involuntarily thinking of the case of Lin Chan’s abduction.

The true culprit in that case had been pinned on Zhao Helin. It was easy to deceive the officials and nobles, but the Heir of Prince Jing and Cheng Shu, who had been deeply involved, would probably become suspicious.

But what surprised Cheng Maoming was that neither Cheng Shu nor the Heir of Prince Jing had sought him out afterward, as if they had no doubts about the outcome.

Could it be that the Heir of Prince Jing was slow to realize and was only now beginning to suspect?

Originally, without the connection of Lin Chan’s abduction case, he could completely use being busy as an excuse not to meet him. But now he couldn’t do so, since the Heir of Prince Jing and Cheng Shu had helped during the investigation.

Cheng Maoming speculated about Qi Shuo’s intentions while preparing a bellyful of explanations as he went to the teahouse.

“I wonder what matter the Heir seeks me for?”

“Has the Commander been quite busy lately?” Qi Shuo asked with a smile.

“There are quite a few matters, especially with the Yuliu envoys arriving soon. Though our Jinlin Guard doesn’t need to maintain the capital’s public order like those offices under the Five Chief Military Commissioners, we still need to be extra careful.”

Qi Shuo nodded. “The Commander is right. I think so too.”

Cheng Maoming paused.

The Heir of Prince Jing’s words were interesting. What use was it that he thought so too?

Was he just making small talk for no reason?