Aoyama

Chapter 517 The wait is here

Upstairs at Meirui, everyone watched Chen Ji with his brows furrowed in silence, no one daring to make a sound to disturb him.

Chen Ji pondered silently. This obituary did not use the fanqie method commonly used by the Military Intelligence Bureau, but only used homophones. Moreover, not every character was at the beginning of a sentence, and there was no pattern to it.

The four characters "寻司曹癸" can be considered a coincidental combination, or even a far-fetched connection.

But Chen Ji never believed in coincidences. The fact that someone was searching for Si Cao Gui using coded language right after he disappeared could not be a coincidence.

These four words also indicate that not only could he not find Si Cao Gui, but even the Military Intelligence Bureau had lost track of him.

Strange, what exactly happened when Aunt Ping fought with Si Cao Gui that would cause someone who values ​​the mission of the Military Intelligence Bureau above all else to leave without saying goodbye?

Who issued this obituary?
Judging from the tone of the four characters "search for Si Cao Gui," it is definitely a command. Within the capital, the only person who could issue such an order to search for Si Cao Gui is probably Si Cao Ding.

This was personally issued by Si Cao Ding.

Chen Ji looked up at Zhang Xia: "Where did you get this from?"

Zhang Xia recalled: "The man who collected this obituary usually sold newspapers in Xuanbeifang outside the city. He said that he received this obituary from a young man who paid him five taels of silver. The young man's clothes were unpatched, and his face did not look like that of someone who had done hard labor; he looked like a scholar."

young people?
Si Caoding was involved in the case of framing Qing Wentao, so he must be middle-aged. Who is this young man, and why does he have such trust in Si Caoding?

Chen Ji then asked, "If we capture this person, will we be able to recognize the stick?"

Zhang Xia shook his head: "I'm afraid not. I've seen too many people with this skill these past few days, and I don't have it."

Chen Ji pondered silently. There was good news and bad news. The bad news was that they couldn't find Si Caoding through this obituary, and there were too many newspaper sellers to find out Si Caoding's contacts.

The good news is that... Si Caoding is indeed reading the newspaper, and the Military Intelligence Bureau has already shifted its communication channels to newspapers.

Just then, he suddenly looked up at Zhang Xia: "How...how did you know I was looking for this?"

Chen Ji could decipher the code from the obituary because he frequently contacted the Military Intelligence Bureau and could quickly find key words, but why was Zhang Xia able to do so? Logically speaking, Zhang Xia shouldn't even know about Si Cao Gui's existence.

Zhang Xia calmly said, "Because this person published an obituary but did not wear mourning clothes, I was suspicious from the beginning. Moreover, although Ba Gun said that he could publish obituaries, he is the first person who was willing to publish an obituary in the Morning Post. So, is there really a problem with this obituary?"

Chen Ji smiled and said, "There is indeed a problem."

The member of the secret society asked, "Will it still be published?"

Chen Ji said, "Kan, don't alert the enemy."

The man looked down at the obituary for a long time but couldn't figure out what the problem was: "Should we keep an eye on the people buying newspapers?"

Chen Ji shook his head: "No need. Don't say anything to outsiders. Just continue as usual."

He looked down at the obituary again. The person who issued it was Li Mingwen, the eldest son of the Li family on Haibo Temple Street, but he didn’t know if the family was really holding a funeral.

Before he could ask, Zhang Xia said, "I've already had the Zhang family's assassins check from a distance. The Li family is holding a funeral, and the father has indeed passed away."

The man sighed, "Miss Zhang can think of everything for her master. It's so convenient."

Chen Ji and Zhang Xia both looked at the Gelaohui in silence.

The man subconsciously scratched his scalp with his little finger: "What, did I make it too obvious?"

Chen Ji turned and left: "Keep all the submitted manuscripts safe. I will check on them every day."

The man asked curiously, "Where is our master going?"

Chen Ji went down the stairs without turning his head and said, "Liulichang."

……

……

Chen Ji can't do anything now but wait patiently. The Military Intelligence Bureau is willing to use newspapers to transmit information; the other side is in the open, while he is in the shadows.

Once the Military Intelligence Bureau takes action, it will likely transmit orders through newspapers again. Whether it's stealing firearms or transmitting intelligence from the court, anything that appears in the newspapers will raise suspicion.

Only then can Chen Ji follow the clues to catch the person.

Until then, he could only wait.

Chen Ji's life became monotonous again. Without his official post, he no longer had to report for duty. He spent his days fetching water, reading, and traveling between the Chen family home on Fuyou Street and Liulichang, as if he had forgotten everything else.

Emperor Ning seemed to have forgotten about him, and did not assign him any new tasks. Grand Secretary Chen also did not seek him out again, but waited for the clan elders to preside over the matter of including him in the family genealogy.

Chen Ji filled a water vat early in the morning and planned to go to Liulichang. He had searched through three bookstores recently but had not found any trace of the Military Intelligence Bureau transmitting intelligence.

Even the coded messages in the newspapers have stopped, leaving Chen Ji somewhat puzzled. Did Si Cao Ding think the Capital Morning Post was unreliable, so he switched to another method of delivery?
As they went out, they saw Chen Xu standing in front of the door, dressed in a black Taoist robe.

Chen Ji asked in confusion, "Does the steward want to see me about something?"

Chen Xu smiled and said, "I have recently heard that you spend your days in the study rooms of various families in Liulichang, reading widely. Do you intend to take the imperial examination in three years? If so, I can invite a highly respected teacher from Donglin Academy to teach you and answer your questions."

Chen Ji was taken aback. He had been going to Liulichang too often lately, which made Chen Xu think that he was interested in taking the imperial examination.

Before he could answer, Chen Xu continued, “Young master, I began my cultivation under Master Gongyang at the age of twelve, entered the Innate Realm at eighteen, and reached the Seeking Dao Realm at thirty-four. I originally thought that with this official realm, I could go anywhere in the world. But later, when I arrived in the capital, I realized that the most important thing in this world is never mountains, but the rules built up by people’s hearts. As long as you don’t reach the Divine Dao Realm, you have to live within these rules.”

"Young master, half a lifetime of cultivation is not as good as half a volume of the Ministry of Revenue's regulations, and martial arts are not as good as reading books. Now, my Chen family has no successor. My master is working hard every day, but there is no one in the Chen family who can enter the cabinet."

Chen Ji asked curiously, "Is it mandatory for the Chen family to produce a cabinet minister?"

Chen Xu smiled and said, "That's natural. Only cabinet ministers can stay in the Wenhua Hall. Otherwise, they would be slow to realize what's happening in the world, and even if someone frames them, they wouldn't have a chance to defend themselves. That's how the court has always been. Once you leave, someone will try every means to take everything from you. The reason why Master kept Chen Lizhi alive was because he thought that if he could enter the cabinet, he could at least support the Chen family for another ten years and leave a chance for the younger generation. Now Chen Lizhi is dead."

Chen Ji said with a smile, "And there's my uncle too."

Chen Xu shook his head: "Sir, you are kind-hearted. Joining the cabinet will only bring trouble. It is better not to join. If you are interested in taking the imperial examination, even if I have to go to the Taoist temple to ask for medicine, I will still support you in the cabinet for another ten years."

Chen Ji declined, saying, "I appreciate the steward's kindness, but I only read for leisure and I'm afraid I'm not cut out for the imperial examinations."

He originally thought Chen Xu would try to persuade him again, but Chen Xu only thought for a moment: "It's fine, but it will require more effort, and it will require killing a lot of people."

Chen Ji was taken aback: "What are you going to do?"

Chen Xu said earnestly, "Kill more enemies and get the young master a dukedom."

Chen Ji laughed and said, "That might be a bit difficult."

He didn't want to dwell on the topic any longer, so he turned and walked out of the Chen residence: "I'm going to Liulichang. Butler, please make yourself at home."

Chen Ji went out alone and saw several sedan chairs parked in front of a porter in the distance. The porters counted out copper coins and handed them to the porter. The original newspaper cost five coins, but now that there are more pages, the price has increased.

After the sedan chairs had gone far away, Chen Ji came to the stick and handed over twenty coins: "Give me a newspaper."

"Alright," Chen Ji said, taking a newspaper out of his bag. He looked directly at the advertisement on the last page, but still found nothing.

As he walked, he looked at the pages again. The front page, as usual, was about flattering Emperor Ning to save his life. The second page was about the appointment and removal of officials. The first item was that Chen Yu, the secretary of the Thirteenth Department of the Ministry of Revenue, was transferred to Nanjing as the Commissioner of the Court of Transmission, a fourth-rank official.

Ever since Chen Ji brought down the second wife, Grand Secretary Chen completely distanced himself from Chen Yu and transferred him away from the capital.

It's a pity, Chen Ji actually thought this person was quite interesting.

When Chen Ji saw the seventh edition, his pupils contracted slightly. This edition contained an article submitted from outside the publication, and in this article, the secret code of the Military Intelligence Bureau finally reappeared.

Finally waited.

(End of this chapter)