Aoyama

Chapter 520 Aunt Ping
The Military Intelligence Bureau is extremely well-organized.

To prevent it from being wiped out by the Secret Service, Lu Jin deliberately divided the Military Intelligence Bureau into two parallel branches that never intersected.

Just when everyone thought that the Military Intelligence Bureau should be under the jurisdiction of the Director, the factions of Director Ding and Director Gui had never even met the Director.

This was something even the Secret Service didn't know, but Chen Ji did.

Now that Si Caoding has tested the reliability of the Capital Morning Post, he has fallen silent again, waiting to use this intelligence channel again. Chen Ji doesn't know when the other party will slip up, but he doesn't have much time to wait. He needs to proactively give Si Caoding a reason to appear.

Zhang Xia looked down at the coded messages Chen Ji had written and suddenly asked, "How do you know so much about the Military Intelligence Bureau?"

Chen Ji remained silent.

Apart from Old Man Yao and Si Cao Gui, no one knew that he was the nephew of Lu Jin, the Deputy Privy Councilor of the Jing Dynasty, nor did anyone know that he was also a member of the Military Intelligence Bureau.

Seeing his silence, Zhang Xia smiled and said, "Never mind, I won't ask anymore. Are you trying to lure the Military Intelligence Bureau to Wenchang Bookstore? Do you think they'll take the bait?"

Chen Ji replied, "Yes."

He had thought about it carefully. If he were Si Cao Ding, what would he think after Si Cao Gui left in a hurry?
Si Caoding and Si Caogui had known each other for many years and worked together for many years. Si Caogui left in a hurry and did not even have time to hand over and arrange the spies under his command.

Si Cao Ding wondered if Si Cao Gui had fallen into the hands of the Secret Intelligence Bureau, whether he would expose him, and whether this would endanger the safety of half of the Military Intelligence Bureau.
If he were Si Cao Ding, he would definitely find out what happened; otherwise, he would also have to pack his things and prepare to run away.

Zhang Xia pondered for a moment: "What if Si Cao Ding only sends a minor spy of insignificant importance to Wenchang Bookstore? We probably still won't be able to find him."

Chen Ji shook his head slightly: "The Military Intelligence Bureau has strict rules. I invited him to discuss this in my capacity as Chief C. If he only sends an insignificant person, it would be tantamount to exposing Chief C's identity. The twelve Chiefs also have a ranking order, and Chief D has no right to do so."

Zhang Xia nodded: "Then let's inform the Secret Service about this matter and let them wait and see."

“No,” Chen Ji denied. “Back in Luo City, the Military Intelligence Bureau even had people who could access the interrogation files of the Secret Service. I suspect that Si Cao Ding has spies within the Secret Service. If we inform the Secret Service, it might alert them. The Prime Minister may have realized this as well, which is why he was so eager to get rid of Si Cao Ding.”

Si Cao Ding is too important; Chen Ji doesn't want anything to go wrong with him.

Zhang Xia frowned: "But if you go it alone, I'm afraid it will be dangerous."

At this moment, the wind blew in from outside Mei Rui Tower, making the bamboo paper on the table rustle. Chen Ji looked out of the tower and clearly felt that he was very close to Si Cao Ding. Perhaps if he took another step forward, he would be able to see the other's face.

Chen Ji turned and walked towards the stairs: "I'm going to find some help."

……

……

After leaving Meihua Ferry, Chen Ji wandered through the Eight Great Hutongs and headed towards Zhengyangmen Street. The Eight Great Hutongs were desolate in the morning, with bed sheets, quilts, and washed clothes hanging on the railings.

The glitz and glamour of the night was completely gone.

Chen Ji walked through Zhengyangmen Street and finally hesitated outside Bianyifang on Qipan Street. Aunt Ping had told him that if anything happened, he could come to Bianyifang to find her...

But strangely, there are always code words and passwords for asking Deng Huo to do something, but Aunt Ping didn't say what the code word was for asking her. Could it be that she just asked if Ping Zhao was there?

Moreover, I wonder if Aunt Ping's injury from last time has healed yet? At this time, Bianyifang had not yet opened for business. The servants in the main hall were wiping the tables and chairs with rags, chatting and laughing.

As Chen Ji stepped across the threshold, a waiter said with a smile, "Sir, it's only Chen Shi (7-9 AM). Our shop won't open for business until Si Shi (9-11 AM). It's not that we don't want to make money from you, but the cooks haven't woken up yet and can't prepare the food."

Chen Ji calmly said, "I've come to find proof."

The servants were taken aback. One of them tossed a rag to his companion and said, "You all continue sweeping. I'll go and fetch the Thirteenth Master."

A moment later, Thirteen, still half asleep, followed the servant downstairs, muttering under his breath, "You dare to wake me up so early in the morning? You must be asking for a beating."

The servant quickly explained, "You instructed me earlier to wake you up immediately if anyone came looking for the identification."

Thirteen was taken aback: "Reason?"

He looked down from the stairs, and once he saw the traces of the past, he immediately perked up.

Thirteen rushed up to Chen Ji: "It's you... Come on, come on, I'll take you to find Aunt Ping."

He pulled Chen Ji by the wrist and led him out, through Qipan Street into Nianzi Hutong on the west side, and stopped in front of a secluded courtyard. He knocked three times lightly, then knocked three times heavily.

The door opened from the inside, and Madam Lu, wearing a black veiled hat, stood inside.

Thirteen smiled and said, "You two chat, I'll keep watch at the door."

Chen Ji walked into the courtyard and looked at the furnishings, but suddenly felt that they looked familiar. It wasn't until he saw the couplet in front of the main house that he realized the first line read "May your son be healthy and prosperous" and the second line read "May your son be healthy and strong." The horizontal inscription read "May you enjoy long life and happiness."

He then realized that the layout of this courtyard was exactly the same as that of Aunt Ping's house in Changping, except that the Bagua Taiji diagram worn out from practicing martial arts was missing from the ground.

The courtyard gate closed behind Chen Ji, and Madam Lu asked with a smile, "What kind of tea would you like?"

Chen Ji was taken aback: "I won't have any tea, Aunt Ping. I have important business to attend to today."

But Madam Lu still went into the side room: "Even if the sky falls, life goes on. A cup of tea won't make a big difference. Sit down first, and we can talk about it slowly."

Chen Ji sat down at the stone table, only to notice that today's Beijing Morning Post was still on the table.

He picked up the morning paper and asked curiously, "Does Aunt Ping read the morning paper too?"

From the side room, Madam Lu responded remotely: "These days, who in the capital doesn't read the Morning Post? It has everything the people want to know, from official appointments and dismissals to strange tales in the countryside. If you don't read the Morning Post, you wouldn't know that you almost died outside Baidadan City... Were you badly injured back then?"

Chen Ji fell silent. This Aunt Ping, who had initially kept everyone at arm's length, now seemed to care about him even more than the Chen family. For some reason, he always felt that she was an elder, and just sitting in her courtyard made him feel much more at ease.

At this moment, Madam Lu came out carrying a wooden tray. The tray not only contained tea, but also sliced ​​watermelon. This was the first time Chen Ji had ever eaten watermelon in Ning Dynasty.

Lu pointed to the watermelon: "This thing is called a watermelon. It was brought to me by an acquaintance from Guyuan. It's not common in the capital. To transport it, you have to fill the cart with fine sand and then bury it in the sand. Even so, 30% of it is spoiled by the time it reaches the capital... You probably haven't eaten one before, have you? Try it."

Chen Ji seemed to feel the earnest gaze of Aunt Ping behind her veil and black gauze, but instead of taking the watermelon, he solemnly said, "Aunt Ping, Si Cao Ding is about to appear, and I need you to kill him."

(End of this chapter)