Aoyama

Chenshi.

As Chen Ji walked east along Chang'an Avenue, he felt that the sun was particularly scorching and hot today, and the cicadas on the treetops were chirping incessantly.

Along the way, wooden signs were set up in front of each tavern, listing the types of mooncakes they sold. Inside the taverns, packages of mooncakes wrapped in oil paper were stacked into small mountains, with a red paper strip outside the oil paper, making them look especially festive.

But Chen Ji couldn't care less about celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival.

He went to a breakfast stall outside Dongjiang Rice Alley and ordered a bowl of millet porridge and two shepherd's purse buns.

As he ate his porridge, he glanced at the passersby outside the meeting hall, calculating his chances of assassinating the Annamese envoy.

Of all the ways to solve problems in this world, killing is the simplest.

Assassination is the simplest of all methods of killing.

Chen Ji's eyes were calm as he silently calculated that after the Annamese envoy left the Forbidden City, he would pass through the Meridian Gate, the Duan Gate, and the Chengtian Gate, then head west along Chang'an Street, passing through the Imperial Carriage Depot and the Hanlin Academy before arriving at the Huitong Hall.

The entire journey was escorted by more than a hundred Imperial Guards, and there were also countless spies in disguise, but they had no opportunity to participate along the way.

Since there's no opportunity on the road, let's start with the Huitong Hall.

Chen Ji was already very familiar with the Huitong Hall, and he also knew that there was a huge listening urn under the floor of the Huitong Hall, where secret agents would hide to eavesdrop on the activities inside the hall.

At this moment, he once again carefully examined the meeting hall, which had a total of sixty-four windows across two floors, with ten secret agents on duty at the entrance, taking turns to stand guard at noon and midnight every day.

If there is a way to have the officials in charge of lighting the lanterns disguise themselves, they might be able to blend in and kill the King of Annam with a single blow when he comes and goes.

But the consequence would be that he would die, and Princess Baili would not gain her freedom.

This method won't work.

Chen Ji pondered for a moment, "What about inside the reception hall? Is it possible that they could disguise themselves as a minor official delivering food and poison the food?"
Just then, a cart, escorted by twelve secret agents, arrived in front of the meeting hall. The cart was filled with baskets of fresh beef, mutton, and vegetables, with silver tags attached to the baskets, each tag bearing the name of the person who tasted the food and tested it for poison.

Chen Ji frowned. Ever since the poisoning incident involving the secretary of the meeting hall, this route had been completely blocked. In addition to multiple escorts, there were also people specifically tasked with tasting the poison; there was no longer any way to obtain the Jing Dynasty's military intelligence drivers.

This method won't work either.

...Then ask the Imperial Guards or the Golden Pig to help carry it out? That won't work either.

Regardless of whether the other party is willing or not, even if someone is willing, if this matter is discovered, it would likely be a crime that would implicate nine generations of their family, and he is unwilling to involve others.

This method still won't work.

Then we should carry out a forced assassination, break in at the third watch of the night when the guards are most exhausted, and then escape using firearms?

Just as he was thinking of this, he suddenly realized that the vendor selling mooncakes outside the meeting hall looked familiar. He was clearly a spy that Qiushu had just brought back from Wunian Mountain.

Several other pedestrians lingered outside Dongjiangmi Alley, pretending to be nonchalant. They were doing nothing but unwilling to leave, and they were all the Wunianshan wolf cubs that Chen Ji had seen before.

One of them peered into the breakfast stall, while Chen Ji silently lowered his head and drank his porridge. After a moment, the other person looked away.

Too many things happened at the Huitong Hall that year. When the Annamese envoy arrived in Beijing, the Secret Service was on high alert and arranged for twenty-four wolf cubs from Wunian Mountain to be stationed there to ensure the safety of the Annamese envoy.

This was originally intended to guard against the Military Intelligence Bureau, but now it has prevented Chen Ji from doing so.

But what other way could be used to stop the marriage alliance besides assassinating the Annamese envoy?

Chen Ji pondered for a moment, then tossed a piece of silver onto the table, got up, and went out.

……

……

Chen Ji walked west along Chang'an Avenue, all the way to Taiye Pond, and then walked along the riverbank into the pond.

First, they pass through the Imperial Household Department, and then the Falconry Department. This department houses all the homing pigeons of the Directorate of Ceremonial, each carefully selected and meticulously bred by specialists.

Raising a single homing pigeon costs a staggering thousand taels of silver annually. The fastest homing pigeon can travel 1,400 li in a day, even faster than the 800-li express courier service.

Outside the Eagle House Office, the Secret Service was on guard day and night, while Bai Long usually reviewed the Secret Service's documents in a small courtyard next to the Eagle House Office, which was adjacent to the Xihua Gate of the Forbidden City.

As they approached the ruins, four spies armed with crossbows appeared simultaneously from behind the artificial hills beside Taiye Pond, coldly asking, "Who goes there?"

Chen Ji got straight to the point: "I am Chen Ji, the magistrate of Wuxiang County. I have important matters to discuss with Lord Bailong." The spy narrowed his eyes slightly: "Magistrate of Wuxiang County, please leave. Lord Bailong has gone to the palace. We will report to him when he returns."

Chen Ji stood there, frowning, and turned to look into the Forbidden City, but the mysterious Jiefan Tower was blocked by the bright red palace walls.

He came to see the Grand Chancellor, but he had no reason to enter the Forbidden City. Now he wanted to ask Bai Long to take him into the palace, but Bai Long was not there either.

It should be the Annamese envoys coming to the palace for an audience, and Bai Long is to serve by Emperor Ning's side... Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the King of Annamese has once again presented the leader of a foreign bandit who refused to pay tribute. The court will surely hold a banquet to entertain him, but it is unknown when Bai Long will be able to leave the palace.

But Chen Ji didn't leave; he chose to wait outside the Eagle House.

We must see the Prime Minister today.

The spy held up his crossbow, while Chen Ji, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings, leaned against an artificial hill and closed his eyes to rest. The spies exchanged a glance, but ignored him and silently retreated behind the hill.

At this moment, the sound of muskets rang out in the Forbidden City. It seemed that the Annamese envoy had just entered the Jianji Hall, and the Shenji Battalion was firing their guns to welcome him, thus demonstrating their military might to the foreign lands and deterring any troublemakers.

The King of Annam would bring back to the south what he had seen and heard in the capital, so that all foreign lands would have awe of the Ning Dynasty.

At noon, horns sounded in the Forbidden City, and drums beat from the Swallow Wing Tower of the Meridian Gate, indicating that the court audience had ended and the Imperial Guards were escorting the Annamese delegation to the meeting hall for a short rest in preparation for the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet at 3 PM.

Logically, Bai Long should have left the palace by now, but Chen Ji waited until 11 PM and still hadn't seen him.

As dusk fell, a young eunuch's voice came from inside the Xihua Gate: "Greetings, Lord Bailong."

Chen Ji opened his eyes. The sunlight reflected off the bright red palace walls, so dazzling that he almost couldn't open them.

In the red palace corridor, the figure in white slowly walked over, looking him up and down: "Have you been waiting long?"

Chen Ji responded.

Bai Long then asked, "For Princess Bai Li?"

Chen Ji nodded: "I would like to know if the Annamese envoys truly proposed a marriage alliance between the two dynasties during today's audience?"

Bai Long turned and walked towards the eagle's den: "Of course it has been mentioned. The King of Annam has offered seventeen members of the Siamese royal family, asking for no gold or silver rewards, no official robes or jade belts, only a marriage alliance."

Chen Ji followed behind him and asked in a low voice, "Why must we have a marriage alliance?"

Without turning his head, Bai Long explained, "After the marriage alliance, Princess Bai Li will lead our artisans and physicians to Annam to bring our technology with them. Annam has been weak for a long time. This time, with the full strength of the nation, they managed to help Yang Xun capture the King of Siam alive, all for the sake of gambling their national destiny and gaining our assistance... The King of Annam is both bold and ambitious. He knows that this is the best opportunity of his life."

Chen Ji then asked, "Is it not Princess Bai Li?"

Bai Long calmly asked, "Is there anyone else in the royal family I could marry?"

Chen Ji remained silent for a long time: "But the King of Annam is already over fifty years old."

Bai Long smiled and said, "Fifty-eight years old...so what? The marriage between the two dynasties is not a matter of personal feelings, nor is it related to age."

Upon entering the falconry, Chen Ji looked at the walls covered with pigeon cages, each labeled with a copper tag: Jinling, Taiyuan Prefecture, Luocheng, Chongli Pass, Guyuan, Tongzhou, Lingnan, Chengdu, Huangshan, Laojun Mountain...

Two pigeon coops were empty, the pigeons inside seemingly having flown away to deliver messages and not returned, but there were no brass tags on the coops, so it was unknown where they had flown to.

Bai Long walked past the pigeon coop and arrived at the pigeon coop in Huangshan. He saw a bamboo tube tied to the pigeon's leg, so he held the pigeon in his hand, untied the bamboo tube, looked at the paper inside, and then crushed it into powder with his fingers.

He continued, "You've come to me seeking my help to save Princess Baili?"

Chen Ji looked at Bai Long's retreating figure: "I have made an agreement with the Inner Minister."

Bai Long's voice remained calm: "If you had been able to capture Lin Chaoqing back then, not to mention the Prince of Annan, even if the Forty-Nine Heavens came, the Inner Minister could help you send Princess Baili out of the palace. But now you still owe a life, so the Inner Minister doesn't need to help you fulfill your wish. If you want to see the Inner Minister, don't bother. Until you capture Lin Chaoqing, you are not qualified to enter the Jiefan Tower again."

But Lin Chaoqing has already flown far away.

Chen Ji bowed respectfully behind Bai Long and said, "Please take me to the palace, Lord Bai Long. I have done my best regarding Lin Chaoqing's matter, but I was out of luck and things did not go as planned. Now I only hope that the Grand Chancellor can give me another name, and I will definitely take his life. After it is done, I will give you the firearms improvement formula."

Bai Long turned around and looked him over: "I heard that the Qi family is having a banquet tonight. You promised Grand Secretary Chen that you would go and reconcile with Miss Qi the Third. Judging from the time, the banquet should be starting soon. What, you're not planning to go?"

Chen Ji said firmly, "I'm not going."

Bai Long pondered for a moment: "Come with me." (End of Chapter)