Whoever can strike me hard will be rewarded handsomely.

Liu Qinghong walked out of the pharmacy like a lost soul. He first went to the butcher shop and bought several pounds of pork, then bought a fish, a roast chicken, and a bag of pastries, and also got a pot of wine.

After squandering his money like this, he finally composed himself and returned to his home in the old alley in the south of the city.

Hearing him enter, the sound of wooden wheels rolling over blue bricks came from inside the house. The girl's clear and gentle voice, like a gentle stream, swept away the gloom in Liu Qinghong's heart.

"Brother, why are you back so early today?"

A girl of thirteen or fourteen sat in a wooden wheelchair, her calm eyes like beautiful obsidian.

She seemed to be pushing the wheel with some effort. Perhaps it was because she spent most of her time indoors, but her skin was strikingly white, like fine snow on a branch, or like extremely thin white porcelain, warm and translucent.

A book lay face down on her lap, its cover bearing a few slender, ink-written characters: "Qian Xiang Zhan Jing" (The Book of Divination by the Qian Hexagram).

Liu Qinghong had grown accustomed to his younger sister losing track of time and oblivious to hunger and cold once she started reading.

Helpless, he rushed into the room, grabbed a blanket, and covered Liu Zhiwei's legs with it. "It's been snowing for three days straight. If you catch a cold, you'll be miserable for a long time and have to take medicine for more than half a month."

"You'll be so dizzy and lightheaded that you won't have the energy to read even if you wanted to."

"How can I be at ease if you don't know how to take care of yourself?"

Without saying the rest of his sentence, Liu Qinghong, preoccupied with his thoughts, stuffed the pastries into his sister's arms, picked up the pork and fish, and headed towards the kitchen.

The pastries, still warm from being freshly baked, had been tucked into Liu Qinghong's chest the whole way. Liu Zhiwei, unaware of her brother's nagging, carefully placed the pastries on her lap.

She pushed the wheelchair and caught up, then somewhat guiltily changed the subject, "Isn't the New Year still two weeks away? Why are we eating such a lavish meal today?"

After all, every meal we eat is one less we can have, and tomorrow is the final deadline...

Liu Qinghong looked at her younger sister, her feelings extremely complicated.

If he abandons his plan to steal the defense map... what will happen to my sister?

She is alone and has difficulty walking. If she doesn't have her brother to rely on, will she be able to live a good life?

Liu Zhiwei didn't understand her brother's worries, but she keenly sensed that his emotions were somewhat unusual. She opened the oil paper package on her lap, picked up a piece of pastry, and handed it to Liu Qinghong, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Although his younger sister was unable to walk properly, Liu Qinghong never regarded her as a complete cripple. When his sister offered to help, he squatted down, picked up a pastry, ate it in two or three bites, and then handed her a cabbage, saying, "You need to wash it."

Liu Zhiwei nodded, and while washing the cabbage, asked, "Are you making braised pork and braised fish?"

Liu Qinghong paused as she prepared to steam the dish, then, receiving a hint, silently changed it to braised.

How come this little girl never gets tired of braised food?

"Have you put away all the money in the house? It's almost Chinese New Year, we need to be careful to prevent thieves from targeting us."

Liu Zhiwei nodded, "Don't worry, they're all hidden."

Liu Qinghong put the fish into the pan, the hot oil sizzling. He casually mentioned, "I've made an agreement with the owner of Wenlin Bookstore that I'll go there on the tenth of each month to settle my payment for copying books. He thinks the books you copied before were of very high quality, and the price he's paying for each one is 10% higher than the market price."

Liu Zhiwei paused in washing the vegetables, glanced at Liu Qinghong several times, and said, "You told me that."

Liu Qinghong knew that his younger sister had a good memory, and he brought it up again only to deepen Liu Zhiwei's impression of her.

Over the years, he had saved enough money to feed and clothe his brother and sister. But if he were gone, would his sister be able to protect the family's wealth? Would she be bullied?

Even if she can't hold on, as long as she can still copy books to earn money, she won't starve to death.

The fish in the pan was fried until golden brown. Liu Qinghong flipped the fish over and said, "If you could remember to tell me to put on more clothes when it gets cold, to cover my legs with a blanket, and to block the door with a carrying pole when I'm not home at night, I wouldn't have to worry about you so much."

When did my brother become so talkative?

Like an old woman.

It sounds rather ominous.

Liu Zhiwei raised her head and quietly looked directly into Liu Qinghong's eyes.

Liu Qinghong's heart skipped a beat.

Too much talk leads to mistakes. My sister is so intelligent; she must have noticed his unusual behavior tonight.

Liu Qinghong took the initiative, saying, "My sister has grown up and is no longer under her brother's control. If you say too much, you'll find me long-winded."

Liu Zhiwei's voice was calm, "The fish is going to burn."

Liu Qinghong turned around reflexively and hurriedly picked up a spatula to scoop out the fish.

After shoveling for a while, he finally realized what was happening and paused.

He just flipped the fish over, how could it be burnt?

Her younger sister's clear, spring-like voice rang out again from behind.

"Brother, are you hiding something from me?"

"No," Liu Qinghong immediately denied. "How could that be?"

...

Despite much persuasion and seemingly unsuccessful attempts to convince her sister, Liu Qinghong finally decided to depart for the post station outside the capital on this day.

According to the information he had gathered, Bian Hongzhen, the provincial governor of western Sichuan, had arrived in Beijing two days ago, but the long journey had aggravated his old illness, requiring him to rest for several days and thus he had to stay at the post station.

This is good news for Liu Qinghong.

Although the post stations were guarded, they were much easier to approach than the heavily guarded official residences in the capital.

Liu Qinghong successfully left the city before the gates were locked, and only changed back into his night clothes when the moon was high in the sky.

The post station stood beside the official road, with a grove of trees behind it.

Liu Qinghong swept past like a shadow, and a few snowflakes fell from the branches, barely noticeable in the north wind.

He lurked in the shadows behind the wall, and when the guards checked a cart carrying firewood, he climbed onto the roof like a gecko.

Taking advantage of the commotion caused by the guards inspecting the cart and questioning the driver, Liu Qinghong moved across the roof tiles and quickly located the house of Bian Hongzhen, the governor of western Sichuan, by the faint scent of medicine.

Liu Qinghong hung upside down, leaned halfway down, and poked a hole in the paper window.

By the moonlight, he saw a figure lying on a couch with his back to the window.

Liu Qinghong couldn't see his face, but she could see a scarlet official robe draped over the chair by the bed, and official boots neatly arranged beside the bed.

The empty medicine bowl on the table also indicates that Bian Hongzhen, the Sichuan Provincial Governor who lived here, had indeed suffered a relapse of his old illness, just as rumored.

He tiptoed in through the window and landed inside the room. This barely perceptible movement caused the person lying on the couch to turn over.

Liu Qinghong held her breath, but fortunately Bian Hongzhen's eyes were closed, and he did not seem to have been awakened.

At the same time, a bamboo tube emerged halfway from under Bian Hongzhen's pillow as he turned over.

Liu Qinghong's heart skipped a beat.

What could be so important that the Sichuan Provincial Governor would keep it under his head while recuperating?

Could this be a map showing the deployment of defenses in western Sichuan?

Throughout the room, Liu Qinghong could only hear her own rapid heartbeat.

...

Thank you @隋兜兜 for the generous update and amazing treat! I'm jumping for joy and showering you with kisses!

Thank you @ThisIsMyAbstractID for the generous massage! Hugs~

Thank you all for your support and love, and thank you for your concern for me and my mother. Love you all!