In the Ming Dynasty, I became invincible simply by extracting memories!

"Shen Lian, the commander requests your presence!"

Just as dawn broke, a shout came from outside the door.

Seeing no response, the man tried calling out again, "Mr. Shen—"

"Coming," Shen Lian replied calmly, having not slept all night, and got up to open the door.

Two unfamiliar Imperial Guard captains stood outside the door, with Wei Liangbi standing behind them, looking rather flustered.

Wei Liangbi stepped past the two captains and said with an awkward smile, "Mr. Shen, you haven't had breakfast yet, have you? Perhaps—"

"No need," Shen Lian said, closing the door. "Since the commander has invited us, how could we dare to be negligent? Please lead the way."

One of the captains gestured "please" and said, "The carriage is just outside the courtyard."

Fang Xuejian's door was tightly closed, and snoring could be heard from inside. Shen Lian smiled slightly; this kid had been fiddling with his glass until late last night.

Once outside the courtyard, the four of them boarded the same carriage. Wei Liangbi and Shen Lian sat side by side, while two captains sat opposite them, staring at them expressionlessly.

The carriage traveled for about half an hour. Throughout the journey, Wei Liangbi felt extremely uneasy, opening his mouth several times to look at Shen Lian as if he wanted to say something, but upon seeing the two people opposite him, he could only swallow his words. On the contrary, Shen Lian seemed calm and composed, as if he were just visiting someone.

After getting off the car, Shen Lian looked at the gilded plaque above his head that read "Jinyiwei" (Imperial Guard). He straightened his clothes, patted Wei Liangbi on the shoulder, and followed the two captains into the gate.

Needless to say, the people and buildings inside the courtyard were quite impressive. After turning left and right, the group arrived at the central area of ​​the complex.

"Please." After saying this, one of the captains stood on either side of a large gate with another captain.

The door was open. Shen Lian and Wei Liangbi exchanged a glance and stepped through the door together.

Upon entering the gate, before he could even see what the room looked like, Shen Lian heard a sharp shout:

"Take it down!"

Before he could react, Shen Lian heard a "thud!" followed by a sharp pain in his forehead.

It turned out that he had hit his head on the wooden floor of the hall.

Shen Lian, lying on the ground, was in so much pain that he was sweating profusely. Someone was grabbing his arm and pulling him back.

"Wei Liangbi, Shen Lian, do you two know your crimes!"

There were people talking at the front of the hall, but Shen Lian couldn't lift his head to look at them.

"My lord, I'm innocent! I'm innocent!"

Shen Lian turned his head and saw that Wei Liangbi was also being pressed to the ground, just like him, and was shouting that he was innocent.

"Injustice? What an injustice! Wei Liangbi, as a staff member directly under the Commander of the Northern Garrison, you deceived your superior and failed to report what you knew. And you, Shen Lian, a mere commoner from Shexian County, how dare you impersonate a secret agent of the imperial court!"

"Commander, I have always been loyal to the court. How could I have deceived anyone? Please, Your Excellency, see the truth!" Wei Liangbi cried out anxiously, his body twisting and turning under the combined pressure of the two Imperial Guards, looking both pitiful and comical.

"In that case, I ask you, who exactly is Shen Lian, and where did he get so much information?"

"This...this humble man..." This question stumped Wei Liangbi. In fact, these were questions Wei Liangbi had always wanted to know, but Shen Lian had always been evasive, and Wei Liangbi didn't want to press him. Now, seeing his own head in danger, he could only turn to Shen Lian for help. "Mr. Shen, Mr. Shen! Please explain this to the lord!"

"So, do you have anything to say, Mr. Shen?"

Shen Lian let out a breath, thinking: This ball has indeed been kicked to me. Success or failure depends entirely on this move.

"My lord, may I stand up and speak?"

A moment of silence filled the hall.

"Make them get up."

As a calm yet authoritative voice rang out, Shen Lian felt the grip on his arm suddenly disappear. After struggling to get up, he saw the person who had spoken to him for the first time.

Dressed in a python robe, he was not tall and had an ordinary appearance, yet he exuded an indescribable air of authority. This was Zhu Xixiao, the commander of the Ming Dynasty's Embroidered Uniform Guard.

"Wei Liangbi, step down," Zhu Xixiao said, waving his hand at Wei Liangbi.

"This..." Wei Liangbi's mind was still blank. He was suddenly called over, suddenly forced to the ground, and now suddenly told to get lost. Wasn't this just deliberately messing with him? But when he looked at the commander sitting above him, he swallowed hard, bowed, and said, "This humble servant takes his leave."

After Wei Liangbi left, Shen Lian and Zhu Xixiao looked at each other, but neither of them spoke.

"What's wrong? I thought you had something to say." Zhu Xixiao finally spoke first.

"Your Excellency is wise. I never claimed to be a government spy. It was all just Wei Liangbi's guess. I am merely a poor scholar who makes a living by writing letters and copying accounts. How could I dare to impersonate a government official? As for those rumors, they are simply things I have seen from my travels and am good at reading people. I deduced them from the smallest clues. To put it bluntly, it is just a little cleverness and nothing special." Shen Lian answered with his hands at his sides, but his back remained straight.

"You're so clever! The underground vault of Zuixianlou—630,000 taels of silver and 10,000 taels of gold, not a penny off; the locations of Yan Shifan's private vaults in various places—three in Nanjing, two in Suzhou, and one in Yangzhou—even the structure of the secret passages was drawn up. The list of Yan Song's protégés and former officials—thirty-seven people, names, official titles, and places of origin, not a single word wrong. Did you deduce all of this with your cleverness? Or are the accounts you copied actually the accounts of the Yan family?"

"You flatter me, sir. Although this information is confidential, nothing stays secret forever. With a little investigation, it won't be difficult to uncover these secrets."

"A little investigation, huh? Are you mocking the incompetence of my Embroidered Uniform Guard?!"

"How dare I?"

"In any case, since you were able to find out this information, you must have some unusual methods." Zhu Xixiao emphasized the word "unusual" when he spoke.

Shen Lian was startled upon hearing this: Had the old man discovered something about him? His ability to read memories was his greatest trump card; if others found out, he would be at a great disadvantage.

"Commander, you flatter me. As you say, I am but a commoner. How could I possibly possess any extraordinary abilities?"

"Advisor Chen," Zhu Xixiao called out, turning around. A thin figure emerged from the corner of the room, holding several sheets of paper. "I heard you discovered something suspicious in the testimonies of several people in prison?"

"Yes, sir," Chen, the advisor, said in a calm tone as he flipped through the papers. "I discovered that Shen Lian was interrogated three times, each time without leaving his house, yet he was able to provide some important and highly accurate information."

"Moreover," Chen glanced at Shen Lian, making Shen Lian's throat tighten, "it seems that every time new information is revealed, it happens after physical contact with a related person."

The hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop; Shen Lian could even hear his own heartbeat.

"Hey, Lord Zhu, what do you mean by this?"

"Shen Lian, do you possess some kind of sorcery that allows you to extract information from other people's minds?!"

"What you say, sir, is truly... baffling to me." Shen Lian spread his hands. "You, as the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, actually believe in some kind of sorcery. This is truly... heh heh."

Zhu Xixiao listened to Shen Lian's words and couldn't help but lower his head in thought. In fact, he didn't want to think about sorcery, but Shen Lian's information was just too strange.

"You asked me before, sir, how a poor scholar from Shexian County could know this information. But do you really believe that I am just an unknown scholar?"

Zhu Xixiao suddenly stood up from his chair, squinted at Shen Lian, and said, "What do you mean by that?"

Shen Lian simply exhaled slowly, not in a hurry to answer Zhu Xixiao's question, but instead put his hands behind his back and said:

"Looking back, Emperor Taizu rose from humble beginnings as a bandit, launched a great campaign in Jiangnan, pacified the realm, and established the Hongwu reign. Following Emperors Jianwen, Yongle, and Hongxi, the land enjoyed favorable weather, peace, and prosperity, and the people were deeply grateful. During the Zhengtong reign, the Tumu Crisis and the Coup of the Gate occurred, the court was corrupt, chaos reigned, and the people were filled with fear. Then came the Hongzhi reign, a complete change of policy, characterized by frugality, diligence, and love for the people, earning praise from both the court and the public. One hundred and ninety-four years have passed since Emperor Taizu ascended the throne. The current emperor is wise, powerful, and possesses great talent and ambition, but unfortunately, fortune has run out. Treacherous officials hold power; Yan Song and his cronies, forming cliques and suppressing dissent, have misled the emperor, presided over the cabinet for many years, embezzled and accepted bribes without restraint, leaving the Ming Dynasty's treasury empty and the people impoverished. The book *Tiangong Kaiwu* (The Exploitation of the Works of Nature), a masterpiece of antiquity, has..." Dust settles in the alleys and streets. To the north, the Tatars invade, burning, killing, looting, and committing all sorts of atrocities; to the south, Japanese pirates harass, stirring up trouble and causing widespread suffering. Beset by internal and external troubles, it is truly a time of critical crisis. Whenever I think of this, I cannot help but sigh: Is there no one capable in our Great Ming? Is that so? No! Externally, we have strong generals like Hu Zongxian and Qi Jiguang, stationed in the southeast. Although supplies are scarce and funds are insufficient, they still manage to win battles against overwhelming odds, repelling the enemy and fulfilling the Emperor's mandate. Internally, we have virtuous ministers like Xu Jie and Zhang Juzheng, upright and incorruptible, speaking frankly and courageously. This is why we were able to remove Yan Song, this great tree. Although Yan Song has fallen, his roots have already penetrated deep into the Ming Dynasty and are difficult to uproot in a short time. Now is a time when the court needs capable people; it should recruit talented individuals from all over the country, not engage in infighting here. What do you think, Your Excellency?

"What you...Mr. Shen said is certainly reasonable," Zhu Xixiao had already walked up to Shen Lian at this moment. "How could I not want to unite the whole country? But the hearts of men are unpredictable, and the will of Heaven is hard to defy."

"Human hearts are unpredictable; just be true to yourself. Fate is hard to defy; have you not heard that human will can conquer nature?"

"Mr. Shen, what a spirit!" Zhu Xixiao clapped his hands, then asked, "May I ask if Mr. Shen can say he has a clear conscience?"

Shen Lian looked up into Zhu Xixiao's eyes and said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "I, Shen, have a clear conscience."

"Fine, then I'd like to ask you, why did you choose to conceal so much information when you were locked up in prison? Do you have a clear conscience about that?"

"The situation demands it; revealing information too early would only alert the enemy. I hope you will understand."

"So how did you ensure the accuracy and timeliness of your information while you were in prison?"

"Well, petty people have their own ways."

"What methods could a poor, pedantic scholar like you possibly have?"

"I've already said it before, do you really think I'm just a poor scholar?"

Seeing that the most crucial question of the interrogation had been touched upon, Zhu Xixiao could no longer contain himself and bluntly shouted, "Then who exactly are you? If you can't give me a clear answer today, I'm afraid you won't be able to leave this room."

Seeing Zhu Xixiao's expression, Shen Lian smiled slightly and leaned close to Zhu Xixiao's ear, slowly saying, "Have you ever heard of the Silver Badge Secret Envoy?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Xixiao's pupils dilated dramatically, and he stood there motionless for a long time. After a long while, he finally said, "Advisor Chen, you can go out now."

"this……"

"You can go now, I'm fine."

"I take my leave." The thin figure retreated and closed the door behind him.

Only Shen and Zhu remained in the dimly lit room.

Where did you hear those four words?

"You should know this better than anyone else."

Before he could finish speaking, Shen Lian felt someone grab his neck.

"I'm warning you, Shen Lian, if a single word you've said is untrue, I'll personally take your life."

"I don't... doubt that you... have such... ability."

"You claim to be a secret agent, what evidence do you have?"

The hand on Shen Lian's neck suddenly loosened, and he gasped for breath.

At the same time, Zhu Xixiao's memories flooded Shen Lian like a tidal wave:

Inside an empty palace, Zhu Xixiao knelt on the ground, his eyes fixed on his knees. A voice came from ahead:

"I hereby appoint you as the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Do you have any objections?"

"Your subject will dedicate himself wholeheartedly to the cause, even unto death!"

"Ha, there's no need for you to make a vow here."

"..."

"You also know why the late emperor established the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"Your subject understands."

A eunuch stepped forward and handed a wooden box to Zhu Xixiao. Inside the box was a silver coin with four characters engraved on it: "Direct Report to the Emperor."

"Find those who oppose me, find them, and eliminate them all. I grant you this power."

"Yes."

"Step down."

Zhu Xixiao stood up tremblingly, and when he looked up, he only saw a figure in a Taoist robe from behind.

……

On a dark night, Zhu Xixiao sat at his desk, which was covered with densely packed reports.

Shen Lian was surprised to see his own name among them.

"Shen Lian... Shen Lian, who exactly are you?"

……

In another scene, Zhu Xixiao and Chen's advisor are sitting together.

"I touched it...I touched it, Advisor Chen, what do you think?"

……

"Hey, you! Say something!"

The shouts pulled Shen Lian back from his memories.

"You claim to be a Silver Badge Secret Envoy, what proof do you have?!"

"Evidence, evidence...isn't the evidence that you yourself are also a secret agent? Heh, acting first and reporting later, with imperial permission, how impressive, Lord Zhu!"

"How...how did you know? Could it be..." Zhu Xixiao could only think of one possibility at this moment, which was...

"No, it's impossible... His Majesty..."