I traveled back to the Southern Song Dynasty and was actually outmaneuvered by Yue Fei.

Qin Keqing followed this line and pushed downwards.

"Dong Xiansheng, the military commander of Ezhou, and the official stationed in Ezhou by the Imperial City Guard, simultaneously received six secret documents. Qin Hui had not only planted spies in Ezhou, but also a whole set of coordinated mechanisms."

Dong Xian wasn't the person he was targeting; he was bait to lure out more people.

Whether it's Zhu Fu or Yue Yinping, Dong Xian is the first fuse to be detonated whenever any former members of Yue Family Army attempt to reunite in the Ezhou area.

Once Ezhou is set off, Xiangyang will immediately become the next target.

Qin Keqing turned to Zhao Bocong, pondered for a moment, and then said very quickly, "We need to withdraw Dong Xian from Ezhou ahead of schedule. The longer he stays, the more likely the Imperial City Guard will get evidence of his treason."

Once Tian Ruyi deduces the pattern of revisions to the old files of the Ezhou armory, Dong Xian won't even have a chance to defend himself.

Zhao Bocong nodded, understanding the key point, and then turned to Tang Situi.

"I have two things to tell you now: First, you must stay by Qin Hui's side, not turn against him, and maintain your current facade. You are Qin Hui's man; you draft official documents for him and sign the words he is unwilling to sign."

The second thing is that if you see any secret documents in the Privy Council's catalogue destined for Xiangyang, immediately send them to me through Feng Yi. Remember, don't look at the main text; just look at the date of dispatch and the receiving authority.

Tang Situi lowered his head and did not respond immediately.

He knew what these two things meant, and continued to lie in wait by Qin Hui's side, drafting official documents for him every day, which was more dangerous and difficult than any of his previous solo adventures.

Because taking a solo adventure only requires a moment of courage, while going undercover requires cutting courage into pieces, swallowing a small piece every day, and continuing to swallow it for ten years without showing any sign of pain.

However, after pondering for a long time, he finally uttered two words: "Your subject will do it."

Zhao Bozong finally reached out and helped him stand up.

Tang Situi wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, cupped his hands in greeting, and turned to leave, but suddenly stopped at the door.

"Your Highness, I just said that the intelligence report from the tenth year of Shaoxing was delivered by me, but I only said half of it. The source of the intelligence was not the Privy Council archives. I secretly copied it from a secret document left on the signing room table by a superior in the Privy Council."

Afterwards, someone removed the stub of the confidential document and deleted the reviewer's record.

This matter was not done by me alone. Someone helped me clean up the mess. I didn't know who it was at the time, but many years later, by chance, I learned that this person was one of Yue Fei's informants in the court, my teacher Zhijia.

He turned to look at Zhao Bocong, then glanced at Qin Keqing. "I want to find this person to repay his debt of gratitude. I owe him my life, a debt I've held for ten years."

Qin Keqing took out the chipped copper coin from her sleeve and placed it on the table.

"My master passed away last winter. The task of handling your affairs was initiated by me while sorting through your belongings. The copper coins have now been passed down to me."

Tang Situi looked down at the copper coin and said nothing more.

Then he took out his own coin from his sleeve. Unlike the official seals that he carried around his waist in the main hall all his life, this copper coin was hidden in his close-fitting pocket, its edges also polished to a shine.

He placed the copper coin next to Qin Keqing's. The curves of the two coins' chips aligned perfectly.

"...On the night he stole intelligence in the tenth year of Shaoxing, he put this copper coin into my hand and said that when someone comes to you with the same coin, you will know that it is time. I have been waiting for this time for twelve years."

He took back the copper coins and put them back into his inner pocket, bowed deeply to Qin Keqing, and then turned and walked out of the study.

......

Late February, Xiangyang.

The Han River experienced its first spring flood at the end of February.

The river water, carrying melting snow and silt, rushed down from upstream, submerging the old pier at Caoshi Ferry until only a few wooden stakes remained.

Xiao Bieli left Ezhou on the sixth day of the second month and traveled north along the Han River for nearly twenty days before arriving at the outskirts of Xiangyang.

He waited in Ezhou for the Imperial City Guard's patrol to slow down before leaving the city. On the way, he made a detour to Zhu Fu's former residence to confirm the handwriting on the last page of the calendar.

The man Yue Yinping sent to meet him was an old man named Lao Xu who rowed a boat.

Old Xu rowed a shabby fishing boat, hiding Xiao Bieli among the fishing nets and fish baskets. He bypassed two checkpoints of the Imperial City Guard along a tributary of the Han River and reached a wild ferry crossing on the outskirts of Xiangyang City on a cold, rainy evening.

Yue Yinping was waiting for him at the ferry.

She was still the same as before, with a wooden spear at her feet and the national flag of loyalty hanging on the bamboo shed behind her. Her coarse cloth outfit fluttered in the river wind.

The moment Yue Yinping saw Xiao Bieli, her brows furrowed.

"You've lost at least ten pounds since two months ago."

"Perhaps we won't have enough provisions for the journey." Xiao Bieli casually pulled the broken bamboo-scabbard knife from his bundle and hung it on his waist, his movements revealing a slight discomfort with such concern.

Yue Yinping did not press further. As Yue Fei's daughter, she knew why someone would lose weight after returning from the battlefield.

It's not because there isn't enough food, it's because the food doesn't taste good when you chew it.

Yue Yinping turned around and led Xiao Bieli through the bamboo forest into a simple military tent made of bamboo and thatch deep in the old camp of Xiangyang.

Inside the tent was a table made of door panels, on which lay a map of Xiangyang's defenses, marking the changes in the Imperial City Guard's deployment within the city over the past two months.

"After the Bell Tower was raided at night on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, we moved the main handover point to the Dragon King Temple."

But after February, three unfamiliar faces appeared on the other side of the Caoshi ferry crossing, squatting outside the Dragon King Temple every day pretending to burn incense. I've already asked Lao Xu to suspend all material transfers at the ferry crossing.

Yue Yinping glanced at Xiao Bieli. "Your Highness's letter said you were here to pick up the liaison officer at Baima Temple?"

"Connect with the liaison point, and also with Zhu Fu." Xiao Bieli took out the roll of paper he had brought from Ezhou from his pocket and spread it on the table.

The archives of the Ezhou arsenal contain records of arrow allocation modified by Dong Xian, the approximate distribution of newly added sentries of the Imperial City Guard along the Han River, and a copy of the last page of the calendar found in the crack of Zhu Fu's former residence.

"The Imperial City Guard's surveillance in Xiangyang has already reached the city. Miss Qin checked the transfer records that Feng Yi brought out from the palace in Lin'an."

Five days ago, the Imperial City Guard dispatched at least eight plainclothes inspectors from Ezhou to the jurisdiction of Xiangyang Prefecture, two of whom carried security assistance badges from the Xiangyang Prefecture government.

"You must quickly activate the new code at the backup contact point in the rear hall of Baima Temple, completely separating it from the Lin'an direction."

After listening, Yue Yinping pondered for a moment, then picked up the copy and examined it carefully.

She recognized Zhu Fu's handwriting; she had seen his signature on the title page before the last batch of account books of the Transport Office were sealed in the eleventh year of Shaoxing.

The handwriting on the last page of this calendar perfectly matched her memory of her writing habits.

She put the copy down.

"Zhu Fu is still alive, and he still follows Zhi Jia's method of recording death letters by stuffing calendars into his old residence every December. However, he never leaves his current address; he is still waiting for the signal to rendezvous."

I've known this person since I was a child. He's the only accountant in the transport department who dares to tell my father the truth.

After my father's death, he never gave up. Every single one of the transport department's account books he possessed bore my father's signature on the title page. If those signatures were still intact, they could one day be irrefutable evidence to overturn the verdict.