A family of loyal martyrs, starting with nine wives to continue the family line.

When Liu Ruhui pushed open the door to the private room, Du Ping's hand was already on the short knife hidden in his sleeve.

The curtains on the second floor were drawn low, and four teacups were placed on the table. The stove was warming water, but the person who was supposed to sit there had not come.

Liu Suan is not here.

At this point, Liu Ruhui was no longer in a hurry to sit down.

It would be more like Liu Suan if he didn't come.

It would be truly unbelievable if someone who escaped a deadly situation like Black Wind Ridge were to sit casually in an old teahouse in the west of Jingzhou City waiting for them.

Yan He muttered a curse in a low voice.

"Is this bastard playing us?"

Zhou Shen glanced at him.

"Don't rush."

"How can I not be in a hurry?"

Yan He sneered: "The Embroidered Uniform Guard is investigating former officials like mad dogs. If we old bones come here and are met with new military spies, our heads will be hanging on the city gate tomorrow."

Liu Ruhui sat down, his fingers resting on the rim of the teacup.

The tea is still hot.

This means the person has just left, or someone is waiting.

This place is not clean.

But he knew it wasn't clean before he came.

Only by being unclean can one survive. The clean and honest path was completely blocked by Wei Zhao with laws, land registers, and the imperial examination system.

"sit."

Liu Ruhui only said one word.

Du Ping and Zhou Shen sat down, while Yan He stared at the door for a long time before finally sitting back down, grumbling.

There was a storyteller downstairs, recounting the story of the surrender of captives at Black Wind Ridge.

When Zhou Laodao knelt before Wei Zhao's horse, holding Han Dashan's severed head, the tea drinkers cheered.

Yan He's face darkened further.

"Listen to this, even the storyteller knows that the new Wu is destined for greatness. What are we here? Like an old man hanging himself, tired of living."

Liu Ruhui ignored him.

That's probably right.

Those who were truly unafraid of Wei Zhao had already been killed by him.

The rest are all people who are afraid.

Only those who are afraid will calculate.

Only those who can calculate have a chance of survival.

Just then, there was a creaking sound on the stairs.

step.

Two steps.

Unhappy.

It's not heavy either.

Yan He narrowed his eyes.

The curtain was lifted from the outside.

It wasn't Liu Suan who came in.

She was a young woman wearing a black veil.

She wore a plain blue, narrow-sleeved dress, her hair was simply styled, and she wore no extra jewelry except for an old copper bell hanging from her waist.

A black veil covered half of her face, revealing only her eyes.

too young.

Early twenties.

Liu Ruhui's first reaction was not amazement, but trouble.

Liu Suan sent this woman to see them either to test them or because the woman herself was someone of importance.

Otherwise, why would this group of old foxes listen to her?

Du Ping asked coldly, "And who are you?"

The woman did not answer immediately.

She first looked around at the four people in the room, then closed the door behind her before taking off her black veil.

Her face was very fair, her eyebrows and eyes were delicate, and her smile even had a touch of gentleness.

But her gaze was not soft.

Liu Ruhui had seen too many young people.

Such a naive young person, entering this kind of situation, will be eager to prove themselves, will talk a lot, and will put on airs.

She didn't.

She seemed to have known all along that no matter how old or famous the people sitting here were, they were now nothing more than a group of people who had been cornered by Xinwu.

The woman smiled slightly.

"Mr. Liu asked me to tell you all that he is temporarily unable to show his face, but he will not neglect any of the tasks that need to be done."

Yan He laughed on the spot.

"He doesn't dare show his face, so he sends a little girl like you to your death?"

The woman looked at him.

"If Lord Yan thinks I'm here to die, he can tie me up and take me to the Embroidered Uniform Guard right now."

Yan He choked.

Liu Ruhui tapped his finger on the rim of the teacup.

it is good.

One sentence blocked the road.

Kidnap her? Who would dare?

They've already made things complicated just by seeing her today.

If they were sent to the Embroidered Uniform Pavilion, Wei Zhao would not let them go just because they "sacrificed their own family for the greater good." Instead, he would use this as a lead to dig out all the former officials of Jingzhou.

The woman was young, but her knife skills were precise.

Liu Ruhui asked, "Is Liu unable to calculate because he's afraid of death?"

The woman placed the black veil back on the table.

"The gentleman said that if he came, you would all be focused on his life, not on the matter at hand."

That's an unpleasant thing to say.

But it's true.

Du Ping's complexion changed slightly.

Zhou Shen paused, his hand holding the teacup still.

Liu Ruhui, however, smiled.

"He understands us, though."

The woman took a roll of blueprints from her sleeve and spread it on the table.

The moment the paper roll unfolded, Du Ping suddenly stood up.

"This is……"

Map showing the distribution of troops stationed in the three counties surrounding Jingzhou.

The location of the new military camp, granaries, post roads, checkpoints, patrol shifts, and even which area was a reorganized camp of surrendered soldiers and which area was a camp of newly recruited soldiers with military merit were all marked with vermilion ink.

The sneer on Yan He's face disappeared.

Zhou Shen gently tapped the teacup in his hand on the table.

Liu Ruhui stared at the blueprints for a long time.

He didn't reach out.

dare not.

This thing is too hot.

Once something is touched upon, it's not just a matter of grumbling or writing a few sarcastic articles criticizing the new policy.

This is treason.

A true rebellion.

But he just couldn't take his eyes off it.

Because this map told him one thing: Liu Suan wasn't just talking nonsense. He had connections. He had already reached into the heart of the matter—the Xinwu army, the post stations, the supply lines—at least one line he had touched.

Liu Ruhui finally looked up.

"What does he want?"

The woman's fingertip marks three places on the picture.

"This is the complete troop deployment of Xinwu near Jingzhou. Mr. Liu Suan said that if you all really want to succeed, talking is not enough. He has prepared a gift for you."

Du Ping gritted his teeth.

"Where did this picture come from?"

The woman looked at him.

"If Lord Du wants to know, he can ask the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

Du Ping's face stiffened.

Yan He cursed, "Don't try to scare people with the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

The woman did not argue.

"I'm just reminding you all that if this map can come into my hands, it can also come into someone else's. Xinwu may seem like a solid block, but it's actually full of cracks. The newly rich military officials are dissatisfied with the civil officials, the old officials are dissatisfied with the poor, the surrendered soldiers are afraid of being purged, the poor are afraid that the examination halls will be controlled by the powerful families, and the powerful families are afraid that their land will be seized. Everyone is afraid."

She paused.

"If too many people are afraid, the fire will ignite at the slightest provocation."

Liu Ruhui's eyelids twitched.

This is not something a young girl could say casually.

Behind him is Liu Suan.

Or rather, it was the half-book that Liu Suan held.

He suddenly remembered the four sentences in that letter.

Cut off the roots.

Divide the meat.

A way out.

These words were crude, but they revealed the deepest fears of this group of people.

Wei Zhao was too ruthless.

He didn't force the aristocratic families to kneel with a knife.

He opened the door for all the poor in the world.

This is more deadly than a knife.

One generation is cut down by the knife, but once the door is opened, generation after generation begins.

If the Liu family doesn't act now, in ten years, the poor students from the official schools in Jingzhou will be riding high on the backs of the Liu family's nephews and nieces.

Twenty years later, the Liu family's ancestral lands, disciples, and village covenants will all become old paper.

By then, he won't even have the strength to fight back.

Liu Ruhui looked at the woman.

"What does Liu Suan want us to do?"

The woman finally said those words.

"On the day the imperial examination begins, Jingzhou must descend into chaos."

No one spoke.

Liu Ruhui slowly extended his hand.

Qingniang raised her hand.

Snapped.

Clap your palms together.

The sound wasn't loud.

It was as if it had cut off the last escape route for the people inside the room.

Liu Ruhui stared at her and said, word by word, "Tell Liu Suan that Jingzhou will be in chaos on the day the imperial examination begins."

Qingniang withdrew her hand, turned around and left.