gnovel Chapter 101: The Wooden Bird Has Three Wings
Chapter 101: The Wooden Bird Has Three Wings
Cining Palace.
At this moment, Consort Wei was in a side room looking through a copy of the wanted notice from Ezhou that Zhang Quwei had submitted.
After reading it, she casually placed the booklet on the table and muttered to herself to Zhang Quwei.
"Last winter solstice, I uttered eight words at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, which made Qin Hui endure for three months."
For the past three months, Li has held back from making a move. I think it's not so much because he's afraid of me, but because Qin Hui needs time to figure out exactly how much stuff is hidden in Xiangyang.
Now that he's posted anonymous notices at the gates of Ezhou, it means he no longer needs to investigate; he's ready to take action.
Consort Wei moved the ebony box closer to the shrine. "A few more days shouldn't make a difference, right?"
Zhang Quwei bent down to pour a cup of tea. Consort Wei picked it up, took a sip, and then suddenly asked, "I remember that little girl surnamed Xiao in Zhao Bozong's household, wasn't her name Xiao Jinluo?"
"Yes, Xiao Bieli's sister."
"Is she still in the manor?"
"Yes, Shen Qingci has been taking care of her," Zhang Quwei replied.
Consort Wei remained silent for a moment, then took off the string of plain wooden prayer beads from her wrist and placed them next to the teacup.
"Take this string of prayer beads to her and tell her it was given to her by the Cining Palace."
Zhang Quwei was stunned for a moment.
The Empress Dowager never gave away her personal belongings. During her sixteen years in Wuguo City, the only things she could touch were a piece of broken porcelain and a string of Buddhist prayer beads.
But now the broken porcelain has been given to Zhao Bocong, and the Buddhist beads have been given to Xiao Jinluo.
"Empress Dowager—"
Consort Wei waved her hand and continued, "When I was in the north, all the little girls I knew died."
Some were killed by the Jin soldiers, some starved to death, and some died of illness; I couldn't save a single one.
Consort Wei stood up and walked to the window, looking at the plum tree outside which had begun to sprout new buds.
"There is one who is still alive, and I want her to live a good life."
......
As evening fell, the study of the Prince of Puan's mansion was brightly lit.
Zhao Bozong spread out the latest list of secret documents concerning Qin Hui sent by Tang Situi on the table.
One key piece of information in the catalog is that on February 20th, Qin Hui sent a secret letter to the Jin Dynasty's Marshal's Office in the name of the Ministry of Personnel. The cover of the letter was marked "Enclosed by the envoy to congratulate the New Year, some new tea from the South."
Tang Situi could not access the contents of the secret letter, but it was sent from Lin'an to the Jin Kingdom under the pretext of "gifting new tea from the South," a wording that is usually only used in one situation.
They used tea leaves as a cover to smuggle the real letters.
"What was Qin Hui trying to convey to the Jurchens that would prompt them to utilize the secret channels of the Ministry of Personnel at this particular time, February 20th?"
Qin Keqing selected the most likely scenario from the several possibilities she had deduced: "A summary of intelligence from the Ezhou and Xiangyang directions."
Zhao Bozong spent nearly two months completing the surveillance setup around Dong Xian, Xiao Bieli, and Baima Temple. Now, he needs the Jin people to confirm one thing.
Will the regrouping of these former Yue Family Army troops pose a threat to the Jin Dynasty in the short term?
If the Jurchens reply that there is "no immediate threat," he will use the Imperial City Guard to slowly eliminate them; if they reply that they "must be eradicated as soon as possible," he will act simultaneously in Xiangyang and Ezhou, regardless of the cost.
"He won't get a reply from the Jin people." Zhao Bozong thought for a moment before continuing, "Our support team is already on its way to Ezhou."
Yuwen Xu's bell line extension has erected its first bell frame at the mouth of the Han River, and Li Bao's fast boat departed from Guazhou Ferry yesterday, heading north along the Han River.
Tang Situi would continue to monitor Qin Hui's every secret document dispatch in the Privy Council. Once a summons was issued towards Xiangyang, he would relay it to Feng Yi immediately.
"Tian Ruyi was a man who had lived in seclusion by the river for five years. He could wait by the river to cast his net, but no matter how big the net was cast, it was impossible to catch it at the same time on the three lines of the Han River, Xiangyang, and Ezhou."
Qin Hui's choice to post anonymous notices in Ezhou indicates that his leads in Xiangyang were far less solid than those in Ezhou, and he could only make a move to alert the enemy before using Ezhou as a breakthrough point.
We'll block his breakthrough point right here in Xiangyang.
Qin Keqing translated every plan of Zhao Bocong into written instructions and distributed them to Liu An, Feng Yi, and Xin Qizong.
As she wrote the last entry, she suddenly remembered something, opened the booklet to check a note, and then looked up.
Tang Situi said that the person who cleaned up the intelligence for the Jin army in the tenth year of Shaoxing was Zhijia.
I checked the timeline for this matter. My master did indeed take a long business trip in the autumn of the tenth year in Shaoxing, traveling from Ezhou to Xiangyang, which coincides with the time when Tang Situi secretly copied intelligence.
Furthermore, I found a fragment of paper among my master's belongings. It only listed one year: Autumn of the tenth year of Shaoxing, written by Tang, a compiler at the Privy Council. It could be kept for future use.
Qin Keqing raised her eyes to look at Zhao Bocong and pondered, "Master included Tang Situi in the Wood Bird's communication line ten years ago."
He knew that one day the Yue Fei case would need to be overturned, so he left behind a key that we still haven't fully found.
Zhao Bozong looked out the window. The March night breeze rustled through the newly changed spring gauze on the corridor.
From May of the twelfth year of Shaoxing to today, ten months have passed.
They've come a long way from an empty envelope to now, with soldiers in the southern suburbs, bells on the Han River, and account books in Ezhou.
He sat back down at his desk and took out the tattered page that he had read many times from the bronze box left by Zhijia.
"The wooden bird has three wings: one wing in the capital, one wing in the field, and one wing in the army."
Jingyi is in Lin'an, now in his hands. Yeyi is in Xiangyang, and Yue Yinping is releasing it back from the Bell Tower.
Junyi is in Ezhou. Zhu Fu handed the account books to Xiao Bieli tonight.
......
The fifth day of the third month of the thirteenth year of Shaoxing.
Consort Wei moved the ebony box from the Buddhist shrine to her bedside in her sleeping quarters.
This move caused a subtle ripple inside the Cining Palace.
The Empress Dowager's sleeping quarters were her most private space, and according to palace regulations, even the Emperor could not enter or leave at will.
The ebony box had been in the Buddhist hall for nearly half a year, with three sticks of incense burning every day without fail, but it was never moved out of the shrine even a step.
Now it is placed by her pillow, which means that the first thing the Empress Dowager sees every day before falling asleep and after waking up is this box.
Zhang Quwei was the only eunuch allowed to stand guard outside the sleeping quarters at night.
On the night of March 5th, he saw through the gauze curtain that the Empress Dowager took the letter out of the box, unfolded it, and looked at it for a long time by the candlelight.
After reading the letter, Consort Wei folded it again, put it back in the ebony box, closed the lid, and then said something to the empty bedroom.
"Soon."
Zhang Quwei stood outside the curtain with his head down, not daring to respond.
On the morning of March 6th, Zhang Quwei took the opportunity of delivering spring tea bestowed by the Empress Dowager to Consort Zhang at Deshou Palace to hand these two words to Feng Yi.
Feng Yi was watering the flowerbeds in Deshou Palace. After listening to the story, he placed the water ladle on the edge of the well and remained silent for a moment.
"The Empress Dowager said it would be soon—but who was she saying it to?"
"I don't know, but when the Empress Dowager said those two words, she was the only one in the bedchamber."
Feng Yi picked up the water ladle again and continued watering the flowers, his movements as calm as ever.
But after watering the flowers, he did not return to his duty room. Instead, he went out through the east side gate of Deshou Palace, followed the internal shortcut he knew best, passed through several secluded corridors, and entered the back gate of the Prince Puan's Mansion.
After listening to Feng Yi's retelling in his study, Zhao Bozong remained silent.
He took the chipped coin out of the copper box, placed it on the table, and gently pushed it with his finger.
"The Empress Dowager waited in the north for sixteen years without ever saying it would be over soon. Now she's saying it will be over soon. What is she waiting for?"