gnovel Chapter 036: You've already guessed who I am.
Chapter 036: You've already guessed who I am.
On the 17th day of the fourth month of the twelfth year of Shaoxing, it rained.
Inside the Prince of Puan's residence, Zhao Bozong sat in his study, with two intelligence reports laid out in front of him.
One of them was an account book sent by Manager Wang. Hidden in the interlayer of the account book was a message that Qin Keqing had sent out the previous ten days: "The guest from Jiangbei has left Zhenjiang, accompanied by three people, carrying a secret box."
The other document was a wax pill sent by Feng Yi from the palace. When opened, it contained only one line of text: "Qin Hui summoned the Privy Council's Naval Commander seven times to discuss matters concerning Zhenjiang."
Both intelligence reports pointed in the same direction: Qin Hui was about to make a move against Zhenjiang, and his target was Li Bao.
Through the rain, the lights of the Qin residence were brighter than usual. This was the advantage of the two residences being adjacent to each other; the diffused light could be seen even through the two courtyard walls.
At this moment, Qin Hui was probably still in his study.
Liu An said that Prime Minister Qin had been suffering from insomnia every night for the past two weeks, so the lamp oil had been doubled and the servants serving tea had been changed twice.
Zhao Bocong knew in his heart that a prime minister who suffers from insomnia is more dangerous than a prime minister who is sober.
He was about to get up and use the excuse of going to North Wa to go to the dock to check if Li Bao's next ship was safe.
Liu An whispered outside the door, "Your Highness, Miss Qin went to Shunhe Tea House today... half an hour earlier than usual."
Zhao Bocong stopped.
"Also," Liu An's voice was hesitant, "Manager Wang said there are unfamiliar faces outside the tea shop, and they've been loitering around for two days."
Zhao Bozong got up and grabbed the umbrella quickly.
"I'm going to the teahouse."
"Your Highness—" Liu An stopped him, his worry genuine. "What if that's Prime Minister Qin's man? If you go..."
"It's precisely because they might be Qin Xiang's men that I must go." Zhao Bozong opened his umbrella.
"Qin Keqing cannot fall into their hands. She knows too much. Even if she doesn't say anything, as long as Qin Hui sees her copying the account books at Shunhe Tea House, it will be enough to make Manager Wang and the entire intelligence network lose their heads."
When he came out of the study, it was raining heavily, and the raindrops hitting the umbrella made a thumping sound like drumbeats.
Liu An caught up, clutching a short blade in his hand, and tried to slip it into Zhao Bozong's sleeve.
Zhao Bozong glanced at the two-inch-long knife but did not take it.
"If I were to draw my knife, Qin Hui would have even more reason to kill me. My identity as the Prince of Puan is my best weapon."
He walked quickly through the rain, with Liu An following behind him. The two walked one after the other through the Imperial Street and turned into a narrow alley leading to the west of the city.
There were no pedestrians in the alley, and rainwater flowed down the eaves in streaks of white. Only the sound of rain and the faint rumble of thunder in the distance could be heard.
As they approached Shunhe Tea House, Zhao Bocong slowed down.
A man wearing a straw raincoat stood in front of the teahouse. The raincoat was old, and the brim of his hat was pulled low, covering most of his face.
He leaned against the alley wall, as if sheltering from the rain, but Zhao Bozong noticed his shoes—a pair of official boots with yellow mud stuck to the tops.
The streets in Lin'an City were all paved with stone slabs, except for the area around the drill ground in the north of the city, which had yellow mud.
This person has served in the training grounds and is either from the Ministry of War or the Privy Council.
Zhao Bocong didn't stop, but walked straight past the man in the straw raincoat and pushed open the door of Shunhe Tea Shop.
There were only three people in the shop at that time.
Shopkeeper Wang stood alone behind the counter, clutching a rag in his hand, his body tense.
Qin Keqing sat on a bench in the corner, an account book open in front of her, and a pen still in her hand.
Her back was very straight, and her expression looked calm, but the pen tip hovered half an inch above the paper, not falling.
The third person sat opposite Qin Keqing, with their back to the door.
A man in a gray long gown, of medium build, with his hair tied back with a strip of cloth, had a full but untouched teacup in front of him.
Zhao Bozong folded the umbrella and placed it by the door.
"Shopkeeper, bring me a bowl of hot tea."
Manager Wang responded and turned to get the teacup, his hands still trembling.
Zhao Bocong walked to the bench next to Qin Keqing and sat down. He didn't look at the man in gray, but he could feel the man's gaze on him.
"I'm here early today," Zhao Bocong said.
Qin Keqing looked up at him, her eyelashes still wet with raindrops, whether from the rain when she came in or something else, she couldn't tell.
She placed the pen on the pen rest with a very light and steady motion.
"The ledger is almost finished copying. Come early so we can finish sooner."
Qin Keqing's voice was as gentle as usual, but Zhao Bozong noticed that her left hand, which was under the table, was trembling slightly.
This isn't a trembling of fear; it's an instinctive reaction after a person has been in a state of tension for a long time.
She had been waiting.
Zhao Bocong was unsure whether to wait for the man in gray to come in, or for him to arrive.
The man in gray spoke.
"And who is this young master?"
The voice was flat, with a slight Lin'an accent, but the ending notes had a hint of northern accent.
Zhao Bocong realized that this person, like himself, came from the North, but not from the same North.
"Just passing through, feel free to stop by for tea." Zhao Bozong picked up the teacup handed to him by Manager Wang, took a sip, and asked, "And you are, sir?"
"Looking for someone."
The man in gray took a copper coin from his sleeve and placed it on the table.
A copper coin with a missing corner.
A hint of surprise flashed in Zhao Bozong's eyes, but his face remained expressionless.
He recognized the copper coin; he also had one of the same kind in his sleeve, given to him by Feng Yi to meet at the Shunhe Tea Shop.
The person in front of me also has one.
What does this mean?
There was more than one contact. The intelligence network left behind by Zhijia had more than two transmission chains, each with its own unique contact code.
But when Qin Keqing looked up at the copper coin, her expression didn't change at all. She simply picked it up, looked at it, and then put it back on the table.
"This gentleman's copper coins are damaged; I'm afraid he can't spend them," she said.
"No need to spend any money, just use it to recognize someone." The man in gray looked at her. "How long have you been helping out at this teahouse, young lady?"
"Two months."
Have you ever seen someone surnamed Li? Someone from the docks.
Qin Keqing shook her head.
The man in gray was silent for a moment, then stood up and put the copper coins into his sleeve.
"Sorry to bother you."
He walked towards the door, slowed down as he passed Zhao Bozong, and said, "Some teas are okay to drink, but some teas you shouldn't even touch."
Then he pushed open the door and disappeared into the rain.
After Zhao Bozong and the gray-clad man's footsteps faded into the distance in the alley, he turned his gaze to Qin Keqing.
She was looking down and continuing to copy the account book, the pen moving quickly across the paper as if trying to make up for the pause she had just taken.
But he saw it.
She misspelled two words.
In the two months of account books that Qin Keqing copied, she never made a single mistake.
"Miss Qin." Zhao Bozong placed the teacup on the table.
Qin Keqing put down her pen and looked up at him.
"Your handwriting reveals your true colors."
She didn't say anything, but simply placed the pen on the pen holder and put it away neatly.
Manager Wang had already quietly retreated into the kitchen, the curtain still swaying.
Only two people remained in the teahouse, the sound of rain making the outside world seem distant.
"The daughter of a medicinal herb merchant from Zhenjiang practiced calligraphy on the ground with broken tiles, copying the style of Chu Suiliang. The calluses on your hands are not right. This is one point, but it can be explained."
Zhao Bozong took out the note she had written, which read "Jiangbei," from his sleeve and spread it on the table.
"A woman copying account books paused when she heard the words 'Jiangbei,' and the ink spread. Why did you pause?"
Qin Keqing looked at the ink stain that had spread on the table, her lips slightly pursed.
"And today. When that man in gray took out a copper coin with a chipped corner, you picked it up, looked at it, and put it down, saying that the customer's copper coin was broken."
You didn't ask what it was, you didn't find it strange, your reaction was too calm.
The daughter of a down-on-her-luck herbalist, seeing someone pull out a chipped copper coin to identify him, should react with confusion and unease, not calmly helping the other person save face.
After Zhao Bozong finished speaking, he picked up his teacup, took a sip, and waited for her reply.
The teahouse was quiet for a while, with only the sound of raindrops hitting the tiles.
Qin Keqing took her hands up from under the table and placed them on the account book, one on top of the other.
"Your Highness." She addressed him as Your Highness, not Young Master or Guest.
"Have you already guessed who I work for?"