The moonlight shines through the wide windows of the Chengqian Palace in the Forbidden City, eclipsing the candlelight in the room.

Concubine Zheng stood in front of the window, watching the begonia flowers blooming all over the courtyard without saying a word.

Behind him stood his uncle Zheng Guotai, rubbing his hands and looking at his stern-faced sister, standing uneasily.

After a long time, Concubine Zheng said leisurely:

"Didn't you say that you can definitely get rid of that little bitch like Concubine Gong? But she is still alive and well, and she is getting more and more nourished. She is about to climb on top of my head."

"According to Captain Ding's report, the three masters he sent were intercepted outside the palace wall, resulting in failure. The other party may also be prepared."

"Humph! You are still a master. If you can't handle such a small thing, how can you call yourself a master? I think they are all a bunch of rubbish!" Concubine Zheng said dissatisfied.

Zheng Guotai bowed his head and said yes, saying he would continue to work hard.

"Also, in the past few days, Yang Cheng, Zhao Zhigao and the others have been communicating with each other to restart the investigation into the assassination of Hu Jinsheng. The emperor seems to have been persuaded. You have to be careful and don't make any mistakes again."

Zheng Guotai guarantees that there will be no problems.

After Yang Shangshu's efforts, Du Wenlin entered the Ministry of Personnel as he wished and became an "official officer", rising from the seventh rank.

Although the official position is not big, everyone knows that as long as you can get out of the Hanlin Academy and get a real job, you will rise very quickly in the future.

Du Wenlin was not very concerned about his future career. Although he spent ten years in a cold window just to get ahead, in his mind, as long as he did his job steadily, he would serve the court and contribute to the people.

On this day, Yang Shangshu summoned Du Wenlin to the duty room:

"I have already said hello to Mr. Pan from the Criminal Department and Mr. Wang An and Wang from Dongchang. You will report to Mr. Wang tomorrow and cooperate with them on behalf of our staff to investigate the assassination of Hu Jinsheng."

Du Wenlin couldn't help but thank him again.

Dongchang is located in the north of Dong'an Gate. The four golden characters of "Dongjishichang" are shining brightly. Its reputation for nearly two hundred years has made officials and ordinary people tremble after hearing it.

Du Wenlin stared at the four big characters for a long time.

I have planned countless goals for my career, but I have never planned to join Dongchang.

He shook his head with a wry smile, laughing that things in the world are unpredictable and his career is unpredictable.

I met with Mr. Wang An, who is the chief eunuch of the imperial court, the chief ceremonial officer, and the governor of the East Factory.

Mr. Wang is very enthusiastic about Du Wenlin. After all, Du Wenlin was born as a scholar, and at the same time, he was highly recommended by Yang Shangshu and came to represent the official department.

He immediately awarded Du Wenlin the position of "leader".

"Mr. Du, although you are a 'official official', since you have temporarily committed yourself to work in the East Factory, you must have a position to facilitate your future operations. Please understand!"

"Thank you, Lord Governor!" Du Wenlin thanked him politely.

Before joining Dongchang in the future, Du Wenlin was already familiar with the staffing structure of Dongchang.

There is only one governor in the entire Dongchang. Under the governor, there is one who is in charge of punishment for thousands of households and one who is in charge of punishment for hundreds of households. These two deputies are dispatched by senior officials of Jinyiwei.

Further down, there are three equal positions: foreman, foreman, and housekeeper. Each position has different jurisdictions.

There are more than 40 people in these three positions, which seems to be quite a lot of people. However, even if we do not count the branch factories established across the country, in the entire capital, there are nearly a thousand people in the East Factory, so these 40 people each

There are not many subordinates that people manage.

"I'm new here. Let's get familiar with the environment here. Don't be in a hurry." Mr. Wang said enthusiastically.

Then, he called a subordinate and asked him to take Du Wenlin around.

"What's your surname, brother?" Du Wenlin chatted with him while walking around.

"To tell you what my lord, my surname is Zhang and my given name is Qiang," the man replied.

"Oh, how many years have Brother Zhang Qiang been here?"

"The younger one has been here for more than two years. Before coming here, he worked in Jinyiwei for two years."

Zhang Qiang is in his twenties, strong and capable, and he looks like a good material to be a Tiqi.

On the third day after coming to Dongchang, Mr. Wang sent someone to call Du Wenlin to the factory headquarters, saying that he had something important to discuss.

In the duty room of the factory, Mr. Wang was drinking tea and talking to the people standing at the bottom.

The person standing at the bottom is in his thirties, fair-faced and beardless, of medium build, and full of energy.

When Du Wenlin came in, Mr. Wang bowed his head in greeting:

"This is Mr. Du Wenlin and Du from the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and this year's top scholar. He has condescended to come to our factory to assist in the investigation of Hu Jinsheng's case."

The man quickly bowed and saluted Du Wenlin.

"This is Master Meng Gangmeng, from Jinyiwei, and a capable expert in our industry."

Meng Gang also wears "Zhangban" clothing and is on the same level as Du Wenlin.

"It has been more than a year since the Hu case occurred, and there has been no result. There are many rumors and rumors are spreading. Recently, the emperor issued a decree, ordering Dongchang to investigate the case as soon as possible in order to set the record straight."

Du Wenlin had a general understanding of the case, and Meng Gang probably also knew the details of the case, so neither of them asked.

"I have decided that you two will go to Jiangnan to investigate the case. Meng Gang will serve as the commander-in-chief of this operation. Mr. Du has just come to our factory and is not familiar with some of the regulations for handling cases. You will be the deputy commander." Mr. Wang drank.

Koucha continued:

"This case is somewhat related to the 'Red Seal'. You two will go to the back later to find the detained Red Seal and get a general understanding of this organization. However, you won't know too much. Everyone who was arrested is

He's just a minion in the church and can't provide anything of much value."

Just as the two were about to leave, a sound like a silver bell suddenly came in:

"I also want to go out on a mission with them."

Following the sound, a fiery red figure floated in.

Meng Gang recognized the visitor and immediately bowed to greet him:

"Hello, miss!"

"Don't be too tall, young lady. Young lady is too short, too vulgar. I have the nickname 'Quick Knife King Ling'."

Du Wenlin saw this young lady for the first time and was immediately amused by her lively personality.

Mr. Wang was all smiles:

"Girl, don't be rude! This is this year's new top scholar, Mr. Du Wenlin. Entrusted by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, he is temporarily seconded to work in our factory. This is my little girl Ling'er. She has been naughty since she was a child. Mr. Du, please don't laugh at her."

Ling'er put a handsome face in front of Du Wenlin and almost touched her nose:

"Let me see what the new top pick looks like. Not to mention, he looks quite pleasing to the eye, but he is a little younger." As he said this, he started to chuckle.

Du Wenlin's face turned red with shame and he didn't know how to respond.

"Okay, girl, let's go out and play. The two adults have important things to do." It seemed that Mr. Wang doted on her very much.

"I want to go out with them to handle the case."

"They are going on a long trip, and it's not convenient for a girl like you to follow them. Let's do it next time."

Ling'er pursed her lips so much that she walked out unhappy.

Mr. Wang shook his head helplessly.

After leaving the duty room, Meng Gang smiled and said to Du Wenlin:

"Don't look at Ling'er being naughty, she has been studying under a master in Huashan since she was a child, and she came back a few days ago after becoming a talented person. Her Huashan sword skills are magical, and she even has a soft sword made of Burmese iron that Mr. Wang helped her choose from.

"

"I didn't expect Mr. Wang to have a daughter." It is strange for a eunuch to have a daughter.

"She was adopted by Mr. Wang as his adopted daughter since she was a child." Meng Gang explained.

"oh."

Behind the factory headquarters are two rows of stone houses. This is the prison of the East Factory, where some officials awaiting trial and people related to their cases are imprisoned.

The two came to the torture room and asked Cai Zhengfu, the prison officer in charge.

Diao Zhengfu said that there were five Hong Feng followers in custody, and they were all arrested by the government for minor crimes such as fighting and stealing. During the interrogation, they claimed to be "Red Faction" followers, and then they were transferred here.

Two of them were already half-dead due to excessive punishment and could not be retried.

Then, the remaining three people went through the hall again, but the result was still the same, and they couldn't provide anything of value.

They are all lower-level members of the sect. Not only have they never met the sect leader, they have also never met the helmsman or altar leader.

I don’t even know where the various strongholds are.

They are just scoundrels in the market. They were deceived into joining the religion. They just used the name of a believer. They usually help to find out some irrelevant information in the market. They are peripheral personnel of the church and have no actual value.

The only clue provided was that someone else said that their leader's surname was Luo.

Du Wenlin and Meng Gang returned to the duty room to discuss how to carry out the following work.

"Mr. Meng, I think we will set off to Jiangnan tomorrow. Each of us will choose five subordinates, including you and me, a total of twelve people. Is the number enough?" Du Wenlin asked Meng Gang.

"That's about right. If something unexpected happens and we need manpower, we can go to the local government office to transfer them."

Each of them manages about thirty subordinates. It is not difficult to select five good players, and Zhang Qiang is among them.

Before dawn the next day, twelve factory guards left Yongding Gate and headed south to Juechen.
To be continued...