"On Hangcheng Street, business is going on day and night. At night, there are three or four drums, and the number of tourists starts to thin out. The five drums and bells ring, and the morning market sellers have opened their shops again!"
At midnight, Li Xia went out, turned across Dengxin Street, walked south along the street, towards the Prime Minister's Mansion.
The night market has not yet stopped, the streets are brightly lit, and the vendors are shouting.
"Grout-filled steamed buns! Yudou hybrid noodles...the last one!"
"Three fresh noodles, big boiled noodles, fried chicken noodles..."
Li Xia felt a sense of astonishment.
For a moment, he thought he was back in the future, walking through Yuyuan Old Street in Shanghai.
Listening to the shouts and smelling the aroma, he touched the eggs in his arms and suddenly regretted not taking Gao Mingyue out for a walk in the past two days.
That country girl from the southwest borderland never spoke a word all day long, probably because she had never visited a night market like this.
Oh, of course, this idea just comes from the habit of taking care of others, and there are not many distracting thoughts.
Walking from the second right compartment to the third left compartment, Li Xia turned into an alley and walked for a while before arriving at Qinshanfang.
Finally, I got some sense of tranquility amidst the chaos.
Cheng Yuanfeng lived in Qinshanfang. It is worth mentioning that he also rented a house.
The house prices in Lin'an are so expensive that an honest prime minister cannot afford them.
Even the emperor had to change the plaques of the Daqing Hall frequently to cope with various ceremonies because the Da Inner Palace was built at the foot of Fenghuang Mountain and many mountainous areas were difficult to use.
In terms of location, Youxiang Mansion is not as good as the small courtyard in Qinghefang at the foot of Wushan Mountain.
Li Xia always found this matter very strange. Cheng Yuanfeng couldn't even afford a house, so why did he rent a house in Qinghefang to accommodate his subordinates?
Of course, the Youxiang Mansion is still much larger and has a very high style.
After walking here, I finally had the feeling of darkness and silence that should be felt in the middle of the night.
I met a group of patrolmen on the road and approached them to inquire.
Li Xia took out Nie Zhongyou's token, swept it in front of the patrol, and put it away without waiting for anyone to see it clearly.
"What are you looking at? Get away!"
The other party also rolled away.
Li Xia walked to the vicinity of Youxiang's Mansion and stood in the dark on the long street, observing.
He estimated that Cheng Yuanfeng would go out at the fourth watch, which was about half an hour away.
He saw vague figures on a small building diagonally opposite the Right Prime Minister's Mansion, and saw a few drunkards sitting on the street corner taking a nap...
Suddenly, Li Xia saw a figure peeking furtively at the entrance of the alley diagonally opposite the Youxiang Mansion.
Li Xia felt that the other party was not very professional, so she thought about it and walked over there.
Wang Geng stood at the entrance of the alley and took a look, and suddenly saw someone walking over from the other side of the long street.
He turned around and wanted to leave.
"Hello."
Wang Geng turned his head and saw a very handsome young man. He bowed hurriedly and said, "I have seen Yanei."
"How do you know I am a yameni? If I wear good clothes, I am not necessarily a yamenei."
Wang Geng just thought that this man was out of his mind and responded: "The villain is worried about the yamen... let's go now."
"Are you also here to inquire about the Right Prime Minister?"
Wang Geng was stunned and said: "I don't know what the yamen said, I'm just a watchman."
He didn't want to talk to the other party anymore, so he took another step forward.
Suddenly, I heard another word coming from behind me.
"You are a spy, and so am I."
"It's a joke inside the office."
"No kidding, everyone is looking for the team sent by the Right Prime Minister to the north. How about sharing information with each other?"
For a moment, Wang Geng's expression froze.
He knew that several groups of people were keeping an eye on the Prime Minister's Mansion, but they had always kept a close eye on each other.
This is the tacit understanding that everyone has at the feet of the Emperor.
If you dare to stare at Youxiang's Mansion, you are doing things for your ministers, so there must be some rules.
However, tonight someone unexpectedly came over to talk to me... "Let's tell each other some news?"
It's so hard to get used to.
…
The night was dark, and there were no candles or lanterns in the alley.
Li Xia smiled and said, "You said you were a watchman, but you didn't even bring a lantern?"
Wang Geng simply stopped pretending and said, "Don't mess around. I'm telling you, if you start making trouble and scare away the people you want to arrest, everyone's job will be ruined."
"Capture?" Li Xia said, "So you want to capture, not kill?"
Wang Geng was stunned for a moment and realized that this sentence had leaked the details.
He was very angry and wanted to go away.
"Okay, let's not make a fuss." Li Xia said, "Let's talk."
"Which family are you from?"
Li Xia raised his finger and pointed. Wang Geng followed his gaze and saw a flash of fire on a small building diagonally opposite the Right Prime Minister's Mansion.
"Look, they still have a stronghold. You and I seem to be alone, so I came to find you."
"Fart." Wang Geng said: "They are a fixed sentry and I am a traveling sentry. In fact, my power is much greater than theirs."
Li Xia said: "You are indeed not in the same group."
"how do you know?"
"Your observation fields overlap, and they are more professional than you."
Wang Geng asked: "Whose are you?"
Li Xia said: "There is no need to ask such a private question. In short, I am not Cheng Yuanfeng's person."
Wang Geng said: "What are you going to do?"
"How about sharing some information with each other? It's not easy for you and me. We are both hard workers. We need to help each other so that we can communicate with the superiors."
Wang Geng didn't answer.
This was the first time he encountered such a thing, and he was a little confused for a moment.
But Li Xia could see his eyes flickering, as if he was moving.
Li Xia said: "Let me express my sincerity first. I know that the team came back alive and two of them were captured."
"How did you know?"
Li Xia spread his hands and said with a smile: "One message for another, it's your turn."
"Okay." Wang Geng thought for a moment and said, "At least five are back."
He thought the news was not important, but Li Xia understood many things in an instant.
"I know the names of the people arrested are Lin Zi and Liu Jinsuo."
Wang Geng said: "This doesn't count."
"Because you were the ones who caught it?"
"No." Wang Geng said displeasedly: "Your two messages are serious, so they don't count."
"Okay, let me tell you one more thing. It was Yingzhou spies who betrayed them."
Wang Geng said: "We don't care about this, it doesn't count."
Li Xia raised the corner of his mouth slightly without noticing it, and said: "One person gives a message, as long as it is true, it doesn't matter whether the other party is useful or not."
"Okay." Wang Geng said, "The one who takes people to the north is called Nie Zhongyou."
"You are not sincere."
"it's your turn."
Li Xia said: "Not only did they come back alive, they also brought back important information. No one thought they could do it."
Wang Geng said: "Yes, no one thought of it."
Li Xia spread his hands and smiled slightly, meaning "It's your turn to speak."
Wang Geng still didn’t say anything.
Li Xia said: "How did you know that at least five of them came back? Did you forcefully interrogate the two people you captured?"
Wang Geng said: "Damn it, I told you we weren't the one to catch him."
"Don't worry, I won't save anyone. Just answer me and I'll tell you one more thing."
"The two people who were captured were looking for a carriage when they entered the city. They said there were two wounded people."
"Here are four."
"Eight days ago, someone passed through the border in Liyang County, Jiankang Prefecture, displaying Nie Zhongyou's sign. In total, there were at least five."
Li Xia said: "Three days ago, this man entered Lin'an City."
"How come we don't know this news?"
"Because he didn't show his token when he entered Lin'an City."
"Is it Nie Zhongyou?" Wang Geng asked.
"It's possible." Li Xia said, "How about you and I each give a name to the five people who came back alive?"
"Okay, you come first."
"Don't lie, you still owe me a message."
The two looked at each other and smiled, as if they had become good friends.
Wang Geng thought for a while and said: "Nie Zhongyou, Lin Zi, Liu Jinsuo, look, I will give you two more names."
Li Xia seemed to hesitate for a moment before slowly spitting out a name.
"Liu Chun."
At this moment, Li Xia seemed to be relaxed, but in fact, his body was tense, ready to kill the watchman in front of him at any time...