Chapter 20: Confiscation of Property

“Found evidence?!”

“Evidence where?!”

All eyes turned towards Chen Ji, their gazes filled with scrutiny, doubt, and even a hint of aggression.

He stood firm at the main house entrance, neither yielding nor retreating, his voice unwavering as he repeated, “I found evidence.”

Lin Chao Qing's sharp gaze cut across Jiao Tu to rest on the still-veiled Chen Ji. “And who might this be?”

Cloud Sheep stepped forward, shielding half of Chen Ji's body. “This is a Falcon from my Secret Spy Office.”

“A Falcon, yet already an official Secret Spy. There must be a special reason for the covered face,” Lin Chao Qing's voice deepened. “But I must trouble this Falcon to resolve my confusion: what evidence is in this book? If you lie, perhaps you too shall accompany me to the Inner Prison.”

Chen Ji tugged the gray cloth covering his face upward slightly, looking at Cloud Sheep. “May I speak?”

“Speak.”

Chen Ji nodded. “Lord Cloud Sheep, please retrieve those two books and hand them to Commander Lin for examination.”

Cloud Sheep produced the two books from his chest and gave them to Lin Chao Qing.

Lin Chao Qing opened them and scanned a few pages, stating flatly, “An ordinary book. Where is the intelligence?”

Chen Ji calmly explained, “If one does not possess a thorough understanding of the Annotations to the Four Books, it is indeed difficult to perceive the issue. However, the method of concealing intelligence within this book is remarkably simple. One merely needs to compare it with the original version.”

“Original version?” Cloud Sheep retrieved the two books from Lin Chao Qing. He opened one, Jiao Tu opened the other, and the two of them, by the moonlight, began to flip through the pages.

Chen Ji elaborated, “In the original text, the sentence reads ‘Got in heart and not lose also,’ the word being ‘lose’. But Zhou Cheng Yi, in his transcription, deliberately wrote ‘Got in heart and not matter also,’ changing the word ‘lose’ to ‘matter’. Further down, on the third page, where the original sentence should have the word ‘sincere’, Zhou Cheng Yi changed it to ‘success’.”

These altered words were scattered throughout the book, separated by several pages. Without someone holding the original version and verifying word by word, it would indeed be extremely difficult to spot the discrepancies.

Originally, Chen Ji had speculated that Zhou Cheng Yi might have employed character concealment, character verification, reverse cutting, or character analysis methods, all of which had been used in historical records. However, his analysis revealed that the opponent had employed a far simpler method.

Lin Chao Qing took the two books and compared them, confirming that it was indeed as Chen Ji had stated. His brows smoothed slightly. “What complete information does this book transmit?”

Chen Ji replied, “Due to the haste, I was unable to compare the entire book. Currently, I have only extracted one piece of information: ‘Matter success, Master Si will meet with you’.”

“Master Si!” Cloud Sheep's eyes suddenly blazed with sharp light. “Are you certain the message refers to Master Si? I initially feared it was Si Cao and deemed it problematic, but I never expected it would be Master Si of the Military Intelligence Directorate personally coming to Luo City!”

Jiao Tu said heavily, “We must transmit this message back to the capital as quickly as possible. For Master Si of the Military Intelligence Directorate to personally travel south, it must be a matter of immense importance… What exactly does this descendant of the Liu family intend to do to earn such trust from the Military Intelligence Directorate?!”

The somber atmosphere within the manor suddenly eased. Chen Ji even felt everyone exhale a long, relieved breath.

Lin Chao Qing returned his sword to its sheath. Jiao Tu also wiped his forehead with his thumb; the cut wound instantly healed without a trace.

Lin Chao Qing looked at Chen Ji, his voice steady. “Young man, you are still only a Falcon in the Secret Spy Office, without even a rank. Why not come to my Major Crimes Directorate?”

Cloud Sheep: “Hmm?”

Jiao Tu: “Hmm?”

Lin Chao Qing continued, “I know that all these clues and evidence tonight were discovered by you. It is absolutely impossible with Cloud Sheep and Jiao Tu’s abilities. With your talent, after joining my Major Crimes Directorate, I guarantee you will rise step by step.”

“Lin Chao Qing, to poach talent in front of me, do you have no shame?” Cloud Sheep roared angrily.

“In your Secret Spy Office, he is merely a tool to earn merit for you. Here, in my Major Crimes Directorate, he can serve the Emperor, serve the rivers and mountains, serve the society,” Lin Chao Qing sneered.

“He is a person of my Secret Spy Office!”

“He is not yet a person of your Secret Spy Office. If he agrees, I can write a memorial tonight to request merit for him,” Lin Chao Qing said. “How about it? Can you two do that?”

Cloud Sheep and Jiao Tu exchanged a glance, hesitant about giving up the credit.

Lin Chao Qing sneered, “Why not let him choose for himself?”

The crowd looked at Chen Ji, who stood amidst their gazes, his expression hidden beneath the gray cloth covering his face. After a long silence, Chen Ji finally spoke. “Many thanks for Commander Lin’s kind intentions. However, I am currently more willing to work under Lord Cloud Sheep and Lord Jiao Tu.”

Lin Chao Qing said, “Very well. Each person has their own aspirations. But if one day you regret it, you can come to the Major Crimes Directorate yamen in Luo City at any time to find me. I should be here for at least two months.”

“Many thanks, Commander Lin.”

Just as he finished speaking, they heard a commotion from outside the manor. The several hundred members of the Liu family had surged forward, completely surrounding Liu Shi Yu’s manor! Someone outside shouted loudly, “Lord Cloud Sheep, the plan of the golden cicada shedding its shell was very clever, but my Liu family is not to be trifled with. If you do not give me an explanation today, I will certainly avenge the old master! Whether the court wants to behead me later or exile me to Lingnan, I, Liu Xian Ming, will have no complaints!”

As the words fell, they heard the sound of someone placing dry wood and splashing oil outside. The pungent smell of oil rushed into their faces! The faces of the people inside the manor mirrored each other's shock.

At this moment, it was Lin Chao Qing who took the initiative to speak. “Li Da Cai, Li Da Pao, you two lead your men out and hold back the Liu family. No one is permitted to set fire to the manor, or they will be executed without mercy!” He finished speaking and looked at Chen Ji. “Where is the evidence to convict the Liu family descendant? How do we confirm that Zhou Cheng Yi’s message was transmitted to the Liu family descendant?”

Tonight's events arose because the Liu family descendant died in the Inner Prison. Although the Secret Spy Office had found important intelligence, this book only explained that Master Si of the Military Intelligence Directorate was about to travel south. How did it prove that Zhou Cheng Yi had transmitted this intelligence to the Liu family descendant? If they could not prove it, the Liu family would still not let it go.

Chen Ji held up the book in his hand and asked, “Everyone, how many chapters are there in total in the Annotations to the Four Books?”

Lin Chao Qing replied indifferently, “Thirty-nine chapters in total, each printed separately, making thirty-nine books in all.”

Chen Ji asked again, “Then, ‘For Politics: Chapter Two’ is which chapter among them?”

Lin Chao Qing answered, “The eighth chapter…”

Chen Ji nodded. “No one would start transcribing from the eighth chapter. They would certainly begin from the first chapter, the second chapter… successively transcribing up to the eighth chapter. I did not find the handwritten copies of the first seven chapters in Zhou Cheng Yi’s home, so he must have already sent the first seven chapters out. This means that Zhou Cheng Yi should have already borrowed the books and, under the pretense of copying, transmitted intelligence a total of seven times.”

Lin Chao Qing suddenly realized, “As long as we find where those seven handwritten copies by Zhou Cheng Yi are, we can prove who received this intelligence!”

“That is correct,” Chen Ji held up the book in his hand. “This is the seventh chapter of the Annotations to the Four Books, ‘For Learning: Chapter One,’ which I just found in Liu Shi Yu’s room. The handwriting appears to be Zhou Cheng Yi’s. With this, we can convict Liu Shi Yu.”

His words fell with a resounding clarity, like thunder piercing through the layers of fog tonight, pointing out the truth for everyone.

The crowd entered the room and began flipping through the bookshelf. Chen Ji searched in other parts of the room. When he opened a cabinet in the inner room, he suddenly froze. As soon as he opened the cabinet, the ice flow that had been silent in his body for a long time surged up again.

Inside the cabinet were several wooden boxes. Chen Ji opened them without moving. In the first box were two white jade bracelets. In the second box were some account books. In the third box… prominently placed was a ginseng! He looked back, placed the box he had taken out on the table, and reached out to touch the ginseng.

Before he could touch it, he heard Lin Chao Qing's voice drift over. “Young man, no property from the home of a criminal official can be moved. My Major Crimes Directorate, alongside the Secret Spy Office, has the most important duty of preventing internal corruption among the various Secret Spies. Put those things back. Later, the Imperial Household Department will send people to inventory them.”

Chen Ji: “…”

He had thought that the Secret Spy Office, in its role of raiding homes and eliminating threats, could casually collect property… No wonder Cloud Sheep looked so pained when they were bargaining; he was constantly being watched by the Major Crimes Directorate!

Chen Ji stood before the table, his fingers tapping the box. After a moment of thought, he finally put the box back. He returned to the bookshelf, took out a book and casually flipped through it, then stuffed it back in.

By this time, the crowd had already found all seven of the front chapters of the Annotations to the Four Books and confirmed that they were all in Zhou Cheng Yi’s handwriting!

Cloud Sheep exhaled a long breath. “Victory! The Liu family matter is finally concluded. Regardless of whether Old Master Liu died of anger or illness, my Secret Spy Office has handled the case impartially, a great merit indeed!”

Lin Chao Qing said carelessly, “I hope you don't win so fortunately next time. This time was good luck. If you encounter the Hu family, the Xu family, the Chen family… you may not have someone to protect you.”

Cloud Sheep sneered, “Thank you for the reminder, Commander Lin.” He tidied his hair, smoothed his wrinkled clothes, and finally hugged the stack of books they had organized. “Let’s go, take the evidence and make the Liu family shut their mouths!”

“Slow down,” Lin Chao Qing said coldly. “No one is to carry any property out of here. Check everyone.”

Cloud Sheep and Jiao Tu opened their sleeves and patted their clothes up and down impatiently. “It’s just this bit of copper money. We haven't carried anything. We understand the rules!”

Lin Chao Qing looked at Chen Ji again. Chen Ji helplessly opened his sleeves and patted his clothes in a similar manner. “I haven’t carried anything either.”

“Very good.”

The crowd went out one by one. When they reached the door, they saw in the room they had just left, a group of black cats standing up from the house beam and stretching lazily. Dark Cloud jumped down from the house beam and bit the ginseng that Chen Ji had just put back in the cabinet. It then bit the ginseng and climbed onto the bookshelf, biting the book that Chen Ji had just flipped through as well. The furry black Dark Cloud looked around, determined that no one was watching, and then climbed back up to the house beam, drilling into the night through a gap.