novelAbuy Chapter 113: The Copper Coins Return to Their Place
Chapter 113: The Copper Coins Return to Their Place
April 6th, the study of the Prince of Puan's residence.
Zhao Bocong showed the list of third-tier cities that Yue Yinping had sent from Xiangyang, along with a note in smaller print in the lower right corner of the map.
"Several key nodes of the intelligence network intercepted in the wooden box at Fantian Temple in Lin'an have been exposed. Once confirmed, we must immediately remain silent."
Qin Keqing stood beside him, her finger tracing the nodes on the intelligence line that belonged to her one by one.
Her fingertips lingered the longest on the two marks: "Shunhe Tea Shop" and "Old Line of the Imperial Guard Deputy Commander." These were points she had personally set up, and both have now been destroyed by the Imperial City Guard.
But Qin Keqing's hand did not pause for long, and soon moved to the Xiuzhou line and the Xiangyang Baima Temple contact point further down.
Those lines that were still in operation were ones she had saved one by one during the siege by the Imperial City Guard.
"Yue Yinping's three-line composite diagram confirmed one thing: the intelligence network left by Master Zhijia is not limited to just us."
After Qin Hui intercepted the wooden box from Fantian Temple, several key nodes in the intelligence network in Lin'an were exposed, but we still don't know exactly who these nodes were.
Qin Keqing's voice was still as steady as ever, but Zhao Bozong could hear subtle changes in her speaking speed.
Whenever she approaches a critical point in a major deduction, her speaking speed increases by half a beat compared to usual.
"This means that there are still some covert operations in Lin'an that I'm unaware of, still operating independently. They may have already been exposed and are being monitored by the Imperial City Guard;"
They might still be silent, waiting for a signal that will never come. Either way, we need to find them as soon as possible, before Qin Hui does.
"How do I find it?"
"Use copper coins." Qin Keqing took out a copper coin with a missing corner from her sleeve and placed it on the table.
"Zhijia divided the copper coins into seven pieces back then. We have found four so far: myself, General Xin, Xiao Bieli, and Zhang Quwei. The whereabouts of the other three are still unknown."
If the intelligence node in the wooden box at Fantian Temple was activated by the copper coin token, then the three unseen copper coins are the key to finding the remaining nodes.
I can send a simple activation signal to all known intelligence nodes via the old line from Xiuzhou.
"The copper coins are put back in their place."
This is the highest-level summons that Master Zhijia taught me back then.
The node that receives the signal will decide for itself whether to respond.
If someone responds, we know who is still alive. If no one responds, we know which nodes have been exposed or have gone silent.
But there is a risk in issuing this summons: Qin Hui's men may also be waiting for this signal.
Once the signal is sent, they can trace back to the old line in the direction of Xiuzhou.
Zhao Bozong glanced out the window; smoke was rising from the kitchen, and Xiao Jinluo's laughter could be faintly heard.
Do you think this risk is worth taking?
Qin Keqing's fingers slowly traced the edge of the chipped coin.
"Your Highness, if the intelligence network nodes in the wooden box of Brahma Temple have been exposed, they will be eliminated one by one by the Imperial City Guard sooner or later."
Whether we send a signal or not, their time is running out.
If we send a signal, we can at least save some of them; if we don't, they might end up as fish on a chopping board.
"Then send it." Zhao Bozong sat down, picked up his pen, and wrote an instruction: "Send it to Xiuzhou with the fastest messenger, and have Manager Wang activate 'Return of Copper Coins'."
At the same time, Feng Yi was instructed to monitor the movements of the Imperial City Guard within Lin'an City. If the Imperial City Guard made any unusual gatherings, it meant they had received our signal, allowing us to deduce which nodes were still being monitored.
Qin Keqing took the instruction, put it into her sleeve, and turned to walk towards the door.
Just as he reached the door, a series of extremely light and quick footsteps came from outside the study, followed by Xiao Jinluo's clear voice, which she could not suppress even when she tried to lower it.
"Your Highness! Is my brother coming back soon? Sister Shen said you received a letter from Xiangyang today—"
Zhao Bozong looked up and saw Xiao Jinluo peeking in halfway, a wildflower she had just picked from the yard pinned to her twin buns, and a plush rabbit in her arms.
A new red ribbon was tied to the rabbit's ears; Shen Qingci had tied it for her this morning.
"Your brother still has things to do in Xiangyang. He's helping Sister Yue organize something very important."
"What is it?"
"A list, a list of many people."
Xiao Jinlu tilted her head and thought for a moment. "What's this list? Is it a list of good people?"
"Yes, a list of good people."
"That must be very long." Xiao Jinluo held up the plush rabbit in her hand. "The rabbit counts too. My brother said that when I grow up, he'll write my name on it as well."
Zhao Bozong smiled but did not answer.
But he had a thought in his mind: if one day this list were really announced to the world, Xiao Jinluo's name probably wouldn't be "Xiao Jinluo".
She would be "the younger sister of Xiao Bieli, the vanguard officer of Yue Fei's army," and "a female prisoner imprisoned in the Dali Temple in the twelfth year of the Shaoxing era (1136)."
She will have a name of her own.
Xiao Jinluo pulled her head back out and ran back to the kitchen, then quickly walked towards the side courtyard.
She needs to write out the encrypted instructions for "returning the copper coins" by today and send them out using the old line from Xiuzhou. After sending them, she will wait in front of the booklet for a response that may or may not come.
......
April 10th, Xiuzhou.
Manager Wang's tea shop reopened after being smashed by the Imperial City Guard last year.
The door panels were replaced with new ones, the countertop was repainted, and the "Tea and Zen in Harmony" scroll on the wall was also remounted. However, this time, instead of paper, cloth was used, which is fireproof, waterproof, and tear-resistant.
Qin Keqing's encrypted instructions were delivered to him on the night of the ninth day of the fourth lunar month.
He only read the note twice before burning it, and then took out the unfinished, chipped copper coin keepsake replica from the bottom of the counter.
These replicas were made by him using fake copper coins and old keys. Each one was polished to be almost identical to the real thing, but the edge was missing a scratch that only the real thing has.
He lined up the seven fake copper coins and tapped them three times on the counter. This was the activation gesture he and Qin Keqing had agreed upon—"the coins return to their place."
Of the seven counterfeit copper coins, only four were tokens from local intelligence nodes in Xiuzhou, while the other three belonged to Lin'an, Zhenjiang, and Xiangyang, respectively.
Manager Wang wrapped the four local Xiuzhou coins in oiled paper and had the waiter deliver them to the contact person at each node.
The remaining three will remain untouched for now, as Qin Keqing specifically noted this in the instructions.
The copper coins sent from Lin'an must be delivered by Feng Yi personally and cannot be sent out in Xiuzhou. Otherwise, the Imperial City Guard could easily trace them back to Feng Yi's palace through Xiuzhou.
After doing all this, Manager Wang put the tea shop door back on and sat behind the counter to wait.
He didn't know how many people would respond after he sent out the seven fake copper coins; maybe all of them would respond, maybe none of them would.
But he remembered something Qin Keqing had said: "We sent the letter not to confirm that they were all still alive, but to let them know that we were not dead either."