Chapter 16 Trading
Anxi Street is quiet. The moonlight shines on the bluestone road, like a flowing stream, peaceful and clear.

Chen Ji stood inside the door in silence, and Yun Yang outside did not urge him. The two of them just stood there quietly, separated by a door.

Chen Ji pondered for a long time, finally took a deep breath, and slowly opened the door with a creak: "Master Yunyang, what's the matter?"

Outside the door, Yun Yang was wearing a black robe, which fit him perfectly as if it had just been ironed. His hair was neatly tied on top of his head with a hairpin, making him look like the young man that often appears in operas.

The two of them stood across the high threshold of the Taiping Clinic, and Yun Yang asked with a smile, "Would you like me to come in and sit down?"

Chen Ji shook his head: "There is no place to drink tea in the clinic, why don't we chat at the door."

"Huh?" Yun Yang looked at Chen Ji with interest: "Don't you know I'm from the Secret Service? Didn't Imperial Doctor Yao tell you?"

"said."

Yun Yang put away his smile and said calmly, "Then do you know that when I, the Secret Service, said that I wanted to visit someone's home, no one dared to refuse. Aren't you afraid of me?"

After saying that, he stepped over the threshold, walked past Chen Ji as if no one was around, and walked into the clinic.

"I'm afraid," Chen Ji turned around and admitted sincerely, "But I said we'd talk at the door because I knew you were in a hurry and I didn't want to waste your time."

"Oh?" Yun Yang put his hands behind his back and looked around the clinic, and asked curiously, "Why am I in a hurry?"

Chen Ji stood at the door and looked at Yun Yang's back: "You arrested the Liu family's people, causing the old man of the Liu family to faint. He doesn't have much time left. The Liu family's current cabinet minister and the Minister of Personnel are rushing back to Luocheng. You must be very anxious."

Yun Yang laughed, "Based on the information that Doctor Yao was invited by the Liu family to diagnose patients, you dare to be sure of my current situation? I came here on the orders of the Minister of Internal Affairs, so what if it's the Liu family. Now I suspect that you are a spy of the Jing Dynasty, come with me to the inner prison."

Chen Ji leaned against the door frame and said, "Lord Yun Yang, let's be frank. If you really want to arrest me and put me in the inner prison, why bother coming here in person? Just send two people over."

Yun Yang turned around and looked straight at Chen Ji, observing Chen Ji's determined expression: "Since you are so smart, you should also know that Doctor Yao is not here tonight. I don't even need to find a reason to kill you. How dare you confront me?"

The reason why Chen Ji revealed his cards... is just as Yun Yang said to Zhou Chengyi: When you saw the Secret Service, you had no choice.

Either cooperate or die.

But he had other ideas.

Seeing that Chen Ji didn't say anything, Yun Yang said slowly: "Since you are a smart man, then guess why I came. If you guess correctly, it proves that you are still valuable."

Chen Ji said: "Everyone says that the Secret Service executes first and reports later, and that the emperor has granted this power, but this power also has a prerequisite, that is, you have to execute the right person."

Yun Yang raised his eyebrows: "Go on."

Chen Ji frowned and analyzed, "There aren't many things that can make Lord Yunyang come to me in the middle of the night. It's nothing more than that you arrested someone but didn't find evidence to convict them. Now that the old man of the Liu family is dying, if you can't find evidence to prove that you were right to arrest someone, I'm afraid you will be pushed out by the Minister of Internal Affairs as a scapegoat."

"Very good!" Yun Yang clapped his hands and spoke frankly, "Jiaotu followed the clues you gave us and searched 22 rice paper shops in Luocheng. We finally found two shops that sold the same rice paper as the one in Zhou Chengyi's mansion, and they were all run by the Liu family. However, we didn't find any other evidence in the rice paper shops."

Chen Ji quickly asked, "Did you brush all the rice paper with vinegar?"

"Yes, but no words appeared."

Chen Ji was puzzled: "Since there is no evidence, why do you dare to arrest people directly?"

Yun Yang brushed his sleeves and sneered, "My Secret Service has always captured Jing Dynasty spies and never let them go. If we let one spy go, a hundred soldiers or even more soldiers might die on the front line. Three years ago, the autumn grain was transported to the north via the Grand Canal. Just because there was a spy in the army responsible for transporting the grain, 2,400 dan of grain from my Ning Dynasty was burned, enough for a thousand frontline soldiers to eat and horses for a month. Do you think the consequences are serious?"

"But you didn't expect that Old Master Liu would be so angry that he would die. If he hadn't been involved, the young men would have been arrested, right?"

For the first time, Yun Yang showed a helpless expression on his face: "Who would have thought that this old man's life was as fragile as paper? Now Jiaotu is still dealing with the Liu family, we have to go find evidence."

Chen Ji asked: "When do we set off?"

Yun Yang was the first to cross the threshold and walk out: "Now!"

"Wait a mininute."

"Ok?"

Chen Ji did not move, but asked seriously: "What's in it for me?"

……

……

Yun Yang stopped and turned around. He stood under the moonlight on Anxi Street, looking at Chen Ji in the clinic with a half-smile: "You dare to negotiate with me?"

Chen Ji did not humble himself because of the other party's power. He just said sincerely: "Lord Yunyang, you and Jiaotu are in trouble now. This has nothing to do with me, but I helped you and I should be paid. Just treat me as a worker at the Caoyun Wharf and do the work for money."

Yun Yang smiled. He took a few steps forward and stabbed a silver needle into Chen Ji's chest. The silver needle was as thin as an ox hair and could only be seen clearly under the moonlight.

In an instant, the veins on Chen Ji's neck throbbed and he felt unbearable pain in his chest, almost to the point of shock.

Yun Yang's voice gradually turned cold: "My Secret Service never bargains with anyone."

Chen Ji leaned against the door frame of the clinic and panted, "There are always exceptions."

Yun Yang asked back: "Why do you think you have to be the only one who can do this?"

Chen Ji suddenly stood up straight, holding onto the door frame, and looked directly into Yun Yang's eyes: "Yes, it has to be me."

The world is silent.

It was as if a huge air pressure descended on Anxi Street, suppressing all the sounds here.

Chen Ji continued, "If it wasn't for me, Lord Yunyang wouldn't have come to find an unknown person like me at this critical moment." Are there any experts in catching spies in the Secret Service? There must be.

But Yunyang also said that they were temporarily transferred to Luocheng, and judging from the style of Yunyang and Jiaotu, they did not seem to be people who specialized in catching spies, but more like... killers.

On the day of arresting Zhou Chengyi, Yunyang and Jiaotu did not show any counter-espionage capabilities. Instead, their methods of killing were extremely secretive and decisive.

Now, the two of them were temporarily entrusted with an important task, but they caused a huge trouble.

They needed someone to help clean up the mess...someone smart.

Yun Yang narrowed his eyes slightly: "Even if I need your help this time, aren't you afraid that I will cause trouble for you afterwards? I suggest that you carefully consider every word you say to me, otherwise there will be consequences that you cannot afford."

Chen Ji said, "Lord Yunyang will probably have to deal with a lot of spies in the future. Where there are spies, there are merits. I helped you earn merits, so why would you bother me?"

"Huh," Yun Yang's eyes lit up.

Of all the words Chen Ji said, only this one really attracted him!
"Do you think you can help me gain credit?" Yun Yang asked back.

Chen Ji said: "The alum in Zhou Chengyi's house was found by me."

"This contribution is not that great," Yun Yang shook his head.

Chen Ji also shook his head: "No, the credit I'm talking about is not Zhou Chengyi, but me... No, it's you, Lord Yunyang, who discovered the way the Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Department wrote secret letters. In the past, when the Secret Intelligence Department arrested spies and searched homes, they missed this method of screening secret letters, and thus missed a lot of information. Now, if we use this method to trace back, we may find an unexpected surprise in their home."

Yun Yang's eyes lit up more and more: "Yes! This time, let the inner minister know that Jiaotu and I..."

He glanced at Chen Ji and stopped talking abruptly.

Yun Yang weighed the pros and cons for a moment: "What kind of benefit do you want?"

Chen Ji said: "Quan, I want a position in the Secret Service."

Yun Yang said unhappily, "You think I'm the Minister of Internal Affairs? The Secret Service is the most powerful department under the Imperial Household Department, and it handles the most secretive things. If you want to get in, you must be examined by the Chief Criminal Department for three generations and reported to the Minister of Internal Affairs. No one else can make the decision!"

Chen Ji said: "That requires money."

He had not originally intended to really ask for power, but when a person wants something, he should not reveal his intentions in advance and should ask for a big price first.

Yun Yang was relieved when he saw that Chen Ji did not want an official position. "How much do you want?"

"Two thousand taels of silver."

"what?!"

Chen Ji asked, "Can't you give it to me?"

Yun Yang scratched his head and said, "Do you know that my annual salary is only thirty-six taels of silver, and you asked for two thousand taels?! If you continue to be so outrageous, I will stab you!"

"Does the Secret Service only rely on salary to survive?" Chen Ji didn't believe it.

Yun Yang thought for a moment, put away his mentality of being influenced by "merit", and said without question: "Every time you earn merit for me, I will give you fifty taels of silver."

"Lord Yunyang is such a big shot, but he only offered fifty taels?"

"Only fifty taels? Fifty taels is enough for you to go to the West Market and buy twenty maids! Time is tight today, and I don't know how long Jiaotu can delay. If you delay any further, I will kill you. I'll ask you one last time, fifty taels, do you want it?"

"want!"

Yun Yang turned and left: "There are still three hours until dawn, and you only have three hours too."

"Where are you going to find evidence now, Lord Yunyang?"

"I'll take you to the rice paper shop. Maybe you can find something there!"

Chen Ji shook his head and refused: "Let's not go to the rice paper shop, let's go to Zhou Chengyi's house."

Yun Yang frowned: "Didn't you find the alum last time? What else is there?"

Chen Ji remained silent.

Yun Yang reacted instantly: "Wait, you must have found other clues in Zhou Chengyi's house last time, but you didn't tell me and Jiaotu!"

"I just want to keep some cards to myself, please forgive me, Lord Yunyang," Chen Ji has never been a man who would surrender. When killing someone, even if there is a knife on his waist, he will bite off a piece of flesh from the enemy's neck.

"Hiss!" Yun Yang took a breath of cold air: "I feel more and more that you are like a spy of Jing Dynasty. What should I do?"

"Will the Jingchao spies help you catch spies, sir?"

Yunyang pressed two fingers on his tongue and blew a clear whistle, and a horse galloped out from the corner of Anxi Street.

He climbed onto the horse and pulled Chen Ji to sit behind him: "Hold on tight!"

The horse's hooves wrapped in sackcloth made a dull sound on the bluestone road and galloped into the early morning mist.

No one noticed that a small black cat was always hiding in the shadows on the roof of the house facing the street.

As they left, the cat jumped lightly on the gray tiles on the eaves and followed them.

(End of this chapter)