Chapter 52 Betrayal
Prince Jing, Zhu Youxiao.

His mother, Concubine Li, died early, and the young Prince Jing was adopted by the current Queen Mother. He grew up with Emperor Ning and they were as close as brothers.

When Emperor Ning ascended the throne at the age of eleven, Zhu Youxiao was fourteen years old, and Empress Dowager Liu was in control of the government.

Over a six-year period, Zhu Youxiao worked hard to win over northern civil officials and censors for Emperor Ning and weaken the power of his foreign relatives.

Emperor Ning finally took power at the age of seventeen, and named Zhu Youxiao Prince of Jing at the age of twenty-one.

Originally everything was calm, but in recent years, Prince Jing's reputation has been growing as he has been rectifying the administration of officials outside the palace, repairing rivers to provide disaster relief, and preparing food and fodder for the border troops.

The Imperial Household Department began to find ways to make things difficult for Prince Jing's Mansion. Many of Prince Jing's former subordinates were thrown into prison, and even the eunuchs around Prince Jing were replaced by new people from the Imperial Household Department.

Some people said that Emperor Ning and Prince Jing had a rift, while others said that Prince Jing gradually began to harbor rebellious thoughts.

Even last year, on Emperor Ning's 42nd birthday, Prince Jing did not return to Beijing because he was repairing the river and providing disaster relief.

The brothers of the past suddenly became strangers.

Just like in the storyteller's stories, everyone becomes boring once they become a king.

Chen Ji thought of his master's superb divination skills, and suddenly he felt deeply worried. If his master really wanted to borrow the dragon energy of Prince Jing's Mansion to train his apprentice, then Prince Jing's Mansion would probably not survive this disaster.

The Jing Dynasty's Military Intelligence Department, the Ning Dynasty's Secret Service Department, and the Liu family are like a huge whirlpool that is about to drag Prince Jing's Mansion into the seabed.

As the saying goes, fortune and honor are sought in danger, and where there is disaster, there will be ice flows. Master is not using divination to avoid disaster and seek good fortune, it is obvious that he is using divination to lead himself into a big pit!
Wuyun said goodnight to Chenji and climbed over the wall back to Wanxingyuan.

Chen Ji stood alone at the counter, quietly thinking about his current situation.

As I was thinking about it, I heard some noise coming from the backyard.

dong dong dong.

There was a knock on the door.

Chen Ji frowned. It was already midnight and it would be dawn in more than two hours. Why was there someone coming to his door?
Is it the Golden Pig? I wonder what the Golden Pig’s intention is in coming to the clinic at this time?

He went to open the door.

However, when the main door of the clinic was opened, Chen Ji suddenly felt a palpitation and took a few steps back!
But the person who came was none other than the deceased manager Yuan of Bailu Pavilion!
Shopkeeper Yuan had a pale face, a strange smile, and a cold aura emanating from his body.

Chen Ji had seen with his own eyes that Si Cao pinched Manager Yuan's jaw and inserted the knife into his heart inch by inch, crushing his heart completely.

But how can a person with a broken heart come back to life? !

Rumble, there was a dull autumn thunder in the sky. Dark clouds covered Luo City and cold rain began to fall.

This was the first rain since Chen Ji came to Luocheng. Unlike the continuous and dense autumn rain, it was heavy and fast.

Amidst the lightning and thunder, Chen Ji no longer retreated. He pulled out the dagger that had been hidden in his sleeve at some point, and stabbed Manager Yuan in the neck with it.

But before the knife arrived, Manager Yuan gently raised his hand and pinched the tip of the knife with two fingers, preventing Chen Ji from moving forward an inch.

The tip of the knife just stopped there, as if time and space had frozen.

Shopkeeper Yuan said with a smile: "Don't be so nervous, it's not Shopkeeper Yuan's ghost who's looking for you, it's me, the Chief of the Military Intelligence Department."

Chen Ji was shocked. He looked at the shopkeeper Yuan in front of him. His expression was natural, without any abnormality. Who could have thought that this was a human skin mask?
Human skin mask?

He had only heard of this kind of thing in stories.

Previously, he was still wondering who would take over as the manager of Bailu Pavilion after Manager Yuan died without cause. Unexpectedly, it was Si Cao himself who disguised himself as Manager Yuan.

Chen Ji slowly loosened his grip: "Master Si Cao, I'm sorry, I didn't know it was you."

But Si Cao smiled and comforted him: "It's a good thing to be vigilant. How could I blame you?"

"Master Si Cao, why are you here so late at night?"

"I have some bad news to tell you," Si Cao said in a serious tone, "In order to arrange for the spies who knew about your existence to withdraw to the north, a pigeon-level spy defected. We have been looking for him for two days, but his whereabouts are still unknown. I suspect that he will defect to the Ning Dynasty Secret Service... or has already defected."

Chen Ji's heart tightened.

A Jing Dynasty spy who knew of his existence had defected? Wouldn't that mean he would die?

He asked in a serious tone, "Which spy is it? Has the other party seen me?"

Si Cao walked into the clinic, turned around and closed the main door, then slowly said: "He is Zhou Chengyi's subordinate, he has seen you in Zhou Chengyi's mansion."

Have you seen me?
Chen Ji thought quickly in his mind. If the other party had seen him in Zhou Chengyi's house, then he must know that he was an apprentice in the clinic.

At this time, the spy should not have defected. If he had, I'm afraid Jin Zhu would have brought people to kill him long ago.

But why would the other party defect?

Chen Ji pretended to be puzzled: "What's wrong with arranging a retreat back to the Jing Dynasty in the north? He doesn't have to worry about Ning Dynasty anymore. Why would it lead to his rebellion?"

Si Cao explained: "This man is one of the best spies in our Military Intelligence Department. He is always efficient and ruthless. I sent someone to tell him to evacuate, but he thought I wanted to kill him, so he killed the messenger and disappeared."

No, no, no, it won't be that simple.

Chen Ji frowned.

Given the character of this Si Cao, he might really want to kill to silence the witness, but the person he sent did not expect that the spy would be so difficult to deal with and was killed by him. "Sir Si Cao, does he know why you... arranged for him to evacuate?" Chen Ji asked.

"Of course he won't be informed of this," Si Cao replied.

Therefore, the rebellious spy still didn't know why he was being silenced.

However, once the other party really turns to the Secret Service, they will definitely reveal everything they know. Then... they will be in danger!
"Master Si Cao, may I ask where he might be hiding... Hmm?" Chen Ji sensed something was wrong and quickly retreated.

But how could his retreat be as fast as the other party's pursuit?
In just a breath, Chen Ji was grabbed by the throat by the opponent with one hand and lifted into the air.

Sir Cao sighed and said, "Don't make a sound, or I will have to kill everyone in the entire yard."

Chen Ji struggled hard, his face flushed red.

However, in front of an official like Si Cao who had practiced for many years, he, a novice who had just started, had no room to resist.

Chen Ji wanted to shout loudly to call for help from the sleeping Liang Gou'er, but his throat was unable to make any sound.

He could only struggle and write on the back of the other person's hand with his fingers: Why kill me?
Si Cao did not answer, but just stared at Chen Ji's pupils quietly, as if he was looking at a dead specimen.

Chen Ji's mind flashed with thoughts. The reason why Si Cao wanted to kill him was because he wanted to completely clean up the intelligence lines that might be revealed by the defected spy.

This is the purge policy commonly used by all intelligence agencies. Intelligence work is unusual, and once a flaw appears, the entire team needs to be evacuated or purged.

If the defecting spy betrays Chen Ji, Chen Ji might betray Bailu Pavilion.

Bailu Pavilion is one of the largest sources of income for the Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Department in the Ning Dynasty and must not be lost!
Chen Ji was extremely anxious. He quickly looked around, looking for ways to save himself, but the gunpowder had not been made yet. Even if it was, at this distance he would at most die together with Si Cao.

The two most important words in this world are power and strength.

Chen Ji had imagined himself living peacefully in a clinic as an imperial physician, and he had also imagined himself wandering around the world, away from the Secret Service and Military Intelligence Departments. However, all these fantasies were delusional without the support of strength and power.

Practice!

Practice is the most important thing!
But what to do now?
At this moment, there was another knock on the door of the clinic!

dong dong dong.

The sound seemed a little dull in the rain, but it was particularly abrupt.

Si Cao's pupils suddenly contracted, and he carried Chen Ji quickly to the corner of the main hall. His eyes flickered, as if he was thinking about whether to kill Chen Ji directly and then break out.

He looked at Chen Ji, and Chen Ji quickly wrote on the back of his hand with his fingers: I'll handle it!

The clinic fell silent, leaving only the sound of rain outside.

After a moment, Si Cao whispered, "You know what to do. If you ask for help, you will die first."

Chen Ji struggled and nodded.

Si Cao put Chen Ji down and slowly loosened his hand.

Chen Ji rubbed his neck and asked calmly, "Who is it?"

The person outside the door said calmly, "Golden Pig, open the door. I need your help. Just like the agreement with Cloud Sheep and Bright Rabbit, each time you make a move, you will be paid fifty taels of silver."

Si Cao and Chen Ji looked at each other, and Chen Ji lowered his voice and said quickly: "He must not have caught the traitorous spy yet, otherwise he wouldn't be so polite."

"Then what is he doing here?"

Chen Ji said hurriedly, "Your search for the traitor must have disturbed the Secret Service. They probably want to find this person before you. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I can use the Secret Service to find him and see what clues the Secret Service has."

Si Cao's face was calm and his emotions were not visible. A voice urged him again from outside the door: "Boy, open the door quickly."

Chen Ji said again: "Lord Si Cao, although Yun Yang and Jiao Tu have been imprisoned, I have gained the trust of Jin Zhu and can still get close to the inner minister. I know you care about Bai Lu Pavilion, and I care about it as much as you do. This is my loyalty to Jing Dynasty. Don't worry, I will definitely find this traitor and find a way to get rid of him!"

Si Cao narrowed his eyes slightly: "Think about the consequences before you act. If you ask the Golden Pig for help, you will definitely expose your identity as a spy of the Jing Dynasty. At that time, even if you surrender, the Golden Pig will definitely not let you go. You know how much they hate us."

"understand!"

Si Cao slowly retreated behind the counter and squatted, listening with his ears perked up.

Chen Ji adjusted his collar to cover the pinch marks while walking towards the door and opening it.

Outside the door, the Golden Pig was wearing a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat, standing in the pouring rain: "What took you so long?"

Behind the Golden Pig, there were more than a dozen spies wearing straw raincoats and standing solemnly.

Chen Ji whispered, "Someone just got up to pee, so we were delayed... What's the matter with Master Jinzhu?"

Jin Zhu said, "Come with me. We caught a spy from the Military Intelligence Department in Red Lane. They seem to be arresting a traitorous spy. We have to find this person first. This person is very important!"

After saying that, Jin Zhu had someone throw a straw raincoat to Chen Ji.

Chen Ji put on his straw raincoat and glanced casually at the clinic counter.

In the end, he did not point out Si Cao, but just put on his raincoat and turned to walk into the heavy rain.

(End of this chapter)