Chu Liuyun stared at the top of the city wall, his brow tightly furrowed.
Why were the guards at Xining City even fewer than when he had last been here?
The soldiers guarding the city gate recognized the Duke of Qingguo and General Qin and immediately knelt. "We pay our respects to Your Grace."
Chu Liuyun asked with a stern face, "Where is everyone?"
A soldier, sweating profusely, replied, "The county magistrate just sent an order, transferring all the Thunderclap troops to South Street. They said traces of spies from Shuobei have been discovered."
Qin Yunqian's eyes widened in shock. "There are still spies in the city?"
The soldier lowered his head and whispered, "It seems to be the fugitive from the last wanted notice. They say he's not dead."
Chu Liuyun's face suddenly darkened, like gathering storm clouds, ominous and intense.
A group of over ten people shot towards South Street like a sharp sword.
Seeing Song Jinzhao stand down, Zhang Yuanzong heaved a huge sigh of relief.
The entire Changting Inn had been turned upside down in the search; even the straw in the chicken coop in the backyard had been overturned.
Seven people, including Helan Xiao, were all bound tightly and forced to kneel on the ground.
Constable Zhao clutched the wound on his arm. Every time his eyes swept over Shanlie kneeling on the ground, he gritted his teeth in regret and anger.
He had dealt with him many times over the years. How could he have never guessed the man was a spy from Shuobei?
He had hidden it so well, fooling everyone.
A searching constable came downstairs holding a pile of letters. "Sir, these were all found in Shanlie's room."
The more Zhang Yuanzong read, the darker his expression became. They recorded the rotation schedules of the city wall guards and the defensive arrangements at various posts.
The time span exceeded five years. Truly a wolf's ambition, plotting from afar.
"Take these men back and throw them in the dungeons. Interrogate them under severe torture. I want everything squeezed out of them, what they should tell and what they shouldn't."
Everyone bowed their heads and clasped their hands, responding with righteous indignation, "Yes!"
At that moment, Chu Liuyun arrived with his men.
Zhang Yuanzong hurriedly knelt to pay his respects. "This humble official pays his respects to Your Grace."
"Your respects to Your Grace."
The constables and soldiers in the inn knelt in a full prostration.
Song Jinzhao stood out too conspicuously among the crowd of constables and soldiers. She had just risen to her feet when Chu Liuyun and Qin Yunqian spotted her.
Qin Yunqian exclaimed in surprise, "Miss Song, what are you doing here?"
Zhang Yuanzong quickly explained, "It was Miss Song who discovered Helan Xiao's trail. This humble official then brought men to capture him."
Inside the county yamen, the seven Shuobei spies had already been locked in the dungeons.
The clerk from the penal department, responsible for taking statements, sat across from Song Jinzhao, recording everything she said.
Qin Yunqian sat nearby listening, his gaze towards Song Jinzhao growing increasingly admiring.
"My father said Miss Song's martial arts were taught by a military household member. May I ask that person's name? To be able to teach such a formidable disciple as you."
Song Jinzhao smiled lightly. "You flatter me, General Qin. They are merely some clumsy skills of fists and feet."
Qin Yunqian shook his head with a smile, thinking Song Jinzhao was being too modest. "That Helan Xiao was a captain from the Shuobei Commandant's office, with a solid foundation in martial arts."
"Magistrate Zhang said you subdued him in just a few moves. It's a pity I wasn't there to witness it myself."
Song Jinzhao smiled without speaking, picked up a brush, and signed her name on the paper.
"My stall goods are still at the dock. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now."
Qin Yunqian nodded and saw her out of the yamen.
He stood at the gate, watching Song Jinzhao's retreating figure, feeling more and more regretful the more he thought about it. What a pity she was a woman.
If she were a man, she could certainly hold off ten enemies on the battlefield and fight valiantly.
Song Jinzhao returned home and slept soundly all night. In contrast, Chu Liuyun and the others in the county jail did not sleep a wink, their eyes bloodshot from staying up.
As the sky lightened at dawn, the group emerged from the dungeons, physically and mentally exhausted.
Qin Yunqian tightly clutched the confessions of Helan Xiao and the others, gritting his teeth. "If Miss Song hadn't discovered them in advance, once the grain transport ships dock two days from now, they might have truly succeeded."
Zhang Yuanzong hung his head, a belated fear chilling his heart.
"This is my dereliction of duty, allowing these enemy spies to lurk in Xining City for so many years."
Chu Liuyun stopped walking and looked at Zhang Yuanzong with a stern expression.
"The manager of the canal dock, the merchant caravans heading to Shuobei, and all those who have been close to Shanlie in recent years—arrest them all for interrogation."
Zhang Yuanzong: "This humble official obeys."
Three days later, the tranquility of Song Village was shattered by the clamor of gongs and drums.
The village chief stood dumbfounded at Song Jinzhao's door. How could there be another reward, just days after the last?
Constable Zhao, all smiles, handed two hundred taels of silver to Song Jinzhao.
The onlookers stared fixedly at the two hundred taels displayed on the tray. They had never seen so much money in their lives.
Back home, Second Aunt Song sat on the bamboo mat and sighed. "If only we hadn't divided the family back then."
Second Song couldn't calm down whenever he thought of that two hundred taels.
"The family was divided before Jinzhao was even born. Who could have predicted the third branch would have a day like this?"
By mid-June, mushrooms in the mountains began to sprout one after another.
While digging for wild vegetables at the foot of the mountain, Second Aunt Song happened to spot a termitomyces mushroom and hurried home to tell Second Song.
"The mushrooms in the mountains are out now. Are we going to gather them this year?"
Second Song, thinking of Song Yaozu's tuition and expenses for next year which still had no source, quickly scrambled out of bed.
"Of course we must gather them. I'll go ask Jinzhao."
Song Jinzhao, carrying a half-basket of cucumbers, frowned slightly. "In July, I'll be running my stall. I won't have time to go up the mountain to gather mushrooms."
Second Song felt as if struck by lightning on the crown of his head. His mind buzzed, turning to complete mush.
He staggered back home and plopped down on the threshold.
Second Aunt Song looked at him. "Well? When does Jinzhao plan to go up the mountain?"
Second Song leaned against the doorframe, his entire chest trembling as he took a breath.
"Jinzhao said she's not going up the mountain to gather mushrooms this year. She's going to sell things in the city!"
The bowl in Second Aunt Song's hand clattered to the ground, splitting in two. "Sell what?"
"Something like cold skin noodles and tea. She said she rented a stall in the city."
Second Aunt Song stood frozen in place, various thoughts scrambling chaotically in her mind.
If Song Jinzhao wasn't going to gather mushrooms, what were they going to do?
Go up the mountain themselves?
The couple thought it over for a long time and finally decided to go to the old house and plead with Old Man Song.
In the main hall, Second Song stood before Old Man Song, pouring out his woes.
"Father, Jinzhao won't take us up the mountain to gather mushrooms. What are we going to do about Yaozu's tuition and expenses for next year?"
Eldest Aunt Song, her belly slightly rounded, looked anxiously at Eldest Song.
Back then, she had only dared to send their child to Scholar Zheng's private school because they could earn seven or eight taels of silver each year from gathering mushrooms.
How could they not gather them this year?
Eldest Song took his wife's hand and patted her belly, whispering, "We still have the silver from selling the brown bear at home. Don't worry."
Old Man Song fixed a heavy gaze on Second Song. "So, you want Jinzhao to support your son's studies?"
Second Song's eyes widened. "Of course not. I gather the mushrooms myself."
Old Man Song clenched his fists, anger surging in his chest.
"Without Jinzhao, would you dare go up the mountain to gather mushrooms? When they went to rescue Tudan, so many villagers went, but you sneaked off and hid at home like a turtle retracting into its shell."
"All you know is relying on this one and that one. Why can't you rely on yourself for once!"
"Get out! If you two can't afford to support his studies, then he shouldn't attend. It'll save me the three taels of silver I fork out every year."
The door slammed shut with a force that made the walls shudder.
