The White-haired Queen

Wen Lanyue's mother motioned for Wen Lanyue to go find her master. Bilian and Honghe accompanied the lady and the wet nurse. When Wen Lanyue turned around, Honghe started chirping like a little sparrow: "The things on that carriage are all the goodies we collected and brought specially for you. Some of them are tributes from friendly countries..."

After saying that, Hong He began to direct Nanchen, Xichen and Beichen to get busy.

Wen Lanyue walked into the inner room and closed the door. Seeing that the master had his back to her, she respectfully poured a cup of tea, handed it to him, and said, "Master, please have some tea."

The master turned around, his light grey Taoist robe hanging like a flowing waterfall without any wrinkles. He had a hat on his head, not a single strand of hair by his ears, and a Buddhist whisk hanging casually on his left forearm, looking like a sage who had detached himself from the world.

The master placed the whisk on the table in front of him, bent over and sat down, and motioned Wen Lanyue to sit down as well.

After taking a sip of tea, she said, "Yue'er, since you entered the palace as a female official, you have known your identity. Your identity determines your responsibility - you must do your best to seek happiness for the people of this country."

"It is because of this responsibility that we are confident in letting you enter the palace, and the emperor of Shangxie is also confident in letting you serve as a female official."

"But today, I will hand over to you what your father left behind. Use it well and seek happiness for the people."

After saying this, the master took off his hat, plucked off the wooden hairpin on his head, and said, "This is a token of the intelligence organization left by your father. I will give it to you today."

Wen Lanyue waved her hands and said, "Master, Yue'er is still young. Yue'er can't handle so many complicated things."

The master exhaled softly and said, "I know it's not easy for you, and I know you've worked hard, but people always need to grow."

Then, he changed the subject and said, "You have accepted the imperial seal of the Shangxie Emperor, but you dare not accept your father's things?"

Wen Lanyue pursed her lips, knowing that she had to accept it today no matter what. She nodded, then shook her head, and reached out to take the wooden hairpin helplessly.

The master continued, "This organization can give you a lot of help. With this organization, even if you want to restore Wen Jingguo, you can become the leader yourself without any problem."

Wen Lanyue shook her head and wanted to say, "I also want to retire to the mountains and enjoy the pastoral life like my master." However, she did not dare to say such words. As a princess with heavy responsibilities, if she had such thoughts, her master would definitely scold her for talking nonsense and being irresponsible.

Master saw Wen Lanyue examining the hairpin and introduced it, "At first glance, it looks like a very ordinary hairpin, but there is a mechanism inside. If you pinch both ends with two fingers, twist them, turn them over, and put them together, it will be the seal of this organization. If you rotate the hairpin in the middle, there is a hidden weapon on the thin end, which can be used to deal with the enemy at a critical moment; the thick end is equipped with a flare, which can be pressed in an emergency to send a signal into the air. Red can summon people from nearby organizations to come for support; green can summon the leaders to a meeting, so remember, don't lose it, and don't use it casually."

Upon hearing this, Wen Lanyue looked at the hairpin even more carefully. It was a very ordinary wooden hairpin, without even any patterns on it. But if you look closely, you can see some wood texture, but it was polished quite smoothly.

Then, she pinched the two ends as the master said, twisted it, and turned it again, and found that its workmanship was really exquisite and impeccable. The seal was carved clearly and delicately.

Wen Lanyue couldn't help but think of the "Story of the Walnut Boat" in the junior high school textbook. She originally thought that these things only existed in books, but she didn't expect to see it with her own eyes today. If you are not a first-class craftsman, it would be difficult to even imitate it.

Anything that can be separated will have gaps, but it is polished to be more realistic and precise than the seamless connections in the 21st century. Under the influence of the wood texture, the gaps that are thinner than spider silk are not visible at all. No wonder archaeologists in the 21st century have to use magnifying glasses to observe antiques and cultural relics.

Wen Lanyue couldn't help but admire: "I'm afraid there's no other craftsmanship like this in the whole world." In an instant, the atmosphere of their conversation became relaxed.

The master listened, smiled and said: "Don't underestimate this wooden hairpin. It was designed by many people, and each process was completed by different people. One person or some ordinary craftsmen can't complete it at all."

Wen Lanyue nodded as she listened and said, "That's right, this kind of craftsman is also very rare."

The master said with a smile on his face: "From now on, they will all be yours."

When Wen Lanyue heard this, her eyes lit up immediately and she said hurriedly, "Great, I believe they are not inferior to the Mohist Army at all."

The master paused and asked, "They are the Mohist Army. Do you know the Mohist Army?"

Wen Lanyue said: "I have seen this name in books before, and I thought they no longer existed."

The master nodded in understanding and said, "They have stepped from the front stage to behind the scenes, hiding from the world and lying dormant."

Wen Lanyue, who had been a general in his first life, immediately showed great interest when he heard about the ancestor of the organization, the Mohist Army, and said, "Then Master, please introduce this organization to me."

"Good!" Seeing that Wen Lanyue was so excited, the master happily introduced, "This intelligence organization is called 'Tingfeng Tower'. It was founded by the ancestor of Wen Jingguo. It has always only obeyed the emperor or the prince. Your father's generation did not give birth to a baby boy, and you are young, so your father issued an edict to let the master take charge of it temporarily."

"The 'Tingfeng Tower' is divided into six pavilions. Since Wen Jingguo advocates 'civil' governance, the six pavilions are all named with the word 'wen' in their names."

"'Wenxin Pavilion' is in charge of all intelligence. 'Wenwu Pavilion' trains military commanders, mainly providing secret guards or assassins for the court. 'Wenchuang Pavilion' is responsible for innovation and manufacturing, and the Mohist Army belongs to the 'Wenchuang Pavilion'. 'Wenxuan Pavilion' is responsible for the world's collection of books, copying, and compiling. 'Wenshang Pavilion' is responsible for promoting the development of the commercial economy. 'Wenhui Pavilion' is responsible for collecting rare treasures from all over the world. As the saying goes, 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be in danger in a hundred battles.'"

"They are different from the organizational structure of the imperial court and are merely a supplement to the royal family of Wenjing. The reason why 'Tingfenglou' is called an intelligence organization is because it focuses on collecting intelligence, not execution. Execution is the business of the imperial court."

"In the past 20 years, during the reign of the Lord of Shangxie, 'Tingfeng Tower' did not participate in political affairs, nor did it appear under this name, so few people knew about it. Now, these Pavilion Masters have no financial support, but they are still operating, but their development is very poor and slow."

"The headquarters of 'Tingfenglou' is a jewelry store in Beijing called 'Liuwen Pavilion', which means 'Six-Character Pavilion'."

Wen Lanyue felt that these "cultured people" were really good at beating around the bush, and frowned unconsciously. Seeing this, the master hurriedly said, "Let's do this for now, take it slowly. It sounds a bit abstract, but you will understand it when you take action. But the most urgent thing to solve is the silver problem. Except for the "Wen Shang Pavilion", the silver of other pavilions is relatively tight."

Wen Lanyue thought to herself, "How can I, a Chinese doctor of finance, be stumped by a mere sum of silver?"