Start from the thief

The Yizhou Prefecture's case library had not been opened since the final accounting at the beginning of the year. The guard took a quick look, shouted "Be careful with fire" and then hid in the room to avoid the remaining spring chill.

No thief would come to the Yizhou government office to cause trouble. Even if they did, they would not come to the deserted case file library. There were no secrets here and no cases to investigate.

Zhao Yushu, wearing a black robe, felt his scalp tingling as he stood on the densely packed bookshelf.

In the movies and TV dramas of the past, the protagonist would take a tinder and flip through things casually, and the information he wanted would be pushed directly to the protagonist’s hands or feet by a mysterious big hand.

And now, hundreds of years of information from the entire Jiannan Road are piled up together, stretching as far as the eye can see. The invisible sense of oppression that comes towards you is comparable to the inner scene boss looking at you with a smile, and then taking off Brother Jie's glasses.

“This is beyond human power!”

Zhao Yushu let out a wail and turned away.

What a joke! Forget about sneaking in here. Even if you stay here for ten days or half a month, you may not find what you want.

Give up? Of course it is impossible to give up.

So a clerk on night duty was suddenly pulled out of his warm bed, and a sword was placed directly on his neck, which made him wake up instantly and he had to wash his pants again the next day.

That is, provided he lives till tomorrow.

The clerk racked his brains but could not figure out who was so bold as to break into Yizhou Prefecture and threaten an imperial official. Uh, imperial clerk, the Prince of Shu's Palace is just one street to the south!

Then he couldn't think of why he was worth being pointed at with a sword, and his mind quickly flashed through the ridiculous secrets of the case library that his predecessors often talked about. Could it be that he was involved in some terrible court struggle! ?

"I'll give you three breaths to calm down and answer my questions, or I'll kill you and replace you with someone else. Got it?"

Looking at the clerk who was shaking like a sieve and the unpleasant smell from his lower body, Zhao Yushu couldn't help but frown.

"Understood, I understand. Feel free to ask."

"Are you familiar with the archives?"

"Well, I am only a clerk, and I only know the general idea."

"Then you're useless."

"Familiar! Very familiar! More familiar than my home!"

"I want all the records of personnel changes in the Shu Palace, the Inspection Office, the Wenchang Palace, the Tea Bureau, and the Right Guard for the past thirty years tonight. If you don't get them before the fourth watch, you'll die."

The clerk burst into tears and snot: "Sir! You are trying to kill me! Not to mention that most of the files in the Shu Palace will not be placed in our case library, even if there are some, if I take them without permission, I will be beheaded!"

"You can die now, too."

"I'll go find it right away!"

Zhao Yushu was not stupid. If he asked the clerk to look for the tea bureau's files directly, the other party would become alert by tomorrow at the latest. So he put the most confidential Shu Palace first, and then attached several more important departments.

Perhaps this matter will soon become a big deal, but right now Yizhou is a mixed bag, and no matter how big the matter becomes, the several forces will inevitably suspect each other, so it will be quite difficult to guess who is behind Mr. Bai.

Zhao Yushu sat in front of a table, watching the clerk running around with sweat on his forehead, searching here and there, with rolls of files placed in front of him.

One cannot help but lament that with the collapse of the Tang Dynasty's ruling power, even the guards of such an important place as the case library had become lax to an outrageous degree. The night was almost over, and apart from the night watchman, no patrolling guards appeared.

Every time the clerk brought a scroll, Zhao Yushu would open it and read it quickly. Most of the time he was just pretending, and would only take a closer look at the ones that involved high-level officials.

It was almost three o'clock in the morning when Zhao Yushu finally saw what he wanted to see. After quickly writing it down, he pretended nothing had happened and threw the personnel records of the tea bureau aside, allowing the clerk to continue moving the files frantically.

"That's all, hero."

The clerk brought over the last few rolls of documents, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and stood aside trembling with fear. It was the fourth watch, and he had to wait to meet his fate.

If the man in black in front of me were to kill me with a sword without any moral integrity, then everything would be over. But if he got what I wanted and turned around and left, how would I face the death penalty tomorrow?

"that's it?"

“That’s really all.”

Zhao Yushu nodded: "Take off your clothes."

"Ah? I, this, I, I'm over 40, dirty and ugly, I..."

With a swish and the cold light of a long sword, the clerk's outer robe was immediately thrown over.

"Okay, keep the rest."

Zhao Yushu looked at the clerk who was unbuttoning his inner robe with disdain. He rummaged around, took out a few volumes of files from the Shu Palace, and then took out two volumes of files from the Right Guard and threw them together into the clerk's outer robe. He simply wrapped them up, turned around and searched out the case library.

The clerk sat down on the ground with a thud, sweat pouring down his body. He was lucky enough to have managed to save his life, but it was not over yet.

If we put the files back in place now, with a few volumes missing, given the efficiency of Yizhou Prefecture, it might take ten years for someone to discover them, but it's too late now.

The east is already dark blue. My colleagues will take over after daybreak. How will I explain myself then?

The clerk turned around a few times and gritted his teeth.

The court only gives you a few dollars a month. Is it worth your life?

Zhao Yushu stood on the outer wall of Yizhou Prefecture, and was stunned for a moment when he saw the sudden fire rising from the distant document library.

"It's water! It's water!"

A clerk wearing only an undershirt was shouting and yelling, just like a good employee who had just discovered a fire and rushed out to put it out without even having time to put on his clothes.

Soon the gongs were struck loudly, and countless clerks and servants rushed in with fire-fighting tools. However, the document warehouse was full of flammable materials. How could it be so easy to put out a fire that was deliberately set?

This old guy is more cruel than I thought.

Zhao Yushu used his spiritual power to circulate, turning the several concealed volumes of documents and the clerk's robe he brought out into ashes.

The last hidden danger of his own was gone. This clerk would keep the matter to himself until he was buried, and no one would ever know what he had deliberately checked. Even the most shrewd person would only wonder who would burn the archives for what reason.

And what you wanted has been obtained.

Xiao Qing is the niece of the previous emperor of the Liao Dynasty and the cousin of the current Liao emperor. Seventeen years ago, she was married to the King of Shu as his concubine, whose queen had died many years ago, through the policy of marriage alliance. She is the nominal mother of the current King of Shu.

Fourteen years ago, due to the operation of the Liao Kingdom and his own extraordinary governing and business abilities, he became the head of the Tea Bureau and has been in this position for nearly ten years.

A few years ago, due to a series of political games, she temporarily withdrew from the tea bureau and was replaced by Nong Shouguang, the helmsman of the newly-emerged Yizhou big family, the Nong family. On the surface, she should now retire in the Shu King's Palace.

However, she continued to control the tea business in a semi-secret manner in the tea bureau, and was also the only person in charge of the Liao Dynasty's tea business.

Nong Shouguang did not lie. There was only one person who could do this business, but he said the Prince of Shu's Palace instead of saying it was the Prince of Shu's Concubine Dowager.

The contact person of Liao Kingdom has been found.