The grass in the factory should be plucked

The imperial palace was heavily guarded. One had to pass three checkpoints and have one's badge checked three times before being allowed to leave the palace.

Jiang Li was extremely excited, she finally walked out of the imperial palace!

Although I have to come back every day, it is better than being locked up in those high walls all day. Even the air seems to be much fresher than inside the palace!

As soon as we left the palace gate, the factory guards came over with horses.

Yin Jiu introduced, "Yin Shi, this is our youngest, Yin Shiliu."

Jiang Li quickly bowed: "Brother Yinshi."

Yin Shi smiled innocently: "Little Sixteen."

Xie Changan climbed onto the horse, and the three of them could only trot after him.

Yin Shi looked at Jiang Li who seemed to be strolling in the garden, and his speed was not slow at all. He couldn't help but praise: "Shiliu has great kung fu!"

Jiang Li smiled and said, "The two brothers are not bad either."

As she hurried to catch up, she looked at the imperial city which she had never been to before. Everything seemed new to her.

It turned out that there were many institutions distributed in the imperial city, which was divided into two major parts, inner and outer, with Qiancheng Gate as the boundary.

Within the imperial city were the eunuch offices serving the palace - twelve offices, eight bureaus, and four departments, which were in charge of the food, clothing, housing, and transportation of the emperor and concubines, as well as the eating, drinking, and defecation of everyone in the palace.

The area outside the imperial city is also known as the "Thousand-story Palace". A wide stone road leads directly to the Qiancheng Gate and then spreads out to the left and right.

There are palaces on both sides, which are the offices of various administrative agencies.

The layout is arranged according to the principle of "civil affairs in the east and military affairs in the west". On the east side are civil institutions such as the Six Ministries, the Ministry of Clan Affairs, the Imperial Observatory, the Honglu Temple, and the Imperial Medical Service. On the west side are departments such as the Taichang Temple, the Tongzhengsi, the Five Military Commissioners' Office, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The East Factory is located on the outer west side, in a deep alley.

When they arrived outside the East Factory Yamen, Xie Changan dismounted. The guard on duty in front of the door came forward to salute and took the reins.

Jiang Li and the other two followed Xie Changan and walked into the gate. What they saw was a screen wall with four large characters "Bai Shi Liu Fang" engraved on it.

Entering the lobby, there is a portrait of a famous general of the founding of the Great Chu hanging in the middle, and next to it is a couplet with strong and freehand handwriting, which was written by Governor Liao Wuyong.

The top couplet reads "The law is like a net that distinguishes right from wrong", and the bottom couplet reads "Ironclad evidence determines right from wrong", with the horizontal banner reading "Do not be unjust or lenient".

Xu Dangtou stepped forward and saluted, whispering, "Boss, Captain Feng is back."

Xie Changan nodded, indicating that he understood, and took Jiang Li and the other two to the hall where he worked.

When Jiang Li walked past Xu Dangtou, she saw Xu Dangtou looking at her curiously, so she bowed to him.

Xu Dangtou asked with a smile: "New little brother?"

Jiang Li smiled and said, "That's right, please take good care of me in the future!"

Xie Changan said coldly from the front: "Hurry up and catch up!"

Jiang Li stuck out her tongue and quickly caught up.

Xu Dangtou was stunned for a moment when he heard her tender voice: "She's actually a little girl?"

After entering the room, Xie Changan sat at the top.

"You are very outgoing and can get close to anyone." Xie Changan said lightly.

Jiang Li didn't dare to say anything and stood straighter.

Xie Changan glanced at her and said to Yin Jiu, "Take Sixteen to see Yin Yi and let him teach you the rules."

"Yes!" Yin Jiu clasped his fists and motioned Jiang Li to follow.

Jiang Li asked curiously: "Is Yin Yi our leader?"

Yin Jiu said: "Yes, he is the leader of our Yin Guard. He is easy to talk to, don't be afraid."

Xie Changan had already told Yin Yi about this, and now he was waiting for them in Room Yin.

"Little Sixteen is here!"

Yin Yi knew that the new youngest member was a little girl, and he also knew that because of her help in the Suixiang Pavilion incident, he and his brothers were promoted to a higher level. He had a good impression of her before he even met her.

Now, seeing this fair, tender, and delicate little girl, he was even more delighted.

"Haha, our Yinziwei finally has a little sister!"

Jiang Li was very curious: "Do other guards have female secret guards?"

"Not many. I'm not sure which guard unit has them. Probably the two secret guards of Lord Governor have them."

"If you meet someone wearing a nightgown and a mask like yours, he is a secret guard from our East Factory."

"You just need to exchange secret signals with them and you will know they are one of us."

Yin Yi told Jiang Li the common codes, incisions and gestures of the East Factory one by one, and explained to her various precautions in detail.

It turned out that the staff of the East Factory were divided into two parts: internal staff and external staff. The internal staff were called "servants", including more than 40 people such as the head of the team, the foreman, and the secretary. They were managed by Feng Chuan, a hundred households in charge of criminal justice. They handled government affairs in the East Factory Yamen every day and did not go out for external work.

Those who go out on field work are called "Jisi", also known as "Fanyi", which are the twelve guards of Zi, Chou, Yin, and Mao. Some are visible, and some are hidden. The hidden guards generally do not show up in public.

The official factory guards were all selected from the Jinyiwei. They were mainly responsible for sitting on duty in various government offices of the court and monitoring the officials' every move.

When the imperial court tried major cases and the Jinyiwei tortured serious criminals, the East Factory also had to send people to attend the trials.

Most of the secret guards like her come from martial arts sects, all kinds of people, and some have outstanding martial arts skills or special skills. They are responsible for eavesdropping, monitoring, assassination and other shameful tasks.

In addition to the four personal guards, the Twelve Guards are led by four great bosses and are under the command of Xie Changan.

The main responsibility of the Dongchang Jishi was to monitor all officials, which was called "listening and recording", "sitting and recording" and "beating incidents".

Monitoring officials from various departments in the court and participating in the trial of major cases was called "Tingji".

"Sitting and recording" means tracking and recording the surveillance target, writing down his every move, where he went, who he met, and what he did. This process is called "hitting an incident."

The "incidents" detected every day must be reported daily and summarized in time that night and reported to the emperor by Governor Liao.

In addition, disasters such as fires, lightning strikes, droughts and floods in various places, and the prices of grain, oil, rice and flour in Beijing are all events that the East Factory needs to pay attention to, and they are summarized and reported in the form of monthly reports.

"Remember? If you don't understand something, come and ask me." Yin said with a smile.

"Yes! Thank you, Brother Yinyi." Jiang Li responded obediently.

When Yin saw her well-behaved appearance, she looked just like the little daughter at home, and his smile deepened.

After receiving Yin Yi's "regular education", Jiang Li went back to see Xie Changan.

Xie Changan stood up and said expressionlessly, "Follow me."

Jiang Li followed him in confusion, only to see him walk out of the office area and go straight to the backyard.

Various plants confiscated from Cuixiang Pavilion are still placed in the backyard, among which the strange flowers with huge white buds are particularly eye-catching.

"Sir, what kind of flower is this?" Jiang Li asked curiously.

"I brought it back from Cuixiang Pavilion. It's called Qionghua. Do you recognize it?"

Jiang Li shook her head: "I don't know him."

Deep in the backyard, there was a stone staircase leading underground. Xie Changan walked down the stairs.

Jiang Li followed in confusion. There was a basement here? Could it be the East Factory's prison cell?

At the end of the stone steps was a sturdy iron door with two factory guards guarding it.

When they saw Xie Changan, they quickly saluted and pushed open the iron gate.

From where the iron gate opened, faint sounds of painful screams could be heard.

It turned out to be the torture place of the East Factory! Jiang Li's face turned pale.

"Are you scared?" Xie Changan sneered, "If you can't even look at this, then go back as soon as possible."

"Who said I'm scared?" Jiang Li pursed her lips with an expression of unwillingness to admit defeat.

Xie Changan didn't say anything and took her inside.

This place is simply hell on earth, filled with a strong smell of blood, and screams and roars are endless. The roars filled with despair are heart-wrenching, as if they came from hell, shocking people's souls.