The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

On a dark and windy night, Shen Cao went out alone once again.

Unlike last time, this time she wore a night outfit, which she had bought from a person in the martial arts world for a hefty sum through the little beggar Xiao Qi.

She covered her face with a black square scarf.

They carefully avoided the patrolling officials along the way. Although the curfew in the Great Xia Kingdom was not very strict, there were patrolling officials every day for the safety of the people in the county.

Finally, she heard something outside a wall.

After searching around, she finally found the dog hole that Xiaoqi had told her about.

She carefully crawled inside and then covered the entrance with the original dry grass.

For several days in a row, she came to Chunhua Restaurant for dinner every day, and each time she used the excuse of going to the toilet to familiarize herself with the layout of Chunhua Restaurant.

Using her memories from the day, she groped her way and finally found the Persians' private room.

She had seen the waiter lead the Persians into that private room before.

Once, she pretended to have taken the wrong turn and tried to go into the private room to take a look, but the waiter discovered her.

The waiter looked very flustered, as if he was afraid that Shen Cao would go inside.

She could tell from the waiter's expression that there was definitely something wrong with this private room.

Originally, Shen Cao planned to secretly take revenge on those Persians.

Her plan was to drug those Persians and make them have diarrhea for three days and three nights.

However, with the news Xiaoqi brought her, she seemed to have discovered something even more incredible.

To confirm whether it was as she thought, she had no choice but to risk her life.

She and Xiaoqi had already planned it out: once she was discovered, she would bark like a dog, and as soon as Xiaoqi outside heard the barking, they would immediately split up and act in two groups.

One group was responsible for setting the fire, while the other was responsible for reporting it to the authorities.

When she arrived at the door of the private room, she found that the lights inside were still on. She immediately became alert and hid in the shadows outside the room.

After waiting for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, there was still no movement inside.

Is no one inside?

She cautiously walked to the door and peeked through the crack.

There was indeed no one inside.

She gently pushed the door; it wasn't locked.

She quickly sneaked inside.

The room appears to be a study, with a square table placed in the center.

A row of bookshelves was placed against the wall, filled with books and some vases and other trinkets.

Opposite the bookshelf is a screen, and behind the screen is a bed.

As Shen Cao was looking around the room, she suddenly heard someone talking.

Startled, she quickly hid under the bed behind the screen.

Looking from Shen Cao's direction, you can see the entrance directly.

She was extremely nervous; her heart was pounding in her throat.

She regretted her impulsive actions earlier that day; what if she ended up losing her life here?

She covered her mouth tightly with both hands, afraid of making the slightest sound.

What she didn't know was that there were two other people in the room besides her.

Everything she did was seen by the two of them.

The two people hiding in the shadows under the roof beams didn't know whether Shen Cao was a friend or foe, and dared not make any rash moves.

Shen Cao kept staring at the doorway, her voice growing closer and closer.

Soon, three people appeared in the previously empty room.

One of them was the owner of the restaurant, whom Shen Cao had secretly seen when he ate there.

One of them was the manager who had caused trouble at her family's restaurant before.

The other person was someone Shen Cao had never met before.

However, the restaurant owner and the Persian manager treated that person with great respect, even to the point of humility.

Unlike Shen Cao's confusion, the person on the roof beam recognized that person.

How could the prince of Persia appear in Xin'an County?

That's right, the two people on the roof beam are Ji Lingfeng and He Yu. Their purpose today is the same as Shen Cao's: to sneak into Chunhua Tower to gather information.

The reason there were no guards at the door when Shen Cao entered was because the two of them had sent them away.

Otherwise, Shen Cao wouldn't even be able to get into this room.

The three people did not linger in the room; they were discussing something in Persian.

But judging from their expressions, they must be discussing something good.

Shen Cao was afraid of being discovered. In her previous life, she had watched martial arts movies where martial arts masters could tell the number of people in a room by their breathing.

She could only cover her mouth and nose with her hands and breathe very slowly, afraid of being discovered.

Finally, the leader patted the shopkeeper on the shoulder with great joy, seemingly praising him.

After praising him, the man left with the Persian.

After seeing the guests off, the shopkeeper went to his desk, took out paper and pen, wrote something down, carefully hid it, and then happily turned off the lights and left.

Shen Cao breathed a sigh of relief after the person left.

She was terrified that the shopkeeper would be staying in the house that night.

Fearing the shopkeeper might return, she waited for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, until her eyes had fully adjusted to the darkness, before cautiously stepping out.

As Shen Cao crawled out from under the bed, the headscarf she was wearing had come loose at some point, revealing the silver hairpin she usually wore.

Unaware that she had come out, she began to rummage through the bookshelves.

She had seen everything clearly from under the bed; the three people didn't come in through the door.

Instead, it appeared out of thin air in the room.

In this situation, there is only one possibility: there is a secret passage in this room.

She had been waiting outside for a long time, but there was no movement from the room. She clearly couldn't see anyone in the room even through the crack in the door.

This means that those people entered the secret passage just before she came in, which is why there was no one there when she entered.

The sound she suddenly heard during her inspection came from the secret passage.

She had just hidden under the bed when those people came out through a secret passage instead of coming in through the door.

She remembered the secret passages in the TV series she had seen in her past life, and cleverly began to rummage through the vases and other items on the bookshelf.

Generally speaking, any vase that can't be lifted is definitely the key to unlocking a secret passage.

She carefully turned over the items, completely unaware of the approaching footsteps.

Crane Feather, perched on the roof beam, couldn't help but remind his master, "Master, someone is walking this way."

"Should we remind the person down there?"

Ji Lingfeng didn't want to alert the enemy, nor did he want to meddle in other people's business. He was about to refuse when a ray of moonlight shone on the silver hairpin of the person below, and fell right into his eyes.

He Yu, who was standing nearby, saw his master leap up and pull the person below up as the room door opened.

Shen Cao was startled by the sudden appearance of this person. Just as she was about to make a sound, her mouth was covered.

A deep, pleasant voice sounded in her ear, "Don't make a sound, it's me!"

He Yu couldn't understand her master. Didn't he say he wouldn't care?

Soon, the candles in the room were lit, and the instant the room was illuminated, He Yu and Ji Lingfeng, who was holding Shen Cao, simultaneously disappeared into the shadows.

The difference is that He Yu is alone, while Ji Lingfeng is holding someone.