Chapter 632: The Women in the Intelligence Network

Zhang Yu looked at Zhang Weixian with a helpless expression.

What the hell is this cover story you people came up with?

Are you sure you're serious?

Zhang Weixian stared back at Zhang Yu, his eyes telling him: yes, we're serious about this cover story.

Shaking his head with a wry smile, Zhang Yu said helplessly, "Fine."

He could understand what Zhang Weixian meant, though.

A status like this would help him get things done in Joseon.

The reason was simple — such a status was inherently above others and made people want to get close to you. In plain terms, it made the Joseon people curry favor with you and believe that what you said carried weight. Only then could you act in Joseon according to plan.

So status mattered greatly, and this kind of persona was only natural. The people in the staff office had thought the whole thing out perfectly.

But for Zhang Yu, this matter wasn't quite so rosy.

He was supposed to take a concubine — and the granddaughter of the Marquis of Xining, no less. It would easily cause trouble with his wife and her family.

But judging by Zhang Weixian's attitude, this wasn't going to change.

"Don't worry about the Han family. I'll go explain it to them." Zhang Weixian said with a smile.

Looking at the Duke of Ying's smile, Zhang Yu felt somewhat helpless.

He didn't know why, but he always felt the Duke of Ying before him had ulterior motives. If he really let him go handle it, who knew what kind of trouble he might stir up.

Zhang Yu deeply distrusted the Duke of Ying and asked, "Your Grace, may I ask — how do you plan to explain it to the Han family?"

"No problem, I'll just go straight to Han Kuang." Zhang Weixian said with a beaming smile. "I'll tell him you have a top-secret mission, and this is part of it."

"I'm sure he'll understand — after all, a Chief Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat ought to have the proper awareness. Leave the rest to him. If he can't manage this much within his own family, that would be impossible. What you need to do isn't much, so don't worry."

Zhang Yu breathed a sigh of relief. With this assurance, things were a bit easier to handle.

All he had to deal with now was his wife. But thinking about it, he still felt a headache coming on.

Zhang Yu looked at Zhang Weixian and asked, "Is there anything else?"

"No." Zhang Weixian shook his head directly. "If you're in a hurry, you can head back; if not, you can look over the materials a bit more."

"I'd better head back. I've more or less memorized the materials." Zhang Yu stood up and said, "I need to go back and think things through, formulate my own plan, and pick two companions for the journey."

"Alright, I'll have someone escort you out." Zhang Weixian said with a smile.

"Thank you, Your Grace." Zhang Yu quickly stood and bowed.

Walking out of the room, sunlight falling on him, Zhang Yu still felt a sense of unreality — as if an entire lifetime had passed.

This feeling was somewhat inexplicable. But Zhang Yu also knew that it truly was like another lifetime — the man who went in and the man who came out really did have two different mindsets.

After walking a few steps forward, Zhang Yu froze again.

Not far ahead, someone was waiting for him.

Dressed in a black form-fitting outfit, a dagger at her waist, hair tied back behind her head, fair complexion, tall and slender figure.

Clearly, she was a very beautiful woman, and her attire carried a unique charm.

Zhang Yu took one look and roughly understood who she was. Without hesitation, he walked straight toward the woman.

"You're Zhang Yu?" Seeing Zhang Yu approach, the woman looked him up and down and said expressionlessly, "My name is Song Xiang. From now on, call me Xiang'er."

A strange look crossed Zhang Yu's face. He frowned and asked, "Your surname is Song? Are you really the granddaughter of the Marquis of Xining?"

Shaking her head, Song Xiang said, "I am the granddaughter of the Marquis of Xining. You needn't doubt this matter — no one can find anything wrong no matter where they check. Everything about me has people who can vouch for it."

Zhang Yu frowned. So it was still fake.

"Since you're going to be involved, there's no harm in telling you." Song Xiang looked at Zhang Yu, thought for a moment, then said, "People like us were orphans collected from outside. After being selected, we were given new identities. We were sent to various households and raised as young ladies of the family. So every household has such a young lady on the books, and we appear at specific times to do specific things to show our faces, ensuring our identities never come into question. So regarding identity, you can rest completely assured."

How long had they been preparing for this?

Zhang Yu looked utterly dumbfounded, but still nodded and said, "Then that's for the best. As for matters between us, when does it start?"

"Very soon. By the time you get home, the matchmaker should already have arrived." Song Xiang looked at Zhang Yu and said.

Damn it!

Zhang Yu cursed inwardly, then bowed to Song Xiang and said, "Then I'll be heading back first. Miss, we have plenty of time ahead of us."

"I need to go back and check on my household — nothing can go wrong." With that, Zhang Yu turned and ran off.

Song Xiang watched his retreating figure, her expression somewhat odd, then relaxed.

At that moment, another woman walked over from the side, came straight up to Song Xiang, and asked, "What do you think?"

"What can you tell from a first meeting?" Song Xiang shook her head and said, "He's decent-looking, though."

"Of course." The woman nodded and said, "An outstanding graduate of the Imperial Academy. Back in the day, he was famous throughout the capital — even the Chief Grand Secretary married his granddaughter to him. How could such a man be bad?"

"He's been quiet these past few years, but everyone knows he's been biding his time, building up strength. Now the moment has indeed arrived. If he handles this matter well, his rise to prominence is just around the corner."

"Same for you — if this succeeds, you can do what you've always wanted."

After hearing this, Song Xiang shook her head helplessly and said, "Even if the court is willing to let us go, you know full well — we know too much. I'm afraid we won't be able to leave."

"What are you worrying about?" The woman laughed and said, "The court will arrange everything. There are dedicated people for that — you don't need to concern yourself. Just focus on thinking about how to do this task well."

"Oh, right — if you and Zhang Yu turn a fake marriage into a real one, then the court won't need to arrange anything for you. Then you'll still be the young lady of the Marquis of Xining's household. Though being a concubine does seem a bit beneath you. If Zhang Yu weren't already married, they could arrange for you to be his wife."

Turning to look at the woman behind her, Song Xiang shot her a glare.

Become his wife?

Could someone unmarried even be given a task like this?

Someone like Zhang Yu was already the best candidate — young, handsome, talented, and well-placed.

If it were some ugly old man, that would be the truly awful scenario.

"Alright, I know what you're thinking." The woman said with a smile. "If it really were some ugly old man, then the one sent to carry out the mission would probably be me."

Hearing this, Song Xiang burst out laughing.

Henan, Xuchang.

Xuchang, also known as Lotus City, is located in the central part of Henan Province. It is now called Xuzhou and is under the jurisdiction of Kaifeng Prefecture.

Zhu Youxiao walked along the street, waving a folding fan in his hand, looking quite carefree and content, with a hint of delight on his face.

After taking a detour from Hebei, Zhu Youxiao arrived in Henan. Along the way, he stopped and started, sightseeing everywhere, and was in a fairly good mood.

Because of the Xianghe affair, the court had recently been paying attention to this matter, and local officials everywhere dared not make any moves in this regard.

The higher-ups had already circulated the Xianghe affair as a typical case study—who would still dare to do such a thing?

Now everyone up and down was conducting strict investigations. People from the Office of Transmission and the Embroidered Uniform Guard were scurrying around like rats, and Censorate officials had also come down to wander about idly. No one dared to be careless about such matters anymore—one slight misstep could cost them their lives and families.

Walking along the way, Zhu Youxiao saw that things were going fairly well, which put him in a good mood.

While strolling about, Zhu Youxiao also bought things—whatever he saw, he bought.

"Young Master, news has arrived from the capital." Wei Chao sidled up to Zhu Youxiao and said cautiously.

"Is that so?" Hearing this, Zhu Youxiao's expression turned serious.

It must be something major; otherwise, Wei Chao wouldn't have brought it up at this time, and the capital wouldn't have contacted him.

Zhu Youxiao said, "We'll discuss it back at the inn."

With that said, he snapped his folding fan shut with a swish and turned back.

Soon, the group arrived at a very large inn. It had already been booked out entirely by Zhu Youxiao and his party.

Zhu Youxiao quickly returned to his own room and, looking at Wei Chao, asked, "Where is it?"

"It's right here." Wei Chao said hurriedly as he presented the wooden box in his hands to Zhu Youxiao.

Zhu Youxiao took the wooden box Wei Chao handed over, unlocked it, and took out a roll of paper from within. He peeled off the golden wax seal on top and quickly glanced at it.

Afterwards, Zhu Youxiao set the secret memorial aside and said, "Send someone back to tell Zhang Weixian to do as he proposes."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Wei Chao quickly acknowledged.

During this time out on the road, Zhu Youxiao saw that the land survey was proceeding smoothly, so he could rest easy on that front.

Next, he would take a turn through Jiangnan, and there shouldn't be any major problems. Once this land survey was complete, the internal problems of the Great Ming would largely be resolved, and redrafting the commercial tax could be put on the agenda.

Now that commerce in the Great Ming was so prosperous, the commercial tax needed constant adjustment. This time, it would undergo a major overhaul—a new commercial tax law would be formulated from scratch.

Enforcement would be even easier to handle. Commerce in the Great Ming now basically revolved around the Imperial Household Department, and merchants all ate from the same bowl as the department. At this point, if anyone dared to disagree, that wouldn't be a problem.

The reason the land survey was being handled so carefully was that everyone could benefit from it. When ordinary commoners handed over their land, they could pay less tax—only a small amount of rent—and that was the origin of land dedication. Under such circumstances, if one was the slightest bit careless, trouble would arise.

But commercial tax was a different matter altogether—if anyone made a fuss, the court could deal with them.

So from now on, the Great Ming's policies could basically proceed from the inside out. Joseon and Japan would be the Great Ming's first foray outward.

It seemed he needed to hurry up and finish his sightseeing, then quickly return to the capital.

He needed to hold down the fort in the capital; otherwise, if messages were delayed in transmission, trouble could easily arise.