Chang'an City, the Grand Princess's Estate.
The sprawling estate occupied half a *lifang*, with Dingzi Street connecting the north and south gates.
The usually bustling estate was eerily quiet today.
The Grand Princess was in a foul mood.
On the viewing platform of the artificial lake in the garden.
A young eunuch held an umbrella, while a nearby maid carefully fanned a folding fan.
Li Yanzhu, propped up on a chair, held a fishing rod and tapped a bamboo flute against the jade railing intermittently.
The "dang dang dang" sound was so jarring that the fish scattered, yet no one dared to even breathe too loudly.
Only Xiao Cui dared to speak at this moment.
"Princess, these are the important events for the past seven days, handpicked by Chengying. Would you like to see?"
Li Yanzhu glanced at it, shifted her position, and continued to lounge, but Xiao Cui blocked her again.
"Go away, go away." She pushed Xiao Cui aside with a frown.
"Princess!" Xiao Cui pouted, unwilling to leave, "How many days have you been holed up in the Princess's Estate?"
"I know what I'm doing." Li Yanzhu sat up abruptly, her anger rising. She ran a hand through her hair, "Didn't I tell you to inform Father? I don't like that Wang family brat. Tell them to get as far away as possible. If they push me too far, I'll confiscate their entire household!"
"His Majesty said this matter is not up to you."
Li Yanzhu: ???
Whose maid are you?
She pointed to her face, "Is there anything in this world that is not up to me?"
Li Yanzhu slammed the bamboo flute onto the couch, "That Wang family has quite the nerve!"
"Princess!" Xiao Cui quickly grabbed her and whispered a few words in her ear, "While the Wang family is hateful, this matter was instigated by Consort Wan."
"Consort Wan?" Li Yanzhu leaned back onto the couch again, waved to dismiss the attendants, leaving only Xiao Cui.
"News from the Nightingale Pavilion?"
"Yes."
"Hand over the letters, I'll examine them carefully."
Xiao Cui, plump and fair, her eyes disappeared as she smiled, "You, this is the right way."
She carefully opened each letter and presented it to Li Yanzhu.
The more Li Yanzhu read, the tighter her brows furrowed. Finally, she threw the letters away.
Xiao Cui quickly bent down to pick them up. Seeing a few fall into the lake, she simply tossed the letters in her hand into the water as well.
They needed to be destroyed anyway.
The letters bore an orange totem, signifying the highest level.
The letters were made of special paper, and even the ink used for writing was specially made, leaving no trace when dissolved in water.
All correspondence from the Nightingale Pavilion used this method, and the written language and ciphers were uniquely created by the eldest daughter of the Song family, Song Qingchao.
Even if someone not from the Nightingale Pavilion obtained the letters, they would not be able to read their contents.
And entering the Nightingale Pavilion required passing through layers of selection.
Not only was keen intellect required, but also proficiency in a particular skill, and most importantly, loyalty.
She was primarily responsible for recruitment, while training was handled by the eldest daughter of the Song family's people.
The Nightingale Pavilion had a total of seven divisions: Crimson, Orange, Yellow, Green, Cyan, Blue, and Purple.
Crimson Nightingales were those close to the master, holding multiple positions.
Orange Nightingales, under various guises, infiltrated various estates to gather intelligence.
Yellow Nightingales were mostly found in taverns and other entertainment venues, specifically gathering civilian information.
Green Nightingales were responsible for receiving information, and Cyan Nightingales for distributing it, operating between the three main branches of the Nightingale Pavilion.
Blue Nightingales were in charge of coordination and dispatch, ensuring the normal operation of the Nightingale Pavilion.
The final Purple Nightingales handled the most crucial aspect: judging the urgency and importance of the submitted intelligence.
To officially become a Nightingale, one had to pass an assessment.
The assessment results determined which division one entered and their rank.
Rank dictated the difficulty of missions and the benefits received.
The Princess had initially suggested using "Superior," "Medium," and "Inferior" to differentiate ranks, but the eldest daughter of the Song family rejected it, stating that "Inferior" was disrespectful.
The Princess remarked that the eldest daughter had read too many books.
In the end, ranks were designated as one, two, and three.
Once everything was confirmed, the subsequent assignments were fully handled by Xiao Guo.
Although Xiao Guo was a maid to the eldest daughter of the Song family, her rapport with the Princess was excellent.
The Princess referred to them as the "Cui Guo CP."
Actually, her name wasn't originally Xiao Cui. It was changed by the eldest daughter of the Song family after she gifted the Princess a book called "Biography" on her birthday.
The catalyst for the name change was when someone challenged Xiao Guo's authority, and she slapped that person...
"Did you read this letter?"
Li Yanzhu suddenly spoke, pulling Xiao Cui out of her reverie.
She smiled, carrying the pastries from the table back, "Yes, I did."
"A while ago, I received a letter from Zhao Zhao, so I sent people to keep an eye on Fang Zhi and Shen Jiangyu. Shen Jiangyu is fine, but Fang Zhi hasn't even been to the gambling dens. He's locked himself in his room and won't come out. Has he died?"
After placing the pastries down, Xiao Cui sat back down to brew tea, "Young Master Fang is in the prime of his life. Besides dying, he could go out to handle affairs, as long as he finds a substitute to stay in the room."
She placed the tea beside Li Yanzhu, who was eating pastries, and said playfully, "Didn't you often use this trick to sneak out when you were little?"
Li Yanzhu choked, "Does this Princess need to sneak out?"
She took a big gulp of tea.
"Tell them to keep watching, and also place people at the gambling dens. I've disliked him for a long time. A toad wanting to eat swan meat, how disgusting."
With that, she cursed again, "And that Wang Xuanwu, how dare he still have designs on this Princess! Shameless!"
"Yes, yes, yes."
Xiao Cui quickly handed her a hibiscus pastry, "That Crown Prince Wang is a big turtle, we shouldn't stoop to his level."
Li Yanzhu cursed a few more times before she felt relieved.
As she chewed on the hibiscus pastry, she gradually felt wronged, "Father knows who I like, yet he's forcing me!"
She looked at the plate of hibiscus pastries again.
"I wonder if Mumu has hibiscus pastries to eat."
"Princess," Xiao Cui exclaimed in surprise.
"Hmm?"
Xiao Cui pointed to the Nightingale statue in the middle of the lake, which had changed direction, "The eldest daughter of the Song family has sent a letter."
Li Yanzhu immediately dropped the hibiscus pastry and ran towards the rockery.
Her estate was vast.
It could be said that this entire garden was built by her for Zhao Zhao.
On the surface, each building had its special function.
But in secret, beneath this massive rockery was the headquarters of the Nightingale Pavilion.
Its secret passages could lead to any *lifang*.
In the center of the main hall stood an exquisite and magnificent bronze and iron wall with engraved paintings.
The embossed paintings depicted a giant nightingale in the center, with various animals beneath its feet.
In front of the wall was a water basin.
On either side of the wall were mechanical passages that slid down along the sides of the water basin, dropping into two different locations.
The right side was for Nightingale messages, directly dropping into a hidden compartment. Every morning, the Blue Nightingales were responsible for delivering them to the Purple Nightingales' workstations.
The left side was exclusively for Zhao Zhao.
Upon receiving a letter, it would be directly pushed onto the table above the hidden compartment.
Simultaneously, a bell would ring, the water in the basin would spray, and subtle changes would occur in the buildings of the garden outside headquarters.
Li Yanzhu ran inside, and without even catching her breath, opened the letter to read it.
After reading it, her hands trembled, "Who is Su Yingying?"