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墨書 Inktalez
Mou Xiaoning walked over, holding a stack of papers in his hand.
"Sir, the search is complete. We found over a hundred documents, all related to Spy activities, as well as some silver."
"How much?"
"About over a thousand taels."
"Oh?"
I frowned. How could Dafu market, as a liaison station for the Yingzhou Secret Investigation Bureau, have so little silver?
"Sir, how should we handle these documents?"
"Take them all back and study them carefully."
"Understood!"
Mou Xiaoning left, and as I watched his back, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
...
At nine o'clock in the evening, I returned to my Administrative Hall, where Mou Xiaoning was already waiting for me.
"Sir, you called for me?"
"Xiao Ning, have a seat."
"Lord Xie."
Mou Xiaoning sat down, looking at me with anticipation.
"Xiao Ning, have you finished searching the Dafu Market and Ye Wu'er's Assembly Hall?"
"Yes, my lord, everything has been searched."
"Any findings?"
"Aside from some documents, there were only a few silver coins; nothing else of note."
"Xiao Ning, what do you think about this matter?"
"My lord, I'm not quite sure what you mean. Could you be more specific?"
"Xiao Ning, do you think there are any issues within our Intelligence Agency?"
Mou Xiaoning paused for a moment, then cautiously asked, "My lord, are you referring to…"
"For example, our funding issues."
Mou Xiaoning hesitated for a while before saying, "My lord, to be honest, our Intelligence Agency is indeed facing financial difficulties. The funds provided from above are very limited and often insufficient."
"What about your assassins? Don't they have any money?"
"We assassins have it worse. Every time we carry out a mission, the payment we receive is calculated per head, and for one person, it's only a few taels of silver, barely enough to get by. If there are elderly or children at home, then they can only go hungry."
"Have you considered other ways?"
"My lord, do you mean…"
"For example, to take a little extra for yourselves."
Mou Xiaoning fell silent for a moment before saying, "My lord, to be honest, there is some extra money available, but it is all tacitly approved from above. If it goes too far, we will also be investigated."
"Oh? There are such rules?"
"Yes, my lord. The Intelligence Agency has its own rules that cannot be broken."
"Then tell me, what are the rules?"
"Well…"
Mou Xiaoning hesitated.
"Xiao Ning, you are my brother. I only trust you. If you don't want to say anything, I won't force you."
"My lord, it's not that I don't want to say; it's just…"
"What is this?"
"What's wrong with this rule?"
"This rule... was set by those above us. We can only obey it, not defy it."
"So, if you violate this rule, you will be punished?"
"Yes, sir."
"What if you refuse to comply?"
"If we are unwilling to comply, we can resign, but we need to pay a penalty."
"A penalty?"
"Yes, sir. The rules of the Intelligence Agency are very strict. If someone wants to resign, they must submit their resignation three months in advance and pay a penalty equivalent to three years' salary."
"This..."
I was stunned; I didn't expect the Intelligence Agency had such a rule.
"Xiao Ning, are your living expenses high?"
"Sir, to be honest, our expenses as assassins are quite high. Besides our own basic needs, we also have to send money home. If there are elderly or children at home, the expenses become even greater."
"Then you have no other sources of income?"
"Aside from the little silver given by above, we occasionally manage to earn some extra, but it's not much. After all, there are rules in place that we cannot break."
"Then you..."
I thought for a moment but ultimately did not voice my question.
"My lord, what do you want to ask?"
"I want to know if you've ever considered earning a bit more money?"
Mou Xiaoning was taken aback, looking at me with a hint of complex emotions in his eyes.
"My lord, do you mean...?"
"Xiao Ning, I'm giving you an opportunity now to earn some money. Are you willing to do it?"
"My lord, are you serious?"
"Of course, when have I ever lied to you?"
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