"Mr. Yuan's letter has arrived!"
At noon the next day, just as Han Mo returned from inspecting the river embankment, Zhe Yourong walked over with a pigeon letter.
"What does the letter say?"
Han Mo casually asked while washing his face with the cold water from the bronze basin.
"He said he got the item and asked if you wanted to open it!"
"He got it?"
Even Han Mo's eyes lit up.
He himself was not sure if this item actually existed.
He had merely relied on his knowledge of manipulation from his previous life, judging that the man must have left some contingency for him.
But he hadn't expected this guess to be true!
This was truly an unexpected joy!
"What exactly is this item that has you two taking it so seriously?"
Seeing the expression on Han Mo's face, even Zhe Yourong felt a bit curious.
"You've heard of Zhang Huaisu, haven't you?"
Han Mo glanced around, then lowered his voice and whispered into Zhe Yourong's ear.
"Why are you suddenly mentioning him?"
Hearing the name, Zhe Yourong was also startled. She instinctively looked around, and only after confirming that no one was nearby did she relax.
"Before the incident back then, that monk had corresponded with more than half the officials in the court, and Yu Shen was the chief investigator at the time!"
"You, you mean..."
Zhe Yourong's eyes widened.
Almost immediately, she guessed what Han Mo and the others were talking about!
"But wasn't that thing said to have been burned back then?"
After carefully closing the doors and windows, Zhe Yourong whispered.
"You underestimate Yu Shen. With so many high-ranking officials involved back then, how could he not have left some contingency for himself?"
Han Mo said with a light chuckle.
"But this thing, if it were to surface now, it would be a death warrant!"
In just this short time, Zhe Yourong was already covered in a cold sweat.
More than ten years had passed, and those mid-level officials back then had all become high-ranking officials in the court. Those big shots from back then now had protégés and former subordinates all over the place.
If they were to find out that the thing from back then still existed, they would likely all attack anyone who possessed it!
Calling this thing a death warrant was no exaggeration!
"Why are you so nervous? As long as we don't say anything, Yu Shen wouldn't dare to speak. After all, he's had this thing in his possession for so many years, who can guarantee he doesn't have a copy?"
Han Mo smiled and said casually.
"But you're playing with fire by doing this!"
Zhe Yourong frowned and whispered.
"Do you think I'm not playing with fire by not touching this thing? Given my current position, wanting a piece of the pie in this upcoming change is already like snatching chestnuts from the fire..."
As Han Mo said this, his face was filled with a bitter smile. He wouldn't be courting death if it wasn't absolutely necessary!
He had no choice in this matter; it was simply a matter of urgency...
"That's what you say, but..."
"Enough, there's no 'but.' Anyone who knows this thing exists wouldn't dare to leak even half a word, because once it's leaked, it's a dead end for everyone!"
Han Mo let out a long sigh as he spoke, then reached out and gently stroked Zhe Yourong's head.
"Can you please stop doing such dangerous things in the future? It makes me worry..."
This time Zhe Yourong didn't resist, but instead leaned into his embrace, guided by his hand.
"Don't worry, I'll be careful. I still want to live a long and healthy life!"
Han Mo smiled and held Zhe Yourong tighter.
After a moment of tenderness, their emotions finally stabilized a bit.
"What do we do now?"
Zhe Yourong asked softly.
"Of course, we open it. We need to give this future Prime Minister a good lesson!"
Looking at the strong confidence radiating from Han Mo, Zhe Yourong's heart suddenly calmed down.
Perhaps this was what it meant to be a man, a man who could give a woman a sense of security...
Even though she knew he was dancing on the tip of a knife, just looking at his expression told her that he always seemed to handle such matters with ease...
Just as Han Mo was about to write a reply, he suddenly realized that if this letter fell into the wrong hands, it would be truly fatal!
"What are you thinking about? Why did you suddenly stop talking?"
Seeing Han Mo suddenly fall silent, Zhe Yourong raised her head and asked.
"I'll teach you a method. How about you go to Bianliang City for me?"
After a moment of hesitation, Han Mo said earnestly.
"What method?"
Zhe Yourong asked, somewhat curiously.
"A method to write freely, yet have others understand nothing!"
"Does such a method really exist?"
Zhe Yourong's eyes lit up.
"Of course, but before that, I need to teach you something else!"
As Han Mo spoke, he ignored Zhe Yourong's protests and gently placed her onto the nearby desk.
Dipping a brush in thick ink, he wrote the Arabic numerals from one to ten on a blank piece of paper.
"What is this?"
Zhe Yourong asked curiously.
"These are some special symbols that I came up with to replace the ten digits from one to ten!"
Han Mo was too lazy to explain the origin of Arabic numerals to her and shamelessly attributed this invention to himself.
"It does look a bit strange, but you can't write an entire letter with just these ten digits, can you?"
With her intelligence and quick wit, Zhe Yourong quickly memorized these ten digits, but how could they be used to write a letter freely?
"Look, we count from right to left. The last page of this book, counting from the back, is the first page. The first character on the first line on the right is written as one, one, one! The second character on the first line is written as one, one, two! And so on. Do you understand?"
After Han Mo explained, Zhe Yourong, with just a moment's thought, immediately understood the principle behind it.
Although this was a very simple form of cryptography, in this era, even something this simple would make all the civil and military officials in the court rack their brains!
"If that's the case, even if they knew this method, if they didn't know which book we were using, they still wouldn't be able to decipher it!"
Zhe Yourong's face was suddenly filled with surprise and delight. This method could not only be used for communication between Han Mo and his associates but also for communication within their merchant guild!
Those who were unaware of the details, even if they got their hands on the letters, would be completely baffled!
"That's right, theoretically. However, nothing is absolute. After all, people can buy books anywhere. If they know what books you often read, they can easily find a solution."
"What about books that can't be bought?"
"Books that can't be bought?"
Even Han Mo was taken aback. This was a case of the clever being outsmarted. That's right, how could he have forgotten this!
If he found a completely illiterate soldier and had him randomly typeset a book using movable type, then who in the world could crack his secret messages?