Chapter 515: Dirty Water

Chapter 515: Chapter 515: Dirty Water

By the time he returned to the barracks, it was already past early 7 p.m. Shen Hao had Wang Yiming summon the other five men who were out gathering information. He himself made a trip to the canteen kitchen of the Jingxi Town Governor’s Office.

He found a pot, some seasonings, two beast legs with nearly thirty pounds of prime meat, and some greens, brought it all back to the barracks and threw it into a stew for the night’s meal.

Of course, he also pulled out several jars of Wuliangye from his Storage Bag.

The others returned with Wang Yiming and were surprised to see Shen Hao actually cooking in the barracks himself, and it was obvious from the bowls and chopsticks on the table that he had prepared it for them too. Instantly, each of them became a bit nervous, feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the unexpected favor.

They were all strapping men, and though they usually spoke freely, they knew full well the reputation of Lord Shen—never daring to be disrespectful, always holding a deep respect. Now, having Shen making food for them—this kind of treatment was worth bragging about for a year back home. Maybe more.

"Sit, sit, sit. All of you, take a seat. It’s just a pot of stew: hind leg meat and greens, plus some flatbread. Make do for now. When we’re back, I’ll treat you all to dinner at a tavern."

"My lord, you’re too kind!"

"Many thanks for your great favor, my lord!"

Though they were rough men, they knew how to say the right things. And with Wuliangye to warm things up, after two or three bowls the atmosphere grew even more cheerful, everyone eating stew, drinking, and boasting. But after three rounds of drinks, Shen Hao put the lid back on the jar for now.

It was time to talk business.

"Pass this around and have a look." Shen Hao took out the stamped dossier copy and handed it to Wang Yiming first, asking him to read it and pass it along person by person.

Seeing it was business, everyone straightened up, not daring to speak as casually as before.

After all six had read through it, Shen Hao asked, "Which of you can reproduce the handwriting on here?"

Reproduce?

The six glanced at each other, and ultimately Wang Yiming said, "My lord, your subordinate is skilled at copying handwriting. But I’ll need someone to help keep it checked at every step."

After Wang Yiming spoke, two more men said they had studied handwriting and could help Wang Yiming with the copying.

"Good. After dinner, you three stay in my room. I’ll teach you what to do."

Once they had eaten their fill, the other three left of their own accord, neither daring nor wanting to hear whatever secrets Lord Shen was about to entrust to the other three.

"Copy the first page for me so I can see your work."

The paper used for copying was the standardized white sheets issued by the Xuanqing Guard, with hidden patterns for anti-forgery. This kind of paper was specially used for stamping important documents and dossiers. Both issuing and using it was tightly regulated. Wang Yiming’s group didn’t usually have access to such paper; only Shen Hao did—left over from before at the Sword Emperor’s Tomb.

Not everyone could copy another’s handwriting. Shen Hao couldn’t, but he knew many in the Xuanqing Guard had undergone such training—not only the copying but also deciphering, the two skills complementing each other.

Before, when Wang Yiming helped pick five good men, Shen Hao had looked over their records. He remembered one had an entry for "skilled in handwriting identification."

Copying handwriting wasn’t just copying strokes, even less just copying drawings. You had to learn another’s pen technique and pressure, aiming for true likeness in both form and spirit.

Therefore, you didn’t just barrel ahead, but instead broke it down character by character, analyzing each until you understood it, then only at the end did you try stringing it all together for a "trial write." After the trial write, you checked for mistakes and omissions, compared and corrected, repeating this until you reached ninety percent similarity—then you began the official copy.

When the first page was handed to Shen Hao, you could barely tell the difference from the original. Even Shen Hao, holding one copy in each hand and comparing closely, could barely spot any subtle differences.

Subtle differences were normal. Even the same person wrote the same character differently every time. Without special training, most couldn’t tell the two documents apart—just like Shen Hao.

"Very good. Now, add this content to the second page, third line... These characters to the last line of the third page..."

Once assured of Wang Yiming’s group’s skills, Shen Hao began inserting new material into the original text.

It was not fabrication—the additions Shen Hao made were all real things, such as terms like "Prince Shou’s Mansion"...

Honestly, the original dossier had always been incomplete. Neither the case summary nor the initial conclusions said anything complete—was this all Hawkeye could do? Clearly, things were being held back.

Shen Hao guessed this was a precaution against him. Fair enough; with things left out, now he had room to add in what he wanted.

The first three pages were essentially the case overview—from the crime scene, traces, cause of death, to the forensic doctor’s report, basically clarifying things.

Shen Hao didn’t change the overall structure, just made the dossier more complete. The crime scene had originally been described as "a private residence in the Imperial City." After Shen Hao’s modification, it was now "Prince Shou’s Mansion"—he even included several statements like "it is well established that Prince Shou harbored the criminal" to steer the case analysis.

When all the work was done, after more than ten additional revisions, a stack of documents finally sat before Shen Hao.

"Excellent!" After confirming he was thoroughly satisfied, Shen Hao handed the folded dossier to Wang Yiming, saying, "File this as you usually do." Then he gestured for the others who had helped with proofreading to withdraw.

Once only Wang Yiming remained, Shen Hao continued, "Tomorrow, go over to Prince Shou’s Mansion and look for a chance to ’accidentally’ drop this ’newly stamped’ case dossier, so that one of the Royal Guard or a servant will see it."

"You mean..." Wang Yiming’s eyes widened—he hadn’t expected his lord to play such a risky game.

Shen Hao did not intend to explain, but went on, "Be careful; don’t make it too obvious. Devise a convincing ’coincidence.’ You can have some of the others help you stage it. Remember, let them see it, but not for long—a fake is still a fake, it can’t stand too much scrutiny. Don’t let them see enough to see through it. Just make sure they see enough to spark suspicion. Do you understand?"

"Your subordinate understands!" At this moment, Wang Yiming had no room for hesitation, because he saw an unmistakable ruthlessness in Shen Hao’s eyes—this was not an order he could decline. Besides, in the Xuanqing Guard, no one haggled over missions.

"That’s enough—go get ready. You’d best discuss it with those few. But be careful; don’t let them know what’s really going on. Just have them help you play their roles."

"Your subordinate will prepare at once."

To be honest, Wang Yiming was rather nervous. Though he’d worked many years for the Xuanqing Guard, this was the first time he’d ever handled such a make-believe task—let alone under the noses of the Royal Guard, and without being found out.

But difficulty is opportunity too. Wang Yiming also wanted to become a trusted confidant, just like that other guy with the same surname—otherwise, how could he hope to rise with Lord Shen?