The back courtyard of Mo's estate was a spacious garden, filled with many rare flowers. Though the dim light made it hard to see the details, the rich fragrance of the blooms still permeated directly into his lungs, prompting Han Li to take a deep breath. "Hm!" Han Li softly exhaled, though the floral scents were strong and abundant, he could still detect a familiar aroma of medicinal herbs. "Someone must be cultivating herbs here," Han Li smiled lightly. Such an unmistakable scent stirred his curiosity about the cultivator. It seemed that someone at Mo's estate had inherited Mo Doctor's medical skills. Han Li couldn't afford to delay any longer, so he followed a winding path through the garden, slowly moving toward the areas still lit with lanterns. Along the way, he spotted several well-concealed sentries—had it not been for his keen awareness, they would have gone unnoticed. Clearly, the estate maintained a very vigilant guard. Yet, since Han Li had already detected them, navigating past these posts was now a simple matter. Han Li stopped in front of a two-story building. He had chosen this location simply because he noticed the guards here were far more vigilant than at other places—there were as many as twenty or thirty stationed nearby. Seeing that the second floor was still brightly lit, he knew important figures from the Mo family must still be awake, making it ideal for his investigation. Thus, taking advantage of the night's darkness, he moved with the speed of a flash—within a moment, he had reached the ground floor and then lightly leaped up to the second floor, completing the entire process in an instant, unnoticed by any of the watch posts around. Standing close to the wall of the second-floor building, Han Li blended completely into the shadows, then listened intently to the sounds inside. With his exceptional hearing, he heard a woman speaking, indicating that there were at least two people present in the room. "Seven thousand three hundred taels of silver have been delivered from the Secret Command of Changping Town." "Luogu Town's secret branch delivers 5,800 taels of silver." "Blu Moon Town's secret branch delivers 15,000 taels of silver." "Five Leaden Town..." ........................................ "These are the silver deliveries from the secret branches last month—basically about a quarter less than usual, and even less than that." A pleasant female voice entered Han Li's ears, clear and vibrant, clearly belonging to a young woman. However, her final remark carried a clear sense of dissatisfaction. "Mother, these secret branch heads are becoming bolder and bolder! Each month, the amount of silver they deliver keeps decreasing." The woman expressed her frustration with evident vigor. "I understand. I have a clear picture now!" A deeper, more resonant female voice responded. "Could it be one of the three esteemed daughters of the Mo family?" Han Li felt a surge of enthusiasm, sensing that the other person in the room was likely a lady of the Mo physician's household. "You keep saying you have a clear picture—how can you not think of any measures to reorganize and improve the situation?" "If things continue like this, the subordinate rudders will eventually stop seeing our main rudder at all!" the young girl complained. "I simply don't know what to do! After all, the power of the subordinate rudders has always been under the sole control of your fifth sister! Everyone else at the Mo family simply can't get involved!" the woman replied helplessly. The moment those words were spoken, a quiet stillness settled in the room. It wasn't until some time later that the young girl's resolute voice broke through again: "Mother, can we really let the fifth sister keep monopolizing the power of the subordinate rudders? Consider that since a few years ago, when Master Ma and others began to push for separation, and with additional pressure from other factions, the power of the subordinate rudders has already become the cornerstone of our Jingjiao Association. As your acting head of the association, shouldn't this most vital strength now be under your control?" "That's true. Yet when your father departed, he specifically entrusted the subordinate rudders to your fifth sister. I simply don't have a reason to intervene." Moreover, Miss Wu now regularly transfers most of the profits from the Dark Branch to the Main Branch each month, so I have no further excuse to inquire about it!" the woman said calmly. "Our Jingjiao Association has always been quite weak. If we don't consolidate our strength now, how can we hope to rise again? Father is truly unreasonable! Since he entrusted the management of the Jingjiao Association to me, why does he still assign the Dark Branch specifically to Miss Wu?" The young girl spoke with strong resentment, clearly dissatisfied with her father. "Stop being so unreasonable! Your father must have a well-thought-out reason for doing this—how can you, as a daughter, simply judge it as such?" the woman firmly reprimanded her. "I apologize—I'm truly sorry. It seems your devotion to Father is as unwavering as ever!" The girl seemed used to this, indifferent in tone, and even began to tease her mother. "You're such a child..." the woman, deeply fond of her daughter, could only sigh and remain silent. Han Li had now firmly concluded that the woman in the room was the Yin family lady he had been seeking, and the girl must be the Mu Caihuan, the daughter born to him and the Mu physician—thus, he was truly fortunate to have found the right place at once. Reaching into his inner robe where he kept the Mu physician’s personal letter and the token, Han Li prepared to step forward and meet the two of them. "If it were me, I'd have already decapitated him with a single sword stroke," the girl remarked with a sigh. "It's unfortunately unavoidable. Though we've known since the beginning that the Wu family member is a fake and have thoroughly investigated his background, in order to gain more time, we've had to sacrifice our elder sister's reputation and prolong the matter through false delays. After all, the enemy's forces are overwhelming—should they find out we can't outmaneuver them, they'd immediately launch a full-scale assault, and then we'd have no chance at all!" Lady Yan's voice carried a sense of weariness, reflecting the strain and exhaustion in her tone.