Fei Nanyu had been waiting for some time and hurried over when he heard the window open.
"Young Master Mo, you're here?"
Mo Jiuye jumped into the study room.
"Mr. Fei, how are the preparations coming along?"
Fei Nanyu closed the window behind him and invited Mo Jiuye to sit at the desk.
"Everything has been arranged. Tomorrow I will accompany Nan Qi to the birthday banquet and you can disguise yourself as a guard to enter the Ninth Prince's mansion with me."
Mo Jiuye had intended to do just that. He gratefully thanked Fei Nanyu for helping.
"Thank you for your assistance, Mr. Fei."
"Young Master Mo is too kind. I will call for a guard later whom you can knock unconscious."
Mo Jiuye naturally understood Fei Nanyu's implication.
"All right."
Fei Nanyu looked outside at the darkening sky then opened the door and called out, "Shadow, come here!"
At the same time, Mo Jiuye swiftly hid behind the door and held his breath.
In a flash, a man dressed in black appeared inside the study.
Before the man could react, he felt a sharp pain at the back of his neck and collapsed to the ground.
Fei Nanyu quickly closed the door.
He stared contemptuously at the figure sprawled on the floor.
He made no attempt to hide this from Mo Jiuye either.
"Two of my guards were sent by Nan Qi to spy on me. This was one of them."
Having spent a long time around Nan Qi, Mo Jiuye knew his palm strike would keep Shadow unconscious for at least two hours.
Therefore, he conversed openly with Fei Nanyu.
"Nan Qi is indeed deeply suspicious. No matter how much he trusts someone, doubts will emerge after enough time. However, he has one good trait - his suspicions do not last too long."
Glancing at Shadow's lifeless form, he continued,
"For example, after placing someone under surveillance for a period without discovering anything amiss, he will come to trust them even more. When that happens, Mr. Fei, you'll have more freedom to maneuver."
Although intelligent, Fei Nanyu had not kept Nan Qi's company as long as Mo Jiuye. His words offered a glimmer of hope.
Fei Nanyu was not serving Nan Qi with pure intentions. If he were under constant surveillance, acting cautiously all the time, how could he ever achieve his goals?
It seemed he would have to display even more loyalty before Nan Qi's spies in the future to quickly win their trust.
"Thank you for the reminder, Young Master Mo. I will be careful."
Seeing Fei Nanyu's composure, Mo Jiuye inevitably worried for him.
"But with us having knocked him out, how will you explain this to Nan Qi?"
Fei Nanyu sighed helplessly.
"I'm accompanying Nan Qi to the Ninth Prince's birthday banquet tomorrow. He specifically instructed Shadow to pose as my attendant given my status as his advisor. Without that, I likely wouldn't even get through the front gate let alone bring more than one companion.
So I could only target Shadow. Tomorrow, whether Nan Qi interacts with you or not, you two would have at least seen each other. I'll be by his side the entire time without arousing suspicion. After leaving the prince's mansion, Shadow's sudden disappearance will make Nan Qi doubt his loyalty instead of suspecting me."
Hearing Fei Nanyu's explanation, Mo Jiuye felt somewhat reassured.
It wasn't that he was overly sentimental. Fei Nanyu was already helping him tremendously - he couldn't allow the other to end up in an even more difficult position because of him.
"In that case, I'll do my best to leave seamlessly so Nan Qi won't doubt you."
While speaking, Mo Jiuye carefully examined Shadow's appearance - his dark complexion, bushy brows, and scruff on his cheeks and chin.
These would be easy enough for him to emulate. Just as he was about to disguise himself, Fei Nanyu had already opened a cabinet in the study.
He took out several bottles and jars along with something furry resembling the fake beard and moustache his wife had given him.
"Young Master Mo, allow me to assist you."
Mo Jiuye was surprised that Fei Nanyu possessed such skills.
Since the other had taken the initiative, he decided to continue playing the fool.
Although Fei Nanyu's tools were not as good as his wife's, Mo Jiuye was indistinguishable from Shadow after the makeover, at least without close scrutiny.
Now dressed identically in dark clothing, obscuring his forehead would make the resemblance even more uncanny.
Satisfied with his handiwork, Fei Nanyu carefully inspected Mo Jiuye. Confirming his likeness to the figure on the floor, he tossed all the cosmetic items into a copper basin and set them alight.
As he did so, he explained,
"I don't like leaving behind anything that can be used against me."
Seeing his actions, Mo Jiuye sincerely admired him.
A man of such meticulous cunning surely deserved to become an enlightened ruler one day.
Of course, that had little to do with himself - he was merely impressed.
Having disposed of the tools, Fei Nanyu gazed down at Shadow.
"He cannot be allowed to live."
Mo Jiuye understood that Fei Nanyu lacked the opportunity to deal with the body himself and would require his assistance.
"What do you intend to do?"
Fei Nanyu shook his head helplessly.
"He hasn't made things easy for me working in the shadows. I'll send him on his way today."
With that, he pulled a gleaming dagger from the drawer and plunged it into Shadow's chest.
Already unconscious, Shadow did not even grunt before his breath escaped him.
Fei Nanyu glanced at Mo Jiuye.
"I must trouble Young Master Mo to dispose of the corpse."
He pushed open the window at the rear of the study.
"The guards here have been dismissed for today. It's safe."
Naturally, Mo Jiuye would not refuse such a request - both out of gratitude for Fei Nanyu killing Shadow on his behalf and simply to repay the favor.
He nodded almost imperceptibly, picked up Shadow's body and leapt out through the open window.
Here, disposing of a corpse would be trivial for Mo Jiuye. His main concern was not creating future difficulties for Fei Nanyu.
