At 5:45 a.m., morning dew clung to the copper ring on the Lu Mansion's side gate. As Lüluo crouched down to pluck a scrap of paper from the stone crevices with the tip of her silver hairpin, the scent of jasmine from her sleeve mingled with the damp smell of moss. "Miss, look at this writing..." Her voice trembled. The edges of the words "7:45 p.m., Plum Pavilion" on the paper were blurred by water stains; the ink had clearly been fresh.
Jiang Wan took the paper, her fingertips brushing over the Withered Plum mark. Her sleeve, embroidered with a Twin Lotus, swept across the gray bricks. "When the boy in gray climbed the wall last night, his clothes must have been wet." She looked up at the gray tiles above the side gate, where a withered leaf hung in a gap between the eaves. "Mr. Zhou's shadow guards must have been shaken off by him."
Lu Jingyuan took the scrap of paper and held it up to the morning light. The Withered Plum pattern on the paper had one more stamen-like line than it had yesterday. "This is the 'Five-Petal Plum Blossom' code from the Sky Wolf Stronghold. Every additional petal signifies a higher level of secrecy." He turned, his sword clinking at his waist. "Mr. Zhou, order the shadow guards to secure the front and back entrances of the Plum Pavilion. Do not let a single mouse in or out."
Chapter 265