Intelligence

“Take a seat and rest for a bit. You look like you're in a real rush.” Seeing Aidan's travel-worn appearance, Matthew gestured toward the remaining food on the table. Aidan finally reined in his smile, waved his hand, and said, “Thanks, Big Brother, but I already ate outside.”

Although his tone was cheerful, he still rubbed the back of his head in slight embarrassment.

Matthew observed this and understood perfectly—it was just like children from his previous life; when they suddenly had some pocket money, they would naturally feel a bit self-conscious after spending it.

He did not call him out on it, only nodding with a smile.

For Matthew, Aidan learning how to spend money in the city was actually a good thing. If Aidan had remained as timid and constrained as before after entering the inner city, that would have been when Matthew needed to guide him.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Matthew asked, “You look absolutely delighted. Did you find out some news?”

Aidan's eyes lit up, his tone carrying an irrepressible excitement. “I've found out everything about the nobles!”

Hearing this, a trace of surprise flashed in Matthew's eyes.

The situation of the noble families in Abilan County was by no means common knowledge. He had originally only hoped that Aidan could sniff out a clue or two. He had not expected the boy to not only find out about the families controlling the three inner city gates but also gather information on the other influential nobles, and so quickly at that.

“How did you get it?” His tone was calm, yet carried a hint of inquiry.

Aidan scratched his head and explained with some embarrassment, “After I went out this morning, I wanted to get familiar with the area first, so I strolled along a few main streets in the inner city. When I passed by the vicinity of the western market, I saw a secondhand stall selling some miscellaneous documents and old maps.

“I was just planning to take a closer look, but since I can't read, I was about to leave. However, the stall owner called out to me and asked what I was looking for.

“So I took a chance and asked if he knew anything about the noble families in the city. To my surprise, the stall owner readily agreed, saying he happened to have some relevant old documents on hand.

“Then I asked about the price. The stall owner asked for a lot, but remembering that you told me 'not to skimp where money needs to be spent,' I negotiated and paid a deposit.”

As he spoke, he carefully drew a stack of slightly worn papers from his chest and handed them to Matthew with both hands.

“The stall owner said these were leaked from the archives of some disbanded chamber of commerce. Although they aren't brand new, the records inside regarding the various families' industries, relationships, and early personnel exchanges should be real.”

While Matthew marveled at Aidan's good luck, he also felt a faint suspicion that things were going too smoothly, as if he had run into a scammer.

Logically speaking, while this item was not incredibly precious, it certainly shouldn't have been obtained so easily.

He took the stack of yellowed papers. When his fingertips brushed against the edges, he felt a slightly brittle texture from age.

Aidan stood to the side, his face still showing the excitement of completing his mission, but also a hint of anxiety—he had clearly noticed the momentary hesitation in Matthew's expression.

Unfolding the pages, the ink had faded slightly, but the handwriting was still clearly legible, neatly aligned, and there were even additions and markings made with charcoal next to some of the entries.

Matthew's gaze quickly swept over the surnames, industrial distributions, and personnel exchange records of those noble families, and a trace of surprise could not help but rise in his heart.

These details, though not top-secret, were well-organized and clearly structured, definitely not the kind of random gossip one could find on the streets.

In particular, several records concerning recent personnel changes faintly coincided with details Regg had mentioned in passing during their previous chats.

After a moment, he slowly closed the booklet and thought to himself, It doesn't seem like something fabricated on a whim...

However, the information regarding the three major families controlling the inner city gates—the Fiery Lion family, the White Horse family, and the Peters family—was extremely scarce, barely mentioning their names and general commercial distribution, with almost no specific family members or core intelligence.

Yet, the more it was like this, the more reasonable Matthew found it.

After all, under the shadow of these three great noble families' power, how could an ordinary vendor dare to openly sell detailed intelligence about them? It was already not easy to leak even this marginal information.

With this in mind, Matthew looked at Aidan and asked in a calm tone, “What did the stall owner look like? Besides this, did he say anything else? For example, why did he have these, or where can we find him later?”

He needed more details to determine whether this was a mere coincidence of the streets, or a “coincidence” quietly orchestrated by some hidden hand.

Aidan thought for a moment and replied, “The stall owner looked to be around forty or fifty years old, of medium build, wearing ordinary greyish-brown coarse clothes. He looked just like a common inner city vendor, nothing special about him.”

He paused, rubbing the back of his head with some embarrassment. “As for his location... I reckon he should still be in that area near the western market. After all, I only paid a deposit, and the final payment hasn't been settled yet.

“The stall owner said at the time that he would most likely still be setting up his stall there for the next few days. He told me that when I go back to pay the final payment and collect the remaining documents, I can just find him at the old spot.”

Matthew nodded, temporarily suppressing his chaotic thoughts, and then said, “Then go ahead and pay the final payment to buy all of the remaining content.

“Keep an eye out over the next few days. If there are other vendors selling intelligence about the nobles, buy those as well.

“As for news about No. 7 Courtyard on Shizhong Road, you also need to keep paying attention to it.”

He weighed it in his mind: if the information Aidan brought back was real and reliable, it would be enough to serve as the foundation for his subsequent actions; even if the information was incorrect or not detailed enough, it was probably already close to the limit of what an ordinary person could sniff out in the streets.

After all, having two consecutive pieces of intelligence point to similar content was in itself telling.

Hearing this, Aidan nodded solemnly in agreement and then left the room.

Matthew watched him leave, then turned his attention back to his meal and the newly acquired intelligence. He slowly enjoyed his food while reading through the pages line by line.

There was indeed very little information about the three major noble families, but the content involving the other small and medium noble families was quite detailed and organized systematically.

Matthew thought to himself: If these records can mention clues like a “Family Sword,” that would be an unexpected harvest.

With this expectation, fork in hand, his gaze never left the pages. In the intervals of eating, he read through the intelligence line by line, paragraph by paragraph.

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