Page 306

He spoke the absolute truth, these doors are all fake, stop fussing over them, even if you climb over, you won’t be able to get out, don’t make yourself even skinnier.

Just look, you’ve only been here a few days, pampered with good food and drink, and yet you’ve grown even thinner, not a trace of fat on your face, thin as a rake.

If that old man thinks such a trick will work, hoping to throw them into chaos and pick up the pieces afterward, then he is sorely mistaken.

The Internal Guard Bureau treats people like animals, but they, the Shadow Guards, treat them as if they were already dead, tireless like a water wheel that can spin for days and nights on end, no problem at all.

Besides, they work in shifts, so this old man’s efforts are utterly hopeless, he should stop exhausting himself, watching his lean frame is unbearable.

The man in black watched Lian Bingcheng leave, and only when he could no longer see him, did he turn and vanish. The old man still had a trick up his sleeve, which was to fake a retreat, but he never succeeded.

Before the man in black disappeared, he casually sent out a warning signal to others, it seems the old man was going to try his luck at another door, it would be good to inform the others.

Outside the estate.

Uncle Ma, who had just finished delivering goods to a wealthy family while disguised with a straw hat, sat down on the ground to rest and wiped his sweat with a handkerchief.

He looked across the street and, in a lowered voice, said, "Incredibly cunning, such impressive trickery. If it weren’t for you, Young Master, seeing through it, we would probably still be digging that secret tunnel and inevitably getting caught like turtles in a jar.

Young Master, the person behind this must be no simple character, be careful. "

Just thinking about it sends a chill down one’s spine.

They had followed the man to his residence last time, guarded as tightly as if it were made of iron, thinking the man was inside. They wasted a lot of effort there, never imagining it was all just an illusion, a trick of an empty fort!

What a great effort, to use so many experts just as a decoy to capture someone, if it wasn’t Young Master who had said this, he would not have believed it.

The real hiding place was the estate diagonally opposite, just a few streets away from the original, not far.

The estate they are now observing isn’t as remote as the previous one, not as sparsely populated, but it’s also not too bustling. It’s surrounded by the residences of merchants and rich households.

Currently, they sat at the corner of an alley, looking towards the street where porters and vegetable sellers passed by in twos and threes. Now and then, a carriage would go past. Their disguises as delivery men who had just finished dropping off goods for a steward were inconspicuous.

They had carefully inquired from the steward of this wealthy family, that the house diagonally opposite was surrounded by rich merchants’ residences, like on their side of the street, opposite the man’s residence, where a merchant dealing in silk lived, both wealthy and corpulent.

Lian Bao did not sit on the ground like Uncle Ma; instead, he placed the carrying pole between two baskets and sat on the pole itself.

He had made modifications to his appearance, otherwise, with his usual looks, no one would believe he was a porter.

He spoke softly, "Uncle Ma, while they are still unaware that we have discovered them, we should take action tonight, catch them off guard. Is everyone ready?"

Uncle Ma glanced nonchalantly behind him, with no one passing by, he responded, "Don’t worry, Young Master, everyone is prepared, just waiting for your command. At a single order, they will light the fire."

Lian Bao nodded, "Good."

After a short while, he called out to Uncle Ma, "Let’s go."

After saying that, he stood up, lifting the empty baskets.

Uncle Ma patted his butt and stood up as well.

They had timed their operations well, the spot for setting the fire tonight was also chosen, they were just waiting for darkness to fall. They could then set fires in the surrounding area and take advantage of the chaos.

The mastermind behind their situation was meticulous, choosing a place that was hard for anyone to suspect. But there were flaws here too. Had they not been discovered, it might be fine, but once discovered, this place had far more flaws than the previous illusion.

The houses in the vicinity are densely packed, and the distance between one mansion and another is short. Merchants and rich households who reside here like to socialize, often visiting each other, and those wealthy merchants are fond of showing off, employing a significant number of servants.

Once a fire breaks out in one house, it’s both sensible and proper for the nearby masters to send help to extinguish it, which saves face and also prevents the fire from spreading to their own properties.

This situation presented them with an opportunity.

Lian Bao actually had no confidence in his heart, from starting the fire to rescuing someone, there wasn’t much time left for them. The orchestrator of this plan had chosen this location for the real hiding spot, with another purpose in mind.

That was, this place was very close to the original one, so if something happened here, the other side could quickly come to the rescue, and both places could call to each other. It wasn’t that easy to conduct a rescue mission.

If they failed this time, it would become more difficult to attempt a rescue again.

Up until now, he still couldn’t figure out where these people came from.

He could be sure it wasn’t the Guo family’s doing. He borrowed others’ efforts, closely monitoring the Guo family’s every move, and could confirm it wasn’t Guo Neng’s people.

After seeing his mother last night, her health was gradually declining. If he couldn’t find his younger sister soon, his mother’s illness would worsen. He couldn’t wait any longer...

Lian Bao lowered his hat brim and got ready to leave with Uncle Ma.

Just at that moment, from the other end of the road, a luxurious carriage approached, flanked by seven or eight tall guards on each side, riding large maroon horses.

Uncle Ma glanced at it and looked away in disgust. Such ostentation was typical of some newly rich person returning home.

These merchants loved to show off, wishing the whole world knew of their wealth, everything they did reeked of money. It was nothing compared to the understated luxury of noble families.

Only in the current era of peace could these vulgar merchants afford to be so flamboyant.

Had they tried this ten or more years ago, who knew how many thieves or bullies would set eyes on them.

In smaller places, even corrupt officials could take notice, not tolerating such insolence from merchants.

The carriage stopped at the gate of a mansion on the same side, and two guards opened the carriage door with great flourish, inviting the person inside to alight.

Lian Bao, like Uncle Ma, didn’t pay much attention and continued on his way to the other side of the road.

Out of habit, he glanced back one last time, and it was this glance that made him stop in his tracks.

It was also this glance that altered the course of many events to follow and changed the path he was about to take...

Inside Canglan Court.

Lian Hua was seriously learning how to cut fabric with Nanny Qi.

"Nanny, does this look alright? Is it too small?" She was somewhat unsure. Was this size suitable for His Majesty?

Nanny Qi looked over, measured with her hands, and after confirming it was about right, she said, "The size is perfect, just be careful not to make the stitching too tight as you go along."

If not reminded, the young girl would likely sew crookedly, and even with reminders, she still needed constant supervision.

Lian Hua nodded her agreement, finding Nanny’s advice quite sensible. Her hands were not very obedient, and something that was just right at first might become too small as she worked on it...

After seeing the master out this morning, she couldn’t fall back asleep and got up early.

His Majesty’s birthday was approaching, and she had no idea what to do after much thought.

It was Nanny who told her about it. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have known that the master was about to have a birthday, uh, right, she had forgotten.