Chapter 359: In One Fell Swoop
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Emperor Kangze rang the bell in front of the opening.
Ding! Ling! Ling! The sound reverberated through the deep secret passage. The echoes sounded creepy and desolate.
In a flash, a black figure appeared at the entrance of the opening.
“What are your instructions, Your Majesty?”
Emperor Kangze said with an ominous face, “Are there any unusual movements in the Grand Mentor’s Residence and the Empress’s side these few days?”
“Your Majesty, the Grand Mentor’s Residence and the Empress did not make any unusual movements, but the younger brother of the Grand Mentor’s wife, Marquis Wu’an, left the capital after the First Prince was convicted. He has not returned yet. I have checked previously that Marquis Wu’an has liaised with some martial arts sects.”
“What sect?”
“Wuming Lodge.”
“Get the people from the Red Demon Sect to investigate this Wuming Lodge. 1 want all of them to be overturned!”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Yesterday, 1 received news that Prince Ma has already left for the capital and will arrive in the capital in a few days.”
Emperor Kangze gave a scornful sneer when he heard that. “He comes at the right time. I’ll wipe all of them out in one fell swoop!”
Su Ying returned to Prince Qi’s Manor just when the night turned dark.
When she walked into the courtyard, she saw Ji and Ling practicing their writing.
“Mother, you’re back.”
When they saw Su Ying, the two little ones happily raised their heads, but this time, they didn’t get up. Instead, they greeted Su Ying and continued to write, looking more studious than usual.
Su Ying walked over and rubbed their tiny faces. “Where’s your Father?”
“Mother, Father went to the study room to do something and gave us homework. We have to finish it before Father comes back.”
Su Ying glanced at the densely written books and felt a slight headache coming on. “Alright, I won’t disrupt you two then. You two continue.”
Su Ying walked to the side and sat down. She then took out the book the old woman had given her and began flipping through it.
Some of the information was so detailed that it even recorded the girls’ home addresses.
Just as she was reading earnestly, the light in front of her was blocked.
Su Ying raised her head and saw Xiao Jin standing in front of her. He was really tall, with wide shoulders and a narrow waist. Whichever way she looked at him, he cut a fine figure that was pleasing to the eye.
Su Ying felt that the reason she was willing to stay with him in this godforsaken place was partly because she was bewitched by his good looks.
“What are you looking at?” Xiao Jin pulled out the book in her hands and looked through it.
“Today, on my way back from watching the spectacle, I saved someone out of kindness. To my surprise, it turned out that the other party was a venomous snake, so I decided I might as well destroy the snake’s nest.”
Xiao Jin raised his eyebrows. “Oh? Tell me more.”
Su Ying told him the whole story.
“I’ve already asked Zhang Shuming to send someone to guard that place and see who the other party is.”
Xiao Jin took the book from her. “Leave this matter to me.”
Su Ying relinquished the book to him willingly. “Mm-hmm.”
“If you have nothing on tomorrow, 1’11 bring you to a place.”
“What place?”
“You’ll know tomorrow.”
“You’re acting so mysterious.”
Xiao Jin smiled and said nothing.
“Bring the children along.”
“No problem.”
In a small, inconspicuous house in the capital.
Xiao Jue looked at Liang Kuan with an ominous expression. “What are Grandfather and the others planning to do next? Don’t tell me they want me to hide in this damn place forever?”
“Your Highness, please calm down. Right now, the Emperor has ordered a thorough investigation from house to house. The city gates have also been sealed. There are dangers lurking everywhere outside. It’s better if we act cautiously.”
As they talked, they heard a commotion outside the courtyard.
Liang Kuan and Xiao Jue looked at each other and saw the wariness in each other’s eyes.
Liang Kuan quickly brought Xiao Jue to the rice vat in the kitchen. He moved the rice vat away and opened a secret passage for Xiao Jue to hide inside.
After hiding Xiao Jue, Liang Kuan loosened his robe to make it look like he had just woken up. He walked out and opened the courtyard gate.
“Coming, coming. Who is it? It’s so late at night.”
Liang Kuan opened the gate and saw a group of soldiers standing outside with hostile expressions. “We are on the government office’s order to search for people. Move aside.”
“Gosh, Officer! There’s no one here. I’m the only one in the house.”
The officer ignored his protests and went straight in to search.
The courtyard wasn’t big, and there were only three main rooms inside. The moment the soldiers went in, they could see everything at a glance.
The soldiers searched the area but did not find any suspicious characters.
The officer in the lead walked into the central room and saw two teacups on the table.
“If you are the only one in this house, why are there two teacups on the table?”
Liang Kuan got a shock inwardly but he forced himself to remain calm. “Oh, it’s a friend of mine. He came over at night to have a chat. I forgot to clear the cups after he went back.”
The officer in the lead stared at Liang Kuan intently. After he walked out, he did not leave immediately. Instead, he walked towards the back courtyard.
Liang Kuan’s heart was in his mouth, but he did not dare to show his nervousness on his face. He simply followed closely behind the officer.
The officer’s gaze fell on the firewood shed and he walked towards it.
Liang Kuan also followed him to the firewood shed.
As the officer walked, he kept his eyes on Liang Kuan’s expression. However, Liang Kuan concealed his emotions very well and no one noticed anything unusual.
The officer opened the rice vat and even reached in with his arm to stir it.
Liang Kuan clenched his two fists tightly in his sleeves. He was ready to call for help at any time.
However, the officer only stirred the rice in the rice vat for a moment before straightening up.
“Nothing unusual. Let’s move out.”
The soldiers retreated in droves like the tide.
As Liang Kuan closed the gate, his palms were covered in a cold sweat.
He listened to the movements outside the gate and only returned to the house after making sure that those people had left.
However, he didn’t immediately let Xiao Jue out. Instead, he sat in the room until daybreak. After making sure that there was nothing unusual, he went to the firewood shed.
Rays of golden light broke through the clouds and illuminated the dark earth.
When Su Ying opened her eyes, Xiao Jin was no longer beside her. Instead, there was a commotion in the courtyard.
When she opened the door and walked out, she saw that the father and two kids were already doing their morning exercises in the courtyard.
One was watching while the other two practiced.
Ling’s basic skills were not good enough, so Xiao Jin told her to do training that could increase her physical strength. The girl was running laps around the courtyard.
Su Ying leaned against the pillar under the roof beam and looked at the two little ones whose faces were flushed from exhaustion. The corners of her lips curled up.
Xiao Jin turned around and walked to Su Ying’s side. “Why didn’t you sleep a little longer? Aren’t you tired?”
Su Ying massaged her slightly sore waist. “Shouldn’t you be the one to feel tired?”
“I’m a glutton for punishment,” Xiao Jin said with a smile.
When Bai Shuang came over with the food container, Su Ying asked the two little ones to come back and rest and eat breakfast.
When she saw that their clothes were drenched in sweat, she asked Bai Shuang to bring them to the side room to change into a set of clean clothes. After a quick washing up, the two children then sat down at the dining table.
“Mother, are we going out of the manor later?”
The older toddler Ji took a bite of the bun and asked in a muffled voice.
“Mm-hmm. Your father said that he would bring us out to play.”
“Really, Father? Where are we going to play?”
Xiao Jin scooped a bowl of porridge each for them. “That time when you guys went to the suburbs, you didn’t have a completely good time. Today, I’ll bring you guys there again.”
“I’m going, I’m going! 1 want to go and play!”
The two little fellows were at an age when they loved playing. How could they not be happy when they heard that they could go and play with their parents?
Su Ying suddenly thought of something.. “Now that the city gates are sealed, how can we get out?”