Chapter 205: The Black Office’s Dungeon (1)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The place where the imperial guards were stationed was close to the outer wall of the Imperial City. There were 3,000 elite imperial guards stationed inside, working in three shifts to protect the safety of the palace.
The center of the imperial guards’s camp was the Marquis of Yun Ning Estate, where the deposed emperor of Great Wei was placed under house arrest.
Ye Jingtang and Dongfang Liren arrived near the Marquis of Yun Ning Estate. Together with constables of the Black Office, they checked the surrounding environment and found no traces of tunnels. But for safety reasons, Dongfang Liren still ordered that the deposed emperor be moved to a nearby residence and be strictly guarded by the imperial guards. Then she secretly dispatched people from the Black Office.
Dongfang Liren didn’t arrange the defenses with great fanfare. After all, she only knew the general intentions and didn’t have any evidence.
The heir of the Prince of Wu was being watched by experts of the Black Office. Today, he was drinking with the other princely young masters in the Dragon Cry Pavilion. There was nothing unusual.
If the observation were too obvious, the Prince of Wu’s heir would definitely know that his plan had been exposed and immediately cancel it. Then, even if the dissolving oil worked and the walls of the Imperial City collapsed tomorrow, there would be no way to prove that the Prince of Wu’s heir had arranged for people to do it.
If the government killed the heir apparent of a vassal prince without any evidence, there might be chaos. Therefore, the Imperial Court had to pretend that they knew nothing and wait for the heir of the Prince of Wu to take risks.
By the time everything was arranged, it was already late at night. Dongfang Liren stayed close to the west side of the Imperial City so that she could deal with any changes in time.
In the morning, Ye Jingtang had entered a tunnel and fought. At night, he had fought three people on the streets. He had only had lunch and only ate half of it. He really needed to rest, so he handed the matter to the chief constable of the Black Office and got off work.
Originally, Dumdum wanted him to stay close and spend the night in the palace.
But Dumdum wouldn’t serve him in bed, so Ye Jingtang naturally rejected her good intentions, bade farewell, and rushed to Heavenly Water Bridge.
It was late at night, and the pedestrians on the streets gradually thinned out.
Ye Jingtang’s figure flitted past countless buildings and mansions like a swallow. He crossed Yun’an and arrived at the street of Heavenly Water Bridge. All the shops were closed.
There was still some movement inside the escort agency. Looking from the roof, he saw Chen Biao and Yang Chao sitting under the eaves with two pots of wine and a bowl of peanuts between them, talking nonsense all night.
“Did the young master really not have a confidante in Liang Province? The letter was inserted into the door today, and not even the face was revealed. It’s obvious that it was a girl who was shy and embarrassed…”
“I watched the young master grow up, so how could I not know? The girls at the border aren’t good-looking and have bad tempers. From the age of four or five, the young master started squatting at the door, worried about what to do when he got married in the future. When the boss passed away and he heard that he was going to the capital, he simply left without even turning his head back…”
?
On the roof, Ye Jingtang really wanted to kick Old Yang for spouting nonsense after drinking too much. But on account that he was an old man in the family, he decided not to. He didn’t disturb the two of them from drinking and went straight into the Pei family’s alley.
There were two lanterns hanging outside the door of the Pei residence, and the door was already closed.
Ye Jingtang didn’t disturb the people of the Pei family, who had already gone to bed. He went straight to the back residence. Just as he landed on the roof, he saw the big bird sticking its head out of the roof and jumping in front of him. “Chirp chirp chirp…” From its tone, it was saying: Damn it! You still know to come back!
Ye Jingtang caught the bird and rubbed its head. “Did you catch up with anyone?”
The bird shook its head and gestured. Its meaning was probably: If 1 ran around and followed without stopping, I wouldn’t be able to come back to report. Since I came back to report, I obviously lost my target.
Ye Jingtang had been biting Xu Bailin and the others like a ghost for so long. No matter how ambitious the other party was, they should know not to take any chances. He wasn’t surprised.
After the bird chased for half a day, it was also quite tired. Ye Jingtang was at the Pei residence, so he didn’t let the bird keep watch at night. After landing in the corridor, he let the bird play in Yunli’s room.
Heroine Luo was staying temporarily in the Pei residence, so Zhe Yunli was naturally staying here as well. Because the Pei family didn’t have an eldest daughter, Zhe Yunli was treated like a princess. She stayed alone in the huge west courtyard with five maidservants serving her.
Although it was already late at night, Zhe Yunli was not asleep yet. In the spacious room, she and a few young maidservants of similar age were playing mahjong, which was very popular among the aristocratic ladies in the capital.
Seeing that the young maidservants were so happy that they didn’t look sleepy at all, he knew that his daughter had lost terribly and was a little amused. He didn’t go over to disturb her and quietly went to Third Lady’s courtyard.
In the main courtyard, the light in Xiuhe’s side room was already off, but the lights in the main room were still lit.
Ye Jingtang walked to the door and looked around. It was obvious that Third Lady, who had taken medicine, had already fallen asleep in the bedroom. Luo Ning was waiting for him to come back. She was leaning on the beautiful couch and flipping through a book in her hand.
Hearing the sound outside the door, Luo Ning put down the book and made a shushing gesture. Then she quietly walked out of the door, turned around, closed the door, and said softly, “Third Lady just fell asleep. Are you done? Are you still going out later?”
Ye Jingtang put his hand on Heroine Luo’s shoulder. “The dust hasn’t settled yet. I may go out at any time.”
Luo Ning had waited for Ye Jingtang to return so that she could help him recuperate and prevent any accidents from happening during a fight. However, it seemed a bit too direct to enter the room when he returned, so she asked, “Have you eaten?”
Ye Jingtang shook his head. “I ran around all day and didn’t even have time to eat.”
Hearing this, Luo Ning turned around and walked to the small kitchen in the back residence. “The maidservants are resting now. I’ll cook noodles for you to eat.”
“Cook noodles??” Ye Jingtang blinked and looked at the cold and beautiful side profile beside him.
Luo Ning felt that Ye Jingtang’s enunciation was wrong. She turned around, and their eyes met. “What’s wrong?”
Ye Jingtang placed his hand on Luo Ning’s shoulder. “Nothing.”
“Hmph~!” Luo Ning twisted her shoulder slightly but didn’t move away, letting Ye Jingtang hug her.
The two of them went to the kitchen of the back residence. Because the residence was very large, the size of the kitchen was similar to that of their courtyard in Double Osmanthus Alley.
Luo Ning was afraid that Ye Jingtang would leave in a hurry after returning, so she had prepared boiling water in advance so that she could make hot food in fifteen minutes at most.
Luo Ning busied herself agilely in front of the stove while Ye Jingtang supported her by the side. They looked like an intimate couple.
But while Luo Ning was cutting onions on the chopping board, the blade suddenly paused. Then she raised the knife and placed it on Ye Jingtang’s neck, her eyes filled with shame and anger. “You pervert!”
Ye Jingtang was beating eggs when he was stunned by this sudden murderous aura. He said blankly, “I didn’t touch you. Why did you call me a pervert?”
Luo Ning’s face flushed red as she recalled the unbearable experience on the day the two of them took medicine together. She gritted her teeth and glared at Ye Jingtang for a moment before moving the kitchen knife away and continuing to cut vegetables.
Chop chop chop-
Ye Jingtang shook his head and smiled. He continued to beat the eggs with chopsticks and leaned closer. “Heroine Luo, you said it yourself. You can’t go back on your word later.”
Luo Ning moved a little farther away, looking very disgusted, but she didn’t say anything…
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