Chapter 923: Chapter 921: Uncertain What It’s Like Elsewhere
The person temporarily replacing Xu Hu to oversee the Crown Prince’s Mansion’s guards is Zhu Qiusheng.
Zhu Qiusheng hesitated to remind Tan Weixian, "Lord Tan, about today’s events, you know..."
Tan Weixian immediately recalled Xu Hu and those eight guards, who were currently recovering from their injuries.
Xu Hu was the most skilled in the Crown Prince’s Mansion, and among those eight guards, three were also exceptionally skilled. Losing four elite combatants, no wonder the mission was a failure.
Tan Weixian frowned, waved his hand, and said, "Alright, gather the guards assigned for daytime duty and thoroughly investigate inside the mansion to see if any fish slipped through the net. Since it’s late tonight and we discovered in time, with no losses to the mansion, report to the Five Cities Military Command for a chase tomorrow morning. Arrange for people to guard all places, and ensure no more oversights before dawn."
After making some arrangements, Tan Weixian then pulled Eunuch Li and went towards the Crown Prince’s sleeping quarters.
Eunuch Li came from the inner court, and as they walked, Tan Weixian asked, "Eunuch, with such a commotion outside, did His Highness say anything?"
What he actually wanted to ask was why the Crown Prince still hadn’t appeared. Based on the Crown Prince’s passionate gaze at Hongyu yesterday, and the subsequent music and dance from the inner court, Tan Weixian was quite certain the Crown Prince had indulged himself the entire night.
However, the Crown Prince was more aware than anyone else of what was hidden in the mansion. Now that thieves had directly raided the study and sleeping quarters, the Crown Prince had no reason not to be anxious. Even if entertained to the point of indulgence, he should know to prioritize.
Eunuch Li remained unperturbed and said, "His Highness rested late yesterday and had some drinks. A palace maid did go in to report, but the Crown Prince did not respond, and the maid dared not disturb further, so she withdrew."
The Crown Prince was evidently still drunk from the previous night’s indulgence. When the palace maid hurriedly went in to report earlier, and even one concubine pushed the Crown Prince, he just mumbled something unclear and remained in a daze.
He glanced from afar at the silk gauze canopy, and the scene... he dared not approach.
But neither could he directly tell Tan Weixian.
Tan Weixian sighed, "The thief who came in was discovered while entering the Crown Prince’s study, and they reportedly also entered the bedroom. Eunuch, let’s go check it out. Those two who dared venture here directly headed for these two places; they probably weren’t after money."
Indeed, it wasn’t for money.
In the Crown Prince’s study, the man in black was discovered before he had a chance to enter and was expelled from the Crown Prince’s Mansion. However, the Crown Prince’s bedroom was indeed searched, with two serving boys knocked unconscious, and the room turned upside down.
The disturbance wasn’t significant, but the thief hadn’t bothered to conceal much, leaving things untouched after rummaging. Even two secret compartments in the bedroom were opened and left unsecured.
These two secret compartments were likely unknown to anyone but the Crown Prince. The two serving boys didn’t dare to approach and were unsure what might be missing from inside.
Tan Weixian looked at Eunuch Li, "Only His Highness can confirm if anything is missing. Eunuch, should we try once more to see if we can wake His Highness?"
"Well, then, I’ll have someone try again." Eunuch Li didn’t dare commit to Tan Weixian, only replying in vague evasion, then looking at the two open compartments, asked, "Should we close these two secret compartments first?"
Tan Weixian quickly nodded, indeed they should be closed.
The items inside, he viewed briefly, were things difficult to speak of. Closing them now, even if something was stolen, it would be clearly the act of thieves. But if left open like this, it was obviously unsafe and unsightly, and they would have difficulty explaining to the Crown Prince.
With the secret compartments closed, the two of them examined again, unable to help but admire the thief in their hearts. If someone hadn’t told them, they would never have discovered secret compartments were here, moreover, after closing the compartments, they couldn’t see the mechanisms to open them.
And those two were people entering the Crown Prince’s Mansion for the first time, yet in such a short time not only discovered the secret compartments but also found the switches – astonishing indeed.
Tan Weixian was naturally the most shocked, suppressing his unease as he left the Crown Prince’s bedroom with Eunuch Li, and circled the study once. The thieves here were discovered early, pursued immediately, indeed not given a chance to enter.
Leaving the study courtyard, Eunuch Li returned to the inner court, to try waking the Crown Prince.
Tan Weixian then sought out Zhu Qiusheng, ensuring the Crown Prince’s Mansion was secure, then discreetly led Zhu Qiusheng and two attendants along the corridor beside the study yard, moving towards the back.
After turning a corridor and bypassing a rockery, behind lay a beautifully constructed small courtyard. Tan Weixian pushed the door into the courtyard, where two people emerged at his call, after recognizing him, stepped back to salute.
"Is everything fine here?" Tan Weixian asked.
The two quickly replied, "Yes, it’s quite far from where the incident occurred, no one has come here."
Tan Weixian nodded, leaving Zhu Qiusheng and others in the courtyard, then took a key, opening the two main rooms in the courtyard for a thorough inspection, before locking them up again.
"These days won’t be peaceful, stay alert." After instructing Zhu Qiusheng, Tan Weixian felt slightly more at ease and returned to his courtyard to rest.
An hour later, someone else attempted to infiltrate the Crown Prince’s Mansion. This time five people came, entering from two directions, caught before reaching the courtyard walls and ambushed upon jumping over them.
These five were agile, skilled, and even more adept than the previous two, quickly retreating when realizing the unfavorable situation.
The Crown Prince’s Mansion was once again in a state of turmoil, going through a thorough sweep inside and out, confirming no issues before dawn was breaking.
While the Crown Prince’s Mansion was still meticulously checking every corner of the estate, seven or eight figures darted through the alleys of the capital, dividing into three groups and quickly traversing in three different directions.
Protected by the cover of two others trailing behind two of the groups, they circled around several times, ultimately disappearing into Prince Yu’s Mansion.
The two of them journeyed non-stop, crossing paths with several teams stationed within, swiftly and familiarly arriving outside Jinrong’s study courtyard door, where Hong Wu opened the door to let them in.
Hu Jing was already standing at the study door, signaling with a gesture, leading the two into the room.
Once inside, the two removed their masks, bowing to Jinrong who sat by the candlelight.
"No need for formalities." Jinrong nodded solemnly, asking, "Successful?"
One of them with a slightly excited voice replied, "Successful. Following Master Zheng’s indicated positions, I entered and found the secret compartment behind the desk. It wasn’t large, only holding these two account books." He spoke, taking out two account books from his chest and presenting them.
Jinrong rose to accept them, not opening to check immediately, instead, he patted both on the shoulder, saying, "You two have worked hard, go rest now."
The two bowed and retreated.
Jinrong, with a serious expression, weighed the two booklets before handing one to Hu Jing, "Mr. Hu, take a look." Then sat down to scrutinize the other book.
Hu Jing, under the lamp, flipped through the first two pages carefully, glanced through the middle section, then leafed through the entire book before raising his eyes, smiling at Jinrong, "This is it. Yuanfan that kid is deeply scheming, having even the hearts of people within the Crown Prince’s Mansion calculated so clearly. If Zhu Qiusheng and those guards hadn’t been injured yesterday, it wouldn’t have been easy to succeed."
Jinrong also closed the account book, smiling, "Now we just have to see if the raid on the Director of the Ministry of Revenue’s Treasury’s residence is successful; if it fails this time, with the theft at the Crown Prince’s Mansion discovered and stirred, it would be difficult to steal again."
Hu Jing was genuinely pleased, twirling his mustache with a smile, "Even with just a few days of tutelage under Zheng Pengfei, we managed to succeed. How could there be a mistake when Master Zheng himself acts? Rest assured, Your Highness, just wait for the good news."