"I don't know," Huangfu Yue shook her head.
It was better not to tell everyone about the treasury theft for now.
It wasn't because she was afraid they would suspect her of being the one who stole the national treasury, but because she feared they would be shocked and curious, leading to intense discussions that would delay their departure.
"Let's hurry up and go. We can't waste any more time. If we're too late and can't leave the town, it will be troublesome," Huangfu Yue waved to everyone.
Seeing everyone nod and start heading towards the main gate, Huangfu Yue said to her eldest sister-in-law, Zhu Jiayi, "Sister-in-law, please arrange for everyone to board the carriages. I'll go settle the bill..."
Each branch of the family would take a carriage for their servants, the grandmother would have a carriage for her servants, and the remaining servants would be distributed between two more carriages.
"I will personally drive the carriage for my fourth sister-in-law. She is pregnant and must be handled with care. I'm afraid if someone else drives, they might not be steady enough and cause her discomfort, potentially affecting the baby inside, or even causing a miscarriage."
She thought that her eldest sister-in-law, as the wife of the eldest son and potentially the mother of the future Crown Prince, needed to start being groomed to help her share some responsibilities. This was a good place to start with small tasks.
"Okay," Zhu Jiayi quickly agreed.
The intelligent Consort Zheng, seeing her granddaughter's intention, looked at her and curved her lips upward, a hint of approval flashing in her eyes.
"Grandmother, please go first," Zhu Jiayi respectfully extended her hand to Consort Zheng.
Consort Zheng stepped out of the door first, followed closely by the others.
"Ying'er, you come in the carriage with me and sit beside me. Watch how I drive and learn to drive," Huangfu Yue called out to Ying'er, who was nearing the door.
"Yes," Ying'er immediately agreed, not showing any unhappiness. Instead of thinking that learning to drive would be hard, she actually wanted to learn. She always liked learning new things.
She thought that it was a rare opportunity for Huangfu Yue to teach her, and she must learn well.
Huangfu Yue went to find the owner to settle the bill. After paying, she immediately led Ying'er out of the inn.
"Master, I've reached the entrance of the inn," Xiao Hei's voice suddenly sounded in Huangfu Yue's mind.
"Xiao Hei, why are you only arriving now? With your speed, you should have been here much earlier," Huangfu Yue asked in her mind, feeling a bit curious.
She hadn't yet opened her connection with Xiao Hei, so she couldn't see what Xiao Hei saw, and thus didn't know why it was arriving so late.
"When I was rushing to the inn, I discovered that because of the theft in the capital, they searched all night but couldn't find any suspicious individuals. Therefore, the Emperor ordered the towns surrounding the capital to be sealed. Mi Dian Town is about to be sealed. I was afraid it might already be sealed, so I hurried to check if it was, which delayed me somewhat."
Hearing Xiao Hei's answer, Huangfu Yue quickly asked, "Then has it been sealed?"
"Not yet."
"That's good."
Huangfu Yue, with Ying'er, exited the inn. She saw that everyone from the Prince's manor had already boarded the carriages, and Feng Maoyuan and his subordinates had also mounted their horses, waiting for her.
"Master, I'm here!"
Xiao Hei's voice echoed in her mind again. Huangfu Yue looked up and saw Xiao Hei circling in the air.
Huangfu Yue, with a slight smile on her exquisite lips, waved to Xiao Hei, signaling that she had seen it.
"Xiao Hei, I'm going to drive the carriage for my fourth sister-in-law. She's very timid. If she keeps watching, she'll be very scared. You should stay on top of her carriage so she won't see you," Huangfu Yue instructed Xiao Hei in her mind.
"As you command, Master. May I ask which carriage my fourth sister-in-law is in?" Xiao Hei asked after receiving the order.
Huangfu Yue scanned the carriage at the very front. Only the carriage at the front had no driver yet; all the other carriages already had drivers. It was clear that Yang Wanqian was in the foremost carriage.
"The carriage at the very front."
As she spoke, Huangfu Yue led Ying'er towards the foremost carriage.
Reaching the carriage, she lifted the curtain and looked inside. A pregnant woman and a wet nurse sat within, along with two maids.
Yang Wanqian was indeed inside.
"Fourth sister-in-law," Huangfu Yue greeted her, then jumped into the carriage. Ying'er also got in and sat beside Huangfu Yue.
Xiao Hei also flew towards the foremost carriage and instantly landed on its roof.
"Depart," Huangfu Yue ordered Feng Maoyuan, who, with his two subordinates, was leading the way.
"Yes," Feng Maoyuan and his subordinates immediately responded, nudged their horses, and the horses immediately moved forward.
Huangfu Yue immediately urged the horses pulling the carriage to move as well, following Feng Maoyuan and the others.
The carriages behind her followed closely, and a long line of carriages majestically left the inn's entrance.
Although they were in a hurry to leave Mi Dian Town, the streets were crowded, and it was not good to let the horses run, for fear of colliding with people.
Fortunately, by the time Huangfu Yue and her group reached the town exit, they hadn't seen any yamen officials yet, and the town exit had not yet been sealed. They successfully exited Mi Dian Town.
News of the treasury theft had already spread through the streets and alleys of Mi Dian Town. As Huangfu Yue and her party traveled out of town, they overheard pedestrians actively discussing the treasury theft, and naturally, everyone in the Prince's manor learned of it.
The people of the Prince's manor also started discussing it, but no one suspected Huangfu Yue of stealing the national treasury. In their opinion, although Huangfu Yue was powerful, she wasn't so powerful as to sneak into the imperial palace, evade the heavy guards protecting the treasury, and steal the entire treasury.
"Fourth Young Madam, what kind of thief do you think this is, to be so audacious as to steal from the national treasury? And steal it completely," Guo'er, Yang Wanqian's maid, was very curious about the treasury theft. She had been discussing it all the way, and even after leaving town, she was still talking about it.
Yang Wanqian shook her head, "How would I know?
That thief was able to sneak into the imperial palace and steal the entire treasury. They must be a very powerful, very dangerous, and terrifying person." As she spoke, a hint of fear appeared on her face.
"I think it's unlikely to be the act of one person, but rather a group. No matter how capable one person is, they absolutely couldn't commit such a large crime," Suo Momo, beside Yang Wanqian, offered her opinion.
"That makes sense," Yang Wanqian and her two maids nodded in agreement.
The perpetrator sitting in front listened quietly, not interjecting.
Huangfu Yue thought to herself: On the way out of town, she kept hearing pedestrians discuss the treasury theft, but she hadn't heard anyone mention that the Ministry of Personnel official's mansion had also been emptied. Could it be that the theft at Chang Qing's house hadn't been discovered yet?
That's unlikely.
Even if Chang Qing was still busy fighting the fire and hadn't returned yet, with so many people in his house, they would surely discover the theft at dawn.
His family wasn't an ordinary family. The news of his house being emptied would quickly spread throughout the capital...
Mi Dian Town didn't know yet, perhaps the news hadn't reached Mi Dian Town.
She really wanted to know Chang Qing's reaction and expression when he learned that his house had been stolen, completely emptied, and even everything in the secret chamber was gone.
It must be quite a spectacle!
A mischievous smile flashed in Huangfu Yue's eyes. She didn't know that after learning about it, Chang Qing went mad and immediately reported it to the Dali Temple.