"The young master's room has no one else, only the two maids who serve him..."
The two older women dared not say more and quickly lowered their heads.
"No? How is that possible? Did you look carefully?"
Ning Zhiyuan frowned. No matter how Han Mo argued, they had followed the bloodstains here.
This person must have entered this courtyard; could he have grown wings and flown away?
"County Lieutenant Ning, it seems you are really determined to find something here!"
Han Mo said with a cold smile.
"Let's go!"
Despite his extreme reluctance, since nothing was found, Ning Zhiyuan could no longer linger here. After all, this was the territory of the Princess of Qi.
If he had found anything, the nobles behind him would naturally negotiate with the Princess of Qi. But now that they had found nothing, things became interesting.
"Stop! I say, County Lieutenant Ning, do you really think this is your backyard, where you can come and go as you please?"
Seeing that they were about to turn and leave, Han Mo stepped forward and blocked Ning Zhiyuan's path.
"What more do you want?"
Ning Zhiyuan clenched his fists, the joints cracking. If the person standing in front of him were not Han Mo, he would have really wanted to punch him in the face.
"What do I want? Isn't the adult saying it backwards? It's the New Year holiday, and you've brought so many people to storm into this mansion, conducted a thorough search, and now you're just turning to leave. If you don't provide some explanation, those who don't know will truly believe my Han family is easy to bully!"
After hearing Han Mo's words, the constables beside Ning Zhiyuan all instinctively cowered and lowered their heads.
This was a conflict between gods, irrelevant to them. They were all just following orders.
"I am truly sorry for the disturbance to your esteemed residence. This is my fault. I request that you convey my apologies to Her Royal Highness the Princess when you return!"
After a long silence, Ning Zhiyuan finally took a deep breath and said through gritted teeth.
"That's more like it. I will report tonight's events truthfully to my grand-uncle. I also hope that County Lieutenant Ning will investigate thoroughly before coming to the door in the future!"
Hearing Han Mo's barbed words, Ning Zhiyuan simply waved his hand, leading the constables and storming out.
After the constables had left, Xu Sanbao looked at Han Mo with a slightly awkward expression.
"Steward Xu, I am very disappointed with you today. Handle such matters yourself in the future!"
Han Mo sneered, then turned and walked back to his courtyard.
The reason Han Mo chose to open his workshop in the Han family's estate was for secrecy.
After all, this was the Princess of Qi's territory, and it had even been bestowed by the Emperor.
By opening the workshop here, ordinary ruffians could not even get close, let alone gather information or spy on secrets.
However, Xu Sanbao's actions today had truly disappointed Han Mo. If he hadn't held his ground, today's incident would have become quite unpleasant.
"Have they left?"
As soon as Han Mo entered the room, the little girl in the quilt poked her head out.
"They've left. You go back to sleep now!"
Han Mo smiled and then pinched the little girl's cheek.
"You, you turn around first!"
The little girl's face instantly flushed to the roots of her neck, and she stammered to Han Mo.
"Alright, alright, I'll turn around first!"
Han Mo turned around with a smile, sat by the brazier, and picked up the peony picture the little girl was embroidering.
"What about her, then?"
After a rustling sound of clothes being put on, the little girl suddenly asked again.
"Let her stay here tonight. I have some things to clarify!"
"She's a woman!"
For some unknown reason, the little girl reminded him again.
And when she spoke, she deliberately emphasized the word "woman."
"You little rascal, are you really taking me for a lustful ghost? She's still injured. Do you think I would go that far?"
As Han Mo spoke, he turned around again and playfully pinched the little girl's nose.
"I'm not little anymore!"
Chun Tao said, glaring at Han Mo with some annoyance.
"Alright, the New Year hasn't fully passed yet. You should go back to sleep early. Don't do this kind of thing again in the future; we won't lack this bit of money!"
Han Mo smiled, then handed the half-finished peony picture back to the little girl.
"Then, then I'll go back to sleep..."
Although she was somewhat reluctant, the little girl eventually walked out.
After Chun Tao left, Han Mo sat by the brazier again.
In the flickering candlelight by the brazier, holding a scroll, his mind had wandered far away...
"You, what did you do to me?"
After an unknown amount of time, the woman suddenly exclaimed.
"If I were you, I wouldn't shout so loudly. Those soldiers may have left, but there are still many servants in this mansion!"
Hearing the woman's words, Han Mo also snapped back to attention.
"What exactly did you do to me?"
As the woman spoke, her voice trembled.
Han Mo found it truly strange. How had such a novice managed to get captured?
"I say, looking at your appearance, do you think I would be interested in you? Look at your figure. If you don't look carefully, I would really think you were a man!"
Seeing the woman's look of utter misery, Han Mo couldn't help but purse his lips and mutter.
"I'll kill you!"
Han Mo's words truly enraged the woman. She snatched her dagger from the nearby table and lunged directly at Han Mo.
"I warn you, your wound has just been bandaged. If you continue to make a scene like this, you'll bleed to death before long!"
A good man doesn't fight with a woman. Han Mo didn't want to get into a physical confrontation here. He dodged and said.
"Even if I die, I'll take you with me!"
To Han Mo's surprise, the woman was like a madwoman. She grabbed the dagger and kept stabbing at Han Mo's vital points.
"I say, are you done yet? I didn't see anything just now. My maid took off your clothes. If you keep acting like this, I'll see your entire body!"
As expected, these words were extremely effective. The moment Han Mo finished speaking, the woman immediately dropped her dagger and hugged her chest with both hands.