"The sooner the better. Right now, there's no one else in this manor besides us. But once Jiang Yubao reaches the Forbidden City and sees the Grand Emperor, he'll likely dispatch people to guard this place. By then, we might not be able to leave." Sima Han said quickly.
Shen Xiaoyan looked at Sima Han for a long moment. Truly, father and son, they understood his father quite well.
Indeed, the Grand Emperor probably hadn't anticipated Sima Han's changes over the past few years, otherwise he wouldn't have been so careless as to not leave anyone to guard the place.
Perhaps he simply thought that Sima Han, who had suddenly gone from prince to commoner, would not easily leave this luxurious manor now that he was back living in such splendor.
While thinking this, Shen Xiaoyan and the others didn't delay their actions at all.
They called for the servants to board the carriages. As there weren't enough carriages, only the young maids, several matrons, and Madam Qu and Madam Zhu boarded. As for the strong men and housekeepers, they were all accustomed to hard work, and their stamina and physical strength were all quite good. Therefore, following the carriages was not an issue.
The group retraced their steps and exited through the side gate.
After they left, the side gate was not closed. After all, it was unlikely anyone would dare to enter such a place to steal.
Not long after they departed, a troop of people on horseback galloped in, led by Jiang Yubao.
Jiang Yubao saw the side gate ajar from afar and had a bad premonition.
Upon reaching the main gate, Jiang Yubao couldn't care about anything else. Hurriedly, he dismounted his horse, almost falling off.
His feet touching the ground, he paid no mind to anything else and stumbled towards the side gate.
Seeing his actions, the people behind him, though they didn't understand why, quickly dismounted and followed him in.
Although Jiang Yubao was merely a servant, he was a servant with status.
Beyond his position, he had lived a pampered life in the palace.
Serving the Grand Emperor meant little more than attending to some minor tasks in his presence.
He didn't need to do any of the menial or rough work.
He even had young eunuchs attending to him.
He knew no martial arts, and after so many years of a comfortable life, his physical stamina had naturally declined.
Even though he had only run a short distance now, he was already panting heavily.
Upon finally reaching the courtyard, he found it empty.
"Eunuch, what's wrong?"
The people who had followed him saw Jiang Yubao standing there stunned and were all a bit perplexed.
He had been so anxious moments ago, why was he standing there blankly now?
Jiang Yubao took a deep breath, calming his rapidly beating heart, and said, "You, go and see if there's anyone inside."
The men were somewhat confused, but they still followed the order and rushed towards the courtyard gate.
The leader among them gently pushed the gate, and it swung open.
Without needing to step inside, a quick scan of the surroundings was enough for these people to be certain that there was indeed no one inside.
Since Jiang Yubao was watching from behind, they couldn't just turn back.
So, the group entered and searched room by room.
After more than fifteen minutes, they emerged and said to Jiang Yubao,
"Reporting to Eunuch, there is no one inside."
Jiang Yubao already had a hunch, and now that the answer was confirmed, his face instantly turned ashen.
"Eunuch, Eunuch, what's wrong?"
Seeing Jiang Yubao's face grow even more frightening, everyone felt a chill and cautiously asked.
"Let's go."
Jiang Yubao didn't answer their questions. With a grim expression, he uttered this one sentence and turned to walk out.
Although the group felt utterly bewildered, they dared not say anything and followed behind Jiang Yubao, step by step, heading outside.
Listening to Jiang Yubao's heavy footsteps, their own moods grew increasingly somber.
At this moment, everyone shared the same unspoken thought: why did they feel like they wouldn't be well-received upon their return to the palace?
Yet, they hadn't done anything.
Meanwhile, Shen Xiaoyan's convoy moved swiftly through the crowds.
Their hurried pace did not attract the attention of those around them.
The Imperial Capital was a place everyone in the world wanted to see, and merchants from all over the country flocked here for business.
Shen Xiaoyan's carriages were not particularly striking. From the attire of the housekeepers following behind, it was evident they were not servants of any powerful family.
Therefore, Shen Xiaoyan's haste was naturally perceived as that of merchants coming for business.
Although Shen Xiaoyan and the others were unaware of this, their movement through the crowd did not provoke any surprise from others. Coupled with Zheng Wei's quiet explanations, she felt much more at ease.
This was good. By not attracting attention, the Grand Emperor would likely not be able to find them for the time being.
After hurrying for more than half an hour, and passing through a vermilion gate, they turned into an alley.
The alley was quite long, but there was only a small gate on the side wall that a carriage could pass through.
In the leading carriage sat Yi Zhixie, who was guiding them.
Seeing him signal for the carriages to stop, those behind knew they had reached their destination.
Huo Si, who was driving Yi Zhixie's carriage, jumped down. He stood in front of the small gate and examined it for a moment. He then tried to push it, but it didn't budge.
Shen Xiaoyan and the others had also alighted from their carriages. Seeing the situation, Shen Xiaoyan looked at Yi Zhixie.
"Why won't this gate open?"
Yi Zhixie chuckled, "Naturally, it won't open. Otherwise, how could this manor have been preserved so well after so many years of disuse?"
Upon hearing this, the servants looked at Yi Zhixie with admiration.
Indeed, as expected of the Grand Tutor, his capabilities were immense.
However, in reality, one should not be too overconfident.
When Yi Zhixie waved his sleeve and the small gate opened, everyone filed in. The last person to enter gently closed the gate and picked up a rod hanging by the door, securing it.
Shen Xiaoyan's eyes twinkled with amusement at this.
Others used wooden poles to secure their doors, but this Yi Zhixie had prepared an iron rod.
The gate's appearance suggested it wasn't made of wood, so it wasn't just covered in wood with iron inside, was it?
Later, Shen Xiaoyan, as if making a joke, asked Yi Zhixie this.
To her surprise, Yi Zhixie replied with a serious expression that the door was indeed made of iron, with a wooden exterior.
For now, after everyone had entered the courtyard, they finally breathed a sigh of relief and began to survey the scene.
However, before they could fully relax, everyone stopped breathing in unison, staring blankly at the sight before them.
After a long moment, Shen Xiaoyan looked at Yi Zhixie.
"May I ask, Grand Tutor, is this the manor you spoke of as yours?"
Yi Zhixie turned his face away unnaturally, coughed softly, and said, "Well... it is, indeed."
"I recall that outside the gate earlier, Grand Tutor said that this manor was very well-preserved."
Yi Zhixie's cheeks flushed with an unnatural redness, but he still stubbornly retorted,
"Did I say anything wrong? Aren't this courtyard, the main gate, and the small gate well-preserved?"
Hearing Yi Zhixie's words, everyone's foreheads twitched in unison.
As far as the eye could see, there was still unmelted snow.
In some places, the snow had melted, revealing thick withered grass.
The courtyard was indeed very large, stretching as far as the eye could see, but it was all withered grass. How could they possibly manage it?
"Yi Zhixie, let me ask, how big is this courtyard?" Shen Xiaoyan asked.
Yi Zhixie didn't answer immediately. Instead, he furrowed his brows and thought for about a minute before replying uncertainly, "About fifteen mu?"
Everyone else: ...
Shen Xiaoyan's gaze towards Yi Zhixie was no longer the same as before.
This was truly a hidden tycoon.
In the Imperial Capital, where land was as precious as gold, possessing such a large manor was indeed the mark of a tycoon.
Just as Shen Xiaoyan was considering how to latch onto Yi Zhixie's coattails, Sima Han doused her enthusiasm with a bucket of cold water.
"This place is quite far from the Imperial City, and not a gathering place for high officials or a wealthy district, so the land price isn't particularly high. Given Yi Zhixie's status back then, who knows how much money he had. To acquire such a plot of land was indeed..."
"Very easy?" Shen Xiaoyan interjected uncertainly.
Sima Han didn't reply, but he nodded.
Shen Xiaoyan pressed her forehead. So that was the case, she had gotten excited for nothing.
Sima Han stroked his chin and pondered for a while before saying,
"What I actually wanted to ask is..."
With that, Sima Han looked intently at Yi Zhixie, but didn't utter a single word.
Yi Zhixie had been trying to avoid eye contact with everyone, but being stared at by Sima Han like this, he finally couldn't bear it.