He was eating a good meal but was asked for money… Xun Zhou glanced at Liu Yuan, who was chewing noodles with his head down. He suddenly felt that the person he liked just now suddenly became unpleasant. Recalling the process of the two people starting to eat, he suddenly realized that the guy opposite him was quick-mouthed and quick-handed, and seemed to have eaten several more bites than him! Thinking of this, Xun Zhou immediately turned his grief and anger into appetite. The movements of his hands and mouth suddenly accelerated, vowing to make up for the few bites he missed.

The evening meal ended in this “chasing each other” atmosphere. Liu Yuan burped, wiped his mouth, got up, and went out.

The night began.

…

…

Chang’an Night Market was prosperous. From Youshi¹ to Xushi², it was the time to eat evening meals and have fun. It was the most lively. This liveliness would not end until the end of Xushi.

By then, except for a few restaurants, inns, and brothels that had been reported, all other shops would be closed. The streets of Chang’an were deserted. Except for the night watchmen, few people were seen walking outside.

The lanterns outside the city Linliu Manor were always lit. The orange light shone on the stone tablet in front of the manor, making the three red characters “Linliu Manor” look as red as blood.

The front door of the manor was so magnificent, but the back door was just a small door, which was very inconspicuous.

With a “creak”, the small door was opened, and a group of guards in night clothes who seemed to be integrated with the darkness walked out of the manor. They looked around and saw that there was no one. Then they pulled up the sweat towels on their faces and whispered, “Let’s go!”

The guards behind them followed them. Soon, the group of guards completely merged into the darkness and disappeared.

The officers who had been lying in ambush in the bamboo forest behind the manor came out of the bamboo forest. One group of people followed the group of guards who left, and the other group of people…

“Let’s go in!” Lin Fei, who had changed into a dark-colored outfit that looked no different from his nightgown, said.

Liu Yuan and Bai Zhu, who were following Lin Fei, changed their expressions and subconsciously tried to stop him: “Shaoqing Lin, the situation in this manor is unclear you…”

“No problem!” Lin Fei said, “You two take a few people to wait outside, and I will go in with Zhao You and the others to control this manor!”

Huh? When these words came out, Liu Yuan and Bai Zhu were even more shocked: Although the owner of Linliu Manor was dying, seeing that he didn’t even blink when he spent 20,000 taels to hire a saint, there must be a lot of guards inside. How could these few people be enough?

Lin Fei said, “Enough!”

To control this manor, you didn’t need to control all the guards inside!

The owner of the manor was in such a state, and the master doctor Zhang shook his head. Even the waiters in the teahouse outside knew that the owner of the manor was not going to live long, let alone the people in the manor.

“This owner is very generous to himself, but he is so stingy to others. He is ready to take all his wealth into the coffin, but he is unwilling to hand over his affairs to the steward who has worked for him for more than ten years. Obviously, he does not trust the steward!” Lin Fei said lightly, “He doesn’t even trust the steward, will he even trust the guards in this manor?”

The owner of the manor did not trust the servants in this manor, so how could the servants in this manor trust this dying owner?

Therefore, this lavish and rich manor now looked like it had many guards and was watertight, but in fact, it had long been a mess.

If it weren’t for the need to keep the manor as it is to confuse those evil people, they would only need to show their identities when they enter, and he was sure that they didn’t need to persuade them, the other party would turn against their master obediently!

“Just control the guards who are close to you!” Lin Fei said, and without waiting for Liu Yuan and Bai Zhu to speak again, he led people to climb over the wall!

Although the luxury inside the manor could be guessed from the outside, when everyone climbed over the wall and saw the situation inside the manor, they were still shocked!

The lanterns lit in the manor climbed on the rockery behind the manor like a long dragon. The top of the rockery merged with the dark night. From a distance, the long dragon formed by the lanterns seemed to go straight into the night sky, just like the Milky Way that goes straight to the sky in the legend.

“This manor owner really knows how to enjoy himself!” Looking at the tens of thousands of lanterns, an officer couldn’t help but sigh.

Lin Fei didn’t say anything, but gestured, signaling everyone to follow him.

The blueprint of Linliu Manor had been found a long time ago, so he knew by heart how to find the manor owner with one foot in the coffin.

In the dark, figures shuttled among the lanterns, jade rockery, and precious flowers and trees. The guards who were either on standby or walking back and forth on patrol yawned, no longer vigilant as usual, but a little lazy. Taking advantage of the gap between handovers, they started chatting!

“After working for a few days, I will take my pay and go home!”

“Have you found a new employer?”

“No! I’m still looking! Tsk tsk, I have worked for twenty years, and even if I haven’t made any contributions, I have worked hard! Even if you’re not dead, ordinary people would give a few more cents when they lay you off. But I asked the manager, and he didn’t even give me a copper penny more! How stingy!”

“This has nothing to do with the manager, the money wasn’t paid by him, he himself complained about working like a slave for so many years, but he didn’t even give him an extra month’s pay!”

“Alas! He can be really stingy to us, but he can be generous to those doctors! Doctor Zhang just came over to take a look during the day, and he asked for 20,000 taels of silver!”

“What do you mean… He’s not being generous to the doctor, he’s being generous to himself, he wants to stay alive!”

“Tsk tsk, he already threw in a mountain of gold to protect himself for ten years, he should be content!”

“The King of Hell won’t let him go this time!”

…

Listening to the conversation of the guards, several officers glanced at Lin Fei, who was leading the group: Sure enough, Lin Shaoqing was right, this wealthy manor owner was unpopular! He sure knew this himself, so he dared not leave his affairs after his death to these servants!

Lin Fei lowered his eyes, glanced at the guards, and led them to the hexagonal tower in the center, which was built in the shape of an “eight-treasure glazed tower” and inlaid with large pieces of glazed jade!

The lights flickered, and the guards yawned lazily and absent-mindedly, thinking about where to go next, and did not notice that someone had changed behind them!

When he yawned and turned his head, he didn’t see the person who should be where he was supposed to be in the corner of his eye. He was stunned, opened his mouth, and was about to speak, but a cool breeze blew from behind him. When the guard reacted, his face changed, but before he could raise his hand, his neck was locked.

“Don’t make a sound!” Lin Fei held the guard leader in front of him hostage, and said, “Follow me!”

The guard opened his mouth, hesitated for only a moment, and immediately let go of his hand that was about to draw his sword, and followed Lin Fei.

The owner of the manor was about to die, why should he sell his life? He might as well keep his life and find another family. The whole family at home was waiting for his wages!

(End of this chapter)

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Footnote

1. 5 to 7 PM
2. 7 to 9 PM