vstars Chapter 438 Finally, the hiding place was discovered.
Chapter 438 Finally, the hiding place was discovered.
Lin Qi wasn't too hungry these past three days, but there must have been something added to his food.
Otherwise, with his martial arts skills, he wouldn't have been unable to break through a wooden door. At this moment, his hands and feet were weak, and he only had the strength to pick up chopsticks and a bowl.
It must be said that the person who administered the drug had a very precise control over the dosage.
Lin Qi also considered not eating the food and water handed in through the small window, but he found that even if he didn't eat, he wouldn't be able to recover his strength in a short time.
Perhaps it wasn't just the food and water that were drugged; there was also a faint, lingering odor in the room.
As long as a person is in this room, even if they don't eat or drink, they will still be poisoned.
If that's the case, why torture your stomach and force yourself to endure unpleasantness?
Lin Qi then ate every single meal that had been spiked with the ingredients.
Although the person delivering the food couldn't see what was happening inside, he greatly admired the young nobleman's sense of opportunism.
Unlike those next door, who went on a hunger strike.
Haha, so what if you go on a hunger strike? You still get drugged and become completely powerless.
Their boss's sleeping potion was infamous far and wide, and a single packet was extremely difficult to obtain. Now, these pampered young masters have gotten their hands on it!
"Brother Monkey, have everyone inside eaten?"
"Heh, what difference does it make whether you eat or not? You won't die if you skip a few meals, and you can't run away if you're full!"
The two men, with pointed mouths and monkey-like faces, were dressed as servants of the First Prince's residence, yet they exuded a bandit-like aura.
This is a Jianghu force that the First Prince has only recently gathered together. This group of people kills, robs, and commits all sorts of evil deeds.
The eldest prince is indiscriminate in his tastes; as long as someone can be of use to him, he will not care about their past, but only their abilities.
Lin Shenxuan's men, disguised as opera troupe servants, had already entered the backyard of the prince's residence.
There are no female relatives in the Crown Prince's residence now, so the stage is set up in the center of the back garden, surrounded by blooming flowers and trees, which is a beautiful sight and also a good place to hide.
Under the cover of night, the "theater troupe's servants" carefully moved their feet, searching every possible hiding place.
However, after nearly an hour, they had gained nothing.
Could there be a secret room or dungeon in this prince's residence?
That's really difficult... I might not be able to complete the task assigned by the Minister.
The stage construction was still in its final stages, and the underlings disguised as servants were also conscripted to work around the stage.
They were busy until midnight before the backyard of the prince's residence gradually quieted down. The eldest prince was quite something, managing to sleep so soundly even in this situation.
The opera troupe's servants were all exhausted and followed the prince's servants back to the guest courtyard to rest.
Lin Shenxuan's men deliberately lagged behind, intentionally creating distance between themselves and the main force.
Thinking of trying my luck elsewhere, I realized that once it was fully light, there would be no chance to act, and I would waste another whole day waiting for it to get dark again.
They arrived at the front yard in the dark and searched it thoroughly for most of the hour, while constantly having to evade the guards patrolling the prince's residence.
However, they still found nothing, and just as they were about to give up, they accidentally knocked over a stone bench in the garden. After the bench was moved, a small hole was revealed in the ground...
I could faintly hear voices coming from inside the cave. Judging from the width of the entrance, it certainly wasn't the main entrance, but what did it matter?
"Brother Monkey, what do you think the boss told us to keep an eye on and catch these rich young men? What do their families do?"
"Could they all be sons of high-ranking officials? Offending just one official is enough to cause us trouble, but this is an even bigger problem... one, two, three, four, five, six, seven... Good heavens, sixteen of them!"
"Hehe, look at you, such a coward! Things are different now!"
In the past, we didn't even dare to offend a minor county magistrate of the seventh rank, for fear that they would issue arrest warrants.
Now we've latched onto the future emperor's coattails, do you know what that's called?
"What's your name? Brother Monkey, stop keeping me in suspense!"
The monkey proudly shook its inverted triangular head, "This is called—the merit of following the dragon!"
"hiss--!"
The man couldn't help but gasp, then suddenly felt incredibly proud of himself. He couldn't suppress the urge to smile, and his triangular eyes narrowed into slits.
"Hey! Brother Monkey! Does that mean we'll all become high-ranking officials in the future?"
From now on, others will be afraid of us and kneel down to us!
Holy crap! That was fucking awesome! Hahahaha!
Unrestrained laughter emanated from the cave entrance. Those outside dared not listen any longer and quietly put the stone bench back in its place.
Judging from the voices, there were only two people guarding the sixteen young masters from various families. They were really bold.
I suspect the young masters and noblemen were drugged or something, leaving them no strength to escape.
Otherwise, how could the young master of the Lin family, who is skilled in both literature and martial arts, not be able to deal with a few petty thieves?
Sigh, I was too careless and got ambushed by the fake guard.
However, now is not the right time to rescue the young master. If we rescue him today, we are not without a chance of success, but it will disrupt some of your plans.
Well, now that we know the exact location, the plan for tomorrow's operation will be much easier to arrange.
Tomorrow, I'll try to sneak out and deliver the message to the adults, then sneak back in to stay in the opera troupe, working together from the inside and outside to prepare for the adults' needs.
He noticed something strange about the structure when the stage was being built.
The pillars below the stage were arranged with many gaps, enough to accommodate dozens of warriors carrying weapons.
Who else was among the guests invited by the Crown Prince besides princes and nobles?
His own brothers wouldn't be visited by the concubines in the palace.
The Empress Dowager won't come in person, but... will His Majesty the Emperor come?
No, tomorrow I must not only tell the adults about the secret room, but also explain what's wrong with this stage!
Before the first rays of dawn appeared, the shadowy figure successfully made his way to the large communal sleeping area, which was used by the opera troupe's servants for resting.
There were hardly any empty spaces left on the communal bed. Perfect timing, it was almost dawn, so I didn't need to sleep anymore.
He yawned, picked up the wooden basin to fetch water from the well, and pretended to be sleepy as if he had just woken up. No one noticed anything unusual.
As dawn broke in the east, the servants in charge of purchasing supplies from the main kitchen of the First Prince's residence pushed their carts out through the side gate.
"Manager Qiu! Remember to stock up on plenty of fruits and vegetables, and also buy more fish, meat and mutton. I've checked the kitchen's inventory, and it's simply not enough!"
"Oh dear! You don't need to worry about such a small matter, Granny! Don't worry! I'll take more people out, and we can bring them all back in one trip!"