Chapter 256 The man held the baby in swaddling clothes with one hand and lifted it high in the air.

Lin Shiyuan sneered: "Whether you're law-abiding or not, we'll find out soon enough."

The two stopped talking.

Yao Qingling stood there, doing nothing, just waiting for the results.

Lou Yue and Xia Chan went inside and watched the guards search the place.

In Lou Yue's words, "We earned everything in this house with our own hands. We can't let some people take advantage of the search to smuggle things out. Not only will we suffer injustice for nothing, but we'll also suffer other losses."

The guards were rude and uncouth, searching through everything they saw.

The cabinet was ransacked, several vases were broken, and Yao Qingling's favorite cloisonné enamel hand warmer was also smashed and deformed.

They even opened the incense burner to smell it, saying that the palace had lost some precious spices that had been presented as tribute from the Western Regions.

Lou Yue and Xia Chan followed behind them, picking up the clothes they threw on the ground.

After searching Yao Qingling's room, they went to Zhao'er's and the wet nurse's room.

The wet nurse was about to breastfeed when she was suddenly interrupted, startling her into a scream. The man in black roughly drove her out.

The child was hungry and frightened, and cried loudly. Xia Chan almost got into a fight with them again.

Yao Qingling's fingernails dug into her palm, almost drawing blood.

She couldn't help but say, "Couldn't they have been a little quieter?"

In the distance, the man in black stood at the doorway, watching this side.

Lin Shiyuan slowly turned the teacup, saying in a calm voice, "Madam Yao seems to not understand what a search is."

"A search means leaving no place unchecked. Do you expect them to clean up after the search in such a short time?"

Yao Qingling glared at him fiercely, then turned and walked towards the wet nurse.

The wet nurse was terrified and at a loss, and she had to comfort the child; she was almost in tears herself.

Yao Qingling held the child in her arms: "Let me do it."

The wet nurse let go, wiped her eyes with her sleeve, and said in a tearful voice, "Miss, the baby hasn't eaten yet."

Yao Qingling glanced at Zhao'er, gently kissed his forehead, and coaxed him softly with soft "oh oh" sounds.

She turned her head and looked around, intending to have the wet nurse take Zhao'er to the servants' room to feed the child first.

She carried the child toward the servants' quarters when the man in black suddenly approached and said, "Stop."

Yao Qingling paused, frowning as she looked at him: "What is it now?"

The man glanced at her, then looked down at the child in his arms. Yao Qingling immediately hugged Zhao'er tighter and said angrily, "What? Do you think such a small baby could hide that tribute?"

The man sneered: "The baby won't do, but the baby's mother will."

"Madam Yao, since you know about Golden Feather Silk, you must know why it became a tribute item, right?"

Yao Qingling pursed her lips, too lazy to waste words with him.

The man in black paced around Yao Qingling and said slowly, "Golden Feather Silk is not only light, soft, and breathable, but it also prevents skin diseases when worn. A baby's skin is the most delicate, and since Madam Yao loves her child so much, it is quite possible that she would dress the child in a garment made of Golden Feather Silk."

As he finished speaking, he walked right up to Yao Qingling, suddenly reached out, and snatched the child from her arms.

"Ah!" Yao Qingling cried out, instinctively trying to snatch the child back.

The man held the baby in swaddling clothes with one hand and lifted it high in the air.

The baby's cries echoed throughout the yard.

Yao Qingling's heart nearly stopped from fright. Her face turned deathly pale, and she screamed shrilly, "Give me back my child!"

The man remained unmoved, and even revealed a sinister smile.

"Lord Lin warned Madam Yao long ago not to resist the search. Madam Yao, why won't you listen?"

As he spoke, he glanced at Lin Shiyuan, who was sitting in the distance.

Lin Shiyuan's eyes were as dark and sharp as a blade, and his fists were already clenched under the table.

But he can't do anything or say anything right now.

He is now described by others as a gloomy and ruthless character.

Yao Qingling glared at Lin Shiyuan and angrily rebuked him, "Lin Shiyuan, if anything happens to my son, I will not let you off the hook!"

"Don't forget, I am the orphan of General Yao Rui, and this child is the grandson of the Grand Princess of Deyang and the only biological son of Zhan Xingzhuo, the current Vice Minister of Revenue!"

These words were not only spoken to Lin Shiyuan, but also to the man in black.

The man's eyes flickered, he hesitated slightly, and he pulled his arm back a little.

But he still refused to return the child to Yao Qingling.

“Madam Yao, if anything goes wrong, Lord Lin will take full responsibility. We are just following orders.”

Lin Shiyuan frowned and looked at the man in black: "Tian Zhu, I never said I could take responsibility for everything. This child is the grandson of the Grand Princess, the Emperor's nephew, and of royal blood. You'd better show him some respect. If anything goes wrong, both of us will be punished."

If the child's relationship with the Grand Princess and Zhan Xingzhuo only made the man hesitate, then when Lin Shiyuan mentioned the Emperor and the royal bloodline, the man was deeply wary.

With a stern face, he was about to return the clothes to Yao Qingling when suddenly a guard came out carrying several pale yellow baby clothes.

"Sir, Golden Feather Silk!"

Lin Shiyuan's expression changed. He put down his teacup, and the guard handed him a robe. Lin Shiyuan took the robe and squeezed it in his hand: "Yao Qingling, what do you have to say?"

When Yao Qingling handed Zhao'er to the wet nurse, her gaze swept over the man in black before she turned and stuffed the child into Nie Yun's arms.

If they dare to make a move again, Nie Yun can evade them with her skills.

Yao Qingling walked up to Lin Shiyuan, picked up the children's clothes, and sneered, "Does the master think this is gold-feathered silk? Have you ever seen it?"

Lin Shiyuan said, "According to the records of the Imperial Household Department, a total of five bolts of gold-feathered silk were received this year. Two bolts were given to Empress Dowager Jiang, two to the Empress, and the other batch is still in the Imperial Treasury. However, during the inspection, the bolt of cloth disappeared. According to my understanding, neither the Empress Dowager nor the Empress bestowed such a precious bolt of cloth upon anyone else."

Items in the mansions of the powerful and wealthy are all marked with their private emblems, and items that enter the palace have even more unique and special markings.

But once the fabric has been cut into clothes, it's hard to say.

Yao Qingling said, "Then let me tell you what this is."

"This is the Cicada Cloud Silk from the Clouds. Its color and feel are similar to the Golden Feather Silk, but it doesn't have the rumored effect of 'preventing skin diseases.' It's just light, soft, and breathable. To be honest, apart from its skin disease treatment effects, the Golden Feather Silk is nothing special."

"You can find similar materials even if you just go to a fabric shop."

"If you don't believe me, you can check the purchase records."

As she spoke, Yao Qingling waved her hand and ordered someone to fetch the Hou Mansion's account books, along with the account books from her Mulan Courtyard.

Now, the household affairs of the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion are managed by Concubine Zhao. When she heard that the account books were needed, Concubine Zhao was taken aback.

Not daring to oppose the soldiers, she immediately brought out all the household registers.

"Lord Lin, our Marquis's mansion has always been very proper and would never dare to do such shady things," Concubine Zhao said ingratiatingly.

Lin Shiyuan didn't even glance at her, and sat there flipping through the pages.

The embroidery room does indeed have records from Caiyunjian: this year, ten bolts of cloth were purchased, two in yellow, three in red, two in purple, and three in blue.

Even the names of those for whom clothes were made were kept in record.

The yellow and purple fabrics were used to make baby clothes.

Lou Yue took out the purple baby clothes as well.

"Look, this is no golden feather silk at all!" Apart from the color, the purple clothes are exactly the same as the yellow ones in terms of feel and weave.

Lou Yue said angrily, "You can't just assume that our young master also used gold feather silk based on the color of the silk, can you?"

Lin Shiyuan raised an eyebrow and glanced indifferently at the guard: "Didn't you find any other suspicious items? Jewelry, calligraphy and paintings, porcelain, jade, or precious medicinal herbs... nothing?"

The guard looked terrified and shook his head: "No more."

Everything in Yao Qingling's yard has a Hui Ba Fang mark, making it easy to identify.

Yao Qingling looked at Lin Shiyuan indifferently: "Why do you think that I must have those things here, Lord Lin?"