After Li Afu reminded her, Yu Ming realized that she might have been distracted and hadn't noticed the footsteps behind her.
She shifted to the side, sizing up Li Afu. Perhaps afraid of getting his clothes dirty while cleaning, he was still wearing the same tattered clothes he had worn when he entered the mansion that morning. His face had been washed, but he didn't have any outstanding features; he just looked like a typical, rugged farmer.
After Li Afu entered the mansion today, Zhao Yun immediately instructed Yu Ming to take Li Afu's portrait and send someone to the place he mentioned to verify the information.
Before using him, she always had to find out his background.
As dusk fell, the person who went to verify the information returned and reported that what he had learned matched what Li Afu had told him, which put Zhao Yun at ease. Then she sent Yu Ming over to tell Li Afu to rest early that day and that she would show him around the Duke's mansion the next day.
Thinking of this, Yu Ming snorted softly, about to say something more, when she suddenly heard light footsteps in the distance. She quickly composed herself and said seriously, "I came to tell you that it's late at night, so you should rest early. There's a lot of work waiting for you tomorrow."
After saying that, she turned and left in a hurry.
Li Afu stood in the courtyard, watching Yu Ming's figure gradually disappear into the night, a cryptic smile playing on his lips.
He turned and went inside, changed into the clean clothes Zhao Yun had sent him, and slowly peeled a soft object off his face. The bronze mirror reflected his handsome face, which, though simply dressed, could not hide his dashing appearance.
At 9 PM, the vast Duke's mansion was deathly silent.
The night watchman struck the gong for the fifth time, the deep and long sound echoing in the night, penetrating every corner of the Duke's mansion, and marking the change of another hour.
Li Afu changed into his night clothes, gently pushed open the door, his movements swift and silent, as if afraid of disturbing the others in the mansion. The door closed slowly behind him, making an almost negligible sound.
Then, Li Afu moved swiftly, leaping onto the roof like a ghost. His movements were fluid and powerful, showing no trace of the clumsiness of a farmer.
On the rooftop, he moved like a hunting eagle, quickly discerning the direction. His gaze pierced through layers of tiles and sparse clouds, accurately pinpointing the location of Li Zan's study.
Li Afu walked briskly along the outline of the roof, each step exceptionally steady, as if he had become one with the night, the wind, and every tile of the roof.
Finally reaching the top of the study, he stopped and looked down at the entire Duke's mansion. Li Zan's main courtyard was pitch black, clearly indicating that Li Zan did not intend to return tonight. Not far away, the night watchman yawned repeatedly as he walked from the Lotus Courtyard to the Pear Fragrance Courtyard. After confirming that nothing unusual had happened, the watchman simply leaned against the artificial hill and dozed off.
Seeing this, Li Afu breathed a sigh of relief.
He carefully removed a few tiles from the roof, and in no time, a hole large enough for him to enter appeared in the roof of the study.
Li Afu nimbly leaped into the study, landing silently.
He lit a tinderbox and quickly looked around. He saw that the books on the bookshelf were arranged neatly, and there was a large chair next to the desk. On the desk was a half-finished painting of a beautiful woman.
Li Afu approached and glanced briefly at the portrait of the beauty. The woman's breasts were high and full, a red veil draped over her slender waist…
This scene made Li Afu's blood boil.
He quickly averted his gaze and began a swift and cautious search of the study. His goal was clear—to find crucial evidence related to Li Zan's selling of official positions. But Li Zan was cunning and shrewd; how could he possibly place such vital evidence in plain sight?
Time passed second by second. Li Afu searched every inch of the floor, from the bookshelves to the display shelves, but still found nothing. Fine beads of sweat gradually appeared on his forehead.
"Who? Who's there!"
A sudden, sharp shout broke the silence of the study. Immediately afterward, a series of hurried and chaotic footsteps approached the study. Clearly, the night watchman or patrolling guards had been alerted by the commotion.
Li Afu felt a chill run down his spine, but quickly regained his composure.
He quickly blew out the tinderbox, and under the cover of darkness, his figure slid into the shadows behind the bookshelf like a fish. He pressed himself against the wall, held his breath, and tried to minimize his presence.
The footsteps grew closer, accompanied by low voices: "Are you sure this is the place? No one dares to trespass into this study under normal circumstances."
“Absolutely true. I clearly saw a dark figure flash in just now, and I also vaguely heard a sound,” the other person replied, his voice tinged with tension.
The two pushed open the door, and the torchlight instantly illuminated a corner of the study. They then began to search the room carefully, but Li Afu had already cleverly avoided their sight by using the bookshelves as cover, and quietly opened a window on one side.
"Strange, there's nothing there," one person said, puzzled.
"Perhaps we're overthinking it. This study is always heavily guarded; how could anyone dare to come here?" The other person breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to leave.
Just as the two were about to leave the study, Li Afu's gaze suddenly fell on an inconspicuous blue and white porcelain vase next to the desk.
The bottle had a simple and unassuming design, and was not particularly eye-catching compared to other decorations. However, Li Afu keenly noticed that there seemed to be a slight, barely perceptible crack on the bottle.
He was secretly delighted, waiting patiently for the perfect opportunity.
Finally, just as the two were about to step out of the study, Li Afu flashed and appeared beside the desk in the blink of an eye.
He deftly spun the porcelain bottle, and the bottom slowly opened, revealing a stack of secret letters. Just as he was about to reach for it, the two men who had left returned, exclaiming in alarm, "Oh no! The study window is open!"
Li Afu's heart skipped a beat. She quickly put the vase back in its place, while simultaneously calculating how to escape safely. Seeing the two people open the study door and come back in, Li Afu reached out and knocked a vase to the side. She meowed twice, then suddenly leaped out of the window and, taking advantage of the darkness and the complex layout of the Duke's mansion, quickly disappeared into the vast night.
The two people left in the study looked at each other, their faces filled with astonishment and confusion.
"Oh, it's just a stray cat." One of them bent down and quickly cleaned up the broken porcelain shards on the ground, muttering to himself, "There have never been any stray cats running around in the manor before."
The other person sighed and said, "Yes. When the old lady was still in the mansion, she managed everything perfectly, big and small. She even had the kitchen maids put the leftovers in a basin to feed the stray cats that passed by. Look, the old lady has only been gone for a month or two, and more than half of the servants in the mansion have already been dismissed. Who knows if the next ones to be dismissed will be the two of us!"
He speculated to himself.
Under the cover of night, Li Afu wandered through the intricate corridors and courtyards of the Duke's mansion.
Back at his lodgings, he slowly exhaled and slammed his fist heavily against the wall. He was so close to getting those letters!
Hopefully, this failure won't alert Li Zan; otherwise, it won't be so easy for him to sneak into the study again.
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