Chapter 54 The He family understood and reported!
The layout of the He family mansion is extremely orderly, symmetrically distributed along a central axis, with each level progressively higher, and is dignified and orderly. Compared with the mansions of many aristocratic families in Jiangnan, the He family mansion appears particularly simple and grand. It is not like the gardens of Jiangnan, which have exquisite landscapes with changing views with every step. The He family mansion reveals the composure and uprightness of a military family.
The Shen and He families have been close friends since the time of the founding emperor. Miss Shen must have visited the He residence several times when she was young, which is why Shen Yujiao is able to walk so freely in the corridors now.
Jiang Chen stood beside her. The wooden door in front of him seemed excessively narrow compared to the majestic and solemn building behind him, and it didn't look like a place where a secret room could be set up.
"Are you sure this is the place? This looks more like a woodshed or a servants' quarters."
Shen Yujiao was puzzled at first, but after circling around, she did indeed only feel this place. "I'm not sure either, but I think Miss Shen's intuition is more reliable than trusting us to find it ourselves."
That makes sense, since none of them had ever seen how magnificent the He family was at its peak, nor had they ever seen the original appearance of the house.
Jiang Chen shielded Shen Yujiao behind him and gently pushed the dilapidated wooden door open. Although the room was covered in dust, the humid climate of Jiangnan prevented any dust from flying around. There was just the musty smell of an old house. The two tentatively stepped across the threshold and stood at the door for a while. Only after confirming that there were no ambushes inside did their highly tense nerves relax a little.
The room wasn't large; you could see almost everything inside just by standing at the door. There was a table and a chair on the south side, with a shelf next to the table holding several layers of books. At the back was a small bed, now just an empty bed board. The north wall opposite the desk was completely bare. That was all.
Looking at the scene before her, Shen Yujiao shook her head with some regret: "Maybe you're right, this might be the residence of some servant."
The house was small and simply furnished, even somewhat shabby overall. However, the furniture clearly showed signs of life. As Shen Yujiao was carefully observing the situation inside, she heard Jiang Chen cough violently. Thinking that Jiang Chen had aggravated his wound, she hurriedly turned her head to look, only to be choked by the dust that came her way.
"Cough cough cough, cough cough cough, Jiang Xiaochen, what are you doing!"
Jiang Chen was shaking the books off his hands, and the dust on them instantly filled the room. Shen Yujiao covered her mouth and nose and kept fanning herself, "Stop shaking, stop shaking!"
"Alright, come and take a look."
Seeing Jiang Chen beckoning to her, Shen Yujiao hesitated for a moment before slowly moving over. When she got closer and saw the words on the book, she immediately took it without hesitation and flipped through the pages: "This looks like... a child's handwriting?"
"Yes, it's obviously written by a child, similar to what we wrote when we were in elementary school."
As he spoke, Jiang Chen took out a few more books. The two of them opened them one by one and found that although they were all written by the same person, the handwriting varied in quality, making it seem as if they had been writing them since childhood.
Jiang Chen carefully read through several books before deciphering the text: "These are all military treatises."
Shen Yujiao found the characters increasingly familiar, and thought, "These are General He's characters."
The two exchanged a glance, both seeing uncertainty in each other's eyes. He Zhiju's status was indeed noble, and the purpose of this room seemed far-fetched. The only explanation was that it was a place for him to lock himself in when he was in seclusion.
Shen Yujiao put down her book and clicked her tongue slightly: "Old Master He is really comparable to Grandpa Jiang and Uncle Jiang when it comes to educating children." The environment of this small dark room is probably not even as good as a servant's living quarters.
Jiang Chen felt somewhat relieved. If this was He Zhiju's place, then it was very likely that the secret room was located here. He walked around several pieces of furniture, examining each one to see if there were any hidden mechanisms. After fiddling with them for a long time, he ended up with his hands covered in dust.
"This is really..."
Jiang Chen was dusting off the dust with a look of disgust when he turned around and saw Shen Yujiao staring blankly at the north wall. He walked over and asked, "What are you thinking about?"
"No, I just feel that this wall is a bit too empty."
"The places where people are kept in solitary confinement don't have much stuff to begin with, so it's normal for them to be a bit empty."
Although this made sense, Shen Yujiao still felt something was off. She stepped forward and touched the bricks on the wall one by one, trying to awaken more of her body's memories. Jiang Chen saw her actions and went to help her. Although he didn't know much about the room, he felt that there was some kind of hidden mechanism.
Unfortunately, the two of them pressed down on each brick one by one, but none of them could be moved. After searching the front wall, they were both a little tired, so they didn't care how much dust was on the bed board. Jiang Chen took out a few books from the bookshelf for Shen Yujiao to use as a cushion, and then simply sat down himself.
Looking at the tiny space inside, Shen Yujiao felt somewhat discouraged: "Could it be that my perception was wrong?"
"Don't overthink it. Let's take a break and think about where else we've come from. I saw you stop for a while when we passed the ancestral hall. Why don't we go look there later?"
Recalling the ancestral hall she had just passed, Shen Yujiao nodded: "Actually, I didn't feel anything, I just felt a sense of awe when I passed by there. But you're right, if it's a secret room, the ancestral hall is larger and more likely to be one."
She had just passed by there, and the thought of how this family of loyal and brave men had ended up like that filled her with a sense of sorrow.
"Okay, let's go then."
Jiang Chen nodded, got up and patted the dust off the hem of Shen Yujiao's robe. The two walked towards the door, but after taking only two steps, Shen Yujiao suddenly turned around. She quickly walked back to the small bed and reached out towards the bed rail.
Seeing her movements, Jiang Chen immediately realized what was happening and quickly went forward to help her move the wooden bed.
Yes! They had just examined all the furniture and pressed down all the bricks, but they had forgotten about the part where the bed connected to the brick wall. Now that the small bed had been moved, Shen Yujiao reached out and touched a different brick. However, the brick was embedded very tightly, as if it required some skill to hold it in place.
"I'll do it." Jiang Chen stepped forward and took over Shen Yujiao's position. He pinched the brick and shook it vigorously up and down and left and right. With his strength, the brick became looser and looser until Jiang Chen pulled hard and the brick was finally taken out.
There was no secret room or hidden passage. The evidence that the guard brought back was simply stuffed into this small compartment. Hidden in this most inconspicuous little room in the simplest way, it's no wonder that someone was lying in ambush outside that day. They must have turned this huge He mansion upside down, but in the end they found nothing and could only shoot the person who came looking for the evidence.
Since they couldn't find any evidence, they didn't intend to let anyone else find it either.
Jiang Chen reached inside and pulled out the contents, only to find that the so-called evidence was just a few letters. The two exchanged a glance, split the stack of letters in two, and each put them in their pockets to protect them. Then they stuffed the bricks back in and moved the small bed back to its original position.
After erasing all traces, the two walked to the door and were about to leave when Jiang Chen suddenly grabbed Shen Yujiao tightly. Before he could even shout, arrows shot from above. He pulled Shen Yujiao behind the door, their backs pressed tightly against the wall. Arrows continued to pierce the air outside, hitting the door panel one after another.
Hearing the dull thud of the arrow piercing the wood, Shen Yujiao felt the hairs on her body stand on end. This was the first time she had ever been in a real ancient battle. She had seen Jiang Chen's wounds with her own eyes and understood how powerful the arrow was.
"Shen Yujiao, this door can't hold up anymore. I'll push it open in a bit. Take advantage of this opening and run quickly to the right corridor. Once you cross the corridor, you'll reach the side gate. Just keep running forward, don't look back, and don't worry about me, understand?"
Hearing Jiang Chen say this, Shen Yujiao looked down and saw that the joint of the door panel had been broken by an arrow. Now, Jiang Chen was carrying this door panel. She subconsciously looked at Jiang Chen's wound, which had not yet fully healed.
Jiang Chen didn't hear her response, so he quickly turned around and met her worried, bright eyes. In the darkness, those eyes were exceptionally bright. He saw through Shen Yujiao's thoughts at a glance, and his heart softened, but he still urged her sternly, "Understand and write a report!"
"Report!"
"Wait one minute. I'll count down from five. In the last second, you must evacuate quickly. There are people waiting at the side gate. If you arrive and find I haven't followed, leave immediately and head straight to the Shen Mansion for help. Understand?"
"clear!"
In the darkness, Shen Yujiao answered quickly with red eyes, her hands sweating profusely in the summer night.
"five--"
Shen Yujiao quickly recalled the layout of the place she had come from and determined the escape route she would take when she went out.
"Four--"
The arrows were increasing, and the door was getting heavier and heavier. Shen Yujiao bumped her shoulder against Jiang Chen and found that he was gritting his teeth and holding on.
"three--"
As if possessed, Shen Yujiao stretched out her arms and quickly hugged Jiang Chen from behind, pressing against his broad back, their heartbeats pounding in unison.
"two--"
"Jiang Chen, I'm waiting for you to come back safely!"
"one!"
The wooden plank was lifted instantly, and Jiang Chen pushed the door open forcefully, creating a gap in the doorway. Shen Yujiao crouched down and squeezed through, desperately running forward in the direction she remembered. She heard the sound of arrows piercing the air, and Jiang Chen's instructions echoed in her mind.
Don't look back, just keep running forward!
Shen Yujiao didn't know if she was running the right way. At this moment, she was almost running towards the corner gate on her body's instinct. She swore that even though she grew up in a military compound and her physical fitness was not bad, she had never run this fast before.
As Jiang Chen said, there were already people waiting at the side gate. When Shen Yujiao saw Zhu Yu, she rushed into the carriage. The moment the carriage door closed, all the sounds were silenced outside the carriage. Shen Yujiao slumped in the carriage, feeling as if her heart was about to jump out of her chest.
Ignoring her trembling hands and feet, she grabbed Zhu Yu, who was about to give the order: "Wait, wait a little longer! The Crown Prince will be out soon!"
Zhu Yu glanced in the direction of the He residence, her eyes filled with reluctance, then rushed forward to block the sedan chair door and ordered the coachman, "Let's go!"
"Stop!"
Shen Yujiao almost shouted it out, but the carriage did not stop because of her order. Unlike the liveliness when they entered the He Mansion, the market had returned to the calm of the night. The carriage traveled smoothly through the streets. Listening to the sound of hooves in front, Shen Yujiao felt as if her heart had fallen into an abyss.
"Your Highness, this servant is acting on the orders of His Highness the Crown Prince. Once you are in the carriage, it must depart immediately without the slightest delay."
Her hand was still pressed tightly against the door, but her words had already broken down. Seeing Zhu Yu like this, Shen Yujiao couldn't utter a single harsh word. As soon as she closed her eyes, the image of Jiang Chen returning seriously injured that day would reappear before her eyes.
Now that there's no going back, there's only one hope: "Faster! Faster!"
Shen Yujiao clutched her chest tightly with both hands. Through her clothes, she felt the stack of letters. The Shen family must know the He family's terrain like the back of their hand. As long as they arrived at the Duke of Nengcheng's mansion, Shen Boyi would definitely send someone to rescue Jiang Chen.
The carriage sped faster and faster toward the Duke of Cheng's mansion. Shen Yujiao, sitting inside the carriage, was jolted and bumped against the walls, but she was clinging to the wooden frame and wished the carriage could go even faster.
Jiang Chen, hang in there a little longer. You must hide well, you must... return to my side safely.
-----------------------
Author's Note: I'm here! Sorry to keep you all waiting! Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants between 09:07:21 on March 15, 2024 and 16:10:51 on March 16, 2024!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Hot Tofu Hotpot (4 bottles); Iris (1 bottle);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
