Xiahou Riyue's eye twitched, but he remained calm and said, "I wonder who His Majesty is looking for? Is it me?"
The Emperor gave a cryptic smile and said, "Minister Xiahou, do you expect me to stand at the door and talk to you like this?"
Xiahou Riyue quickly made a gesture of invitation and welcomed the emperor through the door.
After the emperor and Xiahou Riyue entered the hall, Granny Jin served them tea.
The emperor asked with a smile, "Where is your wife?"
Granny Jin, having seen much of the world, remained neither servile nor arrogant in front of the emperor, saying, "Your Majesty is joking. Our young master is still unmarried, and there is no mistress in the household yet."
She had been given instructions by Xiahou Riyue early on, so naturally she wouldn't betray Jian Yang.
The emperor had not expected his servants to be so tight-lipped, and knowing he couldn't get any information out of them, he gave up.
Then he winked at Eunuch Zhang.
Eunuch Zhang immediately understood and clutched his stomach, saying, "Oh dear, Lord Xiahou, I'm so sorry, I ate something bad before leaving the palace today. May I use the outhouse?"
Xiahou Riyue laughed and said, "Of course, someone, please lead the way for the eunuch."
Zhang Gonggong's trip to the outhouse was a pretense; his real purpose was to find Jian Yang.
After leaving the hall, he casually made up an excuse to send away the servants from the Xiahou residence, and then began searching the mansion.
Along with him, the emperor's secret guards, whom he had brought from the palace, were also searching.
However, after searching carefully, the group found no trace of Jian Yang.
Fearing that lingering outside any longer would arouse Xiahou Riyue's suspicion, Eunuch Zhang had no choice but to return and report.
Strangely enough, before seeing Xiahou Riyue again, he always thought that the emperor had gone hysterical because he missed the empress too much.
Upon learning that the owner of the house was Xiahou Riyue, he suddenly felt that the Empress might really still be alive, otherwise all of this was too coincidental to be true.
Upon his return, the emperor saw him shake his head almost imperceptibly, and his heart, which had been full of anticipation, sank to the bottom.
How could this be?
His intuition told him that Jian Yang must be hiding in this mansion.
However, he had no reason to search Xiahou Riyue's house.
"His Majesty just said he was looking for someone. May I ask who he is looking for?" Xiahou Riyue suddenly asked.
The emperor took a sip of tea and smiled, "Lord Xiahou, do you really not know who I am looking for?"
Xiahou Riyue calmly replied, "This humble subject is unaware."
The emperor's face suddenly darkened, and he said coldly, "As your subject and I have been ruler and subject for so long, there are some things I will not say. If Minister Xiahou is hiding anyone he should not be hiding in his residence, the consequences will be more than you can bear!"
Xiahou Riyue said calmly, "Your Majesty's words will be remembered by me."
When the emperor saw that he was unyielding, he simply turned and left.
Before leaving, he ordered his guards to lie in ambush around the residence and to report to the palace immediately if any special circumstances occurred.
"They've left?" Jian Yang asked, putting down the storybook in her hand as Xiahou Riyue walked in.
Xiahou Riyue nodded and said, "However, I imagine the Emperor will have planted many spies nearby, so we should leave quickly."
Jian Yang nodded: "Anyway, I've packed my luggage, and we can leave at any time. However, since the emperor's spies are all around us, how do we leave?"
Xiahou Riyue smiled and said quietly, "Leave it to me."
That evening, a house on Xuanwu Street inexplicably caught fire.
Jian Yang was awakened by cries of "Fire!" and "Fire!"
Seeing the bright red flames outside the window, she was so frightened that she quickly sat up, and then heard a series of knocks on the door.
"Ayang, it's me." The speaker was Xiahou Riyue.
Jian Yang quickly jumped out of bed and ran to open the door for him.
"Lord Xiahou, is there a fire?"
Xiahou Riyue shook his head and said, "There's no need to be afraid. It's the neighbor's house that's on fire, but you should still set off."
"Now?" Jian Yang was somewhat surprised.
Xiahou Riyue nodded: "That's right, now is the time. The city defense battalion will definitely come to put out the fire later, which will be the time when the defense of Xuanwu Gate is most lax. I have already taken care of the gate guards. Now is the best time."
"Understood, please wait a moment."
Jian Yang returned to her room, slung her homemade backpack over her shoulder, casually tied up her long hair with a hairpin, and then went out with Xiahou Riyue.
At this moment, the neighboring courtyard was in chaos. Some people were crying and wailing, some were fighting the fire, and some were taking advantage of the chaos to escape.
The one who escaped in the chaos was naturally Jian Yang.
Just as Xiahou Riyue had predicted, after the fire broke out, the soldiers of the city defense camp rushed over to put it out.
Due to the intensity of the fire, even the emperor's secret guards had to join the firefighting efforts.
Jian Yang managed to escape the mansion, and then boarded the waiting carriage that Xiahou Riyue had prepared in advance.
Upon reaching the city gate, the soldiers pretended to stop them and asked, "Who is trying to leave the city so late?"
A servant stepped forward politely and said, "There was a fire in Orchid Lane tonight. My master's lungs were burned by the smoke. We heard there is a miracle doctor outside the city and we are planning to go see him. Brother, could you please do us a favor?"
As he spoke, he handed over a gold ingot.
The soldier took the gold ingot, casually lifted the carriage curtain, and saw Xiahou Riyue sitting upright inside, occasionally covering his mouth with a handkerchief and coughing a few times.
"So it's Lord Xiahou! Please, please come in." The soldier smiled obsequiously and ordered the city gate to be opened.
As soon as they stepped out of the city gate, Jian Yang immediately crawled out from under the seat.
She straightened her clothes and smiled at Xiahou Riyue, "I was just thinking, this fire happened at such a perfect time. Could it be that Lord Xiahou deliberately set it on purpose?"
"Yes," Xiahou Riyue readily admitted.
Jian Yang was startled and quickly took out two silver notes from her backpack, forcefully slapping them into Xiahou Riyue's palm.
"I don't have much money. I asked my father for it a few days ago. I am very grateful for Lord Xiahou's help today. However, I would like to share some of the compensation for the damage to the neighbors next door."
Thinking of the family next door who were sleeping soundly, but whose house was suddenly burned down because of her, Jian Yang couldn't help but feel ashamed.
Xiahou Riyue smiled as he looked at the silver notes in his hand. "That house is also mine. It's usually vacant and no one lives there, so Ayang can rest assured."
Jian Yang: "???"
Who would have thought that Xiahou Riyue was such a eligible bachelor?
In this capital city where land is incredibly valuable, he actually owns numerous properties.
Oh, I'm so envious.
Compared to Xiahou Riyue's vast assets, the losses caused tonight were just a drop in the ocean, and Jian Yang instantly felt no guilt.
Without hesitation, she took the banknotes back.
Xiahou Riyue: "?"
The carriage traveled for nearly half an hour until the eastern sky began to lighten with the first light of dawn.
"Young master, we'll be leaving the imperial city soon," the carriage driver said.
Jian Yang knew it was time to say goodbye.
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