There is a saying circulating among the thieves in Quecheng: I would rather go to the government office than climb the palace wall.
What that means is that the walls of the Quecheng Palace are too difficult to climb. Not only are there three layers inside and three layers outside, but the walls are also high and low and rugged. Not to mention the risk of being killed by the inner court guards. People would rather surrender themselves than go through that climb.
Now, standing at the foot of the Tian family's courtyard wall, Xiao Nanhui felt that the city dwellers were a little unsophisticated. Compared to this courtyard wall, the palace wall was nothing!
The Tian family's courtyard wall, judging by the naked eye, was about two feet high. There were traces of joints on the wall, showing that it had been added to again and again. Yet, the surface was scraped smooth and coated with tung oil, making even a mouse slip, let alone a person. Looking up at the top of the wall, it was densely packed with inch-long iron nails, so dense that not even a bird could land, let alone a person.
The Tian family had truly invested heavily in this. The last private well in East Suyan City that hadn't dried up was now firmly protected by this ironclad wall. Her Qinggong skills weren't good enough, so she couldn't afford to take the risk.
Is there no crack to get in?
Humph, how is that possible?
Where there are people, there are loopholes to exploit. This is an eternal truth.
Xiao Nanhui found a secluded place across the street from the back door of the Tian Mansion and stayed there for several hours, staring at the back door intently, not missing any movement.
Finally, the long day in Kishu was about to end. At sunset, the back door of Tian's house creaked open.
A clever-looking servant looked around behind the door. After confirming that there was no one there, he carried a large wooden barrel from the yard, put it on the steps of the back door, and then retreated back into the door in a hurry, and there was no movement anymore.
Xiao Nanhui waited for a while, and only walked up to the stone steps after seeing that it had indeed quieted down.
As he got closer, he discovered a string of copper coins hidden under the lid of the barrel. While not much, it was still a considerable sum in this impoverished city. Xiao Nanhui was somewhat puzzled and casually lifted the lid, instantly regretting his decision.
A foul odor hit her in the face, and she quickly put the lid back on the bucket.
It’s really a bucket of “gold”.
The smell was still lingering in Xiao Nanhui's nose. Before she could catch her breath, she heard heavy footsteps at the end of the street. She hurried back to her previous hiding place.
In a short while, a middle-aged man carrying a load came hurriedly and stopped at the stone steps. Then he skillfully covered his mouth and nose with a sweat towel, poured all the contents of the bucket into the two large buckets he was carrying, and put the empty buckets back to their original places. Finally, he put the copper coins away, hummed a song with satisfaction and left.
Seeing him walk away, Xiao Nanhui returned to his original place, looked around, took out a string of copper coins from the secret pocket on the inside of his clothes, carefully counted out a few and took them out.
This is the last string of copper coins she has left on her. Although it is not much, she has saved it with great effort, hiding and saving along the way. It is not the same as the silver that came easily in Quecheng.
Hardening his heart, Xiao Nanhui picked off two more copper coins from the increasingly sparse string of copper coins.
To accomplish something, you have to be ruthless.
Xiao Nanhui put the remaining copper coins back into his hidden pocket and placed the copper coins he had just taken out next to the empty bucket. After thinking for a moment, he picked them up again, jumped down the stairs and walked a few steps, scattering them on the ground not far from the back door.
Night began to spread across the eastern city of Suyan, and a crescent moon hung in the sky.
The temperature around has dropped a lot, but the air is still so dry that not even a drop of water can be squeezed out. It hurts like a knife when you breathe it into your nose.
It was still the same servant from before. He carried the empty bucket into the door as usual, and was about to close the door when he suddenly stopped.
In the moonlight, something was shining on the street in front of the door, which was covered with a layer of black sand.
He was a little hesitant, still looking around, then looking back at the direction of the yard, and finally confirmed that there was no one there, then he ran forward quickly to confirm.
It really was money. There were more than a dozen copper coins scattered on the ground, about the same number he had placed on the bucket.
Perhaps the dung collector was careless and didn't place the money securely, so it fell here? This is a back alley, rarely visited, and it's dark, so it's possible no one noticed.
It was your own carelessness, so don't blame me.
The servant thought happily as he picked up all the copper coins and put them into his sleeves. Then he turned around and went back inside and closed the door as if nothing had happened.
But he didn't notice one thing.
Just as he went down the stairs to pick up the copper coins, a shadow that was close to the bracket of the back door peeled out from the shadow and slipped silently into the crack of the door.
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As soon as he entered the yard, Xiao Nanhui began to silently memorize the route he had taken, and was careful not to disturb anyone in the yard.
But as he walked along, the whole yard was deathly silent. Although it was already night, it was far from time to go to bed for the wealthy family who had lit oil lamps. Not to mention the lady of the house, even the servants were nowhere to be seen. It was really a bit weird.
Xiao Nanhui estimated the well's location, starting from the periphery and gradually working her way towards the center of the mansion. It wasn't a big deal. But once she reached the well, she realized she'd oversimplified her thinking. There was indeed a rope hanging from the well, but when she pulled it up, she found no bucket to draw water from. Not only was there nothing in the well, but there wasn't a single container nearby that could hold water. Undeterred, Xiao Nanhui searched several nearby empty houses, but couldn't find even a vase.
This is no coincidence.
In fact, it is not difficult to understand the reason if you think about it carefully. The well is there, and even if someone watches it all day long, there will always be times of negligence. It is better to start from the water container. People who go to fetch water every day need to apply for a wooden bucket as usual and carry the bucket to fetch water.
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