Chapter 3336 Villain
Ruoshui immediately went up and knocked on the door. After a while, she heard an impatient voice from inside: "Who is it again?"
As he was speaking, the door opened.
A middle-aged man in his forties poked his head out and looked at them suspiciously. Seeing Nan Yan's elegant attire, the impatience on his face subsided a little. He simply asked, "Who are you? What do you want?"
Ruoshui lowered her voice but said confidently, "This is the Imperial Concubine. She has come to see the Xue family's situation. What do you think we should do?"
"Your Highness the Imperial Concubine?"
When the gatekeeper heard this, his face turned pale with fright and he hurried forward to pay his respects.
Nan Yan raised her hand to stop him and said calmly, "I just came to take a look, there's no need to publicize it."
The man immediately opened the door and let Nan Yan and the others in.
This man also had the surname Xue, and his name was Xue Fang. He was a distant relative of Xue Yun, within the fifth degree of mourning. After the Xue family moved away, their branch was unwilling to leave the place where they had lived for generations, so they simply stayed to look after the house. They knew the Xue family's background best, and naturally knew the relationship between the Xue family and the court, so when they heard that the imperial concubine was coming, they were naturally frightened and changed their faces, and followed Nan Yan submissively to serve.
He said cautiously, "I have failed to recognize the true master. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me. Where do you want to see? I will go and prepare it immediately."
"No need,"
Nan Yan walked in with Ruo Shui and said, "I just came over to take a look. You can just do your thing."
Xue Fang wanted to say something but hesitated. He really didn't dare to say anything more. He could only bow to Nan Yan and then carefully retreat.
Nan Yan had been here before and had a deep impression of the East and West Halls. However, the bustling scene of the past was gone. The entire hall had been emptied out, and the medicine cabinet that took up an entire wall was now spotlessly clean, presumably empty. However, a faint, barely perceptible medicinal aroma still lingered in the air, likely left by the long years of storing medicinal herbs, and it would not dissipate easily.
Ruoshui looked up at the carved beams and painted pillars in the hall and couldn't help but sigh, "This place is so grand."
Nan Yan laughed and said, "Bailong City is already wealthy, and the Xue family is a major family that monopolizes the trade of medicinal herbs from the East and the West. They even had business dealings with the Neng Kingdom back then. How could they not be wealthy?"
Ruoshui said: "Just like a local tyrant."
After she finished speaking, she immediately came to her senses and slapped her mouth: "I have spoken out of turn."
Nan Yan glared at her and said, "Try to be so presumptuous in front of the Emperor! I'll smash your mouth!"
Ruoshui stuck out her tongue, hunched her neck, and walked behind her like a young wife, not daring to say anything more. Nanyan saw that there was nothing to see in the lobby, so she walked towards a side door at the back. Ruoshui couldn't help but whisper, "Where are you going, Your Majesty? Do you know the way here?"
Nan Yan walked back while saying, "I've been here before. I came here with the Emperor to see Xue Yun. At that time, she was still the eldest son of the Xue family, but she rarely met people. Asking her to diagnose someone's pulse would cost a fortune. Actually, Cheng Jun was saved thanks to her."
Ruoshui was surprised and asked, "How can she be so arrogant?"
Nan Yan smiled and looked back at her: "Didn't you say that he was a local emperor?"
Ruoshui shrank her neck again in fear.
Nan Yan smiled and turned around to continue walking forward. As she walked, she looked at the surrounding scenery and barely found a path. She said, "Fortunately, there haven't been any renovations here. I still remember this path."
As they were talking, they went out the back door of the hall, walked around a corridor, passed through a small courtyard, and walked along the path for a while. Ruoshui suddenly said, "Look, my lady!"
When Nan Yan looked up, she saw a scorched earth in front of her.
That was exactly the courtyard where Xue Yun lived before. Nan Yan had been here once and had some impression of this place. There was a two-story building in the middle of the courtyard. It was originally an extremely elegant and quiet residence. But now, looking at it, the building has completely collapsed and is buried in a pile of charred ruins. In the middle of the entire manor, it is like a hole burned by fire on exquisite silk.
Ruoshui whispered, "Is this the place where the Xue family was burned down, as Lord Chen reported earlier?"
Nan Yan nodded slightly.
Ruoshui sighed, "It must be very beautiful. It would be a shame to burn it."
Nan Yan gave a wry smile and looked around. Apparently, after the Xue family had relocated inland, only the housekeeper remained. The entire courtyard was deserted. She slowly walked over and found the surroundings clean. The burned courtyard had likely been left untouched, with only some items cleared out. The surrounding courtyards were unaffected. Clearly, the fire had only destroyed the small building where Xue Yun lived.
I wonder if she knows about this matter while she is far away in Shu. If she does, how would she feel?
Although now thinking about it, this small building is more like an exquisite cage set up for her by her mother. It is a great fortune for Gu Ran to escape from here, but after all, it is the place where she grew up, so she may be reluctant to leave.
Perhaps because the surroundings were so quiet, Ruoshui couldn't help but lower her voice. She followed Nanyan to the burned courtyard. Even the gate to the courtyard had collapsed in half, and the surrounding walls were barely intact. She whispered, "But Madam, this place is burned down, and there's no one we recognize. What are we doing here?"
Before Nan Yan could answer, she heard a rustling sound coming from the front.
Anyone there?
Ruoshui was so frightened that she almost jumped up. She hurriedly walked in front of Nanyan to block her behind her, and shouted at the ruins in front of her: "Who is it?!"
The people inside also heard her voice and seemed startled. Nan Yan immediately saw a shadow retreat into a charred broken wall.
Who?
Unexpectedly, such a thing would happen in this quiet courtyard. Ruoshui was so frightened that she broke out in a cold sweat. At this moment, several guards who had been secretly protecting the imperial concubine not far away all jumped out. Two of them immediately rushed forward, drew their swords from their waists, and protected Nanyan and Ruoshui behind them, shouting to the front: "Who are you? Come out quickly!"
The remaining guards immediately went around the broken walls on both sides, rushed to the back, and surrounded the entire ruins.
That bad guy will definitely not get away!
At this moment, the person inside seemed to sense something, hesitated for a moment, and then said softly, "Slow down."
When they heard this voice, everyone was stunned.
Immediately afterwards, a familiar figure slowly walked out from behind the ruins.
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