After hearing what the fat chef said, Fourth Master was not willing to linger for a moment longer. He immediately led his men, dragging the fat chef along, and rushed to the tavern.
Meanwhile, Lady Li stayed with the Third Prince, watching as the red rash on his neck and face gradually subsided. His fever also broke, and Lady Li, having stayed by his side until the early hours of the morning, began to feel exhausted. She had hoped that the Fourth Prince would at least come to check on the Third Prince's condition, but even as she felt unbearably sleepy, the Fourth Prince did not come to see her once.
"Consort, you should go back and rest. I'll stay here and watch over you," Mingyan said. Since Madam Li wasn't sleeping, the others couldn't possibly go to rest either; Xiangqiao and Que'er were yawning incessantly nearby.
"I'm so tired. Why doesn't Fourth Master come to check on me? I'll send someone to find out where he's resting first thing tomorrow morning!" Li Shi rubbed the bridge of her nose and came out of the Third Prince's room with Mingyan's help.
Meanwhile, Fourth Master had already arrived at the tavern with his men once again. Although the manager was worried about the fat chef, he wouldn't stay up to wait in the middle of the night. He had already washed his hands and feet and was sleeping with his wife.
Just as he was snoring, there was a sudden, loud banging on the door. The shopkeeper's wife woke up first, listened intently, and sure enough, someone was banging on their front door.
At his wife's call, the shopkeeper got up without complaint, then put on a coat, took a kerosene lamp, and went downstairs in his shoes.
"Who is it~ Fatty, is it you who's back? If you're not back, why are you here~" The shopkeeper thought it was the fat chef and opened the door while cursing.
Before he could even open the door, it was kicked open from the outside. Before he could even curse, he saw several dark figures escorting a man in a dark blue brocade robe as he entered. The fat chef followed shortly after.
Why are you back again?
"Are you the manager here?" Fourth Master asked coldly, staring at the manager. His expression could freeze any living thing.
"Yes, yes, I am. What are your orders, sir?" Even if the shopkeeper was not very perceptive, he knew that the man in front of him was someone he absolutely could not afford to offend, and he answered immediately, trembling.
"Did any foreigners come to your shop today? They were wearing our clothes, but they weren't our people. Do you remember what they said or what they looked like?" Fourth Master asked, staring at the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper thought for a moment, then looked at the portly chef, who gestured at him. Suddenly remembering something, he quickly said to the Fourth Master, "A few foreigners did come today, but the one in the lead sat in our window seat on the second floor. There were also a few who seemed to be wielding broadswords on the street ahead. Later, they brought in two young ladies and went upstairs. After that, I don't know anything. You know, with so many customers in the shop, I can't just keep an eye on them."
"Do you still remember what those people looked like? Was there anything particularly memorable about them?" Fourth Master pondered for a moment before asking.
"The leader had a full beard and a hooked nose. The other men behind him were all burly and strong, and one of them had a large mole on his brow," the shopkeeper said, gesturing as he spoke.
The Fourth Prince suddenly said, “Go to the post station. Those people are not of our race. According to the laws of the Qing Dynasty, no tavern or inn may easily accept foreigners without a post station pass.”
“Master, it’s the middle of the night now, and the people at the inn are probably all asleep. How about tomorrow?” Su Peisheng suggested cautiously. He was genuinely worried as he looked at the Fourth Master’s determined expression, as if he wouldn’t give up until he found Princess Lanqin.
"No, I must find her before sunrise, otherwise the news that she is not in the manor will spread immediately," Fourth Master said.
My goodness, Princess Niu is truly something else! She went on a private trip, and not only did the Fourth Prince not reprimand her, but he's even trying to protect her reputation!
So, our Fourth Prince, along with his men, rode like the wind to the government office in the capital that issued travel permits to foreigners.
As expected, the government office was pitch black, but the Fourth Prince didn't care. He simply had someone knock on the door and then revealed his jade token of identity as a prince. The people at the post station had never seen such a chariot before and immediately went to report to the manager. Usually, these managers lived in the post station, so finding one wasn't difficult.
The steward had never seen the Fourth Prince before, but he recognized the jade token on the Fourth Prince's head. So he asked the Fourth Prince excitedly what had brought him here so late at night.
Fourth Master repeated the shopkeeper's words and then said to the steward, "Go and check immediately to see if they have any travel permits or passes for these people. Bring them to me right now."
The steward had to receive countless foreigners who came to our Great Qing Dynasty every day. When he suddenly heard the Fourth Prince say this, he had some impression of it. He immediately ordered his subordinates to check the list of people recorded in the past few days. As a result, he actually found several people who matched the Fourth Prince's description.
“Minto, Mengdou, Abahai, Weige, Geerdan!!!” Fourth Master read out the names on the list, and his eyelids twitched suddenly when he read the last few words.
How can it be that the name is exactly the same as the Khan of the Dzungar tribe? Is this Galdan the same as that Galdan?
"Where do they live?" Fourth Master asked eagerly.
"These people are very generous. They don't stay in hotels or the places provided by the inn. They rented a large villa in the south of the city, in the Fengtai area," the manager said.
"Take me there immediately, quick. Don't ask anything you shouldn't know; this is a good thing for you." Fourth Master coldly blocked the steward's questioning gaze.
Not only that, the Fourth Prince also ordered the steward to summon some soldiers from the Green Standard Army to go with him. Although the steward couldn't figure out what the Fourth Prince was up to, he didn't dare to ask any questions and did as he was told.
Before long, Fourth Master led his men to a villa in Beiba Hutong, Fengtai. It was pitch black inside. Fourth Master held up a gas lamp and personally showed his men the layout of the entire villa.
"You all go and keep watch at the back door. No matter who makes a mistake, you must get some for me, understand?" Fourth Master instructed the row of soldiers.
The steward led the soldiers to block the back door, while the Fourth Master led his guards to ram the door open.
Those inside were naturally awakened by the noise outside.
Lanqin and Nianxue had already woken up, but they were currently locked inside and couldn't go out. Seeing that it was pitch black outside, the two decided to wait until dawn.
"Princess, look at the commotion, is it Master coming to save us?" Nianxue was so frightened when she first woke up that she almost cried, but Lanqin comforted her, saying that Fourth Master would definitely come to save them.
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