After listening to the conversation, Shi Lan pushed her teacup towards Shi Yan, indicating that he should clear his throat. "Third Brother, don't worry. Our ancestor still has influence in our family matters. Here's what I'll do: I'll write her a letter, and you can take it back. As long as our ancestor agrees to the relocation, even if the other uncles are unwilling, they'll have to give you some face. As for the Liu family, don't worry about them. Go tell them that I have something they want. As long as they're willing to let our family leave, I'll offer it to them with both hands."
Upon hearing this, Shi Yan relaxed his brow and, forgetting about drinking his tea, quickly put on a happy expression.
The most senior ancestor in the Shi family is Shi Lan's great-grandmother. Shi Lan was pampered by her since childhood, and among the children of her generation, she was the one who pleased the ancestor the most. This is why Zhu Boyan chose her as his daughter-in-law.
However, recalling her later confession, Shi Yan was filled with suspicion again. "Fifth Sister, what exactly do you have that would make them willing to let go of our family's fat sheep?"
Shi Lan was amused by his self-aware description. "You don't need to worry about that. If the Liu family is interested, they will naturally come to me. Just focus on your own business."
Shi Yan blinked, puzzled. Shi Lan stood up with a smile and wrote a letter with a flourish.
Shi Yan could not stay here for long. Although he had doubts, he could only leave with the letter in his hand.
After seeing Shi Yan off, Shi Lan closed the door tightly, changed into loose clothes, and began to stretch her muscles and bones, practicing body-refining techniques.
Qingcheng is only a hundred miles away from Pingcheng. As the saying goes, "How can one allow others to sleep soundly beside one's bed?" The Liu family has always been eyeing Yuncheng and Pingcheng. During this period, they have clashed with Zhu Boyan several times, with each side winning and losing.
What Shi Lan was referring to was a map showing the distribution of Zhu Boyan's troops in the two cities.
Zhu Boyan has a habit of keeping important things at home, just like mice always like to bury their food in their holes.
The Zhu family mansion was large, but there were only a few masters. Zhu Yan would spend his days in Lanxiang Garden, being affectionate with Wang Yuan. Zhu Boyan had not remarried since his wife passed away, and he lived alone in the main courtyard. Shi Lan's Qinglan Courtyard was only separated from the main courtyard by a small garden.
Zhu Boyan originally wanted his son, who was always away from home, to be closer to him, so he decided to set up the new house in Qinglan Courtyard. However, he did not expect that Zhu Yan would come back, but with a woman by his side. Even if he was asked to find a wife, he would not get what he wanted. Instead, he was asked to go to Xianglan Courtyard, which was even farther away from him.
Shi Lan gritted her teeth, enduring the excruciating pain, and moved slowly and deliberately, while pondering when to sneak into Zhu Boyan's study to steal the troop distribution map.
A few soft knocks came from outside the door, and Tan Yue's voice came through the crack in the door, "Young Madam, it's time for dinner."
Shi Lan turned her head, and the dim sunlight shone in through the window covered with a thin gauze, the warm hue dispelling the chill in the room.
"Prepare water, I'm going to take a shower first," Shi Lan said, straightening up after completing the last action, slightly out of breath.
The lunar probe departed in response.
A moment later, the sound of water came from next door. Shi Lan got up, took a shower, and changed into dry clothes, feeling much lighter.
After the meal, the servants cleared the food from the table. Tan Yue sidled up to her and whispered, "Young mistress, the young master has gone to Xianglan Garden again."
"Alright, don't talk to me about him anymore," Shi Lan frowned, picked up her teacup and took a sip. Her long, thick eyelashes drooped, making it impossible to see the expression in her eyes.
Tan Yue pouted, twisting her clothes with a look of dissatisfaction. "Young Madam, your repeated concessions will only make them more arrogant. You don't know, today when I went to serve the meal, that wretched girl Xiang Xue not only stole your portion, but also said that it was the young master's order that your portion be switched with Aunt Yuan's from now on."
"Alright," Shi Lan put down her teacup, the blue and white porcelain cup making a crisp clinking sound. Tan Yue pursed her lips and lowered her head, not daring to continue speaking.
Shi Lan reached out and touched her forehead, knowing that Tan Yue was just standing up for her. She had no choice but to patiently explain, "This is not the Shi family home. If we fight over something as trivial as food, the warlord will only think that I am being unreasonable. It would be better to take a step back and reduce the conflict between us."
In her memory, that's exactly what the original owner did. Shi Lan didn't want to attract too much attention. Anyway, their days of laughter were numbered, so she decided to let them be smug for a while.
For several days in a row, Shi Lan stayed obediently in her room, quietly practicing her body training and silently making her body more flexible and agile.
After several days of busy military affairs, Zhu Boyan led his troops on an inspection tour.
That evening, Shi Lan dismissed Tan Yue and lay quietly on the bed, silently planning the route to the main courtyard and the escape route back.
Time passed slowly, and the outside world gradually became quiet and still.
Shi Lan found the clothes that the original owner had secretly given to Zhu Yan, changed into them quickly, then tied her long hair, which was like a waterfall, into a bun and secured it with a strip of cloth. Then she quietly slipped along the veranda outside the courtyard towards the main courtyard.
The main courtyard was heavily guarded, and there were also vigilant sentries watching over it.
Following her memory, Shi Lan walked along the veranda to the back wall of the main courtyard, where only two soldiers were patrolling back and forth.
Shi Lan took out a handkerchief, covered her head and face, and as the two turned around, she darted over and gently waved her hand.
The two young soldiers blinked dazedly, not even having time to look at their comrade, before collapsing to the ground.
Shi Lan looked around warily. A gentle night breeze blew, and all was quiet except for a few stars twinkling faintly in the dark sky.
Shi Lan stared intently at the wall, which was more than two meters high, rubbed her hands together, took a few steps back, and leaped up, her slender white fingers instantly gripping the wall.
The wall was made of large blue bricks stacked together. Shi Lan carefully stepped on the slightly uneven wall surface and climbed over it little by little with great effort.
The servants' quarters were next to the wall. Shi Lan nimbly jumped down like a raccoon, tiptoed around the row of houses, missed the patrolling soldiers, and quietly made her way to the small side window behind the main house from the shadowy corner of the wall.
Zhu Boyan comes from humble beginnings and likes to be practical in his dealings with people, a trait that is also reflected in his lifestyle.
Logically speaking, even if a warlord like him wanted to show off his status, he should have had a separate study to handle official business. However, Zhu Boyan thought it was too troublesome, so he put his study for handling official documents together with his bedroom for resting. This way, he could go to sleep directly after he finished his work.
There were two small side windows at the back of the main courtyard. Shi Lan followed her memory to the side closest to the study, gently pushed it, and found that it was not closed properly, which surprised her.
The sound of orderly footsteps grew closer in the distance. Shi Lan glanced to the side and saw that the patrolling soldiers were walking in their direction.
Shi Lan's heart skipped a beat. Ignoring the sudden warning that surged within her, she opened the side window and nimbly jumped inside.
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