Chapter 33 More than a hundred concubines
Shen Shu felt a pang of pity and looked at Lin Wei.
Looking at Shen Shu's expectant eyes, Lin Wei said helplessly, "Then let's go together."
The woman was overjoyed, but also a little worried: "The Prince Cheng's mansion is heavily guarded, how are we going to get out?"
Lin Wei: "You don't need to worry about that."
He then instructed Shen Shu to blow out the candle in the woman's hand.
The next second, Lin Wei knocked the person unconscious.
Shen Shu's eyes were filled with shock: "What does Your Excellency mean by this?"
Lin Wei bent down and hoisted the woman onto his back: "It's easier to keep her unconscious than awake."
However, right now, rather than saving Fang Lanzhi, he wants to verify something.
Lin Wei: "Let's go to the West Garden."
Shen Shu froze. She could hardly forget this place because in her previous life, she had been carried to the West Garden.
Lin Wei thought she was confused and continued, "If what she said is all true, then the remaining women are also in grave danger, and I cannot sit idly by."
He wasn't unaware of his uncle's character, but the truth was far different from what he knew.
If the Imperial Uncle truly treats human life so lightly, Lin Wei cannot stand idly by and must report to His Majesty to save these innocent people.
As Lin Wei was thinking, he glanced at Shen Shu and saw her crying.
Lin Wei: "...Were you moved by my noble and righteous spirit?"
Shen Shu nodded and wiped away her tears.
What she was really thinking about was why she hadn't met Lin Wei in her past life.
If she had met him in a past life, he would definitely have saved her too.
Shen Shu said, "We should hurry, there's no time to lose."
He paused, then said, "If we really want to save them, I'm afraid it will alert people. Does Your Excellency have any good ideas?"
Lin Wei: "I must reveal my identity and then report this matter to His Majesty."
However, this would escalate the situation and could damage the royal family's reputation, potentially leading to a difficult situation to manage.
Shen Shu didn't want to put Lin Wei in a difficult position: "I do have a solution, but we need to find Pei Jiming first."
Hearing Pei Jiming's name, Lin Wei felt that unpleasant feeling well up up again.
He wondered if he could come up with a better solution.
Shen Shu: "My lord, let's go to the West Garden first. If Pei Jiming hasn't been captured, he'll come and meet us later."
Lin Wei: ...The promised chance encounter?
Shen Shu smiled sullenly and led the way.
The guards in the mansion were all chasing Pei Jiming in the front yard, so the guards in the West Garden were naturally much more relaxed.
Shen Shu and the other two quietly slipped into the West Garden. It was late at night, and apart from a few candles for lighting, the rest of the West Garden was extremely dark.
Only the delicate gauze curtains inside could be vaguely seen. Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that there were no walls at all; the partitions were all made of gauze.
This place was probably specially built to make it convenient for Cheng Wang to have fun.
Shen Shu tried her best to suppress her fear and was about to ask Lin Wei how to gather the remaining women when...
Lin Wei threw the woman carrying him to the ground, his voice filled with anger rather than authority: "Come out, all of you, the prince wants to see you."
Shen Shu: .....Did you learn to be so direct from Pei Jiming...?
As soon as he finished speaking, many women holding candles emerged from behind the dim gauze curtains.
"You...you are guards? Why are you dressed in night clothes and your faces are covered?"
"Perhaps it was ordered by the Prince. Didn't he say that the Prince has been fond of having people wear strange clothes lately?"
Lin Wei and Shen Shu: ...
Only then did everyone notice the person lying on the ground, and they were terrified: "Isn't this...isn't this Sister Xia Xi! Could it be...could it be that she was also...by the Prince..."
"Sister Xia Xi is already dead, is the Prince still not satisfied? Does he still want to summon us?"
Lin Wei took in the expressions of those around him and knew that what Xia Xi said was true.
His tone was devoid of much emotion: "You're all here? Are there any other women?"
The women who emerged from behind were quite frightened, glancing out every now and then, seemingly very nervous: "Could it be that the Prince is going to summon us all to serve him...?"
Shen Shu couldn't listen anymore and said directly, "Can't you tell that we're here to rescue you!"
The women: ...
Seeing their lack of reaction, Shen Shu asked, "What? Aren't you excited about this news? You don't want to leave?"
The women were not unexcited.
It was because a young master had just arrived and said he wanted to rescue them.
Just as they were packing their valuables, preparing to leave with the young master, Lin Wei and Shen Shu arrived.
They were quite frightened, thinking that their escape was about to be discovered.
Little did they expect that these two were also there to rescue them.
From the dim light, Pei Jiming emerged, covered in soot and carrying a shovel.
The situation became a little awkward for a moment.
Shen Shu was both surprised and delighted, and asked three questions in a row: "Young Master Pei? Didn't you go to distract the guards? What are you doing here?"
Pei Jiming showed the hammer in his other hand: "I smashed through several walls as I ran, and I managed to shake them off by running around the garden."
"I've been looking for you all for a long time, but I couldn't find you. That's how I found my way here. I wanted to find Miss Fang, but I heard that she was sold to a brothel. I was thinking of leaving here first, but they all begged me to take them out. But I don't know martial arts. I was thinking of digging a hole in the wall in the backyard so that we can all leave."
After listening, Shen Shu felt that Pei Jiming was a really reliable person.
"Is the hole dug?"
Pei Jiming replied with great pride, "Of course."
Lin Wei's cold gaze swept over, and Shen Shu shivered.
Shen Shu felt that this place was not a good place to stay for long, and that it was better not to waste time: "In that case, let's go quickly."
The women were overjoyed, but some still noticed Xia Xi.
"Since the three benefactors are together, what about this Miss Xia Xi... Is she... still alive?"
Just when she was about to escape this hellhole, Xia Xi was incredibly unlucky; at this critical juncture, she was attacked by the prince…
After all, they were sisters who had suffered together, and the women couldn't bear to part with her. They thought that even if she was a corpse, they had to take her out with them.
Shen Shu explained, "Don't worry, she just fainted. We deliberately said that the prince summoned her just to lure you all out."
He patted Xia Xi's face to wake her up.
The women were moved to tears of gratitude: "We will never forget the great kindness of our three benefactors."
After saying that, they followed Pei Jiming and escaped one by one through the hole in the corner of the wall.
Lin Wei and Shen Shu naturally came in last.
Shen Shu paused for a moment, then said, "There's something else I'd like to do. Could you please help me, Lord Marquis?"
Lin Wei lowered his eyes, meaning, "Tell me about it."
Shen Shu: "I'm going to set this place on fire and burn it all down."
Lin Wei: "Okay."
Shen Shu was somewhat taken aback. Did Lin Wei agree with whatever she said?
Lin Wei took out a tinderbox from his sleeve and threw it into the curtains in the West Garden. The flames shot up instantly.
The West Garden was covered with curtains and gauze, and in no time, the fire spread rapidly.
Shen Shu felt it was time to leave, as the fire would likely attract people soon, so she also wanted to crawl out through the hole that Pei Jiming had dug.
But Lin Wei grabbed her by the back of the neck, and in the next second, Lin Wei carried her over the wall and landed steadily outside.
Pei Jiming looked at Lin Wei, feeling resentful: So what if you have martial arts skills?
Shen Shu was deeply moved to see Pei Jiming still waiting for them outside: "Young Master Pei, you have been a great help today."
Pei Jiming: "It's nothing, Miss Shen, there's no need for thanks."
Shen Shu didn't dare to exchange too many pleasantries with Pei Jiming in front of Lin Wei, and looked around: "Where are those women?"
Pei Jiming: "I've told them to find a good place to hide, and they'll leave the city first thing tomorrow morning and never come back."
He then looked at the thick smoke billowing from the Prince's Mansion behind him: "Well done."
The firelight illuminated half the night sky, and the commotion from Prince Cheng's mansion grew louder as it approached, mingling with the shouts of guards and the clanging of gongs signaling the fire.
As Shen Shu gazed at the sea of fire, the humiliation and fear of being imprisoned here in her previous life seemed to burn away with the flames, and a sense of exhilarating pleasure arose in her heart.
Lin Wei said in a deep voice, "Let's leave first."
The three of them took advantage of the darkness and hurried along the quiet alley.
As they walked, Shen Shu asked, "If Prince Cheng discovers that the women are missing and the West Garden has been destroyed by fire, he will definitely conduct a thorough investigation. What should we do next?"
Lin Wei continued walking: "Shi Feng has been secretly following us. He has collected evidence, and tomorrow the Marquis will present the incriminating evidence to His Majesty. As for us, we only need to return to our residence and observe the situation."
A hint of surprise flashed in Pei Jiming's eyes, deeply feeling Lin Wei's cunning: "So the Marquis was prepared all along? Since Guard Shi Feng had been following us the whole time, why did you have me, who doesn't know martial arts, distract them at Prince Cheng's residence just now?"
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