After a cup of tea, Lady Yin Genjue Luo arrived in a hurry with her children, Ninth Prince Consort, and Tenth Prince Consort. The three of them bowed to Yin according to custom.
"Sisters-in-law, brothers and sisters-in-law, I'm in charge of your safety now. Go to the secret room immediately; the twins and Hafeng are already inside." Yin quickly dismissed the servants outside and led the women into the study.
Qingyan stood up and asked Sulan and Suzhu to prepare some things, hoping that these would keep everyone's meals going for the day.
"Fourth brother, are your eldest brother and the others safe?" After hearing Yin's brief instructions, Yin Genjue Luo Shi didn't dare to waste any time and quickly led the children to follow Yin.
“Sister-in-law, my brother and the others are all safe. They went there with the tenth prince’s men. Let’s hide in the secret room for a while,” Yin said, watching Su Peisheng put all the memorials into the box. “Sister-in-law, you take your younger siblings and children to the secret room first. Qingyan and I will stay in the secret study outside.”
“No, this will make you unsafe!?” Madam Yin Genjue shook her head firmly. “Your elder brother said before he left that now is not the time to avoid suspicion. If danger occurs, save your lives first.”
"Fourth Brother, that's what Master instructed too," Ninth and Tenth Prince's wives echoed.
"Don't worry, it's not because of that. We need someone to make the decision outside. The secret room is divided into two parts. The outer secret room leads to the inn's lobby, where we can buy as much time as possible. The inner secret room allows us to leave the inn directly." After opening the secret room, Yin let Yin Genjue Luo Shi and the others go in first. "Qing Yan and I will wait outside for a while. Once we've resolved things, we'll go inside and meet up with the sisters-in-law."
"Alright." Seeing the resolute expressions on Yin and Qingyan's faces, Lady Yin Genjue finally gave in.
Once everyone had retreated into the secret room, only the inn's servants were cleaning. These were all trusted confidants personally trained by Yin and Qingyan, and all of them were highly adaptable.
"Sisi, who do you think it could be?" The government actually came to arrest someone?
"Master, I'll go outside and deal with this first." The shopkeeper entered the secret room and, after hearing Yin's instructions, decided to leave.
They went directly into the main hall through the passage of the outer secret chamber. The path that the shopkeeper had taken had been blocked by Yin. The two of them changed the entrance to the secret chamber. The entrance that the shopkeepers knew had been changed. Now, going that way would be a dead end.
"Sit in your seat for a while." Yin looked at Su Peisheng and Su Lan, who left the study and stood directly at the doorway.
The sealed room is perpetually dark, so only lamps can be lit.
Qingyan drew a circle in mid-air, and the outside world appeared before them.
“These men are clearly henchmen of the Prefect of Zhili.” Yin recognized them; he had seen these guards before.
"Sisi, don't you think it's too strange that you were able to find this place?" Qingyan asked curiously.
The shopkeeper appeared in the lobby, stood behind the counter, and bowed to greet the guests.
"Master, what brings you here? You are truly a rare guest." The shopkeeper's face was full of smiles.
"Yu Zhu, I've come here on official business. Let's eat after we've finished our business." The clerk of the Zhili Prefect was a regular at the Yuelai Inn and was very familiar with the innkeeper, Yu Zhu.
"Master, what's going on? Why such a big fuss?" the shopkeeper asked curiously.
"Some people say there are rebels here, and we need to search the place," the advisor said helplessly.
Ugh!
The shopkeeper became nervous: "We're just doing honest business, we have no way of knowing the residents' information, please... don't scare me."
"Alright, we know you're doing your job. We can't do anything about it. We've been instructed by our superiors, so we can't let our guard down," the clerk said, leaning against the counter.
The shopkeeper stepped aside, and the yamen runners went into the backyard, while the clerk stood in front of the counter.
"Have any strangers come to the inn?" The clerk asked, flipping through the register on the table, which contained the registration records.
"What are you saying? There are always strangers coming and going at the inn every day. I can't possibly remember all of them," Yu Zhu said with a mournful face.
"Well, I didn't explain clearly. Is there anyone with a suspicious identity?" The clerk slapped his forehead. Innkeepers are definitely for strangers.
"No, they're all business people. Several residents from different courtyards went out today, saying they were discussing business." The shopkeeper shook his head.
The advisor didn't make things difficult for the shopkeeper. These days, who checks identities when they're stationed here?
If any oversight occurs, it certainly won't be investigated out of respect for Fourth Master.
"To be honest, I'm really worried right now. Has someone tipped us off? Or are all the shops here going to be inspected?" Yu Zhu asked, trying to find out more.
"We need to check everything, saying that the carriages came from your area," the clerk said helplessly.
The shopkeeper turned his head and quickly looked at the assistant shopkeeper.
"Look around, don't disturb the guests." The manager looked at the assistant manager. "Master, you must understand us. If the customers in the courtyard are disturbed, we'll be in big trouble."
The shopkeeper looked dejected; this was a serious matter.
"It's not a big deal, Deputy Manager. You should go to the backyard quickly. If the guards cause too much trouble, you can make amends." The clerk nodded. Running a business is not easy.
The assistant manager understood the manager's hint and quickly went into the inner courtyard.
"Also, let me ask you if your master has come here?" The clerk inquired whether the Fourth Master had passed through this area, after hearing the prefect's instructions.
The Yuelai Inn and Ninth Master's shop have joined forces, which worries the prefect, as both owners are located in Zhili.
"No, if our master comes, do you think we can still open the door to welcome guests?" the shopkeeper said helplessly.
During his southern tour, Qingyan had another habit: whenever he passed by a Yuelai Inn, the inn would close for the few days he stayed there.
"That's true..." The advisor nodded, after all, the Fourth Princess's reputation was something to be proud of.
"Ninth Master didn't come either. The news that our two shops are joining forces came from the capital." The shopkeeper was a shrewd man. When the clerk asked the question, he knew what answer the clerk wanted.
"Alright, neither of your masters are here, so you'd better be careful and keep an eye on things when you're selling salt." The clerk looked down on the salt merchants, but he really liked the gifts they offered.
"Yes, I will talk to Manager Liu." Yu Zhu nodded quickly.
Inside the courtyard, the yamen runners dared not act recklessly and could only patrol in an orderly manner. Some of the innkeepers were in the courtyard, and when they saw the yamen runners searching, they cooperated very well.
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