Upon hearing that she wanted to move the cabinet, Jing Er spoke up.
“Miss, I’m coming in.”
“Mm.”
Jing Er opened the door and entered, a worried expression on her face as she hurried forward. “The cabinet is very heavy. Let this subordinate move it instead.”
The next moment, Jing Er’s words froze in her mouth as she watched the young lady lift the entire heavy dressing table half a meter off the ground, take two steps, and place it three meters away before clapping her hands briskly.
Her eyes widened involuntarily.
The young lady’s strength had suddenly become so great. If it weren’t for the fact that she still knew about the Hidden Passage in the General’s Mansion, Jing Er would have suspected someone was impersonating her!
Xie Zhizhi felt around for the hidden compartment nearby, tapping the wall and stepping heavily on the floor, which produced a hollow, clanging sound beneath her feet.
Found it—under the floorboards.
She pried open the floorboards, revealing a pitch-black hole.
“Wait here for me. I’ll be back soon.”
Jing Er furrowed her delicate brows, holding her longsword, and said worriedly, “What if there are villains in the study? How about this subordinate accompanies you?”
Xie Zhizhi, who had already leaned into the Hidden Passage, turned back with a sly smile, as brilliant as a poppy, and whispered:
“Then let them experience a roller coaster in the clouds! If the Dog Emperor’s decree arrives before I return, wait for me at the carriage area. I’ll make it there safely to meet you.”
“Oh, and remember to restore the Hidden Passage to its original state.”
After saying this, she quickly ran along the Hidden Passage toward the study.
“This subordinate understands.”
Jing Er stood there, wondering: What is a roller coaster in the clouds?
She couldn’t help but think of the black-clad man who had been stabbed and then sent flying into the sky earlier, feeling a sense of schadenfreude.
Had the young lady perhaps encountered some extraordinary opportunity?
And hadn’t the young lady said she would tell them the reason in a few days?
With a stern face but a rich inner world, Jing Er was already looking forward to what the young lady would tell them.
Inside the Hidden Passage.
Xie Zhizhi took out a high-power flashlight and made her way to the end of the passage.
She pushed against a thick wooden board above her head and turned a wooden box beside her, clearly feeling the cabinet outside move away.
Ancient mechanisms were truly fascinating.
Once the cabinet outside had shifted, she pushed open the wooden board above her and smoothly emerged from the Hidden Passage.
Lowering her head to brush off the dirt from her clothes, she glanced around the room.
In the spacious study, the desk, painting table, official’s hat chair, bookshelves, plant decorations, and more—each item was elegant and refined, neatly arranged, exuding a strong scholarly atmosphere with a faint, refreshing scent of ink.
Xie Zhizhi didn’t know where the military map might be, relying only on her intuition. She walked a few steps to the painting table, behind which hung a portrait of the Original Host.
In the painting, a woman sat alone on a long chair, with the study as the backdrop. She was dressed luxuriously, her demeanor dignified and graceful, her eyes bright, her features exquisite and ethereal, smiling faintly. She looked very much like Xie Zhizhi.
She rummaged through her Space and pulled out a clothes hanger, using it to take down the hanging painting.
Then, she flipped the painting over and felt it—there were two layers of paper on the back.
What could be inside?
She gently peeled open one layer of paper without damaging the painting.
Carefully, she retrieved a letter from the thick center of the scroll.
In her memory, this letter had been placed inside by Xie Zongyi when he painted the portrait of the sixteen-year-old Original Host, right in front of her. He had said she could only retrieve it on her eighteenth birthday.
She had only guessed whether there might be clues here.
Xie Zhizhi carefully rolled up the painting and placed it on the painting table. Then, she opened the letter and read the words on it.”Daughter, dig open the middle of the hidden passage, and you’ll find the armory key. That is your dowry. Protect yourself well, and don’t trust the royal family too much. Your father only asks you to stay vigilant. Your father and brother will return as soon as possible.”
What on earth?
It’s just an armory key.
Probably, he was afraid that the Original Host would marry while he was still stationed at the border and unable to return, so he left the armory key behind.
Given how the Third Prince disliked the Original Host, he would likely do everything in his power to obstruct the marriage, making it far from easy.
Then I’ll have to search the study again.
The Original Host’s daily expenses were always provided by the steward, always more than enough and never lacking. In this era, being treated almost like an only daughter, she was truly fortunate.
Never mind, I’ll just get the key first.
Xie Zhizhi slipped back into the tunnel, estimated the approximate middle section, put on a high-powered headlamp, and started digging with an entrenching tool.
In the hidden passage, a woman dressed in ancient attire was digging with a modern headlamp on her head. If Xie Zhizhi saw herself, she would absolutely laugh to death.
Thanks to her great strength, she pried open large chunks of soil, and within less than a minute, she dug up a wooden box the size of a lunchbox.
Found it.
Using the light from her headlamp, she violently yanked the lock open with her hands. Inside was a key and a thick stack of parchment.
Without examining it closely, she closed the lid and stored it safely in her Space.
She returned to the study once more.
Silently glancing at the books in the study, she thought that in three days, a massive hailstorm would destroy everything here.
So… it’s safer to stay in my Space.
Hehe, come on in. With a single thought, all the books on the shelves were swiftly collected into the Space.
I’ll search for the map later.
The bookshelf shouldn’t go to waste either—take it!
That official’s hat chair looks like top-grade golden nanmu wood, very valuable—take it!
The desk is sturdy too—take it!
The painting table is intricately carved, antique and exquisite, worth collecting—take it, take it!
Soon, the hundreds of square meters of the study were completely empty, not even sparing the potted plants by the door.
Suddenly, harsh shouts and the clamor of maidservants came from outside, followed by the crisp, rapid sound of footsteps.
“Tap, tap, tap”
Have the soldiers arrived already?
The book mentioned that the ones coming to confiscate the property were the first lackeys of the Dog Emperor—the imperial guards led by the Liu brothers.
She turned around, concealing the traces of the hidden passage. As she closed the lid, a sly smile suddenly curled at the corner of her mouth.
Earlier, while passing through the woods, she had collected something interesting…
Within ten seconds, she completed a grid duplication, pulled out a sack of curled-up black-and-white little creatures, and tossed them all into the hidden passage.
She loosely covered the wooden board and, just before the door opened, silently chanted “enter Space.” The next moment, Xie Zhizhi’s entire body vanished from the study.
This was her first time entering the Space since its latest upgrade, and she discovered an additional mirror that could accurately show the situation outside and be moved around with a thought.
This was one of the functions she had imagined!
Not long after.
Sounds of soldiers surrounding the servants and guards came from outside, accompanied by their furious roars. Xie Zhizhi listened carefully to their words.
Outside the house.
Upon hearing that the general and young master were dead, the nine clans were to be exiled, and the young lady’s engagement was annulled with orders for her immediate execution—The stewards, guards, and servants who were forced to their knees all looked up in shock, glaring fiercely at the imperial guards commander. Men of unyielding spirit twisted their shoulders, trying to break free from the restraints, their hearts boiling with overwhelming fury.
One after another, they roared hoarsely.
“What? Execute on the spot? On what grounds!”
“The general is dead? How could he die?”
“You cannot kill the young lady! The general was wronged!”
“The general is dead? The young master is dead too? Then the only remaining bloodline of the general is the young lady! The young lady must not die!”
“The general dedicated his life to Daxing, guarding the borders year after year to protect the nation. How could he betray the country and join the enemy? Wronged! This is a wrongful accusation!”