Thief

"The way you and His Majesty were talking made me a little uneasy, as if you were testing each other's limits!"

The new emperor stayed at the residence for one night and did not leave until the next day to return to the Weiyang Palace.

Rong Tianding and Zhang Xuezhou whispered to each other. He felt that there were many problems with some of the exchanges between Zhang Xuezhou and the new emperor, and that inappropriate answers could easily cause trouble.

"A little bit is unavoidable; it's the norm!"

Zhang Xuezhou waved his hand.

He not only served the Great Han Dynasty, but he also became close to the new emperor and the imperial palace, thus benefiting from the Great Han's fortune.

Although the new emperor and he were in a relationship of ruler and subject, there was also competition between them.

This influence sometimes led to partial conflict between the new emperor and him.

However, compared to the earlier sense of conflict, Zhang Xuezhou feels that the two are now in a very similar direction of coordination, and friction and contradictions are now minimal.

As long as he is cautious, he and the new emperor will not only be unlikely to have conflicts, but will also benefit from their cooperation due to their aligned goals.

As for what will ultimately happen between the two, Zhang Xuezhou had no idea.

But as long as he could defeat Donghua and eliminate the risks he faced, Zhang Xuezhou felt that staying away from the Great Han wouldn't be a problem, since it didn't really matter where he lived.

"Being an official is too much of a hardship. Luckily, I'll never have to be one in my life," Rong Tianding sighed.

"Being an official can also bring you benefits!"

Zhang Xuezhou chuckled and decided to check on his official duties today.

There were no idle people around the new emperor, and Zhang Xuezhou couldn't escape his fate no matter how many times he tried, and was eventually put on a post.

Zhang Xuezhou did not oppose this arrangement.

It must be said that the new emperor was indeed very clever in assigning positions.

The other party will not only consider the minister's abilities, but also whether the minister is capable of accomplishing the task and whether he is willing to submit and accept it. Moreover, the reward given by the other party is not bad.

For example, the new emperor mentioned that Zhang Xuezhou's construction of the mausoleum could be done quickly or slowly, or even not at all, and that the imperial treasury could be allocated according to past funds, leaving a great deal of room for maneuver.

Any government position that manages money is a lucrative post. As long as one doesn't become excessively greedy and keeps things within limits, Zhang Xuezhou does the work and gets paid, and the end result is a win-win situation for everyone.

Rong Tianding had witnessed Zhang Xuezhou's many difficulties as an official in the imperial court, but he had never seen Zhang Xuezhou enjoy a life of luxury. Therefore, it was quite normal for Rong Tianding to dislike official positions in the imperial court.

"Let's go, let's go to Maoling. It'll be a good opportunity for our people to learn a valuable skill!"

Zhang Xuezhou chuckled and stepped out the door first, with Rong Tianding quickly following behind.

"Do you need my protection if you go out...?"

Wei Shao'er called out, only to find that the two figures outside the mansion had completely disappeared.

"With abilities like that, what do you need me to protect them for!"

She wielded the Fish Gut Sword wildly, practicing her martial arts skills and getting used to this sharp divine weapon throughout the mansion.

When the Fish Intestine Sword flew out and struck a training wooden stake, it bounced and fell. Wei Shao'er saw that the blade of the Fish Intestine Sword was no longer hard, but had become a soft sword.

"Why are they all these kinds of swords!"

Wei Shao'er thought about the dark red longsword Huo Qubing used, and then looked at the soft sword in his own hand. He felt that not only were the people in the entire mansion acting strangely, but the weapons were also acting strangely.

She had spent the whole night playing with the sword, but she hadn't expected it to be so flimsy.

Wei Shao'er had no choice but to throw the sword back into the water vat to soak, and then find the short sword she had discarded the night before and put it on her body.

"Now that he can move around during the day, I need to go to the Imperial Academy to see the sick child. That kid is always up to no good, not at all like someone who studies diligently. Dongfang Shuo mentioned that the sick child was injured, but he denied it and even showed me his body for a checkup. There must be something fishy going on here!"

Almost everyone in the mansion had left, leaving only Dou Shisan and Dou Shisi, who were guarding the gate and courtyard. Wei Shao'er felt very uncomfortable being alone in the mansion.

The mistress, Yi Shuo, ate government-provided meals, while the master, Zhang Xuezhou, ate very casually; there wasn't even a cook in the mansion.

If Wei Shao'er wants to live a better life while protecting Zhang Xuezhou in the future, he feels he needs to contribute his own manpower and money to try to make this mansion normal again.

"First, go see the sick child, then hire two farmhands and two cooks for the mansion, then a washerwoman, then a groom... But forget it, horses are too expensive in the Imperial City District, it's better to arrange for carriages to pass through!"

Wei Shao'er went out the gate and shouted a few more times before he saw someone driving a horse-drawn carriage coming from the alley in the distance.

The carriage sped away through the alley, leaving only Dou Shisan and Dou Shisi guarding the main gate.

A shadow appeared from the corner of the wall, then quickly disappeared.

After circling around several times, the shadows kept moving closer to the main hall of the mansion, and then slipped into it through the cracks in the door.

"Who?"

Dou Shisan and Dou Shisi were Daoist practitioners. They couldn't detect a kid like Huo Qubing climbing over a wall from hundreds of meters away, nor did they dare to interfere with Yi Shuo and the new emperor. However, they could definitely hear the sounds of swords clashing in the quiet mansion.

The two of them jumped up at the same time, and in their line of sight, they saw a heavily disguised man in black carrying a sword hurriedly scaling the wall.

"Thief!"

Dou Shisan cried out in alarm and quickly pulled the alarm bell in the mansion, while Dou Shisi exhaled and ran after them.

But the two were too far apart to catch up with the man in black.

When they reached the back of the mansion's main hall, the thieves had vanished from behind the wall.

"Mr. Sima, Mr. Sima, have you seen any signs of the thief? Which direction did he go?"

Dou Shisan shouted, but there was no response from Sima Tan.

"This is bad!"

Dou Shisan looked ashen-faced, feeling that his leisurely guard duty was finally over.

Zhang Xuezhou didn't treat them well, but they weren't originally under Zhang Xuezhou's jurisdiction; instead, they were arranged by Princess Guantao's residence.

It was rare to live so close to Princess Guantao's residence, where the work was easy and there was plenty of time for cultivation. Dou Shisan never expected such a thing to happen.

"Have any of you guys seen any men in black running by?"

Behind the mansion was Princess Guantao's residence, and Dou Shisi had already been asking his companions along the way.

Hearing Dou Shisi's voice, Dou Shisan knew very well that Dou Shisi's investigation had yielded no results.

"Damn it, how dare they break into my house in broad daylight!"

Dou Shisi shouted.

The two men had guarded the gate for over ten years and then stayed at Zhang Xuezhou's residence for two more years. They had seen thieves run away at night several times, but they had never seen a thief come to steal during the day.

"Only a few schools of thought possess this kind of technique that allows infiltration in broad daylight," Dou Shisan said through gritted teeth.

"He won't be able to leave the Imperial City District anytime soon," Dou Shisi nodded.

"It's not that I can't leave..."

Dou Shisan whispered.

It's impossible for someone dressed in black to swagger around the Imperial City District. The fact that they knew Sima Tan and his group's patrol patterns and evaded the imperial historians' inspections proves either that they possess exceptional skills or that they have deep connections.

Based on the fact that they had inadvertently seen the other party, Dou Shisan felt that the other party was capable, but not exceptionally so.

This means that the latter scenario is more likely.

The thief was most likely a retainer of some high-ranking official in the Imperial City District. Dou Shisi repeatedly asked his colleagues but to no avail. Dou Shisan even suspected people from Princess Guantao's residence.