novelden Chapter 206 The entrance to the secret room
Chapter 206 The entrance to the secret room
The back garden of the Imperial Preceptor's residence.
After Lin Shu left the banquet with Chou Er, she was led by Xiang'er, a maid from the Imperial Preceptor's residence, to stroll leisurely around the mansion.
The guards at the Imperial Preceptor's residence were much more lax than usual today, as most of them had been transferred to the Flower Hall. As a result, we didn't encounter many people along the way.
As the three walked, they came to the end of a covered walkway, where a delicate carved archway stood not far away.
Surprisingly, the wall connected to this archway was slightly higher than the walls in other places, and the top was covered with many gleaming weapons. There were also four guards outside the archway.
The four men didn't react at all when they saw them approaching!
The guards were heavily guarded, yet they reacted this way. Either the contents inside weren't important, but that was clearly impossible; so it could only mean that Zhu Yao had great confidence in her guards, or rather, in the secrets hidden inside!
Chou Er also secretly gave Lin Shu a signal, and Lin Shu nodded. It turned out that this was the secret room of the Imperial Preceptor's mansion.
Xiang'er, who was leading the way, did not dare to stay here for long. She quickly strolled around and then urged Lin Shu and the other person to leave.
Lin Shu was very cooperative.
However, as soon as the three of them left the courtyard, Lin Shu expressed her desire to find a side room to rest. Xiang'er was naturally more than happy to oblige, since Lin Shu was not a talkative person, and all the way, Xiang'er's attempts to explain things to them were like talking to a brick wall... extremely tiring!
After settling Lin Shu in, Xiang'er and Chou Er stood on either side of the doorway, waiting.
Lin Shu, who was lying on the bed with her eyes closed, heard the door close from the outside. Her eyes snapped open, and she lightly rolled over and got up. She gently pushed open the window on the side, leaped out, and followed her memory back to the corner not far from the archway.
The other six people who came with Wushuang Pavilion had been waiting here for a long time. Upon seeing Lin Shu arrive, they respectfully bowed and immediately whispered the situation inside the mansion:
"Master, behind that archway is the secret chamber of the Imperial Preceptor's residence. Today is the Imperial Preceptor's birthday banquet, and nearly half of the people patrolling inside have been transferred away."
According to my subordinates' investigation, the remaining people will change shifts every half hour, with a gap of less than the time it takes to brew a cup of tea between shifts. This is the best time to enter!
"Okay, you guys spread out in various corners to provide support later. I'll come out before their next shift change. If anything unexpected happens, we'll act accordingly!"
After Lin Shu nodded, she gave an order, then suddenly leaped up, using the momentum to vault over the sharp object on the wall, and landed steadily on the grass that was half a person tall.
Lin Shu got up and was about to head towards the side room not far ahead, but as soon as she took a step, she felt something approaching from behind, accompanied by a rustling sound.
Lin Shu quickly turned around and saw a strangely shaped artificial hill and four or five towering willow trees standing there. The trees seemed to be alive, baring their fangs and claws, and their branches and vines spontaneously attacked her.
Lin Shu frowned, a hidden worry in her heart. If a fight broke out, it would surely alert the guards. No wonder Zhu Yao was so quick to agree to let her visit the Imperial Preceptor's mansion; it turned out she really could control trees!
As the vines drew closer, Lin Shu was prepared to hide at any moment. But just as they were about to touch her, the vines seemed to be frightened by something and quickly retracted, turning into ordinary willow trees in the blink of an eye.
Seeing this, Lin Shu was surprised, but dared not relax her vigilance at all. After a while, thinking that she didn't have much time left, she prepared to speed up and go to the side room to find the entrance to the secret room.
"Click..."
A small sound of a twig breaking rang out.
"Who's there? Come out!" Lin Shu said in a low voice, turning her head to look at the waist-high grass swaying in the corner of the wall, sending a chill from her feet to that spot.
A muddy finger parted the grass, revealing a small, delicate boy's face. The boy grinned, showing two dimples, and sweetly said, "Sister~"
"Ah Zhu?" Lin Shu frowned beneath her mask, puzzled. She asked coldly, "What are you doing here? Where did you come from?"
"A-Zhu came in from here!" A-Zhu's eyes shone brightly as she grinned foolishly and parted the grass in front of her, pointing to the small 'hole' in the corner of the wall as she explained.
Then her expression turned aggrieved, and she looked at Lin Shu accusingly: "Sister doesn't recognize Azhu, so Azhu is heartbroken and came to find her!"
Lin Shu looked at A Zhu's white clothes, which were covered with green grass juice and yellow soil, and then at the small hole in the corner of the wall. She couldn't help but twitch her lips.
There's another hole? But it's too small; even a petite man like Ah Zhu would have a hard time getting through.
However, Lin Shu was still somewhat surprised that A Zhu was able to follow her here quietly without alerting the Wushuang Pavilion people she had left outside!
Thinking of this, Lin Shu looked up into the other person's eyes, which were still filled with innocence and naivety, so pure! But Lin Shu felt something was strange about them.
"You've mistaken me for someone else. I have other things to do and don't have time to play with you." Lin Shu had other important matters to attend to and had already spent a lot of time on them. She didn't have time to deal with A Zhu and was about to leave after saying that.
Unfortunately, she hadn't taken more than a few steps when A-Zhu pounced on her and hugged her leg. Lin Shu could already hear the footsteps of the changing guards in the distance, and their voices turned colder:
"open!"
"Is this what you're looking for, sister?"
As soon as Lin Shu finished speaking, she heard A Zhu point to a spot in the artificial hill that was completely hidden by vines and say something.
Upon hearing this, Lin Shu looked over, a dark glint flashing in her eyes. This place was so well hidden that she hadn't noticed it even after being here for so long.
Just then, a group of guards came out of the side rooms. Only then did Lin Shu realize that the two side rooms were probably where the guards rested during their shifts. If she had gone there just now, the consequences would have been obvious!
Thinking of this, Lin Shu looked down at A Zhu. A Zhu was lying on the ground hugging Lin Shu's leg, tilting her head and blinking her eyes obediently.
Hearing the sound getting closer and closer, without thinking, Lin Shu grabbed Azhu and led him toward the entrance.
As soon as Lin Shu approached, a surprising scene unfolded: the vines blocking the entrance suddenly dispersed, and Lin Shu, without hesitation, led A Zhu into the cave.
As soon as the two went inside, the vines spontaneously closed from the outside, returning to their previous state.
At the same time, the voices of two guards could be heard from outside:
"I told you there was nothing wrong, but you insisted you heard some noise! Now we've come all this way for nothing!"
"I'm just worried someone might break in! Besides, you saw the dog hole in the corner over there!"
"What's there to be afraid of? With the clan chief's abilities, if any outsiders were to come in, they wouldn't even need us to lift a finger; they'd be long gone! And that dog hole—I heard that little rascal has returned. It's probably his doing again..."
"Fine……"
"..."
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