Despite this being the case, the two couldn’t speak the truth and only said, “Hall Master Qiao arranged for brothers to go out on business before. Who would have thought that upon returning to the city, we’d encounter this incident.”

The burly man of about thirty smiled and said, “I’m called Shi Fang,” pointing to the thin younger man beside him, “He’s Lu Xiong.”

“So it’s Hero Shi and Hero Lu. You’re both friends of our boss, which makes you friends of our entire Sitong Trading Company.” Manager Yin bowed respectfully and sighed with worry. “I heard the prince’s manor is catching fugitives. The chaos in this city – alas!”

Both men sighed along on the surface, but their hearts skipped a beat. They feared Manager Yin would say he couldn’t harbor fugitives and throw them out.

Being thrown out directly would still be considerate – what was more terrifying was being sent directly to the prince’s manor. They had both defected from the Azure Sky Alliance and were now using the Alliance’s name to seek benefits while wandering outside. If the princess consort caught them, they estimated they would die very ugly deaths.

Having been in business for many years, how could Manager Yin not see these two men’s anxious thoughts? With a moment’s reflection, he understood the key points. He pretended not to notice and said with a proper expression, “Since the situation is urgent, it’s not convenient to be elaborate now. We have a secret hiding place here that ordinary people won’t discover. Please follow me to be temporarily settled. Our boss said that any brothers from the Azure Sky Alliance who come should be treated like family, so you two must not be polite with me – just settle down here with peace of mind.”

“Good, thank you very much.”

The two exchanged glances and followed Manager Yin’s steps.

They truly had no other options now. The only thing they could hope for was that Boss Qiu would keep her word. Otherwise, with their current desperate situation – destitute and at the end of their rope – they probably had only death awaiting them.

Manager Yin led the two men to the back residence, following a covered corridor to a moon gate. Leading them through the moon gate, this was an exquisite garden that appeared completely flat and open – no lakes, no rockery, even the trees were weak-looking. It didn’t seem like a place that could hide people at all.

The two men’s hearts filled with unease as they watched Manager Yin’s back warily, not daring to proceed further.

Manager Yin noticed the two had slowed their pace but paid no mind. He walked straight along the stone brick path to some small shrubs, crouched down and felt around on the ground for a moment, as if triggering some mechanism.

With his manipulation, they faintly heard clicking sounds like mechanical rotation. A water jar in the corner of the back wall slowly moved aside, revealing an entrance below that could accommodate one person.

“Follow me.” Manager Yin walked to the entrance.

The two couldn’t help but be amazed, thinking secretly that this Sitong Trading Company truly had skills. Who would think they’d build such a secret place in a small garden that seemed like just a passageway in the inner residence?

Their suspended hearts settled down. The two walked to the entrance and tentatively looked down – a faint glimmer of lamplight showed from within.

Manager Yin smiled. “This was specially prepared by our boss. The ventilation is very good, and there’s enough food and water stored inside for ten days. It’s just that staying inside will be quite boring. Also, if you want to come out, only I can open the mechanism – otherwise, as you can see with that water jar, you can’t push it from below.”

Shi Fang and Lu Xiong exchanged glances again.

Compared to their situation of being hunted outside with nowhere to escape, the conditions here were already very good. Moreover, besides trusting Boss Qiu, they could find no other solution now.

Shi Fang said, “Good, just don’t forget that we brothers are down below, Manager.”

“Of course not, of course not. Brothers specially instructed to be cared for by our boss – how could we forget? If there are no unexpected circumstances, I’ll come deliver enough food and wine for one day every evening. Chicken, duck, fish, and meat won’t be lacking. Bedding and such are all inside – use them when it gets cold.”

Hearing they wouldn’t have to gnaw on dry biscuits, both men became even more delighted. They nodded like garlic pounders and crawled into the tunnel.

After going down, the two first looked around and found it was indeed as Manager Yin had said – two oil lamps were constantly lit, and a wooden bed that could accommodate four people sleeping side by side was indeed laid with bedding. Though the space was cramped, the environment was much better than they had imagined.

“We’re settled in! Thank you, Manager!”

The two looked up to express their thanks.

Manager Yin smiled and shook his head. “No need to be polite. You’re both friends of our boss. Oh, and one more thing you two must be careful about – keep your voices low when speaking.”

The two men’s expressions became serious as they nodded solemnly. “Yes, we understand.”

Manager Yin cupped his hands toward the two men.

The two also looked up at Manager Yin and cupped their hands, their eyes full of gratitude.

With slight mechanical sounds, the water jar filled with water slowly moved back to its original position, gradually covering the entrance.

Only after the footsteps had also gone far away did the two brothers finally let out long breaths and collapse onto the bed to relax.

They were saved…

After Manager Yin left, he didn’t dare have anyone go tell Qin Yining. Thinking that since the princess consort had arranged for people to come inform him, she must have anticipated this would happen. The more he thought about it, the more he felt the princess consort was truly prophetic – a female Zhuge Liang reborn.

After having Ji Yun deliver the message, Qin Yining contentedly “confined” herself at home. As the selected fabrics were delivered in succession, she began making shoes for Pang Xiao while sitting in her chair, and also imagined how much taller Zhao Ge’er and Han Ge’er should have grown by now, cutting and sewing clothes for them as well.

Several days passed this way. Her days remained leisurely and peaceful, but the search and capture in the city had reached a fever pitch.

Pang Xiao’s subordinates could confirm they had discovered four people at the time, but they had only killed two – the remaining two could not be found no matter what. Pang Xiao simply refused to recall the Valiant Tiger Guards and manor guards, continuing to search in the city and surrounding areas.

“Your Highness, if we continue searching like this, I fear the government office will have some opinions,” Xie Yue suggested. “Should we slightly reduce the number of troops and switch to a defensive approach?”

Originally, Pang Xiao had thought such searches would make the common people nervous. But when Xie Yue mentioned the government office would have opinions, he immediately dismissed the idea of reducing the scale.

Who was in charge of the government office? The county magistrate, of course. Lu Heng now served as county magistrate – making him unhappy was exactly what made Pang Xiao most comfortable.

“It’s fine. Lu Heng doesn’t dare do anything to me.”

Mu Jinghu had stayed by Pang Xiao’s side constantly since returning, and hearing this, he also smiled. “That’s right, I’m here with you.”

Seeing these two looking completely confident, Xie Yue knew Pang Xiao had made up his mind. He smiled and stopped trying to persuade him. After all, the conflict between the prince and the Lu family head was becoming increasingly irreconcilable – being overly cautious would be worse than simply acting according to the prince’s wishes.