Chapter 251: Found

Chapter 251: Found

Xin You stepped forward to examine the seals carefully and saw no traces of them being opened.

"Miss, do you know this family?"

An old voice came from behind. Xin You turned around to see an elderly woman with white hair.

"I'm Miss Ji Cailan's friend. What happened here, Grandma?" Xin You asked, pointing to the sealed gate of the Ji family.

The old woman sighed. "They were implicated by relatives and got into trouble. The men were sentenced to hard labor, and the women became slaves to the state. Miss, you should leave quickly and not come back. If the officials catch sight of you, you could be in trouble."

Xin You looked horrified and grief-stricken. "How could this happen so suddenly?"

"Who could have foreseen it? They were such a good family," the old woman continued.

Xin You listened, playing along, and learned from an outsider's perspective about the day the officers came to arrest the family. She also found out that thieves had visited the Ji family before her.

"That young thief was really bold, daring to climb the wall in broad daylight," the old woman said, pointing to where the thief had climbed over and then to her own door. "I was sitting at my front door resting. The thief thought I was asleep."

Xin You looked shocked. "That’s pretty bold. But was the thief caught?"

The old woman hesitated and vaguely replied, "I didn’t see the thief take anything, and there’s no one left in the Ji family now."

It was a family in trouble; who would want to get involved unnecessarily?

"Miss, you should leave quickly. The Ji family has had bad luck. Last year, the brother and sister-in-law of the Ji family's daughter-in-law passed away, and now it's the Ji family's turn within a year."

Xin You thanked her and left quickly.

The fact that thieves had visited the Ji family during such a sensitive time suggested they weren’t just ordinary thieves.

By nighttime, the waning moon was obscured by clouds, with only a few stars visible. Auspicious Square was dark, with all the houses having extinguished their lights.

Xin You, familiar with the route, came to the third house in Cat Alley. After observing her surroundings, she nimbly jumped over the wall.

The courtyard was as dark as outside. Xin You pressed herself against the wall and remained still, taking her time to adjust until she could barely make out the scene in the courtyard.

The yard was a bit messy, with a clothesline still holding a few washed garments. One had fallen to the ground, making it look like someone was lying there.

Xin You had been to the Ji family home before, so she headed straight for the main room, using her sleeve to shield a small copper lamp she had brought for light. The dim light was confined to a small area, just enough to see nearby objects without worrying about the light leaking outside.

This was the east room where Ji Cailan’s parents used to sleep. The drawers and cabinet doors had clearly been rummaged through, appearing quite disordered. But Ji Cailan had mentioned that the officers who arrested her family hadn’t thoroughly searched their belongings.

After searching, Xin You went to the west room.

The west room had a bed against the wall, seemingly unused, with the room almost entirely filled with miscellaneous items. The room was even messier, with scattered old cotton quilts, a book with missing pages, and an overturned clothes chest.

Xin You’s gaze fell on the bed board. She lifted it and felt inside, touching a hard object. Pulling it out, she saw it was a square wooden box.

Although she guessed this wasn’t the box she was looking for, she still opened it to check. Inside were a few scattered pieces of silver and some copper coins.

Xin You returned the box to its place and left the central hall, skipping the east and west side rooms as she made her way to the kitchen.

The east side room was occupied by Ji Cailan’s two brothers, and the west side room was where Ji Cailan and Zhou Ningyue stayed. Naturally, Miss Ji wouldn’t hide anything important in her children's rooms.

Ji Cailan had told her that her mother’s hiding places were in the east and west rooms, the kitchen, and the firewood shed.

In contrast to the chaos in the main rooms, the kitchen was remarkably tidy. Xin You raised the lamp to survey the area and made her way directly to the hiding spot Ji Cailan had mentioned.

It was a brick on the wall opposite the stove, which looked no different from the surrounding soot-covered bricks but was actually movable.

Xin You reached out and knocked on it, determining from the sound that she had found the right spot. With a little force, she pulled the brick out.

Inside was a tiny space, where a rectangular box lay quietly. The box was small and had a tiny lock hanging on it.

A look of joy appeared in Xin You's eyes.

This must be it.

Xin You carefully put the box away, replaced the brick, and was about to leave when she suddenly stopped and quickly blew out the copper lamp.

In the darkness, her hearing sharpened, and she could pick up the light but steady footsteps approaching the kitchen without any hesitation, as if the person knew someone was there.

Calmly, Xin You pulled out her dagger, assessing the identity of the newcomer.

It might be someone searching for Zhou Tong’s box, or it could be the Jinlin Guard.

Considering Ji’s mother’s unexpected death and the appearance of someone wanting to ransom Zhou Ningyue and her cousins, it wouldn’t be surprising if Lord He, being cautious, had sent someone to keep an eye on the Ji family.

Xin You leaned towards the latter, which was also the main reason she remained calm.

The footsteps stopped.

Outside, the sparse stars barely lit the tall, straight figure.

After a brief silence, a familiar voice spoke: "Miss Kou."

Xin You emerged from her hiding spot and relit the copper lamp.

The light illuminated their faces, allowing them to see each other clearly.

He Qingxiao looked at the black-clad girl casually holding a dagger and asked with a smile, "Did Miss Kou know I would come?"

"I figured Lord He would have someone watching this place."

"Does Miss Kou have any findings?"

"I believe so."

Since Lord He had discovered her identity and chosen to keep it a secret, they were bound to be allies. Xin You had no intention of hiding the existence of this box from He Qingxiao. "Let's discuss this in the house."

It wasn’t convenient to talk elsewhere, and just in case the box found wasn’t the right one, they could continue searching.

The two walked into the main room and entered the west room.

The cluttered west room offered ample cover, making it easy to conceal the dim light.

Xin You surveyed the room and perched herself on the overturned clothes chest.

He Qingxiao’s eyes twinkled with amusement as he knelt on one knee.

"I learned from Miss Zhou that Zhou Tong had left behind a box, which was kept by his sister. It should be this one." Xin You took out the small box.

He Qingxiao reached out and took it, tapping the lock hanging on the box.

"Shall we open it?"

"Open it and let's confirm."

He Qingxiao reached into his sleeve and retrieved a thin piece of wire from somewhere. After working on the lock for a few moments, the lock opened.

He moved the box slightly farther from Xin You and slowly opened the lid.

Nothing unusual happened—no poisonous gas or hidden weapons sprang out. Inside were some papers.

Xin You held her small lamp closer to examine them.

"Just a moment, Miss Kou."

He Qingxiao took out a pair of very thin leather gloves, put them on, and then carefully picked up the contents of the box.

Inside were two letters and a narrow slip of paper.

Under the dim light, they carefully examined each sheet of paper.

Xin You stared at the signature on the letter, which clearly read "Dong Sheng." Although the note contained just a few words, the information made her hand holding the lamp tremble slightly.