"Miss, you said it yourself, you must remember it."
As soon as Nalan Mingzhu opened her mouth, Hailing corrected her: "Mingzhu, don't call me Miss anymore. You are no longer my servant. Don't forget your identity. You are a princess of Nanling Kingdom. Actually, I shouldn't have brought you out. I should have left you in Beilu to marry my brother."
Upon hearing this, Nalan Mingzhu shook her head: "Miss, you have always been my Miss."
"I already told you not to call me Miss. So how about this, from now on you call me Ling'er, and I'll call you Mingzhu. We're like sisters, and besides, you'll be my sister-in-law from now on."
Hai Ling remembered Nalan Mingzhu's engagement to Ji Shaocheng. Although Mingzhu was with her for the time being, she would send someone to escort her back to the Ji family mansion in Beilu to get married after Jiang Batian was killed.
She didn't know that Nalan Mingzhu had already told Ji Shaocheng that she wouldn't marry him, so as soon as she finished speaking, Nalan Mingzhu's face flushed slightly, and then she spoke with a hint of bitterness in her heart.
"Ling'er, I will not marry General Ji."
"Ah, why?"
Hailing couldn't understand why Mingzhu didn't want to marry him. Her brother was a good man, and any woman who married him would be very lucky. He wouldn't take concubines, which would save the woman so much trouble.
"Actually, the night I left Beilu, I told General Ji that my marriage with him was off. I have seen very clearly during this period that General Ji does not want to marry me, and I do not want to force him."
"So, did my brother agree?"
Hailing raised her eyebrows and asked in confusion. In her heart, she thought Mingzhu and her brother were a good match. Her brother was upright and Mingzhu was kind. Wouldn't it be good for two people like that to be together? But it's hard for outsiders to comment on matters between two people. In love, it's hard to say who is better and who is a good match.
Hailin is very open-minded about this. At least the two of them need to have feelings for each other before they can be together. Otherwise, it would be unfair to Mingzhu and her brother.
Hailin was deep in thought when Mingzhu nodded: "He agreed."
Thinking of Ji Shaocheng, Mingzhu felt sad, but she didn't want Hailing to see it, so she smiled.
However, Hailin and Mingzhu were like sisters, so how could she not see through her insincerity? Thinking of this, she reached out and held Mingzhu's hand: "Mingzhu, my brother is a very upright person, but he is a bit slow when it comes to matters of love. I think he will figure it out. You are his ideal partner."
"Forget about this, Ling'er, you should read your book."
Nalan Mingzhu didn't want to dwell on such a pointless matter; she was more focused on taking good care of Ling'er.
Hailing responded and continued reading, but in her heart she was still wondering if her brother would like Mingzhu.
That evening, the head of the Southern Hall, David, returned with his men. Shi Mei and Shi Lan also returned, as did Shen Ruoxuan. It turned out that he had also gone to inquire about the Liu family. The information gathered by the three groups became much more complete. Moreover, the head of the Southern Hall, David, had injured a servant of the Liu family and disguised himself to infiltrate the residence. After a whole day, they finally figured out the situation inside the Liu family.
The Liu family wasn't large; I heard there were only two proper masters: Young Master Sima and Madam Liu. This pair of masters were exceptionally handsome, a perfect couple. However, I heard that Young Master Sima had lost his memory and didn't concern himself with the affairs of the household. Madam Liu managed everything. Not only was Madam Liu beautiful, but she was also very capable, and most importantly, she adored her husband, Young Master Sima.
The Liu family had many servants, including maids, old women, and a number of guards. These guards were all quite skilled in martial arts and were stationed throughout the Liu family mansion to provide protection.
Hailin listened to this information, nodded in agreement, and then smiled and spoke.
"Now that we have information and a map, let's go to the Liu residence tonight. Since they are rich, there must be many valuable things in the mansion. We, the Shadowless Pavilion, can take some out and put them to good use."
"Yes, young master."
David, the head of the Southern Hall, accepted the order. Hai Ling instructed him to go and make arrangements. Tonight, everyone should gather in front of the back gate of the Liu residence and enter the residence together. David accepted the order and went out to make the arrangements.
Inside the room, Hai Ling looked at Shen Ruoxuan and asked, "Do you want to go out for fun tonight?"
This was originally a matter for Wuyinglou, and it didn't matter whether Shen Ruoxuan went or not. However, Hailing believed that his enthusiasm must mean he wanted to go to the Liu residence, since they had been quite bored lately.
"Of course I have to go, otherwise why would I be so eager?"
Shen Ruoxuan smiled, but Shi Mei glared at him and gave a cold snort as a warning: "Don't you dare ruin our plans."
As soon as she finished speaking, Shen Ruoxuan exclaimed, "Would I ruin your plans? Would I?"
Not only is Shen Ruoxuan a highly skilled physician, but he is also extremely skilled in martial arts. How could he possibly hold someone back? Shen Ruoxuan was very depressed, his face dark and gloomy. Hai Ling looked at the two of them, feeling both annoyed and amused. It's true that enemies are destined to meet. Shen Ruoxuan has always been unable to do anything about Shi Mei, and Shi Mei always likes to target Shen Ruoxuan, perhaps without even realizing it herself.
"Alright, Mei'er, he'll be fine. Let's make our move tonight."
"yes."
After Hai Ling spoke, Shi Mei fell silent. Shen Ruoxuan, beaming, moved closer to Shi Mei, his smile as radiant as a flower: "Mei'er, I'll protect you tonight."
"Pah! Who needs your protection? Remember, tonight your responsibility is to protect the Empress. As long as the Empress is alright, you're fine. Otherwise, I'll skin you alive."
As soon as Shi Mei finished speaking, Shen Ruoxuan turned to look at Hai Ling with a surprised expression: "Master, you can't be serious, you're going too."
Hai Ling laughed, stood up and stretched her limbs, and nodded: "I'm about to go crazy from being cooped up, of course I'm going, otherwise why would I go through all this trouble?"
She was just bored, which is why she had the idea of robbing the Liu family mansion, so naturally she went. However, Mingzhu couldn't go; she didn't know martial arts, and if she went, it would definitely alert the Liu family.
Thinking of this, Hailing looked at Mingzhu and instructed, "Mingzhu, you stay at the inn."
"But I'm worried about you."
Mingzhu looked at Hailin, not very happy.
"I'll be fine. I'll leave two people with you in the inn. If the innkeeper or waiter comes up, just tell them we're resting and don't let anyone disturb us."
"good."
Seeing that she had something to do, Mingzhu thought she was still useful, so she agreed. She knew that she had no martial arts skills and that if she went to the Liu residence with Ling'er and the others, she would definitely be a hindrance. It would be better for her to stay at the inn and keep the innkeeper and waiters in line for them. That way, if something happened at the Liu residence, the innkeeper and waiters could prove that they had not left the Anmanlou Inn.
With that thought in mind, Mingzhu reminded Hailing, "Be careful."
"Okay, everyone go back to your rooms and rest. We'll move out at 1:15 AM."
"Yes," everyone left and went back to their rooms to rest. Shi Mei and Shi Lan stayed in Hai Ling's room to serve her. The two of them took turns keeping watch at night to prevent anyone from hurting their mistress.
At 1:15 AM, several people got up and jumped out of the third-floor window together.
Although Hai Ling was wearing Fire Cloud Boots, Shi Mei was still worried about her, so she and Shi Lan took turns leading her from the third floor and jumped down. In the dark night, the group was extremely excited and headed towards the Liu residence together.