At the first quarter of Mao hour, the bronze clepsydra in the Lu Mansion study ticked rhythmically in the morning light, every drop striking a chord in Jiang Wan’s heart. Staring at the duplicate title deed of the Yan Family Rice Shop on the desk, her fingertips trembled slightly over the entry for "No. 35, West City"—that place was not merely a rice shop, but a lair harboring hidden daggers. "Mr. Zhou says the armory is in the rice shop's cellar?" A hint of suppressed tension laced her voice.
"Absolute truth." Lu Jingyuan slammed the confidential report from the Prefect of Shuntian heavily onto the table, the rolled edge of the parchment brushing past the candle flame. "At the hour of Zi last night, the Yan family's carriage hauled ten boxes of ironware into the warehouse, each wrapped in tung-oil cloth. They are clearly materials for forging weapons." His tone was as cold as frost, yet his eyes burned with fury.
Ren Yao pushed open the door, chewing on a candied fruit, her soft whip still damp with morning dew. Her boot soles crunched against the blue bricks. "This Princess has already had the iron cavalry surround the rice shop! Three hundred men guarding three separate routes—not even a fly could escape!" She flicked her whip, sending a candied fruit pit pinging into the bronze basin. "We're just waiting for the Prefect of Shuntian to give the order and uproot their old nest!"
Chapter 257