Exile? A mad, wicked woman empties the national treasury to escape famine.

Normally, only the prefect resides in this county government office. Other officers and soldiers usually return home at night. Sometimes a few might stay behind to patrol the office, but they all live in the outer courtyard and do not enter the inner courtyard.

It's almost 1 a.m., who's still awake? Are you wrapped up too tightly?

Thinking this to himself, he walked towards the room without thinking. He slowly came to the door, stretched out his finger, poked a hole in the window paper on the door, and pressed his head against it.

Surprisingly, the house was bustling with activity, with men and women dancing and drinking. The table was laden with delicacies, and the atmosphere inside was lively.

The man sitting at the head of the table was slightly overweight, with a large, protruding belly. He was dressed in official robes and was currently enjoying the food being fed to him by the two women in his arms. His hands were also wandering over the two women's bodies, and he was smiling lewdly.

The men below were dressed in the uniforms of government soldiers. The same soldier who had come in to report to Bao Taiyan at the city gate today was among them.

Ji Yunshu...

damn it.

She thought that Bao Taiyan wouldn't be a good official, but she never expected that, in the current environment, he would dare to lead his subordinates to eat, drink, sing, and dance in the county government office!

What a good official!

The innkeeper had told her that the magistrate of Dongyang County was known for his integrity and incorruptibility. In order to save expenses, he did not even own his own residence and lived directly in the county government office, claiming that he could serve the people 24 hours a day!

Be a good public servant!

Now it seems that he used the county government as a cover to do these despicable things!

After all, this is the county government office. Apart from those who come to report to the authorities, no one else usually comes here. It's a great place to pass the time!

She withdrew her gaze and continued to search the government office. Since Bao Taiyan usually rested in the government office, his valuables must also be there.

Taking advantage of the dark and windy night, she quickly went in and out of the government office, searching several rooms in a row, but found nothing.

When we passed the woodshed last time, we found that a room next to it was locked.

Moreover, the lock used was large and sturdy, of excellent quality. It was clear that there was a lot of stuff in this room. The fact that such a good lock could be used to secure it meant that it couldn't be a piece of junk.

She pulled a silver needle from her spatial storage, inserted it into the keyhole, and turned it left and right. With a click, the lock opened.

During her past life as a secret agent, this lock-picking skill was a must-learn. Later, she frequently broke into people's houses to steal...

No, wait, that's not right.

When he frequently entered people's houses to steal things, it was as if he were in an empty house.

She entered the house, gently closed the door, locked it, and pretended it was still there. Then she took out a flashlight from her storage space.

With the flashlight on, the room was clearly visible: cabinets of all sizes were piled high like small mountains, and shelves to the side were overflowing with countless treasures, ornaments, and silks.

Ji Yunshu was dazzled by the sights, but didn't waste any time. With a thought, she stored everything into her spatial storage. Before leaving, she noticed two enormous jade lions piled up in a corner.

The lion is pure white and translucent, with a faint white light. It is clearly carved from two pieces of fine and complete jade, and the shape of the lion is also carved to be lifelike.

Both lions had a large character carved on their bellies. When Ji Yunshu looked closer, she realized it was the character "肖" (Xiao).

She paused, looking at the words in front of her. They seemed strangely familiar, as if she had seen them somewhere before.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind. She remembered that the mansion where the official had taken them before, where someone had died, had a lantern with the character "Xiao" on it.

Although the character "肖" had faded slightly after years of exposure to the elements, she still noticed it.

Ji Yunshu looked at the character "Xiao" in front of her, which kept overlapping, separating, and overlapping with the character "Xiao" on the lantern at the entrance of the mansion.

What happened?

If she wasn't mistaken, these two jade lions were originally placed on the left and right sides of the entrance to the Xiao family mansion.

She used to see on TV that wealthy families always liked to display some precious objects on both sides of their gates. How did these two jade lions end up in Bao Taiyan's storeroom?

Just as she was wondering, a slight sound came from outside the door. Ji Yunshu's alarm bells went off. She quickly turned off the flashlight in her hand, put the jade lion in front of her into her spatial storage, and then came to the front door.

As the person approached, the door, which had been tightly closed, creaked open a crack.

Ji Yunshu paused, quickly dodging into the shadows. With a thought, she gripped the short knife she had used earlier, her eyes fixed on the warehouse door.

Could it be that she was noticed when she entered the warehouse?

That shouldn't be possible. As a special agent, she should have that much vigilance. She clearly checked the area when she came in, and there was no one around.

She gripped the dagger tightly, her body in an offensive stance.

If the person who came in actually found her, she would kill him with a single blow using the dagger in her hand!

A foot crept in furtively, and a figure quickly slipped into the storeroom. Just as the door was closed behind him, a sharp dagger was pressed against his neck.

"Stop! Who are you? What are you doing here in the middle of the night?" Ji Yunshu asked in a low voice.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness, is that you? I am Xie Mu."

Xie Mu's voice was also a little hoarse. In all his years as a bodyguard, this was the first time someone had a knife to his neck.

Ji Yunshu...

"Xie Mu?"

"What are you doing here?" she asked, somewhat puzzled.

But in the blink of an eye, as if she had thought of something, her eyes narrowed, and her tone became somewhat displeased.

"Follow me." Xie Mu was Xie Moyao's personal bodyguard, and his presence here must have been at Xie Moyao's behest.

Xie Mu quickly waved his hand, "No, Your Highness, I'm not here to follow you. I'm here on the Prince's orders to protect you. The Prince was worried that you might encounter trouble if you went out in the middle of the night, so he sent me to help you."

"But, Your Highness, you're too fast! By the time I came out, I couldn't keep up with you anymore. The last time I saw you was when you climbed over the back gate of the county government office into the inner courtyard, so I followed you in." He quickly explained.

The princess's tone and eyes were terrifying.

If he doesn't explain himself clearly and causes any misunderstanding with the prince and princess, the prince might kill him.

He had been staying in the shadows these past few days and could clearly sense that the princess meant something different to the prince, at least not like when they first got married. The princess now held a much heavier place in the prince's heart.

Ji Yunshu was skeptical. "Are you telling the truth? He sent you to protect me?"

Oh my.

This is a cycad blooming.