Who put the yellow robe on me?

When Jiang Chen heard this, a glimmer of satisfaction flashed in his eyes.

He turned to Zhong Xiaodan and said, "Second Young Master, gather your men and surround the ancient house behind the tax treasury. Let's search that house! The strange thing is in that house!"

Zhong Xiaodan's eyes flashed with excitement upon hearing this. He nodded without hesitation, his voice firm, "Yes! I'll do it right away!"

With that, Zhong Xiaodan strode out of the chamber without hesitation. Seeing him emerge, the soldiers outside straightened their backs, awaiting the general's orders. Zhong Xiaodan glanced around sharply and announced, "Everyone, listen! Immediately dispatch three teams to surround the ancient house behind the tax treasury. No one is allowed to enter or leave!"

"Yes!" the soldiers responded in unison and took quick action.

Jiang Chen stood in the secret room, his eyes flickering slightly, as if he was thinking about something. Xiong Zhiheng coughed lightly and asked in a low voice, "Your Highness, why are you so sure that the Thirteenth Princess is in the ancient house? What if she has already noticed and moved away?"

Jiang Chen's lips curled up slightly, with a hint of coldness in his eyes: "If they could really move, they would have taken action long ago. The fact that they haven't taken any action yet can only mean that they don't have enough time, or that they simply don't dare to act rashly."

Xiong Zhiheng nodded slightly and sighed in his heart that Jiang Chen was indeed extremely perceptive.

At the same time, Zhong Xiaodan had already deployed his manpower and led a team of elite soldiers towards the ancient house.

However, just after Zhong Xiaodan led his men into the ancient house, a man in black quietly came to the Minister of Revenue's residence.

"Lord Cao!" the man in black said in a low voice, his voice a little hurried, obviously he came here at full speed.

Minister of Revenue Cao Shouku was sitting in his study, his face gloomy and his eyes deep as a well. He slowly raised his head, glanced over, and asked in a low voice, "How's it going over there?"

The man in black looked solemn and whispered, "Zhong Xiaodan has already led his men into the ancient house behind the tax and silver vault!"

Upon hearing this, Cao Shouku's pupils shrank slightly, and his fingertips trembled slightly. Then he stood up suddenly and said in a low and rapid voice: "What? How did he know? Who leaked the news?"

The man in black knelt down, his voice filled with anxiety: "I killed everyone who knew about this. It wasn't one of our people who leaked the news!"

Cao Shouku's face was gloomy and uncertain. He was silent for a long time. Finally, he sighed, with a hint of helplessness in his tone: "Alas... I didn't expect it would come to this."

His eyes were deep, as if he had foreseen his own end.

The man in black hesitated for a moment and asked in a low voice, "Sir, should we inform His Majesty the Ninth Prince?"

Cao Shouku pondered for a moment and nodded: "Notify them, but I'm afraid it's too late."

He let out a bitter smile and thought to himself that no matter how capable the Ninth Prince was, it would be difficult for him to turn the tables in the face of absolute evidence.

"Let's prepare to run away too." Cao Shouku said in a low voice, looking at the night outside the window with complicated eyes, as if he saw his own end through the darkness.

However, just as the two were talking, a burst of hurried footsteps came from outside the door, and then a butler rushed in panting, his face full of horror.

"Master! It's not good!"

Cao Shouku frowned and scolded coldly, "What are you so flustered about?"

The butler knelt on the ground, his voice trembling, "His Highness the Sixteenth Prince's guard, Zhou Liangwei, has brought two teams of people and surrounded the Minister of Revenue's residence!"

"what?!"

Cao Shouku's face suddenly changed, and he slammed the table. With a bang, the teacup fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.

The man in black also had a changed expression, his fingers trembling slightly: "Sir, what should we do?"

Cao Shouku closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then slowly opened them. His eyes were deep and determined. "What else can we do? Let's see how Jiang Chen will act."

Zhong Xiaodan led his men to the ancient house and without stopping for a moment, he gave the order: "Break the door!"

"Yes!"

The soldiers rushed forward quickly, and several strong men swung huge trees and hit the closed door. With a loud "bang", the door of the ancient house suddenly cracked and wood chips flew everywhere.

Under the shroud of night, the old house looked even more eerie. The courtyard had been abandoned for so long that weeds grew everywhere, moss spread to the steps, withered vines clung to the walls like ghostly claws, and the dilapidated windows creaked in the wind, like ghostly whispers.

The soldiers advanced slowly, holding torches. The firelight reflected on the walls, casting flickering shadows that were chilling.

Zhong Xiaodan drew his sword, glanced around sharply, and whispered, "Be careful, this place is definitely not easy."

At this moment, a strange smell came from the air - a peculiar fragrance, faint and with a hint of sandalwood, but mixed with a hint of blood.

Xuanyuan Feiyan frowned, stretched out her hand to stop Zhong Xiaodan who was about to step into the main hall, and whispered, "Wait a moment."

Zhong Xiaodan paused, turned around and looked at him with a questioning look in his eyes.

Xuanyuan Feiyan walked forward slowly, squatted down, and gently stroked the ground with her palm. Then she narrowed her eyes and said, "There's a mechanism here."

Before he finished speaking, she suddenly leaped up, her clothes flying, and she jumped directly onto the roof beam. She landed lightly on a beam and tapped lightly with her fingers along the beam. The sound she made was surprisingly hollow.

A sneer flashed in his eyes, and he immediately pulled out his dagger, thrust it into a hidden crevice, and thrust it hard—

"Click!"

A dull sound was heard, and then the roof beams slowly sank, revealing a secret passage!

The soldiers were immediately shocked. Zhong Xiaodan sneered, "There really is something fishy going on!"

Xuanyuan Feiyan rolled down and looked at Jiang Chen fiercely, her tone firm: "Your Highness, I can conclude that this place is full of traps. Entering rashly will inevitably lead to great dangers."

Jiang Chen narrowed his eyes, pondered for a moment, and suddenly chuckled: "But we have no way out, right?"

He turned to look at Zhong Xiaodan, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, revealing a sharp smile: "Second Young Master, in this case, break it."

Zhong Xiaodan laughed: "Haha, that's exactly what I want!"

His eyes were gleaming with fighting spirit. He then drew his long sword and waved his hand, "Everyone, listen up! Don't rush in. General Xuanyuan, you go ahead. We'll help you crack the trap!"

Xuanyuan Feiyan nodded, his eyes scanning the secret passage before him sharply. He took a deep breath, and with a light leap, he entered the passage as lithe as a swallow. Jiang Chen and Zhong Xiaodan followed closely behind, followed by Xiong Zhiheng, and several agile soldiers.

The secret passage was pitch black, with only a few torches burning faintly on the wall, illuminating vague patterns on the wall. They seemed to be some ancient formation patterns, with a mysterious and strange atmosphere.

Xuanyuan Feiyan squatted down, gently stroking the ground with her fingers, a strange look in her eyes: "The dust here doesn't look like it's been left uncleaned for a long time, which means someone comes in and out frequently."