A life of leisure is worse than a life of flowers and splendour

They returned to the main hall, and soon the emperor's personal eunuch came over to tell them, "The emperor has some matters to attend to, so he won't be coming. My dear ministers, please leave once you've had your fill."

What do you mean by "eat and go"? They're not going to kick anyone out. No one's still eating and drinking here, so they packed up and left. They're all smart people, apparently. Of course, except for the two families in trouble, the two families were summoned by the Queen as soon as they learned who was in trouble in the house. Du Shuangshuang imagined the scene after the two families arrived, which must have been quite exciting.

It's true that the ordinary public is privy to what goes on in the palace. However, this only appears to be superficial. People are always curious, especially those who enjoy gossip. Even if no one dares to discuss these matters publicly, private rumors and gossip spread unchecked, and unless someone from the imperial family intervenes, no one can stop them. But judging by the emperor's reaction, it doesn't seem like he'd be willing to intervene; he might as well be hoping the two of them will die of worry.

Not only were members of the royal family, palace maids, and eunuchs present, but also the Du family. Also present were the Second Young Master Su and his guards, along with several curious ministers and wives. Wherever you are, there are always those eager to watch the action unfold. Although the Du family and the Second Young Master Su had already left the scene, Du Shuangshuang knew the truth. Not only did she know the entire story, she even personally escorted the two female protagonists to the scene.

Du Shuangshuang thought that this banquet was already quite exciting and the way back should be smooth. However, when they were almost at the general's mansion, they encountered a group of assassins. Although they did not have ten thousand swords, they had hundreds of arrows, all of which pierced the carriage. Although no one was injured, it was very disgusting.

A group of people, lying in ambush on both sides of the road, immediately retreated after firing a wave of arrows. Du Shuangshuang wanted to chase them, but was stopped by the old man. Du Shuangshuang gritted her teeth in anger. The old man took an arrow and handed it to the second son of the Su family's car. What else could Du Shuangshuang say? Even her not-so-worldly mind knew what was going on. My goodness, this Su family is really not simple. This is a naked warning. Others couldn't see those people retreating, but Du Shuangshuang could see it. In her spiritual sense, she saw that everyone was agile. Without the help of spiritual power, she would definitely not be their opponent.

She said that this was the first time she had encountered an assassination attempt at the feet of the emperor in the capital.

After returning home, the entire Du family, except for Second Aunt, gathered, drove the servants out, and locked the doors and windows. Du Shuangshuang detailed what had happened in the palace and discussed leaving. Of course, Du Shuangshuang didn't hide the fact that they had raided several warehouses. The palace should be very busy tonight, and Du Shuangshuang was also planning to raid the eldest prince's mansion. Du Shuangshuang showed everyone the gold, silver, jewelry, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, leaving some for Grandpa to guard, and Du Shuangshuang kept the rest for herself, after all, Grandpa's storage bag could only hold a limited amount of things.

After some discussion, they realized that with something like this happening and the palace being robbed, the city might be locked down. They hadn't decided where to go yet, so they decided to hold off on rushing. This was a good time to plan their future. Uncle Du had actually wanted to leave a long time ago; living in the capital was too cramped. Even becoming a chivalrous knight would be more comfortable than his current situation. However, they also needed to test Aunt Du's situation; they needed to give him some time.

As for the Su family's warning, it was handed over to the Second Young Master Su. If he couldn't handle it well, there would definitely be no future. After seeing the arrow, the Second Young Master Su said nothing and left the capital with his men without even entering the General's Mansion.

Back in the courtyard, Du Shuangshuang changed into her nightgown and visited the eldest prince's palace. As expected, the eldest prince had not returned. What Du Shuangshuang didn't know was that after everyone left, the Queen's palace was robbed, and then it was revealed that the palace of the virtuous concubine was also robbed. Everyone hurried to check their own palaces and storehouses. This investigation was unexpected, and it turned out that there was nothing left in the emperor's private storehouses, both open and hidden.

The palace was in an uproar. The emperor didn't bother to punish the two people involved and simply threw them into a palace and put them under guard.

By this time, everyone except the two families involved had left the palace. The entire palace was sealed off and a thorough investigation was conducted. The emperor was furious, and the Dali Temple official was urgently summoned to the palace to investigate the case just as he arrived at his doorstep.

As for the eldest prince's mansion, the eldest prince naturally stayed in the palace. The mansion was heavily guarded, but compared to the imperial palace, it was just so-so. In the imperial palace, he could come and go freely without disturbing anyone, and the same was naturally true here.

In one hour, Du Shuangshuang cleaned up the eldest prince's mansion thoroughly. Except for the storeroom, every room, especially the study, was cleaned up thoroughly, leaving no paper behind for him.

Although the eldest prince does not have a princess or concubine yet, he still has several personal maids and concubines. Although these people have some items in their hands, Du Shuangshuang did not take them. After all, these people do not have much in their hands, and they have no choice but to be related to the eldest prince.

However, the officials of the eldest prince's faction still knew something, and they naturally could not let go of these people's houses. These people only took over their warehouses. It was really tiring to put everything into the space.

Fortunately, there is the Duyuan Marquis, whose family is not very good, so I might as well go and patronize them. On the way, I also patronized the two properties of the eldest prince's mansion, the largest jewelry store in the capital, Fuyao Building, and Qianyi Pavilion. They are the same, except for the floor tiles and wall coverings.

It was late in the night when Du Shuangshuang returned to her courtyard. She gently pushed open the door and stepped into the yard. Moonlight streamed down, illuminating her slightly tired yet contented face. Tonight, she had pushed her agility to its limits, running across nearly half of the capital. Every leap, dodge, and sprint filled her with immense exhilaration. It felt like a bird soaring freely through the air, light and agile.

With continued practice, she found herself becoming increasingly proficient in this form of movement. The once complex movements became natural and fluid, as if her body were one with the air. She could react swiftly, effortlessly avoiding obstacles and dangers. Every movement was precise and perfectly timed.

She marveled inwardly at the growing ease with which she practiced this technique. It not only gave her speed and agility, but also an indescribable sense of freedom. In that instant, she seemed to understand why martial arts masters sought to attain the highest levels of skill, for only through this could they truly experience that unfettered state.

At this moment, Du Shuangshuang became more determined to leave here. Regardless of the support of the Su family or not, she would leave here to look for clues about her parents and go out to see the wider world.

Confined to the small world of the general's mansion, I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to make a bigger breakthrough in my life.

Go out and maybe you will find an opportunity for a breakthrough.

Moreover, the people around him, except for grandpa, second uncle and cousin, seem to have spiritual roots. If there is a chance, he can bring them to practice immortality together. But for now, he is not sure whether he will lend a hand to help them. After all, grandma was also a cultivator. Why didn’t second uncle practice? It would not be easy for him to practice if he wanted to.

The next morning, news of a series of thefts spread throughout the capital, all occurring between late night and the early hours of the previous day. These thefts affected not only the homes of several officials but also two prominent businesses. This unnerved the people of the capital, who feared their property was at risk. For a time, the capital was in a state of panic, and everyone felt a sense of insecurity.

To prevent the thieves from escaping the city, the imperial court ordered the city gates sealed, allowing only entry but not exit. This prevented the thieves from escaping the capital even if they wanted to. At the same time, the imperial court increased patrols within the capital, deploying more soldiers and detectives to patrol the streets to ensure the safety of the citizens.

With the increased patrols, the streets of the capital became noticeably quieter. People no longer wandered freely, instead avoiding going out to avoid unnecessary trouble. Meanwhile, the Dali Temple, the Imperial Guard, and the patrol battalions outside the city joined forces to investigate and search for the perpetrators and stolen property. They launched a comprehensive search throughout the city, leaving no stone unturned, hoping to quickly locate the thieves and recover the stolen property.

However, after much effort, while the thief wasn't found, a number of other criminals were unexpectedly apprehended. These included some street thugs and a prominent fugitive. These unexpected gains didn't satisfy the court. The emperor's expression grew increasingly grim, and his subordinates grew increasingly nervous.

For a moment, the entire court was filled with a tense atmosphere. Everyone was on high alert, as if facing a formidable threat. They knew that in this sensitive period, even the smallest mistake could have serious consequences. Therefore, officials acted with extreme caution, not daring to let their guard down, fearing that a single mistake would become the target of wrath. This fear enveloped everyone, making the atmosphere in the court extremely oppressive and depressing.

Because of such a major incident, it's unclear whether Princess Yuancheng and her companions' story was intentionally or genuinely forgotten. Even if someone remembered, they wouldn't dare to bring bad luck upon themselves. As for their family, Princess Yuancheng's mother was Princess Shuhua, the current emperor's half-sister, but their relationship wasn't particularly close. The late emperor had previously favored Princess Shuhua's mother, and the emperor's mother, the late empress, and the emperor had suffered considerable resentment from them, leading to a lack of affection for Princess Yuancheng. After this incident, Princess Yuancheng had already been abandoned by her family, so who would stand up for her now? Princess Yuancheng and her maid were imprisoned with the fat man Song Qingshu, wearing only a coat and a cloak to barely cover them. Du Shuangshuang had deliberately shredded her clothes when removing them, leaving them unrecognizable. The cloak behind her was a spare change of clothes found by another maid.

At first, Song Qingshu was a little scared, but then, seeing no one coming to stop them, he became more and more presumptuous. He wondered what the consequences would be, not to mention that with a beautiful woman in front of him, he was no gentleman. The last two days of Princess Yuancheng's life were predictable. No matter how much she cried and screamed, no one came to save her. She was tortured by a fat man who not only possessed her body, but also tortured her in various ways. Her body was covered in bruises and purples from head to toe, leaving not a single piece of healthy flesh.