HBBMAWH Chapter 46

"Wow, pants. It’s been a long time since I wore it, it looks really cool," Yan Cai said as he looked in the mirror.

From behind the screen came a voice, "Pants? What does that mean?"

"Cough, it means very stylish and good-looking."

Yan Cai tied the belt and twisted it a few times. He felt that he looked like a gangster now. He tied his hair up with a dark green satin ribbon, making his face appear even smaller.

Just from looking at his face, it was impossible to tell that Yan Cai was actually much older than Jiang Manyue. Looking at their personalities, it was even more inconceivable...

Hearing footsteps, Yan Cai admired his reflection in the mirror. When he turned around, he saw Jiang Manyue dressed in all black.

Wow. This is totally different. Just a moment ago, he thought he looked pretty good, but now he felt like a child playing dress-up in adult clothes.

"Now I don't look cool at all," Yan Cai hopped over, draping himself on Jiang Manyue, "You still look cooler. I'm not happy."

With slender arms and legs, he lost all the handsome air. Jiang Manyue, on the other hand, with his tall and broad-shouldered figure, looked like a martial arts hero

Jiang Manyue was secretly proud that his recent hard training had paid off. The bulging muscles on his chest and arms were proof of his hard training. Being admired so closely by Yan Cai fueled him with endless motivation.

Of course, the more hidden reason was the unspoken pain. Although Yan Cai's slender arms and legs looked soft and tender, they were harder than iron rods. How many times had he been knocked down by Yan Cai's slender arms, making him doubt himself?

Was he a paper tiger that would tear at the slightest touch?

Jiang Manyue pinched his own arm, feeling the hard muscles protruding slightly, gaining a bit more confidence.

However, he couldn't expose these self-doubts in front of Yan Cai. Whenever he faced Yan Cai, he always appeared calm and composed.

The two fathers were off to do mischief, and they couldn't bring Qingke along. Left alone at home, Qingke paid no attention to the two fathers dressed in black, turning his head to continue eating his rice noodles.

The baby grew up much faster than other children, and the food he ate was not limited to goat's milk. One time, Yan Cai even fed him some meat paste. Although it was only a little, Jiang Manyue still knocked him on the head. 

"Don't feed him random things," Jiang Manyue checked the baby's condition while admonishing the other father. Yan Cai snorted a couple of times. The baby was healthy; a little meat paste wouldn't hurt.

These days, they ground rice flour, mixed it with walnut powder and peanut powder, no sugar added, although rice flour itself had a slightly sweet taste. Qingke was not a picky eater; he ate everything, and there was nothing he couldn't eat.

No matter how many times they feed him milk every day, it is never enough. Every time, he would drink non-stop, and if you didn't stop him, he could keep drinking until the milk reached his throat.

It didn't seem like a devil tree turning into a spirit anymore; it was more like a little pig spirit.

Yan Cai waved his hand, avoiding responsibility, "He got it entirely from you, nothing to do with me."

"Yeah, he got it from me, all from me. He can eat and sleep so well because he inherited it from me."

Yan Cai gritted his teeth but couldn't argue.

Hong Yu, who fed the baby rice flour, chuckled. The Young Master was being bullied by Young Master Manyue again. Everyone knew that the Young Master's appetite was much better than Young Master Manyue's. The Young Master loved to eat, while Master Manyue had strong deMy Lord,es elsewhere.

Jiang Manyue teased the baby and kissed the baby's fat cheek, "We're going out."

The baby raised his fat hand, seeming to say, "Go, go." Everyone laughed. The Little Young Master was still too young; how could he understand speech? Only Yan Cai knew that he might actually mean it. Yan Cai kissed his son's fat hand, leaving a faint tooth mark. Then the two of them went out.

Zhu drove the carriage. Halfway there, Zhu went to Cuiwei Pavilion to deliver tea leaves to Zhu Yuchuan as a token of gratitude. Yan Cai and Jiang Manyue went to the backyard of the county yamen.

Jiang Manyue pressed Yan Cai's head down. Yan Cai had poor hearing, but immediately, he sensed the presence of a living being using his ability. He squinted at Jiang Manyue.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"This shouldn't be. Why are you faster than me?" He was the one with abilities. Yan Cai bit the hand that Jiang Manyue used to cover his head as a way to vent his frustration. "Your ears are too sharp."

Jiang Manyue showed a calm smile.

"Actually, it's not because I heard it."

"Um?"

"The county yamen has two shifts for patrol duty. We heard the night watchman earlier; it happened to be the shift change time." 

Yan Cai didn't ask Jiang Manyue how he knew these things. . When the patrolmen left, the two climbed over the wall.

"Let's go to the study first," Jiang Manyue said. He had been to the county yamen in Qingqu, and he remembered the room arrangements. Leading Yan Cai to the study, the two started rummaging around.

By the dim candlelight, Yan Cai's vision was sharp enough to see the content on the book covers. "Beauty Illustrations," "Eighteen Something Something"... These were all random books. Tossing them aside, Yan Cai asked, "What are we looking for?"

"Ledgers and the like," Jiang Manyue whispered. He remembered that the county yamen in Qingqu had been imprisoned for bribery during a cleaning operation, and one of the pieces of evidence was a ledger.

After rummaging through boxes and cabinets for a long time, they found nothing but a few erotic pictures.

"Didn't find anything."

"If it's not in the study, then it should be... in his bedroom."

Blowing out the candle, putting the books back in their original places, the two went to the magistrate's bedroom. The door was locked from the inside, and they could hear someone breathing. Jiang Manyue took out a bamboo tube from his body and blew in a type of sleeping smoke.

Seeing Yan Cai's curiosity, Jiang Manyue explained.

"This is a three-hour slumber. It can make people sleep until three hours after sunrise."

Fully drugging someone into a deep sleep takes a bit of time. After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Yan Cai felt that several people were approaching, probably the patrolmen. He hurriedly urged.

"Is it done? Someone is coming." He could sense several life forms getting close to them.

"It's ready. Let's go in." The two entered, just as the patrol team passed by outside the door. They crouched down, waiting for the people to walk away before standing up. Now they could openly light a candle.

County Magistrate Xu and a woman were sleeping soundly on the bed. The two started searching for things. Every time they found something; Yan Cai would express his amazement.

Wow, that’s really rich. Horses made of pure gold, beautiful figures carved in white jade, emerald cabbage...the collection is really rich.

However, he only found various valuable items and not anything useful. Yan Cai picked up a few small items such as small jade, gold, and jewelry; dealing with such a person would only make him feel distressed when he ran out of money.

"Did you find anything?" Yan Cai asked.

"Wait. Cai Cai, don't talk for a moment. I need a quiet environment," Jiang Manyue said.

Yan Cai immediately fell silent, realizing that Jiang Manyue's ear was pressed against the wall, tapping and trying to listen to something. Yan Cai quietly followed suit, leaning against a valuable display cabinet.

"Are there any secret compartments in the wall?" Yan Cai asked in a low voice.

"Still looking." Although Jiang Manyue hadn't found it yet, he remained calm.

Yan Cai covered his mouth, refraining from speaking to avoid disturbing him. He noticed the valuable items on the cabinet behind him but dismissed the idea of taking large items. Trying to find something easy to carry.

He suddenly spotted a small wooden carving on one of the cabinets. The wooden carving depicted a very kind-looking old Buddha, he couldn't recall the specific name.

But it’s very interesting, and Yan Cai want to take it down.

He couldn't move it, was it fixed? Although the color of the wooden carving and the cabinet seemed the same, he could sense that they were made from different types of wood using his ability.

Yan Cai focused on the small Buddha carving and turned it a few times

Unable to rotate it in one direction, he tried another.

Click! When he rotated it in a certain direction, there was a sudden sound, and a small hidden compartment opened.

Yan Cai quickly let go, raising both hands halfway in the air, innocently looking at Jiang Manyue as he approached.

"Not my fault, it opened by itself," Yan Cai said.

Jiang Manyue wiped his hands, stopping the wall-tapping action. Sometimes, luck was really something to be envied.

In the hidden compartment, there was a pile of miscellaneous items, and even a large stack of banknotes. Jiang Manyue didn't even glance at those banknotes, taking out a blue-covered book from the pile. He flipped it open and confirmed that it was the ledger they were looking for.

There were even some familiar names, a list of officials he knew, and they seemed to have quite a few connections. The fact that County Magistrate Xu, a small county official, had such a large number of connections indicated that he didn't rely solely on his own power.

However, these were not matters Jiang Manyue needed to handle. His task was to take this account book and give it to the right people.

"As for these banknotes..." Yan Cai made a decision.

Jiang Manyue nodded, "Take them. Since the ledger is missing, the fact that this place has been robbed is already exposed."

"Then I'll take them." Yan Cai directly hugged the money to his chest, "These are ill-gotten gains, and I won't use them."

"Then where do you want to use them then?"

"I'll tell you later..." With a clatter, an ornament on the table was accidentally knocked over by Yan Cai. Initially, the patrol thought the candle was lit by County Magistrate Xu himself, but now, hearing the noise, they found it strange. The patrolling guards outside heard the sound and several people gathered at the door.

Afraid of making a mistake, someone outside knocked on the door and asked, "My Lord,? Is there something wrong?"

Seeing the situation was not right, Jiang Manyue was about to take action when Yan Cai pulled him back. Yan Cai blinked at him, signaling him not to speak. Suddenly, Jiang Manyue thought of something...

Sure enough.

"Nothing's wrong. I got up to pour a glass of water, accidentally knocked something over." County Magistrate Xu's voice came out of Yan Cai's mouth.

When the patrol heard this and, finding nothing unusual,  he said, "Then we won't disturb My Lord,'s rest."

When the footsteps faded away, Jiang Manyue spoke, and seeing Yan Cai raising his chin to look at him with a proud and triumphant expression, he couldn't help but feel like biting him.

"Cai Cai is really awesome." Jiang Manyue praised habitually.

"It's just natural." Yan Cai coughed twice. Praise was necessary but could also make one feel embarrassed.

Even if embarrassed, the praise couldn't be lacking. If the situation allowed, he really wanted Jiang Manyue to praise him a bit more.

"Let's go back." The two of them left the county government office, and no one noticed their comings and goings.

At Yan Cai's request, they went to Beggars Alley. Yan Cai scattered all the banknotes he had collected from the county government office on Beggar's Alley, while the remaining gold items were placed in the orphanage.

"Is this the right thing to do?" Yan Cai asked with a bit of worry.

"It's right," Jiang Manyue assured him, understanding that Yan Cai was afraid of making a mistake. "That corrupt official wasn't a good person. This money didn't belong to him in the first place."

Yan Cai nodded, feeling relieved.

"To whom are we going to give the account book?" Yan Cai didn't understand. However, Jiang Manyue always had his reasons for doing things, and Yan Cai trusted him completely.

"There will be a suitable person to take over." He remembered, a special envoy from the capital would be sent to Qingqu, and that person would be the most suitable candidate.

County Magistrate Xu’s mentor was his mortal enemy, and the first name on the account was County Magistrate Xu’s mentor.

"I think someone would be happy to accept this gift."

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