Reminded by Jiaoyue, Shen Li and Hanyue both recalled that effeminate actor in a pink robe with makeup on his face.
A shiver ran down Shen Li's spine. "What does a theater troupe need so much black cloth for? And they're buying quite a lot!"
Shen Li pointed at the words "Lianyuan Theater Troupe" above and asked.
Hearing Shen Li's question, Hanyue shook her head. "I was afraid of attracting too much attention, so I didn't dare to inquire too much. I have no idea about the background of this Lianyuan Theater Troupe."
Hearing Hanyue say this, Shen Li didn't take it to heart. Instead, she comforted her. "Although this piece of cloth is of great significance, finding out about it is like looking for a needle in a haystack. You've been working hard these days. Take a few days off in the mansion."
Hearing this, Hanyue looked at Shen Li in surprise. "Miss! Just give me a few more days, and I'm sure I'll find new clues! Please don't give up on me!"
In the Night Shade Division, when a spy is ordered by the master to rest, it implies that the master has given up on that spy.
So when Shen Li told Hanyue to rest in the mansion, her first reaction was that she had become a discarded pawn.
Shen Li knew she must have misunderstood and patted her on the shoulder with a smile. "Silly Hanyue, you're overthinking! I see that you've been busy running around these days. Although this matter is important, it's not that urgent. Those mansions are all in the capital and won't move. I thought you could rest for a few days while I sort out my thoughts!"
"I have no intention of giving you up!"
Seeing Hanyue's skeptical look, Shen Li suddenly found Hanyue quite cute. "Mingyue, tell her!"
Hearing this, Mingyue stepped forward and walked beside Hanyue. She wanted to put her arm around Hanyue, but unfortunately, she was almost a head shorter than Hanyue and couldn't reach. So she had to settle for grabbing her arm.
"Hanyue, this is the Shen Mansion, and we're by the miss's side, not in the Night Shade Division! When the miss tells you to rest, it's because she understands how much you've been running around these days. She doesn't see you as a discarded pawn!"
Hanyue looked at Shen Li's affirming gaze, then turned to see Jiaoyue and Mingyue both smiling. She finally let out a sigh of relief.
But she still said firmly, "Miss, I don't need to rest!"
"Haha! You may not need to rest, but your body does! Listen to me. Stay in the mansion these two days and have a good sleep. Don't go anywhere."
Shen Li told Hanyue to go and rest well. But that night, she changed into a black night suit and quietly left the Shen Mansion under the cover of darkness. She didn't notice that a dark shadow also left the mansion right after her.
Shen Li came out tonight to investigate the matter of that piece of cloth. Although she had comforted Hanyue not to be in a hurry, she knew that this piece of cloth was the only clue to finding the black - clothed men they had encountered at Panhu Village that night.
Shen Li had studied the lists in advance. She didn't expect to find a clue all at once tonight. She planned to proceed step by step. Instead of going to the mansions of the officials first, she came to the north of the city, a place full of all kinds of people.
There has always been a saying in the capital: "The east is for the noble, the west for the rich, the south for the poor, and the north for the chaotic." It means that in the east of the capital are the mansions of noble families and royal relatives.
The south is where the wealthy merchants live. The common people live in the south, while the north is a place where brothels, gambling houses, theater troupes, and wandering acrobats gather.
According to the list she had memorized, Shen Li first went to a gambling house. Even though it was late at night, the gambling house was still full of people. The room was noisy, and there were black - clothed thugs everywhere.
Seeing their black clothes, Shen Li had an idea. She silently counted the number of thugs in the gambling house and estimated how much cloth they would need for their clothes. Then, by comparing it with the amount of cloth the gambling house had bought on the list, she could tell if they had any extra cloth for other purposes.
After a quick mental calculation, Shen Li found that the numbers were about the same. Presumably, those clothes were for the thugs. Afraid of being discovered, Shen Li quietly left.
Then she went to two other places but found nothing. Just as she was about to go back home and come again tomorrow, she suddenly remembered that the Lianyuan Theater Troupe seemed to be nearby.
It was almost across the capital from the Shen Mansion to here. Since she had come tonight, why not go and take a look? It would save her a trip tomorrow.
With this thought in mind, Shen Li flew towards the location of the Lianyuan Theater Troupe.
After the night watchman struck the third watch, he saw a dark shadow flying by. At first, he thought he was too sleepy and had misseen. But after rubbing his eyes and opening them, he saw another black - clothed figure flying overhead. He felt a chill run down his spine and ran away as fast as he could.
It was past the third watch, the time when people were sleeping soundly. When Shen Li stood in the yard of the Lianyuan Theater Troupe, she found it was very quiet all around. Unlike the gambling houses and brothels she had been to before, which were even busier than during the day, this place seemed like what it should be at night.
Shen Li stood on the roof of a house and didn't dare to act rashly. She observed secretly first. After making sure there was no one in the yard, she jumped down from the roof and stood on the ground in the yard.
The Lianyuan Theater Troupe lived in a two - courtyard house, which was not small. Shen Li landed in the front yard. There were all kinds of props for the theater in the yard, even big swords and spears. Shen Li took a quick look and started to observe the front yard, not knowing which room to enter.
What she really wanted to find was the room where the theater costumes were stored. Since the theater troupe bought the cloth, if it wasn't for people to wear, it should be for making theater costumes.
She randomly chose a room, poked a small hole in the window, and peeked inside. When she vaguely saw the furniture like chairs and benches, she moved on to the next room.
Shen Li checked all the rooms in a row in the front yard but didn't find a room that seemed to store theater costumes or props. Just as she was about to turn around and go to the back yard, she heard a very faint sound behind her.
"It's me!" Shen Li turned around and instantly launched an attack, but then she heard a familiar voice.
She didn't say a word and looked at the person in a black night suit opposite her in confusion.
Seeing her like this, the person pulled off the mask on his face, revealing a familiar face. It was Hanyue.
"Why did you come too?"
Hanyue was a bit embarrassed to say that she was worried about Shen Li. She just said, "I'm here to help!" Then she walked in front and wanted to go to the back yard.
The sound of the door opening, "creak!", sounded extremely loud in the quiet night.
They didn't know if it was because their voices had been too loud or for some other reason. The door of the room they had just been standing in suddenly opened.
Inside the room, standing by the door was a man in a white inner robe, looking sleepy, yawning.