The Ming Dynasty's henchmen, working from nine to five

Chapter 16 The house was on fire while I was sleeping

The next day, early in the morning.

Shen Lang arrived at the Jing'an Prince's Mansion right on time.

"It's Lord Shen!"

"Great! Lord Shen has arrived!"

"Quickly, go and inform Her Highness the Princess!"

Upon seeing Shen Lang, the guards were overjoyed and shouted excitedly.

The guard who ran into the mansion to report was so excited that he even tripped and fell.

He had a large scrape on his forehead, from which blood seeped out, but he didn't even wipe it off. He got up and kept running.

"What's going on?" Shen Lang was stunned, somewhat confused about the situation.

"Lord Shen, the Prince's residence... was burgled again last night!!"

"Um?"

Shen Lang's expression turned serious: "Are the Princess and the Crown Princess both well?"

"She is unharmed, but the Princess Consort was frightened and is somewhat unsettled..."

"I'll go take a look."

Shen Lang nodded and strode into the Prince's mansion.

......

"Shen Lang, you've finally arrived!"

"Do you know that you almost didn't get to see me again?!"

As soon as Shen Lang entered the inner courtyard, he saw Princess Jing'an sitting in the pavilion, weeping with tears streaming down her face, looking utterly pitiful.

Good morning, Lord Shen!

Princess Changning remained calm and composed, greeting him with a slight smile.

"Greetings, Your Highness; greetings, Princess." Shen Lang cupped his hands in greeting.

"I just heard from the guards that a thief broke into the inner courtyard last night?"

Princess Jing'an, her eyes brimming with tears, sobbed, "It wasn't just one thief, it was a whole gang!"

"Wearing night clothes, and carrying sleeping pills and a dagger!"

"Tell me, what are they trying to do?"

"I think I can't stay in Yujing any longer. I'll go to the palace to meet the Emperor soon."

"This princess wishes to return to her fiefdom!"

Princess Changning put down her book and gently added, "There were six people in total, all of whom sneaked in dressed as servants."

"They hid in the woodshed until midnight, and while everyone was asleep, they sneaked into the inner courtyard."

"Actually, it wasn't that dangerous. They were discovered by the guards as soon as they started moving."

"One was captured, one died, and the remaining four escaped with serious injuries."

Princess Jing'an became even more agitated upon hearing this, sniffing sharply: "How can there be no danger!"

"It's so close to my bedroom, and the noise is so loud, how dare you say there's no danger?!"

Princess Changning said softly, "Mother, please don't exaggerate."

"Lord Shen arranged three layers of guards in the inner courtyard. They were arrested before they even got past the first layer, so they're still far from you."

Princess Jing'an, puffing out her cheeks, shouted, "I was frightened!"

"Scaring them won't work!"

"The princess is right, we can't frighten them."

Shen Lang cupped his hands in a respectful gesture and said gently, "It was my dereliction of duty; I hope Your Highness will forgive me!"

Princess Jing'an raised her snow-white chin: "Hmph, since you know you've made a mistake, you'll stay in the manor tonight and keep watch. You're not allowed to sneak home again!"

Shen Lang smiled and said, "Your Highness, rest assured, I will make adjustments as soon as possible to ensure that you are not frightened again."

Princess Jing'an said pitifully, "But I always feel uneasy when you're not here!"

Princess Changning said gently, "Mother, Lord Shen works very hard and needs to rest."

Princess Jing'an angrily said, "Don't speak!"

"Seeing your lazy, listless look makes me angry. I'm practically burning with rage, aren't you afraid at all?!"

Princess Changning blinked innocently and said, "Being afraid is useless. I don't know any martial arts, so I can only trouble Lord Shen."

The princess became even angrier upon hearing this, and her rather large chest heaved violently:

"When the Prince's mansion caught fire, I was nearly frantic with worry, but you were just lying in bed sleeping, completely oblivious to everything!"

"Now that the Prince's mansion is targeted by thieves, and you're in this state!"

"I think you just need a beating!"

Princess Jing'an grew angrier as she spoke, and rolled up her sleeves to search the room for a feather duster.

"Your Highness, please calm down!" The maids quickly came forward to dissuade her.

Princess Changning skipped up behind Shen Lang, poked half her head out, and said defiantly, "What can I do if there's a fire?"

"I can't get out, and there's no water to put out the fire inside. I can only wait for someone to rescue me."

"What else am I supposed to do if I don't sleep?"

"Still talking!"

Princess Jing'an was furious!

Although the princess's way of thinking was unique, her logic seemed to be sound... Shen Lang wondered whether he should say a few words of comfort.

Just then, a plump, gray bird flapped its wings and flew into the house.

Everyone looked up, and even the princess and the noblewoman, who were arguing fiercely, stopped talking.

The grey-feathered parrot landed steadily on Shen Lang's shoulder, its eyes darting around, and it shouted loudly:

"I just ran into two little sluts in the garden!"

"Boss Shen, go and arrest them for me!"

"Lock him up!"

"I'll give them a good beating!"

Princess Jing'an's almond-shaped eyes widened: "What is this thing? How can it speak human language?!"

Princess Changning said, "I have read in a book that some intelligent parrots can imitate human speech."

"Today I've finally seen something alive."

Princess Jing'an's lips parted slightly in surprise as she exclaimed, "Parrot?"

"The Imperial Noble Consort keeps one in her palace, but I have never seen it speak, and its appearance is also very different."

Shen Lang said, "It is indeed a parrot, but it is a species unique to my hometown. It is not found in Yujing."

Princess Changning curiously peeked out, her eyes crinkling with laughter, and said, "Its eyes are so interesting, they keep darting up and down."

Sang Biao blew a lewd whistle: "Hey beautiful lady!"

"Come closer, let me see your face!"

Shen Lang patted its head, signaling it to be quiet.

Sang Biao got a little angry, jumped onto his other shoulder, and yelled in his ear, "Boss Shen!"

"This is work time! Instead of focusing on your work, you're talking about love?!"

"I'm going to criticize you!"

"You're getting paid; how can you live with yourself doing this?"

"say!"

Do you think you did the right thing?!

Shen Lang grabbed it by the wings and tossed it outside:

"Go take a stroll in the garden again. I'm on business, don't bother me."

Even though he was already used to Sang Biao's occasional outbursts of madness, he still found it difficult to keep up at this moment.

Princess Jing'an looked puzzled, pondering the meaning behind Sang Biao's strange words.

Princess Changning tilted her head and said leisurely:

"It looks like a concubine who has gone mad in the cold palace~"

Shen Lang laughed and said, "My parrot does have a rather eccentric temperament. I hope you'll forgive me, Princess."

He didn't want to dwell on this topic any longer and got back to the main point:

"Is the thief we caught yesterday still alive?"

Manager Li Zhong quickly said, "If he's alive, lock him up in the backyard!"

"The princess said she would deal with it after you arrived, so I ordered people to guard it and didn't send it to the authorities!"

"Well done." Shen Lang nodded slightly, turned around and bowed to Princess Jing'an. "This subordinate will go and take a look at the backyard first."

"You can rest now, there's no need to panic. With me here, the Prince's mansion will surely be safe."

After saying that, he strode towards the backyard.

"His strategic brilliance and martial arts skills are truly reassuring."

Princess Jing'an patted her chest and let out a long sigh of relief.

At this moment, a maidservant approached and whispered, "Your Highness, a servant just came to announce that the painter has arrived."

"Do you think... we should still let them in?"