Chapter 533

It's because they can do dirty, exhausting work and secret private matters.

Although Su Qiao was curious about these things, he absolutely refused to touch them.

Some secrets bring no benefit to know.

Sometimes, the more you know, the more dangerous it becomes!

Thinking of this, Su Qiao nodded and stopped pressing further.

Luo Yangxing also breathed a sigh of relief—he had feared Su Qiao would press further.

He was torn over whether to speak or not.

Now both sides have room to breathe; both are smart men—how much better!

"If that's the case, Brother Luo, can you filter out the vacant courtyards and houses in Tianjin City?"

Su Qiao suddenly asked.

"This is easy!" Luo Yangxing turned and shouted outside, "Someone!"

Two Embroidered Uniform Guards entered.

"My lord!"

"As Brother Su said, immediately filter out all houses in Tianjin City that haven't been occupied for several days—and also those nearby!"

"Yes!"

……

By nightfall, the results came—a ledger-like booklet was tossed to Su Qiao.

Su Qiao took it and flipped through each page.

Though Tianjin's walls were low, its population was no small number, mostly due to heavy traffic.

And the trend was growing ever larger.

Naturally, the number of courtyards in the city was substantial, with nearly half being properties set up by outsiders.

For example, southern merchants transporting goods north for sale.

They habitually bought houses in Tianjin City to rest midway or store goods.

Why not go to the capital? One reason: the capital's property prices were too high.

Another: they'd have to travel over three more days by land—too troublesome.

Such houses were not few.

They were directly compiled by the Embroidered Uniform Guards into a small booklet.

Excluding those in the city center, along streets, and obviously conspicuous courtyards.

The remaining secluded, unoccupied houses, Su Qiao ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guards to search.

They set off eagerly, but when Hu Lai reported back, he was deeply disappointed.

"Well? Any results, sis?"

Su Qiao and Luo Yangxing sat on chairs, waiting for the Embroidered Uniform Guards' report, asking anxiously.

The entering Squad Leader shook his head and said, "My lord, Mr. Su, the brothers in the city have searched for a full day and found nothing."

"That shouldn't be. Wait—if there are no traces, maybe they cleaned it up and moved elsewhere. I'm certain their original hiding place was among these courtyards; otherwise, how could they guarantee secrecy for their activities?"

As he spoke, Su Qiao turned to look at Luo Yangxing.

Luo Yangxing nodded and said, "Brother Su is right. If so, shall we two go and inspect them ourselves?"

"Agreed!"

Su Qiao refused to believe he was wrong.

As for the lack of traces, it could only mean the Embroidered Uniform Guards were blind and missed it!

Arriving at a quiet, large courtyard at a street corner, Su Qiao glanced outside.

"This courtyard's location is excellent. If I were hiding people, I'd hide them here—it's convenient. One, it's close to the city gate; two, it's unobtrusive; at least from outside, you can't tell how large the courtyard is. Most importantly, its sides and rear connect in all directions, making escape easy if exposed."

Luo Yangxing listened to Su Qiao's analysis, took a general look at the three-compound courtyard, and nodded in agreement.

"Brother Su observes carefully. This place is indeed quite suitable."

He then turned to the Embroidered Uniform Guards behind him and asked, "Have you thoroughly searched this courtyard? Found nothing?"

"My lord, we've searched it twice—truly found nothing."

"Enough. Let's go inside and take a closer look!" Su Qiao and Luo Yangxing entered and examined every detail.

On the surface, the courtyard truly had nothing remarkable.

But they weren't looking for anything obvious.

He felt there must be secret chambers or hidden passages.

Otherwise, even if this place were ideal and secluded, the risk of exposure would still be high.

Secret chambers and hidden passages, by contrast—hiding inside, staying out by day, emerging only occasionally at night—were the most secretive.

As they walked, he carefully observed the ground, walls, ceiling heights, room widths, and more.

Even without formal architectural training, Su Qiao could still calculate the dimensions plainly.

"Has anything been found beneath the ground?"

After finishing the front hall, Su Qiao moved on to inspect other areas.

388, Escape the Secret Chamber!

Huh?

As Su Qiao passed a side room, his steps suddenly halted.

He furrowed his brow, scrutinizing the structure of the side room.

This side room differed from others in the courtyard—it had noticeable discrepancies.

While Su Qiao was inspecting, he first noticed that the wall was significantly thicker.

Normally, a side room is neither the main hall nor the master's chamber in the rear residence.

The wall thickness should be roughly the width of a single square brick.

Yet the wall of this side room in front of him was over a foot thick; just that thickness was astonishing!

Not only that, Su Qiao squatted down to observe carefully.

He found that the height of the threshold and the floor was a full section higher than usual.

As for the floor area and such, it looked about the same as the other side rooms and wing rooms.

Su Qiao guessed that this side room must have added a secret chamber or a secret passage of some kind.

Otherwise, it would not be so strange!

Su Qiao knocked and tapped inside the room, searching for an entrance.

Seeing Su Qiao's actions, Luo Yangxing asked, "Brother Su, do you think there is a secret chamber here?"

"More or less. This room was built incorrectly; both the thickness and the height are problematic!" Su Qiao said without turning his head.

Hearing this, Luo Yangxing also carefully inspected the side room before him.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard nearby also began to examine it carefully.

Previously, they had either not noticed or simply failed to detect the problem with this side room.

After a rough check, they had left.

Now that the anomaly had been detected, they naturally would not miss it again.

Su Qiao checked the main hall of the side room, the sleeping area, and even above and below the bed platform.

He knew there was a problem, yet he simply could not find it!

This left Su Qiao utterly speechless; he felt terrible.

"Brother Su, since you are certain there is a problem here, let them handle the inspection. As for mechanisms and secret passages, they will surely find them. Didn't you say before that professional matters should be left to professionals?"

Seeing that Su Qiao had made no progress for a long time, Luo Yangxing pulled him outside and said jokingly.

Upon hearing this, Su Qiao's face instantly darkened.

"Brother Su need not be anxious. Just like before, when I could find no clues at all, I relied entirely on Brother Su's help. Look, I did not get angry."

Luo Yangxing did not know whether he was mocking himself or truly comforting him.

Su Qiao stood aside with a dark face, indeed no longer interfering.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard were also knocking and tapping, but under Su Qiao's observation, he found their knocking and tapping was different from his.

Their choices followed a pattern, focusing on positions where mechanisms or secret passages were most likely to exist.

They were even more likely to discover or detect the location of secret passages and chambers.