The Favored Heiress-Chapter 757: Finding Yun Lih

Li Qiao: "..."

Is the identity of Marquis Lawrence so prestigious?

She appeared to be lost in thought as she gazed at the stern-faced Shang Yu, pinching his fingers. "You should go, it wouldn’t be proper not to show your face on your first appearance. I’ll take the opportunity to check on Xia Lao Wu."

The man raised his eyebrows slightly and his arm wrapped around her waist, a playful smile on his lips. "Together."

Li Qiao’s eyes flickered and she nodded agreeably. "Oh, sure."

Seeing this, Xi Luo made a sarcastic comment, "Dear Marquis, neither of the councilmen brought their wives over for networking. Is it really proper for you to bring your wife along?"

Li Qiao lowered her head, barely holding back the curve of her lips.

In all the world, only Xi Luo would dare to speak such words.

After a moment, Shang Yu rubbed Li Qiao’s head, whispering a reminder, "Don’t run off, okay?"

"I know."

Xi Luo, with a half-smile, raised an eyebrow at Li Qiao. As she and Shang Yu moved to another side of the courtyard, Li Qiao waved her hand and the next second, she had vanished from the courtyard.

Shang Yu walked ahead with steady steps, his dark eyes glancing sideways at Xi Luo. "No need to follow me; go help her."

Xi Luo looked surprised and turned back only to see that Li Qiao had already disappeared.

She pursed her lips, knowing she couldn’t fool Shang Yu, and offered a half-hearted compliment. "The Archbishop sure is attentive to detail."

...

Five minutes later, Li Qiao passed through the courtyard and arrived at a small golf course in front of her.

To the left was an arch bridge, leading to the inner residence buildings.

At that moment, a burst of static came from the communication device, and Xia Siyu’s subdued voice emerged, "Test, Test."

It seems the signal jammer had failed.

Li Qiao pressed her ear, "I’m at the third fork."

Xia Siyu obviously breathed a sigh of relief. Moving through the castle corridor adorned with wall paintings, she responded in a low voice, "Ten members of the Knight Squad just went to the second fork; be careful."

"Alright."

Li Qiao swiftly moved towards the horse field, using the dense garden landscape to her advantage.

Following the map, if she went past the third fork and circled around the artificial lake, she would reach the horse field on the far west side.

Li Qiao didn’t delay, listening to the reports occasionally coming through the communicator, skillfully avoiding all the guards and Knight Squad’s patrol routes.

Suddenly, at the end of the fork, under the illumination of two rows of floodlights, four guards were leaning against the wooden fence of the artificial lake, taking a smoke break.

They seemed to be stealing a moment of leisure. The distance between them was less than ten meters. Through their conversation, Li Qiao faintly made out that they were waiting for a shift change. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

The guard squad rotated every two hours to prevent infiltration, with the rotation schedule arranged on the spot by the butler.

Li Qiao hid at an angle of the green wall, observing for half a minute. This group of guards waiting for a shift change wouldn’t likely leave any time soon, unless... she lured the tiger away from the mountain.

Contemplating this, a golf cart suddenly came from the front left.

The guards immediately snuffed out their cigarettes, stood to attention, and said in unison, "Captain Yin."

Yin Mo didn’t leave the cart, her face stern as she gave a few orders, then turned the cart around and headed back towards the golf course.

The guards appeared to have received new orders, and without a word, they too hurried in that direction.

Roadblocks cleared.

Li Qiao curled the corners of her lips, casting a concentrated glance in the direction Yin Mo had left before swiftly walking toward the other side of the artificial lake.

Less than three minutes later, the horse track was close at hand.

Tonight, all the manor’s servants and bodyguards were gathered near the ancient castle in the front courtyard, and the west side of the manor was not open to the public. Aside from the neighing from the stables, the surroundings were exceptionally empty and quiet.

Li Qiao circled from the back of the horse track to the stone cottage where the servants rested. The wooden door was ajar, a faint light coming through the crack, and occasionally a deep cough could be heard.

A second later, Li Qiao rounded the door, stepping forward to kick open the wooden door of the stone cottage.

In the simply arranged stone cottage, a man with gray hair was smoking with his leg propped up.

Startled by the sound of the door being kicked open, he quickly stubbed out the cigarette in a teacup, rising and bending over, his long hair covering his brows and eyes, his voice hoarse, "May I ask what the duke needs?"

Li Qiao gazed at the man before her with a face like still water, silent for a long time.

Perhaps it was the silence that was too prolonged, the horse track servant peeked through the strands of hair covering his eyes, squinting, and then...

He straightened up, his Adam’s apple moving rapidly as he touched his cheek, "How did you barge in here, courting death?"

Li Qiao’s voice was very faint as she asked back, "Which of us is really courting death here?"

The man in front of her had droopy eyelids and a crooked nose, scars of varying sizes on his face, and his dyed long hair looked disheveled and untidy.

His disguise was very convincing. If it weren’t for Li Qiao recognizing his cough and the familiar silhouette he didn’t manage to conceal when she kicked open the door, even a rash encounter wouldn’t have allowed her to recognize Yun Lih.

Li Qiao closed the wooden door behind her, scanning the room’s layout, she spoke bluntly, "Shen Qingye acts impulsively. Are you letting your brain get overheated as well?"

Yun Lih loosened his shoulders, pounding his back, and coughed a couple more times as he pressed his fist to his lips. "When have you ever seen me act impulsively?"

"You’re injured?"

He had coughed several times since she entered the door.

Li Qiao scrutinized his complexion, but the excessive disguise made it impossible for her to discern his true physical condition.

"Just a minor cold, nothing to mention," Yun Lih waved his hand dismissively, pulling out a chair for Li Qiao to sit down, "How did you blend in?"

As he spoke, he sized up her attire, then stroked his chin, "Rare to see you in an evening gown, not bad."

Li Qiao slowly sat down, tapping her fingers twice on the wooden table, "This is meaningless, change your clothes and leave with me."

"How is it meaningless?" Yun Lih picked up a cigarette case from the table, drawing out a cigarette and sniffing it deeply under his nose, "You know the saying, ’Unless you enter the tiger’s den, you cannot capture the cubs.’ I’ve been in the manor for over a month and have gathered quite a few inside stories, want to hear them?"

"I don’t."

Yun Lih rubbed the hair on his forehead and gave a short laugh, "Deliberately provoking me, are you?"

Li Qiao pursed her lips, and after a long hesitation, she still patiently tried to persuade him, "No amount of insider news is worth the risk. You don’t need to do this, nor should you be involved."

"I have my limits," Yun Lih replied, patting her head with his dry palm, "Shen Qingye’s rash orders to retaliate against Xiao Yehui are meaningless acts. Staying in the manor I can get a lot of internal information. If you hadn’t come today, I’d have sent that information to you guys within three days."

Li Qiao felt a tumult of emotions, like a bottle of mixed flavors overturned inside her.

She curled her fingers, locking eyes unerringly with Yun Lih’s smiling gaze, "Do you really think Xiao Yehui can’t recognize you?"

"Of course," Yun Lih spread his arms, looking down at his outfit, "With this disguise and Yin Lao Er secretly helping out, he won’t have a chance to recognize me."

Li Qiao looked down, her tone firm, "What if I insist on you leaving with me?"

Yun Lih paused, his eyes betraying a surge of emotions, remaining silent for quite a long time without speaking.

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