Chapter 1478: Chapter 1454: Stolen (Extra update for the book friend "Manbao’s Ideal")
The mansion is really big, so big that Zhou Wulang was dumbfounded. After walking around, he said, "Why rent a house? We can just live here!"
Zhou Liulang also walked around, then said, "But it’s a bit far from the outer city, which makes it inconvenient for us to come and go."
However, it really is big. So far, he has never seen such a large mansion.
Actually, he has seen similar ones. Bai Shan’s house and Old Master Bai’s house in Qili Village are that big, but they have large gardens and yards; there aren’t as many rooms.
Zhou Lijun touched the carvings on the pillars and asked, "How much would it cost to sell this mansion?"
Old Madam Liu laughed and said, "This mansion is not easy to buy or sell. Even if it’s unoccupied, it can only be left idle."
The Changqing Alley where they live is also within Chongyuan Courtyard, but the locations differ. Theirs is in the innermost part of the courtyard, while this one is on the outer side.
This area is full of the mansions of various noble families. Coincidentally, Lord Yang’s and Lord Tang’s homes are just a street away from here, one to the left and the other to the right.
And there are only four households on this whole street, which shows how big this mansion is.
Not even Zhou Lijun could help wanting to sell it, just like Manbao.
But Old Madam Liu said the mansion isn’t easy to sell, so Zhou Wulang went to inquire and found it really hard to sell because no one ever thinks about buying or selling property here.
After returning from the middleman, he told Manbao, "Don’t even think about it. The middleman said that the properties here are usually confiscated or bestowed as rewards, so no one will sell or buy them. We should just move in and live there."
Manbao was reluctant to leave the house in Changqing Alley, "It’s quite comfortable living here."
Zhou Wulang was indifferent, "Once you move over there and have an entire courtyard to yourself, it won’t take long before you feel comfortable."
Manbao: "...Do I have to live in a courtyard alone? Will I be scared?"
Is this something to ask him?
Zhou Wulang silently stared at Manbao.
But moving houses isn’t something that can be accomplished quickly, especially since everyone is still very busy. Although there is furniture in the mansion, many things are missing and have to be moved gradually, so there’s no rush.
Bai Shan and Manbao only learned the origins of this mansion when they visited the three sick men in the capital prefecture.
Yang Heshu agreed to translate for Manbao and the others as he speaks several Western languages. Therefore, when he saw the three high-nosed, deep-eyed people from Gaochang, he tried three different languages before finally finding one they could communicate in.
Following Manbao’s intentions, he meticulously inquired about the falling of the meteorite.
Although they didn’t dig up the stone, their relatives carved it. The village where the stone fell and the circumstances were known to the craftsmen, who told them about it.
Yang Heshu also drew a map based on their descriptions, marking the location of their village and the approximate landing site.
They certainly didn’t know the exact location; they could only say how long to walk in the direction of the afternoon sun, so Yang Heshu could only make rough annotations.
It was clear Manbao and the others seemed to want to find this thing themselves, so Yang Heshu simply asked about Gaochang’s customs and some influential entities for them.
Unfortunately, they were former royal slaves and hadn’t been outside their marketplace before, so apart from some customs, they couldn’t say much.
The three people, especially the two who were clear-headed, were somewhat regretful they couldn’t help Manbao more.
These days, their health has improved significantly. Although they couldn’t speak the language, they knew that this little girl had cured them of their poison.
What they always thought was a curse turned out to be poison.
They were very grateful to Manbao and wanted to repay her, but without possessions and unable to communicate, they didn’t know how to do so. They could only say, "If Little Wonder Doctor goes to Gaochang in the future, just say the word, and we’ll guide her."
Yang Heshu conveyed their message.
Bai Shan was a bit stunned and asked, "Are you planning to stay in the capital?"
The two nodded together; even the person lying down nodded, saying, "The capital is great. We don’t want to return to Gaochang. Our village is a cursed place."
Though it had been clarified as poison, they still felt their village was ominous, especially thinking of the malformed children born in recent years, they were even more unwilling to return.
Manbao and Bai Shan felt a bit regretful; as people who missed their hometown, they assumed the others did too and were previously worried it would take much longer for them to return.
Yang Heshu saw their repeated sighs and said, "They’re still slaves in Gaochang. Though the great prince of Gaochang has died, other nobles will take over, and their lives will remain tough. Staying in the capital—even doing hard labor—is better than being a slave in Gaochang."
Lord Tang also nodded; slavery in the Western Regions is much more severe than in the Central Plains.
Yang Heshu suddenly thought of something and laughed, "I heard you plan to move to Daze Road?"
Lord Tang was puzzled, "Daze Road?"
Yang Heshu smiled, "You’ve been busy interrogating people the past few days and might not know, but His Highness the Crown Prince has bestowed the estate on Daze Road to Manbao. When I returned home yesterday, the servants mentioned that a new family seemed to have moved in behind our house—the little wonder doctor from the capital."
Manbao said, "We haven’t moved yet, but my Fifth Brother and the others have moved some things over. We’ll relocate together when we have the time."
Moreover, they’ve paid the rent for the house in Changqing Alley until June, so there’s no rush to move.
Manbao asked, "Scholarly Senior Brother Yang, why is the mansion on Daze Road difficult to sell?"
Yang Heshu paused before asking, "Do you plan to sell the house?"
Tang He said in disbelief, "You really want to sell it? Aren’t you afraid of offending the Crown Prince and State Duke Zhao?"
Manbao: "...Will I offend them for selling the house bestowed upon me?"
Yang Heshu then smiled, "The Crown Prince might not mind, but Zhao State Duke’s family might."
He said, "State Duke Zhao has five sons; besides three legitimate sons, there are two illegitimate sons. The mansion on Daze Road isn’t ordinary. Do you know why State Duke Zhao gifted it to the Crown Prince back then?"
Manbao and Bai Shan shook their heads together.
Yang Heshu looked at Tang He and smiled, "Why don’t you tell them?"
Tang He seemed quite knowledgeable about these anecdotes; he immediately rolled up his sleeves and said, "Do you know how this mansion came about?"
Without waiting for their answers, Tang He already said, "It was occupied by State Duke Zhao when he followed His Majesty to attack the capital."
Why did the former emperor fear the current emperor’s high achievements?
Because the current emperor not only achieved many victories, but it was he who attacked the capital back then. The former emperor was still in Taiyuan, and the Crown Prince was stuck with managing the army’s provisions.
The current emperor, as the second son, bravely led the charge into the capital. At that time, those following him in the attack included State Duke Su and others, who were rough and simply rushed into the imperial palace, occasionally snatching gold and silver from fleeing nobles.
But State Duke Zhao was from a noble family; seeing so many people fleeing the city, he simply occupied several grand mansions with his men.
Lord Tang laughed, "Now, the mansion on Daze Road that your family owns was occupied by State Duke Zhao back then, and the former emperor didn’t reclaim it after entering the capital."