Chapter 948: Chapter 946: Don’t Make a Commotion
The curtains inside the room hung low, in a dark room without moonlight. One couldn’t see the scene behind the curtains. However, the starlight of summer faintly revealed the clothes placed next to the corner cabinet outside the bed curtains through the sheer window.
Zheng Pengfei’s gaze swept over the embroidered bustier, undergarments, and a woman’s silk trousers, silently cursing Jiang Yifan and his cunning wife several times before gathering these items into his hands, holding them loosely.
Then he grabbed Old Grand Tutor Xing’s middle garments and underpants, holding them along with the women’s underwear, and started to retreat.
While retreating, those loosely draped clothes caught on the clothes rack by the door of the inner room. As the rack wobbled, it made a few muffled noises, which Zheng Pengfei hurriedly steadied.
The first to wake was the maid on night duty in the outer room, who opened her eyes in a daze from her nap, without noticing the intruder inside the inner room.
Old Grand Tutor Xing wasn’t far behind in waking up. Although he didn’t need to attend court at the crow of the rooster, he rose early, and his sleep at this time was already light.
Hearing the noise, Xing Yuyue opened his eyes, lifted the curtain with ease, and saw the shadow holding the clothes rack at once, his eyes wide open, and he shouted, "Who’s there?!"
In his eyes, the shadow seemed startled by his loud shout, even staggering back a step. As the shadow’s arm swung for balance, Old Grand Tutor Xing’s white middle garment and the woman’s bright bustier and silk trousers lifted along his arm, fluttering as they waved.
Old Grand Tutor Xing’s eyes narrowed, stunned by the scene before him, a sensory assault akin to what future generations would describe as "eye-searing."
The natural order of things is common sense. But how could the middle garment and underpants of a noble elder be waved around with a young woman’s bright underwear in front of everyone?!
Xing Yuyue became furious, "Come, there’s an intruder, catch the thief!"
His initial shout already startled the little maid awake, who let out a series of sharp screams.
In the quiet night, the woman’s screams spread exceptionally far, alerting the distant night-shift guards.
Soon after, Grand Tutor Xing’s vigorous shout of ’catch the thief’ echoed, prompting a few guards to rush over promptly.
Lacking undergarments, Xing Yuyue hastily put on his casual clothes, shuffled on some shoes, and got out of bed.
By this time, Zheng Pengfei had reached the courtyard and was about to leap over the wall.
Disregarding his old age, Xing Yuyue rushed to the door and shouted outside, "Don’t let him escape, make sure to catch him." Along with that, he wanted to take back what was in his hands; he couldn’t just let him walk away with the clothes.
At this moment, the Grand Tutor’s mood had utterly collapsed, possibly more than completely shattered.
Normally, a Great River Brigand sneaks into a house aiming for gold and silver, or perhaps beautiful women. But what was this guy’s deal? Taking away the personal clothing of him and his concubine after all that effort, what did that mean?
Poor Xing Yuyue didn’t know there would be a word in the future, a word called ’pervert,’ specifically used to describe Zheng Pengfei’s actions tonight.
Fortunately, Zheng Pengfei didn’t know either; otherwise, he’d likely be looking for Jiang Yifan to fight it out.
Xing Yuyue, shamefully and confusedly frustrated, was left completely helpless and furious, and the frustration was simply beyond words.
Watching the six or seven guards chasing the thief, he hastily called the Chief of Guards to urgently instruct, "Make sure to catch him and retrieve what’s in his hands. Remember not to make a fuss, remember!"
Xing Yuyue knew the bigger the commotion, the higher the chances of catching the thief. Yet, this thief’s actions were too sordid. If those fluttering clothes were witnessed by the people of the capital, or by the Five Cities Military Command’s soldiers... He couldn’t bear to lose face like that.
Even after instructing the guards, the Grand Tutor couldn’t calm his anxious heart. When thinking about the source of his frustration, he almost felt tears welling up. At his age, he certainly couldn’t chase after them, and those personal clothes needed to be retrieved by others.
Whenever the Grand Tutor thought of those exquisite and flamboyant women’s undergarments, which had once brought him immense joy, being retrieved by a few burly guards, it felt like thorns on his back, profoundly discomforting.
That inconsiderate scoundrel of a thief, once caught, must be tied up and severely tortured, making him wish for death!
The six or seven guards chased Zheng Pengfei through the Xing Mansion, and even though they were familiar with the terrain, they still couldn’t catch up.
Initially, a few people were loudly shouting, trying to create a commotion that would not only wake the guards on the back street but ideally also draw in the patrolling soldiers of the Military Affairs Bureau, as having more people would make capturing the thief easier.
However, the Chief of Guards quickly caught up and quietly instructed, "The Duke ordered not to cause a commotion, just quietly catch the person."
The guards almost stumbled and fell off the wall upon hearing this.
Given the thief’s agility in leaping and sprinting, even with the help of the patrolling soldiers, it wasn’t guaranteed they’d be able to catch him. And if it were just them, ensuring not to make any noise... Chief, you must be joking, right?
Yet since the Duke didn’t want a commotion, they had no choice but to comply.
Upon looking ahead at the flying clothes following the intruder, the guards roughly understood the Duke’s feelings.
The Duke was a person of stature, always dignified and righteous on any given occasion. This matter was indeed not something to be loudly publicized for everyone to know.
Considering the difficulty of this task, and for the sake of their future livelihoods, the guards exerted themselves and increased their speed, chasing after Zheng Pengfei’s figure and those fluttering garments. Within a few breaths, the group had left the Grand Tutor’s premises, racing toward the alley behind the Grand Tutor’s Mansion.
Upon hearing the news, five guards gathered from behind the alley, originally positioned to block Zheng Pengfei’s path.
But leaping with agility was Zheng Pengfei’s forte; seeing people converging in front, he immediately darted diagonally, using the obstacles formed by the chaotic courtyards in the back alley to find a gap, weaving through alleys and courtyards, breaking through the encirclement, and escaping the bounds of the Grand Tutor’s Mansion in the darkness.
Outside their own bounds, with Grand Tutor Xing’s instructions, these people’s actions became even more cautious. This area mostly belonged to prominent families, and if a commotion was caused and those fancy clothes were seen, rumors might spread.
Perhaps there might even be some lurid stories pinned on the virtuous Grand Tutor.
From the moment Zheng Pengfei was discovered, the night guards of the Xing Mansion tried to corner him. Add to that the others arriving from different directions and the guards residing in the back street, the number of people involved in the chase added up to nearly twenty.
Zheng Pengfei, fleeing silently, also ensured that the group behind didn’t dare to make too much noise, and they pursued him silently.
The few skilled ones closely followed Zheng Pengfei’s figure, pursuing him across the streets, rooftops, and walls. Those less skilled could only follow in their general direction, darting through the streets.
Zheng Pengfei escaped with great difficulty, putting on a performance of exerting all his strength, while also intentionally slowing down to allow the followers to catch up, acting diligently.
Fortunately, after turning two streets, it was Duke An’s Mansion ahead. There, blocked by a high wall, Zheng Pengfei, seemingly exhausted, didn’t attempt the climb but instead chose a distant low wall, entering a cluttered courtyard.
Witnessing the thief enter a civilian’s courtyard only to instantly exit again, running across two streets, he collided with a person unexpectedly appearing at the street corner.
The person let out a wretched scream, being knocked far away.
This piercing, lingering scream immediately alerted the people in a nearby grand estate.