As soon as Ye Li entered the courtyard, the butler Laurent ordered his men to call all the people in the manor and line them up in three rows in front of Ye Li.
Laurent said to Ye Li: "Master, look, these are the servants and guards in the manor, including me, there are fifty people in total.
The first row of twenty people here are guards, responsible for protecting the safety of the manor. They belong to the Royal Palace Guards and are personally selected and controlled by His Majesty the King.
The ten people in the second row are responsible for your housekeeping, including cleaning the room, washing your clothes, folding your quilts, and helping you bathe and change your clothes.
The 19 people in the third row are responsible for external matters, including yard maintenance, house repairs, buying and selling necessities, and cooking.
After that, Laurent pointed to a tall and strong man in the first row and said, "Sir, this is Gilbert, he is the captain of the guard."
Gilbert hurriedly walked out of the team, saluted towards Ye Li and said respectfully: "Gilbert greets Master Ye."
Ye Li knew that although these people were nominally protecting him, they were actually here to monitor Ye Li. They just wouldn't follow Ye Li all the time. Instead, they would act as Edwin Lucas's spies in Ye Li's yard, reporting on Ye Li's situation at any time.
Nodding to Gilbert, Ye Li said, "From now on, I'll have to trouble you with the protection of the manor."
Although Ye Li knew the purpose of these people coming here, he did not intend to break up with Edwin Lucas, so he could only pretend that he did not know the other party's purpose here and communicate with them politely.
Then, Laurent pointed to a plump woman in her fifties in the second row and said, "This is Kate. She is the head of housekeeping and is responsible for arranging housekeeping. If you have any needs in life, you can tell her directly and she will arrange it for you properly."
Kate heard Laurent talking about her, and quickly stepped out of the line and said, "Kate wishes the master good health."
Ye Li was not a high-handed person, so when he heard the other party's greeting, he naturally hurried to greet the other party.
Laurent then pointed to a bald, fat man in his fifties in the third row and said, "Sir, this is Jim. He is the director of foreign affairs. He coordinates and arranges all foreign affairs. If you have any requirements for the manor, you can tell him directly and he will arrange everything for you."
Naturally, Jim hurried out and greeted Ye Li, and Ye Li also responded.
Afterwards, Laurent dispersed everyone and asked them to continue their work, while he took Ye Li around the manor.
In addition to the living and reception rooms, the entire manor also has a garden courtyard, and the kitchen is adjacent to the servants' living area.
In addition, there was actually a foundry in the manor, which surprised Ye Li greatly.
"Laurent, why is there a foundry here?"
Ye Li saw that the foundry did not look like a newly built one, so he asked curiously.
Laurent said: "Master, this was there when the manor was first built.
Because the previous owner of this place was a master weaponsmith from the royal family of the Black Eye Clan, but that was a hundred years ago.
After he passed away, this place was completely empty until now, when you took it over."
Hearing Laurent's words, Ye Li couldn't help but show a look of surprise. He didn't expect that this would be the place where another weaponsmith had lived, and that the other party was a member of the Black Eye Tribe.
Ye Li couldn't help but walk into the foundry room in front of him and found that the furnace had been ignited and there were a lot of materials around.
"Master, when we cleaned up this place, the palace sent people to light the furnace and delivered these casting materials."
Laurent hastened to explain.
Ye Li was delighted when he heard this. As a toolsmith, even if he didn't make tools very often, having a foundry room in his residence made him feel convenient and happy.
At least when he suddenly feels like casting something, he will have a place to cast it.
After touring the manor with Laurent, Ye Li called Xiao Jin in and immediately asked the servants in charge of external affairs to build a very comfortable shed next to Ye Li's own residence for Xiao Jin to live in.
With a servant taking care of Xiao Jin, Ye Li felt relieved.
After settling down in the house that night, Tunri's voice sounded again, saying, "Ye Li, the environment here is not bad, but the guards who are responsible for monitoring you are annoying."
Ye Li nodded and said, "There's nothing I can do. This is already the minimum level of surveillance. After all, I haven't gained much trust yet.
Now I can only stay here temporarily. After I gain the king's trust, they will definitely relax their surveillance on me, and then I will definitely have a chance to escape." Tunri said: "Ye Li, you can be a little more high-profile, make your reputation better, and communicate with various dignitaries here, so that you can show that you want to settle down here.
I think the king and the Duke of Wellington will feel relieved about you after seeing this."
Hearing Tunri's suggestion, Ye Li couldn't help but pat his forehead and said, "Alas, I am also asking for trouble. I really hate dealing with irrelevant people."
Tunri said: "There is nothing we can do about it. You just need to put on an act for the king to eliminate their vigilance."
Ye Li nodded and said, "I understand, I will give it a try.
But the most urgent task now is to complete the research on the Soul Gathering Cannon. After a thorough study, I can also bring this technology back."
After chatting with Tunri for a while in his room, Ye Li began to practice. He basically did not sleep now and spent every night practicing.
Early the next morning, Ye Li went to the place where the Wang family's foundry master was casting tools. Pierre and the other two had already been waiting there.
"Morning, Master!"
After seeing Ye Li, Pierre and the other two hurriedly bowed and spoke.
Although Ye Li was very uncomfortable with their attitude, he still tried his best to play his role well so that Edwin Lucas would relax his guard against him.
"You don't have to be so polite, just be natural. I also said yesterday that I am only a nominal master. We can just communicate and learn from each other on weekdays."
Kai Diwen said: "No, Master, since we have accepted you as our master, we will definitely treat you as our master, otherwise what is the point of accepting you as our master."
Seeing the three people's determined eyes, Ye Li nodded helplessly and said: "Okay, then I really can only be thick-skinned and be your master.
Let's find a secret room to study the blueprints first. This is not the place to talk or discuss. "
Ye Li looked around. After all, the Soul Gathering Cannon was a secret. A place like this with so many people and so many gossips was definitely not suitable for research and discussion.