Chapter 270 Staking Out

Ren Shun returned to the Princess's residence under the stars and moon, startling Bi Sui and the others.

"Guard Ren?"

Bihui looked at the figure lying in the tree in the courtyard and tentatively called out.

Only this guard was so unrestrained as to sleep in the tree in the princess's courtyard. Anyone else would have been waiting respectfully outside the courtyard.

Ren Shun lifted his eyelids, glanced indifferently at the wary Bi Sui, and hummed in agreement.

His attitude remained unchanged, but Bihui felt relieved.

Although Guard Ren has a terrible temper, he is very skilled. The manor held a martial arts competition among the guards before, and the princess ordered Guard Ren to participate to see his true abilities. He actually won first place!

At least with him by the princess's side, there's no need to worry about her safety.

Bi Sui went back to her room to continue sleeping, unaware that Ren Shun in the tree had opened his eyes again after she turned around, staring motionlessly at the princess's bedroom, seemingly lost in thought.

Qi Yuxuan had no idea what happened that night. She had been preoccupied with something and tossed and turned until late into the night before finally falling asleep. This morning, she received news that the Empress Dowager was alright and the group set off for Beiyuan as planned.

The eldest princess accompanied the Empress Dowager from the palace, while Qi Yuxuan took a carriage by herself and caught up on some sleep.

He had only been asleep for a short while when Bihui suddenly said from outside:

"Princess, Guard Ren requests an audience, saying he has found something as instructed by you."

Qi Yuxuan opened her eyes. Ren Shun hadn't left after all?

"Let him in."

Soon, a thin young man entered the carriage and knelt respectfully on one knee at the door, saying, "Master."

"Did you see your brother yesterday?"

Ren Shun avoided answering: "These are the account books of Xiangqifang and a letter that came out of there this morning. Please take a look, Master."

He didn't say anything, and Qi Yuxuan didn't want to force him. She forced herself to stay alert, took the account book he handed her, and flipped through it to take a closer look.

"Is this the original? If you take it out rashly, won't you alert the enemy?"

Ren Shun: "They have another daily ledger, which they copy onto this one after closing time. As long as it is returned today, it will not be discovered."

It was because he was highly skilled and daring that anyone else would have dared to steal the account books and then return them, even if given the chance.

The ledger recorded Xiangqifang's detailed inventory and daily revenue for the past month, which was all normal. The only thing that was noteworthy was that a red ink fingerprint appeared every seven days, as if someone checked the ledger every seven days.

"This fingerprint isn't from someone in the Xiangqi Fang business, is it?"

Ren Shun: "Yes, last night I took advantage of their sleep to compare the fingerprints of the owner, the manager and the waiters, and none of them matched. The person who was checking the accounts was someone else."

Qi Yuxuan frowned deeply. "Judging from the fact that they check the accounts every seven days... the next one will be tomorrow."

Ren Shun: "So, do you want me to stake out Xiangqifang tomorrow?"

Qi Yuxuan thought about it. If he were to go, he wouldn't be able to accompany her to Beiyuan. After all, it would take two full days for a carriage to make the round trip, while riding a horse could at most reduce it to one and a half days, which was still too rushed.

She had never been to Beiyuan before. Although the possibility of an accident was very small if she went with the palace staff and was protected by the Qilin Guards, she shouldn't be afraid.

For some reason, she felt uneasy as soon as she woke up today, with a feeling that something bad was going to happen.

In the morning, Lanxin and the others comforted her, saying that it was because she hadn't slept well yesterday, and that she should try lighting some calming incense to fall asleep today.

In the end, Ren Shun was still sent to Xiangqifang to keep watch, and Qi Yuxuan read the letter from beginning to end without missing a single word.

"Capture him alive, buy a house near Beiyuan and detain him there. I want to interrogate him myself."

Qi Yuxuan's voice was trembling.

She would never forget this handwriting; it was exactly the same as the one Xiao Yuyao had written on the stationery with her left hand, which she had seen before.

So Xiao Yuyao didn't die at all. The addictive rouge and powder were just a trick she came up with!

It remains to be seen what role Prince Duan played in all of this.

Qi Yuxuan suddenly understood everything.

With Yue on the outside and Xiangqifang on the inside, if external forces cannot break through, then we will start to disintegrate from within. Even if it means negotiating with a tiger and leaving Qi in ruins, King Duan is determined to succeed.

"Where are we now?"

Ren Shun had already left. Qi Yuxuan lifted the curtain and asked Bi Sui, who was standing to the side.

Bi Sui looked up at the procession in front and behind her and replied, "Princess, it's still early. We've only just joined up with the palace procession and haven't even left the capital yet."

"Why don't you sleep a little longer? I'll wake you up when we're halfway there."

The princess didn't sleep well last night, and the others were a little worried. They thought she could get some more sleep on the way today, but now she seems energetic and doesn't look tired at all. What did the guard report earlier?

Half an hour later, the Crown Prince, who was riding at the front of the procession, received an iced drink from Princess Chang Le.

The guard beside him even added in his own mind, "The princess must be considerate of Your Highness's hardship riding a horse under the scorching sun, which is why she ordered someone to bring you drinks. Why don't you go back to the carriage and rest for a while?"

The guards appeared expressionless, but a closer look revealed that their ears were slightly perked up, as if they were eager to hear some gossip.

Qi Jun stared at the food box, hummed in agreement, and personally carried it to his own carriage after turning his horse around.

After the crown prince left, the guards lowered their voices and whispered among themselves:

"What's going on? Since when has the Crown Prince's food, clothing, and shelter become something that Princess Chang Le needs to worry about? There's the Empress Dowager, the Empress, and at the very least, the Eldest Princess..."

"How would I know? Maybe it was the eldest princess who ordered it? Don't be so sure about who's got a chance. That's the crown prince and the princess, they share the same surname and clan. If they really get together, there will be a lot of people gossiping behind their backs."

"So what? Who in the capital doesn't know that Princess Chang Le is just an adopted daughter..."

Suddenly, a mounted inspector sped by and whispered a rebuke: "Silence!"

The group returned to the quiet, solemn, and dignified state it had been before the Crown Prince left.

Back in the carriage, Qi Jun first wiped his sweaty palms with a damp handkerchief before personally opening the long-awaited food box.

But there was no iced drink in sight, only a letter and a concise note.

The note was in Qi Yuxuan's handwriting. He picked it up loosely with two fingers and took a look—

"The face powder and face cream sold by Xiangqifang are addictive, and the mastermind behind it, Xiao Yuyao, is probably another scheme by Prince Duan."

He let out a soft sigh, abandoning any thought of opening the letter. He turned to look at Sun Miao, who was struggling to suppress his laughter, and narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"I didn't realize that you've grown so plump and flabby, it's really an eyesore. Go out and ride with the guards, and don't return to the carriage without my permission."

Sun Miao was taken aback, then reluctantly accepted the order and left.