Chapter 224 You know her!

On the carriage back to the mansion, Song Yi gave Li Nanke a light glare.

"You little rascal, don't think I don't know you're deliberately complaining to the Duchess of Xin."

"Young Master Xie is your savior after all; you mustn't play such tricks on him again."

Li Nanke stuck out her tongue and obediently responded.

"I understand, Mother."

But she thought to herself that the Xue family was no good family, so how could what she did not count as saving Xie Xuanxiao?

The mother and daughter returned to the Marquis of Anping's residence, and a servant came to report that Madam Wang had arrived with Wang Tongyun.

"Tongyun heard about what happened to your daughter's horse yesterday and was extremely worried. She urged me to bring her over first thing this morning."

"It was rather impolite of me to visit without first presenting a formal invitation; I hope Lady Song will not take offense."

The Wang family was the residence of the Right Chancellor, and produced a Noble Consort. They enjoyed a high reputation among civil officials, so the family members were known for their respect for etiquette and adherence to moral principles.

Mrs. Wang felt very ashamed for visiting without sending a formal invitation.

Song Yi had a good impression of Madam Wang during the days she distributed porridge at the refugee camp, and Madam Wang had also helped her out of a predicament at the palace gate on the day she was choosing a study companion.

She was very grateful and smiled as she pulled Mrs. Wang to sit down.

"I'm so happy that you could come, sister. I feel so close to you when I see you. We're about the same age, so I'll take the liberty of calling you sister."

"From now on, you can just call me Yiyi."

Mrs. Wang also liked Song Yi's simplicity and kindness, and immediately agreed.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony. My maiden name is Feng, you can call me Sister Feng."

"Sister Feng."

While the two chatted on the same topic, Li Nanke took Wang Tongyun to play in his yard.

"The wound on your forehead looks quite scary. Does it still hurt?"

Wang Tongyun stared at her wound carefully for a long time.

Li Nanke shook his head and smiled.

"It doesn't hurt if I don't touch it, but it's very swollen. It will go down in a few days."

Wang Tongyun breathed a sigh of relief, then slumped onto the table with a droopy face.

He wailed, "In a few days we will be accompanying the princess to study. I was originally thinking of inviting you out to play before the princess starts her studies."

"Now that's bad, you're injured, so you definitely can't go out with me. And I don't want to play with those hesitant, fussy people; it's so boring."

Wang Tongyun rested her small face on her arm, looking dejected as if her happiness was gone.

Li Nanke was amused.

"It's just a minor injury, it's nothing serious. Where do you want to go? I'll go with you."

Is it really possible?

Wang Tongyun sat up straight with a start, her eyes shining.

Li Nanke nodded.

"Of course, just tell me which day you want to go and where you want to go."

Wang Tongyun counted on her fingers with great interest.

"Go to the Xiangguo Temple Fair. In five days, the Xiangguo Temple will hold its fair. I heard that this year's fair is especially lively."

There are vendors selling ancient books and paintings, vendors selling overseas treasures, incense appreciation gatherings, and most importantly, lots of snacks, as well as street performers and entertainers. Oh, and the Desheng Opera Troupe will also put on a few shows at the temple fair.

Desheng Opera Troupe was the largest and best opera troupe in Beijing. If you wanted to hear Desheng Opera, you had to make a reservation well in advance.

"We can go buy what we want to eat first, and then watch the variety show while we eat."

Finally, how about going to see the Desheng Opera Troupe?

Wang Tongyun looked at Li Nanke with great interest.

Li Nanke wasn't particularly interested in listening to opera, but seeing her high spirits, he couldn't bear to dampen her enthusiasm.

He nodded with a smile, "Okay, in five more days, the wound on my forehead will be almost healed."

The two of them made that agreement.

After seeing Wang Tongyun off, Li Nanke and Song Yi went to the main courtyard to have lunch with Madam He. As usual, they took a half-hour nap before getting up to go find Huang Sheng for class.

Although it was called a class, the main purpose was to discuss the opening of the embroidery workshop with Huang Sheng.

Huang Sheng said that in business, practical experience is far more important than theoretical learning.

Zhou Huai'an sat quietly beside him for a while, then silently got up and went back to practicing walking.

After discussing and agreeing to go see the shop's renovation with Huang Sheng the next day, Li Nanke prepared to return to the backyard.

Just then, Zisu arrived and whispered, "Miss, Commander Zhang is waiting outside the side gate. He says he's here on the Prince's orders to take you somewhere."

Li Nanke's eyes darted around, and he vaguely guessed what was going on.

She then sent a maid to inform Song Yi, and Song Yi took Zisu to the side gate.

As expected, Erfeng was waiting outside the side gate. When he saw her come out, his beard stood up with a big smile.

"Miss Ke'er, please get in the car."

When Li Nanke got out of the car again, he looked at the mansion in front of him in surprise.

It turned out to be a house without a signboard.

"Huh? Aren't we going to the Prince's mansion?"

Erfeng shook his head. "No, the prince is waiting for you in the courtyard."

Li Nanke walked in and saw that the courtyard was somewhat dilapidated, with many weeds growing in the cracks between the blue bricks on the ground, and the weeds in the corner of the wall were more than half a person tall.

Shen Cong stood under the corridor, with a tall and slender woman standing next to him.

The woman appeared to be around the same age as Song Yi, around twenty-five or twenty-six, dressed in a black outfit, with her waist-length hair casually tied up with a plain-colored hairband.

Because she was slightly bent over while speaking to Shen Cong, her face was not clearly visible.

Seemingly noticing someone coming in, the woman turned her head to look.

Li Nanke paused, and after seeing the woman's face clearly, he was stunned.

The woman had fair skin, sharp brow bones like they were carved by a knife, and eyes that looked as if they had been immersed in an ice cellar for many years, with black pupils but no warmth at all.

That one glance from her could almost freeze you, making you instinctively want to shiver.

In just a moment, Li Nanke recognized the person in front of him.

Nangong Qiang!

She had seen him in her dream; he was the leader of Shen Cong's secret guards, highly skilled in martial arts, and a cold and taciturn person.

Even when Shen Cong asked her a question, she would only say two words and never three.

In the dream, Shen Cong was surrounded by Shen Xu's men because of the misinformation she spread.

Nangong Qiang rushed in to save him, but it was too late.

Shen Cong was killed by an arrow through the heart while fighting desperately. At that moment, Nangong Qiang went mad and frantically slashed with her sword.

Despite being struck by countless arrows, she did not retreat a single step until she finally reached Shen Cong's side.

But she had exhausted all her strength and finally died beside Shen Cong.

Recalling the bloody scene in her dream, Li Nanke pursed her lips, her face turning pale.

So, Nangong Qiang was already Shen Cong's bodyguard at this time?

Shen Cong gave her a deep look, then turned to look at Nangong Qiang.

"Go on."

Nangong Qiang raised her eyebrows slightly, seemingly surprised, but quickly regained her indifferent expression.

"His Majesty's men failed to find the First Prince. In my opinion, the First Prince has already been taken to the capital!"

A look of anger rose on Shen Cong's pale face.

"The Imperial City Guards are a bunch of useless idiots. They've been searching for almost a month, and they're still a step too late!"

Nangong Qiang remained silent.

After pondering for a moment, Shen Cong gave instructions to Er Feng.

"Send a few men to keep watch at the city gate. If any child who looks very much like Changsheng enters the city, bring him here to me immediately."

Li Nanke was very surprised.

So many clues have been given, yet no leads have been found. And they even managed to get Shen Xu to come to the capital ahead of schedule?

I wonder who will take Shen Xu away.

She lowered her head in thought when the wound on her forehead suddenly stung.

hiss!

She looked up and saw Shen Cong looking down at her, twirling his fingers with a look of disgust.

Then he pointed to Nangong Qiang.

You know her!