However, the conversation seemed to have run out of steam. Huo Danlan stood up, straightened her wide sleeves, and said, "A-Jun, your aunt has gone back."

Zhao Shu also stood up to see her off, saying, "I know Aunt is busy, so please go ahead and do your work. A-Jun will take good care of herself."

After seeing the person off at the door, Huo Danlan gazed longingly at the three characters "Yongwang Mansion." She boarded the carriage, but the curtain remained drawn for a long time. Magpie urged, "Miss, let's go."

"Ah Jun, please give my regards to your father." She finally spoke her heart out, then lowered the carriage curtain, and the carriage clattered away into the distance.

Zhao Shu watched the departing carriage, feeling that the twilight was very long and the setting sun was too dark. Before she knew it, it was already dusk. She stood there for a long time, until Shengxia urged for the third time, "Princess, the wind is picking up. Let's go back."

“Yes, the wind is picking up. Actually, it’s best to keep things as they are. What do you think? It’s exhausting to fight so much.” She slowly turned around, like an elderly woman in her twilight years, taking small, labored steps.

Green Ivy and Summer looked at each other. They were fine just now. What's wrong with the princess?

“This servant doesn’t know many profound principles, but this servant knows that not fighting is cowardice, because if you don’t fight, others will. Princess, if you’re tired, go and rest. This servant will give you a shoulder massage later, okay?” Shengxia said.

Zhao Shu gave her a faint smile, her tired face making Sheng Xia and the others feel sorry for her. She exhaled a breath of stale air, "I may really be getting old."

“Your Highness, you’re only fifteen. How can you be old? You still have a few months until your coming-of-age ceremony. If you say I’m old, then I might as well give up on life.” Sheng Xia pretended to be aggrieved, trying to amuse Zhao Shu.

Zhao Shu smiled in agreement, "Where's Xiao Zhu? Call him over."

"Oh, this servant will go and call him over." Green Ivy was still hopping around, not acting like a lady at all, and no longer the timid and cowardly girl she used to be. The Prince Yong's mansion really takes good care of people.

Back at Qionghua Courtyard, Zhao Shu sat on the swing, with Sheng Xia gently pushing her from behind. After a short while, Xiao Zhuzi came over. "Princess, did you look for your servant?"

"What's been going on with Auntie lately?" she asked as soon as she opened her mouth. Little Zhu was in charge of intelligence, so he naturally knew a lot and would tell her about the most difficult and important matters every day.

Xiao Zhu was taken aback, and after thinking for a moment, said, "Princess, Miss Huo has been doing nothing lately. She just recites scriptures for Lord Huo every day and has also lit an ever-burning lamp at the temple."

There's nothing wrong with her, so the problem must lie with someone else. "Has anyone contacted her?"

"No, not many people come to the Huo residence to pay their respects these days, only one or two a day. Lord Huo's coffin and mourning hall are both in Bianzhou, and only a small mourning hall has been set up in the capital." He wanted to ask if Lord Huo, who faked his death and set up a mourning hall to perform rituals, did not intend to come back to life.

Zhao Shu frowned. With people coming to offer condolences every day, it would be difficult to investigate. "Where are Mr. Xiao and Song Tianhe?"

"Since Lord Huo's death, Mr. Xiao has gone on a journey. However, Ninth Sister is still in the capital. As for Mr. Song, he hasn't gone anywhere. He's helping Fei Peng manage the shops in the capital and Jiangying Garden."

Part of Jiangying Garden was converted into Sanguzhai and Chunyuan. Apart from the area used as a research institute for Physician Peng, Fei Peng manages the rest. He is currently traveling around to persuade powerful families, and since Song Tianhe is his mentor, it is only right that he helps with the management.

Zhao Shu also trusted him.

"Is there anything wrong with the others?" Zhao Shu asked again.

Xiao Zhu felt that the princess was acting strangely today, so he racked his brains and, after thinking for a while, frowned and said, "Princess, the one from Weiyang Palace has left the palace."

"Where did you go?" Zhao Shu immediately perked up to listen.

Since it was intelligence work, Xiao Zhu Zi naturally knew how to do it. He also knew that Wei Ting Si deliberately leaked the information, otherwise the two families would not understand the situation and it would be difficult to act in unison, which would lead to trouble.

He organized his thoughts, “It seems she went to see someone. This servant is incompetent and cannot find out, but this servant is certain that the person she met was a woman, because she went to our Sanguzhai to try out a face mask.”

Zhao Shu frowned, her sharp eyes sweeping over them, "Why didn't you report it!"

"Please forgive me, Your Highness. I received the news and went to see her in person. She had changed into her usual clothes and changed her name. She was trying out face masks and other cosmetics at our Sanguzhai restaurant. Our staff even gave her a massage. Apart from buying a lot of things and asking how to use them for the best results, she didn't say anything else. I just got back and was about to report this."

Zhao Shu naturally believed Xiao Zhu Zi. If he had been disloyal all these years, she would have noticed long ago. If he said there was no problem, then there was naturally no problem. But the fact that Yi De personally went out of the palace to test the face mask was the biggest problem.

Considering that she had just left the palace and Huo Danlan came to find her, it was indeed somewhat creepy, as Huo Danlan was not supposed to go out at the moment.

After thinking for a moment, she decided to send a message to Song Tianhe and ask him to keep an eye on her aunt.

"Yes, Your Highness. By the way, the ministers in the palace are kneeling and begging the Empress Dowager to punish that one in Weiyang Palace. The Empress Dowager has not yet made a statement, but she has already decided to send a princess to marry him."

Zhao Shu knew about this, but she didn't expect the candidate to be chosen so quickly. It was incredibly fast. "Who has been chosen?"

“Princess Chengping,” said Xiao Zhuzi.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Shu wondered where such a princess was in the palace. Before she could ask, Xiao Zhuzi said, "It is Zhao Wanshi, a member of the imperial clan of Guanzhou, who has been granted the title of princess. The envoy has already sent the edict for marriage, and the Xiongnu prince will probably be entering the capital soon."

"Zhao Wanshi?" Zhao Shu's first reaction was, "Can she bring glory to Dayong? Let's not embarrass Dayong."

However, sending Zhao Wanshi for a marriage alliance shows that the Empress Dowager had no sincerity in wanting a marriage alliance at all. It was probably a delaying tactic to quell the rebellion in Xiliang with minimal sacrifice.

Soon, she thought of Wei Tingsi. It must have been Wei Tingsi's scheme, otherwise he wouldn't have returned to the capital. He returned to the capital to deal with the affairs in the capital first. However, the affairs in the capital did not conflict much with his exoneration.

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