Chapter 96 Xiao Qingyuan Disappears

Qin Xin sat on a low stool, looking up at Shen Wantang sitting in a chair. She was amazed that the Crown Princess was still so calm and composed.

When Chu Yanluo provokes her, she doesn't get angry or break down, nor does she sulk or cry alone. She just calmly delivers a fatal blow.

When Chu Yanluo's reputation was ruined and she suffered a crushing defeat, she did not gloat, nor did she feel triumphant or excited after her opponent's crushing defeat. She remained as calm and serene as ever.

Qin Xin sincerely admired the Crown Princess's strong heart. If it were someone else, knowing that her husband's most beloved woman had ended up like this, they would probably be laughing with joy.

But the Crown Princess didn't even smile; she was less happy than when she received the gifts from Zuixianlou!

She even considered the princess's feelings and gave her all four of the largest crabs, even though she knew the princess couldn't eat that many.

When it comes to being filial to her mother-in-law, the Crown Princess is impeccable.

So the princess grew to like her more and more, wishing she could give her all her wealth. Whenever the crown prince and crown princess had any conflicts, the princess would always scold the crown prince first. In the princess's eyes, her daughter-in-law was so good that she would not cause trouble; the only one who could cause trouble was her son.

After peeling one crab, Qin Xin started peeling another. She asked softly, "Princess Consort, don't you want to know where the Prince went?"

Shen Wantang looked at her: "What, do you know where the young master went?"

"This servant...this servant overheard something last night, and I can guess a little bit about it!"

Shen Wantang smiled. Her maid was truly a master of intelligence gathering. If Qin Xin were a man, she could probably become a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and achieve great things.

"Tell me what you guessed."

"The young master argued with Chu Yanluo for a long time last night, questioning why she lied to him. The man who humiliated her was clearly not the second young master Gu, but the eldest young master Yuan. Why did she cover for the eldest young master Yuan?"

Qin Xin lowered her voice and said, "Then, Chu Yanluo said that it was Young Master Yuan who threatened her, that the child she was pregnant with before was Young Master Yuan's. If she dared to expose how Young Master Yuan had bullied her, Young Master Yuan would go out and spread rumors that she had seduced him, ruining her reputation."

Shen Wantang raised an eyebrow. This was unexpected news. In her previous life, Chu Yanluo never revealed the father of the child she was carrying until her death.

I never expected it to be Yuan Zheng's.

“Princess Consort, the Prince was very angry at the time. He wanted to go and settle accounts with Young Master Yuan, but Chu Yanluo stopped him. However, I think the Prince’s anger will not be so easily appeased. Even if he dislikes Chu Yanluo and does not intend to have her anymore, he will not swallow his anger. He may really go and find Young Master Yuan.”

Shen Wantang nodded and praised Qin Xin: "Your analysis is correct. The young master is indeed the most likely to go to see Young Master Yuan."

Xiao Qingyuan must have not only gone to find Yuan Zheng, but the process must have been difficult, otherwise he wouldn't still be here.

After finishing the drunken crab, Shen Wantang washed her hands, thought for a moment, and then went to Princess Ning's courtyard.

"Mother, it's getting dark, and the young master hasn't returned yet. Should we send some men out to look for him?"

Princess Ning said irritably, "What are you looking for? That scoundrel is already married, yet he still dares to spend the night outside. It would be better if he died out there!"

Shen Wantang knew that she was just saying that out of anger. When it comes to caring for Xiao Qingyuan, if Princess Ning dares to say she is second, then no one in the world dares to say they are first.

"Mother, let's send someone to search for him. No matter what, let's find the young master first."

Princess Ning didn't take it too seriously; Xiao Qingyuan often didn't come home for several days at a time in the past.

He loved Chu Yanluo to the core. When Chu Yanluo said that she was forced to have a child by a villain, he believed her. Then, for many days and nights, he stayed by Chu Yanluo's side, protecting her with all his heart so that she would no longer be harmed by villains.

However, Chu Yanluo was clearly in the Prince's mansion last night, but Xiao Qingyuan did not return all night, which is indeed a bit strange.

Princess Ning nodded: "Tang'er, you can arrange it as you see fit. It would be best if we could find that scoundrel, but it doesn't matter if we can't. He doesn't have any money on him, so he can't stay out there for more than two days. When he finds that he can't move an inch without money, he will naturally come back."

After receiving her mother-in-law's approval and saying a few more words, Shen Wantang quickly left Shaoguang Courtyard and returned to her own Wutong Courtyard, where she arranged for someone to go find Xiao Qingyuan.

Although she and Xiao Qingyuan were not husband and wife, he was still her husband. If he disappeared, wouldn't it be strange if she didn't look for him?

Moreover, she really didn't want anything to happen to Xiao Qingyuan right now.

Soon, wave after wave of people went out of the Prince's mansion; most of the guards and servants were sent out to search for people.

When Princess Ning learned that Shen Wantang had made such a big fuss, she couldn't help but sigh, "The Crown Princess really cares about Yuan'er. She's so worried about him and has sent so many people to look for him. It makes it seem like the Prince and I don't care about Yuan'er at all."

Granny Quan spoke respectfully: "The Princess and the Prince naturally dote on the Prince the most, and the Princess Consort is indeed very concerned about him. This is what a wife should be like. That Chu Yanluo has completely deceived the Prince. Now that the Prince has disappeared, she doesn't care at all. I heard she's still selling her pastries at Qingyun Restaurant!"

Princess Ning's face darkened as soon as she heard Chu Yanluo's name: "That fickle woman, she's been seducing Yuan'er one minute, then Gu Qianhan from the Gu family the next, and now she's rumored to be having an affair with the eldest son of the Yuan family! Yuan'er has done so much for her, but in the end he can't even get a little bit of her care! This kind of woman deserves to die!"

Granny Quan paused for a moment, then asked in a low voice, "How about I have someone deal with her? Keeping her around is just asking for trouble."

Princess Ning's eyes lit up slightly, but soon her gaze dimmed again.

She shook her head with difficulty: "No, I can't touch her. If she dies, Yuan'er will probably never forgive me, and our mother-son relationship will be over. It's not worth it for something like that."

"Your Highness, rest assured, this old servant will handle this matter thoroughly, and the young master will not know that we were the ones who did it."

Princess Ning smiled bitterly: "Granny, there is no secret in this world that can be kept forever. Some things, once done, will definitely leave traces. We may have to tell more lies for the sake of this one lie."

“It’s not that I’m not decisive and ruthless enough, it’s just that I can’t bear to make Yuan’er suffer. If Chu Yanluo is gone, who knows what foolish things he might do? I can’t take that risk, Granny.”

"Let's wait a little longer. Yuan'er has changed since he married the Crown Princess. He has argued with Chu Yanluo several times and even hit her."

"Perhaps we don't need to do anything. He'll figure it out on his own and understand what Chu Yanluo is. He'll drive Chu Yanluo away on his own in the future."

Granny Quan sighed, knowing that the princess was a loving mother and couldn't bear to remove the tumor in the prince's heart, lest she hurt him.

"Granny, send someone to find out what Chu Yanluo is doing at Qingyun Restaurant right now. I don't believe she's just quietly selling pastries there. Didn't she hook up with the second young master of the Gu family yesterday? Let's see who she hooks up with today."

"Yes, Your Highness, this old servant will send someone to check immediately."

——

Qingyun Building.

Chu Yanlu was doing the accounts in her private room. The manager said that they had lost two thousand taels of silver yesterday, but she didn't believe it at all.

Her pastries are all styles and flavors that became bestsellers in later generations, how could she possibly lose money?

The shopkeeper must have thought she was an easy target and deliberately cheated her so he wouldn't give her a share of the profits!

Just as I was calculating, the door to the private room was suddenly pushed open.

Chu Yanluo looked up, her heart jolted, and her face turned deathly pale: "Yuan Zheng?!"