Chapter 858 The Truth - Twenty Years Ago 19

Inside the other room, Bai Xu, who had just woken up, sat at the table. When he heard Princess Baiyun knocking on the door, his gaze involuntarily swept across the face of the eldest princess.

The princess was disturbed by the noise and couldn't help but let out a soft moan before turning over and going back to sleep.

Seeing this, Bai Xu smiled helplessly, got up and slowly opened a crack in the door.

"What's the matter?"

Bai Xu immediately noticed that Princess Baiyun's expression was not quite natural. Looking behind her, he saw that the Seventh Prince had come with her.

Thinking of the eldest princess who was with him, Bai Xu suddenly understood what was going on.

"Come in first!"

If word got out that a man and a woman were alone together in a room, it would be bad for the princess's reputation.

Upon entering the house and stepping over the screen into the inner chamber, Princess Baiyun and the Seventh Prince were taken aback.

"Little sister, little sister, why are you sleeping here?"

The seventh prince stepped forward and grabbed the sleeping princess.

The eldest princess was still half asleep when she reached out and rubbed her eyes. "Seventh Brother, what brings you here?"

The eldest princess clearly didn't know where she was and thought it was the seventh prince coming to scare her out of bed again.

Seeing the princess's confused expression, the seventh prince glanced awkwardly at the two of them before saying to the princess, "What? How did I get here? Sister, are you still half asleep? Quickly look where you are."

The Seventh Prince spoke in a somewhat urgent manner, and the Eldest Princess sensed something amiss in his words, finally snapping out of her daze.

"This, this, Seventh Brother, what's going on? How did I end up in...Young Master Su's room?"

The princess's voice grew softer and softer, but even so, in the quiet room, Princess Baiyun and Bai Xu still heard it.

Princess Baiyun turned her head to look at her brother, as if asking him what was going on.

“We were all drunk last night, and we probably mistook the place for something else. But don’t worry, Miss, since you slept here yesterday, I, Su, will definitely take responsibility.”

Bai Xu has now basically confirmed the identity of the Seventh Prince. Since the beautiful young lady in front of him is the Seventh Prince's sister, she must be the Eldest Princess.

Before this marriage alliance, Bai Xu felt a sense of fearlessness, but if the person in front of him was the princess, he would be extremely willing to marry her.

"I was just drunk, Brother Su, there's no need to worry about it. It's getting late, so I'll head back with my sister now."

When the Seventh Prince heard Bai Xu say he would take responsibility, he was terrified. He thought that the marriage procession between the two countries would soon arrive in the capital, and it would be unwise to cause any trouble at this time.

Before Bai Xu could say anything more, the Seventh Prince grabbed the Eldest Princess and hurriedly left the room.

Zhong Yi, who had been away all night, returned to the scene. He couldn't help but look puzzled when he saw that the Seventh Prince and the Eldest Princess were still there.

"Master, what's going on?"

If Zhong Yi wasn't mistaken, the young lady's face seemed to have turned red.

Bai Xu was not surprised by the departure of the two, after all, the eldest princess was about to be married off, and it was normal for the seventh prince to have such an attitude after he said those words.

"So? Have you found out the truth?"

After learning that Xu Menglong had arrived in Beijing, Bai Xu instructed Zhong Yi to secretly investigate his whereabouts. Having received the news yesterday, Zhong Yi and Mu Fan personally went out to investigate, and they expect there will be a pleasant surprise this time.

Zhong Yi nodded upon hearing this, but did not intend to report it here.

Back in the room, Zhong Yi first clasped his hands in a fist salute to Bai Xu before reporting, "The Crown Prince of Jin has come here for a marriage alliance, but in fact, he is looking for a treasure map left behind by the previous dynasty."

"Oh? He knows about this too?" Upon hearing this, Bai Xu unconsciously tapped his fingers on the table.

"Not only do we know, but it seems we've also made some progress. Crown Prince Jin's people are currently investigating the powerful families of the Great Zhou."

Zhong Yi reported the information he had received truthfully, and Bai Xu paused upon hearing this.

The previous dynasty left behind a treasure map. His father had only told him this before he came to the Great Zhou. Legend has it that whoever obtains the treasure map will be able to obtain countless gold and silver and conquer the entire world.

Before the marriage alliance, he and the Wei emperor had guessed the ambitions of the Jin state, but they never expected that the Jin state would actually be after the treasure map.

"Where's Mu Fan? Why didn't he come back with us?"

"It seems there's some big news from the Crown Prince of Jin, so Mu Fan is still keeping watch over there."

Upon hearing what Zhong Yi said, Bai Xu nodded and then waved for him to leave.

That afternoon, Bai Xu bought some generous gifts and led Princess Baiyun to the Marquis of Yi'an's residence.

On their first visit, as merchants, Bai and Xu were naturally stopped by the servants of the Marquis's residence. Only after they were told that they knew the young master Gu did the gatekeeper agree to inform him.

Although Gu Jin had only met Bai Xu a few times, he had a good impression of Bai Xu and had promised to help his mother find a famous doctor. So, after hearing the servant's message, he personally went out to greet the two of them.

After entering the main hall of the Marquis's residence and taking a sip of tea, Bai Xu clasped his hands in greeting to Gu Jin and said, "I have come uninvited, and I hope that Young Master Gu will not take offense."

"Brother Su, what are you saying? I should be happy that you came. Saying it's strange makes us seem distant."

The two exchanged a smile and then drank another mouthful of tea.

After exchanging a few polite words, Gu Jin very courteously invited the two of them to stroll around the garden.

Although it's no longer the season for flowers to bloom, you can still see patches of bright red in the Gu family's garden.

While observing the layout of the Marquis's residence, Bai Xu chatted idly with Gu Jin about poetry and literature. Meanwhile, Princess Baiyun, standing nearby, stared blankly at a little girl not far away.

The girl was reaching for something in the tree with her short arms outstretched. Her maid was supporting her, and she was swaying and unsteady on her feet.

"careful!"

As soon as Princess Baiyun spoke to warn the maid that she was about to fall, the girl and the maid both tumbled to the ground.

Gu Jin looked up upon hearing the sound and saw his younger sister and her maid lying on the ground.

"Little sister, how are you? Are you alright?"

As Gu Jin spoke, he hurriedly ran to the girl's side and picked her up from the ground.

"Brother, I'm fine, it's just that the bird egg got broken."

The little girl didn't cry out in pain; instead, she looked at the broken bird egg on the ground with a somewhat aggrieved expression.

"If you want, I'll take the bird eggs out for you again, but you're not allowed to do such dangerous things again."

Gu Jin looked at her bruised palm with heartache, wrapped it with a handkerchief, and turned to reach for the bird egg, but the little girl stopped him.

"Brother, I didn't mean to take the bird's egg. It was just out there, and I was afraid it would fall, so I wanted to put it back. But I didn't expect to drop it."

The little girl opened her eyes wide and hurriedly explained.

Hearing this, Gu Jin smiled and patted her head. "Since my little sister meant well, there's even less reason for you to feel apologetic, isn't there?"