The three of them felt a twitch in their eyelids.
Since their parting at the palace banquet three years ago, Pei Zhao had never seen Princess Jia Hua and Song Yue again. He couldn't understand what his mother was doing at the Duke of Jing's mansion in the middle of the night.
Pei Zhao decided to go there himself.
“Husband, I’ll go with you,” Xu Qing’er said.
Zhao Qingyan pursed her lips. She did want to go, but seeing Princess Jiahua made her legs tremble. The scars on her face hadn't healed yet.
“Alright.” Pei Zhao nodded.
Zhao Qingyan couldn't help and could only watch helplessly as the person walked away.
The carriage of the Prince of Zhennan's Mansion stopped in front of the Duke of Jingguo's Mansion. The steward stopped the people, and Pei Zhao said, "I have come to pay my respects to the princess."
"Your Highness, it's already so dark. If you have something to discuss, please take the invitation and come back tomorrow."
Pei Zhao frowned: "I have urgent business. If I'm delayed, how many heads do you have to bear the consequences?"
A fierce roar did nothing to intimidate the steward, who remained standing at the door, refusing to budge an inch: "Young Master, you've come to the wrong place. This is the Duke of Jingguo's residence, not your Prince of Zhennan's residence, where you can run wild!"
Retorted by a steward, Pei Zhao lost face and made as if to barge inside, but the steward coughed lightly twice.
A dozen or so Imperial Guards stepped forward.
"Husband!" Xu Qing'er pulled him back in time and whispered, "We can't force things in the Duke of Jing's mansion. Let me handle it."
Pei Zhao turned away angrily.
Xu Qing'er smiled and said, "Steward, we are here to see the princess. Please do us a favor and let her know that if she refuses to see us, we will leave. We don't want to delay our important business."
At Xu Qing'er's soft pleading, the steward reluctantly sent a servant to Yuehua Pavilion to inform the princess. The servant returned shortly afterward, saying, "The princess says she will not see me."
Xu Qing'er's face fell.
The Xu family's reputation was something that everyone in the capital city respected, but it was worthless in front of the Duke of Jingguo's mansion, especially that princess, who didn't give them any face at all.
"You two heard it too, the princess is nowhere to be seen." After saying that, the steward waved his hand and ordered someone to close the door with a look of disgust.
Pei Zhao clenched his fists as he looked at the tightly closed door, his heart pounding.
"My lord, I have a plan." Xu Qing'er pulled Pei Zhao into the palace to see Empress Dowager Xu.
She frequently entered the palace, and was allowed to pass as soon as she gave the order. Half an hour later, she met Empress Dowager Xu, and Xu Qing'er explained the whole story.
“My mother went to the Duke of Jingguo’s mansion and then disappeared without a trace. I am worried that something might have happened. Please ask my great-aunt to send someone to search the Duke of Jingguo’s mansion.”
"Search the Duke of Jingguo's mansion?" Empress Dowager Xu's brows furrowed deeply.
With Princess Jia Hua's fiery temper, wouldn't she have torn down Ning'an Palace?
"Could it be that the Princess Consort went somewhere else along the way? You were all too hasty. Perhaps the Princess Consort of Zhennan is waiting at home right now." Empress Dowager Xu gave Xu Qing'er a reproachful look. It seemed that she had spoiled her too much.
They can't distinguish between what's important and what's not, and they dare to report anything to their superiors.
"Can……"
"Alright!" Empress Dowager Xu interrupted, "It's getting late, you should all go back soon."
Having gained no advantage from Empress Dowager Xu, Xu Qing'er could only slink back to the Zhennan Prince's Mansion with Pei Zhao. Pei Zhao asked the servants, "Has Mother returned?"
The servant shook his head.
"Husband, don't worry. Perhaps it's true what the Empress Dowager said; Mother has simply gone elsewhere," Xu Qing'er reassured her.
Zhao Qingyan came out: "Mother did not go to the Prince of Qing's mansion either. I sent people to inquire about the places Mother usually goes to, but she is not there. Also, no one knows that Mother went to the Duke of Jing's mansion last night."
Xu Qing'er frowned: "That person can't just disappear without a trace, can he?"
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