The surrounding neighbors confirmed Chu Jinjin's guess.
Many people live here, and people come and go during the day. Even if someone moves away, no one will notice. But one of the old women who argues with Granny Xu all day long saw it.
"They left acting suspiciously, probably because they were afraid Miss Chu would try to take the child." The old woman, of course, knew nothing of the major events that had occurred in the court. She was disappointed that her mortal enemy had run away like that. "When I asked where they were going, they were so scared that they didn't dare to say a word."
Chu Jinjin handed her a piece of silver: "Did someone come to pick them up, or did they go on their own?"
The old woman beamed: "Someone is coming to pick you up. It's a rather impressive-looking carriage. Miss Chu, don't worry, I'll have someone tell you as soon as they return it."
Chu Jinjin shook her head subconsciously.
I'm afraid he won't be coming back.
Xu Xun used Chun'er as leverage, clearly indicating his desperation to do whatever he wanted. How could he possibly leave unless there was something even more beneficial?
Who would do that?
The answer is self-evident.
At the Chu family home, everyone was eagerly waiting for Chu Jinjin to return. When they saw her alone and heard the situation, they were stunned.
Chu Lingling trembled uncontrollably: "Chun'er, will Chun'er be alright?"
Chu Jinjin placed her hand on her shoulder and pressed down firmly: "No, as long as I'm here, Chun'er will be in no danger."
It was Xiao Huai who made the move.
She underestimated the situation; she originally thought that the spies' main target was her.
Xiao Huai must have wanted to do something for a long time, but since she was at home, she couldn't openly break off relations, so she set her sights on Chun'er.
Chu Jinjin looked at Zhan Qin.
"I'll go to the Xia Yuan family right now. Don't worry, I'll definitely find out where Chun'er is." Zhan Qin stood up and walked out without her having to say anything.
At this point, the only person he could find out the news from was the one he least wanted to see.
Chu Jinjin saw him to the door.
When she returned, Wang hugged Chu Lingling and wiped away her tears.
"The Emperor himself is using a child as a hostage." Chu Jingde, with his old-fashioned mindset, barely managed to control his emotions and said in a low voice, "Stop crying. From now on, no one is allowed to leave the house."
One great-grandson is enough; we can't involve anyone else.
One by one, we'll see.
After saying that, she looked at Chu Jinjin and said, "Don't be impulsive."
He was even more worried that Chu Jinjin would go directly to the palace to demand people.
Chu Jinjin nodded: "Don't worry, I'm not that impulsive."
The situation has changed. For the sake of his empire, Xiao Huai has completely given up his feelings for her. Now, in Xiao Huai's heart, she is only of use and has no affection left.
Her idea was similar: to get more family members out of the country.
Just then, footsteps sounded outside. The servant who ran ahead to deliver the message was unaware of what had happened and exclaimed excitedly, "Third Miss, Princess Le'an has come to see you!"
Since returning, Chu Jinjin has been busy with this and that, and the two haven't seen each other at all.
Why visit at this time?
Chu Jinjin smiled helplessly: "Please come to my courtyard, Princess."
Princess Le'an looked worried, as if her spirit had been drained, and said weakly, "Jinjin, you know why I'm here, right?"
"Xiao Huai sent you, didn't he?" Chu Jinjin had no time for formalities. She opened the window, let the evening breeze blow for a while, and then said, "Come on, how do you want to persuade me?"
“I’m not here to persuade you,” Princess Le’an sighed. “Xiao Huai told me to stay at your house starting tonight, and I’ll go wherever you go.”
Chu Jinjin: "......."
As a princess with no special background, she was okay with ordinary palace affairs, but Princess Le'an was a step behind in learning about such secrets. However, she keenly sensed the impending storm. She thought about visiting Chu Jinjin, but in the end, she didn't.
Coming here will not only get you into trouble, but you also won't be able to help much.
She decided to play it safe for now and take things one step at a time; after all, she was a princess no matter what.
Unexpectedly, an imperial edict summoned her to the palace.
“Your kung fu is too good, no one can stop you. Xiao Huai is worried and sent someone else, you can beat them away. But I’m different. We have a good relationship and I’m a princess. Even if you’re angry, you won’t do anything.” Princess Le’an pouted. “Jinjin, you won’t hit me, right?”
Chu Jinjin: "......."
As expected of someone destined to become emperor, he actually came up with such a method.
Princess Le'an said to herself, "Xiao Huai doesn't care about anything now. Believe it or not, if that Northern Desert prince asked me to marry him, he definitely wouldn't hesitate."
Chu Jinjin didn't want to talk about these things with her, so she stood up and paced back and forth.
With Princess Le'an around, how could they possibly keep it a secret and leave with their families?
"Stop pacing back and forth. We're in this together now, Jinjin. I'm not joking. If I don't complete the task Xiao Huai gave me, he won't kill me, but I'll definitely be exiled. That's worse than death." Princess Le'an grabbed her clothes, looking pitiful. "Jinjin, what do we do?"
She never cared about outside opinions when it came to relationships, but now it was truly a matter of life and death.
"What's with that half-zombie thing? Is it really that scary? You can't even beat it?"
"We can't beat them." Chu Jinjin thought for a moment and decided to be frank first. "Le'an, listen carefully to what I'm about to say. You can believe it or not, or you can tell Xiao Huai."
Chu Jinjin took a deep breath: "First, I will not agree to go to the Northern Desert for a marriage alliance unless it is my corpse. Second, even if I go to the Northern Desert, I'm afraid I can't stop anything. If the Northern Desert army really wants to attack the capital, they don't need to join forces with anyone. At that time, there probably won't be many people left alive in the entire capital."
Princess Le'an shuddered violently: "Slaughter...slaughter the entire city?"
Chu Jinjin shook her head: "No, it's zombies. You can think of it as a plague. Once bitten, everyone will turn into a mindless monster."
Princess Le'an remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "I...I understand."
Now I understand why Xiao Huai did this.
Things were a million times worse than she had imagined.
“Jinjin, Xiao Huai did the right thing. If it were me, I would have kept you here too.” Princess Le’an slowly stood up. She suddenly became a stranger, a true princess. “I will not tell the Emperor what you just said, but I will keep an eye on you.”
She paused, then said, word by word, "Because I am a princess."
She can distinguish between the importance of an individual and the importance of a nation.
Chu Jinjin: "......"
That's like saying nothing at all.
She said these things because of her relationship with Princess Le'an. Although they didn't meet often, they were practically confidantes.
Before she went to the Northern Desert, it was Princess Le'an who helped her teach Xu Wenda a lesson.
She was about to say something in anger when she saw Princess Le'an, with her back to the door, give her a wink that only she could see.
Chu Jinjin was extremely vigilant; with her around, any sentries entering the courtyard would have been detected long ago.
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