As soon as the Queen said this, Xia Miaoyuan was immediately delighted.
"All right! All right! Let's go and see what kind of girl she is!"
[Look at what kind of beauty this is, she can make even a thousand-year-old iron tree bloom! Hehe, maybe she's a vixen.]
The queen listened to her daughter's thoughts and her face turned black.
Today, only the Dai Viet delegation came to Beijing and there were no other activities, so the Queen had some free time.
Just go.
Shortly after lunch, the queen and her daughter changed into casual clothes and drove to the second prince's palace in a carriage.
The Second Prince’s Mansion is not far from the Imperial Palace and it won’t take long to get there.
The housekeeper of the Second Prince's Mansion was really surprised to see that it was the Queen and Princess Anguo who had suddenly arrived.
Because the Queen didn't like leaving the palace very much, even if she went out to visit someone's house, she would usually notify them in advance. It was rare for her to come suddenly without any notice like today.
"Empress, Princess Anguo, I didn't know that you two noble ladies were coming. I apologize for not welcoming you in person. Please forgive me!" The fat butler was so panicked that sweat broke out on his forehead.
"Well, the Second Prince is not here right now. He went to the Imperial Guards camp to handle official business this afternoon and may not be back until the evening."
The queen's face was expressionless, and it was hard to tell whether she was happy or angry, and the housekeeper was even more uncertain.
"It's okay. Today I just had a sudden urge to visit the Second Prince's residence." The Queen walked slowly towards the main courtyard and said lightly.
Xia Miaoyuan was skipping and jumping in front of the queen.
"I think that after the second son returned to the capital, he moved into this mansion. The emperor and I have been busy and haven't had time to formally congratulate him on the establishment of the mansion."
The butler bent his body and followed the queen cautiously.
"Your Majesty, you and His Majesty are both very busy. The Second Prince will certainly understand your hard work and will not have any complaints."
"Your Highness, the sun is at its hottest right now. Why don't you and the princess go to the flower hall and have some iced drinks to cool down?"
On the surface, Xia Miaoyuan jumped around like a naughty monkey, but he was actually secretly observing the housekeeper.
This housekeeper is acting strangely, like he's hiding something bad from my second brother and is afraid that my mother will find out.
[Nine out of ten, it's that girl.]
[In other words, that girl is very likely a person who is not worthy of public attention.]
The queen listened to her daughter's analysis and nodded slightly.
She had the same feeling since she saw the butler as soon as she entered the room.
Thinking of this, the Queen said in a deep voice: "No need, the weather today is quite good, not too hot."
"Besides, I didn't come here today just to drink tea."
"Take me to the main courtyard first. I need to see with my own eyes where Chengnian eats and lives, and whether it is clean and comfortable."
"Chengnian, this is your first time setting up a mansion, and there's no mistress to run the affairs. I can't help but feel a little uneasy."
At this time, beads of sweat had already fallen from the housekeeper's forehead to the ground, and his face looked even uglier.
"Your Majesty...why don't you go to the Second Prince's study first. The main courtyard...has some things going on today..." the butler stuttered.
Xia Miaoyuan glanced at the housekeeper sympathetically. "It's really hard for this fat uncle. He has to make up an excuse."
[That girl who is always shy must be living in the main courtyard.]
"What?!" The Queen's voice was cold and carried a heavy sense of oppression.
The fat butler wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and said, "The main courtyard is a bit messy today. You should wait for me to have someone clean it up before you go!"
The queen glared at the butler fiercely. The fat butler met the fierce gaze and trembled all over.
"The mess in the main courtyard means your servants are being dishonest and deceitful, and it means you, as the housekeeper, have failed in your duties!"
The housekeeper's face turned black, his lips trembled, and he looked extremely miserable, almost about to cry.
The Queen waved her hand, "Yingxue, Sangqi! The two of you go to the main courtyard first, and don't let the servants over there touch anything. I want to see with my own eyes how messy this main courtyard is!"
Yingxue and Sangqi responded and started running.
Especially Sang Qi, who was skilled in martial arts, walked lightly and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Xia Miaoyuan looked at Yingxue Sangqi's backs with interest, looked at the queen, and then looked at the housekeeper, with an expression as if he was waiting to eat melons.
[Oh my! Mom is awesome!]
[Tsk tsk tsk, poor fat housekeeper uncle, how pitiful! ]
Soon, the queen and her entourage arrived at the main courtyard.
I saw Sang Qi twisting a maid's arm. The maid grimaced, as if she was in pain.
The queen raised her eyebrows and looked at Sangqi.
Sang Qi replied, "My Lady, when I first arrived at the main courtyard, this maid was running out with a bundle under her arm. When I asked her, she didn't answer, so I captured her."
"Isn't this guy a thief?"
At this time, the housekeeper's face turned pale. He looked at the maid and sighed silently, "Hongmei, you are not working inside, why are you running away with a bundle?"
The maid named Hongmei pouts: "I..."
Sang Qi shouted: "Tell me, are you a thief?"
Hongmei shook her head like a rattle: "No, no, I just took the package to another courtyard as the housekeeper instructed."
The housekeeper chimed in, "It's a misunderstanding. I did instruct Hongmei to take the Second Prince's old clothes to the storeroom."
Xia Miaoyuan crossed his arms, observing the expressions of Hongmei and the housekeeper, then looked at the bundle on the ground, and a look of joy on his face came from eating melon.
[This fat butler and Hongmei work in perfect harmony!]
【There must be something fishy in the baggage! 】
The queen glanced at the butler calmly, then looked at the bundle on the ground: "Oh? Is it really a misunderstanding? It's just Chengnian's old clothes?"
At this time, Yingxue stepped forward, picked up the bundle and said, "Madam, when we ran into this maid, she was acting furtively and didn't look like she was doing her job normally."
"How about opening the bundle and checking it out? See if it's really the Second Prince's old clothes. Don't tell me if someone stole something and wants to take it away."
The queen nodded, and Yingxue opened the bundle swiftly without waiting for the housekeeper and Hongmei to speak.
Inside, there was no trace of the second prince's old clothes, but a whole bundle of women's clothing.
They were all brightly colored brocade dresses, with a few red bellybands underneath.
Xia Miaoyuan was stunned. [Ahhhhhhh! Could this be the clothes of the girl that my second brother secretly kept in the mansion?]
Xia Miaoyuan looked up at Hongmei and the housekeeper, only to see that their faces looked extremely ugly, and Hongmei was even trembling.
Xia Miaoyuan slapped his head and said, "I understand!"
[It must have been this fat housekeeper. Seeing our sudden arrival, he was worried she'd discover Second Brother's secret lover, so he secretly ordered the servants to quickly move the girl's belongings out of the main courtyard.]
[As a result, hehe, I didn't expect my mother to act so quickly and catch the maid red-handed.]
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