Chapter 271 Selling Ninth Brother a Favor
It was already completely dark, but the rooms in the Princess's residence were still brightly lit.
Within two hours, someone had placed the identity information of Mr. Lin Changning and Mr. Gao Huan on the Princess's desk.
However, all the identities presented were fake. The eldest princess only flipped through two pages before losing interest. As he grew older, the ninth prince became increasingly meticulous in handling matters.
The eldest princess casually tossed the paper on the desk to the ground and beckoned upwards: "Aqi, tell me the princess's schedule for today."
Suddenly, a maidservant pushed open the door and entered. She was one of the maidservants who had been accompanying Princess Chaoyun that day. Upon hearing what the princess said, she knelt down on one knee.
"At today's banquet, several young ladies wore dresses that were both gorgeous and flowing, captivating the attention of all the women present. Naturally, the princess inquired about them as well."
Later, Madam Xie invited the young owner of the clothing shop to the dinner table. The young owner, surnamed Lin, brought out the patterns for two sets of dresses, which Madam Xie praised highly after looking at them.
The princess then asked to see it, saying it was called a mother-daughter outfit. The princess was immediately captivated, and since your birthday was in three days, she wanted to order the clothes right away.
Young Master Lin said he wouldn't charge money and could give the two sets of clothes to the princess for free, saying he wanted to make a name for himself in the capital.
Later, the young master Lin mentioned that there was a batch of fabric in the Jing'an Marquis's residence, and the princess needed to retrieve a bolt of blue brocade. After trying on the garment, the princess was indeed very satisfied and placed an order on the spot. She then went to the Jing'an Marquis's residence with her entourage.
Nothing seemed amiss at the Marquis's residence. After the princess made a few sarcastic remarks about the Marquis's wife, she took the fabric and left.
The eldest princess chuckled softly. Wasn't it obvious that she wanted to use the banquet at her eldest princess's residence to do something?
What a coincidence! It just so happens that her birthday is coming up and her daughter has a matching mother-daughter outfit she likes. It's clearly a scheme set up for her birthday.
Old Nine's methods are a bit too obvious.
However, she didn't mind doing Lao Jiu a favor this time, as Shu'er had indeed been living a life worse than death in the capital these past two years.
Thinking this, the princess asked with great interest, "Do you have the patterns for those two sets of mother-daughter outfits? Bring them here so I can take a look."
Archie nodded: "The original drawing is with Young Master Lin, but I also saw the drawing next to the princess today. I will draw it for the princess now."
As Archie spoke, he pulled out a fine brush and two sheets of paper from his pocket, found a table, sat down, and used his memory to draw the images onto the paper.
In addition to the two sets of dresses that Lin Changning initially promised them, Aqi even drew all the beautiful dresses that the princess had tried on in the store that day.
About an hour later, the princess, who was drinking snow swallow wine, suddenly looked up and saw the scroll that Aqi handed over.
At first glance, the princess fell in love with the dress drawn on the drawing. From the color scheme to the handling of every detail, the dress was not only novel but also looked exceptionally gorgeous and noble. Two similar dresses, one large and one small, were presented to the princess.
The eldest princess nodded in agreement: "I think the pearls depicted on it should be sea pearls. Their size is comparable to the Eastern pearls in the palace."
Moreover, he nimbly scribbled and drew on the chair, and nodded upon hearing this, saying, "In terms of size, it may not be as good as the Eastern Pearl, but its color and luster are top-notch among sea pearls on the market, and the materials used are also of the highest quality."
The eldest princess nodded in satisfaction as she looked at the scrolls being handed to her.
"These dresses are indeed beautiful, and their value is probably no less than a thousand taels of silver. Ah Yun got a good deal."
Archie looked up and handed the last dress design sketch to the princess: "Shall we continue the investigation, Your Highness?"
The eldest princess shook her head, a calculating glint in her eyes: "No need. Since Ninth Brother has given A-Yun these beautiful clothes, then let's do them a favor. Tomorrow, I will personally send a visiting card to the Marquis of Jing'an's residence in my name and invite them over on my birthday. Oh, by the way, when arranging the seating that day, please separate the seats of the Marquis of Jing'an's wife and A-Shu."
Archie nodded: "Yes, Princess."
The eldest princess waved her hand, signaling Aqi to step back: "If anything happens in the manor that day, remember to have someone protect Chaoyun."
"Yes, Princess!"
After receiving the order, Archie quickly withdrew, leaving the eldest princess alone to sit at the desk and carefully examine the drawings.
There are indeed many clever designs on it, especially the mother-daughter outfits with one big and one small, which are particularly to her liking.
You can't put all your eggs in one basket. Since Lao Jiu has already shown goodwill, she might as well do them a favor in return.
The princess summoned two people and whispered something in the room. After a short while, the two people left.
A bright light flashed in the princess's beautiful eyes as she thought to herself, "Ninth Prince, you mustn't disappoint your sister!"
Even a fool could guess that the Ninth Prince had sent people to take his daughter back, so he withdrew the guards and secret agents from the Princess's residence.
If Shu'er can go to Taiyuan, Lao Jiu will owe her a favor.
As for what the emperor does, that's his business. Right now, His Majesty has planted no fewer than 20 spies inside and outside the palace. You can monitor those princes, but why are you even monitoring a princess?
She was just doing her ninth brother a small favor by rescuing his daughter, and she figured the emperor wouldn't blame her, since she was the one whose birthday banquet had been ruined and she hadn't said anything.
After figuring things out, the princess gave instructions and then sent an invitation to the temporary trading company where Lin Changning was located.
As the moon rose high in the sky, the princess, having finished her business, slowly walked into the courtyard. Looking at the bright moon hanging overhead, she stretched and sighed.
"My poor, silly daughter, she didn't even know she was being used as a pawn. Alas."
Back in her room, Chaoyun drank the snow swallow soup her mother had prepared for her, turned to look at Aqi who had disappeared, shook her head, and sighed.
How could she not see that this was such an obvious trap set for her?
Just after her mother's birthday, a suitable mother-son outfit suddenly appeared, and in order to promote the reputation of their shop, they even gave away several clothes from daughters of officials for free.
She's not stupid, how could she not see it?
Moreover, Madam Xie had reminded her before she left today, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to stay in the Xie family's courtyard for so long.
If he couldn't understand such a targeted situation, he would be a fool. He was just pretending to be ignorant, trying to help his cousin Shu.
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