Chapter 278 The Thief
After the banquet at the Princess's residence, Chaoyun took her mother directly back to their courtyard. They were both quite tired after dealing with the families of officials all day.
After sending the eldest princess's daughter back to her own courtyard, she summoned her personal guards: "Tell me, what happened? Why were you in such a hurry to send someone to fetch me during the banquet?"
The guard knelt on one knee: "Your Highness, several major events have occurred in the capital today. First, a fire broke out in the Jing'an Marquis's residence, and then the young lady of the Zhongyong Marquis's family was wounded by an arrow shot by a thief."
The eldest princess exclaimed in surprise, "Is this all the fuss about that you came all the way here to tell me? What does what happened in those two mansions have to do with us?"
The guard glanced at the princess and said, "The ones who set the fire were those people around our princess's residence today, and the one who shot and injured the young lady of the Marquis's residence was none other than Young Master Lin, who makes dresses for the princess..."
The princess, who was drinking tea, nearly spat it out, and inexplicably raised her voice: "What did you say?!"
The guards quickly lowered their heads, not daring to look at the princess's face. After catching her breath, the princess waved her hand and dismissed them.
This time, Ninth Brother will owe her a huge favor!
Remembering something, the eldest princess waved her hand again, calling the person back: "Did Shu'er and the others escape?"
The guard respectfully replied, "We followed them all the way outside the city. The princess and the others escaped, but the people around our manor haven't moved yet. The guards sent by the emperor were entangled. By the time they realized what was happening, the people had already been out of the city for a long time. The people at the city gate were no match for that young master Lin. He has probably already escaped to Rongzhou by now."
The eldest princess took a sip of tea and said, "That's not a complete waste of effort. At least the ninth prince owes me a favor. Go and send him a message, telling him that he owes me a favor and should think carefully about how to repay it in the future."
The guard bowed his head: "Yes, Princess!"
After saying that, she disappeared from the princess's sight. A moment later, a graceful maidservant approached the princess, poured her some tea, and said, "Princess, won't doing this offend the current emperor? What if we get caught?"
The eldest princess snorted coldly: "What can we do? Let it be. Even if they find out it was me, so what? My good nephew! Whether he can sit on the throne after this is still uncertain. We might as well do Ninth Prince a favor for now."
The maid hesitated, "But after all, it was at your birthday banquet that the Marquis's residence lost face. If you are blamed, you..."
The eldest princess chuckled softly, the pearl hairpins in her hair trembling with her laughter. A thin veil concealed her graceful figure, and she tapped the maid's head with her slender white fingers: "Silly girl, do you think the Ninth Prince didn't save people before? Why did he have to do it during my birthday banquet? Did you even see the birthday gift he sent this year?"
The maid shook her head: "We haven't taken inventory yet, so we don't know what the prince sent."
The eldest princess smiled and shook her head: "Parents love their children. Chaoyun is a good child in every way, but it's a pity that she doesn't have a capable father. Her biological father passed away early, and now most of his property in the clan is controlled by his uncles. The ninth prince gave me a jade pendant with four characters engraved on it: 'Return the jade intact to its rightful owner!'"
The maidservant was taken aback: "Does the prince mean to help the princess reclaim her property?"
The princess smiled subtly, said nothing, and took a sip of tea: "I appreciate his kindness, so I'm helping Shu'er out."
The maid remained silent, gently massaging the princess's shoulder with her small hand: "Princess, is this pressure alright?"
The eldest princess nodded: "That young man surnamed Lin under the Ninth Prince does make quite a few nice clothes, and he's also quite clever, though a little reckless."
Before tomorrow, make sure everything is settled so no one finds anything and gives us any leverage. Then, investigate the young lady of the Marquis of Zhongyong who was shot.
I always felt this wasn't so simple. We didn't leak any information; it was almost entirely a spur-of-the-moment decision.
Why did this young lady stop people on the street for no reason? Go check it out; if I find something, I can even make someone die if necessary.
The maid nodded: "Yes, Princess."
Unlike the undercurrents swirling in the capital, Lin Changning and his group had already arrived in Rongzhou, but the city gates of Rongzhou were now tightly closed.
At night, Lin Changning could only spend the night in the woods with the princess and the young lady. Because he was afraid that there were still pursuers behind them, Lin Changning simply did not light a fire at night. After driving the carriage into the woods, he climbed into the carriage and took out the dry food.
"Princess, young lady, please have something to eat first. It's not a good day to cook, so I brought some flatbread and steamed buns. The water bottle contains honey water. Don't touch the water bottle with the red string tied around it; it's been drugged with sleeping potion."
Li Mingshu took the pancake, thanked Lin Changning, and smiled at him, saying, "Commander Lin, let's eat together."
Lin Changning nodded to the princess: "Thank you, Princess."
Lin Changning only took one bite and felt that the pancakes Uncle Gao bought were tasteless. He took out a handful of seasonings he had brought with him, tore the pancakes open, sprinkled the seasonings inside, and then continued eating.
The princess seemed to be full after only a few bites, so she broke the cake into small pieces and handed them to her daughter. After a few bites, Yue'er didn't want to eat anymore.
But seeing Lin Changning eating with relish, she couldn't help but feel a little hungry again, and stared longingly at Lin Changning.
Meeting the little girl's gaze, Lin Changning only ate two bites before she couldn't eat anymore. She tentatively tore off a small piece of the pancake with seasoning and handed it to her.
"Want to try mine?"
Yue'er looked up at her mother and stared longingly at the piece of cake in Lin Changning's hand.
Lin Changning understood; children always think that what others say tastes better.
The princess seemed to be in a much better mood after leaving the capital. She nodded, rubbed Yue'er's head, and touched her little head.
"Here you go, Uncle Lin is a good person, he's the one who saved us."
Yue'er smiled sweetly, took the pancake from Lin Changning's hand, and thanked him obediently, "Thank you, Uncle Lin."
After saying that, he couldn't wait to tear off a small piece of the pancake and put it in his mouth. As soon as he took a bite, his eyes lit up.
Then he stuffed the remaining cakes into his mother's mouth, saying, "Delicious, Mother, you should try some."
Lin Changning came directly from the battlefield. The seasonings he brought with him were made from salt, spices, and salted meat ground into powder. I brought them with me when I came to the capital this time.
It tastes better than dry biscuits.
Seeing that the little girl loved to eat, Lin Changning was a little suspicious. Logically speaking, the Marquis's mansion was a noble family, so they wouldn't let the child go hungry. How could she eat a pancake so deliciously?
It's a bit strange, more or less.
Meeting Lin Changning's gaze, Li Mingshu looked at her daughter with a gentle smile.
Lin Changning took another piece of cake, sprinkled some seasoning on it, and handed it to the princess: "There's more."
Yue'er looked up at Lin Changning with a fawning smile: "Thank you, Uncle Lin. Yue'er hasn't had anything good to eat for many days."
After a pause, he continued, "Except for today, the food at my great-aunt's house was also delicious..."
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