Chapter 2009 Return to the Palace
The people who stayed behind waiting for the barbecue quickly caught up with them with the barbecue, and then everyone went to the Bai family's lantern shed together.
Aside from Mr. Zhuang, who was meeting a friend, everyone else was there. Zhou Silang had apparently just returned from outside with his wife and children. He poured himself a glass of water before saying, "The road ahead is blocked, and it looks like someone got trampled. We were going to go to the Champion Building to watch the fun, but we couldn't get through. The yamen runners even forced us to go another way, so we had to take a long detour to get back. Dad, aren't Manbao and the others here yet?"
Old Zhoutou: "Behind you."
Zhou Silang turned around and saw Manbao running towards him from across the street, carrying something with a happy look on his face. "Grandma Liu, Dad, Mom, I bought mooncakes!"
Old Zhou said, "We have it at home. We have whatever fillings you want. Why would you buy it?"
Of course, mooncakes are not made by the Zhou family. The Zhou family only knows how to make one kind of dough cake, either baked or pan-fried.
But making the mooncake mold alone takes a lot of effort, so the Bai family made it and distributed it to everyone.
Manbao put it on the table and said, "I didn't pay for it."
Old Zhou grumbled, "What Bai Shan gave out is a waste."
Manbao whispered, "It was paid for by the prince."
At this time, Old Lady Liu had already recognized the prince and the two princesses and quickly stood up.
Old Zhou also saw it and was about to kneel down immediately. The prince waved his hand, and Manbao quickly supported her father. She smiled and said, "Dad, the prince doesn't want to reveal his identity, so we shouldn't make too much noise."
Old Zhou’s family didn’t dare to move.
Zhou Silang, who was standing at the back, quietly looked up at the prince. He was very excited, but did not dare to go up to him and speak.
As for the prince, he had something to say when he returned to the village.
Princess Mingda and her friends wanted to borrow the Bai family's lantern shed to freshen up.
This is really not difficult. The side and rear of the shed are separated by a screen, which is used specifically for washing and grooming.
Zheng smiled and took them in to wash up. The palace maids followed and quickly dressed up the two people whose hair was a little messy.
The prince stood outside the lantern shed, waiting. He turned his head to look at Bai Shan and said in an ambiguous tone, "Zhou Man must think carefully about what happened tonight and report it back later. The same goes for Tang He."
Bai Shan understood that this was for them to communicate privately. They couldn't keep it secret, but they couldn't tell everything either. After all, the two princesses were in danger in the busy city, and no one, including the prince and the two princesses, would be in trouble.
This matter was a secret, a real secret. Apart from themselves, even the guards and palace servants who followed them were not sure whether Princess Changyu was really abducted by human traffickers or whether she had gone straight to the traffickers' lair to rescue her.
Whether an event is good or bad, meritorious or faulty, all depends on how the person reporting it reports it.
Bai Shan agreed and said that he would communicate with County Magistrate Tang and report the matter briefly.
Since it is a simple report, it is natural that it will be whatever the two princesses said when they returned.
At this time, Manbao and the two princesses were colluding with each other in front of the palace maids. "...This matter is simple. Instead of making up lies to deceive His Majesty and the Queen, why not just pick out some of them and tell them? That way it won't be a lie."
Chang Yu let the maid comb her hair and asked, "What should I say if I ask about the human traffickers? This is the most important thing."
Although she felt that she had done a good thing, she also knew that if her father knew about this, she would definitely be punished, and it would be a long time before she could leave the palace again.
Manbao was very experienced in this. "Just tell him how despicable those traffickers were, how pitiful the kidnapped girls were, and how you whipped them. But don't reveal that the guards were not there at the time. If you don't tell him, His Majesty won't ask, and he won't know."
Mingda was thoughtful. "I see. We highlighted my sister's bravery. Father will just assume that since the guards are all there, he's naturally not afraid of human traffickers hurting anyone. So this is a pure good thing."
Manbao nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, that's right. Let's just talk about how delicious the barbecue is, how we guessed the lantern riddles, and how lively it is outside. This is what they call reporting good news but not bad news. Your Majesty and the Empress are already very busy with state affairs, so we should not worry them with things like this."
Mingda Changyu and Manbao looked at each other, and both smiled like little foxes, nodding repeatedly and saying, "You are right."
Zheng, who had led them in and hadn't left yet, couldn't help but say quietly, "So you and Shanbao Erlang have always been like this, only reporting good news and not bad news."
Manbao then noticed that Aunt Zheng had been standing in the corner. She blinked and immediately went to hug her hand, "Aunt Zheng, we never hide family matters. Besides, Daji has been following us whenever we go out. We can't hide it even if we want to."
Zheng knew that she was only telling half the truth, so she smiled and tapped her forehead, "You."
Manbao just laughed.
Mingda looked at the servants and said, "My sister and I are safe tonight. Don't tell anyone about these things unless someone asks you in detail."
The palace maids immediately knelt down and responded, feeling relieved.
They followed the princess out but didn't keep close. When the crowd got chaotic, they couldn't keep up at all. Whatever the reason was, it was their dereliction of duty. So now that the princess was willing to cover up, they naturally welcomed it.
So when they finally emerged from behind the screen, everyone said their goodbyes happily in front of the lantern shed. Bai Erlang handed Mingda a lotus lantern and said, "I just bought this for you. I heard that lotus lanterns can be used to make wishes. You can make a wish for good health and hang it under the window. Perhaps Chang'e in the sky will hear your wish and bless you."
Mingda lowered her head slightly, her cheeks flushed slightly. She reached out to take it and whispered a thank you.
The prince glanced at Bai Er and said to his two sisters, "Let's go. It will be too late if we don't return to the palace."
The guards brought the carriage over, Mingda and Changyu got on, waved to Manbao and others at the window, and the prince also got on the horse, and then they started their journey.
After they walked away, Manbao turned around and opened the barbecue they brought, "Dad, we had a very delicious barbecued lamb restaurant on the street."
Old Zhou asked, "Why does Bai Shan look unhappy? Did you have a fight?"
"No." Manbao took a lotus leaf of meat and went to find Bai Shan, intending to ask if something had happened on the main street just now.
At this time, County Magistrate Tang was still dealing with matters on the main street. The injured were all sent to the clinic. He not only had to comfort the families of the injured, but also had to send the abducted children to their respective parents.
As soon as the children were lost, some families came to report to the police, but some did not come, and now those who did not come are the majority, so he has to arrange for the children to stay temporarily and find their parents for them tomorrow.
In addition, he also had to interrogate these human traffickers overnight. These people dared to kidnap so many children in the capital overnight. Obviously, this was not the first or second time they had done this. He also suspected that there were more human traffickers operating in the capital tonight.
Therefore, the child must be interrogated as soon as possible. If the child cannot be found for more than two days, it will be extremely difficult to find him later.
See you at 6pm
(End of this chapter)
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