Chapter 44 There is something fishy about Huang Fucai's purchase
Seeing Jiang Yu's confident look, Jiang Xue could only temporarily suppress her uneasiness.
"Even so, I have to trouble you, my brother, to fight in this court that you dislike the most."
Jiang Yu smiled and said gently, "It's only a matter of time, isn't it?"
Jiang Xue's eyes were full of concern. She said, "I have only one request. If you feel that you can't handle it alone, don't forget that I am here. Although I am a woman, I am a princess after all, so I can help you when the time comes."
"How can I be alone?" Jiang Yu laughed, "You are too concerned. Even if I am useless, I still have my father and grandfather to support me."
"As for you, do you need my help with the things that happened in the Gu Mansion these past two days?"
"It's nothing. My brother has also seen it. I have already replaced all the guards of the Gu Mansion with my trusted men. It will be much more convenient and safer for us to act in the future."
"Then why are you still angry with Gu Lintan?"
"To be angry?" Jiang Xue sneered, "It's just an act. Aren't men always cherishing something the more they can't get it?"
"What are you talking about?" Jiang Yu frowned and said, "Gu Lintan is a man of unfathomable depth. Since you know this, just stay away from him. Why bother to think about him?"
"I have to keep him hanging first and not alert him." Jiang Xue said.
"In short, you should be careful in what you do and put yourself first. If you sense danger one day, just divorce your husband."
Jiang Yu gave repeated instructions and then left.
"It's getting late. I'm leaving now."
"Fudong, go and get someone to harness the carriage and send our royal brother back." Jiang Xue ordered.
"No need, I'm going to Sajin Lane." Jiang Yu said with a smile, "I haven't seen Zhilin for many years. I've been busy these days and haven't seen him to catch up. I made an appointment to go to his place tonight."
Jiang Xue nodded and said, "My Royal Brother, please be careful. Fudong, send the Second Prince out."
After Jiang Yu left, Xiaochun asked, "Your Highness, do you want to take a bath?"
Jiang Xue walked into the inner room, sat at the dressing table, and motioned Xiaochun to remove her makeup.
Xiaochun came closer, gently took off Jiang Xue's hairpins and rings, and then took a comb to comb her hair.
"Xiaochun, what did Aunt Dong ask you to do today?"
Jiang Xue leaned on Xiaochun and asked lazily.
"Aunt asked me about the Gu Mansion." Xiaochun replied.
"What did you say?"
"I told her about the theft in the storehouse and the quarrel between the princess and her husband over the guards. Aunt Dong seemed a little unconvinced after hearing this."
"Any follow-up questions?"
Xiaochun frowned and shook her head.
Seeing that her expression was not right, Jiang Xue asked, "What's wrong?"
"Aunt is not a foolish person. I have been with her since I was a child. She always has a keen eye for everything in the palace and can find clues. I find it strange that Aunt doesn't seem to believe what I say, but she didn't ask any more questions."
"It's not surprising. Aunt Dong wants to use you to inquire about the affairs of the Gu Mansion, but more importantly, she wants to test your loyalty."
Jiang Xue turned around, took Xiaochun's hand that was combing her hair, and gently stroked her shoulder.
"If you are loyal to me, no matter how much she interrogates you, it will be useless. Aunt Dong will not do useless things. When she goes back and talks to the Queen Mother, she will know how much of our words today are true and how much are false."
"I didn't tell my mother about the quarrel with my husband, but you did. I think my mother would think that I was angry with my husband and that's why I had to have the palace guards."
Jiang Xue patted her hands and said, "Xiaochun, it's good that it's you. If it was that silly girl Fudong, I don't know how I would deal with it."
Xiaochun suddenly put down the comb, knelt down and said, "Your Highness, there is one more thing."
Jiang Xue was puzzled and asked, "Just say it, why are you kneeling?"
Xiaochun said: "Aunt Dong gave me an imperial decree today."
Jiang Xue turned around and pulled her up, saying, "I asked you to monitor me?"
"No," Xiaochun said, "Her Majesty asked me to record the daily interactions between Your Highness and the Prince Consort. Every half month, I would enter the palace with a token and present the recorded events to my aunt."
Jiang Xue burst out laughing: "My mother actually wants you to be a spy? Did you agree?"
Xiaochun nodded and said, "I agree. My aunt said that if I can't do it, I should go back to the palace to help her deal with other matters and don't need to stay in the Gu Mansion."
Jiang Xue smiled and said, "So what are you going to do?"
Xiaochun said: "I will do as your Highness wishes."
Jiang Xue nodded with satisfaction and said, "But if something serious happens, such as discovering that the Prince Consort has done something harmful to me, even if I disagree, you will still report back to the palace, right?"
Xiaochun hesitated for a while, bit her lip, and nodded firmly: "I can."
Jiang Xue said: "You see, this is what the Queen Mother wants. She knows that you won't easily go against my wishes, but she also knows that you will always put me first and consider me in everything."
"So if something really happens, she will be able to help me in time."
Xiaochun asked, "If such a day really comes, will Your Highness be angry with me?"
"No," Jiang Xue said softly, "You are all doing this for my own good. But Xiaochun, I hope you know that my greatest wish is for my mother and father to be happy and safe."
Xiaochun nodded thoughtfully and continued to comb Jiang Xue's hair.
Not long after, Fu Dong came into the house and said to Jiang Xue, "Your Highness, as you ordered, I have asked Guard Jiang to wait outside the house."
Jiang Xue nodded and said, "Let him come to the main hall. I'll be right out."
Jiang Xue asked Xiaochun to gather her hair into a ponytail and tie it with a white silk ribbon. She looked in the bronze mirror to make sure that her hair was not disheveled enough to make her look unappearable in public, then she got up and left the inner room.
When Jiang Qibin saw Jiang Xue coming out, he immediately saluted with his fists clasped.
Jiang Xue raised her hand and waved, asking him to sit down.
"How are the people I asked you to find going?"
"Reporting to Your Highness, I disguised myself as a servant of a wealthy family and claimed that my master had just arrived in the capital and was looking for some high-quality merchants to buy from. Among them, the clerks of Dong's Silk Shop, Liang's Tea Shop and the grain shop in the south of the city all mentioned that even the purchases for the Prince Consort's Mansion were made from them in order to attract business, but the clerk of the grain shop on East Street did not mention it."
"I asked them if they knew about this magnificent Gu Mansion," Jiang Qibin said cunningly, "I said the owner wanted to make friends with the rich and powerful, and asked them if they knew any servants. The clerks at the grain store said that they were not familiar with the servants of the Gu Mansion. When the Gu Mansion was first established, they only bought from them once or twice. It seemed that they were just emergency food, and the amount they bought each time was not much."
Jiang Xue nodded, thought for a moment, and asked, "What do you think?"
"Of course, the grain store on East Street is the most suspicious. Since Huang Fu wants to buy grain and is familiar with the grain store in the south of the city, why does he buy separately, buying rice on East Street and grain in the south of the city?"
"No," Jiang Xue said, "Quite the opposite. Gu's residence is in the north of the city, and East Street is also in the north of the city. Why would he go to the south of the city to buy such a heavy item as grain?"
Jiang Qibin said, "That's right. Could it be that the grain from the one in the south of the city is of better quality?"
Jiang Xue shook her head and said, "You should keep an eye on Huang Fu these few days. Since he wants to deliver the letter, he must want to get it back. If he doesn't make any move after a while, you should focus on checking these two grain stores."
Jiang Qibin nodded and asked, "What do you want to check?"
"Where do you get your goods from? Who do you do business with? What's the name of the boss? Where are they from?"
Jiang Xue said: "As well as the guys Huang Fu met and talked to that day, we will check them one by one then."
Jiang Qibin nodded in agreement.
Jiang Xue said: "It's a bit hard for you to do these things alone. I'll find someone to help you in the next few days."
"Your Highness, there are not many Wu'anlang around you. There is no need to trouble others if I can do it alone."
After all, Jiang Qibin remembered that before leaving the palace, Aunt Dong from the Queen's Palace told them that the most important thing was to protect Jiang Xue's safety.
Jiang Xue said calmly: "It's okay, I will make my own arrangements when the time comes."
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