"Godfather, do you think I should take all these with me?" Li Mancang's godson Xiao Xizi brought over two bags.
Li Mancang sat on the edge of his bed, still thinking about what the prince had said to him that morning. He still found it hard to believe. From the palace to the prince's mansion, he had always been in charge of many matters in the inner court, and had never been sent out by the prince.
This time, he was told to go south, without being told where specifically to go. He was simply told to leave early the next morning and go to Tongzhou first, saying someone would meet him there and that he would follow that person's instructions. He was also told to bring two apprentices with him, with the plan being for six months.
He returned bewildered and went to explain the situation to the princess first. Seeing her expression, it seemed as if she didn't know either. He thought it was normal for the princess not to know. She had embarrassed the prince so much when she went to Prince Cheng's mansion yesterday, so why would he tell her?
Thinking back to yesterday's visit to Prince Cheng's mansion, Li Mancang felt extremely disappointed. How could he have made such a mistake? Half a month ago, he had received an order to come up with something, not too big or too small, that could give Prince Cheng something to hold against Prince Rui.
He and that person had thought a lot, but there was no chance. When he was worried, he heard about Princess Cheng's birthday party. The prince and the princess must go. He felt that this was an opportunity, but he had no good idea how to make use of it.
He instinctively paid attention to everything about the princess, and promptly told that person about the birthday gift that the princess had prepared for Princess Cheng. That person was smart enough to give him two bottles of perfume the night before and asked him to replace the rose water on the list. He didn't need to worry about the others.
The birthday gifts were packed in boxes and placed in Jing'an Garden, so he couldn't even reach them. It was said that Zhang Decheng had arranged for the eunuchs in the front yard to follow the carriage to Prince Cheng's mansion. In the middle of the night, Xiao Xizi drugged one of the eunuchs' drinks, causing a diarrheal upset that made him unable to walk. Xiao Xizi followed them to Prince Cheng's mansion without any problems.
Xiao Xizi was very smart. She changed the rose perfume in the car. She thought everything was going smoothly, but she didn't expect that the princess asked Yuandong and Ms. Li to check the actual items with the person who kept the gift list in Prince Cheng's mansion.
Xiao Xizi came back and said he was confused. No matter which palace sent the gift, they would just look at the gift list, but since it was the one sent by Prince Rui's Palace, he insisted on checking whether what was written on the gift list was consistent with the actual gift.
Xiao Xizi watched as the red perfume he had clearly replaced turned yellow, and the gift list actually said it was osmanthus perfume. How could this be possible? He had seen the list before, and Xiao Xizi was adamant that the perfume had been replaced.
Li Mancang sat there thinking about this matter. It seemed that he was afraid that he had been discovered. The prince asked him to leave the palace at this time. Did he really have something to ask him to do? Or was he going to punish him?
Li Mancang stood up and paced around the room, completely panicked. Perhaps the prince knew something, but how much did he know? He hadn't done anything outrageous, merely providing information and offering small favors. He had never heard of Prince Cheng targeting the Rui Palace because of the information he'd passed on.
Looking at the two people sent by Zhang Decheng standing at the door, Li Mancang knew that even if he wanted to meet that person now and tell her all this, he wouldn't be able to leave. Since he returned from Bi Bo Tang, these two people have been following him, only allowing Xiao Xizi to come in to pack up.
"Xizi." Li Mancang sat back down.
Xiao Xizi sighed, "Godfather, what's the matter?"
"Godfather's eyelids are twitching really badly. I'm afraid this time I'm leaving isn't a good thing. I'm thinking about all the errands I was supposed to take on, and I'm afraid they'll all be given to that bastard Wang Chenghai. I'll leave you in the mansion, and you have to do two things."
Xiao Xizi said respectfully, "Don't worry, godfather. Maybe the prince really sent you out to do something for him? I've heard that some special matters really require people like us to go, saying that we can prove our identities. After all, people like us are only found in the palace and the prince's mansion."
Li Mancang nodded. This was how he comforted himself. After all, the news Xiao Xizi brought back yesterday was all about the jokes between the princess and the concubine from Prince Cheng's mansion. It didn't touch on the birthday gift at all. He was afraid that he might have been exaggerating.
"First, you must find a way to talk to that person and find out what's going on."
"Godfather, I don't even know who that person is or what he looks like, how can I ask?"
"Don't worry, she will come looking for you. I've left you here, and she knows you're a valuable asset to me, so she'll naturally contact you. Just remember, don't try to figure out who she is, just follow her instructions. Tell her that if anything happens to me and she doesn't help, I won't hide anything from her."
Xiao Xizi nodded and said, "Yes, godfather, I'll take note of it."
Li Mancang hummed, "Second, you must take advantage of that opportunity every month to visit our house in the south of the city. If I sense something is amiss along the way, I'll find a way to escape and head there. Do you understand?"
Xiao Xizi frowned at first, then said, "Do you mean that I should slowly put my valuables over there?"
Li Mancang gave a wry smile. "Yes, that's what I meant." He then stood up and patted Xiao Xizi on the shoulder. "The reason I didn't take you with me was because I was worried about what might happen. I've been in the palace for so many years, or rather, since I've been with the prince for so many years, but the prince has never assigned me tasks like this. I'm really unsure. You must remember, our code remains unchanged. If you really receive my signal, you must do as we agreed before. Remember?"
Xiao Xizi's eyes were red. "Remember, godfather, don't worry. We've analyzed it all. Maybe it's really the prince who needs you to come forward? Didn't the prince say that your son will wait for you to come back at least six months later? Don't worry about the mansion. If that person contacts me, I will definitely take care of it."
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