It was not until Meng Qi finished her shower and sat in the rocking chair, letting Yuan Dong gently dry her hair, that she felt the strange feeling she had just had in the carriage disappear.
After the two of them got out of the car, Meng Qi felt like a child who had done something wrong. She didn't even have the courage to look up at Song Chengze. Song Chengze, however, acted as if nothing had happened, ordering Zhang Decheng this and that. Then, as if he wanted to say something to her, he just nodded and went to the study in the outer courtyard.
"Princess, don't you want to take a nap?" Yuan Dong asked softly.
Meng Qi collected her thoughts and sat up straight. "I'm not going to sleep anymore. I still have a lot of things to do. How's life in the mansion these past two days?"
Yuan Dong followed Meng Qi's movements, scooped up her hair from the incense burner, took out a ribbon and gently tied it up.
"Xiao Xizi's place has been very quiet. No one has interacted with him or passed on messages to him. After Li Mancang left, he suddenly became quiet. According to you, Wang Chenghai didn't deliberately take over his work. He is still doing the miscellaneous work in the various courtyards."
Meng Qi stood up and asked, "Has he been to the east yard a lot these past two days?"
"He went there twice. Once, a tree was blown down by the wind at Concubine Li's place, and he took people to move it. Another time, he went to Concubine Lin's place. The eldest young master asked him to bring in some things from the Lin family."
Li Mancang had only been gone for a few days, and neither he nor the person who had contact with Li Mancang had a clear understanding of the situation.
"Tell Wang Chenghai to ask Li Mancang to write back and report that he's safe. Let everyone in the mansion know about this."
Yuan Dong understood, "Yes, I will go there in a moment."
"Also, Ms. Li will come to you to get another badge. Then you'll see how she explains where the old one went."
Yuan Dong was surprised, "Ms. Li's badge is missing?"
Meng Qi nodded. "It was found by Mother's men in the small kitchen of Kunning Palace. That small kitchen is definitely not a place Ms. Li needed to go during the two days I was in the palace. And I've already asked the palace maids in the west wing, and they don't have any business that requires Ms. Li to go to the small kitchen alone."
"Do you suspect that Ms. Li is the Queen's woman?"
Meng Qi nodded, then shook her head. "I'm not sure. If she were the Queen's, she wouldn't have behaved that way at Prince Cheng's residence. And she's been with me these past few days, but I haven't noticed her being close to anyone in Kunning Palace. But maybe I simply haven't had the time or opportunity to observe her more closely. Regardless, before we investigate thoroughly, you should hold off on using her."
"Then how do we investigate?" Yuan Dong asked worriedly, "She's been in the palace with you many times. If she's really connected to someone in the palace, it would be very easy for her to get information out."
Meng Qi hummed, "So, I have to think of a good idea to let her reveal her true intentions. Let's not talk about her for now. How are things going with the Bai family? Has Wang Chenghai made any progress?"
Yuan Dong calmed himself down and said, "There is news, but Wang Chenghai said he wants to report it to you in person."
Meng Qi was delighted, "Okay, let him in now."
Yuan Dong agreed, but didn't move. She looked at Meng Qi with an expression that looked like she didn't know whether to say anything or not.
"What's wrong? Anything else?" Meng Qi untied the ribbon, followed Meng Wan's instructions, parted her hair on both shoulders, and slowly braided it.
"It was Concubine Lin. The day before yesterday, she asked Baochun to serve in the eldest young master's courtyard."
"Serve? What does that mean? How do you serve?" Meng Qi frowned. "Did the prince agree?"
"Yes, I don't know the details of what was said to the prince. I only know that it was Madam Hai who brought her there. She is now in charge of the chores in the eldest young master's courtyard. She is said to be very capable and the eldest young master is very satisfied." Yuan Dong saw the unhappy look on Meng Qi's face, thought for a moment and said, "These past few days, whenever the prince has time, he will go to the eldest young master's courtyard to check on his homework. He said that it was Baochun who always brought tea and water."
Meng Qi understood. So, even though Baochun had followed Nanny Hai to the outer courtyard, she couldn't enter Song Chengze's study. Even if something happened, even if Nanny Hai reported it to her, it wouldn't be her turn. So, she came up with this idea: go to Song Bomo's courtyard. As the eldest son of the Rui Palace, Song Chengze would definitely make time to visit, no matter how busy he was. And since both father and son were in the outer courtyard, it was convenient. Of course, this also made it easier for Baochun to show off around Song Chengze.
Haha, that's really well-intentioned. Whose idea was this? Lin or Matron Hai, or both?
"Humph, I originally thought that these monsters in the mansion were beyond my imagination, and I wanted to slowly deal with them, but I had to first find solid evidence to prove them. Now it seems that there is no need for that, I will deal with them one by one."
"Princess, do you mean to start with Baochun?" Yuan Dong's voice was filled with joy.
"Not just her, but also the one jumping behind her."
"You mean Mammy Hai?"
Meng Qi nodded. "Yes, you've figured out her situation, right? Last time I asked Wang Chenghai to look into her son's case, did he get a reply?"
"There should be a reply. In the past, it was not convenient for Eunuch Wang to investigate external affairs. Since Brother Jiang took charge of investigating those matters, Eunuch Wang has been able to find out much more quickly. The news about Aunt Bai was obtained by Brother Jiang."
The "Big Brother Jiang" Yuan Dong mentioned was actually Jiang Wu, a capable subordinate of Chu Yong's, responsible for gathering intelligence. He was also the leader of the Outer Court personnel Song Chengze had specially assigned to Meng Qi.
"How are the Li and Wu families doing?" Meng Qi sat back on the kang by the window, picked up the tea and took a sip.
"Concubine Li is still the same, rarely leaving the courtyard. She only waited for the Second Young Master once on his way home from school to embroider a new pencil case for him. Roland, who was by her side, took leave and went home, and hasn't returned yet."
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
