Chapter 119 "Master, nothing's here..."
“My lord, nothing is missing, but when I was tidying up today, I found that your makeup box had been moved. Since you instructed me to be careful these days, I sent someone to inform you.”
Zhu Yue was not taken on this trip. She was a little puzzled. Since arriving in the capital, she and Mao'er usually accompanied their master wherever they went. Why was she not taken on this trip?
Zhu Yue even reflected on her recent actions repeatedly, trying to figure out if she had done something to displease her master, which was why she was left to guard the courtyard.
Unexpectedly, what the master said before leaving that day—that something might happen in the next few days, and that's why he deliberately left me behind—was actually true.
As Zhu Yue recalled, she said, "This morning I came in to clean as usual. Since the master and the prince have been away from home these past two days, I only swept away the dust and looked after the flowers and plants in the room. However, when I was changing the flowers on your dressing table, I found that these two bottles of perfume had been moved."
Zhu Yue pointed to a carved jewelry box that was not frequently used and placed to the side. There were also two small glass bottles in the box.
At first glance, the transparent bottle stands quietly on the jewelry box, looking completely normal.
However, upon closer inspection following Zhu Yue's finger, one could discover faint oil marks on the bottom of the bottle and above the jewelry box. At this moment, the oil mark on the box and the bottom of the bottle were slightly misaligned.
"I remember this bottle was sent by the workshop for testing. The bottle opening wasn't designed very well; when you pour it, some of the perfume leaks out and flows down the outer wall," Xiao Yan said, picking up the bottle and examining it.
"Yes, but since you haven't been using this plum blossom fragrance much lately, and this box of jewelry is more suitable for cold weather, it hasn't been touched for some days. Originally, I was planning to put these away, but when I was cleaning today, not only did the fragrance shift, but even the jewelry in the box was moved. I packed these myself before, so there's no mistake."
Zhu Yue was certain that things had been moved, but one thing puzzled her: "But I checked thoroughly and nothing was missing. After noticing something was wrong, I carefully checked every part of the room, but there were no obvious traces anywhere else, yet... it seems like it had been moved as well." Zhu Yue's intuition told her that the jewelry box wasn't the only place that had been moved, but after checking, she couldn't find any other traces.
Actually, she had hesitated for a long time before sending a message to her master, who was out traveling, about the two bottles of flower dew that had been moved. But thinking of her master's usual good nature and the fact that she had been specially asked to look after the house, Zhu Yue gritted her teeth and decided to report this trivial matter.
"You did a great job. I specifically asked you to stay and watch the house this time because you are the most meticulous." Xiao Yan praised Zhu Yue before letting her go. The following topics were not suitable for her to stay.
After moving to the study, Wei Sa began to report the information he had gathered: "Your Majesty, Your Highness, the guards on patrol last night actually discovered the infiltrator."
As you instructed, sir, we laid a long trap. Our men pretended nothing had happened and let them go, while ours secretly followed. The brothers who were tracking them have already reported back that the newcomer is a notorious thief, currently based on a bandit in the western part of the city.
"The thief broke into my Prince Cheng's mansion and went straight for the Princess's jewelry box, but he left empty-handed after seeing all the precious jewelry and ornaments. That's quite amusing." Qin Ji's tone was no different from usual, but his eyes held a chilling killing intent.
The thought that their bed, Yan Hui's clothes and jewelry had all been touched by a petty thief filled him with an overwhelming urge to tear the man to pieces. Yet, when facing Xiao Yan Hui, he had to suppress some of this murderous rage, which only made his inner turmoil worse.
"I suppose the thief came for that stone. I was right about the Second Prince's expression that day." Although she couldn't be 100% sure, Xiao Yan felt that she was at least 90% certain of her guess.
"Have you deciphered the cryptic message in the stone?" Qin Ji asked Wei Sa.
Wei Sa shook his head helplessly: "It will take some time to fully decipher it, but... the cipher text seems to be related to salt." Wei Sa took out a piece of paper that was only half-written from his pocket.
The text was rather disorganized and didn't form a complete message, but beneath it lay half a simple diagram. Upon seeing this half-diagram, Qin Ji and Xiao Yan exchanged a subconscious, tacit glance.
Wei Sa only had a general understanding of salt refining, so it wasn't easy for her to make a judgment, but the two of them immediately recognized that the picture was one of the steps in refining salt.
"I won't get involved in this. You guys take your time to study it. I have something to do, so I'll be leaving now." There are too many complicated matters involved here, and Xiao Yan felt that she couldn't be of much help. Anyway, the materials had already been given to the secret guards for study, and how to handle them afterward was up to Qin Ji and his men to discuss.
She had been delayed for two days, and she still needed to deal with some things, such as having a good talk with Su Jinyue again, and perhaps she could continue to visit the Empress with Su Jinyue.
Watching Xiao Yan leave, until even her figure disappeared from sight, Qin Ji's warm smile vanished completely.
"Retrieve that stone fish. There's no need to continue deciphering those coded messages. Order people to find a similar one or make a replica, and replace the information inside with a location and a map."
"Your Majesty, what do you mean..." Wei Sa still didn't quite understand Qin Ji's intention.
"What I mean is, let my good second brother think that what he wants has been hidden by his spies. Let's find a secluded place, make a treasure map for my good second brother, and let him have a good treasure hunt."
As for whether he will find a secret salt-making formula or something that could kill him, who knows!
"Yes," Wei Sa replied, clasping his hands in a fist salute.
"Also, send a message to the person who was following us, telling him to cripple the thief who broke in last night, and give him the second half of the muscle-breaking powder, enough time for him to go back and report."
A dark glint flashed in Qin Ji's eyes, even Wei Sa was somewhat alarmed. It had been a long time since the master had used such ruthless methods, and at this moment he was like a tiger or venomous snake that had invaded his territory. Even if the intruder was just an insignificant little mouse, it would still be torn to shreds for offending the beast's treasure.
......
Half a year passed quickly after that day. On the surface, apart from the Second Prince undergoing several impeachments in late spring and early summer, and being intentionally or unintentionally protected by the Emperor, which was a minor turmoil in the court, the following months were surprisingly calm.
The three princes, who had been granted the title of king and were expected to fight and kill each other, have strangely entered into a state of peaceful coexistence. Prince Ning and Prince Cheng even seem to have a rather good relationship.
But this "good" was only to exchange greetings occasionally during morning court sessions, a mere formality. The emperor had people watching his sons all year round. When these two families were first enfeoffed as princes, they might have had some personal relationship in order to counter Prince Huai, but after Prince Huai was impeached several times and settled down, the relationship between the two families faded.
Although the princes have not stopped trying to win over the court officials, they are much more restrained than before.
Prince Huai and Prince Ning seemed to have formed a strange balance, while Prince Cheng almost always stayed between the Imperial Guard and his Prince Cheng's residence, at most going into the palace to visit the Emperor once or twice.
He was so quiet that even the Princess Consort of Cheng seemed to have a stronger presence than him. After all, this princess consort must have somehow won the Empress's favor, for in just six months she had become intimate with the usually dignified but overly aloof Empress.
Besides gaining the Empress's favor, the various exquisite glasswares that have become popular in the capital in recent months, the palm-sized glass mirrors that can reflect every detail of a person, the new-style sweet soups and tea snacks that are very popular with the elderly, women and children, and various nourishing soups, all seem to have the shadow of Prince Cheng's Mansion behind them.
Previously, everyone looked down on her merchant background, and now they still look down on merchant families. But the Xiao family daughter married into the royal family, and the Xiao family has now obtained the title of imperial merchants, making them incomparable to ordinary merchants.
So one by one, they secretly began to admire her greatly. Xiao Yan even occasionally heard some rumors from the secret guards that many families were now saying that her methods were extremely skillful.
After all, the young ladies carefully raised by aristocratic families are expected to have the skills of managing the household and finances. If they also have the ability to manage their husbands, that would be even better.
Then look at this Princess Cheng. She seems quiet and unassuming, yet she appears to be handling everything with ease.
How many people were waiting to see how things would turn out after Prince Cheng refused the marriage proposal? Now, more than half a year has passed, and the two are still as close as ever.
"Nowadays, many high-ranking families are secretly saying that Master is lucky and blessed with wealth! Look, I've already collected a whole stack of invitations for you to be an officiant at your coming-of-age ceremony. If Your Highness weren't still so young, I'm afraid even the invitation for you to be a 'blessed person' at your wedding would have been sent to our mansion."
After a busy period, Xiao Yan felt a little tired recently, so she simply delegated her work to others and gave herself some time to rest.
Today, I was in the mood to paint, so I set up a table on the second floor of the garden building. Wang Mama came up with a stack of invitations, her face beaming.
“Granny, you know perfectly well that our master never goes there, yet you insist on bringing it every time.” Zhu Yue, who was sitting to the side doing needlework, saw the stack of exquisite invitations in Granny Wang’s hand and chuckled, half-covering her mouth.
"What do you know, little girl? Even if the princess doesn't go, it's good to have a look around beforehand so you'll know what's going on," Wang Mama advised Zhu Yue.
Although the princess usually just glances at these invitations and leaves a message saying to prepare gifts according to the rules, that one glance is really not something that can be skipped.
"What you say is true, Zhuyue and I have much to learn from you." In the corner by the water, Xiao Yan put down her pen and picked up the stack of invitations.
This was considered the master's instruction. Zhu Yue and the cat who was dividing the lines stood up in unison and agreed.
Having kept them by her side for almost a year, the two girls, who initially looked somewhat young and immature, have now grown into quite impressive individuals. However, the two eunuchs didn't stay in the courtyard for long. Although Qin Ji himself had sent them over, they later secretly resented their proximity. Now, Xiao Yan mostly sends them out to do errands and doesn't keep them around much.
However, for safety reasons, a new batch of female warriors were gradually selected, and many second-class maids were also added. But she still didn't feel comfortable having too many people around her at home.
Firstly, these later-selected individuals were all too respectful, making the surrounding air feel serious and solemn just by looking at them. Secondly, although they were carefully chosen and thoroughly investigated by the secret guards, building trust still takes time.
Leaving those aside, Xiao Yanhui's thoughts wandered for a moment before returning to the matter at hand.
Xiao Yan's gaze fell on the stack of invitations, and she flipped through them one by one very quickly.
"It seems that the eighth day of next month is an auspicious day; several families have chosen that day to get married," Xiao Yan said with a sigh as she flipped through the pages.
“That’s right. Winter will be here soon, and it will be inconvenient to handle these matters when it gets cold. However, you won’t be able to attend the events for these ladies on the eighth day of next month, as His Highness Prince Huai is also taking a concubine on the eighth day of next month,” Wang Mama reminded her from the side.
"Oh! I almost forgot about that." Even if they wished the other person dead inside, on the surface, Qin Ji and the Second Prince were brothers. If it were a concubine taking a wife, they could send gifts but not attend in person. However, since it was a secondary consort entering the family, the two of them still had to attend the wedding in person.
"The main gift should be glassware. Wang Mama and Zhu Yue, you two discuss and prepare the rest. Bring me the list when you're ready." Xiao Yan Hui didn't want to send the Second Prince any real treasures. It just so happened that the glassware produced in her own workshop was both beautiful and presentable, so she might as well send the Second Prince more.
Speaking of the Second Prince's wedding, she couldn't help but think of his soon-to-be concubine.
It's no wonder that Xiao Yan Hui paid more attention to her than others, because this concubine was not only a character who did not appear in the original novel, but also because her identity was quite similar to Xiao Yan Hui's own.
She was a girl from a merchant family. Half a year ago, the Second Prince suffered several losses, losing some of his money and having to fill several holes. According to the information from the Prince Cheng's Mansion, his financial situation had not been good.
Even when Xiao Yan was managing her own businesses, she encountered businesses that seemed to be under the control of the Second Prince's residence following suit, especially when the glassware industry was gradually expanding, they were trying to get a share of the pie.
Of course, the result was that she and Qin Ji set up another scheme to swindle the Second Prince.
Afterwards, the Second Prince seemed to find it easier and more comfortable to gain without effort, and somehow he got involved with the Chen family, a maritime merchant family. Now he is going to marry the eldest daughter of the Chen family, and it is said that this girl brought an extremely generous dowry.
Of course, people haven't even entered the field yet, and everything is still in the realm of hearsay.
Thinking of the Second Prince's backyard, she subconsciously thought of Su Jinyue again.
If it were Xiao Yanhui a year ago, she probably would never have imagined that Su Jinyue and the Second Prince's fate seemed to have been completely severed.
Because at this time, Su Jinyue had already left the capital once again, and it seemed that she and the Second Prince had no chance to meet again.
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