Chapter 37: Diverting the trouble
Lin Pianran had already expected these people to cause trouble, but she didn't expect Concubine De to be so impatient.
She asked frankly, "I wonder what the Virtuous Concubine wants to see me about?"
The old nanny said impatiently, "Princess Huai'an is missing. The queen heard that you talked to her today, so she asked the girl to go and ask her..."
Lin Pianran asked in confusion, "My servant Huanxue is missing. I went to look for her and just came back."
"Besides, Princess Huai'an is missing. You should send someone to look for her immediately! What does her disappearance have to do with me? What's the point of you looking for me? I don't have the ability to help Her Majesty find her..."
"There must be many people who spoke to Princess Huai'an today. Why are you suspecting me? It doesn't make sense!"
After saying this, Lin Pianran didn't even glance at the old nanny and her group. She walked past them and headed towards Old Madam Lin's mourning hall.
Seeing that Lin Pianran was not cooperating, the old nanny said angrily, "Sixth Miss, stop right there! The Empress is looking for you, and you dare to refuse? Do you want to die?..."
Seeing that an old servant dared to shout so loudly in front of her, Lin Pianran also became angry, "You are just a servant, shouting here, who do you think you are? Just stick to your duties as a servant!"
Unexpectedly, the old nanny didn't take Lin Pianran seriously at all. She shouted to the palace maids and guards behind her, "Stop these three people for me. Even if you have to drag them, you have to drag them in front of the queen..."
Lin Pianran was the first to take action quickly. She quickly stepped in front of the old lady and slapped her wrinkled face twice.
The old lady was beaten so hard that blood flowed from the corners of her mouth, and her face instantly became red and swollen.
"You... you actually dared to hit me. Do you know that I am the face of the Empress Defei? Aren't you afraid of being punished by the Empress for treating me like this?"
"I'm just teaching this ignorant servant a lesson. I believe that Concubine De has been in the palace for so many years, and she must have memorized the palace rules and etiquette. She must understand the righteousness of the matter."
"She won't blame me for stepping in and helping her discipline an old, unruly servant who doesn't know how to behave..."
The two palace maids and guards following behind the old nanny saw that Lin Pianran not only refused to cooperate, but was also so bold and presumptuous.
Several people rushed up and were about to attack Lin Pianran.
Lin Pianran was not afraid at all and faced them head-on.
Two maids also protected her and fought against the maids and guards who rushed over.
Lin Pianran and the other two kicked left and right and soon knocked down the people who rushed over.
Looking at the miserable crowd lying on the ground, Lin Pianran clapped her hands in disdain and sneered, "With your mediocre skills, you still have the nerve to come out and embarrass yourself!"
She didn't have extra time to deal with these minions. Her most important task now was to contact Crown Prince Huo Yuchen.
Ask him to go and pick up Wei Zixing and the others quickly.
What if the time is delayed too long and they are discovered by King Chang and captured again? Wouldn’t all her efforts be in vain?
This is the most important thing right now.
But how can I meet the prince?
She still needs to plan it carefully.
Ignoring the people howling on the ground, Lin Pianran led his men towards the mourning hall.
It still needs to be done.
We can't let people label us as unfilial.
When they reached the mourning hall, Lin Pianran was the first to see Zhao Yurou, who was in the crowd welcoming and seeing off guests. She rubbed her eyes red with a handkerchief and rushed over to complain loudly, "Madam, please give me some advice!"
"Huanxue was captured. I searched for her for a long time, and then I received a letter and went to rescue her!"
"I don't know which wicked person would do such a bad thing."
"Tianzhu and I went to the small woods, but we didn't see a single person. We searched for a long time before we found Huanxue unconscious on a slope."
"She was beaten up, with slap marks on her face, and her hands and feet were tied tightly."
"Ma'am, who on earth did this unscrupulous thing?"
"Who did our Lin family offend? Accidents keep happening one after another, wuwuwu..."
"Madam, you must make the decision for me and Huanxue!..."
Zhao Yurou's eyes flickered unnaturally for a few times, and her guilty conscience was very obvious.
Lin Pianran carefully observed her every move and saw her expression clearly.
Zhao Yurou also guessed in her heart what Princess Huai'an was planning for her. Even if she didn't know everything, she must have guessed some of it.
A lady standing next to Zhao Yurou looked at the tearful Lin Pianran and couldn't help but comfort her, "Fortunately, the person has been found safe and sound. This is a good thing! Don't be sad!"
Lin Pianran refused to give in and continued to rub her eyes and cry, "But, I just brought the little maid back from death, and just as I reached the intersection ahead, I ran into someone sent by Concubine De. They said that Concubine De was looking for me and that Princess Huaian was missing."
"The princess is missing, so why would you send someone to look for her? Why would you look for me?"
"I heard that Princess Huai'an spoke to you before she disappeared." Zhao Yurou explained.
Lin Pianran covered her face and pretended to sob, "I believe Princess Huai'an must have met quite a few people. Does that mean everyone has become a suspect?"
"Also, I remember that it was my third sister Lin Chuyan who was always by the princess' side. How come it ended up involving me?"
"This morning, a snake bit someone and everyone's belongings were lost. My third sister brought government officials to search my room, and I was later cleared of suspicion."
"Now that the princess is missing, how can you still suspect me? What have I done to offend anyone? How can you wrongly accuse someone like that?"
At this time, another lady stood up and said, "Yes! I have always seen Lin Chuyan accompanying Princess Huai'an. The two of them behaved intimately. How did they bring this up with Miss Lin Liu? This is too far-fetched, isn't it?"
Everyone started talking at once.
"Every bad thing is always blamed on Miss Six. Miss Lin Six is so unlucky!"
"That's right, suspecting Miss Lin Liu of everything is outrageous!"
A lady quietly shared what she knew with everyone.
"I heard that the person who caught and released the snake has been found. It turned out to be the eldest daughter of the Lin family."
"She sent people to catch snakes and originally planned to send them to Miss Lin Liu's room, hoping that the snakes would hurt Miss Lin Liu. However, she didn't expect the snakes to run around everywhere and didn't hurt Miss Lin Liu. Instead, they hurt Miss Lin Da and Mrs. Lin Er. What do you think of this?"
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