"Siqin, when did you come?"
Siqin had been keeping quiet and holding her breath, lowering her head in the hall and not daring to act presumptuously. Suddenly, she heard the young lady calling her and she reacted immediately.
"Miss!" Tears welled up in Siqin's eyes. She was really scared to death yesterday!
She threw herself at Xu Yixing's legs, choking with sobs, "Master rushed back to the outer palace early this morning and asked me to bring you the palace dress for today's banquet. I'll help you change into it first."
"good."
Siqin skillfully dressed Xu Yixing without asking him for help - and for some reason there were no palace servants in the hall. Maybe Madam Jing took them all away to make it easier for her to speak.
"Why don't you see Madam Jing?"
"Mrs. Jing went out for a social event early in the morning. Today's event is quite big, and she has to show up."
Although Siqin was answering questions, her mind was still churning with thoughts. What happened yesterday was truly bizarre. She had clearly seen the young lady being kidnapped from Jingxi Temple, and then she had hurried back to report the incident.
When Mrs. Gu got the news, she immediately sent someone to the outer palace to retrieve the master. Not long after the master returned, the family received a blackmail letter.
The master was so angry that he quickly asked someone to prepare the silver and put it in the designated place, but the kidnappers did not release the young lady until midnight.
As the only witness and companion, Siqin thought she was dead, but unexpectedly, a letter immediately calmed down the furious master.
Until this morning when she saw the young lady sleeping in the outer palace of Gushan, Siqin still felt it was not real.
"Miss, the master has told everyone in the family that you were picked up by the Seventh Prince a day in advance and there was no kidnapping incident."
Although Siqin didn't know how the young lady escaped death and came here, nor did she know why the master did this, her intuition told her that it would be best to do as the master instructed.
"Yes. Does Gu have any questions? Did your family give money to the robbers?"
"Madam didn't say anything. She gave 10,000 taels of silver to the abandoned land temple in the south of the city..."
Xu Yixing adjusted her makeup in the mirror, smiling with satisfaction. Great! Ten thousand taels of silver!
Although Dad would definitely not suffer this loss in silence, he might have even made some marks on the banknote. However, since he didn't report it to the authorities, he wouldn't investigate it openly. If he did investigate privately, Xu Yixing still had great confidence in the ability of his shadow guards to do their job.
Besides, you may not necessarily use this money, so just keep it in your hand to feel at ease.
"Thank you for your hard work. From now on, no matter who asks, you must answer according to what Dad says, otherwise I will die without a burial place. Do you understand?"
"Of course I know! I'm just very worried about you, and I'm also very scared... If this... "
"Don't worry, everything is under control. It's no big deal." Xu Yixing smiled easily, touching today's palace dress in his hand. It was indeed very different.
She wore a whole set of light yellow, and she looked low-key and gentle. Moreover, after Gu was no longer in charge, these clothes were made with money from the government, and the quality was much better, not much different from her previous clothes.
"Siqin, I'm done packing. Let's go and see dad first."
Xu Yixing took Siqin's hand and walked out of Madam Jing's house on her own. Although there were palace maids and guards outside the door, they had all been instructed in advance, so no one was surprised by the sudden appearance of another person in the palace, and she did not encounter any obstacles when she left.
After leaving the hall and walking onto the palace road, Xu Yixing realized why this outer palace was called a "palace".
It's huge! Really huge! It's even more spacious than the Imperial Palace in Beijing.
The palaces in the capital were limited in space, and expansion was restricted over the years. Therefore, although they were neat, the cold palaces or houses near the periphery were relatively crowded.
However, the palaces and buildings in the outer palace were built in a grand manner. Even the corridors and paths were wider than those in the imperial city. Moreover, they were all paved with jade, which was very comfortable and not painful to the feet.
"Do you know where Dad is?"
"It's still early for the banquet, and all the ministers are in the area of Hui'an Palace where the ministers live, which is to the north of the Outer Palace. However, I can't tell you exactly where the master is right now."
Xu Yixing casually called over a palace maid and pulled out a few taels of silver from his purse. "Sister, could you please help me find out where General Xu Fuyuan is at Hui'an Palace? I'll be waiting here. Please hurry up."
The palace maid was obviously very hesitant, not knowing whether she should take on this matter.
"I'm Xu Yiyan, the second young lady of the Xu family. I just want to see where my father is. I don't have any other intentions."
"Oh! Okay, I'll go right away!" The maid took the silver, thanked her, and quickly left. It wasn't because of the Xu family, but because she knew this was the future consort of the Seventh Prince.
Xu Yixing walked slowly along the palace road. In fact, this was against the rules, but the guards saw her coming out of Madam Jing's palace with their own eyes, so naturally no one said anything.
I had only walked the third time when I saw Lu Anyuan coming from afar.
"Why are you walking here in the middle of the day?" Lu Anyuan didn't even realize that when he saw Xu Yixing, the smile on his face almost squeezed out his eyes.
"Waiting for someone."
"Me?"
Xu Yixing didn't answer, but stood still and looked behind him: "Wait for her."
Lu Anyuan's smile disappeared. He turned around and saw only a little palace maid and no one else.
"Greetings, Seventh Prince! Miss Xu, the general was originally enjoying the Hui'an River with several ministers. When he heard that you were looking for him, he followed this servant and is waiting for you outside Linxuan Gate."
"Okay, thank you for your hard work. I'll go right away."
Lu Anyuan looked at the two people talking and it seemed that they didn't take him seriously.
"Why don't I go with you to meet General Xu? The inner part of Linxuan Gate is where the concubines live, and he can't enter."
"What's your business if I'm talking to my dad? Just hang out here. See you tonight!"
Actually, Xu Yixing meant that she should not come to see him again for the rest of the day, but Lu Anyuan understood it as an invitation to meet him after the dinner. So he stared at her as she left, grinning widely.
"Ada, why is the moon so round?"
Ah Da: The moon? Where is the moon? Your Highness is starting to feel dizzy again!
Walking along the palace road to the outer perimeter, Xu Yixing finally saw his father standing outside Lin Xuan's door. His eyes were bloodshot and his face was black, which was really scary.
"Dad, I'm sorry for making you worry."
When Old Man Xu saw Yixing, he looked him up and down, and only then did he believe what the Seventh Prince had said in the letter.
"I'm glad you're okay."
"What happened yesterday..."
Old Man Xu interrupted him with a wave of his hand and glanced at the guards on both sides: "Let's talk about it when we get home. Today, let's just enjoy our meal and drink!"
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