Chapter 211 Beauty's Schemes (14) - Arranging a Date with Prince Rui
The graffiti artist hadn't considered this aspect, and Ning Shu's reminder immediately caused him to break out in a cold sweat.
Ning Shu's words made sense; Cheng Chuan is Cheng Chuan, and Cui Zeyu is Cui Zeyu.
If he were to merge into the original NPC character and act inhumanely, he would be courting death.
The graffiti artist stammered, "Then, what should I do now?"
Ning Shu didn't know either, and she couldn't think of a solution for the time being: "Let me think about it. Let's go to the Wu family again today."
The graffiti artist was puzzled: "Didn't we go there before? Why are you going again?"
Ning Shu flicked him on the forehead: "When there's no way out, we should go back to where the problem started in the first place, and maybe we'll make some new discoveries."
Tuya scratched his head, then suddenly realized, "Sister Ning, it has to be you."
The two went to the Wu family's house again.
This time, in broad daylight, the two were much more cautious when climbing over the wall, fearing they might be mistaken for the murderers and return to the scene.
The house isn't very big; the kitchen is in the back room.
Ning Shu thought that since the Wu family had died from poisoning, and the poison entered through the mouth, she should at least check what the kitchen looked like.
Ning Shu walked into the kitchen with the graffiti. The kitchen had a very foul smell, like something was rotting.
Ning Shu initially thought there were still corpses left behind, but the place was only so big, and he didn't see what he had imagined.
She thought it might be because the kitchen hadn't been ventilated for a long time, so she held her breath and started searching.
The two men lifted the lids of the pots and turned over the bowls. There were two stoves on the stove, one of which was empty.
The pots and pans in the kitchen were clean, except for some spice jars and other items in the cupboard.
Ning Shu guessed that these spice jars were probably rarely taken out for use, which was why they were kept in the cabinet.
She continued searching, leaving no corner untouched, even the corners of the kitchen. When she moved a bamboo basket, she was startled by what was underneath it.
It was a dead rat, it looked like it had been dead for many days, and it smelled rotten. So that's what it was.
Ning Shu felt disgusted and was about to cover it when she noticed some white powder on the ground. She immediately stopped her outstretched hand.
She wasn't from ancient times, so she didn't have the habit of carrying a handkerchief or any tissues, and had to ask the graffiti artist to find her a clean bowl.
Use a spatula to scoop up the soil and white powder from the ground and put it in a bowl.
Ning Shu felt that Yin Xinyue's uncle's living conditions were not very good. The kitchen floor was not paved with tiles, but was a dirt floor. After being compacted, it was still okay to walk on.
Because of this, she even had some difficulty shoveling the soil just now; she wouldn't have been able to do it without the skill.
They left the kitchen, and Ning Shu looked at the powder in the bowl in the yard, while Tuya ran off to search other places.
Ning Shu was curious about what this powder was.
In modern times, we could just send it for testing and we'd know for sure, but in ancient times, we'd have to leave it to Cui Zeyu to investigate.
She went to another room, found a piece of cloth, tore off a section, and wrapped the bowl.
At that moment, Tuya called out to her, "Sister Ning, come and take a look."
Ning Shu held the bowl in her hands and ran towards the direction the graffiti pointed to; there was another dead rat.
What sins did this family commit to deserve such a massacre, including the confiscation of their property and the discovery of rats?
Ning Shu noticed some white powder near the dead rat, so she asked Tuya to go to the kitchen and get a clean bowl and spatula, and then repeat the process.
She then took another piece of cloth and wrapped the powder in the yard, placing a leaf inside the cloth outside the bowl as a distinguishing feature.
Ning Shu gave the bowls in the yard to Tuya to carry, and they each took a bowl before searching the Wu family's house again.
Apart from finding dead rats in multiple locations, no other discoveries were made.
It was quite late when they climbed over the wall and left the Wu family's residence. Ning Shu didn't want to take the two bowls back to the Prince's Mansion, so she instructed Tuya to take them back to the inn and deliver them to Cui Zeyu at the Dali Temple the next day.
Ning Shu was worried about missing the key-setting time, so she rushed back to the Prince's Mansion. On the way, worried that the Prince's Mansion might not have left her any food, she also bought a few steamed buns.
Back at the manor, she was still munching on a steamed bun when she heard Granny Zhao come looking for her, telling her not to go out tomorrow.
Since the princess has been chosen, the dowager princess has something to arrange for her to do tomorrow.
Ning Shu was quite impressed with the speed of the Prince's Mansion when she heard that the Princess Consort had been chosen so quickly, but she felt that not being able to go out the next day was a waste of time.
After Granny Zhao left, she muttered to herself, "Tuya, did you hear what I just said?"
I can't go out tomorrow. Go and take those two bowls to Cui Zeyu, and tell him to thoroughly investigate what the powder inside is.
Although only Ning Shu was allowed to enter the Dali Temple, Cui Zeyu recognized the graffiti.
It's reasonable that she didn't have time to let him do the graffiti since he was always following her around.
The next morning, Ning Shu talked to herself again, hoping that the graffiti could hear her.
However, she was worried that the other party might waste time because they hadn't activated their skills, so she gave Xia Ju some silver.
Ask her to pass on a message to Tuya, and she went to the Empress Dowager's courtyard to await orders.
When the Dowager Consort saw her arrive, she got straight to the point: "His Highness has chosen the third young lady of the Gao family as his princess consort. I was thinking of arranging for them to spend time together. What are your thoughts?"
Ning Shu was taken aback. Prince Rui had actually taken a liking to the Gao family's young lady. What a coincidence!
She was just having trouble figuring out how to get close to the Gao family.
But does this mean she has to arrange a date for Prince Rui? Is this even her place? She doesn't quite understand.
Perhaps seeing the confusion on her face, the Dowager Consort added, "I am old and surrounded by elderly people. Their ideas are not as varied as those of young people, which is why I asked you to help make arrangements."
Ning Shu looked enlightened and replied that she understood.
Remembering her son's instructions, the Dowager Consort added, "This matter must be handled flawlessly; you must accompany me throughout the entire process."
Does that mean she won't be able to go out freely anymore?
Ning Shu felt this was absolutely unacceptable, and instead of immediately refuting it, she asked, "When does Her Highness the Imperial Concubine intend to arrange their date?"
The Dowager Consort was taken aback by her directness and choked up for a moment before clearing her throat: "Of course, the sooner the better."
She hoped things would move quickly so that the people in front of her would slip up sooner, allowing her son to escape danger more quickly.
Why are you in such a hurry?
Ning Shu couldn't understand. Could it be that the Dowager Consort was worried that Prince Rui would change his mind?
Ning Shu felt that arranging this matter was not a big problem, but she was unsure if there were any taboos.
"Your Highness, are there any taboos surrounding this matter? Am I merely assisting others, or...?"
The Dowager understood her meaning; originally, the matter of Prince Rui should not have been the responsibility of a maid.
But this time it was all to lure the snake out of its hole, and since she was the main character, naturally everything had to be handed over to her.
"You are in full charge. Use the people in the manor as you see fit, just make sure things are arranged properly."
Ning Shu was waiting for this sentence, because it would give her more room to maneuver.
She was secretly delighted, but put on a show of accepting a mission in a time of crisis, and solemnly replied, "I will definitely complete the mission well."
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