The next day, in the study, Yinzhen turned the ring on his finger and said to the two kneeling men below, "Still haven't found out?"
The two guards were sweating profusely, their heads pressed firmly to the ground. "Reporting to Your Excellency, we can only find out the itinerary of Consort Tong and her maid Qingfeng from Hangzhou to Suzhou."
Yinzhen said angrily, "Are you trying to tell me that the two of them appeared in Hangzhou out of thin air?"
The guard prostrated himself on the ground and kowtowed, his voice trembling as he reported, "This servant deserves to die. There was not a single clue in the previous journey. All traces were wiped clean. This servant is incompetent. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
Yinzhen's forehead twitched. He waved his hand, and after the others had left, Su Peisheng said, "Your Majesty, His Majesty has decreed that you and the Thirteenth Prince must return to the capital immediately without delay."
"Did they say what it was about?"
Su Peisheng paused for a moment, then said, "News has come from the capital that the Crown Prince has caused some trouble."
"Return to Beijing immediately."
"twitter."
After saying goodbye to the thirteenth prince, the ninth prince hurriedly returned to the inn where he was staying and called Xiao Jinzi to pack his things.
Xiao Jinzi was taken aback and said, "Master, let's not look for Miss Tong anymore."
The Ninth Prince paused slightly, feeling a bitter ache in his heart. If he hadn't seen Qingfeng, the girl beside the Thirteenth Prince, he probably would still be wandering around Suzhou City.
Since she was alright, he was relieved. He kicked Xiao Jinzi's butt and scolded, "What are you looking for? She's already back in the capital. Hurry up and go meet up with Brother Ba and the others."
******
Nan Yi, who had been away from home for more than a month, returned to the capital, much to the delight of the maids in Wan Yue Ge Zhong.
"Master, it's so good that you're back. We couldn't hide it any longer." Yiren chattered on and then let out a long sigh of relief.
Nan Yi laughed and said, "Is someone causing trouble?"
Yiren said indignantly, "No, it's just that no one stays out of the house for more than a month. It's only natural that people would be suspicious. The news reached the ears of the Fujin. Yesterday, Xiaoshunzi found out that the Fujin was preparing to go to the palace to ask for permission to come in and investigate."
Nan Yi chuckled, "No, she won't go to the palace."
Yiren was slightly surprised, but seeing her master's confidence, she was about to ask when a surprised exclamation interrupted her, "Master, you're back."
Nan nodded slightly. Xiao Shunzi stood there, stunned, muttering, "So, Master has also returned to the manor." Yiren suddenly realized, her eyes flashing slightly. What a coincidence!
More than a month after returning to the mansion, Nan Yi remained secluded, but news kept coming in from the outside: Consort Nian was heavily pregnant. Since returning to the mansion, Yinzhen had spent most of his time in Weifang Courtyard, occasionally visiting Lady Nara and Lady Li.
She didn't care and stayed quietly in her room, only showing up at mealtimes. Qingyun and the others thought their mistress was too heartbroken and had turned her hair white with worry, so they tried every means to make her laugh and even hinted that she should sneak out of the mansion to relax.
Nan shook his head. There was no way out. Wanyue Pavilion was like a golden cage, completely surrounded by secret guards.
So what if I'm sleepy? As long as I have food and drink, I can stay at Nan Yi Zhai.
Whenever Yiren had a spare moment, she would gossip in front of her, such as how Consort Nian was becoming more and more delicate, how Consort De had bestowed two more maids upon her, who Yinzhen had favored this time, and how there was a particularly favored maid in Consort Nian's courtyard who was very much in the master's favor, and so on.
These words quietly reached Nan Yi's ears through Xiao Shunzi's mouth. Nan Yi, on the other hand, continued doing what he was doing, his expression as calm as still water.
When she was really bored, she would drag the girls to play mahjong, playing day and night, and then sleep when she got tired. Sometimes, Shunzi would bring her some storybooks, the latest trinkets from the streets, or the latest gossip from the capital.
Granny Qiu fell in love with cooking and even had more talent than Granny Zhao.
Nan Yi would also try to learn a few moves whenever he had free time, from Chinese style to Western style, and the servants of Wanyue Pavilion all gained weight.
Two months later, Su Peisheng stood motionless to one side of the study, holding his breath, his mind filled with countless resentments, yet he dared not reveal a single one.
Alas, when masters quarrel, it is always the servants who suffer. He knew this all too well. Just as he was feeling resentful, Eunuch Su caught a glimpse of a dark figure outside the door and hurriedly went to open it. A masked man in black slipped in and knelt on the ground to pay his respects.
Yinzhen glanced at the man in black and said indifferently, "You found out?"
The man in black trembled slightly but remained silent. Cold sweat soaked his face and onto the black veil, making him feel suffocated. Yinzhen was quite surprised. He stared at him sharply and uttered two words, "Speak."
The man in black hunched over and whispered, "That girl... bit her tongue and committed suicide. Before she died, she said two words: 'Ah Jin.'"
With a loud crash, Su Peisheng glanced over and saw that another precious inkstone had shattered, ink spilling all over the floor. His master's face was covered in frost, and he couldn't help but shrink back slightly, feeling extremely cold.
Ah Jin, there are so many people named Ah Jin, but in the end, they still returned empty-handed.
After a while, Yinzhen pointed to the desk, and Su Peisheng quickly stepped forward to tidy it up. Recently, the number of times the master lost his temper had increased day by day. When his anger surged, no one was allowed to step forward. After smashing things and venting his anger, he would act as if nothing had happened and make him tidy up.
Yinzhen pressed his thumb to his forehead and said coldly, "How is it over there?"
Su Peisheng pursed his dry lips, considered his words carefully, and then said softly, "The message has already been sent, but, Master Tong..."
He dared not continue. Yinzhen seemed to know that he had nothing more to hear and interrupted him impatiently, "Alright, I know. Go and call Luyun."
Su Peisheng was taken aback, his expression one of astonishment, and he stammered, "Sir, this is probably not a good idea."
It was only because Master insisted on bringing Green Cloud back to the manor that Master Tong started arguing with him. If Master keeps acting recklessly, Master Tong will have to live like a turtle for the rest of her life.
"What's wrong with it?" Yinzhen looked at him coldly with a frown.
Su Peisheng forced a smile and reminded her, "Master Tong..."
Yinzhen abruptly threw the brush in his hand, and it landed on the floor, its ends separating.
A sigh came from the study. "Never mind, let's go to the Princess Consort's place."
In the third month, there was still no movement from Wanyue Pavilion. Tong Shi neither sent a private message to Yinzhen nor climbed over the wall to find him.
After smashing the sixth precious inkstone, Yinzhen rested his forehead on his hand and calmly ordered, "Withdraw the guards and disperse them all to the shadows, keeping them far away from her."
Without the bodyguards, she'll always sneak out eventually; I'm sure I can catch her, Yinzhen thought.
He argued with her for a few words over a girl, and she dared to ignore him for months. He had already said that he had a use for this girl.
He promised he wouldn't touch that girl, and asked him for anything more, completely refusing to listen to him.
I don't want to always be the one to back down. He's a man, and I'm too embarrassed to take the initiative. Another three months have passed, so I can't just sneak in to see him.
She didn't. She refused to move, refusing to stay so close, close enough to hear the maids talking in her courtyard.
She was perfectly fine in Suzhou, but then she got jealous, acted spoiled, and threw a tantrum. As soon as they got back to the mansion, she started arguing with him again. It was all so inexplicable.
Women shouldn't be spoiled.
Yinzhen picked up the booklet on the table. The words on the paper were smudged and the contents were deeply engraved in his mind. He copied the booklet hundreds of times, but the person was nowhere to be found.
Thinking of this, Yinzhen's heart tightened, and he wished he could just tear it up. But when he came to his senses, he quickly smoothed it out, and only a helpless, long sigh remained in the room.
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