The eighteenth day of the first lunar month.
Families gathered at the Ningguo Marquis's residence to participate in the Flower Goddess Festival.
Madam Shen and Old Madam Shen naturally came today. The Duchess only brought Madam Qiao; Li Jiaojiao did not come.
The eldest princess said she was powerless to do it, but today she was radiant and brought five or six jars of her homemade apricot wine, saying she was there to pay tribute to the Flower Goddess.
After paying their respects to the Flower Goddess, everyone gathered together to taste the princess's apricot wine.
Meanwhile, the princess's residence was in complete chaos—
"Thief! Thief!" Princess's personal maid, Yun'er, suddenly shouted. "Quick, quick, stop him!!"
A group of servants were surrounding and capturing a petty thief.
The thief, masked and carrying a bundle, tried to break out by darting left and right, but was eventually captured by the servants.
Yun'er stepped forward and dumped his bundle on the ground with a clatter, revealing seven or eight pieces of jewelry inside.
Her eyes widened: "Hmph, how dare you! You actually dare to steal from our princess's residence!"
"This is the princess's hairpin! This is the princess's bracelet... This... isn't my princess's! This isn't either! Tell me, where did all these things come from?"
Yun'er pointed to a pile of messy things on the ground.
The thief's voice trembled: "So many places..."
"Hmph, I don't care how many houses you stole from! Let the prefect find him. Men, take him to the authorities."
After saying this, he took a few servants and escorted the thief to the yamen.
The prefect of the capital, surnamed Song, upon hearing that the thief was sent by the princess's residence, immediately convened court to hear the case:
"Who is in the hall?"
Yun'er curtsied and said, "My lord, I am a servant of the Grand Princess Fushun's residence. This little thief came to the residence to steal things and stole two pieces of jewelry from my princess."
"As for the rest, I don't know whose they are. Now I'm bringing the thief here so that you can find the owner and deal with him."
As she spoke, Yun'er placed the thief's bundle on the ground, opened it, and saw six or seven pieces of jewelry inside, along with a delicate little sapphire blue box.
Prefect Song slammed his gavel: "You audacious thief, daring to steal in broad daylight! Speak, which houses did you steal from?"
The thief trembled as he said, "From the Duke of Pingguo's mansion, the Marquis of Ningguo's mansion... and the Zhang family."
Prefect Song said, "Someone, go and inform the three families mentioned above, and ask them to send someone to identify the items."
Three constables immediately turned and left.
......
Ningguo Marquis's Residence
A banquet is currently being held in the mansion.
In the Gu family's garden, the eldest princess was quite drunk and her words were incoherent.
The women felt that the eldest princess had acted somewhat improperly, but given that she was a princess, no one dared to say anything.
Mei, however, looked pleased with herself. The fact that the princess was so relaxed in her house showed that she was very satisfied with her banquet.
"Your Highness, would you like to rest in a guest room?"
The princess's face was flushed, and she waved her hand, saying, "I'm not drunk, I'm perfectly sober! Pour me more wine!"
At this moment, a maidservant quickly walked to Madam Mei's side and whispered:
"The prefect sent a constable saying that he had caught a thief who seemed to have stolen some jewelry from our household, and asked someone to identify him."
Mei said impatiently, "Can't you see I'm entertaining guests? For such a trivial matter, just ask Green Bamboo to take responsibility."
The maidservant quickly bowed and left.
Madam Mei put on a smile again and chatted with the noblewoman beside her.
......
Duke Ping's Mansion——
Li Jiaojiao was rummaging through things on the dressing table: "Where's my ruby hairpin? Xiao Lü, where did you put it?"
Little Green, her face pale, said, "I made sure I put it there properly..."
At this moment, a maidservant walked in:
“A constable has come from outside and said that he has caught a petty thief who stole jewelry. It seems that some of the jewelry belongs to our household. The magistrate asks Miss to send someone to identify it.”
Currently, Li Jiaojiao is the only mistress in the mansion, so the maid came to inform her.
Li Jiaojiao was taken aback: "It was stolen? Come on, Xiao Lü, let's go identify it."
Li Jiaojiao loves excitement, so she naturally had to go herself when something like this happened.
With that, he took Little Green out.
They soon exited through the second gate and saw a yamen runner standing in the outer courtyard.
Just as Li Jiaojiao was about to get into the carriage, Gu Han rushed out from the hanging flower gate: "Jiaojiao, wait for me!"
Gu Han rushed out and stopped in front of her, panting.
What brings you here?
"I was watering the flowers just now... I heard... I heard that you lost your jewelry, so I wanted to go check on it!"
It's not just about losing jewelry!
He was watering the flowers when two maids started chatting, saying that a thief was stealing things everywhere.
They stole not only from the Duke of Pingguo's mansion, but also from the Marquis of Ningguo's mansion. Besides jewelry, there was also a small blue box...
A small blue box?
The blue box was a nightmare for Gu Han his whole life!
A small blue box containing mosquito repellent was also found in his room that year...
Then, without even asking any questions, his father accused him of poisoning him...
Therefore, the combination of "Ningguo Marquis's Mansion" and "Blue Little Box" was a great shock to Gu Han.
Could it be...?
Normally, he wouldn't be this sensitive, but these past few days they've been focused on finding something to use against the Gu family, and now this has appeared...
Regardless, he had to go and take a look; perhaps it was another important clue!
Li Jiaojiao frowned slightly: "Aren't you afraid..."
Gu Han said urgently, "I'm not afraid! I'll wear a soft hat and cover myself with a scarf."
It's perfectly normal to cover half your face with a scarf on a cold day.
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