The high priest, however, couldn't help but frown.
She said, "Your Highness, you have more important things to do right now. How can you go and see the manager of a small restaurant?"
Ah Qi was somewhat dissatisfied with her slightly accusatory words and couldn't help but purse her lips, speaking out for the first time: "She saved my life before, and I should repay that kindness. Besides, Father knows her, and if he knew I didn't repay her, he would definitely be very disappointed in me."
He successfully persuaded the high priest with just a few words.
The high priest had no choice but to let him go, and even withdrew herself to avoid arousing Xu Yuehuai's suspicion.
Xu Yuehuai hurried in, but slowed down when she saw Aqi practicing calligraphy. Not long ago, Aqi used to hold up his crooked characters and not let anyone see them.
Ah Qi seemed to have noticed the footsteps. He paused for a moment, then immediately looked up. Upon seeing who it was, he immediately smiled and said, "Grandma, what brings you to the palace to see me today?"
Xu Yuehuai already knew that life in the royal family was not easy, and Aqi had only recently returned to the palace. In addition, she had overheard Aqi's conversation with Marquis Ningyuan, which made her even more hesitant.
She thought for a moment and could only reply politely, "Can't I come to see you if there's nothing wrong? Shi Chen was talking about you a while ago, so I thought I'd come and see you. It just so happens that I'm on my way today, so of course I came."
Ah Qi naturally didn't believe it.
He looked up and saw that Xu Yuehuai's expression was a bit off. Besides, this was the kind of person who wouldn't come to the palace without a reason, and he knew that this matter was in the palace, so why would she come to see him for no reason?
"Grandma, is something wrong outside?" Ah Qi asked, exposing Xu Yuehuai's suspicions.
Xu Yuehuai flinched, but still forced a smile: "No... nothing could have happened?"
She still didn't want to say it.
"Has something happened at Tianxiang Restaurant?" Ah Qi pressed again.
Seeing that she couldn't avoid it today, Xu Yuehuai could only sigh and say dejectedly, "Third Sister has been captured..."
This was the first time she had ever felt so helpless.
Ah Qi was stunned: "What? How could Third Sister have been captured?"
But as soon as he finished speaking, something suddenly occurred to him, and his previous excitement subsided. However, he still pretended to be disbelieving: "Grandma, you must be joking with me. I have a lot of classes at the Imperial Academy, and I don't have time to joke about this with you."
“I’m not lying to you. The other party also left a letter, which Zhao Ping has already read. The other party is Marquis Ningyuan.” Xu Yuehuai said, handing over the letter she was holding. At this point, she had no choice but to take a gamble.
Ah Qi opened the letter and saw that the handwriting and tone were undoubtedly those of Marquis Ningyuan. However, he pretended to be curious and asked, "Did you offend him before? Or is there some misunderstanding?"
"Grandma, I..."
This whole thing was originally Ah Qi's idea for Xu Yuehuai. The moment he saw the contents of the letter, a hint of smugness flashed in his eyes, but then he turned away and hesitated.
"A-Qi? What do you want to say?" Xu Yuehuai naturally caught the hint of smugness in his eyes, and her heart skipped a beat. She became even more certain that there was an unspeakable secret between A-Qi and Marquis Ningyuan.
At that moment, her initial reluctance vanished, and she instead asked a question.
Ah Qi raised a bitter smile: "Grandma, it's not that I don't want to help you, it's just that I've only just returned to the East Palace and my power is no match for that of Marquis Ningyuan. Besides, I always feel that there's something fishy about this. Perhaps Marquis Ningyuan has other conditions, who knows?"
This sentence made Xu Yuehuai even more certain of her inner thoughts.
She didn't speak, and just stared blankly at Ah Qi.
"Hmm...Grandma." Seeing her like this, Ah Qi was a little surprised. He hesitated for a moment, then began to lead her into the trap. "I'm thinking about this. It's clearly something the other side planned carefully, and it's aimed at you. Third Sister was just caught in the crossfire."
Xu Yuehuai nodded, pretending to agree.
If she hadn't already realized that Ah Qi and Marquis Ningyuan were colluding, she probably would have felt guilty about these words.
Ah Qi was waiting for Xu Yuehuai to continue, but seeing her only nod, he didn't know what to do. He could only tentatively ask, "Grandma, what do you plan to do next?"
He felt that he had instead fallen into a passive position.
“Ah Qi, all along the way, I’ve treated you the same as Shi Chen and Qian Qian. Third Sister has never mistreated you either. You should know my temperament. If I hadn’t been driven to desperation, I would never have asked you for this.” Xu Yuehuai’s emotions had stabilized. “If even you can’t stand against Marquis Ningyuan, then we can only watch Third Sister die. Can you bear that?”
With just a few words, she shifted the pressure onto Ah Qi.
Ah Qi then realized that he had fallen into her trap.
He took two deep breaths, racking his brains for a solution. After a long while, he finally spoke: "In that case, I will try my best. Grandma, you should go back and wait for news."
He didn't want to continue the conversation; if he did, he would only be led by the nose.
Xu Yuehuai was waiting for him to say: "Okay, then I'll wait for your news."
After she stepped out of the room, she suddenly noticed a figure in the corner. She instinctively turned her head to look, but only saw the hem of a garment. It seemed that life in the palace was much more interesting.
Once outside the palace gates, Xu Yuehuai finally showed signs of exhaustion. She hadn't slept all night because of San Niang's situation. Now that A Qi had given her assurance, at least San Niang was safe, and she could finally get a good night's sleep.
Unexpectedly, just as she was about to get into the carriage, she suddenly saw the figure of the Duke of Zhenguo's wife.
At the same time, the other party had already seen her.
The Duchess of Zhenguo immediately smiled and came over: "A-Yue, I didn't expect to meet you here. Are you going to the palace to see the Crown Prince?"
When she got closer, she noticed that Xu Yuehuai had dark circles under his eyes and his whole face looked tired.
"What's wrong with you? What happened to you? Just tell me." The Duchess of Zhenguo immediately took her hand and looked her up and down. She then noticed that Xu Yuehuai not only looked tired, but even her skirt was stained with mud. She was clearly anxious. "No matter what happened, come back to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion with me first. Get some rest first."
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