Chapter 72 Reporting Encounters Obstacles
After taking their seats, everyone chatted happily, creating a lively atmosphere.
Perhaps influenced by the scene, Ye Wanning, who was initially in a bad mood, became cheerful.
As the wine flowed freely, Su Wenzhen smiled and said, "Your sister-in-law is not feeling well today and has not come to the banquet. I hope Wenzhen will not blame her."
"Your Majesty, what are you saying?" Su Wenzhen smiled and offered him a cup of wine. "Your Majesty's wife has already worked herself to the bone managing the affairs of the palace. She is a frail woman, so it is understandable that she suddenly felt unwell. How could Wenzhen possibly mind?"
As he spoke, Su Wenzhen smiled and put his arm around Ye Wanning beside him, "It's because my brother is so generous; I, on the other hand, would be reluctant to let my wife do these things!"
"Everyone knows how good Wenzhen's relationship with his sister-in-law is," Su Wenzhen smiled, pursing her lips. "It's truly enviable!"
If these two were in modern times, they would definitely be two movie stars. Ye Wanning rolled her eyes. They were just arguing at the door a moment ago, and now they're pretending to flatter each other. Ye Wanning sighed helplessly. They say a woman's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea, and these two men are probably even worse!
No sooner had these words been spoken than a busybody minister, eager to capitalize on the moment and curry favor with Su Wenzhen, stood up, picked up a cup of wine, and smiled obsequiously at Su Wenzhen. "A few days ago, I heard that Prince Jin went out to worship Buddha but was robbed on the way. After hearing this news, this old minister's heart was torn apart every day! I was constantly worried that Your Highness would be alright. Now that Your Highness is safe, this old minister's heart can finally be at peace."
As he spoke, the minister suddenly seemed to become interested. He looked at Su Wenzhen with greed in his eyes and said, "It is said that Your Highness fell into a nearby cliff, and it is also said that there is an immortal at the bottom of the cliff who not only rescued Your Highness and Princess, but also cured Your Highness's 'stubborn illness' of many years. I wonder if this news is true?"
Hearing this, Ye Wanning was taken aback and looked at Su Wenzhen with disbelief. Could this be the reason he gave outside? Ye Wanning frowned. If Wenzhen agreed to this today, wouldn't the old man at the bottom of the cliff... wouldn't he have no peace? Who knows, he might even face a fatal disaster! Thinking this, Ye Wanning's heart tightened. She was about to reply when Su Wenzhen stopped her. She looked at Su Wenzhen in confusion, but he just shook his head at her.
"Minister Xu has probably been reading too many tales of the strange and supernatural!" Su Wenzhen's cold voice rang out. He glanced at the man indifferently. "What immortals or demons are there in this world? They're all just things that deceive people's minds! Minister Xu, you'd better not speak nonsense. Deceiving people's minds is a serious crime!"
Minister Xu was so frightened by Su Wenzhen's words that he dared not breathe. Large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. In the past, he thought that Prince Jin was easy to bully. Even now that Prince Jin had recovered, he still did not take him seriously. Minister Xu lowered his head in fear. It seems that he will have to be very careful with his words in the future!
Seeing the atmosphere become awkward, Su Wenzhen coughed lightly twice and smiled at Su Wenzhen. "Wenzhen has only been back at the manor for a short time. It's best not to get angry over these people lest you harm your health." As he spoke, Su Wenzhen smiled and said, "Last time, Wenliang brought back some goat milk wine from the Qiang Kingdom. It was of the highest quality. I brought it with me today, so everyone should come and taste this special delicacy from the Qiang Kingdom!"
"Thank you for the reward, Your Highness!" A unified voice rang out. Su Wenxuan smiled and waved his hand, signaling the guards beside him to go and fetch it.
Ye Wanning glanced to the side and noticed that when Su Wenyi called for help, the maid beside Ye Wanyi had also disappeared. Ye Wanning frowned and called out softly, "Cui'er."
"What's wrong?" Cui'er lowered her head gently and looked around cautiously.
"Ye Wanyi's maid is missing. Go out and look for her," Ye Wanning said calmly.
"Yes." Cui'er nodded and hurriedly left the banquet.
Seeing the commotion, Su Wenxuan looked at Ye Wanning with some confusion. Ye Wanning immediately put on a flustered look and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong, sister-in-law?"
"When she arrived, she seemed to have lost one of her favorite hairpins, so she asked her maid to look for it," Su Wenzhen glanced at Ye Wanning and answered for her.
“That’s true.” Su Wenxuan nodded. “If something you love is gone, you must be really anxious.”
Su Wenzhen nodded and said nothing more.
After leaving the banquet area, Cui'er immediately headed towards Ye Wanning's house. When she reached the garden, she cautiously looked around and, seeing that no one was following her, immediately changed her route and headed towards the room where the gifts were stored.
Having walked along without finding anything unusual, Cui'er frowned, wondering what her mistress had called her out to see. Just as she was thinking this, a noise suddenly came from not far away, and Cui'er quickly hid behind a large tree.
She peeked out cautiously and saw two people standing suspiciously not far away, talking about something. Were they... the maidservant of the second young lady of the Ye family and the guard of the Crown Prince? Cui'er couldn't help but gasp. What was going on?
"My master said that if you do this well, he will definitely promote you in the future." Judging from the voice, it seemed to be the maid. Cui'er stood aside and secretly looked around. She saw the maid put something in the guard's hand.
"I don't know if your master will help me, but I have another master in my palace. If I'm found out later, I'm afraid I'll be in deep trouble!" The guard looked at the maid lazily, seemingly very unwilling.
The maid took a heavy bag out of her pocket and handed it to the guard. Cui'er's heart tightened. Judging from the appearance of the bag, it probably contained money. What exactly did Ye Wanyi want to do?
The guard accepted the bag and finally nodded. He took out the things the maid had given him earlier, looked at them, and then poured them all into the wine pot in his hand. Cui'er was shocked. They had actually drugged the wine! This was no small matter and she had to tell her mistress immediately!
Cui'er carefully escaped, but when she reached the garden, she suddenly bumped into a middle-aged man who looked like a Taoist priest. Before she could react, she collided with him, crying out, "Ah!"
"What are you yelling about!" Hearing Cui'er shout, the man quickly covered her mouth and whispered in her ear, "Does everyone have to see this...?"
Cui'er was still in a daze, looking at the man with a bit of confusion, and stammered, signaling him to let go.
"Promise me you'll let go, and if you don't call me, I'll let go!" the man said.
Cui'er nodded. Once the man released her, she breathed a sigh of relief and indeed stopped screaming. She frowned as she looked at the man in front of her. "Where did this Taoist priest come from? I've never seen you before. Are you a thief?"
The man gave an awkward laugh. "Miss Cui'er, don't you remember me? I'm Xu Da."
“Xu Da? Which Xu…” A figure suddenly flashed through her mind, and Cui’er looked at him in surprise, “You are Xu Da!”
"Yes!" Xu Da nodded, looking at Cui'er somewhat embarrassed. "I came to the Prince's mansion with the Prince and Princess a few days ago and stayed for a few days. Today, I've come to say goodbye. I wonder if Miss Cui'er has seen the Prince and Princess?"
"You've picked a good day." Cui'er waved her hand impatiently. She was still waiting to report to Ye Wanning about the drugging incident. Thinking about it, she couldn't help but feel irritated, and her tone became unpleasant. "Tomorrow! If you want to say goodbye, then tomorrow is fine. If you want to leave today, then there's no need to say goodbye. No one will care, don't worry!"
Xu Da's eyes darted around, and seeing that Cui'er's face suddenly turned pale, he couldn't help but wonder, "What's wrong, Miss Cui'er?"
Cui'er stared intently at the distance. Several figures approached, and Cui'er's heart tightened. Judging from their appearance, they were the guard and the maid's men. Oh no! Cui'er gritted her teeth. There was no time to report now! What should she do?
Seeing that Cui'er didn't speak, Xu Da, unwilling to give up, continued to ask, "Miss Cui'er, is there something you're wondering about? Tell me, and maybe I can help you out."
Cui'er turned to look at Xu Da. At this point, she had no choice but to try anything. She gritted her teeth, glared at Xu Da, and said fiercely, "Come with me right now!"
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