Chapter 9: First Clues
"Ah..." Cui'er was startled by Jiang Hai's rebuke. Before she could even cry out, Jiang Hai covered her mouth and dragged her away.
Cui'er was so shocked by Jiang Hai's actions that she dared not do anything. Had she run into a flower thief today? Good heavens! Why was her life so miserable? Sold to the Prime Minister's mansion as a child to serve as a maid, although her mistress's temper had changed after that incident, their relationship had improved considerably. Now she was married into the Prince's mansion, her mistress was the rightful mistress, and surely no one in the mansion would dare bully her. She had finally been able to live a good life, and now she'd been targeted by a flower thief again…
"I'm sorry for offending you, young lady."
Jiang Hai's soft apology interrupted Cui'er's thoughts.
Cui'er was startled, finding herself beside a pool. She looked at the man before her with suspicion. Why had he brought me here? Could it be…? Cui'er gasped, her eyes widening as she stared at Jiang Hai. Was he planning to dispose of the body?! At this thought, tears welled up in Cui'er's eyes. "Great…great…hero, spare me…I'm just an ordinary maid…I…"
Seeing the girl suddenly burst into tears, Jiang Hai was completely bewildered. What...what...why was she crying about...? "Miss...Miss...Miss, I..."
Cui'er continued to cry, but seeing that no one was around, she realized she couldn't escape today. She calmed herself down, thinking that even if she died today, she couldn't disgrace her mistress. She raised her head and said to Jiang Hai with a forced smile, "Great hero... you can kill me if you want, but... could you at least leave me with a whole corpse? Cui'er has already suffered enough; we are all unfortunate people. I hope you can understand!"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Hai was taken aback, then burst into laughter, saying, "Why is this girl crying? She thinks I'm a flower thief."
Seeing Jiang Hai suddenly burst into laughter, Cui'er was very puzzled. She looked at the man in front of her with a questioning look, "Great hero, you..."
"Don't call me a hero anymore," Jiang Hai said with a smile, waving his hand. "Your name is Cui'er?"
Cui'er nodded.
Jiang Hai smiled and looked at her, "Miss Cui'er, you've misunderstood. I'm not some flower thief."
Cui'er was taken aback. Not a flower thief? After Jiang Hai said that, Cui'er was no longer afraid. Having followed her mistress for so long, she should have some courage by now. Thinking of this, she stared at Jiang Hai and said aggressively, "Since you are not a flower thief, then why are you on the roof of our Prince and Princess in the middle of the night?"
Why was she on the roof? Jiang Hai's eyes darkened. He had hidden himself so well, how did the girl find him? Could she be one of them?
Seeing Jiang Hai's gaze, Cui'er immediately shrank back, stammering, "I...I...I saw you fly down from the roof..." It seemed this man was definitely not a good person; climbing onto someone's roof in the middle of the night, and then giving her such a terrifying look when discovered...
Jiang Hai pursed his lips and looked at Cui'er, realizing he had forgotten about it. He looked at Cui'er again and said, "You're criticizing me, but you yourself go to eavesdrop outside other people's windows. Aren't you just like me? If I'm a flower thief, then what kind of person are you?"
Cui'er was speechless for a moment, and stammered, "I...I...I'm not a flower thief! I'm our young lady's maid!" After saying that, Cui'er thought for a moment, as if she had missed something, and added, "She's the new princess's dowry maid!"
Jiang Hai looked at the nervous woman in front of him and couldn't help but find it amusing. "What are you saying, young lady? Does that mean maids can eavesdrop?"
Cui'er was startled, her face turning bright red at Jiang Hai's words. She pouted, "I...I...I just went to see if Miss needed anything, but I didn't expect her to turn off the lights before she even called me..."
Jiang Hai smiled and said, "I am the same as you, young lady. I am not a bad person. That's enough for you. There's no need to ask any more questions."
Cui'er pursed her lips and nodded with some annoyance.
"In that case, I shall take my leave." With that, Jiang Hai flew away.
Looking at Jiang Hai's retreating figure, Cui'er said with some admiration, "A true hero is a true hero; he can even fly."
After Jiang Hai had walked away, Cui'er suddenly realized something: she didn't seem to know the way...
"Hey! Tell me how to get there!"
The next morning, when Ye Wanning got up, she suddenly found that Su Wenzhen was gone. She was stunned for a moment, "Cui'er!"
"Miss! What's wrong with you coming!"
Ye Wanning finished dressing, walked over and tapped Cui'er on the head, "Idiot, still calling me Miss? I'm a princess now, after all, we're in the royal palace, hurry up and change your address!"
"Oh." Cui'er rubbed her head, feeling aggrieved.
"By the way, have you seen the Prince?" Ye Wanning walked to the dressing table and sat down. "Just give me a simple updo today." Ancient hairstyles are so complicated; she really couldn't do them.
"Yes." Cui'er happily strolled up. "The prince got up very early, saying he wanted to find a good breakfast for the princess, so he ran off and went off to do something else."
Ye Wanning felt a warmth in her heart. This silly girl still cared about her, didn't she? She smiled, then inadvertently glanced at Cui'er's pale face in the bronze mirror. She was startled and asked, "Cui'er, what's wrong? You look so pale. Did someone in the manor bully you?"
Cui'er sighed, "It's over, Miss found out after all." She looked at Ye Wanning and said cautiously, "I went to bed a little late last night..."
Ye Wanning was somewhat surprised. Unlike modern people, ancient people had nothing to do at night, and the lighting effects of candles and oil lamps were not good. Therefore, ancient people always went to bed early. Cui'er did not have to keep watch at night, so why did she go to bed late?
Seeing Ye Wanning's expression, Cui'er realized she couldn't hide it any longer, so she had no choice but to tell the whole story, "Miss... no... Your Highness... yesterday you told me and Granny Sun to leave, and a while later Granny Sun told me to go to your room to check on you, saying that she was worried Your Highness might have some instructions later..."
"So you were outside the door yesterday?"
Cui'er nodded, and Ye Wanning was startled. Luckily, she hadn't done anything. Thinking of this, Ye Wanning blushed. What was she thinking? She glanced at Cui'er, feeling a strange sensation. Surely she wouldn't be standing outside the door every night from now on? That wouldn't do! The thought of someone standing outside every night sent chills down Ye Wanning's spine.
Seeing Ye Wanning's ever-changing expression, Cui'er seemed to have thought of something and hurriedly said, "Your Highness, please don't overthink it. It won't happen again. Besides, after you turned off the lights last night, I...I..."
"What's wrong with you?"
"Last night a petty thief came and kidnapped me to the pond in the Prince's mansion..."
"What a joke." Ye Wanning rolled her eyes. "This Prince's mansion is heavily guarded. How could any thief possibly get in?"
Seeing that Ye Wanning didn't believe her, Cui'er became a little anxious, "I'm telling the truth! It was my first time there, and I didn't know the way. The palace is so big, it took me several hours to get to my room. If you don't believe me, I can take you to the pond right now!"
Seeing Cui'er's serious expression, Ye Wanning waved her hand, saying it wasn't necessary. Having known Cui'er for so long, she knew Cui'er was a child who wouldn't lie. But this thief… his background was probably a bit… Ye Wanning frowned, then suddenly thought of something, and shook her head. How could that be? He's just a fool, unless…
"What did you say? You've been discovered?" Su Wenzhen looked at the person standing next to him in surprise.
"It was my carelessness," Jiang Hai said, looking at the man before him with a sense of guilt.
Su Wenzhen sighed softly, "Never mind, I just hope... she's not an enemy..."
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