Upon hearing the maid's words, the light in Xie Fu's eyes quickly dimmed.
She slowly lowered her eyelids, concealing the loneliness and desolation in her eyes, and after taking a deep breath, she said:
“The prince is not here, so I cannot leave the manor. I am unfamiliar with the city. How can a woman like me go out so easily? It's too dangerous. I will wait for the prince to return so we can go together. My sister-in-law is so capable, she will surely be alright…”
She can't go to the hot pot restaurant.
That place was, after all, once a brothel...
Besides, there are still so many prostitutes living in the shop these days.
If someone with ulterior motives sees her there, they might make a big deal out of it, which would definitely damage her reputation.
A hint of surprise flashed across the maid's face.
She never expected that Xie Fu would be so calm when she heard about the accident that happened to her family!
Seeing that she remained unmoved no matter what.
The maid had no choice but to give up and, after leaving, secretly passed the message to the person who was supposed to be there.
Right now.
Yuan Rong had been waiting at the mansion for a long time, and her expression was becoming increasingly impatient.
Just as she was about to lose her temper, her maid Honghua came in and reported the news she had just received.
“Miss! Greenery just sent word that Miss Xie is worried about her safety alone and refuses to leave the manor by herself. She says she wants to wait for the Prince to return before leaving.”
Yuan Rong scoffed.
His eyes and brows were filled with indifference and sarcasm.
"Ha! She dared to run all the way from her little mountain village to the prefectural city alone at such a young age to chase after a man. Would she be afraid of danger? I think she just doesn't care about her sister-in-law's life or death. This time, I didn't think things through. I thought she would care about her sister-in-law's safety to some extent. Who would have thought that Xie Fu would be such an ingrate!"
Seeing the faint hint of fierceness lingering between her young mistress's brows, Honghua pondered for a moment, then quietly whispered in Yuan Rong's ear:
"Girl, should we just poison her?"
Yuan Rong rolled her eyes at the red flower helplessly.
The expression on his face was indescribable.
She's so smart, how come all the maids around her are so stupid!
"Do you think the Prince is a fool? He was perfectly fine during his exile, but he got poisoned as soon as he entered the Prince's mansion. Besides, that bitch Shangguan Yun has superb medical skills; how could she not tell if Xie Fu was poisoned? Fine, let's spare her life for now. Go and tell Luyi to spread rumors about that bitch Shangguan Yun to Xie Fu. Xie Fu is young and has her eyes on her cousin, so she's easily swayed. Xie Fu isn't stupid either; let her and Shangguan Yun fight it out slowly. We'll just sit back and watch them fight."
After hearing this, Honghua was filled with admiration for her daughter.
"The girl is so clever!"
Listening to her flattering words, Yuan Rong slightly raised her chin, a faint smile appearing on her face.
...
Until it was nearly evening.
Lin Yan finally remembered why Pear Blossom's face seemed so familiar!
Because her eyebrows and eyes were somewhat similar to Shangguan Yun's...
The osmanthus flowers and osmanthus cakes that Lihua mentioned are things that only exist in Jiangnan, and Shangguan Yun happens to be from Jiangnan.
Lin Yan's heart surged with excitement.
She wished she could go to the Prince's Mansion right now to find Shangguan Yun and ask her if there were any missing girls of the same age in their family.
But when she saw how thick the snow was, she had to give up the idea and listlessly went upstairs.
She had just stepped onto the stairs.
A cheerful, magnetic voice suddenly rang out from the shop entrance:
"It seems I've come at an inopportune time. Why did Miss Lin go upstairs to rest as soon as I arrived?"
Lin Yan stopped abruptly as she went upstairs and hurriedly went downstairs.
After going downstairs.
When Lin Yan saw the more than twenty guards following behind Xiao Jue and Shangguan Yun, her face almost lit up with a smile!
Big business opportunity!
She quickly and warmly welcomed them into the store.
"Your Highness! Miss Shangguan! It's not because of the heavy snow that I've become lazy and there aren't many customers in the shop. I'm really sorry. It's cold outside, so please come in, gentlemen. I'll have someone prepare a pot right away."
Xiao Jue pulled Shangguan Yun to a seat in the middle and smiled and nodded to Lin Yan.
"Miss Lin, you've worked hard."
Despite wearing a thick cloak, Shangguan Yun's face was still red from the cold.
Xiao Jue felt extremely distressed, but he couldn't openly hug her, so he could only secretly rub her hands to warm them under the table.
It wasn't until they had all started eating hot pot that Shangguan Yun began to feel warm.
Knowing that Xiao Jue disliked being served by strange women, Lin Yan was the one serving the dishes and greeting customers at their table.
Braving the heavy snow, Xiao Jue finally got to eat a steaming hot pot and sighed contentedly:
"It's so comforting to have hot pot on such a cold day!"
Seeing that they had almost finished eating.
Lin Yan couldn't help but ask the question that had been on her mind:
"Why are Your Highness and Miss Shangguan going out in this heavy snow?"
"Oh, it's all because it's so cold and snowing so heavily that many people in the city have started to have fevers and coughs. Yun'er was worried about this, so she suggested that we go out to give medicine and provide free medical care to the sick people. Since it was snowing heavily and I had nothing to do, and I was worried about Yun'er, I went out with her."
Although Xiao Jue's words seemed to be a complaint.
But it's easy to tell from his tone how proud he is of Shangguan Yun's free medical consultation!
"Miss Shangguan is truly kind-hearted!"
This wasn't Lin Yan deliberately flattering or sucking up; she genuinely admired Shangguan Yun.
After all, Shangguan Yun had been consistently providing free medical consultations even before she met Xiao Jue, so it was definitely not an act.
She truly lives up to her reputation as the female lead in the novel.
Absolutely true, good, and beautiful!
However, Lin Yan hadn't forgotten what she'd been thinking about all afternoon, and only spoke after Shangguan Yun put down her chopsticks:
"I have something I need to ask you about. Would Miss Shangguan allow us a private conversation?"
"Of course, Miss Lin, you're too kind."
Shangguan Yun followed Lin Yan to the counter and noticed a stranger staring at her timidly.
"Miss Lin, and who is this gentleman?"
"Miss Shangguan, doesn't she look a little familiar?"
Shangguan Yun couldn't remember for a moment, so she could only frown slightly and carefully examine the girl in front of her.
Suddenly!
She stared wide-eyed at those fox-like eyes, involuntarily taking a step back, her expression one of utter disbelief.
"Who are you……"
Seeing her like this, Lin Yan felt there was hope, and her heart leaped with joy. She pulled Lihua over to introduce her:
"Miss Shangguan, this is Miss Lihua. She was probably abducted from Jiangnan when she was a child. I noticed that your features are somewhat similar, and since Miss Shangguan is from Jiangnan, I wanted to ask if your family has any lost relatives?"
"Yes... Aunt's daughter did indeed go missing years ago. I will write a letter to Aunt tomorrow. They are currently at Red Moon Manor and can arrive tomorrow, but..."
Shangguan Yun's face showed a conflicted expression.
He glanced at the pear blossom with a troubled expression, seemingly reluctant to say what he was about to say.
"But what is it? Miss Shangguan, please speak freely."
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