Butler Chen stiffened. "The Princess Consort suspects..."
Wen Nongnong nodded. "I always felt that something was amiss. It was quite abrupt for commoners to suddenly bring their daughters to the Prince's house. Normally, out of gratitude, they wouldn't send their daughters to the Prince's residence. This is clearly an attempt to ruin the Prince's reputation and damage the Regent's Palace's name. If this falls into the eyes of those with ulterior motives, it will become a handle for them to hinder the Prince. Accepting a commoner's daughter is no small crime. How will the world view our Prince?"
Butler Chen's expression turned grim, clearly having considered this possibility as well. "What a vicious scheme! Now, what should we do?"
Wen Nongnong thought of something and quickly said, "Uncle Chen, quickly send someone to wait for the Prince outside the palace gate. When he comes back, tell him not to go through the front gate and not to run into those people, otherwise he will get into trouble."
"This old servant will go right away." Steward Chen didn't dare to delay and quickly arranged for someone to meet Gu Linchao.
Green Fairy pressed herself against the door, listened to the sounds outside, and turned to ask Wen Nongnong, "Miss, those people haven't left yet. Are we just going to let them stay there? Should we send someone to chase them away?"
“No,” Wen Nongnong shook her head. “If we send people to drive them away, what if they throw a tantrum and accuse the Prince’s Mansion of oppressing the people? That would make things even more complicated.”
Green Fairy frowned. "What if they refuse to leave?"
Wen Nongnong thought for a moment and said to Bai Li, "Try to blend in with them. If someone is really instigating them, they will definitely slip up. I want to see who is behind this and why they want to frame the Prince's Mansion."
Bai Li nodded. "Then I'll go right away."
Lü Qiao said, "I'll take you out through the back door."
"Um."
The two hurried to the back door.
Wen Nongnong stood by the door for a while. Because she was menstruating, she felt a little uncomfortable standing for so long, so she said to the servant next to her, "Keep an eye on the movements outside. If there is any news, inform me immediately."
"yes."
Wen Nongnong returned to Chenxiang Courtyard.
She went to the bathroom to tidy up, and just as she came out, she saw Gu Linchao walk in from outside.
"Your Highness." Wen Nongnong quickened her pace and went to greet him. "Are you alright?"
Gu Linchao took her hand and noticed it was a little cold. He frowned slightly. "I'm fine, but why are your hands so cold? Do you still have a fever?" As he spoke, he placed his hand on her forehead.
“I’ve stopped burning.” Wen Nongnong pulled his hand down and asked, “Did you come in through the back door?”
"Mm." Gu Linchao responded and helped her sit down on the soft couch.
Wen Nongnong frowned and said, "Who on earth is so malicious as to try to ruin the Prince's reputation? What benefit would the person behind this gain from doing so?"
Seeing her serious and analytical expression, Gu Linchao smiled and patted her head. "Your fever has just subsided, don't think about it. Get some rest. I've already asked Wang Houde to investigate."
Seeing that he remained calm and composed, clearly not taking the matter to heart, Wen Nongnong relaxed considerably, blinked her eyes, and said playfully, "I know, anyway, even if the sky falls, the prince will hold it up."
"Good to know. Go and rest well, don't overthink things. I'm going to my study too," Gu Linchao said affectionately, standing up.
Wen Nongnong took his hand and sighed, "I originally wanted to go to the study to keep you company, but I was afraid that if I were there, Your Highness might not be able to concentrate on handling state affairs. After thinking it over, I decided to stay at Chenxiang Courtyard."
Gu Linchao chuckled, looking at her with a half-smile, "Why can't I concentrate on handling official business when you're here?"
Wen Nongnong said in a serious tone, "I'm so beautiful. With me by his side, the prince will only be able to look at me. How can he have the mind to deal with state affairs?"
Gu Linchao's smile widened. He wasn't surprised to hear such narcissistic words coming from her mouth.
Strangely, he didn't dislike her at all; on the contrary, he found the girl extremely cute.
He couldn't resist, so he leaned down and kissed her on the corner of her mouth, then affectionately patted her head and said, "Rest well, we'll have lunch together."
"Mmm." Wen Nongnong nodded, watched him leave, then raised her hand to touch the corner of her mouth, her face full of happiness and sweetness.
In the afternoon, Bai Li returned.
"So, what did you find?" Wen Nongnong asked Lü Qiao to pour her a glass of water.
Bai Li paused for a moment, then took it.
After finishing her water, she replied, "As you instructed, I blended in with them. Around noon, a group of officials suddenly arrived, saying that a spy had infiltrated the city and they suspected him to be among them. In order not to let any escape, they took them all to the yamen and said they would go in to question them."
However, during the chaos, one woman slipped away. When I followed her, I saw her and a man talking furtively in the alley. This whole scene in front of the Prince's mansion today must have been orchestrated by that man. Later, the man gave the woman a bag of silver and sent her away…”
At this point, Bai Li paused, her expression somewhat strange.
Wen Nongnong noticed and asked, "What's wrong? Did you discover anything else?"
Bai Li said somewhat awkwardly, "That man is currently in Eunuch Wang's hands."
"Wang Houde?" Wen Nongnong was surprised, but then she remembered what Gu Linchao had said that morning, so she wasn't surprised anymore.
Those officials were probably also arranged by Gu Linchao.
It was inappropriate for the people in the Prince's residence to drive away the common people themselves, but it would be different if the government intervened.
Moreover, it was under the pretext of arresting spies.
Gu Linchao's methods were indeed brilliant; this would only throw the person behind the scenes into disarray.
“We don’t need to worry about this anymore,” Wen Nongnong said. “Bai Li, you’ve worked hard all day. Go down and have something to eat and rest for a bit.”
Bai Li nodded, then hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but stopped herself.
Wen Nongnong asked, "Are you asking about lifting the restrictions?"
"yes."
Wen Nongnong thought for a moment and said to Lü Qiao, "Go and find Si Yi to come over here."
Green Fairy was taken aback. "Why did Miss invite him here?"
Wen Nongnong sighed, "The prince is busy with state affairs, and I shouldn't bother him with trivial matters. Si Yi is also very skilled in martial arts, so he should be able to remove the restrictions on Bai Li."
Lü Qiao said, "Then this servant will go and ask." But she didn't hold out much hope. Si Yi was such an unapproachable person, he might not be willing to lift the ban on Bai Li.
Moreover, he always had a cold expression, so she wasn't really willing to deal with him.
Lü Qiao went straight to the study, but didn't see Si Yi outside the door. Just as she was about to ask someone, she saw him walk in from outside.
"Si Yi..." She hurried over to meet him, but stopped when she met his cold gaze.
The two were not close, but she could smell a bloody odor on him.
She was stunned. What had this guy just done?
Si Yi withdrew his gaze and walked towards the study.
“Si Yi…” Lv Qiao realized what was happening and quickly called out to him.
But the other person went into the study without turning around.
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