Sheng Jiangli's suggestion of taking Caiyu to peek at the Crown Prince bathing was just a joke to amuse her.
According to their speculation, the Crown Prince wouldn't make a move in the next few days.
The Crown Prince had come to the mountain with the intention of quelling the plague and gaining merit. It wouldn't be easy for him to find poison in such a short time.
So Song Yinghuai and Xu Buyue were just waiting for Sheng Jiangli and Caiyu to keep watch.
It wasn't until the third day after Song Chengyuan came to the mountain, when there were still five days until the Tartar envoys arrived in the capital, that a servant from the Crown Prince's Mansion finally came up the mountain under the pretext of delivering household items. He presented a package to Song Chengyuan.
Caiyu, who had been secretly keeping watch, immediately got excited.
That must be the poison!
Sheng Jiangli held her back just as she was about to rush out. He shook his head gently and then pulled Caiyu away.
"Be patient," Sheng Jiangli said when they were far away. "I think the Crown Prince will act either tonight or tomorrow night. To catch a thief, we need to catch them with the stolen goods. We'll just let the Prince of Yan and the Princess arrange things by the water source and wait for him to fall into the trap. You're not allowed to get involved."
Caiyu gritted her teeth and looked at the Crown Prince's residence, sighing in frustration.
She so wanted to participate in tonight's operation and use this incident to demand that Song Chengyuan release her younger brother immediately!
But they wouldn't let her participate. They only allowed her to steal the prescription.
Caiyu held back her anxiety and asked, "What about the prescription? You've been watching the Crown Prince for three days. Have you found the prescription in his personal clothes?"
Sheng Jiangli looked at her and slowly shook his head, saying two words, "No."
He paused and explained, "There are many guards around him. I couldn't afford to arouse suspicion by knocking out the guards, so I didn't get a chance to get close to the place where he bathed and search his clothes."
Caiyu was dejected. "If even you can't get close to him, what other way is there to get near him?"
Sheng Jiangli frowned worriedly. "The only person on this mountain who can easily get close to him is Lü Baiwei, but she's in trouble herself..."
Sheng Jiangli's words reminded Caiyu. Her eyes lit up and she blurted out, "No, besides Lü Baiwei, I can also get close to him!"
Sheng Jiangli:??
Since Song Chengyuan came to the mountain and saw the sick and haggard faces of the common people, he had thought it was extremely dirty. He wished he could take a bath three times a day to wash away the plague aura from his body.
Song Chengyuan was naturally extravagant. Although he had been raised on a farm when he was a child, he never showed any sympathy for the hardships of the common people.
Now that a new water source had been found on the mountain, he ordered people to keep adding firewood and boiling water every day. He wished he could create a hot spring.
At noon, after Song Chengyuan had finished his lunch, he came to the makeshift bathroom to take a bath.
He had just sat in the bathtub when the door was pushed open.
Song Chengyuan suddenly opened his eyes. In the misty steam, Caiyu was dressed gracefully. With a smile on her lips and a glint in her beautiful eyes, she stood there smiling at him.
"You..." Song Chengyuan's pupils constricted slightly. He looked at Caiyu in surprise. "How did you get in?"
Not far away, Sheng Jiangli was chatting with the guards, his arm around their shoulders. "Have a drink? That girl? She's a commoner girl I found on the mountain. Isn't she beautiful?"
"I saw at once that this beauty must suit the Crown Prince's taste! You don't need to worry about it... Maybe one day she'll be your mistress!"
Everyone burst out laughing.
No wonder General Sheng was such a capable assistant to the Crown Prince.
Look at his eye for talent!
Even when he came to quell the plague, he could still find a beauty to please the Crown Prince!
They really couldn't compare!
Caiyu closed the door of the bathroom and walked towards Song Chengyuan with a gentle sway of her waist. The light purple gauze fluttered with her steps. Every gesture exuded charm and allure, making Song Chengyuan's heart beat uncontrollably.
Although Song Chengyuan had ordered people to save Caiyu and then trained her to be sent to the Yan region, Caiyu was only thirteen years old when she was rescued. He had no interest in her at all and had completely forgotten about her.
In the following four years, it had been Wen Zilong who had been handling this matter. He had been happy to be carefree and had never paid attention to Caiyu.
It wasn't until the last banquet on the wine boat that Song Chengyuan had finally taken a good look at the grown-up Caiyu.
Although he had been amazed at that time, he had been preoccupied with the matter of teasing Song Yinghuai and had had no time to spare.
But today was different.
Caiyu was deliberately seducing him. She had brought out her long-unused charm skills. Coupled with the fact that Song Chengyuan had been living a plain life on the mountain for the past few days, the sudden appearance of a beauty immediately made his eyes shine with a wolfish glint.
However, he still maintained a shred of reason. He looked at the radiant Caiyu warily and said sinisterly, "Stop. If you come any closer, I won't be polite to you!"
This was his fourth younger brother's sweetheart, and this girl also protected his fourth younger brother very much.
Wasn't she here to assassinate the current crown prince?
Caiyu stopped and looked at him with a meaningful look in her eyes.
Song Chengyuan felt his head spinning. He sighed inwardly.
If he had known that Miss Lan was so beautiful, he should have enjoyed her first before sending her to the Yan region.
Now he had just made things easy for Song Yinghuai.
His eyes fell on Caiyu's smooth arm. The bright red mole of virginity was still very conspicuous in the mist.
Song Chengyuan's pupils constricted slightly. He asked, "What on earth are you doing here?"
Caiyu bent down. Her charming face got closer to Song Chengyuan. The fragrance of the woman became more and more distinct in the small bathroom. She curled her lips and said,
"I came to ask Your Highness about my younger brother's news..."
So it was for Lan Guifan!
Song Chengyuan's nerves relaxed. Then he curled his lips into a sinister smile. "You still have the nerve to ask about him. I thought you had already abandoned your younger brother."
He squinted his eyes and looked at Caiyu unhappily.
If it weren't for Sheng Jiangli, that little thing would have been useless long ago.
Raising him was just a waste of his silver!
Caiyu smiled softly. "How could I? He's my younger brother, the most precious child in our family... The reason I didn't ask was because I believed that Your Highness was kind-hearted and wouldn't do anything to a child."
"Moreover, even if I didn't ask, there was still General Sheng to inquire about it!"
The reason why Caiyu had ignored Lan Guifan later was exactly because of the plan Sheng Jiangli had come up with for her.
Song Chengyuan was a rebellious person. The more anxious one appeared, the more he would enjoy teasing them.
Just like Lü Baiwei, whom Caiyu had seen a few days ago.
The more she begged for help, the less he would help. He would only play with her and take pleasure in others' pain.
Sure enough, when Song Chengyuan saw that although Caiyu said she wanted to ask about her younger brother's whereabouts, her face showed no concern at all and she just kept throwing him flirtatious glances, he felt impatient.
He felt that he might have used the wrong bargaining chip.
His hands hidden in the water were wrung together restlessly. On the surface, he said calmly, "Do you really care about Lan Guifan? If you do, then do things well for me..."
"I can give you another chance..."
Before he could finish his words, Caiyu sat on the edge of the bathtub and said with a smile, "There's no need to rush this matter. I've already got the Prince of Yan in my grasp. As long as I'm willing, I can take his life at any time."
Song Chengyuan's eyes widened. He didn't listen to a single word Caiyu said. His mind was full of the woman's breasts, which were so close that they were half-hidden in her clothes and in the mist.
He couldn't wait to reach out and pull her into the bathtub. "You little slut. No wonder the fourth brother is so crazy about you. It turns out that the skills of a Yangzhou courtesan are so alluring... Fortunately, your mole of virginity is still there. Why don't you give yourself to me today..."
Caiyu dodged and said, "Your Highness, turn around. I'll bathe and scrub your back first. After tonight's business is done, can Your Highness let Fan'er write me a letter to relieve my longing?"
"That's easy," Song Chengyuan said obediently, turning around. "As long as you serve me well, I'll definitely grant you this small request."
After Song Chengyuan turned around, the smile on Caiyu's face disappeared completely. Her hands gently held the soap pod and slowly lathered it up, trying to delay time as much as possible. But her eyes were always fixed on the clothes hanging on the rack.
The prescription might very well be here!