Ji Lingchuan returned to the Surging Waves Courtyard and went straight into the study.
Sitting down on the chair, he raised his left hand to rub his frowning brow and let out a long sigh.
Searching the servants in Shulan Courtyard today was beyond his jurisdiction. Moreover, he didn't hold much hope for this search at first, but unexpectedly, they really found something.
Thinking of that slut insinuating in front of him several times, killing intent welled up in his heart, but he quickly suppressed it.
Since she had already been punished, he could only let it go. He couldn't do more, lest he overstep his bounds.
He gently lifted his right arm, and a sharp pain shot through his shoulder. The pain had not only confined to his shoulder but spread to his arm. It must be because of continuously copying the "Records of Yangshan".
He wondered how Fuzhou was doing on the errand outside.
Just as he was thinking, there was a knock on the study door, and Fuzhou's voice came from outside: "My lord, Fuzhou requests an audience."
"Come in."
Fuzhou pushed open the door and walked into the study. He stopped in front of Ji Lingchuan, bowed, and said, "My lord, I've completed the task you assigned."
"Why did it take you so long? You've only just returned now," Ji Lingchuan asked.
Fuzhou sighed and explained, "I took your works to all the bookstores in the city today, but most of them refused to take them. They all said they had never heard of Mr. Lingji, and the works were about local customs and interesting anecdotes. They said this kind of books didn't sell as well as storybooks or the poetry collections of the top three scholars in the imperial examination, so they couldn't make much money. Only the Youyang Bookstore in the south of the city accepted your works."
Mentioning this, Fuzhou looked indignant: "If you hadn't used a pen name, how would these people have treated your painstakingly written works like this? They would have fought for them even if they had to pay for them!"
Ji Lingchuan didn't mind much. He just said, "As long as there's a bookstore willing to take them, it's fine. Good wine needs no bush. We just need to wait."
Fuzhou echoed, "The boss of the Youyang Bookstore also said so. After reading your works, he slapped his thigh and said it was a good book. My lord, don't worry. The bookstore boss promised to promote your books well. He will never let a pearl be covered in dust!"
After nightfall, the Prince Ning's Mansion became quiet.
After telling Song Yixuan the story of what happened in the Duke Jiang's Mansion today and lulling her younger brother to sleep, Song Yihuan walked out of the door and saw Fuling waiting in the courtyard.
Compared with the relaxed look in the afternoon, Fuling now looked solemn and frowned tightly. As soon as she saw Song Yihuan, she looked hesitant to speak.
Song Yihuan suddenly had a bad premonition.
She called Fuling into the room and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong? What happened?"
"Fourth Miss, Baizhi..."
Thinking of what she had found out, Fuling took a deep breath and continued, "I found out that Baizhi was ordered by the eldest miss to be beaten twenty big boards this afternoon. Normally, she should have been able to endure these twenty boards, but halfway through the beating, Baizhi... passed away."
Song Yihuan frowned tightly: "How could this happen?"
As Fuling said, twenty boards were not that heavy. One could endure them with a bit of patience. It seemed that Song Nanxin had shown mercy to Baizhi out of the master - servant relationship. But Baizhi just couldn't bear it and died under the twenty punishment sticks.
Was it because the servant who executed the punishment was too heavy - handed, or was Baizhi's body too weak to bear the pain?
She had originally planned to disguise herself as Fuling and get information from Baizhi tonight when Baizhi was in a vulnerable state after the punishment. But now that Baizhi was dead, this plan wouldn't work, and she had to think of another way.
Fuling obviously also realized this and asked anxiously, "Fourth Miss, what should we do now?"
Song Yihuan sat on the chair, her fingers tapping lightly on the table. Her brain was running at high speed, thinking of a solution.
Her fingers stopped, and her eyes brightened.
She had an idea!
In the dead of night, in Tinglan Garden, Song Yihuan changed into the clothes of a maid in the Prince Ning's Mansion that Fuling had found for her. She also coiled her hair into a maid's bun, smeared some soot on her face, and then quietly went out and headed towards the compound for servants.
Song Yihuan had a good memory. She remembered every path she had walked. Coupled with the dim light and her maid's clothes, she walked with her head down all the way. Without much effort, she soon arrived at Hefeng Garden where the servants in the compound lived.
At this time, almost all the servants in the compound had gone to bed. Hefeng Garden was completely silent, and the snores of many people could be heard.
Song Yihuan's eyes swept across the closed doors and windows and finally landed on a half - open window.
She carefully walked around to the back of the window and used the bushes to hide her figure. She took a deep breath, opened her lips, and imitated someone else's tone:
"The princess is really cruel. She got rid of the maid who had served her for so long. Even if the maid had sticky fingers, giving her a way out would have been a way to show kindness for the master - servant relationship."
Then she used another person's tone and said curiously, "You don't know this, do you? It's because the princess has a secret that only Baizhi knows. Guess why the princess hasn't conceived a child even though she has been in favor for so long?"
"Why?"
"Because the princess accidentally fell into the water when she attended Princess Xiuling's birthday banquet some time ago, and she was on her period at that time. Her body caught a cold, so..."
"Ah, is that so! Doesn't that mean our prince will have no heir?"
"Who knows? Shh, you must never spread this. If people find out that we're privately discussing the master's private affairs, we might lose our lives!"
After finishing this conversation, Song Yihuan carefully left the bushes. Using the tree shadows to hide her figure, she looked back at Hefeng Garden.
Not long after she left, the half - open window was closed, which meant that the person inside had heard her conversation.
The corner of her lips lifted slightly, and she took a step and quietly left.
The hook had been set. Now, all she had to do was wait for the fish to take the bait.
Finally, she was no longer on the defensive. Song Yihuan felt extremely light - hearted. She originally wanted to return to Tinglan Garden, but somehow, as she walked, she found herself in the garden of the Prince Ning's Mansion again and in front of the pavilion.
Unfortunately, in the moonlight, there was a familiar and imposing figure sitting in the pavilion.
She didn't expect to meet him here. Song Yihuan instinctively turned around and wanted to run away, but then came Ji Lingchuan's deep and somewhat cold voice from behind:
"Stop. Come here."