Qiaozhu kowtowed to Princess Luoyao on the ground. "Please, Princess Fifth, quickly find our mistress. Our mistress has not shown up all day today. I'm afraid someone has already suspected something."
Princess Luoyao knew that now was not the time to pursue their responsibilities. The top priority was to find Princess Ninth, Luoning.
If the Concubine Chen's side found out about today's matter, it would be difficult to end it well.
Not only would Princess Luoning be punished, but even her own mother would be given the crime of lax palace governance and leave a bad impression in her father's heart.
"Has your mistress mentioned any special places she wants to go, things she wants to eat or play recently, or anyone she has made friends with recently?"
Yuzhu recalled and said, "Before, the princess heard from the Princess Heyuan that the food in the Feilaiju in the capital was delicious. She once muttered that she wanted to try it too. As for the things she wanted to play, the princess mentioned a lot, but the servant has forgotten them."
"Will our princess go to find Princess Heyuan?"
Princess Luoyao directly shook her head. Princess Heyuan was the daughter of the Eldest Princess. If Princess Heyuan knew that Little Ninth had left the palace, it meant that the Eldest Princess also knew.
For many years, the Eldest Princess had always been on good terms with both her mother and Concubine Chen, and had never meant to take sides.
Although Little Ninth was naughty, she understood these things and would never go to the Princess Heyuan's Mansion.
"Keep thinking. The longer the delay, the more dangerous your princess's situation will be."
The three of them also understood this truth. Moreover, if their mistress was in danger, they, these servants, would also be in trouble.
"By the way, since the Liangchun Banquet, the mistress has always been muttering about Miss Shen. Could it be?" Dongzhu's voice, which was originally a little higher because she suddenly remembered something, became smaller and smaller as she spoke.
"Which Miss Shen? Is it the one who won the top prize at the banquet that day?"
Dongzhu nodded when she heard this.
Princess Luoyao had a deep impression of this Shen Li. She knew that Princess Luoning also had a good impression of her. Maybe she would really leave the palace to find her.
"You three listen carefully. Before your princess comes back, you should do as planned before, guard this palace gate well, and don't let anyone in before this princess or your princess comes back."
"Otherwise, even your princess can't save your lives."
"Yes, Princess." The three of them said fearfully.
Then, Princess Luoyao took Dongzhu and Qiaozhu, whose faces had returned to normal, out. Yuzhu still played Princess Ninth inside.
Standing outside the door, Princess Luoyao's cold voice came to everyone's ears: "Princess Ninth is greedy for sleep and stubborn. Spread this princess's order and punish her to write fifty copies of calligraphy. Before she finishes writing, she is not allowed to go out."
Then, the palace door behind her was closed again by a special eunuch.
In the Binyue Teahouse outside the palace, the storyteller had finished telling a story. Princess Luoning still had more to say. Looking at her expression, it seemed that she still wanted to listen to another story.
Shen Li quickly stepped forward and persuaded, "If the princess still wants to listen, there will be opportunities in the future, but now it's getting late. If you go back later, the palace gate will be locked."
"By then, your matter of leaving the palace will be exposed, and it will be difficult to come out again."
Princess Luoning thought that this was also the truth. Although she was reluctant, she still agreed.
"Princess, have you thought about how to go back?"
"I have planned all these things before I came out. I dressed up as a little eunuch with Ruizhu and can go back with my token. However, I have to go back to your mansion first to get my clothes and token."
Shen Li knew that the palace was heavily guarded, and it was impossible to enter or leave without a token: "Princess, did you come out like this in the morning?"
"The inspection for leaving the palace is strict. We came out by other means." Princess Luoning's face was stiff, and she had an expression of not wanting to say more, which made Shen Li even more curious.
"Alas, the storyteller told the story so well. If the gentleman could teach like this in class, how could I fall asleep?"
Shen Li looked at Princess Luoning, who was walking in front and still chattering, with a funny look. Suddenly, she noticed that Xuan Yuanjue had walked to her side, and her face could not help but turn cold.
"Heh. Little thing, your speed of changing your face is too fast."
Shen Li gave him a roll of her eyes, "Not as good as the Heir of the Prince."
"You... This heir is not as knowledgeable as you." Xuan Yuanjue couldn't say anything to Shen Li, so he had to come up with this move and find a step for himself by the way.
Shen Li suddenly remembered that she hadn't asked Xuan Yuanjue about the matter in the Pufa Temple that day. She didn't hesitate at the moment and directly asked, "Who were the people who chased you on the back mountain of the Pufa Temple that day? They looked very powerful."
Thinking of those black-clothed people, Xuan Yuanjue gently raised his mouth and showed a disdainful smile, "They are just some minions. As for the person who sent them, I haven't found out clearly yet, but it's just those people."
"Do you need my help?"
"No need. Compared with me, I'm afraid someone wants to find out more."
Shen Li nodded and understood in her heart. Xiao Hanzhi was a noble prince, and his identity was noble. There were still people who dared to assassinate him. With Xiao Hanzhi's suspicious and jealous nature, he would only want to find out this matter more.
Thinking of Xiao Hanzhi, Shen Li still couldn't help asking the doubts in her heart, "That day, why were you with the Fourth Prince?"
Xuan Yuanjue's eyes turned around on her face, and the smile on his face suddenly disappeared: "So concerned about the Fourth Prince, why didn't you ask him directly that day?"
After hearing this, Shen Li ignored his words and directly walked two steps quickly and followed behind Princess Luoning.
Xuan Yuanjue looked at Shen Li who was walking away, and touched his nose with a little guilty conscience. He didn't know what was wrong with him just now, and he actually blurted out such a sentence.
Xuan Shu stood behind him and reminded him, "Heir, if you don't chase anymore, Miss Shen will go far away."
"Let's go back." After saying that, he didn't wait for Xuan Shu's reaction and directly turned around and left.
Jiaoyue, who had been paying attention to the situation behind, immediately ran to Shen Li's ear and said, "Miss, just now the Heir of the Prince didn't say goodbye to everyone and suddenly left."
"Let him go. We are just passers-by."
Jiaoyue silently lowered her head and didn't say a word, but she was muttering in her heart: They had met the Heir of the Prince Xuan Yuan too many times recently, right?
This afternoon, a carriage suddenly stopped at the gate of the Shen Mansion. Two maids and a veiled woman got off the carriage. They directly took out the sign of Princess Fifth and proposed to see Mrs. Shen.
When the doorman saw it, he didn't dare to delay and directly invited the people into the mansion.
At this time, the atmosphere in the Shen Mansion was a little tense.
Mrs. Shen and Shen Miao looked at Princess Luoyao, the Fifth Princess, who had sat there silently since entering the door.
They didn't understand why the Fifth Princess suddenly came to their Shen Mansion. After coming, she still sat there and said nothing.
Mrs. Shen had been the mistress of the family for a few years after all, and had also seen some scenes. She immediately suppressed all the doubts in her heart and showed a decent smile on her face: "I don't know what the Fifth Princess is doing in our humble mansion today?"
Princess Luoyao didn't say a word after hearing this. It was a fair-skinned maid beside her who said with a smile on her face, "Excuse me, Madam, is Miss Shen the eldest here in the mansion now?"