Shi Ning'an suddenly opened her eyes wide and subconsciously stood up. She asked sharply, "What did you say?"
This sudden movement really gave the little girl in front of her a fright.
Zeng Ruoyun also quickly stood up and held Shi Ning'an's hand. "What's going on?" she asked.
The little girl looked utterly confused. "I don't know, miss. I don't know. She just told me to say this to you and said... if you don't believe it, go and see for yourself."
Shi Ning'an knew she should stay calm and send someone to inquire, but she couldn't care about that much. If she didn't go and see for herself, she would never be at ease for the rest of her life.
Tears welled up in her eyes. In an instant, a flood of memories rushed into her mind, and she felt a splitting headache.
On the day of her wedding in her previous life, since the Wei family advocated simplicity, there was no grand bridal procession. The betrothal gifts were only sixteen loads, and she was simply carried from the Shi family to the Wei family.
She sat in the sedan chair, unaware of what was happening outside, but she remembered what Lu'er said.
"Hey, isn't that Lord Rong San leading the imperial guards? They're here to clear the way for you, miss."
"Each horse of the imperial guards is wearing a big red flower. It's a way to congratulate you on your wedding."
She didn't think much of it at that time, but at this moment, she suddenly understood that Rong Sui felt sorry for the simplicity of her wedding ceremony and deliberately gave her some face. But how stupid and ungrateful she was back then.
Once after marriage, her mother - in - law asked her to go up the mountain to pray for a son. The road was blocked by heavy snow in winter, and her carriage was stuck halfway up the mountain. It was Rong Sui who came with his men to clear the snow.
She remembered what Rong Sui said: "Cousin, if you turn back, we'll all be here."
Shi Ning'an felt her heart pounding out of her chest. It hurt as if someone was stabbing her heart with a knife. Why did she think that Rong Sui didn't love her? Why did she think that Rong Sui only cared about family ties?
Zeng Ruoyun was terrified. She quickly helped Shi Ning'an up. "Ning'an, what's going on?"
Shi Ning'an came back to her senses and quickly looked around. The imperial guards were responsible for the entire capital, including the suburbs. There must be some imperial guards nearby.
Her face was pale. She forced a smile at Zeng Ruoyun. "Cousin, don't worry about me. I... I'm not feeling well. I need to go back first."
Zeng Ruoyun was worried and hesitated to ask if she should send someone to pick her up, but Shi Ning'an just shook her head.
She couldn't wait. She wanted to see if Rong Sui was okay.
She was careless. She thought Shi Qingmei would target her, but she didn't expect that Shi Qingmei would go after Rong Sui. She subconsciously thought that Rong Sui was omnipotent, but in fact, there was no such thing as omnipotence.
In her previous life, she was the mistress of the Shi Qingmei family for seven years. Because of the Rong family, Wei Hongmiao didn't dare to touch her openly, but Shi Qingmei tried to harm her countless times.
Once, Shi Qingmei found a collateral cousin from the Peng family. At a banquet, he soiled her clothes. While she was changing, Shi Qingmei let that young master Peng into her room.
Rong Sui saved her. To protect her reputation, he hid in the Thousand - Carp Pond for a whole hour. Later, there was news that Rong Sui had a high fever for three days.
At that time, she didn't suspect Shi Qingmei but suspected that Rong Sui had other motives.
How stupid and selfish she was!
Another time, she was sitting in the Buddhist hall with a group of ladies when Rong Sui suddenly burst in. She didn't even understand what was going on. After that day, the rumors that Rong Sui was arrogant and ignored rules and status became more and more intense.
Now that she thought about it, it was probably someone who used her name to deliberately lure Rong Sui here.
If Rong Sui could be tricked back then, not to mention now, this Rong Sui who was still young and a bit naive.
Shi Ning'an was extremely impatient. Finally, she found the imperial guards in the southern suburbs and asked about Rong Sui's whereabouts.
Since the news of Rong Sui's engagement to Shi Ning'an had spread, the deputy commander was not surprised. He answered honestly, "Today, the royal ladies went to the villa to chant scriptures. Lord Rong is dealing with the affairs there."
The capital guards sounded grand, but in fact, they were just responsible for maintaining the public order in the capital, and the most important thing was the safety of the royal family. As for Rong Sui, the deputy commander, he had to go wherever the emperor pointed.
The royal villa was in the east of the city. Shi Ning'an was in a state of confusion. What method did Shi Qingmei use? Or was it the Third Prince who did it?
Rong Sui was on the Crown Prince's side. It was very possible that the Third Prince had done it, but how would the Third Prince act?
Shi Ning'an took a deep breath and sat in the carriage. She felt completely muddled.
Would she be able to find Rong Sui if she rushed to the royal villa like this? Even if she found him, what could she do? It turned out that since her rebirth, she had always been relying on Rong Sui. Without Rong Sui, she couldn't do anything.
Shi Ning'an opened her eyes and ordered Lu'er, "Go quickly. Send someone to the northern suburbs and ask Cousin Zeng to come to the east of the city quickly. Also, send someone to the Military and Horse Bureau to find Lord Rong. Ask them to go to the east of the city quickly."
Lu'er was extremely flustered. He whispered, "Miss, could you tell me what's going on? Miss... you didn't bring many people today. I'm afraid..."
Shi Ning'an shook her head. "Just transfer two attendants. Hurry up. You must be fast."
Lu'er gritted his teeth, exchanged a look with Yingtao, stopped the carriage, and went down to make arrangements.
Shi Ning'an didn't dare to stop. She didn't know what had happened at all. She asked Zeng Haomiao and Rong Xuan because she didn't know who else to turn to. It was still uncertain whether all this was true or false. It might not be appropriate for her to rush to find her two uncles. After thinking it over, Zeng Haomiao was good at medicine, and Rong Xuan was capable and had useful people under him. If something happened, they could help deal with it.
Moreover, who knew if Shi Qingmei's move was not to lure her out through Rong Sui?
However, Shi Qingmei probably didn't know that Rong Heng had left first because of something. With Rong Heng by her side, if Shi Qingmei wanted to deal with her, Rong Heng would always protect her.
Yingtao didn't even dare to breathe loudly. When she saw that her miss's face gradually calmed down, she breathed a sigh of relief and asked softly, "Miss... what should we do now..."
Shi Ning'an sorted out her thoughts a bit. "We'll go to the royal villa. First, ask where Rong Sui is and see how he is. If he's okay, that's good. If something happens... Yingtao, you must stay by my side all the time."
Yingtao nodded. "I understand, miss."
Shi Ning'an tightened her hands, and a glint of sharpness flashed in her eyes. "It seems I was too soft - hearted. I shouldn't have left you as a scourge back then!"
Yingtao was confused. She didn't know who her miss was talking about. She said eagerly, "Miss, who do you want to deal with? I'll go..."
Shi Ning'an waved her hand. "It's useless. She came prepared. She could come up with a new plan in two months. It must be her."
Yingtao shut up and didn't dare to say anything else.
Did the Third Prince and Wei Hongmiao have any other tricks up their sleeves? Shi Ning'an couldn't think of any. In her previous life, she knew too little about the affairs in the court or Wei Hongmiao's private matters. Now she could only take one step at a time.
Although the Crown Prince already knew about the Third Prince's ambition, on the surface, it was still a situation where the Crown Prince dominated. If the Third Prince wanted to change this situation, he had to break the old to make way for the new, but how would he break the deadlock?
In Shi Ning'an's chaotic thoughts, the carriage finally arrived at the royal villa. Immediately, a servant came forward to greet them. He looked at the Rong family's carriage curiously.
Today was a day for the royal ladies to gather. What was this newly - appointed County Mistress Zhonghui doing here?
Shi Ning'an got off the carriage and asked, "Excuse me, where is Lord Rong?"
The servant took a while to react and realized that Lord Rong referred to Lord Rong San. He hesitated for a moment and replied, "The yard to the west is where the imperial guards rest. But I really don't know where Lord Rong is at the moment."
Shi Ning'an nodded and was about to walk over.
The servant stopped her为难ly. "County Mistress, you don't have the access token. You may not be able to enter the garden today."
Shi Ning'an asked, "I'm not here to visit the princesses. I'm just here to find the imperial guards. Is that not allowed either?"
The servant shook his head. "County Mistress, if you're looking for Lord San, I'll send someone in to look for him and ask him to come out, okay?"
Shi Ning'an was a bit anxious. She had already wasted some time. If she delayed any longer, she didn't know if something really had happened to Rong Sui.
She rolled her eyes and then asked, "If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten. Yingtao, where's the access token?"
The servant looked at her blankly. Today... was County Mistress Zhonghui invited?
Yingtao was stunned for a moment but quickly reacted. "Miss, that... lady didn't give you the access token."
Shi Ning'an frowned with a bit of distress. "Lady Liang invited me here today. She told me to come directly. Why didn't she tell you?"
The servant originally wanted to refuse, but he hesitated. All the people who came today were princesses or other royal ladies. Among the ladies from the palace, only Lady Liang came. And Lady Liang always kept a low profile and didn't like to see people, so ordinary people didn't know her whereabouts. How did County Mistress Zhonghui know that Lady Liang was coming today?
Shi Ning'an smiled slightly. "Well, the guards here in the villa are very strict. It's impossible for me to run around. You can send someone to tell Lady Liang. I just happen to have something to find Lord Rong, so I'll go to the north yard first. Is that okay?"
The servant thought for a while. The management of the royal villa was as strict as that of the inner palace of the imperial palace. The place where the capital guards changed shifts was quite far from the inner yard, and there were people guarding everywhere. There was no need to worry that County Mistress Zhonghui would disturb the peace of other noble people.
This County Mistress Zhonghui was the new favorite in front of the Empress Dowager. Today, she was just looking for someone.
The servant put on a smile and agreed. But looking at the ten or so people behind County Mistress Zhonghui, he shook his head. "County Mistress, even the ladies today only bring one maid or one servant girl in. No guards are allowed in the royal villa."
Shi Ning'an waved her hand and only took Yingtao with her.
Only then did the servant feel relieved. He personally led County Mistress Zhonghui in and walked all the way to the north. He stopped when they could see the north yard, pointed out the direction, and explained carefully.
"All the young men live there. It's not appropriate for a lady like you to go in alone. You might as well go to the courtyard gate, ask someone where Lord Rong is, and then wait in the corridor."
Shi Ning'an nodded. She understood what the servant meant. The north yard was where men lived. If she, a young lady, went in, it might damage her reputation. But there were many servants near the yard. As long as she waited there, everyone could see her, and she wouldn't be gossiped about.
However, when Shi Ning'an and Yingtao got closer to the north yard, they found that the huge yard was completely silent. She didn't even see a single servant as the servant had said.