Chapter 662: Chapter 659: Hard Work_1 Chapter 662: Chapter 659: Hard Work_1 “Is Mr. Xiao leaving as well?” Bai Jinzhi looked at Xiao Rongyan, not giving him a chance to respond, then said, “I’ll see Mr. Xiao off.”

Xiao Rongyan, who was holding a teacup: “…”

Xiao Rongyan put down the teacup, deciding it was better to visit Bai Qingyan’s boudoir later that night. He rose and smiled warmly, bowing slightly to Bai Jinzhi: “Miss Bai, you are too kind. Please refrain!”

Bai Jinzhi watched as Murong Li and Xiao Rongyan left one after another. Only then did she secretly sigh and flop down in a chair. She deeply felt that her eldest sister, second sister, and third sister were all too severe, always able to sit so properly for such a long time.

After completing her task, Bai Jinzhi rested for a while, then ran towards Qinghui Courtyard to inform Bai Qingyan about what she had learned from Murong Li regarding military provisions.

*
Lu Ping arrived at Yanque Tower, revealed his identity as a guard of the Princess of Zhen, and inquired with the shopkeeper about the guest who had reserved the top suite for the next day. The shopkeeper did not dare to hide anything and said it was a young lady surnamed Liu who had reserved the suite. When her maid came to make the reservation, they did not have enough silver. Originally, they gave an address and asked the shopkeeper to send a boy with them to get the silver.

However, the shopkeeper, knowing it was Jiuchuan Alley and not a place where rich people lived, did not agree. Unexpectedly, the maid returned with the silver in less than fifteen minutes.

“Do you know the exact house in Jiuchuan Alley?”

“It’s the last house on Jiuchuan Alley with a black gate and earthen walls…” the shopkeeper at Yanque Tower thought for a moment and then said, “Oh… right, the young lady also said that there were osmanthus trees in their yard. You can find it by following the fragrance!”

After coming out of Yanque Tower, Lu Ping gazed at the bustling long street of Dadu City, suddenly growing suspicious. Was it necessary to reveal their location so clearly just to reserve a suite?

Since he sensed something was amiss, Lu Ping did not delay. He first sent a guard back to deliver a message to Bai Qingyan. Then, following Bai Qingyan’s instructions, he swiftly mounted his horse and rode to the Crown Prince’s residence.

After reading the letter from Lu Ping and listening to what he had found out from the shopkeeper at Yanque Tower, the Crown Prince turned to Elder Fang and said, “Elder Fang… could it be Liu Ruofu that the Jing Zhaoyin’s residence has not found?!”

The Crown Prince was taken aback and looked at Elder Fang.

“The entire Dadu City is now under martial law. Liu Ruofu certainly cannot escape. If she sent a message to the Princess of Zhen at this moment, perhaps… either she wants to negotiate some terms with the Princess of Zhen to spare her life, or she intends to die with the Princess of Zhen! As for the maid the shopkeeper mentioned… it might be that knowing Liu Ruofu cannot escape death, she didn’t want to die with Liu Ruofu, so she deliberately hinted to the shopkeeper, hoping someone would notice the anomaly.”

After contemplating for a moment, the Crown Prince said, “Elder Fang, send someone to notify the Patrol Camp. Have them take people with you and Lu Huwei to check it out. If Liu Ruofu is indeed there, arrest her immediately without error.”

“Yes!” Lu Ping clasped his fists in acknowledgment.

The Crown Prince then turned to Lu Ping, “The Princess of Zhen’s injuries are severe. Don’t burden her with these matters from now on. Let her recuperate well. Convey to the Princess of Zhen that everything is taken care of… She can recover with peace of mind. Once she is well, I will rely on her for strategies and guidance.”

Lu Ping made a grateful expression, kneeling and kowtowing, “Lu Ping will definitely relay the Crown Prince’s words. If the eldest young lady knows how much the Crown Prince values her, she will surely recover soon!”

Elder Fang’s hand hidden in his sleeve gently tightened, but outwardly, he had to show a look of gratification and nodded with a smile.

Jiuchuan Alley, surname Liu… Such news reached Bai Qingyan, leading her to suspect that someone knew about Liu Ruofu’s hiding place and deliberately leaked the information to her.

Bai Qingyan held a soup cup with medicinal cuisine in her hands, gently rubbing the soup spoon…

This person either intended to use her to capture Liu Ruofu.

Or, wanted to curry favor with her.

Bai Qingyan leaned more towards the latter.

Apparently, Bai Jinxiu also figured out the key to the situation but started suspecting Xiao Rongyan: “Eldest Sister… could it be Mr. Xiao?”

In the past… Bai Qingyan might have suspected Xiao Rongyan. But now with their relationship much closer, Xiao Rongyan would speak directly, not use such a method.

Bai Qingyan lowered her eyes and shook her head: “No matter who it is, since they want to curry favor, we accept it… Naturally, someone will step forward. No need to rush.”

“Eldest Sister! I’ve found out!” Bai Jinzhi barged in recklessly, walked around the screen, and plopped down on a small stool, saying, “Those idle youths weren’t talking nonsense. The grain sent to the Northern Frontier did indeed contain sand and stone.”

Bai Qingyan remained silent upon hearing this. While it was bad enough to have sand mixed in, what was truly worrying was if the grain sent was moldy… If it poisoned the frontier soldiers, that would be deadly.

“This matter is not hard to investigate. I’ll send someone to ask around and check the source of the batch of rice sent to the Northern Frontier. By tracing the people who handled it, we can find the problem.” Bai Jinxiu said.

Hearing this, Bai Qingyan looked at Bai Jinxiu, who had been tirelessly caring for her these days, saying, “You’ve worked hard taking care of me these days. Now that Xiao Si is here, when Qin Lang comes later… you should go back to the Qin Mansion with him! Wang Geer also misses you.”

Bai Jinxiu felt uneasy: “Xiao Si is reckless like a child. I should stay.”

“Second Sister, you don’t need to stay at home. Eldest Sister has me to take care of her! Besides, it avoids others gossiping.” Bai Jinzhi, with her straightforward nature, said earnestly, “When I was coming in, I heard Sister Cuibi saying those two girls from the Qin Mansion love to pick on Second Sister’s mistakes and talk about it everywhere like gossipy women.”

“Xiao Si!” Bai Jinxiu frowned.

Bai Qingyan chuckled softly: “Xiao Si should stay at the Qin Mansion for a few days to deal with those two Qin girls properly.”

“They are just young girls. It doesn’t matter. They are of age now. Once they find suitable spouses, it will be fine. Qin Lang has taken the youngest brother to raise by his side, preventing those two from interacting with the child… He has learned a lot of manners recently! Those sisters can’t see their little brother and don’t dare to cause trouble with Qin Lang, so they only have my matters to gossip about… Others won’t truly believe them.”

Bai Jinxiu didn’t seem the least bit upset, remaining calm and composed. She was adept at handling these situations. Her reputation in Dadu City stood strong. Even during her hardships at the Qin Mansion, she remained undeterred and ultimately became a top-tier lady. So, though there might be attempts to gossip…, no one dared to do it in front of Bai Jinxiu.

“Xiao Si, I heard that before Eldest Sister left Shuoyang, she assigned you a task. Have you completed it?” Bai Jinxiu asked.