He stared at the box full of silver notes and an evil thought crossed his mind.
He glanced around and found that no one was paying attention to him. Bai Ke walked into the small storeroom and closed the door.
Two voices kept lingering in his mind. Take them! Don't take them!
- Even if I take a few, the prince won't know.
- How can you be worthy of the prince? The prince trusts you so much. How could you bear to let down his trust?
Just like this, the two voices seemed to be quarreling in his mind.
Finally, annoyed by the noise, he shook his head vigorously.
"Bai Ke! You can't do this. Otherwise, you'll be so unworthy of the prince."
He put the box back in place, locked the door after going out, tightly clutching the key in his hand, and walked towards the Yangyang Hall.
As it gradually got dark, after he returned the key, he walked aimlessly in the courtyard in a daze.
At this moment, outside the west wall, a figure quietly poked out from the top of the wall.
It was Gu Qing who had come to scout the place a few days ago.
Bai Ke quietly hid his figure behind a pillar and watched as Gu Qing jumped over the wall.
He leaned against the pillar and watched as Gu Qing sneaked around, avoiding the guards, and headed towards a row of yards at the back.
Relying on his familiarity with the terrain, he bypassed from behind the rockery, avoiding Gu Qing's sight.
He just followed him, watching him push open the windows one by one to look inside and then close them disappointedly.
When there was only the last room left for him to search, Bai Ke finally couldn't bear it anymore.
He said, "Stop looking. She's not in the prince's mansion at all. Why bother?"
Hearing Bai Ke's voice, Gu Qing turned to look at him.
"You noticed me coming in a long time ago?"
Bai Ke nodded and clasped his fists as he leaned against the rockery.
Gu Qing walked up to Bai Ke with a smile. "Since you noticed me a long time ago, why didn't you speak up earlier? You didn't say anything until I've searched all these rooms except the last one. It's hard not to make people suspect your intentions."
Hearing this, Bai Ke laughed. "You don't really think that after searching two rows of rooms and not finding her, you'll find her in this last room, do you?"
Only then did Gu Qing lose his composure and grabbed Bai Ke's arm. "Commander Bai, I'm sure you know where Qinglan is. I beg you, please tell me where she is."
Bai Ke lowered his arms and looked at Gu Qing.
"You're so worried about her. It must be because you like her."
Gu Qing lowered his head dejectedly, his words full of self - mockery.
"Heh. What's my status? I don't have the right to like her!"
Bai Ke sighed. "If it's not love, why are you so worried? Don't tell me it's just a simple sibling relationship. I won't believe it."
Gu Qing also leaned against the rockery like him, his words full of desolation.
"Put nicely, I'm the adopted son of the grand prime minister of the dynasty. But to put it bluntly, I'm just a servant under him. If there's any difference between me and others, it's probably that I hold a sword and have better martial arts skills than others."
Bai Ke disagreed. "You're a real man, handsome and imposing. Why do you belittle yourself like this?"
He straightened up, bowed, and said, "Commander Bai, thank you for not making a fuss today. I'll take my leave."
Bai Ke looked at his back. Finally, unable to bear seeing him so dejected, he kindly reminded him, "Go to the Xingyi Teahouse in the south of the city. Maybe you can find her there."
He turned back, gave Bai Ke a grateful smile, and left the prince's mansion along the same path.
As soon as Gu Qing left, Dan'er walked out from the shadows.
"Bai Ke, what are you doing here?"
Hearing Dan'er's voice, Bai Ke suddenly straightened up.
"You... you..." He pointed at Dan'er and then at the direction where Gu Qing had left.
Dan'er nodded. "Yes, I saw everything. I know that man. I saw him when I followed the princess to the prime minister's mansion."
Bai Ke felt quite guilty, like someone who had been caught red - handed doing something bad.
His eyes darted around, but he just didn't dare to look at Dan'er.
"Did he really come to the mansion just to look for Gu Qinglan?" Dan'er looked at Bai Ke.
Hearing what Dan'er said, Bai Ke immediately became vigilant.
"Do you mean that he came under the pretext of looking for Gu Qinglan, but actually came to investigate the situation in the prince's mansion?"
Dan'er turned around and walked back. Bai Ke followed her.
"I'm just guessing. I just think it's too much of a coincidence that someone from the prime minister's mansion came to investigate the prince's mansion just after the princess got pregnant."
Bai Ke slapped his forehead hard. "I was really careless today. I'll immediately strengthen the defense to ensure that not even a fly can get in."
Dan'er stopped and looked up at Bai Ke.
"I'm just reminding you. I don't mean to blame you. And you know how much the prince cares about the child in the princess's belly. So we must strengthen the security of the prince's mansion."
Bai Ke nodded and thumped his chest in assurance. "Don't worry. A thing like this tonight will never happen again."
Dan'er handed the food box she had been carrying to Bai Ke. "Jinghua said you didn't eat much at dinner. Just now the princess said she was hungry. When I went to the kitchen to get a midnight snack for the princess, I also brought you some food."
Bai Ke took the food box, and the two of them sat on the railing beside the rockery.
Bai Ke opened the food box and saw that it was full of his favorite food. He licked his lips and looked sideways.
"By the way, why hasn't Shuang'er been going out much lately? I haven't seen her for several days."
Mentioning Shuang'er, Dan'er sighed helplessly.
"I don't know what's going on. I asked her, but she just wouldn't say. She's just listless all day long. I don't know what's wrong with her."
After saying that, she stood up. "You can eat slowly. I'll go back to take care of the princess."
Bai Ke wiped his mouth, put the food box on the railing, and stood up.
"Okay."
Dan'er left the backyard and walked towards the Yangyang Hall.
Mo Qinghuan had just finished eating when she felt nauseous again. When she got back to the yard, Mo Qinghuan was holding on to a pillar and vomiting violently.
"Princess, are you okay? Why are you vomiting again?"
She straightened up, took a moment to catch her breath, and shook her head at Dan'er.
Dan'er stepped forward, handed a handkerchief to Mo Qinghuan, and helped her into the room.
As soon as she sat down, the nausea came back.
She ran out again and held on to the pillar to vomit.
Dan'er felt heart - broken watching her and was so anxious that she was sweating profusely.
"Princess, isn't there any medicine that can relieve morning sickness?"
Mu Yanming came back from the study and saw this scene. His eyebrows knitted tightly together.
He stepped forward and gently stroked her back.
"I consulted the head of the imperial medical bureau today. He said that eating some sour plums can relieve it. Do you want to try?"
Mo Qinghuan shook her head.
She knew her own body well. Not only sour plums but also fruits in general could relieve morning sickness to some extent.
Moreover, she had already taken vitamin B6, so there was no need to specifically eat sour things.
The key was that she didn't like sour plums.