Bai Ke gave a soft cough, then raised his hand and patted A Jiu on the shoulder. "If you're not feeling well, you don't need to go on patrol today. Just stay in the room and have a good rest."
After saying that, he stood up and walked outside. Before leaving, he took a deep look at A Jiu.
A Jiu still kept his head down and said nothing.
Shortly after breakfast, someone from the palace came to the Regent's Mansion.
"Your servant pays respects to the Regent," said the eunuch Bao Lai, with his head down and body hunched, standing below the steps.
Mu Yanming and Mo Qinghuan were sitting in a pavilion in the garden, discussing the matter of naming their child.
He lazily lifted his eyes and looked at Bao Lai. "What's up?"
"Your servant reports to the Regent. Last night, assassins attacked the prison. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince requests that you enter the palace to discuss this matter."
He took a deep, impatient breath and then turned to look at Mo Qinghuan.
He took her hand and gently patted the back of it.
"I'm going into the palace."
Mo Qinghuan nodded. She was already used to this kind of life.
Big and small matters in the palace would always find the Regent. Whenever the two of them finally had some time alone, someone would come and summon him away.
She saw him off at the gate and watched him get into the carriage and leave.
Just as she was about to turn around and go back, she heard the voice of the gatekeeper behind her.
"Who are you?"
Mo Qinghuan turned around and saw a young servant in a long robe.
The servant was holding a card in his hand. "This lowly one is a servant from the Duke's Mansion. I'm here by the order of our Duke's Lady to send an invitation to Her Highness the Princess. Tomorrow is our Duke's Lady's birthday, and we specially invite Her Highness to the mansion."
Mo Qinghuan stepped forward, and the gatekeeper quickly handed the invitation to her.
She took it and looked through it. A smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.
This invitation was actually written by Zhao Yiyi, and it said that she must go!
She shook her head helplessly, recalling that after the last time when Zhao Yiyi had a conflict with Mo Yao, she had moved back to the Duke's Mansion, and the two of them hadn't seen each other since then.
"Go back and tell your eldest miss that I will definitely be there tomorrow."
The servant nodded. He secretly glanced at Mo Qinghuan. Seeing that Mo Qinghuan was looking at him, he quickly lowered his head and turned away.
She turned around and walked in the direction of Yanyang Hall. Just then, she met Dongxue.
Dongxue quickly walked up to her. When she was about one step away, she bowed to Mo Qinghuan. "Your servant pays respects to Her Highness the Princess."
Mo Qinghuan raised her hand. "Just in time. I was just about to look for you two sisters. Accompany me out of the mansion."
Dongxue nodded. "Your servant will go and call Dongmei right away. Please wait here for a moment, Your Highness."
"Okay."
She watched Dongxue quickly walk in the direction of the side room. Remembering the conversation between the two sisters about her before, she pursed her lips and walked to the stone table to sit and wait.
She rubbed the ring on her finger and recalled that the last time she used this ring was a long time ago.
Now that Mu Yanming protected her so well, she probably wouldn't have many chances to use this ring in the future.
Just as she was thinking, the two sisters quickly walked over.
Dongmei had a loud voice. Mo Qinghuan vaguely heard her complain.
"Didn't the Prince forbid her from going out of the mansion? Did she say where she's going?"
Dongxue gave her a low scolding. Then the two of them came up to Mo Qinghuan.
"Alright, let's go."
She stood up, and the two sisters closely followed behind her.
When they reached the main gate, the carriage was already ready.
Dongxue gently helped her into the carriage. "Your Highness, where are we going?"
Mo Qinghuan thought for a moment. The Duke's Lady should be a well - experienced person, so the gift naturally couldn't be shabby.
"Let's go to the Jewelry Workshop."
The Jewelry Workshop was the largest jewelry store in the capital. The items there were not only genuine, but most importantly, many of them were one - of - a - kind, not the common and vulgar ones.
The carriage drove towards the Jewelry Workshop. Soon they arrived at the door.
Suddenly, Dongmei felt a stomachache. "Dongxue, you go in with Her Highness first. I'll go find a place to relieve myself."
Dongxue gave her a disdainful look and urged her to come back quickly.
Walking into the Jewelry Workshop, the dazzling array of treasures made her eyes blur.
She simply sat down in the reception area. "Boss, could you recommend something? Is there any gift that's particularly suitable for someone's birthday? The person has a prominent status. She's a first - rank imperial - appointed lady."
Hearing this, the boss walked over. Mo Qinghuan looked up at him. The man was wearing a long robe and was quite fat. When he smiled, his eyes squinted, and he looked kind.
As soon as the boss heard it might be a big deal, he happily turned around and went into the room to bring out a tray of treasures.
Mo Qinghuan's eyes were instantly attracted by a red blood jade bracelet. She gently picked it up and examined it carefully. "This bracelet is quite nice."
"You really have good taste, miss. This is a unique item. There's only one in the whole capital. It's just that the price is a bit high. I wonder if you can accept it?"
Mo Qinghuan subconsciously touched her sachet. "How much silver is it?"
Seeing that she was testing the price, the boss felt a bit disappointed. However, seeing her wearing luxurious clothes, she clearly came from a wealthy family. He just didn't know if she was in charge of the family finances.
He tremblingly held out five fingers. Mo Qinghuan's eyes widened. His heart sank. Oh no! She really wasn't in charge. She probably couldn't even afford five thousand taels.
He thought he had a big deal!
Mo Qinghuan thought for a while. Fifty thousand taels might be a bit too expensive. She didn't know if this boss was trying to deceive her.
But she didn't know how long Mu Yanming would be busy today. Tomorrow was the lady's birthday. She couldn't buy the birthday gift when passing by here tomorrow.
So she turned to Dongxue. "Dongxue, what do you think?"
Dongxue took it and looked at it. She smiled at Mo Qinghuan and stepped forward. "Boss, will you sell it for three thousand taels? If so, please wrap it up!"
Mo Qinghuan was even more surprised. Slashing the price from fifty thousand taels to three thousand taels was a bit too harsh.
The boss gritted his teeth. He wouldn't make much profit selling it for three thousand taels. But seeing that this maid clearly knew the business, if he raised the price, the customer might not want it. So he gritted his teeth. "Okay, it's a deal."
Then he waved to someone beside him, indicating him to wrap up the item.
Dongxue turned to Mo Qinghuan and winked. Mo Qinghuan happily took out three thousand taels and handed it to Dongxue.
They had already bought the item, but Dongmei still hadn't come back.
Dongxue lowered her voice and bent down to whisper in Mo Qinghuan's ear. "Your Highness, please sit here for a while. I'll go and see where Dongmei has gone."
Mo Qinghuan nodded, and Dongxue went outside to look for Dongmei.
As soon as Dongxue left, Mo Qinghuan suddenly saw a familiar figure. So she put away the bracelet and followed the person into an alley.
When Dongxue came back and didn't see her, her face changed greatly. She turned to Dongmei and said, "Her Highness is missing! Hurry up and look for her!"
Dongmei clicked her tongue. "She's really a troublemaker! Didn't you tell her to wait here for you?"
"Come on, stop talking nonsense. Hurry up and look for her!"