Xie Lang's eyes widened slightly. A warm sensation spread across his fingertips. It was Shen Mingzhu's lips, soft and warm. They gently brushed across his fingertips. Then, as if she wanted to take a bite, but after a moment's hesitation, she simply took the pastry with her mouth and sat back in her original place.
Shen Mingzhu originally wanted to hear Xie Lang's innermost thoughts. But when her lips brushed across his fingertips, Xie Lang's mind was in a complete mess. So all she heard were some strange sounds, like someone constantly gasping in cold air.
Looking up, she saw that Xie Lang's face was calm, but his eyes were full of confusion. The usual disguise on his face had completely disappeared. When he saw her sit down, his gaze followed her slightly, but he looked dazed.
Looking at Xie Lang's appearance, Shen Mingzhu inexplicably felt like laughing. So she covered her mouth with her hand, but a faint smile unconsciously spilled from her eyes.
The pastry was delicious. It was a small piece. The outer layer of the crispy crust melted in the mouth. With a gentle sip, a faint floral fragrance overflowed, mixing with the red bean filling inside. It was very delicious.
Shen Mingzhu swallowed the pastry, took a sip of water, and then looked up and said, "This pastry is good."
"Just..."
She recalled the delicate pastry before she ate it. After a moment's silence, she asked uncertainly, "It's a bit similar to the pastries in the mansion. Could it be that the pastries in the mansion are also from this shop?"
Shen Mingzhu was very picky about food. So seeing Xie Lang's dazed expression, after a moment's hesitation, she couldn't help but ask.
"Yes."
After Xie Lang said that, he took another piece and asked Shen Mingzhu, "Your Highness, would you like another bite?"
Shen Mingzhu immediately saw his intention. So she gave him a disdainful look and said, "No need."
"Oh."
Xie Lang didn't know what else to say. He just dryly replied with an "oh". Then, seeing the pastry Shen Mingzhu had picked up, he added, "The pastries in the mansion are the same as this one. It's just that this one is a new style ordered by the shopkeeper from the chef. So it looks a bit different, and there are also some new flavors added."
Shen Mingzhu was curious. She ate another small piece and then turned to look at Xie Lang and asked, "Why make two styles for the same flavor?"
"To sell it at a higher price. The price of this one is five times that of the previous one."
As Xie Lang said that, he gradually regained his senses. A faint smile appeared on his face as he said, "If Your Highness likes it, you can send someone to get it at any time."
Shen Mingzhu: "..."
Indeed, Xie Lang was a qualified merchant. He had learned well.
After eating a few pieces and trying some other things, Shen Mingzhu felt a bit full. So she looked at Xie Lang and said, "What else do we need to do? How about going back to the mansion together now?"
Xie Lang pondered for a moment and then said to Shen Mingzhu, "Alright."
Just as they were about to get up, a young servant who often appeared beside Xie Lang suddenly rushed over and whispered something to Xie Lang. Xie Lang's expression changed slightly.
"Then you deal with the matter first. I'll leave first."
Naturally, Shen Mingzhu was not an unreasonable person. It was obvious that Xie Lang had something to deal with. She'd better avoid suspicion quickly so that he could handle the matter as soon as possible.
Unexpectedly, Xie Lang frowned and looked at her and said, "Is Your Highness in such a hurry to leave?"
"Wait."
As they were about to pass by each other, Xie Lang reached out and grabbed Shen Mingzhu's sleeve and whispered, "It's about the Crown Prince."
Shen Mingzhu immediately froze in place. Her mind buzzed. It took her a long time to come back to her senses.
So... so Xie Lang was really investigating, not just perfunctory her?
Shen Mingzhu stood there stunned for a moment. She took a deep breath and regained her composure. She said to Xie Lang, "Okay."
A faint smile appeared in Xie Lang's eyes, but his brows were still furrowed as he said, "No need."
"I'm the consort. If Your Highness is still so polite to me, I'll get angry."
Before Shen Mingzhu could say anything, Xie Lang said to the servant, "Speak."
"Your Excellency," the servant said after seeing Shen Mingzhu and Xie Lang sit down. "I've been in Yangzhou these days and also took a brief look around the nearby areas."
"The Crown Prince once went south and inexplicably stayed at the place where he was killed for three or five days. No one knows what he was doing. It seems that he was waiting for news from somewhere." As the servant said that, he presented several letters.
When they were unfolded, they were wrinkled and hard to make out. It seemed that they had been soaked in water and then fished out of the basin. Only the last bit of the seal that hadn't gotten wet was still clearly visible.
This was the Crown Prince's private seal.
"What's going on?" Xie Lang frowned and asked urgently, "Where did you find these letters?"
Hearing this, the servant hurriedly knelt down and said, "I hope Your Excellency will forgive me. I was a step too late. I found these letters from the Crown Prince's attendant. But that person committed suicide just when I rushed there. He was already out of breath."
Shen Mingzhu suddenly stood up. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise. "What?"
Wasn't it said that the elder brother and all the other attendants were dead? Why was there still an attendant alive in the world, and this person actually committed suicide!
What on earth was going on?
Shen Mingzhu's palms were wet with sweat and even a bit cold. Her fingertips were slightly cool, and the expression on her face had completely turned into undisguised shock.
Xie Lang also frowned after hearing this. There was a thoughtful look in his eyes. He reached out and gently patted the back of Shen Mingzhu's hand and said gently, "Don't worry. Listen to the rest first."
[Something's wrong. Judging from Shen Mingzhu's reaction, she clearly has no idea about this. So...]
[Even with Shen Mingzhu's influence, she couldn't find out about this. But now I've found something. It seems that these things are a bit related to those wealthy merchants in Yangzhou. How much of their interests did the Crown Prince actually touch?]
Hearing Xie Lang's innermost thoughts, a storm arose in Shen Mingzhu's eyes. But she still managed to calm the expression on her face. She turned to look at Xie Lang and signaled that she was okay.
"This..."
The servant hesitated. Looking at Shen Mingzhu's expression, he felt a bit uneasy in his heart. "This matter is really..."
"Just as I found out about that attendant, I was attacked once. Those people came menacingly, as if they were trying to silence me."
The servant was silent for a moment and then continued, "I was worried about tipping off the enemy, so I had to fake my death. So I wasn't able to continue the investigation for a while. Your Excellency, this matter involves a lot. There have already been quite a few losses this time. I didn't dare to make my own decision, so..."
Hearing this, Xie Lang frowned, but there was no trace of hesitation on his face. He said to the servant, "Send the news as fast as you can and continue the investigation!"
Shen Mingzhu frowned. Thinking about Xie Lang's innermost thoughts just now, she gradually had a guess in her heart.
Maybe... maybe the Emperor wasn't completely unaware?
After the elder brother left, the Emperor had taken action. He had discovered that there were people smuggling salt in the Yangzhou area, so he had severely punished a bunch of officials.
But why had the Emperor never said anything about it, and only said that the elder brother's death was an accident?
Shen Mingzhu felt that she was trapped in a mystery. Just when she finally found some clues, they were all tied up with the previous things. It seemed so strange that it was hard to believe.
"Thank you."
After a long time, Shen Mingzhu was shivering all over. Suddenly, she saw a cup of warm tea being pushed in front of her. Only then did she thank Xie Lang and picked up the cup to take a sip.
Just thinking about what the servant had said, Shen Mingzhu felt a bit uneasy in her heart. So she said to Xie Lang, "You've helped me so much. I feel really bad about it. Naturally, I can't just watch you suffer for nothing. Xie Lang, what do you want?"