The Princess Jingning gently patted Shen Baozhu on the back, soothing her as she led her out.
Outside the door, Ziwan and Qingdai were standing guard.
The princess handed Shen Baozhu over to Qingdai. Then, turning to Ziwan, she ordered, "Wake Cui Liu up with a bucket of water. Send her back to the main courtyard to serve. Keep a close eye on her these days. I remember there were still two bolts of Shu brocade left at the Shen residence. Go there and fetch them. Then give them to Miss Xie."
"Miss Xie saved Baozhu. We must repay this kindness. When she stayed at the princess's mansion before, she said she was separated from her relatives. Inform the government that the princess's mansion wants to help Miss Xie find her family. Ask them to post notices."
Ziwan took the order but hesitated, standing still on the spot.
She stammered, "The Second Lady is extremely shrewd. If she finds out that the princess wants to give the Shu brocade to Cousin Xie, there will surely be a big ruckus..."
The Shen family was a family of civil officials, considering themselves part of the upright literati. They looked down on gold and silver but loved elegance and spent money freely.
On the first day after the marriage of the Princess Jingning and Shen Yunfeng, the Elder Lady Shen had handed over the power to manage the household and the keys to the storeroom to the princess. On the surface, it was to show respect for the new daughter - in - law, but in fact, she wanted the princess to use her dowry to support the entire Shen family.
Fortunately, the princess saw through this in time and asked the emperor for a mansion of her own. She not only moved out with Shen Yunfeng but also managed the princess's mansion in an orderly manner.
Seeing that the new daughter - in - law was not easy to manipulate, the Shen family quickly took a merchant's daughter as a concubine for the second son. Later, when the first wife passed away, this concubine became the Second Lady of the Shen residence and took charge of the whole family.
This Second Lady had previously disliked Xie Xiner, who had been staying at the princess's mansion. Xie Xiner ate and lived there for free, and her food, clothing, and daily necessities were those of a young lady from an ordinary official's family. She cost a lot of silver every year.
If she saw Ziwan go back to the Shen residence to get the Shu brocade for Xie Xiner, she would surely make a big scene. Now that she was in charge of the Shen family, it would be impossible to hide Ziwan's visit from her.
The princess's gaze fell on the still - unconscious Cui Liu in the room. Her tone was gentle, "After all, she is the second uncle's wife and the Second Lady of the Shen family. I should give her some face. If there is a ruckus, I'll have to temporarily cut off Miss Xie's expenses."
Although the words were soft, Ziwan understood. Giving the Shu brocade was just a pretext, and cutting off Miss Xie's expenses was the real intention.
Just as Ziwan was thinking about how to arouse the Second Lady's dissatisfaction when she returned to the Shen residence, the princess added, "By the way, go to the front courtyard and tell the prince consort about this. Ask him to also keep an eye out for Miss Xie's relatives."
After giving the order to Ziwan, the princess summoned Hongshen and gave her a token. "Go back to the general's mansion secretly. Ask Uncle Zhao to find out if there were any officials surnamed Bai who were exiled for crimes in previous years. Also, check if there was a girl named Bai Xinrou among their family members."
"Then take my token and go south to the Elder Lady's hometown to search for relatives. Find out about Xie Xiner's appearance and other details."
The Elder Lady Shen's hometown was in the south of the Yangtze River, and Bai Xinrou's false identity was a distant relative of the Elder Lady's family. Hongshen was the least noticeable among the four maids. If she was sent to investigate this matter, neither Shen Yunfeng nor Bai Xinrou would be suspicious.
Hongshen took the token and left.
...
On the other side, after Shen Baozhu was carried back by Qingdai and washed up, she rummaged through her treasures hidden in the main courtyard and spread them out one by one.
These treasures were all Shen Baozhu's beloved possessions. There was the clay figurine she made for the first time, the amulet her mother gave her, the jade pendant of her eldest brother, the sachet of her second brother, the small wooden sword of her third brother...
Shen Baozhu looked left and right and finally chose her most proud clay figurine. "This is the clay figurine Baozhu made for the first time. It's also Baozhu's favorite treasure. Does the immortal like it?"
The clay figurine was a bit rough, but it was still vaguely cute with a chubby and lovable appearance.
The little girl held the clay figurine and looked longingly at the empty air. Her simple thoughts were easy to see through. She wanted to give the clay figurine to the immortal to show her gratitude.
[I like it.]
With the immortal's permission, Shen Baozhu could hardly hide her excitement. "Can Baozhu give the clay figurine to the immortal?"
As soon as the words were out, the clay figurine in Shen Baozhu's hand disappeared.
Shen Baozhu was still in a daze. Looking at her empty hand, she said slowly, "Where's my clay figurine?"
Then new words appeared in the empty air: [The clay figurine is very cute.]
Seeing the words, Shen Baozhu finally realized that her clay figurine was already in the immortal's hands.
Shen Baozhu said proudly, "I made it myself. Even when my eldest brother wanted it, I didn't want to give it to him!"
Although she said so, the little girl's face had turned bright red. She whispered, "If you like it, I'll make another one just for you."
...
In the front courtyard, Ziwan was very efficient. In less than half an hour, she had told Shen Yunfeng the news.
Hearing that the Princess Jingning wanted to help "Xie Xiner" find her relatives, Shen Yunfeng's face visibly darkened.
Shen Yunfeng tried to control his emotions. "Why did the princess suddenly decide to help Cousin Xiner find her relatives?
"The chance of finding her family after so many years of separation is slim."
Ziwan smiled and explained the reason. Then she said, "Miss Xie is your cousin. The princess means for you to keep an eye out. I still have to go to the Shen residence, so I'll take my leave first."
"Wait. What are you going to do at the Shen residence?" Shen Yunfeng felt guilty. He blurted out, "Mother has not been well recently. Don't bother her with this matter."
Ziwan's tone was slightly surprised. "I'm not going to ask the Elder Lady Shen. The princess ordered me to go to the storeroom to get two bolts of fine Shu brocade to make new clothes for Miss Xie."
Only then did Shen Yunfeng realize that his tone had been too excited. He coughed a few times. "I see. Then go quickly."
After Ziwan left, Shen Yunfeng paced back and forth in the front courtyard for a while.
Shen Yunfeng couldn't figure out the princess's intention. If she suspected Bai Xinrou's identity, why would she send Ziwan to the Shen residence to get fine Shu brocade for Bai Xinrou?
If she didn't suspect and just wanted to thank Bai Xinrou for saving Shen Baozhu and thus wanted to help her find her relatives... Shen Yunfeng was also worried because Bai Xinrou's identity couldn't be investigated in detail.
After much thought, Shen Yunfeng still wasn't at ease. He asked the maid to invite Cousin Xie over.
A quarter of an hour later, Bai Xinrou walked over slowly in a light blue dress and a pink shawl. Her eyes were extremely gentle as she looked at Shen Yunfeng.
Bai Xinrou didn't know Shen Yunfeng's thoughts. She thought he missed her and called her over in broad daylight. As soon as she leaned on Shen Yunfeng, he pushed her away.
Shen Yunfeng said impatiently, "At the beginning, we made a plan to make the princess misunderstand. After she punished Concubine Yun and alienated from Danqing, I would tell the truth so that the people in the capital would know that the princess was jealous and used heavy punishment on her concubine without finding evidence.
"In this way, when I divorce the princess in the future, the fault will be entirely hers.
"You've ruined such a good plan!"
"When you had someone drug her, Xia Yu was still confronting the princess in Yunmiao Courtyard. How could we blame the drugging on Xia Yu?"
The scolding left Bai Xinrou stunned. She clutched the sleeves of her dress tightly, feeling extremely aggrieved. "Shen Yunfeng, are you blaming me? I've been with you without a proper name for so many years, and you're blaming me!"
Although Shen Yunfeng knew Bai Xinrou's temper, he was very angry at this moment. But thinking that the Princess Jingning wanted to help Bai Xinrou find her relatives, he forced down his anger and comforted her, "I'm not blaming you. It's just that there's still no news about Cui Liu, and the princess wants to help you find your relatives. I have to find a way to deal with these two things. Don't make trouble with me."
"By the way, where did you buy the sleeping pills? Have you disposed of them properly?"
Hearing Shen Yunfeng mention the sleeping pills, Bai Xinrou's heart trembled violently. She didn't dare to tell the truth and could only say vaguely, "They should have been disposed of properly. I'll go back later to find out some news about Cui Liu."
Seeing that Bai Xinrou was being obedient, Shen Yunfeng sighed. "Since this plan has failed, we'll have to try another one.
"This is a drug that can make people lose their mind. Put it in He Qing's tea. Then find a monk..."