If it weren't for Qiu Lu's repeated insistence on not alerting the enemy, he would have entered the palace with him yesterday!
He was now afraid that Qiu Lu wasn't telling the truth.
Qiu Lu shook off Jing Heng. "I want to speak with Miss, not you!"
Seeing Qiu Lu's confident demeanor, Jing Heng was genuinely surprised. Could there really be a hidden reason?
Jing Heng asked no further questions and followed Qiu Lu.
At this time, Yun Shu and the others were having breakfast.
Qiu Lu stood at the door and said to Yun Shu, "Miss, your subordinate has returned."
Hearing this, Yun Shu looked up at Qiu Lu. "Wait for me a moment."
She had half a bowl of porridge left.
After finishing breakfast, Yun Shu walked out.
She came to the courtyard with Qiu Lu.
"Miss, your subordinate met with the Prince and even spoke a few words with him," Qiu Lu said eagerly.
Yun Shu let out a soft hum. "What did he say?"
Qiu Lu then recounted every word he had spoken to the Prince the previous night.
She wanted Miss to know that the Prince had his own difficulties! Otherwise, it would be impossible for the Prince to abandon Miss and the children!
A moment after Qiu Lu finished speaking.
Yun Shu said with an inscrutable expression, "He didn't explicitly state his difficulties, did he?"
Qiu Lu was taken aback. "This..." Recalling carefully, the Prince really hadn't explicitly mentioned any difficulties. He had merely spared his life and let him leave.
Now, the difficulties he mentioned to Miss were his own one-sided speculation.
At this point, Qiu Lu also began to doubt.
"Until we find out who the Palace Master of Sha Gong is, I will not leave this place. During this time, there will be enough opportunity to uncover everything," Yun Shu said calmly, as if she had already expected Qiu Lu to return empty-handed.
Upon hearing Yun Shu's words, Qiu Lu secretly regretted his own foolishness. Why hadn't he asked the Prince for a clear answer sooner?
"Miss, your subordinate will enter the palace again in the next two days." Qiu Lu now wished he could rush back into the palace immediately.
This time, he was sure he would get an accurate answer.
Yun Shu's eyes flickered as she thought of something and said sternly, "Temporarily, there's no need to alert the enemy."
"But..." Qiu Lu felt miserable. As long as he didn't know the Prince's thoughts, he felt the Prince had wronged Miss. Moreover, following Miss to Xixia Kingdom all this way, he truly felt injustice for Miss.
The Prince had really left without a word of explanation!
Therefore, he desperately wanted to know what reason had led the Prince to do this!
Clearly, only the Prince himself could provide the answer to this question now.
He looked at Miss with a face full of shame.
Yun Shu looked at Qiu Lu's shame and smiled. "You don't need to worry too much. I've been thinking about some things these past two days. We just can't rush; let's confirm it slowly."
"Miss, your subordinate also thought of something! That is, the Prince must have Miss in his heart, otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen Miss, disguised as Qin Linglong, as his consort at the palace banquet! This shows that the Prince is giving Miss an answer," Qiu Lu said eagerly upon recalling this.
Yun Shu, however, showed no surprise on her face. "It is precisely this action that has raised my suspicions further."
"Ah?" Qiu Lu felt his head had turned into wood. Otherwise, how could he not understand what Miss was saying?
"You haven't eaten yet, have you? Go and eat," Yun Shu said.
Qiu Lu looked at Yun Shu, wanting to say more, but the words caught in his throat, and he could only sigh helplessly.
Alright, he would wait a little longer!
He should receive the Prince's reply soon!
He suddenly remembered something he had learned from a spy on his way back. He immediately reported, "Miss, as your subordinate returned, a spy found me and said that originally only people from Sha Gong were looking for you, but now Li De is also secretly searching for you. If this continues, our hiding place might be suspected."
Yun Shu nodded, her eyes deepening slightly, and she mused, "Our identities will be revealed in a while. We will appear before them in broad daylight."
Qiu Lu responded with a "Yes."
When their identities were truly revealed one day, it would mean they had a legitimate reason to be there, and the people of Xixia Kingdom would not dare to act against them casually.
As for any hidden assassinations, they would be able to guard against them completely.
Thinking of this, Qiu Lu suddenly felt a sense of anticipation for the future.
...
After Aunt Xiao and Yun Ying had finished breakfast, they went for a walk around the streets.
They observed covertly.
Sha Gong's people were indeed secretly searching for Yun Shu, and even her three children. But how many days had it been?
With Sha Gong's spies scattered throughout the capital, why was there still no news of Yun Shu and her group?
This was highly unusual.
Yun Ying was losing patience. She bit her lip and said, "Mother, where do you think Yun Shu is hiding? She's very good at hiding! She's been hidden until now without being found. My patience is almost gone."
"We are both anxious, let alone the Palace Master. Since she has ordered people to search, it means she wants to find Yun Shu. Wait and see, Mother doesn't believe she can hide forever," Aunt Xiao said with a cold smile.
The mother and daughter now considered capturing Yun Shu a foregone conclusion, and were only anxious about when they would succeed.
They wanted to leave the capital of Xixia Kingdom.
Suddenly, they overheard people nearby discussing.
"She is the eldest daughter of the Qin family, the eldest daughter who was granted to Prince Jin as a consort!"
"It's her! She doesn't look that great, not even close to Princess Ningde!"
"Never mind if she's not close to Princess Ningde, but I heard Prince Jin chose her himself!"
Yun Ying followed the direction of the crowd's discussion and saw Qin Linglong emerging from a jewelry shop.
When she saw Qin Linglong's appearance, a fire of jealousy ignited within her. "Mother, look at that Qin Linglong. Her appearance is not only worlds apart from Princess Ningde, but also worlds apart from mine, yet she's lucky! She attended a palace banquet and was favored by Prince Jin! I don't understand why Prince Jin would favor her, just like everyone else!"
Aunt Xiao shook her head and sighed lightly. "People have different preferences. Perhaps Prince Jin simply likes the type of demure beauty that the eldest daughter of the Qin family represents."
"Heaven is truly unfair!" Yun Ying scoffed.
If heaven had given her a chance to meet Prince Jin, she would have definitely shown him how much joy a woman could bring him if she was interesting!
Thinking of how her skills couldn't lead her to marry someone of high status and power, she felt a surge of anger.
"Ying'er, look quickly, who is that!" Aunt Xiao exclaimed, pointing to someone not far ahead.