Harem Daily Life

At the Ningyuan Marquis's Mansion, Madam Gu looked at Lord Gu rummaging through boxes and cabinets as if he was looking for something, and couldn't help asking, "What is Lord Gu looking for? He has been looking for several days."

Lord Gu coughed lightly and said, "The purse that Ning'er embroidered for me is missing. You also know that the child is sensitive. If she knew that I lost the purse, I'm afraid she would be sad for several days again."

After saying this, Lord Gu continued to search.

Madam Gu looked at the mess in the room and couldn't help but said, "It's just a small purse. It's lost. Maybe the Marquis accidentally dropped it somewhere when he was out on business. It's something he carries with him. It's impossible to keep it in the cabinet."

A word of advice could wake a dreamer. Lord Gu thought about the places he had been to recently, and gradually felt cold.

Without even saying a word to Mrs. Gu, he hurried out of the room and went to the front yard to find the housekeeper to prepare the carriage.

"My lord, where are you going in such a hurry?" the butler couldn't help but ask.

"Don't ask. I'm in a hurry. Let Zhang Quan take a few people with me." Marquis Gu strode out of the mansion, got on the carriage, and asked the coachman to go to Miaoyin Pavilion, which was the favorite place for literati and scholars in the capital.

Before the carriage even stopped, Lord Gu opened the curtain and jumped out of the carriage without a care. When Liu, the steward of Miaoyin Pavilion, saw the distinguished guest coming, he hurried forward to greet him: "Oh, Lord Gu, you haven't been here for several days! Are you still looking for Miss Ruyi to play the piano today?"

Lord Gu strode in and asked, "Is she free?"

Manager Liu smiled with wrinkles on his face: "Yes, yes, yes, there are not many people here at this time. Miss Ruyi is reading music in her room."

Steward Liu personally led the people to the third floor, stopped at the door of a room, and knocked gently: "Miss Ruyi, Lord Gu is here."

The door opened from the inside, and two little girls led Lord Gu in. Ruyi stood up leisurely and said, "Meet Lord Gu."

Lord Gu waved his hand and asked everyone to leave. After the door was closed, he asked, "A few days ago, the Lord came to listen to music. Did he leave a wallet with you?"

Lord Gu stared at Ruyi without blinking. Ruyi frowned and said, "I didn't hear that the maids found the purse while cleaning. I don't know what color or pattern it is. Lord Gu, tell me and I'll have someone look for it."

Lord Gu's heart sank to the bottom of the valley. The thing he least wanted to see had happened. Could it be that he really fell into Jingci Temple?

"That was embroidered by my daughter. If your people pick it up, you must return it to me." After saying that, Lord Gu did not stay any longer and walked out of the room directly.

Just as Manager Liu ordered someone to bring a pot of the best Biluochun tea, he saw Lord Gu coming downstairs. He hurriedly asked, "Why are you leaving so soon, Lord? Miss Ruyi has just got a new song..."

Before he could finish his words, Lord Gu interrupted him by stuffing a silver ingot into his mouth: "I have something else to do. I will come back another day."

In just a few minutes, Lord Gu got back on the carriage. Steward Liu accompanied him for more than ten meters before stopping, weighing the silver in his hand with a flattering smile on his face.

After walking for a while, Lord Gu asked the driver to drive to Jingci Temple.

Zhang Quan couldn't help but remind him, "My Lord, if we leave the city now to go to Jingci Temple, I'm afraid we won't be able to get back in time."

The gates of the capital city will be closed at a certain time. If you don't grasp the time correctly, you will be locked outside the city and will not be able to enter the city until early tomorrow morning.

"It's okay. Let's go to the hot spring palace to see the prince. He hasn't been home for half a year."

Lord Gu was thinking that there must be a reason to leave the city, and no one would doubt the reason for visiting his son.

Seeing that the Marquis went to visit the Prince without bringing anything, Zhang Quan wanted to remind the Marquis to buy something, but then he thought about the daily interactions between the father and son, and kept his mouth shut.

Everyone in the mansion knew that Marquis Gu only loved the three children born to his second wife and didn't care about the Crown Prince. So why would he make a special trip to visit him and bring gifts?

The group rode at full speed to the vicinity of Jingci Temple, but Lord Gu ordered the carriage to stop.

He lifted the curtain, thought for a moment, and said to Zhang Quan, "Go over and ask the people around Concubine Li if they found a purse embroidered with plum blossoms a few days ago. If they did, bring it back. If not, don't say anything and come back immediately."

Seeing the serious look on the Marquis's face, Zhang Quan knew that the matter was urgent, so he rode away immediately.

On weekdays, Jingci Temple would also receive some pilgrims, but there were fewer men. Now that the weather was cold, even fewer people came. As soon as Zhang Quan came in, he was targeted by the nun arranged by Eunuch Qin.

Seeing the man heading straight towards the courtyard where Concubine Li lived, the nun narrowed her eyes and followed him quietly.

The nun did not dare to get too close, and just stood in the dark not far away and watched for a while. She was good at lip reading, and as long as her vision was good enough, she could understand what the other person was saying.

When the nun saw the word "purse", she knew that this man was related to the purse she had picked up before. However, looking at his clothes, he did not look like someone who could afford that kind of purse.

The nun did not stay long, turned around and left, hurriedly going to report the news.

Ever since Eunuch Qin came and took away the purse that day, he instructed that if anyone came to inquire about the whereabouts of the purse, he should send someone to keep an eye on it to see who it was.

After checking the code, the nun said to a guard, "There will be a man in blue coming out later. Follow him and make sure not to alert him."

Zhang Quan did not get any valuable clues, so he had to hurriedly leave Jingci Temple and return to report.

"No?" Lord Gu was obviously relieved, but he was puzzled as to where he had fallen.

But since it wasn't in Jingci Temple, it didn't matter where it fell. A purse was not worth much. The reason he was anxious was simply that he was worried that it would fall somewhere it shouldn't have and cause trouble.

"Let's go to the hot spring palace." It was already close to evening, and if they returned to the city they would most likely be locked outside the city gates, so the group headed towards the palace.

The guard hiding in the dark saw the lantern with the word "Gu" on it, so he stopped following and hurried back to the nunnery.

Upon learning that it was the Ningyuan Marquis's residence, the nun was a little surprised. Wasn't it said that the Ningyuan Marquis and his second wife were deeply in love?

What about the secret meeting with Concubine Li?

But this is not something she, a nun, should consider. She just needs to pass the message to Eunuch Qin.

That night, the news was sent to Eunuch Qin at the Hot Spring Palace.

However, the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Since the investigation into the assassination was fruitless, He Linzhang sent a shadow guard to Jingci Temple to investigate. It was also a coincidence that today, he encountered the news that Ningyuan Hou sent someone to Jingci Temple to look for the purse, and it also involved Eunuch Qin planting someone next to Concubine Li. The shadow guard felt that the matter was serious, so he sent the news to the palace as soon as possible.