Prince! The political conspiracy is not a play, the show is real

Tao Yao's heart moved, and she quickly grabbed the maid's hand and whispered in her ear, "I understand. But if I leave like this, will it cause you trouble?"

The maid smiled and shook her head, saying, "Don't worry, Second Miss. Huai Ling has helped me a lot before, and I'm doing this to repay her kindness. Second Miss, let's go quickly. If we're any later, I'm afraid the two gatekeepers will wake up."

"Yeah." Tao Yao nodded gratefully.

So, the maid led Tao Yao through a shortcut and trotted all the way to the back door of Shi Mansion. While the two guards were still sleeping soundly under a tree, they climbed over the low wall and got out.

As soon as she landed, Taoyao fell into a warm and familiar embrace. It was Huai Ling. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she hugged Taoyao so tightly that she almost couldn't breathe.

"Second Miss, I finally see you again. It's not easy." Huai Ling said while sobbing, hugging Tao Yao tightly and refusing to let go.

Tao Yao raised her head from Huai Ling's embrace and realized that Song Zhishou was standing beside her. Seeing her, Song Zhishou couldn't help but reveal a look of joy on his face. He asked with concern, "Miss Tao Yao, you've been at the Shi Mansion these days. Did General Zhenbei Hou punish you for anything?"

Tao Yao raised her chin and answered with a firm voice, "I'm already a grown man, how dare he punish me? Besides, he's the one who's guilty now and can't even protect himself, so why would he bother to care about me?"

Huai Ling seemed to have heard something remarkable. She raised her head and looked at Tao Yao with eyes full of admiration: "Really? Second Miss? The master doesn't dare to punish you?"

Tao Yao pursed her lips, unable to hide the pride in her expression. She casually stuffed the package that the maid had just handed her back into Huai Ling's hands and said calmly, "Keep your own things safe."

Huai Ling frowned and said, "Second Miss, are you giving it to me?"

Tao Yao raised an eyebrow and replied, "Yes... If anything happens to me again in the future, remember to bring this as a token of trust and come to me. That way, we can meet again, right?"

Huai Ling nodded thoughtfully and echoed a few times. At that moment, Song Zhishou drove a carriage over from not far away, waved to the two of them, and said, "Let's go to Chunfeng Tower."

The carriage driven by Song Zhishou was moving very fast. He specially found a shortcut with few carriages and people. In just half an incense stick of time, he arrived at the gate of Chunfeng Tower.

I haven't been here for a long time, but Chunfeng Tower is still decorated with lights and colors as before. The air is filled with the fragrance of cosmetics and the smell of money. Beautiful girls dressed in bright and colorful clothes are flitting between the railings of the towers, like butterflies, flying around and collecting nectar among the huge flower forest of Chunfeng Tower.

Huai Ling's brows knitted together as she watched these dancing and singing girls, and she hurriedly moved closer to Tao Yao. Just then, a "flower girl" spotted Song Zhishou. With small, lotus-like steps and a gust of fragrant air, she drifted over to the three of them, like a willow in the wind. With a cup of sake in her mouth, she stretched out her long, pale arms and, while Song Zhishou wasn't paying attention, wrapped her arms around his neck, then threw herself into his arms.

Song Zhishou was caught off guard and was fed a mouthful of wine by the "flower girl".

Huai Ling couldn't help but cover her eyes, and kept yelling something like "don't look at anything indecent, don't listen to anything indecent", which made the innocent Lord Song's face almost redder than roast goose with shame, and made the "flower girl" even more rampant. She chuckled and pressed her fingers on the corner of Song Zhishou's lips to tease him.

At that moment, a familiar voice suddenly rang out from a nearby pavilion: "Xiao Die, this is my distinguished guest, please do not act rudely."

Tao Yao's heart moved, and she looked in the direction of the voice. A graceful figure in a fiery red silk dress came into her sight - it was An Jingshuang.

After not seeing her for a long time, she is still as bright and charming as ever, and her every frown and smile is breathtakingly beautiful.

The woman called "Xiaodie" frowned in grievance, but she slid off Song Zhishou obediently. At the end, she did not forget to put a silk handkerchief into Song Zhishou's hand and said with her lips: "Good brother, remember to look for me next time you come."

An Jingshuang leaned half her body against the railing, looking down at Tao Yao, Song Zhishou, and Huai Ling from afar. She said, "Hong Gu is out for something today and isn't here, so I'm temporarily taking care of things here. I wonder what brings you three to Chunfeng Tower?"

Tao Yao and Song Zhishou looked at each other, neither of them knowing what An Jingshuang was up to. They couldn't tell whether she was pretending or really didn't know the whereabouts of Chu Huanjun.

It is said that the most dazzling place in the capital is Chunfeng Tower, and the one who is best at bewitching people in this tower is An Jingshuang, who is currently in the limelight.

Tao Yao took a step forward, bowed respectfully to An Jingshuang, and said with a smile, "Sister Shuang, it's been a long time since we last met. Can we find a quiet place to catch up?"

An Jingshuang raised her eyebrows and smiled, curling her lips and said, "Okay - come up and talk in my room."

Song Zhishou's face suddenly showed embarrassment, and he stood there hesitantly, not daring to move forward. Tao Yao quickly pulled him aside and whispered, "Sir Song, we are only here to do business. We can put everything else aside for now. Finding the prince is the most important thing."

Seeing Tao Yao's determined eyes, Song Zhishou immediately felt that what she said made sense. He immediately threw out all those arguments about the red-faced skeleton from his mind, followed Tao Yao's footsteps, and walked into An Jingshuang's dormitory.

An Jingshuang's bedroom was decorated in much the same way as the Chunfeng Building's exterior. Bright red gauze curtains hung everywhere, and the entire room was covered in a deep, burgundy carpet with gold floral patterns, creating a truly luxurious look. An elegant lotus chandelier hung in the center of the room, and beneath it, a cleverly designed incense box, incense burning within.

Tao Yao had a keen sense of smell and could immediately tell that the scent of the incense was unusual. It was the same kind of incense that she and Chu Huanjun had bought at an incense appreciation conference.

Tao Yao's heart moved. Since An Jingshuang had this incense in her hand, she must have had some dealings with Chu Huanjun.

An Jingshuang brought tea and snacks and was about to make tea for everyone, but Tao Yao snatched the teapot away and rushed to work while saying with a smile: "Sister Shuang, you can still take the time to entertain us in your busy schedule. We are very grateful. Let me do the small things like making tea and pouring water. Sister Shuang, just take a good rest."

An Jingshuang looked at Tao Yao with some surprise. In the past, she had never liked Tao Yao because of Chu Huanjun's preference for her, perhaps because of jealousy. But now, she suddenly felt that her personality seemed quite likable, and her appearance... seemed to be much prettier than before.