What to do if you receive the wrong package?

"The investigation into the scenic garden can be left to Palace Master Xuan and Young Hero Jiang. But what is the connection between those girls and the 'seed'? What does that sentence mean?" Jian Yuheng frowned slightly, somewhat puzzled.

"Um... I have an idea." Gu Yan, who was eating quietly at another table, raised his hand and spoke after listening to the conversation.

"What are your thoughts, Miss Bai?"

"Remember when we were discussing and guessing that those girls were cursed? Could it be that the curse in their bodies is what's called a seed?" Gu Yan's voice trailed off as she spoke, since these were all just her guesses, and she didn't want to influence others' correct judgments without any evidence.

“What Ayan said is possible.” Shen Mujin patted Gu Yan’s shoulder and leaned out from behind her. “I once read in a book that Gu poison can lie dormant in a person’s body for a period of time, and on the surface, the person appears no different from an ordinary person. But once the time is up, it will be immediately controlled and then used to cause trouble.”

When Gu Yan heard Shen Mujin support her idea, she immediately turned her head happily and asked in a low voice, "Mumu, did you really read it in a book? In which book?"

Shen Mujin glanced at Gu Yan with a strange expression, then leaned close to Gu Yan's ear and whispered, "I have indeed read it, but it was from an ancient romance novel."

"..." Oh well, never mind, let's just pretend she didn't ask.

"Where are those girls who were rescued now?" Lin Bihua asked, looking at the two princes who remained silent.

Duan Chenke looked up at his elder brother, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "When those girls were rescued, they were all unconscious, so we left them at Mengci Nunnery. Later, when these girls woke up, they were all silent and unresponsive, like wooden figures. So, under the pretext of assisting in the investigation, Dali Temple took these girls from Mengci Nunnery to another safe place."

Jian Yuheng suddenly remembered the day of the relocation. He went to Mengci Nunnery, and it was completely silent. Only the faint sound of the wind and the chirping of insects echoed in the air. The girls sat in the main hall, each one thin and pale, with empty eyes, as if they had lost their vitality.

He then added, "We tried to communicate with them, but they completely ignored us. We even brought in the imperial physicians, but they were also helpless."

"If these girls are the seeds Qin Miao'er mentioned, then why did the enemy spread these seeds?" Lin Bihua couldn't help but ask.

"In order to gain a more favorable situation for the enemy," Xuan Yi tapped the table and guessed, "Since these girls are still in your hands, you must keep a close eye on them so that you can know immediately if anything happens."

"It seems that for now, we can only take it one step at a time." Jian Yuheng gave a wry smile.

They thought that sealing off Mengci Nunnery would give them an advantage. Little did they know that they had been set up.

Seeing that the message had been conveyed and that the subsequent discussion was irrelevant to them, Zhou Yuran decided to leave the troublesome matters to Duan Chenke and the others, since she couldn't be of much help anyway. So she simply took one of them by the hand and led Hua Yin and Lin Bihua back to Gu Yan's table.

"Ayan, when did Prince Ning arrive? Wasn't he urgently summoned to the palace by the Emperor? How come he's in Prince Chu's residence?" It's understandable that Zhou Yuran was a little dumbfounded just now, after all, who would have thought that Prince Ning, who should have entered the palace, would actually enter the residence even faster than them.

"We arrived a while ago." Gu Yan looked at the three people who had taken their seats and thoughtfully served them bowls of hot soup. "When I saw Prince Ning, I was wondering why he had already returned but the two of you hadn't. Mu Mu and I were even discussing going to the door to greet you after dinner."

“We went to gather intelligence, so we’re a little late. Here, we’ve packed up the snacks and nuts.” Zhou Yuran handed several cloth bags to Gu Yan.

"Yueya, Huabao, you two are really amazing!" Gu Yan took the bag of pastries neatly, opened it without saying a word, took out a piece and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Hmm... the taste is alright. As expected of the Queen's product, it's not bad."

"Don't even mention it. We thought we could at least get a free lunch from the royal family. But Prince Ning ran away, and the Empress ran away too. We didn't get anything." Zhou Yuran waved her hand dismissively, her tone full of displeasure.

"Tell me, what fun things happened this time? Share them with me. How exactly did the Empress choose the concubines for Prince Ning?" Gu Yan pulled his stool closer to Zhou Yuran.

"Haha, guess how they were chosen? The Empress prepared a bucket of bamboo sticks for Prince Chu, and Prince Ning drew them himself. Whoever drew a stick had to go on stage and perform a talent."

Gu Yan: "Oh my god, this is so exciting. I hope I won't be drawn against you. It feels like the Empress has already decided who will be chosen."

“You’re right. We also thought the Empress had already chosen us. But... Sister Lin really got picked.” Zhou Yuran nodded, a hint of helplessness on her face.

"What?" Gu Yan and Shen Mujin looked at Lin Bihua with surprise.

"So, what did Sister Lin perform?" Gu Yan asked curiously.

"It's quite unique; Sister Lin is performing a sword dance," Zhou Yuran introduced with great pride.

"Wow! That's amazing!" Gu Yan couldn't help but exclaim. "As expected of Sister Lin, even her performance is so wonderful!"

Lin Bihua blushed slightly as she listened to Gu Yan's effusive praise. "It was just a normal performance. It wasn't as good as they said."

"And then what happened?" Shen Mujin asked, changing the subject as she looked at Lin Bihua's shy expression.

Zhou Yuran shrugged, "After that, Prince Ning was summoned away by the Emperor, and the Empress also ran away, so we came back."

"..." Shen Mujin and Gu Yan were both speechless. Did it end so suddenly?

Gu Yan: "What about the other girls who were selected? Were there any special circumstances?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Zhou Yuran seemed to have thought of something, and quickly stood up from her seat and took a few steps forward.

"Your Highness, Qin Miao'er and Liu Ruyan are together. We still need to keep an eye on Liu Ruyan." Zhou Yuran muttered to herself, almost forgetting such important information.

"Liu Ruyan? Who is she?" Duan Chenke asked, wondering why Zhou Yuran had specifically mentioned the need to be wary of Liu Ruyan.

"The name sounds somewhat familiar." Jian Yuheng shook his head blankly as well.

“Your Highness Prince Ning should know this quite well,” Hua Yin said, glancing at Prince Ning without any fear.

Prince Ning frowned, seemingly not understanding Hua Yin's meaning, and asked in a deep voice, "Why would I understand this better?"

"Huh?" Prince Ning's question almost stunned Hua Yin. "Of the five people Your Highness Prince Ning drew at the Flying Swan Banquet today, one of them is Liu Ruyan."

“Liu Ruyan, daughter of the Vice Minister of War,” Lin Bihua added from the side.

"Liu Chuanzhi's daughter? The Empress really dares to think that she can send his daughter to the Prince of Ning's residence. Doesn't the Empress know that Liu Chuanzhi and I are sworn enemies?" Duan Chenke was almost laughing in anger at the Empress's arrangement.

"Since Liu Ruyan and Qin Miao'er know each other, it's very likely that Liu Chuanzhi is also connected with the mysterious person. We need to be more careful in the future." Jian Yuheng sighed, never expecting that an official of the imperial court would also have ties with the mysterious person.

"Ha, Liu Chuanzhi's audacity is growing, he even dares to secretly contact people in the martial arts world." Duan Chenke sneered, his heart filled with disdain and anger towards Liu Chuanzhi.

Because everyone was talking and eating at the same time, it was already quite late when they finished their meal.

"It's getting late, I'll head back now." Lin Bihua glanced at the position of the sun, smiled, and took her leave.

"Sister Lin, take your time. Remember to come visit us when you have time."

"Yes, Sister Lin, why don't you have dinner here and we'll take you home? It'll be safer that way."

“I’ve been away for a while now, and I’m afraid my grandfather and aunt are worried about me. Don’t worry, Uncle Lin’s kung fu is better than mine, so nothing will happen to him.”

Although Gu Yan and the others were very reluctant to part, they had no choice but to say goodbye to Lin Bihua.

Just then, Prince Ning suddenly spoke up, "I'm leaving anyway, why don't I escort you back?"

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness, but the Ning Prince's residence and the Lin residence are in different directions, so I won't take up your time." Lin Bihua curtsied to the Ning Prince and politely declined.

Hearing their conversation, Zhou Yuran was afraid that they would have another unpleasant argument over this matter, so she quickly said, "Sister Lin, let us take you to the door."

When the group arrived at the door and watched Miss Lin get into the carriage, they were about to wave goodbye when they saw Prince Ning come out like a gust of wind and then get into Miss Lin's carriage.

"What...what's going on?" Gu Yan and the others outside the carriage were shocked by Prince Ning's actions.

"I don't know," Zhou Yuran shook her head.

Lin Bihua, inside the carriage, was also startled by Prince Ning's "sudden attack." She didn't know why Prince Ning had suddenly gotten into the carriage, nor what his purpose was. She looked at Prince Ning sitting opposite her and frowned slightly.

"Your Highness, what do you mean by this?" Lin Bihua asked directly.

Prince Ning raised his head and smiled slightly, "As I just said, I'll escort you back to your residence."

"But as I just said, we don't go that way. So please get off first."

"It's alright, I'm not in a hurry to go back home. Uncle Lin, let's set off."

Hearing the Prince of Ning's voice, Old Lin, sitting on the carriage, hesitated for a moment, but still whipped his horse.

Lin Bihua sat inside the carriage, her mind in turmoil. She simply sat in a corner, closed her eyes, leaned against the carriage wall, and remained silent.

Prince Ning watched as Lin Bihua closed her eyes, smiled slightly, seemingly having anticipated her reaction. He leaned back in the carriage, gazing out the window at the scenery, and suddenly broke the silence.

"Didn't you used to dislike martial arts the most? I didn't expect your swordsmanship to get better and better now."

Hearing Prince Ning's words, Lin Bihua had no choice but to open her eyes and look at him. "The Northern Wilderness is plagued by frequent wars. Only by mastering swordsmanship can one protect oneself. I don't want to be a burden to my grandfather."

Prince Ning nodded and continued, "How have you been these past few years in the Northern Wilderness?"

Lin Bihua was slightly taken aback, somewhat confused about what Prince Ning wanted to do, so she could only give a vague answer:

"not bad."

"That's good. Although the Northern Wilderness is somewhat remote, it's still much more comfortable than the magnificent cage that is Zhongjing."

"Your Highness, please speak plainly. I am foolish and cannot fathom what Your Highness intends to do." Lin Bihua directly stopped the carriage and looked directly at Prince Ning, Duan Chaoxu.

Duan Chaoxu looked at Lin Bihua's serious expression, a faint smile appeared on his lips, he lowered his eyes slightly, and shook his head, "I just wanted to take you home and have a chat with you. Never mind, since that's the case, I'll ask you one last question."

"Your Highness, please ask."

"Why didn't you use your Star Essence when you were practicing your sword dance today?"

Lin Bihua was surprised that Duan Chaoxu knew the name of her sword. This sword was a birthday gift her aunt had sent her when she first arrived in the Northern Wilderness. Xinghua was a soft sword, its blade as thin as a cicada's wing, incredibly light and flexible, moving like the wind and flowing clouds. Although its lethality wasn't great, its main advantage was its speed; the sword's edge was like a falling star, hence the name Xinghua (Starry Sky).

Lin Bihua bit her lip lightly and said directly, "I forgot to bring it."

"Heh, is that so?" Duan Chaoxu chuckled softly, glancing at Lin Bihua's waist before quickly looking away before she could get angry.

"Since Miss Lin is unwilling to share a carriage with me, then I will not disturb you any longer." Just as he said, Duan Chaoxu asked the last question and then directly lifted the curtain and got out of the carriage.

Lin Bihua saw Duan Chaoxu standing alone beside the carriage through the carriage window, with empty streets in front and behind him, and felt a little sorry for him.

He had no choice but to lift the carriage curtain and call out to Duan Chaoxu expressionlessly, "Your Highness, please get in the carriage. I'll take you back."