What to do if you receive the wrong package?

The four followed the maid, winding along the corridor, and soon arrived at a pavilion.

"Miss, Miss Bai and several other young ladies have arrived."

"Okay, you can go now. I'll call you if I need anything."

Lin Bihua looked at the people behind the little maid and quickly got up to greet them.

"Miss Bai, you've arrived. Please have a seat."

Gu Yan greeted Lin Bihua with a smile, and after sitting down, he took the initiative to ask, "Thank you for the invitation, Miss Lin. May I ask what brings you here to see us alone?"

Miss Lin picked up the teapot and filled the teacups of the people in front of her before slowly speaking, "Miss Bai should already know about my relationship with Prince Ning, right?"

"..." Gu Yan and Shen Mujin beside him exchanged a glance and nodded somewhat awkwardly.

I never expected to get caught by the person in question while just watching some gossip.

Seeing Gu Yan's unnatural appearance, Lin Bihua curled her lips and smiled, "Miss Bai, don't be nervous. Almost everyone in Zhongjing knows about my affair with Prince Ning, so I don't care anymore."

"However, some things are true and some things are false. I hope the young ladies can make their own judgments and not blindly believe the rumors."

Gu Yan had just relaxed a little after hearing Lin Bihua's words of comfort when Lin Bihua suddenly changed the subject, and his heart jumped again.

"May I ask Miss Lin to explain in detail what is true and what is false?" Shen Mujin was also very curious about Lin Bihua's words and quickly asked.

Unexpectedly, Lin Bihua simply shook her head and did not directly answer Shen Mujin's question. "Time has passed, and there's no point in talking about some things anymore. It's better to start over."

Zhou Yuran frowned slightly, seemingly disagreeing with Lin Bihua's idea, and directly retorted, "No matter how much time has passed, everything should be explained clearly. It's not only for others, but also for yourself."

Lin Bihua was surprised by Shen Mujin's directness, and her calm heart was suddenly stirred. "Does the young lady know that some things and some people can never be explained clearly?"

"You can never really explain it?" Zhou Yuran asked, as if she had heard something amusing. "Have you tried? How will you know if you don't try?"

“I…” Lin Bihua’s eyes dimmed, as if she was caught up in some bad memories. “I’ve tried it before, but the results are all the same.”

"Yueya..." Gu Yan saw that the atmosphere between the two was gradually becoming strange, so he quickly called out to Zhou Yueran in a low voice.

Zhou Yuran also realized that she seemed a bit aggressive. Everyone has their own way of doing things, and she shouldn't impose her ideas on others.

"I apologize, Miss Lin, I spoke without thinking. Please forgive me."

Lin Bihua gradually calmed down and smiled slightly at Zhou Yuran. "Actually, what this young lady said is right. If I hadn't been unable to let go of these past events, I wouldn't have been so easily influenced by your words and fallen into a trance."

Zhou Yuran wanted to say something more, but fearing she would fall into the same awkward situation again, she had no choice but to give up.

Lin Bihua noticed Zhou Yuran's hesitation and took the initiative to say, "I know what you want to ask, Miss. Actually, I also want to talk to someone about these past events. However, I have important matters to discuss with you ladies today. After we finish discussing the important matters, I will slowly tell you about my story, which is different from what the King of Chu said."

Zhou Yuran was very surprised. Not only her, but Gu Yan and Shen Mujin were also shocked and stared wide-eyed.

My God, the very person in question personally delivered this juicy gossip! Is there anything more exciting than this?

Lin Bihua poured everyone another cup of tea, and then, remembering what she wanted to say, said seriously, "Miss Bai, the reason I've called you all here today is because I've discovered some clues about the massacre of the Marquis of Anping's family."

These words immediately shocked the people present, who exchanged glances, all seeing the shock in each other's eyes.

Shen Mujin was the first to become restless. She pursed her lips, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes, and asked, "What clues did Miss Lin discover? Why did you tell us this in private?"

Lin Bihua gave a self-deprecating laugh. "I also wanted to report this to the Dali Temple, but you know my relationship with Prince Ning. Do you think Prince Ning would believe everything I say? As for why I'm telling you this, these clues will definitely be more meaningful if they come from your mouths than from mine."

Gu Yan recalled what Prince Ning had said to him a few days ago and suddenly understood Lin Bihua's worries. He could only nod slightly seriously and say, "In that case, please tell us these clues, Miss Lin."

Lin Bihua nodded and said solemnly, "On the morning of the day the Marquis of Anping's family was wiped out, I saw Miss Wang outside the Mengci Nunnery beating a drum to appeal for justice. Besides Miss Wang, she was accompanied by another young woman and an old woman with a full head of white hair."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions turned solemn. Prince Ning had mentioned that Miss Wang had been missing for an hour and a half, and now that they knew her whereabouts, it was a very important clue.

“At the time, I didn’t think much of it, but after the Anping Marquis’s Mansion was discovered, I immediately sent people to Mengci Nunnery, but they couldn’t find those people. After that, I sent people to keep an eye on the situation at Mengci Nunnery. Until a few days ago, my people discovered that many new faces had appeared among the nuns in the nunnery, and most of the previous nuns had disappeared.”

"A new face? The enemy wouldn't be trying to pass off a fake as the real one and take over Mengci Nunnery, would they?" Shen Mujin guessed. After all, back in Wuzhou, those men in black liked to occupy places for their own use.

Lin Bihua shook her head and said, "My men don't dare to frequently enter and leave Mengci Nunnery, for fear of alerting the enemy, so it's hard to say what will happen."

"And Miss Bai, that time at Shaolin Temple, I accidentally saw that young woman with Miss Wang. That woman was clearly not a tourist; she walked extremely fast. I had to chase after her to get into that courtyard," Lin Bihua said, looking at Gu Yan.

Speaking of the courtyard, Gu Yan immediately realized what was going on and said with a serious expression, "No wonder the courtyard I saw that day seemed strange. I'm afraid the people in that courtyard have ill intentions and are afraid of being discovered."

Lin Bihua sneered, "Shaolin Temple and Mengci Nunnery, originally quiet Buddhist temples, have been used as sanctuaries by executioners. It's truly laughable."

“Those people have used some kind of trickery to evade people’s eyes. If the entire capital is covered up by them, we will be like blind and deaf people, and the consequences will be unimaginable.” Gu Yan frowned, a chill rising in his heart.

Hua Yin originally thought she was just there to join in the fun, but as she listened, she discovered that the matter was far more complicated than she had imagined.

Although she had heard some things about the Anping Marquis's mansion, she never expected that there were so many unknown dangers hidden behind it.

"Wait, Shaolin Temple?" Hua Yin seemed to have thought of something and asked, "What day did you go to Shaolin Temple?"

“A few days ago, it should have been September 14th. Hua Bao, why are you asking this?” Gu Yan calculated the date and replied.

Hua Yin said, "A few days ago, Jian Yuheng mentioned unintentionally that there have been several cases of young women going missing recently. The common feature of these girls is that they all went to Shaolin Temple on September 14th."

"Huh? Someone's gone missing? How many have gone missing?" Gu Yan didn't expect Hua Yin to bring up such explosive news right away.

The others were even more surprised, and Zhou Yuran even felt a slight headache, "I feel like this matter is getting more and more mysterious and bizarre."

Gu Yan nodded in agreement and instructed Shen Mujin, "Mumu, you have strong communication skills. I'll rely on you to relay this message when we get back."

Shen Mujin dodged Gu Yan's slapping hand with a hint of disgust and thanked Lin Bihua, saying, "Thank you for informing us, Miss Lin. We will immediately inform His Highness Prince Chu and His Highness Prince Ning when we get back."

Lin Bihua was about to say something when she saw the little maid from before rushing over from the corridor.

The maidservant, perhaps out of breath from running, said, "Miss, the banquet has been going on for a while now. If you don't show up soon, I'm afraid Madam will get angry with you again."

Lin Bihua then remembered that there was an autumn banquet organized by her aunt outside, so she could only smile at Gu Yan and the others and say somewhat embarrassedly, "Miss Bai, there is something I would like to ask you."

Gu Yan: "Miss Lin, please speak."

"I have been back in Zhongjing for some time now. My aunt organized this autumn banquet so that I could make some friends among these noble ladies. I would also like to invite a few of you to come with me later and pretend to be my new friends, so that my aunt can be at ease."

Gu Yan and the others nodded and assured her, "No problem. I don't think we need to pretend. After this incident, we can consider ourselves friends with Miss Lin."

Lin Bihua looked at Gu Yan with great gratitude and nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Gu Yan quickly introduced Zhou Yuran and the others to Lin Bihua, explaining their names and family backgrounds.

Lin Bihua had assumed these girls were from ordinary families, but she never expected them to be genuine noble ladies from prestigious families.

The group chatted amongst themselves as they followed the maid into the large garden of the Autumn Banquet. They had barely stood still when Madam Lin appeared before them.

"Greetings to Aunt." Lin Bihua bowed obediently.

"Greetings, Madam Lin." Gu Yan and the other three also bowed slightly in greeting.

"No need for formalities, ladies, please rise." Madam Lin was very pleased to see that Lin Bihua, who was usually aloof and cold, had actually made several new friends and seemed to be having a pleasant conversation with them.

"You two chat slowly, I won't disturb you any longer. Please stay for lunch and try the cooking skills of the chef that I brought back from Xiqiu."

Madam Lin arranged lunch, and Gu Yan and the others felt embarrassed to refuse her kindness. They were also curious about what kind of flavors the chefs in Xiqiu could make.

They had no choice but to wait until lunch was over before leaving the Lin residence.

It has to be said that the food in Xiqiu has a bit of a Shaanxi style, especially the Five-Color Braised Chicken. Isn't it just a big plate of chicken?

After leaving the Lin residence, Hua Yin, under the cover of Gu Yan and the others, quickly slipped into the carriage of the Chu Prince's residence, and then returned to the Chu Prince's residence with Gu Yan and the others.

Inside the carriage, Gu Yan looked at Hua Yin, who seemed quite relaxed and even had begun to close her eyes to rest, and asked with some concern, "Hua Bao, are you really alright coming back with us like this? What if those old women start nagging you like crazy when you get back?"

"It's okay, I can't keep up the act of being a good girl for so long." Hua Yin waved her hand dismissively.

"Either perish in silence or erupt in silence," Hua Yin thought, "I don't want to perish, so I'm going to erupt!"

The carriage safely brought the group back to the Prince's mansion. Upon entering, they first settled Hua Yin in the flower hall, then immediately split into three groups to quickly find Xuan Yi, Duan Chenke, and Jiang Si from different places.

On the way back, Zhou Yuran specifically asked Duan Chenke to have a shadow guard deliver a message to Jian Yuheng, the heir of the Marquis of Dingyuan, informing him that Hua Yin was currently at the Prince of Chu's residence.

Once everyone, including Jian Yuheng who had come with the shadow guards, had arrived, Shen Mujin solemnly recounted all the clues they had heard that day.