What to do if you receive the wrong package?

After the "main characters" left, Hua Yin and Zhou Yuran did not rush to leave, but continued to sit in their original seats and wait for Lin Bihua to return so they could leave together.

"Would you like to eat the snacks on the table?" Hua Yin suddenly asked.

"Huh? I'm not eating anymore. Do you want some? It tastes pretty good." Zhou Yuran was a little confused by the question. Why did Hua Bao suddenly ask about desserts?

"I don't want to eat, it's Ayan who wants to eat." Hua Yin took out the snack bag that Gu Yan had given her before she left and put the snacks from the plate directly into it.

“Sure, you can take the leftovers home. That’s so Yan’s style. Do you have any more bags? Pack these nuts in too, and you can eat them slowly when you get home.”

When Lin Bihua returned, she saw two girls standing in front of the table, packing something.

"What are you doing?" Lin Bihua asked curiously, peeking out from behind the screen.

"Sister Lin, you're back." Zhou Yuran looked up and greeted Lin Bihua, but her hands were moving quickly.

"We're packing these up to take back for Ayan and the others to try."

"These...the Chu Prince's residence should have them, right?" Lin Bihua was very puzzled. Who would bring back things after visiting someone's home?

Could it be that these young ladies, though living in the Prince's mansion, are not well-fed, clothed, or equipped? And since the King of Chu is often away, are the people in the mansion mistreating them?

“Yes, yes, but it would be a waste not to put them back.” Zhou Yuran was completely unaware that Lin Bihua had gone astray.

"By the way, Sister Lin, what made you decide to go on stage and perform a sword dance?"

"I grew up with my grandfather since I was a child, and I'm not good at chess, music, calligraphy, or painting. So I had to find another way and performed a sword routine that I'm more familiar with," Lin Bihua explained somewhat embarrassedly.

General Lin Ye was a military man, and his approach to raising children was equally unconventional. He simply sent his daughter, Lin Bihua, to live with a group of men in the military camp. This was also the main reason why the Empress Dowager often brought Lin Bihua into the palace when she was alive. Lin Bihua's refined demeanor today is largely thanks to the Empress Dowager.

"I think it's amazing! You surpassed the previous girls in one go. We were all stunned. I just heard other girls praising you." Zhou Yuran sounded a little proud at the end, as if those girls were praising herself, not Lin Bihua.

"Alright, let's hurry up and go. We can have lunch with Ayan and the others when we get back." Hua Yin said as she watched most of the people around her leave.

"Yes, yes, Sister Lin, come back to the manor with us for lunch later. Ayan and the others miss you too." Zhou Yuran even took Lin Bihua's right arm and invited her with a smile.

"Alright, then I'll gladly accept your offer."

The three of them had only taken a few steps when they bumped into Li Xiruo, the woman in purple who had also been drawn in the lottery.

Li Xiruo was followed by several girls, who showed no intention of giving way. Instead, they crossed their arms and looked disgusted.

"Some people are just shameless. They know they are disliked, but they still shamelessly try to curry favor with others."

Hearing Li Xiruo's sarcastic remarks, Zhou Yuran directly retorted.

"Hey girl, are you blind or brain-dead? Sister Lin was chosen by lottery just like you, so what are you pretending to be?"

"Hmph, who knows what unspeakable means she used to get chosen? She even dared to dream of asking His Highness to instruct her in swordsmanship—truly shameless." Li Xiruo glanced coldly at Lin Bihua, a disdainful smile playing on her lips. She arrogantly raised her chin, as if displaying her superiority.

“Young lady, I advise you to say less,” Hua Yin said coldly from the side. “This banquet was specially organized by Her Majesty the Empress for His Highness. Are you implying that Her Majesty the Empress’s methods are full of flaws? Or do you mean that you don’t even respect Her Majesty the Empress?”

Upon hearing Hua Yin's words, Li Xiruo's expression changed drastically, and she felt a wave of fear wash over her. Feigning composure, she exclaimed, "You...you shouldn't talk nonsense. The Empress is not someone you can casually mention. Also, I advise you to stay away from Lin Bihua. His Highness has long disliked her, and you might end up being disliked by him as well."

"Heh, I feel that His Highness actually dislikes you more. Otherwise, why would he only invite Sister Lin to the manor on the day off two days later, and not you?"

Li Xiruo was provoked by Zhou Yuran's words. She glared angrily at Zhou Yuran and the other two, her lips twitching. She was unwilling to lose to Lin Bihua; she was the most suitable candidate to be the Princess Consort of Ning.

"Lin Bihua, don't be so smug. His Highness only invited you because of the Lin family behind you. I will prove to you that I will also be invited into the Ning Prince's residence by His Highness," Li Xiruo said through gritted teeth.

Lin Bihua was simply too lazy to argue with her any further. Zhou Yuran and Hua Yin were even more eager to leave and go back for dinner. So, the three of them tacitly chose to remain silent, not wanting to talk to the "crazy woman" in front of them, and silently walked past Li Xiruo and her group, continuing on their way.

Seeing that the three didn't respond and even slunk away in disgrace, Li Xiruo laughed even more triumphantly. She felt that her mockery had worked, making these people feel utterly ashamed.

Hearing the smug laughter behind her, Zhou Yuran rolled her eyes. Just as she was about to say something, she heard Lin Bihua say apologetically, "I'm sorry to have made you suffer with me."

"Oh dear, Sister Lin, you're being so formal with us. It's clearly that girl who's crazy, coming here to cause trouble for no reason. If we weren't in such a hurry to get back to dinner, I would have made her regret coming here."

“That’s right, Sister Lin. This kind of person is not worth our time at all, and we won’t pay any attention to her.”

Lin Bihua felt a little better. "That's good. Li Xiruo and I have never gotten along since we were little. I didn't expect her to still be like this after all these years."

"I initially thought this girl was quite pretty, but it turns out she's brainless. I don't know what the Empress was thinking, choosing her with such low intelligence." Zhou Yuran recalled how Hua Yin had easily provoked Li Xiruo into losing her composure with just a few words. God is fair after all; he gave her excellent looks but couldn't give her extremely high intelligence.

"It can only be said that she has a good background. Li Xiruo is the daughter of a Grand Secretary of the Inner Cabinet. The position of Grand Secretary of the Inner Cabinet is not a simple one. The Empress probably valued her background," Lin Bihua guessed.

"Wait a minute." Hua Yin suddenly grabbed the two people who were walking forward and pulled them quickly to the bushes on the side.

"What's wrong?" Zhou Yuran was a little confused, but seeing Hua Yin's slightly serious expression, she could only ask in a low voice.

"Remember the little tail we found at the door when we came in?" Hua Yin lowered her voice and pointed ahead.

"I just saw that little maid go that way."

Zhou Yuran and Lin Bihua looked in the direction Hua Yin was pointing, but they didn't see anything.

"Are you sure you saw it clearly?" Zhou Yuran asked to confirm.

“Although that little maid walked very fast, I’m sure I didn’t see wrong.” Hua Yin nodded solemnly.

Lin Bihua frowned slightly. "I always thought that little girl was the Empress's person. But now that the Empress is gone, does that mean her master is someone else?"

"Why don't we follow them and see? Maybe we'll find something unexpected," Zhou Yuran suggested excitedly.

"Don't you want to go back for lunch?"

"Hurry up, hurry up! What's lunch compared to an adventure! If we wait any longer, everyone will be long gone."

Zhou Yuran nudged Hua Yin, signaling her to hurry up and lead the way, since she was the only one who had seen the little maid.

Hua Yin glanced at Lin Bihua and noticed a hint of eagerness in the eyes of the composed and dignified Lin Bihua. She had no choice but to lead the two of them toward the direction where the little maid had disappeared.

The three of them were extremely cautious along the way, barely daring to breathe loudly. Hua Yin kept a close eye on the front, Zhou Yuran was responsible for both flanks, and Lin Bihua, the only one with martial arts skills, was responsible for bringing up the rear.

They walked through the long corridor and into a deserted courtyard. The silence was eerie, broken only by the sound of the cold wind rustling through the leaves. They didn't see a single person throughout their journey, not even the little maid from before.

"There's no one around along the way, and this courtyard is kind of creepy. Maybe we should go back and eat." Zhou Yuran shrank her neck, feeling a chill down her spine, and couldn't help but have second thoughts.

Just as the three were about to give up and return the way they came, a strange noise suddenly came from the artificial hill in front of them, followed by the sound of people talking.

Hua Yin and the other two were startled and wanted to hide immediately, but found that there seemed to be no place to hide in the courtyard. Helpless, they could only hurriedly push open the door and quickly hide inside the house.

Fortunately, there were no signs of anyone living in the house. The three of them went to the window and opened it slightly to observe the situation outside.

The maidservant was the first to emerge from behind the artificial hill, followed by two young women, both of whom were acquaintances.

Qin Miao'er and Liu Ruyan, who was just selected

Hua Yin and the others quickly exchanged glances. They hadn't expected Liu Ruyan to be with Qin Miao'er, and they certainly hadn't expected Qin Miao'er to appear in the Shanshui Mingyuan.

"Is the person I'm looking for really not among the people who came today?" Qin Miao'er looked at the little maid, her tone somewhat doubtful.

"The banquet ended a little early today. I... I didn't see the person you're looking for among the people I saw." The maid lowered her head, her eyes darting around, and her voice was so soft it was almost inaudible.

"Sister Qin, don't be angry. This little maid is still useful. Let's finish the task assigned by the sect leader first. If you do this well, I think the sect leader will be happy to help you if you ask for his assistance later."

Qin Miao'er glared fiercely at the little maid and said sternly, "Get lost, don't get in my way."

Ever since she was inexplicably captured and then released by the King of Chu, the sect leader has clearly been holding back on her. He usually only assigns her simple tasks, and now that she's finally got this opportunity, she's determined to complete it flawlessly with all her might.

Thinking of this, Qin Miao'er glanced at Liu Ruyan beside her and said with gratitude, "Sister Ruyan, thank you so much this time. If you hadn't spoken up for me in front of the sect leader, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to complete this mission with you."

"Sister Qin, you're too kind. Ruyan's current success is all thanks to your introduction. However, I'll have to trouble you for a while to serve as my personal maid."

Upon hearing the word "maid," a clear displeasure flashed in Qin Miao'er's eyes, but she quickly concealed it.

"I'm not aggrieved. Everything is done according to the sect leader's orders. Those girls hiding in Mengci Nunnery have been deliberately discovered and rescued by the court as the sect leader intended. The seeds have been sown, and they are just one step away from being harvested."

Liu Ruyan covered her mouth and chuckled, "There will be quite a show to watch then."

The two walked and talked, and didn't realize that there were three more people hiding in the house until they left the yard.

Hua Yin and the others listened to the conversation between the two, and although they only heard part of it, they still gleaned some key information. The three of them looked somewhat grave, wanting to tell Duan Chenke and the others about these things as soon as possible, but also fearing that something might happen while Qin Miao'er and the other person were still far away.

The three of them waited silently in the empty room for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, like ants on a hot pan. After confirming that it was safe around them, they immediately pushed open the door and rushed towards the Chu King's mansion.

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"Where is Duan Chenke? Where is he?" As soon as Zhou Yuran entered the palace, she grabbed a servant and called out the name of the Prince of Chu without thinking.

The servant was taken aback, but seeing Zhou Yuran's anxious expression, he said, "The Prince of Chu is in the small flower hall..."

Before he could finish speaking, he saw Zhou Yuran running quickly towards the small flower hall.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, something terrible has happened!" Zhou Yuran shouted as she rushed into the small flower hall, panting. Upon entering, she discovered that not only was Prince Chu sitting there, but also Prince Ning.

The two princes were looking up at Zhou Yuran, which startled her so much that she forgot her lines.

Hua Yin, who was following closely behind, didn't even bother with the formalities and spoke directly: "We saw Qin Miao'er and Liu Ruyan in the backyard of Shanshui Mingyuan. Qin Miao'er said that the girls in Mengci Nunnery were deliberately discovered and rescued by you."

One word can startle a thousand waves.

Everyone at the table stopped what they were doing, and Jian Yuheng even stood up abruptly, asking, "Are you telling the truth?"

“Absolutely true.” Lin Bihua added from the side, “The three of us heard it together. Moreover, Qin Miao’er said that those rescued girls were like seeds, which have already been sown and are just one step away from reaping the harvest.”

“No wonder…” Xuan Yi stroked his chin and recalled, “No wonder the black-clad team suddenly left that night, leaving only two of them. It turns out they deliberately set a trap for us to take the bait.”

"Where in the Shanshui Mingyuan did you meet Qin Miao'er?" Duan Chenke, who hadn't spoken yet, asked.

"They seem to have come out from the artificial hill in the backyard. We first heard a noise coming from the artificial hill, and then we heard their voices." Zhou Yuran told them all about their discovery.

"An artificial hill?" Duan Chenke repeated softly.

Zhou Yuran: "I heard that Shanshui Mingyuan and the back mountain of Shaolin Temple are connected, but we didn't expect that there would be a mechanism in the rockery in the backyard."

Jian Yuheng took the initiative to speak, saying, "Although Shanshui Mingyuan is a newly built residence this year, it was completed at the beginning of the year. Apart from the Empress occasionally using it to hold some banquets, it is empty most of the time. The courtyard is large, but the guards are limited. It is not impossible for someone to secretly open a passage or something."

Zhou Yuran silently placed the token that Duan Chenke had given her before she left on the table in front of him.

Duan Chenke glanced at the token and said to Prince Ning, "Brother, I think it's not advisable to launch a large-scale investigation into this matter. Right now, the enemy is in the shadows while we are in the open, so we must be careful with every step we take."

"That's hard to say. We can just sneak in for a stroll tonight," Xuan Yi replied without hesitation.

Duan Chenke cupped his hands in greeting to Xuan Yi, "Then we'll have to trouble Palace Master Xuan to investigate for us."

“I charge for my missions, and I don’t think the King of Chu would renege on his promise.”

Duan Chenke smiled slightly, "Of course, I just don't know if there's anything in my storeroom that the Xuan Palace Master would like."

"Haha, the Prince's treasury is full of treasures, so of course there are some. Old Jiang, how about we go on a nighttime raid on the scenic garden?" Xuan Yi turned and asked.

"Go." Jiang Si nodded without hesitation. After all, the Prince of Chu's storeroom wasn't a place one could just walk into.

Last time, Ayan was very envious and wanted to go see it. This time, I finally had the chance to bring Ayan along.