Chapter 353: Happenings in Shangjing (10)

Wuma Jun felt that he had already probed for the information he wanted. He maintained his composure. The anxiety in his heart had been relieved, and he looked more relaxed than before. However, Princess An Yina, who had been silent, stole a glance at Jiang Pengji, who happened to be looking at her as well.

“Is she… your beloved concubine?” Jiang Pengji asked deliberately.

She was dressed in women’s clothing, and she seemed to be very close to Wuma Jun. Ordinary people would have had such thoughts.

Wuma Jun quickly clarified, “That isn’t something to joke about. If my second brother heard that, he’d definitely be jealous. This is my second sister-in-law. She left the palace this morning to climb the Guanyin Mountain to ask for the Buddha’s mercy. We happened to run into each other when she came back to the city, so I’m thinking of going back to the palace with her.” He did not explain further as to why they did not return to the residence of the second prince, but came to the teahouse instead.

Jiang Pengji was suddenly enlightened. She replied frankly and apologetically, “Oh, she’s the second princess. I was rude just now. Please forgive me.”

An Yina took the opportunity to stare at Jiang Pengji from head to toe. She was only at ease after confirming that there was nothing abnormal about her facial expression.

“It’s okay. Langjun can’t be blamed for being suspicious because of the situation. It’s indeed my fault.” An Yina did not really let Jiang Pengji bow and apologize to her. She smiled sweetly and let the matter slip.

“Did you hear anything just now?” An Yina suddenly asked. She was still smiling, and she bent her fingers like an orchid. She stroked the hair on her temples behind her ears.

Judging from her behavior, she did not look panicked or guilty at all; it was as if she was asking about the weather. She observed Jiang Pengji’s reaction and facial expression with her enchanting eyes.

Jiang Pengji was very experienced. She would not be swindled by such a simple trick. She frowned in a seemingly puzzled manner. Her eyes that shone like lacquer were full of doubts. She asked, “Hear what?”

An Yina was relieved upon seeing her reaction. She secretly heaved a sigh of relief.

Her mind spun, and she was thinking about a suitable reason for her question. She prevaricated, “When I was resting in the room next door, I vaguely heard a rustling noise. However, I was too tired from worshipping Guanyin this morning, so I couldn’t open my eyes for a second. After quite some time, I realized that I lost a valuable item when I woke up. There must have been a thief…” She smiled bitterly as she was explaining, as if it was a very important thing that was stolen.

“There’s a thief in the teahouse?” Jiang Pengji frowned and asked seriously, “What did you lose? If it’s a personal item, your reputation may be negatively affected if the thief spreads it to the public. You must catch him as soon as possible.”

An Yina pursed her lips. “Thank you for your concern. The thief might know the consequences, so he didn’t steal anything valuable; he only stole a few purses. I’ve only lost some ordinary belongings, but… But, there was a handful of soil that I brought from my hometown in my purse. I always bring it with me to remind myself to not forget my roots. Now that it was stolen by the thief, I’m in a panic…”

An Yina left her hometown by herself and married into Dongqing. No one could say that it was bad of her to bring her hometown’s soil with her to cherish the memories she made there.

Jiang Pengji could not help but be moved. She sighed a little and said, “Your marriage to Dongqing is a bond of friendship between the two countries. However, it’s hard for one to leave their hometown, so you brought some soil from your hometown with you. Your noble action makes me feel deeply ashamed. I want to help you with this, but I didn’t hear any unusual noise when I was having tea with Xiaoyu in the tea room. Why don’t we ask the manservant in the hall?”

An Yina knew how good the soundproofing of the teahouse was. Otherwise, she would not have picked such a place to meet Wuma Jun.

She kept probing Jiang Pengji until she was sure that Jiang Pengji and Xu Ke really did not hear them. The doubts in her mind finally disappeared.

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She nodded with a smile, revealing a frail, worried look. “If that’s the case, I better not trouble you. I’ll get someone to investigate it later. If I can’t get it back, I can only accept it as God’s will. I heard that your sister is going to marry into the royal family. By then, we’ll be relatives, so you should come visit often. It’s getting late now. I should return to the residence so that my husband won’t be worried.”

An Yina purposely mentioned the daughter born of the mistress of the Liu residence, Liu Huan. Jiang Pengji answered in a proper manner, “You’re right.” Jiang Pengji smiled somewhat embarrassedly and replied humbly, “She’s too spoiled at home, so she has a bad temper. Please take care of her after she gets married. I’ll be very grateful.”

An Yina tittered, and covered her mouth with her handkerchief. She somewhat glared at Jiang Pengji with a moving look in her eyes. “Your sister’s husband is here. He should be the one taking care of her.” An Yina got up, as if she was going to leave.

Wuma Jun acted like he was blushing. He realistically portrayed a man who was about to get married.

Xu Ke, who was in the background, calmly watched the three of them rival against each other. He sat quietly without looking sideways, as if he was watching a show.

He only acknowledged Jiang Pengji’s acting skills. The shameless couple, An Yina and Wuma Jun, could not be underestimated, either.

Well, they were able to meet each other in secret without being caught. If they did not know how to act, they would have been exposed already. How could they be so free and unfettered?

Seeing that An Yina and Wuma Jun were making excuses to leave, Xu Ke and Jiang Pengji got up to see them off.

However, God did not seem to favor An Yina and Wuma Jun. They could not leave in peace. A servant girl stopped them, somewhat embarrassed, and bowed to them.

“What’s going on downstairs?” Jiang Pengji played with the sandalwood fan in her hands. She unfolded and shut it while she spoke to the servant girl indifferently. “If there isn’t an explanation and you’re stopping the four of us for no reason, I’ll deal with your boss directly.”

Cold sweat was trickling down the servant girl’s back. She replied in fear and trepidation, “Please don’t be angry. Unruly people are creating trouble downstairs. I only venture to stop you in order to prevent you from getting injured.”

“Creating trouble?” Jiang Pengji smiled. “I remember that this property is under the name Prince Changshou. Someone actually dares to create trouble here?” As she was speaking, there was a clank downstairs, as if something had been smashed. Jiang Pengji walked past the servant girl and went downstairs to check out the scene.

“Xiaoyu, protect the fourth prince and the second princess. Don’t let anyone attack them.” Before leaving, she even gave Xu Ke a command.

The command made Wuma Jun and An Yina’s plan of leaving through the back door fall to pieces.

They could only summon up the courage to follow her downstairs.

In the hall, the performers, who were playing music, and the dancers, who were dancing, had already fled in a panic and hid in the corner.

It was originally a place for people to paint. Now, two groups of people were confronting each other with daggers. The atmosphere was tense.

“What’s going on?” Jiang Pengji asked a manservant in a low voice while she watched the two groups of people.

The manservant looked extremely horrified. He was quivering while hiding in the corner, and he did not dare to go forward and ease the conflict between the two groups of people.