"Where on earth are those masked men just now?"
"What if they're waiting for us near the prince's mansion? Wouldn't we be walking straight into a trap?"
"Right now, the safest thing we can do is to find Father."
"Besides, this is just an ordinary carriage. Those masked men won't know we're in here!"
Xiao Yun'an covered Xiao Yunming's mouth with his hand and whispered an explanation to her.
"Don't cry. If those masked men hear us, we're done for."
Xiao Yun'an gave Xiao Yunming a warning look and then let go of his hand.
He was extremely annoyed.
If he hadn't promised his mother - concubine, he really wouldn't have wanted to go out with his sister.
Women were such a hassle!
When something happened, all they knew was to cry.
They couldn't be of any help at all!
Xiao Yun'an turned his head and observed the street outside.
After hearing her brother's words, Xiao Yunming immediately felt relieved.
She picked up the pastry in her hand and took a small bite.
"Um, brother, it's so delicious!"
Xiao Yunming picked up another piece of pastry from the oil - paper bag and offered it to Xiao Yun'an.
Xiao Yun'an was a bit surprised that his sister, who usually liked to eat all by herself, was being so generous today and giving him a piece.
For some reason, he felt a bit better.
"Well, it is indeed good," Xiao Yun'an said after taking a bite.
"The taste is exactly the same as the ones we had at grandmother's place!"
As a little girl, Xiao Yunming naturally loved these sweet and glutinous pastries.
"Brother, do you think the shopkeeper of that place just now was from the palace?"
Xiao Yun'an was taken aback for a moment.
He recalled the shopkeeper. There was not a trace of effeminacy about him.
He wasn't a palace eunuch.
He carefully went through all the people he had seen just now.
There was no one from the palace.
People who had stayed in the palace all had something in common.
They were extremely cautious in their words and deeds, very careful when dealing with people and things, and were also good at reading people's expressions.
But none of the people just now had such characteristics.
"Brother, do you think if we hadn't left and just stayed in the shop, we would have been safe?
"Those masked men definitely wouldn't have dared to offend people from the palace!"
Seeing that her brother didn't say anything, Xiao Yunming thought she was right.
She couldn't help but regret leaving.
If they had stayed in the shop, they wouldn't have had to be so scared, and they would have had a chance to taste all the other pastries.
How wonderful that would have been!
Xiao Yunming pursed her lips and didn't say a word.
Because she noticed that the direction of the carriage was not towards the palace.
There was a small partition behind the pastry shop.
Duoduo and Lüdou were quietly peeping out from inside.
"Princess, there are so many people!"
"Princess, the mung - bean cakes are sold out!"
"Princess..."
Lüdou covered her mouth. Her voice was trembling with excitement.
Duoduo's eyes curved into a smile. She grabbed Lüdou's hand. "Lüdou, you did it!"
Lüdou clasped Duoduo's hand back. She couldn't say a word, but just nodded excitedly at Duoduo.
At this time, a figure walked towards the partition.
Duoduo quickly made a gesture, signaling Lüdou not to make a sound.
"Princess, it's me," came Liqing's voice from outside the door.
Duoduo breathed a sigh of relief. She opened the door and let Liqing in.
Lüdou looked at Liqing excitedly, eager to hear some good news from him.
Liqing saluted Duoduo very politely.
"Princess, just now, the young master and young lady of Prince Ling's mansion were being chased by masked men and took shelter in the shop."
Both Duoduo and Lüdou widened their eyes.
From their partition, they could only hear the sounds outside but couldn't see what was going on.
Duoduo blinked her eyes.
"Where are they now?
"And did those masked men find them in the shop outside?"
Liqing quickly replied.
"No, the masked men didn't find them.
"And they came in and bought two pieces of pastry. Then they asked the waiter to hire a carriage and left."
Duoduo let out a sigh of relief.
She didn't want the matter of Xiao Yun'an and his sister to spoil the great opening day of her shop.
"However, Shitou followed them."
"He asked me to come and ask the princess if you want...?"
Liqing made a gesture.
When Lüdou saw Liqing's gesture, her eyes widened again.
Duoduo thought for a while.
"Have you found out the origin of those masked men?" she didn't answer but instead asked a question.
A look of surprise flashed across Liqing's eyes very quickly. He quickly lowered his head.
"We've sent people to check, but there's no news yet."
After hearing this, Duoduo quickly gave an order.
"Tell Shitou to come back right away!"
Liqing was stunned for a moment. He suddenly raised his head and looked at Duoduo.
"Don't just stand there! Go quickly!" Duoduo frowned slightly.
"Yes!" After saluting, Liqing quickly walked out.
Lüdou closed the door, looking worried.
"Princess, those people are so persistent!
"Thank goodness, Commandery Princess Anning and the others left. Otherwise, our shop would have been in trouble."
Lüdou really cared about their shop now.
Since the shop could make money, she was one step closer to her dream of buying a house.
She was also one step closer to being a strong support for Duoduo.
On the other hand, Duoduo frowned.
Shitou hadn't reported the matter to her first!
This kind of behavior of acting first and reporting later really annoyed Duoduo.
On the other side, Xiao Yunming saw her brother suddenly move closer to her ear.
Xiao Yunming couldn't help but dodge to the side.
"Brother, why are you getting so close? It's so hot!"
She pushed Xiao Yun'an's face away in disgust.
Xiao Yun'an glared at his sister and desperately winked at her.
Xiao Yunming was completely confused. "Brother, what's wrong with your eyes? Are you in pain?"
Xiao Yun'an was about to be driven crazy by his sister's stupidity.
He tightly grabbed his sister's hand and then loudly asked the coachman.
"Where are you taking us?"
Hearing her brother's words, Xiao Yunming was completely puzzled.
"Brother, aren't we going to the palace?"
"You're so stupid. This isn't the way to the palace!" Xiao Yun'an had no choice but to make it clear.
The coachman's voice came from outside.
"Sir, I'm taking a shortcut.
"Once we get out of this alley, we'll be at the palace gate!"
The coachman explained calmly.
"Stop! We want to get off!" Xiao Yun'an felt very uneasy and told the coachman to stop the carriage.
"Sir, we haven't arrived yet."
"No! We're not going anymore. We want to get off right now!"
Xiao Yun'an grabbed Xiao Yunming's hand, lifted the carriage curtain, and was about to jump out.
"Whoa!"
The coachman pulled the reins to stop the carriage.
Xiao Yun'an was a bit stunned. He grabbed Xiao Yunming and got off the carriage.
This was a long alley, and at the end of it was a broad street.
Xiao Yun'an grabbed Xiao Yunming and ran forward quickly.
Shitou looked at their figures and signaled the coachman.
"Let's go. Head back."
The coachman looked regretful. "What a pity. Such a good opportunity!"
Shitou patted the coachman on the shoulder. "Let's go."
Xiao Yun'an pulled Xiao Yunming along, running forward while warily looking behind them.
At this moment in the palace, Prince Ling received the news that his son and daughter were missing.
