Chapter 210
Xu Heming frowned as he looked at the letter in his hand, then at the unfamiliar guard.
He had never seen this person before.
And this letter didn't seem to be prepared by Steward Liu either.
"Who sent you to deliver this letter?" Xu Heming asked the newcomer with a face full of suspicion.
He suspected it might be someone trying to scheme against him.
Otherwise, why would they send a letter saying The Old Princess was in trouble?
When he left the capital, he had left enough people to protect his mother.
With Nanny Luo and Doctor Zhang still in the residence, it was impossible for his mother to be in danger.
Yet, the man's attire was undoubtedly that of the Prince's mansion.
Xu Heming couldn't help but feel some worry for The Old Princess's safety.
Qingsong also found the guard strange; he hadn't seen him before either.
"How is The Old Princess's condition now? Did Steward Liu send you?" Qingsong deliberately asked with a concerned expression.
"Yes, Steward Liu sent this subordinate. The Old Princess's condition is not very good. Please return to the capital as soon as possible, Your Highness," the guard, who originally didn't know how to respond, quickly said, guided by Qingsong's words.
He thought to himself, thankfully he was clever, otherwise he would have given himself away.
However, how would he know how The Old Princess was? He wasn't a guard from this Prince's mansion at all; he was from the Lanhuai Prince's mansion.
He was just running an errand for Zheng Qiaoshu.
He just didn't expect that merely delivering a letter would make Prince An so suspicious.
As soon as the guard finished speaking, Xu Heming and Qingsong saw mutual suspicion towards the guard in each other's eyes.
This person could absolutely not have been sent by Steward Liu.
But then, who sent this person with the letter?
"This letter was given to this subordinate by Steward Liu and the Young Miss to deliver," seeing Xu Heming's apparent disbelief, the guard hurriedly added.
Young Miss?
Xu Heming: Zheng Qiaoshu?
Qingsong frowned, thinking this letter was probably sent on the Young Miss's orders, right?
Otherwise, why would Steward Liu not have sealed it with his private stamp? Could it be that The Old Princess was actually fine?
"We are aware of the matter now. Thank you for your trouble. You can go rest at an inn later. We will make preparations before returning to the capital," Qingsong said to the guard with a smile.
The guard was puzzled. Why should he stay at an inn?
Couldn't he stay at the Li family residence?
Xu Heming could not possibly trust this person of unknown identity, let alone bring him to the Li family.
What if he made a move against Li Zhiwei and the others? Xu Heming would regret it endlessly.
"Someone, take this young man to an inn to rest," Qingsong ordered, and someone immediately led the guard away.
As they left, Qingsong signaled to the man to keep an eye on this person.
For now, they suspected this man had problems.
"Your Highness, do you think this man's words are credible?" After the man left, Qingsong asked cautiously, looking at Xu Heming.
"We'll discuss it inside," Xu Heming frowned and strode towards the Li family residence.
Arriving at the courtyard where they were staying, Xu Heming's tightly knitted brows never relaxed.
"Send a carrier pigeon message to the capital to inquire about the situation there, about how The Old Princess is now."
After saying this, Xu Heming's heart sank. He both hoped this matter wasn't true, yet also worried his mother might really be in trouble.
As for the letter the guard delivered, Xu Heming didn't open it and tossed it aside.
"Your Highness, aren't you going to see what's written in the letter?" Qingsong glanced at the letter and asked carefully.
"No need. We'll wait for the news from the capital."
Xu Heming didn't look at the letter again. Since he didn't trust the messenger, he wouldn't trust the letter's contents either.
Qingsong looked at the letter. Their communication with the capital always had its own special methods; this letter, however, was delivered by a person.
It was indeed suspicious.
Qingsong glanced at the letter once more, then without hesitation went to send the carrier pigeon message to the capital.
However, the round trip would take time. He wondered how The Old Princess was faring in the capital.
Xu Heming returned to his room and took out the diagram Yao Qisheng had given him.
The diagram looked like a topographic map of some area.
There were some notes written on it that Xu Heming didn't quite understand at the moment.
Remembering what Yao Qisheng had said when he gave it to him...
Xu Heming couldn't see anything particularly special about the diagram.
However, he noticed one location was marked very prominently.
Could there be something there?
Ever since learning they were about to return to the capital, Xu Qingshi had wanted to ask Xu Heming when they would leave.
But when he came, he found no one in the room.
He only saw a letter lying lonely on the table.
"What's this?" Without a second thought, Xu Qingshi opened the letter. Unfortunately, he couldn't read the contents.
He only recognized the character for 'King' or 'Prince'.
Moyu beside him shook his head; he couldn't read it either.
"Let's go find the pretty sister," Xu Qingshi said, thinking of The Old Princess.
He wanted to know if this letter was from The Old Princess telling him to return to the capital.
"Young Master, this letter is for His Highness. Is it alright for you to take it?" Moyu asked worriedly.
"I'll have the pretty sister help me look at it, then return it later. This letter must be from Grandmother, written for me," Xu Qingshi insisted on his plan, wanting to know if Grandmother had any words for him in the letter.
Capital
Nanny Luo finally breathed a sigh of relief seeing The Old Princess's complexion improve slightly.
Only then did she turn to look at Liu Ming and Xiuhong, who both had unpleasant expressions, and Li Tianyou sitting to the side, looking very impatient.
"Respected Elder Li, my apologies. Just now, this old servant was only concerned about my Old Princess's condition and neglected you," Nanny Luo first addressed Li Tianyou.
"If The Old Princess is fine, what does a little grievance for me here matter?" Li Tianyou's words carried a barb. After all, that so-called Young Miss of the mansion had accused him of trying to harm The Old Princess!
Thinking of this, a fire burned in Li Tianyou's heart with no outlet.
He had only come to ask The Old Princess if there was any news from Li'an County. He never expected to become a suspect.
What grudge did he have with The Old Princess to want to harm her?
"Respected Elder Li, what are you saying? Steward Liu, what is going on here?" Nanny Luo asked, looking puzzled at Liu Ming, who had been standing there with a dark, unhappy expression.
"Nanny Luo, the Young Miss accused me of poisoning The Old Princess. When I arrived earlier, I heard Xiuzhu's scream and rushed over to check. I found The Old Princess looking unwell and having vomited blood, seeming like she was poisoned. That's why I gave her the All-Purpose Antidote Pill. Who would have thought the Young Miss, without distinguishing right from wrong, insisted that I, along with Elder Li and Xiuhong, poisoned The Old Princess. The injury at the corner of The Old Princess's mouth was caused when the Young Miss tried to dig the antidote pill out," Liu Ming said with a face full of grievance, pointing to the injury on The Old Princess's mouth.
Hearing Liu Ming's words, Nanny Luo looked puzzled at Zheng Qiaoshu beside her.
"Young Miss?"
Nanny Luo frowned, a feeling arising in her heart: Why did it seem like the Young Miss was terribly afraid that The Old Princess's poison would be cured?
