Rongrong’s hand trembled, and some tea spilled from the cup she was holding.

She wiped it with a handkerchief and asked, “What major issue? Is it related to you?”

“It’s not directly related to me,” Zhenzhen said with a worried look, “but yesterday, for some unknown reason, after the heir and the third young lady returned from the Eastern Palace, the heir locked the third young lady in the ancestral hall.”

Locking someone in the ancestral hall is considered a severe punishment for a young lady.

Rongrong hadn’t been at the Jingning Marquis’s residence for long but knew that Xie Yuanrui was extremely favored there.

Yesterday, the Jingning Marquis’s people were fine when they went to the Eastern Palace, but when they returned, Xie Yuanrui was locked up.

Did something happen in the Eastern Palace that made Xie Yuanrui furious?

This must be a major issue; otherwise, Xie Yuanrui wouldn’t have gone to such lengths as to lock her in the ancestral hall.

A mere scolding would have sufficed.

“Doesn’t the marquis and the marquisess care that the heir locked the third young lady in the ancestral hall?” Rongrong asked.

“What’s strange is that you know the marquis and the marquisess have always been very indulgent with the third young lady and would do anything she said, but this time they didn’t stop him.

Last night, the heir didn’t return to his study but stayed in the marquis’s study all night.

This morning, the heir arranged a carriage to send the third young lady out of the capital, saying she would stay in her hometown in Weicheng for a while.”

The Xie family’s ancestral home is in Weicheng, about seven or eight hundred miles from the capital.

The marquis’s family only goes back to pay respects every four or five years, and due to the long distance, it’s mostly the marquis and the heir who return, rarely the womenfolk.

Xie Yuanrui went once with the marquis when she was young but refused to go again.

Sending Xie Yuanrui to such a distant place clearly means they don’t plan to bring her back soon.

“The people in the marquis’s residence are in a panic, not knowing what exactly happened, and the marquis and marquisess are punishing the third young lady so severely,” Zhenzhen sighed deeply, “I was wondering if something happened in the Eastern Palace when they visited.”

Zhenzhen’s words truly shocked Rongrong, making her more convinced that what happened yesterday was closely related to Xie Yuanrui.

The Empress had originally favored Xie Yuanrui as the Crown Princess, although it was never explicitly stated, it was clearly implied.

However, Liang Muchen was chosen by the Emperor himself; once the Emperor made his choice, it was final and unchangeable.

Because of this, Xie Yuanrui harboring resentment towards Liang Muchen is understandable.

But some things just don’t add up.

Did Xie Yuanrui want to kill two birds with one stone, removing Liang Muchen and then framing herself?

It’s indeed a clever plan, but Xie Yuanrui is a sheltered young lady who rarely steps outside; how could she orchestrate such a big scheme in the Eastern Palace?

Not to mention the eunuch in the grassland, Xie Yuanrui would have no way of knowing about such a minor eunuch in the Eastern Palace.

How could she have bribed or manipulated him?

Such a grand scheme is absolutely beyond Xie Yuanrui’s capabilities.

Zhenzhen, lost in her own thoughts, didn’t notice Rongrong’s expression and continued self-pityingly, “The other day I told the heir that I wanted to redeem myself. He got so angry he smashed an inkstone and told me not to mention it again.

I was planning to wait until he calmed down to bring it up again.

But now, with this trouble at the marquis’s residence and the heir sending the third young lady away, it may be a month or two before she returns.

Rongrong, do you think I should redeem myself or not? Rongrong?”

“Ah, what did you say?” Rongrong finally came to her senses, realizing she hadn’t heard a word of Zhenzhen’s previous statement.

“I said, should I redeem myself?” Zhenzhen noticed that Rongrong hadn’t been listening and tilted her head, observing her. “What are you thinking about?”

“There was indeed an incident in the Eastern Palace yesterday. Miss Liang from the Wei Yuan Marquis’s residence fell into the water.”

Zhenzhen immediately thought of the punishment received by Xie Yuanrui and was startled.

She covered her mouth, speaking much more softly, “Fell into the water? Could this be related to Miss Yuanrui?”

“Who knows? The Crown Prince should investigate it.” Rongrong smiled. “These matters don’t concern us. Don’t dwell on them.”

Yesterday, the Crown Prince took Xie Yuanchu to the study after sending Rongrong back to Yuhua Palace.

If it was truly Xie Yuanrui’s doing, the Crown Prince would know and have an appropriate way to handle it, so there’s no need for her to worry.

“Indeed.” Zhenzhen nodded.

Everyone knew about Xie Yuanrui’s obsession with the Crown Prince. Zhenzhen stopped talking after saying this.

Rongrong was right; she was just a maid, and such matters were not for her to ponder.

Actually, Zhenzhen came in a hurry today because she was worried about Rongrong. Seeing Rongrong so calm, it seemed she had overreacted.

“Isn’t the Young Master at home today?”

“He left this morning with Miss Yuanrui. Wei Cheng is too far, and the Marquis’s residence wouldn’t feel at ease letting Miss Yuanrui travel alone.” When mentioning Xie Yuanchu, Zhenzhen’s voice became much quieter. “Since Miss Yuanrui caused such a commotion, if I went to find the Madam of the Marquis and mentioned redeeming myself, they might not pay any attention.”

This morning, when Xie Yuanchu returned to the study to get something, Zhenzhen had a brief encounter with him.

He hadn’t slept all night; his eyes were bloodshot, and his face was very haggard.

When he saw Zhenzhen, he didn’t say a word and just turned away.

Zhenzhen regretted not speaking to him this morning.

Rongrong suddenly had an idea, “Why don’t you talk to Mrs. Wang?”

Mrs. Wang had always disliked Zhenzhen.

Now, with Xie Yuanchu away, if Zhenzhen redeemed herself and left, Mrs. Wang could take advantage of the situation without bearing the reputation of jealousy, easily gaining some favor.

But Zhenzhen hesitated, finally saying, “After all, I am the Young Master’s maid. If I redeem myself and leave while he’s away, it’s like going against him.”

Rongrong understood that Zhenzhen was reluctant to make such a decision due to her feelings for Xie Yuanchu and stopped urging her.

Zhenzhen was quiet for a moment, then suddenly said, “In all the talk about my situation, I almost forgot about the important matter!”

“What important matter?”

Seeing that there was no one else in the tea room, Zhenzhen pulled Rongrong closer and lowered her voice, “Yesterday, someone came to the Marquis’s residence looking for me and asked me to come to the Eastern Palace to seek your help.”

“Help? What kind of help?” Rongrong was puzzled.

Zhenzhen took a folded envelope from her waist and handed it to Rongrong. “Take a look at this first.”

Rongrong opened the envelope and took out a letter with only a few lines written on it: “If something happens to me, go to the Eastern Palace and seek Rongrong for help.”

The letter was unsigned, only adorned with a small plum blossom embroidered with silver thread.

Rongrong recognized the plum blossom. It was the same pattern that often appeared on Mei Ningxiang’s clothing and handkerchiefs.

At first glance, it seemed ordinary, but the center of the flower was actually the character (fragrance).

The letter was thin and soft, and such a delicate plum blossom could only have been embroidered by Mei Ningxiang herself.

“Where did this letter come from?”

“It was brought to me by an embroiderer named Qiuyue. She said that the owner of the embroidery shop has been missing for days, and the authorities suspect he has been murdered and are preparing to close the case and seal the house. She found the letter while cleaning up the house. She didn’t dare come to the Eastern Palace to find you and only remembered the Jingning Marquis’s residence, so she came to me, asking if you were here. Seeing her urgency, I was afraid she wouldn’t be allowed to see you if she came to the Eastern Palace, so I took the letter.”

Rongrong looked at the letter, her brow furrowing slightly.

How did Mei Ningxiang know she was in the Eastern Palace?

Rongrong remembered she had never revealed any information to Mei Ningxiang. If there was any connection, it was that night during the Lantern Festival when the Crown Prince had returned her to Huaihua Alley…

Indeed, after the Lantern Festival, a series of events occurred: Yu Jingming suddenly left, Mei Ningxiang abruptly turned against her and drove her out of Huaihua Alley, and then Mei Ningxiang mysteriously disappeared.

Could Yu Jingming and Mei Ningxiang have something to do with the Crown Prince?

Or did they have some sort of conflict?

She recalled that when Emerald revealed her identity, she mentioned that she was not there to monitor Rongrong but to assist the Crown Prince with another task and to stay close to Rongrong as a cover.

When Feicui arrived, Rongrong was still living in Huaihua Alley.

Feicui moved into Huaihua Alley, and it made sense that she might be monitoring Mei Ningxiang and Yu Jingming.

Now, the Xue family residence, which Feicui had arranged, was just across the street from Huaihua Alley, making it seem like an uncanny coincidence.

As she pondered, Rongrong’s heart skipped a beat.

Could the assassin who attacked the Crown Prince and Yuanbao have been Yu Jingming?

Rongrong didn’t know how skilled Yu Jingming was, but she had a strong intuition that his skills were likely very impressive, even enough to confront the Crown Prince.

Seeing Rongrong’s distressed expression, Zhenzhen hurriedly asked, “Rongrong, did I get you into trouble?”

Rongrong shook her head.

Seeing Rongrong’s reaction, Zhenzhen knew she had indeed caused trouble and immediately felt guilty. “I was just thinking that since Mei’s shopkeeper used to be close with you, I brought the letter to you. Rongrong, why don’t you just burn it and pretend I never showed it to you?”

“Burn it, then. Let’s burn it first.” Rongrong picked up the teapot, threw the letter into the stove, and watched it turn to ash inch by inch.

Only then did she feel a sense of relief. “If Qiuyue comes looking for you again, just say the letter has been delivered.”

“Okay, I understand. Rongrong, are you really okay?” Zhenzhen asked with concern.

“I’m really fine. Mei’s shopkeeper had been kind to me, so I’m worried about her too. If there’s a chance, I’ll definitely ask about it. But this matter is very serious, so it’s better to destroy the letter,” Rongrong said, only revealing part of her thoughts.

She was indeed worried about Mei Ningxiang, but if Yu Jingming was truly the assassin who attacked the Crown Prince and Yuanbao, she would hate him so much that she wouldn’t want to help them.

“Rongrong, I’ve added more trouble for you,” Zhenzhen said, looking down.

Rongrong snapped out of her thoughts, noticed Zhenzhen’s expression, and took her hand. “It’s nothing. I spend all my time in the Eastern Palace and don’t know much about what’s happening outside. You should come visit more often and talk to me.”

“Rongrong, is it really okay?”

“It’s fine. I was just lost in thought and recalled some unrelated matters, which aren’t really connected to the letter.”

Zhenzhen finally felt relieved. “Then I’ll head back to the Marquis’s residence.”

“Alright, I’ll see you off.” Rongrong firmly took Zhenzhen’s hand, stood up, and walked with her towards the exit. “You must come see me more often. At least three or four times a month.”

During the day, with Yuanbao not in the Eastern Palace, Rongrong felt extremely bored, only writing scripts.

Su Xin, who liked to flatter her, would only talk about what Rongrong liked to hear, and after a while, she didn’t even want to talk to Su Xin anymore.

Seeing Zhenzhen’s reassurance, Rongrong knew she wasn’t angry with her and felt relieved.

“Since the heir is away, I can use the time off I’ve saved up to come see you. With the current unrest in the Marquis’s residence and Wang Yilan not taking charge, it’s much easier for me to go out than before.”

“That’s settled then.” Rongrong accompanied Zhenzhen to the back gate of the Eastern Palace and even gave a red envelope to the guards, instructing them to take good care of Zhenzhen in the future.

After seeing Zhenzhen off, Rongrong became worried again.

How should she bring up Mei Ningxiang’s situation with the Crown Prince?