Setting Their Sights
Mercy to the enemy is cruelty to oneself.
Madam, this is the best teammate to fight alongside you.
Qingfeng is the naive and innocent type. Although she briefly mentioned what happened last night, she didn't know that it was all the work of the First Madam, nor did she understand the meaning behind Xu Xi's words. She only thought that her young lady was praising the First Madam for upholding her principles and withstanding the pressure from the Second Madam to punish Qingliu.
None of that concerned her; she only cared about her young mistress. "How are you doing at the academy, young lady? Are you eating and sleeping well?"
"I'm fine. Madam Xiao specifically instructed that the academy's nanny accompany me to ensure my safety; she also sent Miss Xiaoru to serve me. She even brought me a lavish breakfast just now. Go back and tell the Old Madam and the First Madam not to worry about me."
Because today is a ten-day break, all the girls who stayed at the academy last night were picked up by their families, and the entire academy is empty.
Fortunately, the old women patrolling the academy and guarding the gates and courtyards were all there; Madam Xiao also entrusted two old women from the academy to take care of Xu Xi at a high price, Xiaoru stayed until she went to bed last night before leaving.
Last night's dinner was at the jewelry store, and Xiaoru specially ordered breakfast to be made and delivered, so her life is not a problem at all.
In fact, having studied away from home and lived alone for many years in her previous life, Xu Xi had mastered all the essential life skills. Even without these special considerations, Xu Xi could still live a very good life.
Xu Xi spoke, she began to urge Qingfeng to leave, "Alright, you can go back now. I'm going to the jewelry store; the Prince's carriage is here to pick me up."
Qingfeng looked in the direction Xu Xi was pointing and sure enough, a magnificent carriage was parked next to her, and a pretty maidservant dressed much better than her was getting off the carriage.
"Then, young lady, this servant will return now."
Seeing Qingfeng droop his head like an abandoned puppy as he boarded the carriage, Xu Xi couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Let's go." She got into the carriage and went to the jewelry store.
This carriage belongs to Madam Xiao. However, it's not the one she usually uses, but a spare. It looks quite new.
"Proprietor Xu, Shopkeeper Huang, did you both see clearly? It was indeed Miss Xu just entered through that door. I'm not mistaken, am I?" The doorman of the Abundant and Prosperous Pavilion said to Xu Xinda and Huang Xing.
A while ago, the silk shop across the street, which had been doing brisk business, suddenly closed down and took down its signboard. After that, people kept going in and out of the shop, and there were "clinking and banging" sounds coming from inside, as if they were rearranging the shop. This made the people at the Abundant and Prosperous Pavilion very curious, but they couldn't find out anything by asking around.
Xu Xinda's Abundant and Prosperous Pavilion was passed down from his father and had been there for thirty or forty years; the silk shop across the street was also an old establishment, having opened even earlier than Abundant and Prosperous Pavilion. Xu Xinda and his father knew both the old and new owners of that shop, and they greeted each other when they met. They both knew that the owner of the silk shop was a nobleman in the capital, but as for who he was, they had asked, but the owner wouldn't say, and they didn't dare to inquire further.
But suddenly, the shop closed down. And the owner disappeared without a word. This made Xu Xinda very uneasy, and he didn't dare to inquire too much about the shop across the street.
Unexpectedly, yesterday evening, the gatekeeper reported that they had seen Miss Xu, who came to the shop to sell jewelry designs, going in and out of the opposite door.
This Miss Xu, she herself revealed her true identity last time, and Huang Xing also verified it through the Second Young Master's people. She is indeed a young lady of the Marquis of Suiping's Residence. However, she is from a concubine's branch, and her background is bizarre. She was switched at birth and raised in the countryside, and was only recently brought back to the Marquis's mansion. She is currently studying at the Women's Academy in Beining.
The Miss Xu was none other than Zhao Ruyu, the young lady from the Marquis of Suiping's Residence whom the Second Young Master was deeply in love with.
This made Xu Xinda and Huang Xing even more suspicious, so they decided to see for themselves. Since it was the academy's day off, the two of them deliberately sat by the window upstairs, hoping to try their luck. Unexpectedly, they actually saw this Miss Xu being brought over in a magnificent carriage.
"Whose carriage is this?" Xu Xinda asked Huang Xing.
Huang Xing examined it for a long time and shook his head. "There are no markings, so it's unclear. But those who can afford such horses and carriages are either very rich or very powerful."
The horse was exceptionally fine, costing over a thousand taels of silver, yet this family was willing to use it to pull the carriage; the carriage itself was made of the finest wood, with exquisite craftsmanship, and the fabric on the carriage was also of the highest quality. Not to mention ordinary wealthy families, even the Marquis of Suiping's Residence itself could not afford such a carriage.
The Marquis of Pingnan's Residence could afford to procure one or two carriages, but they couldn't afford more. Even if they did, only the Marquis of Pingnan or his wife would be qualified to ride in them. The eldest son, the heir apparent, could barely qualify; however, the second son was not qualified at all.
Therefore, it can be inferred that the owner of the newly opened shop must be of a higher and wealthier status than the Marquis of Suiping's Residence or even the Marquis of Pingnan's Residence.
"Should we report this to the Second Young Master?" Xu Xinda asked again.
Huang Xing thought about it and initially wanted to disagree. After all, reporting something without investigating it thoroughly would make them seem particularly incompetent.
But considering the relationship between this Miss Xu and Miss Yu, and the fact that the Second Prince and Fifth Prince seemed quite interested in the jewelry designs Miss Xu had drawn during their last visit, Huang Xing stroked his beard and nodded, saying, "Alright, I'll write a letter to the Second Prince later. However, no one is allowed to act rashly before receiving the Second Prince's order."
As he spoke, he gave Xu Xinda a meaningful look.
Xu Xinda suppressed his anger and said with a forced smile, "Of course. The powerful figures in the capital are deeply entrenched. To act rashly before understanding the situation would only bring trouble to the Second Young Master."
"If Proprietor Xu is free at home, I'd appreciate it if you could help out at the shop for the day. I need to stay here and see if anyone's coming to the shop across the street," Huang Xing said.
"Alright, then I'll stay at the shop today."
Huang Xing said he was watching from there, and he really did stay there for a whole day. Except for going to the toilet, he never left the window for a moment.
Hard work pays off, and he reaped a great harvest that day.
Not long after Xu Xi entered the silver shop, she went downstairs again, got into the carriage, and left. Accompanying her were the pretty maid and a middle-aged man.
Because they had been keeping a close eye on the shop across the street for the past two days, they now knew that the middle-aged man was a shopkeeper surnamed Wang.
Shopkeeper Wang, along with several servants, rode off on horseback, following the carriage out of the alley, and disappeared without a trace.
They returned in the late afternoon, entering the house one after the other, and did not come out again.
About half an hour later, it was already evening, and Huang Xing saw another magnificent carriage, just like the one Xu Xi had been in, parked in front of the shop.
The carriage curtain was pulled open, and maids and servants alighted from the carriage. They then turned and helped a beautiful woman down from the carriage. The beautiful woman exchanged a few words with the maids before entering through the opposite door.