"Go find Ziqing for me. I have something to ask her."
"Yes."
Jinxiu thought her young lady was going to praise Ziqing, so she hurried to find her.
However, the moment she entered the room, she was reprimanded by Liang Luo, "Kneel!"
Jinxiu had never seen her young lady speak to her so sternly. In contrast, Ziqing beside her was calm, showing no panic as she knelt.
Seeing her expression and posture, Liang Luo became even more certain that this person was no ordinary individual.
So she began by asking,
"Who sent you?"
She had expected Ziqing to deny it, and she was prepared to expose her. To her surprise, Ziqing was very direct, her gaze towards Liang Luo filled with composure.
"This servant is from Prince Ke's manor."
Prince Ke?
He was a sworn enemy of the Ninth Prince. Why would he send a maid to her courtyard at this time?
Before she could speak, Ziqing preempted her,
"Miss Liang, something has happened to you in Jinling City."
"What!"
Jinxiu's surprise was no less than Liang Luo's. Now that she was by Liang Luo's side, her every word represented Liang Luo. Likewise, if Liang Luo lost her position, she would be trampled even lower.
Therefore, the firmer Liang Quanbin stood in Jinling City, the stronger their position in the inner courtyard would be.
She immediately and anxiously grabbed Ziqing, asking,
"What happened to my husband?"
"Lord Liang has been repeatedly ambushed in Jinling City and is now missing."
Hearing the word "missing," Liang Luo's heart sank by more than half. She felt it was not a good omen.
She had only just begun to enjoy her influence these past few days, and now, so quickly, came the "retribution"!
If others found out about this, it wouldn't just be Concubine Ruan who would retaliate against her. She would likely become useless to the Ninth Prince as well.
Once useless, she would not be waiting for a peaceful retirement.
She would likely not find peace even in her dreams.
After considering the worst-case scenario, she still looked at Ziqing with suspicion.
"How do you know about my father's affairs?"
"Prince Ke's manor has its ways of finding out. However, if Miss Liang doesn't save herself soon, you might be the next to disappear."
What seemed like a warning carried a distinct threat.
"After all, you hold a great secret."
When Ziqing uttered the word "secret," Liang Luo was shocked. She had thought the matter was completely confidential. How could even a mere maid know about it!
Could it be that the First Prince had already been monitoring them?
But that didn't seem right. She hadn't revealed even a hint of it to her own brother and sister-in-law. Even if she were being monitored, they shouldn't know this.
Glancing at Jinxiu, Liang Luo cautiously ordered,
"Go guard the door. Do not let anyone come near."
"Yes!"
Having served in noble households for many years, Jinxiu naturally knew what to listen to and what not to. When Ziqing mentioned the great secret, she had already wanted to leave but didn't know how to bring it up.
Now that she had Liang Luo's command, she walked away quickly.
After they left, Liang Luo stared at Ziqing, her eyes filled with suspicion and vigilance.
"What do you know?"
"Prince Li has a highly favored personal guard named Long Guang. He has been by Prince Li's side the longest in recent years. What do you think, Miss Liang?"
After saying this, Liang Luo was so shocked she couldn't speak.
She hadn't expected this secret to be discovered by so many people. So, the Ninth Prince had made a mistake more than once, hadn't he?
A chill suddenly ran down her spine. She wanted to deny knowing what she was talking about, but Ziqing's eyes were fixed on her, and she lacked the courage to even open her mouth.
"What do you want?"
After a moment, Liang Luo let out a long sigh, as if a heavy stone that had been weighing on her heart for days had been moved, bringing her a brief moment of relief.
Ziqing was skilled at reading people. Seeing Liang Luo's state, she knew that things were likely to go well.
"The Prince means that if Miss Liang is willing to come forward and reveal this matter, he will find a way to ensure your safety. If Lord Liang is still alive, he will also be returned to you unharmed."
Liang Luo sneered, "Do you take me for a fool? Revealing this matter? If His Majesty learns of such a royal secret, it will not be the Prince who dies, but I and that Long Guang. Perhaps we will even be framed for other wrongdoings."
"Miss Liang, please rest assured. If you were to directly expose it, your life would be in danger. But if you are burdened with countless accusations, and only reveal it at the final fatal blow, it can be a rather useful blade."
"You intend to scheme against him in other ways too?"
"The path is perilous and arduous, so one would naturally not prepare only one plan, would they?"
Liang Luo fell silent, recalling her previous disturbance at Prince Ke's manor, and felt a shiver.
If it weren't for the abilities of her relatives and their status in court, Prince Ke's wife would have likely twisted her head off in anger.
She hadn't expected Prince Ke's schemes to be so deep. She hadn't noticed anything at all, thinking that compared to the somewhat sinister Ninth Prince, the latter would have to be even more cunning.
The path lay before her. She could choose to walk it or not.
If her father hadn't met with misfortune, she would never have been forced to fight with her back against the wall. But given the current situation, she had no other way out.
"Miss Liang does not need to give an answer now. I believe the news of Lord Liang's disappearance will reach Dongdu City soon. It will not be too late to decide then."
Liang Luo had no interest in rashly exposing royal secrets.
But now, with no other choice, she could only bow her head and obey.
However, she did not readily agree.
In the following days, Liang Luo lived in fear. On one hand, she wanted to verify Ziqing's words, and on the other, she was afraid of the news of her father's disappearance reaching Dongdu City, and those sycophantic women coming to pester her again.
Therefore, she was not at ease.
Ziqing, on the other hand, went about her duties as usual, completely unfazed by their conversation that day, remaining impeccably proper.
Anyone would consider her a capable maid.
Just as undercurrents began to stir in Prince Li's manor, Feng Jinxu sent an urgent letter through the channels of Prince Ding's manor to his uncle's home in Northwest Liangzhou.
When the gardeners and servants who had harmed Madam Feng were interrogated, all clues were cut off by someone named Cui Tou.
His attempts to investigate in secret yielded little.
Instead, in a compilation of news related to Ling Gui Guo, he found something remarkably similar.
Qing Yan Hua was expensive.
He had thoroughly investigated the foreign markets in Dongdu City, and no one had this flower.
But he felt an inexplicable connection to Ling Gui Guo and, after repeated investigations, finally found some evidence.