524: Chapter 382 524: Chapter 382 Du Jiaolan boarded the carriage, no longer interested in going out for a stroll.
At this moment, she already had an idea, a goal, so there was no need to search any further.
Of course, the next step would be to consider how to use stratagems, whether to write a greeting card to get to know the ladies of the Minister Mansion or to plan further—these things should not be rushed.
It was necessary to investigate the activities of the Minister Mansion’s heirs and Misses, to track the places where they appeared.
Du Jiaolan got on the carriage and quietly pondered inside.
The maid by her side didn’t dare utter a single word.
Although the Miss seemed gentle and never struck or scolded them…
…it was strange that many odd things had been witnessed around her.
Anyone who provoked the Miss would be punished.
How they were punished, no one knew, except that they suffered in silence and did not dare to seek revenge.
Just like the man who had suddenly fallen ill not long before.
This time, the only man who refused to pay the bill after dining with the Miss must be someone the Miss loved.
As a maid, if the Miss were to marry such a cold-hearted groom, it was somewhat worrisome for her.
And yet, thinking it over, a man so handsome and debonair, what harm was there in him being a little peculiar?
If the Miss were to marry such a man, it would surely be her good fortune.
Being the maid by the Miss’s side, there was a possibility she would follow her into the groom’s residence.
Their carriage gradually disappeared down the street, and the street seemed to return to its usual bustle.
Tang Feiyang had left the restaurant but had not left the street; he had family-owned shops on this street as well.
From the window of his shop’s room, he saw below, the ordinary-looking carriage that had stopped outside the restaurant.
He had investigated it when he had come out earlier—it was Miss Du’s carriage.
When he arrived at the shop room with his entourage, he had just caught sight of Du Jiaolan boarding her carriage with her maid.
The food box in the maid’s hand clearly contained the uneaten leftovers.
Tang Feiyang did not find the practice of frugally packing leftovers praiseworthy.
He thought that a person with no means to afford such fine dining in the restaurant had no business packing leftovers, even if it meant no waste.
The appearance of this poisonous woman was not a good omen.
If she came for him, was it just for his person, or was there another purpose?
Were the people from Prime Minister Liu’s faction approaching him again?
Could it be that this woman held some unspeakable secret?
“Check out Duke Du Mansion.”
His attendant had been hungry during the young master’s meal, unable to eat.
At this moment, he remained at the young master’s side, enduring his hunger.
Cleverly, he had the shopkeeper bring some dry food.
An attendant’s duty, especially during a mission, was to be ready for his young master’s commands at any time.
With a nod, he obeyed the order and went out.
He didn’t go far, for today his responsibility was to protect the young master.
Even though the young master was more capable than he was, it was still his duty to protect.
After stepping out, the attendant arranged for others to investigate and quickly returned to the young master’s side.
Tang Feiyang chose not to leave the room, preferring to carry out his inquiries and observations in secret from this location rather than wandering openly on the streets.
Just like earlier, when Du Jiaolan identified him at a glance, it wasn’t just because of his face but also the clothes he wore.
Tang Feiyang decided in secret that in future missions, he would change his attire and disguise himself.
Without a disguise, a change of face, he might wear a cloak; this may be somewhat bothersome, yet the responsibility of this mission weighed in his mind.
Just as his father distrusted the Prime Minister’s Residence, he did not believe Liu Xu would send someone to check without causing trouble—being left alone was already very good.
Barely had the King given him a task when people from the Prime Minister’s Residence began to stir, taking notice of him.
In the Prime Minister’s Residence, Liu Xu and his associates were conspiring about something.
Without taking action himself, someone else was already moving on his behalf.
Liu Xu and his associates’ conspiracy involved sending some people out onto the streets or the city gates to casually roam around, ostensibly to satisfy the King.
Of course, if they encountered anyone suspicious, they would not inform the King’s people, the General’s people, or those from the Minister Mansion, and they would secretly help them get away.
Liu Xu had just arranged his subordinates and finished dispersing a meeting when a guard reported to him that Yingzi had gone to the heir’s courtyard.
Upon hearing that Yingzi, who had once harmed his son, was not staying put in her courtyard but instead seeking out his son again, Liu Xu became furious.
Angered, he paced back and forth; his son was his most precious treasure, his only offspring.
Anyone who dared to touch his son, no matter who that person was, must be deterred from such intentions.
Liu Xu was well aware that Yingzi was not a suitable match for his son or a candidate to be his wife.
A woman should aspire to marry a decent man.
Similarly, a man should seek a wise and virtuous wife, and in Liu Xu’s opinion, any princess would be a better choice than Yingzi.
Liu Xu did not believe that the King would pass away so soon.
Despite the King’s poor complexion, he thought that any princess would certainly be preferable to Yingzi.
If the eldest Princess could not marry his son, he could arrange for another princess to do so.
By aligning with the King, he would gain a greater advantage.
Even if Yingzi desired to become his son’s woman, she could at best be a concubine, for he would never allow a foreign woman to become his daughter-in-law.
He wondered whether such a woman would bear his son a child to carry on the lineage.
Liu Xu arrived at his son’s courtyard, perplexed as to how the guards had failed in their duty.
He had given explicit instructions to bar entry, yet they had let a stranger in.
The guards stationed at the heir’s courtyard, looking innocent, faced their master’s reproachful gaze and explained the situation.
They had been standing guard and had not opened the gate; they had no idea how the woman had entered.
They had only heard her voice inside, and those waiting inside confirmed that they didn’t know how the woman got in either.
Upon hearing the guards’ account, Liu Xu recalled the techniques used by the people of this nation, such as the Invisibility Stealth Technique; perhaps they utilized dog holes and rat holes to their advantage.
Otherwise, the underground tunnels of Immortal Venerable City – mostly sewers and deliberately dug passages – would be more significant.
With so many great powers in the bustling Cultivation World and that competition,
he could hardly believe they had suffered an assassination attempt.
Though the people of this nation had also lost many, the disaster that befell Immortal Venerable City that time caused substantial losses to the city.
What was more infuriating was the poison unleashed by terrorists, which afflicted many.
If not for a great power appearing suddenly with an antidote,
Immortal Venerable City would have become the site of a major disaster, similar to another city that was previously overrun by a rat plague.
If it weren’t for those specializing in such matters, even more would have suffered at the hands of this nation’s perpetrators.
Liu Xu realized that this nation’s people had met their match; both their operations had been thwarted by a powerful individual.
This great power was an exceptional Alchemist capable of neutralizing all poisons.
Liu Xu, along with the people from that nation, still could not figure out what Magical Treasure the great power had used to dispel so many enraged rats.
Liu Xu had heard of some Ghost Cultivators who used spirit flags to capture souls for their use in battle.
But what Magical Treasure could an exceptional Alchemist employ to collect so many frenzied rats?
Both he and the terrorists remained baffled.
This was why they no longer dared to carry out such overt acts of terrorism.
After a few incidents that harmed others, they too suffered considerable losses.
They would have to transport more people from their own country for the next operation, which tactics they would resort to this time, he did not yet know.
However, Yingzi’s appearance was far from coincidental.
She had a mission, either to gain control over the Prime Minister’s Residence or to exploit women to achieve certain objectives.
As Liu Xu pondered this, he grasped the truth.
Liu Xu entered his son’s courtyard and saw Yingzi eating with his son in his bedroom.
The maid who had always been there was absent.
He saw his son looking at Yingzi with lecherous eyes, as if he longed to devour her whole.
Yingzi giggled, and upon seeing the Prime Minister, she stood up and bowed her head in greeting.
“Yingzi, did I not tell you to stay in your own courtyard?”
“Prime Minister Liu, I came to apologize to the heir.
I took insufficient care of him last time, which led to his illness,” Yingzi replied.
Liu Xu looked sternly at Yingzi, highly cautious of this woman.
He knew she would not be here for such a simple reason.