Nanny Xiao sighed, but ultimately said nothing more.
The carriage clattered to a halt at Zhiwei Restaurant, and the elderly shopkeeper emerged, saying, "This morning, the Third Lady did send someone to inform us that the Old Lady and the Eldest Princess would be coming to Zhiwei Restaurant for lunch. I’ve prepared everything, but they still haven’t shown up!"
One of their party asked, "If they’re not at Xilin Lake, and not at Zhiwei Restaurant either, where could the Old Lady and the Eldest Princess have gone?"
"Oh my! Who in the world knows!" the shopkeeper exclaimed. "How about this: since it’s certain that the Old Lady and the Eldest Princess will come here for lunch, why don’t you and Nanny Xiao wait for them in the Private Room? You’re sure to meet them if you wait here."
Steward Liu said nothing, but Nanny Xiao thought the idea was quite good, so she agreed.
Upon entering the Private Room, Nanny Xiao clicked her tongue in amazement at the sight of Zhiwei Restaurant’s exorbitantly priced snacks. Even though the Ji Family had been away from the capital for some ten years, upon their return to the city, they still had connections maintained.
After waiting in the Private Room for nearly an hour without any sign of Old Lady Ji and her party, Nanny Xiao could still maintain her composure, but Steward Liu grew restless.
He quietly slipped out of the Private Room and saw the elderly shopkeeper of Zhiwei Restaurant anxiously questioning a restaurant attendant.
"You’ve all searched along the route, and you haven’t seen the Old Lady and the Eldest Princess?"
The young attendant nodded vigorously. "Searched! I’ve gone back and forth looking several times, but I really haven’t seen the Old Lady and the Eldest Princess!"
"What about the Second Lady and Third Lady? Didn’t you see them either?"
"None of them. I personally searched back and forth twice, but still no sign."
"Then where on earth could the Old Lady and the others have gone? This is truly strange." The shopkeeper grew anxious, pacing around in circles in the main hall.
Steward Liu came down from upstairs and patted the shopkeeper on the shoulder, saying, "Don’t panic yet. When the Old Lady goes out, she always has Guards with her, so nothing untoward will happen. They might have simply been delayed by some unforeseen matter. Ensure Nanny Xiao in the Private Room is well taken care of. I’m stepping out for a bit."
The shopkeeper quickly responded with a "Yes," and then saw Steward Liu out.
Watching Steward Liu’s retreating figure, the shopkeeper anxiously wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "Where on earth have the Old Lady and the Eldest Princess gone?"
The shopkeeper had barely finished speaking when he saw a middle-aged man dressed in the servant’s attire of the Ji Mansion walk in.
"Shopkeeper, I am from the Ji Mansion," the man announced. "I am here on the orders of the Third Lady to ask if the Eldest Princess has come to Zhiwei Restaurant."
"Wh-what do you mean?" Hearing the servant’s words, the shopkeeper instinctively felt that something was terribly wrong. His calves began to tremble.
"It’s like this," the servant explained. "Today, the Old Lady took the Eldest Princess for a boat ride on Xilin Lake, but the Eldest Princess got seasick. Not long after the boat set off, she started to vomit. And as she was vomiting, the Eldest Princess... she... she, with a WHOOSH, flew... flew away."
"What?!" The shopkeeper was utterly puzzled by the servant’s words. "What... what do you mean ’flew away’? Where did the Eldest Princess fly to? How did she fly?"
The servant couldn’t explain clearly, only saying, "Oh my, I wasn’t paying close attention at the time; I only heard it from others. In any case, the Third Lady instructed me to tell you this: If the Eldest Princess comes to Zhiwei Restaurant, please immediately send someone to the Bright Moon Pavilion branch on Guiyan Road to inform the Old Lady. Currently, only the Old Lady is at Bright Moon Pavilion waiting for news; everyone else has gone to look for the Eldest Princess."
After the servant finished speaking, he darted off; he also had to go search for the Eldest Princess.
The Old Lady had announced that whoever found the Eldest Princess would be rewarded with one hundred taels of silver.