The thin, dark man considered for a moment, then said quietly, "Those people must be from the imperial court. They must be trying to trace me; that’s why they’re focusing on the Xie Family."
"This..." The fat, white man was rendered speechless.
"However, since our men can’t go in, we can figure out a way to get Xie Yingying out."
The fat, white man promptly bowed. "Please, sir, enlighten me!"
The thin, dark man spoke in a low tone, "Starting tomorrow, spread the word that a phoenix will perch at Qixia Temple at sunrise. Any unmarried girl who sees the phoenix will surely have her fortunes soar!"
Upon hearing this, the fat, white man’s face bloomed with joy. "Mr. Wu, you’re truly an ingenious man! With such a good plan, Xie Yingying will definitely take the bait!"
The thin, dark man chuckled.
"Xie Yingying’s fate is crucial to our plan. As long as she lives, she can influence the fortune of Great Han’s future empress dowager. She cannot die yet!"
"Yes," the fat, white man whispered in response before he left.
In the private room next door, Xie Pan’Er separated the crab roe from the shell and placed it on Xiaosuisui’s plate.
Yet, she noticed that the food on Xiaosuisui’s plate remained untouched. She was greatly surprised, as this was a first for the little glutton.
"Princess, why..."
"SHH..." Xiaosuisui said, promptly making a hushing gesture. Xie Pan’Er looked at her in confusion.
After a moment, Xie Pan’Er recalled an incident: Xiaosuisui, while on a boat, had once overheard Zhao Fei being beaten by men from the Li Family Pharmacy from a great distance and had rushed off to save him.
Could the Princess have heard someone talking?
Xie Pan’Er whispered to Xiaosuisui, "Did you hear someone talking, Princess?"
Xiaosuisui nodded. "There are people talking in the next room. They seem to be discussing throwing some cloth into the water."
"What did you say? What cloth in the water? Where? Who was talking?" Ji Youzhi abruptly stood up. Both Yun Duo and Yunxiang grew very tense upon seeing Ji Youzhi’s agitation.
Feeling the gravity of the situation, Xie Pan’Er hurried to comfort Xiaosuisui, who was somewhat unsettled by Ji Youzhi’s relentless questioning.
The child is still young; her logic doesn’t match an adult’s, so she needs guidance. Although in recent days, Xie Pan’Er had clearly seen Xiaosuisui’s intelligence, and her logical thinking—including her linguistic reasoning—had greatly improved. But now that she was nervous, she still seemed a bit flustered.
"Take your time," Xie Pan’Er said gently. "Just tell us what you heard."
Xiaosuisui said, "They seemed to be talking about getting something, but not having reached a safe place to confirm if it’s genuine. And then they said something about confirming it was genuine, and now people are hunting them down."
"It’s the cloth! They want to destroy the evidence!" Ji Youzhi stated firmly.
Xiaosuisui nodded. "That’s right. They said something about just throwing it in the water."
"Thrown into the water?" Ji Youzhi muttered, pulling a map from his sleeve. "We’re not far from the Xilin Lake dock. They must have stolen the cloth nearby. Since they can’t burn it, they’ll try to throw it into the water. The quickest way would be to reach the edge of Xilin Lake..."
"Pan’Er, take Suisui back first. I have something to attend to!" With that, Ji Youzhi swiftly departed.
Upon hearing this, Xie Pan’Er felt a bit worried. That cloth was the evidence related to the assassination of the Princess of Nanjiang. What would they do if it was destroyed?
"Yun Duo, Yunxiang, escort the Princess back!"
Yun Duo and Yunxiang quickly complied.
Xiaosuisui pouted. "What are you and Uncle Seven planning to do? Why aren’t you taking me with you?"
Xie Pan’Er was about to speak but hesitated. Just then, she heard Xiaosuisui say, "Pretty sister, are you looking for the stolen bolt of cloth, right?"
Xie Pan’Er couldn’t help but widen her eyes at her.
Xiaosuisui blinked and said, "I know where that bolt of cloth is!
"Pretty sister, let me take you to find it!"