Upon hearing this, the young Emperor’s smile froze, and he immediately felt an urge to run.
Fortunately, just as Xiaosuisui tried to jump down from Ji Youzhi’s arms, he firmly caught her.
"Xiaosuisui, stop fooling around! It’s such a waste to wear these flowers on everyone’s heads! If you collect these flowers and bring them back to the Ji Mansion for Xiu Zhu to make pastries, think how fragrant they’d be!"
Xiaosuisui’s eyes widened, and instantly turning into a little glutton, she gulped and said, "But Nanny Zhang said that things from the Palace can’t be taken out without permission!"
Ji Youzhi quickly glanced at the young Emperor.
The young Emperor understood and said, "You can take all these chrysanthemums out of the Palace to make pastries! I permit it; you can take them!"
Overjoyed, the little glutton Xiaosuisui reached out and plucked the two chrysanthemums from Ji Youzhi’s hair.
"Nanny Xiao, quickly bring a basket to put them in. I’m going to take them back to the Ji Mansion to make pastries!"
Nanny Xiao joyfully brought a bamboo basket and helped her pack them.
She wasn’t content with just the chrysanthemums from everyone’s hair; she went on to pick every last unpicked flower in the Imperial Garden, stuffing them all into her small pouch.
Leaving only the flower keepers kneeling in the Imperial Garden, wanting to cry but unable to shed a tear!
Ji Youzhi returned to the Ji Mansion carrying Xiaosuisui. Ji Youcheng sought him out almost as soon as he arrived.
"Seventh Brother, you’re back!" Ji Youcheng called out to Ji Youzhi from a distance.
Ji Youzhi nodded and replied, "Third Brother!"
Xiaosuisui kicked her little short legs and scrambled down from Ji Youzhi’s arms. She called out, "Third Uncle," then asked, "Third Uncle, is Xiu Zhu in your small kitchen? I want her to make me some pastries!"
Ji Youcheng casually replied, "She should be. If she’s not in the small kitchen, she’s probably in their own courtyard doing needlework. Go find her yourself."
"Okay! Thank you, Third Uncle!" Xiaosuisui chirped and trotted off happily.
Ji Youzhi beckoned to a young maidservant and said, "Go to Qin Xin Courtyard and inform Miss Xie that the Eldest Princess has returned and gone to Four Seasons Courtyard. Ask her to keep an eye on things."
Even now, the image of everyone in Cining Palace with large chrysanthemums on their heads was still vivid in Ji Youzhi’s mind!
The young maidservant acknowledged and departed. Ji Youzhi also planned to return to his room to rest. Once he had enough sleep, he would investigate Mr. Wu’s identity.
However, he had only taken two steps when Ji Youcheng called out to him.
"Wait, Seventh Brother!"
Ji Youzhi stopped and looked at him. "Third Brother, is something the matter?"
Ji Youcheng nodded. "Seventh Brother, I have a small matter I need your help with!"
"Third Brother, do you have evidence against some corrupt official?" Ji Youzhi’s eyes lit up as he looked at Ji Youcheng.
"That’s not it! I was hoping you could do me a favor." Ji Youcheng pulled Ji Youzhi over to sit with him under the eaves of the corridor. "Could you ask your brothers at the Divine Hunter Bureau to help me find something?" he continued.
"It’s like this: today, the chief shopkeeper of Bright Moon Pavilion told me that two boxes of goods I had Jin Ge transport back from the South are missing. Please, do me a favor and ask the brothers from the Divine Hunter Bureau to mobilize and help me find them."
Saying this, he pressed a five-hundred tael silver bank note into Ji Youzhi’s hand. "This is for the brothers to buy some wine!"
Ji Youzhi took the bank note that Ji the Third had pressed into his hand, glanced at it, and casually asked.
"What’s in the boxes?"
Ji the Third was a real skinflint; for him to cough up five hundred taels for wine money, the contents of those boxes must be truly extraordinary!