Chapter 42: Volume 1, Chapter 42: Every Kept Mistress Has Two Faces

Rong Luoge was enjoying a rare moment of leisure, a pot of tea accompanied by a refreshing breeze as she sat in the pavilion watching a pond of koi swarming to feed. Ah, it would be even better if someone were beside her playing the qin with delicate hands and singing a little tune.

She had not been here long, and she was already growing decadent.

"Miss." Chun Yu hurried over, stepping up the stone stairs into the pavilion. "Jing Chu says Prince Qi has gone to Liu Yuniang's residence."

Hmm?

Rong Luoge's previously relaxed gaze turned sharp in an instant. "Now?"

"Yes, Xin Qiao has already gone out to gather information. As a young woman, others won't be too guarded against her, and she has a glib tongue—she's a good hand at inquiring after news," Chun Yu said.

Rong Luoge found that the few maids she had recruited were quite remarkable—each of them had some martial skills, and now they were developing other skill points as well.

For instance, Chun Yu was dependable and more than capable of serving as a minor leader; Le Ling was lively and could make people laugh with just a few words, a real little joy; Xin Qiao was especially eloquent and could dig up someone's entire ancestry with just a few words—this girl was comparable to a Chaoyang District auntie. Ban Xue had a gentle temperament and excellent needlework; she had only just arrived and was already making shoes and socks for her—truly virtuous.

"Go tell Jing Chu to keep an eye on Xin Qiao from the shadows, and don't let her get tailed," Rong Luoge said with a soft laugh. "I never expected the first big fish to take the bait would be Prince Qi."

Chun Yu didn't quite understand her miss's words. After a moment's thought, she said, "When this servant was at the escort agency, the agency once took an escort job for the Qi Wang Fu as well."

"There was such a thing?" Rong Luoge was quite surprised. Han Yifeng had his own guard unit—why would he need an escort agency to protect a shipment? "What was being escorted—can you say?"

Chun Yu shook her head. "The specifics were not something this servant would have been privy to."

Rong Luoge thought about it and agreed. Although these women had accompanied escort shipments, they mostly did chores like washing clothes and cooking along the way. A shipment for someone like Prince Qi would certainly have been kept confidential.

"I understand. Go tell Jing Chu to watch over Xin Qiao first." Rong Luoge was worried about Xin Qiao's safety. After all, she was a newcomer and a fresh face going out to gather information like this. Though she was exceptionally gifted, their own people still needed to be protected by their own.

"This servant will go at once." Chun Yu bowed and hurriedly withdrew. Seeing her miss protect Xin Qiao like this, Chun Yu felt all the more that she had come to the right place.

The moment Chun Yu left, Rong Luoge went back to her room and changed into men's clothing. She took out a mirror and slightly mussed her hair. The clothes were the coarse cloth and hemp shirt worn by ordinary laborers. She also took out a bottle of darkish ointment and carefully applied it to her face, making her complexion look somewhat sallow. Disguise was a skill she had to learn in her past life; it was just that this ointment was hard to prepare. What she had bought was the kind used by opera performers, and it wasn't very comfortable on the skin. When she had free time, she'd need to make some ointment of her own to keep in reserve.

After carefully examining herself in the mirror and confirming she was unrecognizable, she didn't use the front door but climbed over the wall and left.

Ban Xue stared in astonishment at her miss's retreating back, nearly dropping the sewing basket in her hands—her miss's skill was remarkable.

She had scouted the terrain of Xi Cheng whenever she had free time these past few days. Climbing over the back wall of her own residence led to a long, narrow alley. These alleys were passages used by the servants of various households, so normally there weren't many people around.

Exiting the back alley and turning a corner into another alley brought her to the back door of Liu Yuniang's residence. She coughed softly to adjust her tone, slightly hunched her back, then raised her hand and knocked on the door.

She knocked for quite a while without hearing anyone come. Rong Luoge then patted her forehead—she had forgotten that the servants of this residence had all been taken away by Madam Ming, so of course there was no one.

With no one around, things were even easier. She scanned her surroundings, stepped back slightly, pushed off the wall with her legs, climbed onto the top of the wall, and with a flash of her figure dropped into the courtyard.

Landing soundlessly like a cat, Rong Luoge rolled on the spot and ducked into the nearby flower bed. Even though she knew there was no one, caution was still the priority.

She listened quietly for a long while before following the covered corridor toward the front courtyard.

The residence Liu Yuniang lived in was merely a two-courtyard compound. The row of rear-facing rooms in the back courtyard was for the servants, while the front courtyard was the main quarters where she and her son lived.

The layout of the entire compound was very simple. She followed the covered corridor directly to beneath the rear window of the main quarters. Outside the window was a row of brick-and-stone flower beds with lush, blooming flowers and plants—perfect for concealing herself.

She pressed close to the window and listened carefully but heard no sound. She couldn't help frowning slightly. Could it be that Liu Yuniang didn't live in this room? Or perhaps Prince Qi hadn't managed to enter yet?

By all reason, that shouldn't be the case. Given Prince Qi's status, Madam Ming's people wouldn't dare block him.

Just as she was hesitating, she heard a child's crying faintly coming through the window. She instinctively hunched down and pressed herself flat against the wall, and then heard Liu Yuniang's voice, frantic with anger.

"Cry, cry, cry—what's the use of crying? This isn't the time to cry. Save your energy; you'll have plenty to cry about later."

Rong Luoge: …

This tone of scolding a child was truly timeless.

"Mother, I want to go out and play. I want to watch opera and listen to storytelling."

"All you know is playing. Have you memorized the books you were told to memorize? When your father comes to check your lessons, if you can't recite them, you'll be in for it."

This was followed by another bout of ear-assaulting noise. Rong Luoge hadn't expected Liu Yuniang's temperament in private to be so fierce—completely different from what she had seen on the street that day.

Did all these kept mistresses have two faces like this?

"Yuliu."

"Your Highness? You… how did you come?"

Rong Luoge's spirits perked up at once. Han Yifeng had actually come. She instinctively slowed her breathing and didn't move a muscle.

At this moment, Han Yifeng strode in with a frosty expression and looked at Yuliu, asking directly: "Did you get the seal?"

Rong Luoge's heart skipped a beat. The seal…

"This servant is useless and has not yet obtained it." Yuliu had none of her earlier aggressive bearing from scolding the child. Her entire demeanor was instantly suppressed, and even her voice dropped by several degrees.

"How is your relationship with Di Yue Nu lately?"

"We've been interacting quite frequently lately. A while ago, she even invited this servant to go offer incense together. But she is an extremely cautious person, so this servant didn't dare probe too hastily."

"Useless! It's been several years back and forth, and you still have no lead on such a small matter. What use are you?" Han Yifeng's ugly expression looked as though it had been fished out of an ink pond.

"Your Highness, forgive me. Give this servant a little more time—I will definitely coax it out." Yuliu was so frightened she dropped to her knees with a thud.

Her kneeling caused the nearby Ming Jingyao to burst into frightened tears with a "waa." The room was instantly thrown into a bustle of activity, and Rong Luoge heard Liu Yuniang's voice softly coaxing the child.

But the thoughts in her mind were spinning rapidly. The seal that Han Yifeng had Liu Yuniang investigate was most likely the very one in her own possession—after all, they were both Di Yue Nu's things.

Only the timing was still somewhat off. Liu Yuniang had been the kept mistress of the Great General for seven years now; judging from the timeline, it definitely wasn't Han Yifeng's arrangement.

If not Han Yifeng, then it was Consort Ming. What exactly was Consort Ming's purpose in arranging Liu Yuniang beside her own elder brother?