Chapter 95: 95. Chapter 95: Something Happens

95. Chapter 95: Something Happens

After hearing Princess Huanxi's explanation, Shen Yunyao thought it over and felt it made sense.

Only, if someone really came to steal the flowers, they would certainly sell the seedlings to someone who knew the trade.

But never mind, this wasn't something she needed to worry about.

"Cuiyu, pass down the order: from now on, no one in the residence is to go about alone. No matter the time or place, they must have someone accompanying them!"

For some reason, Shen Yunyao had a feeling that these precious flowers would cause some kind of trouble once they arrived at Qinyuan Ju.

This might just be her worrying over nothing!

But it could also be her intuition.

Of course, Shen Yunyao hoped even more that all of this was just her worrying over nothing.

But what if?

With anything, the most frightening thing was "what if."

After hearing Shen Yunyao's instructions, Cuiyu immediately relayed them.

Not only that, she also told everyone in the residence to keep an eye on one another and to stay alert at night.

With so many precious flowers, losing even a single pot or having something go wrong would stir up no small trouble.

In the past, Qinyuan Ju belonged to the Imperial Family. Even if something happened, the relevant guards would be held responsible, or someone from the Imperial Household Department would take the blame.

But now?

Qinyuan Ju belonged to Shen Yunyao. If something went wrong with the flowers at Qinyuan Ju, Shen Yunyao would need to bear the responsibility.

The irony was that Shen Yunyao could not afford to bear this responsibility.

……

At night.

Shen Yunyao did not sleep soundly.

Even though she was not short of money now, having so many precious flowers displayed in the courtyard made her feel uneasy, even with palace guards stationed outside.

With her mind unsettled, a peaceful sleep was out of the question.

Cuiyu, on the other hand, was carefree and slept as sweetly as ever.

Because she hadn't slept well during the night, Shen Yunyao did not wake early the next day.

She was roused by Wet Nurse Shen.

"Young Madam, it's bad, something has happened!"

Wet Nurse Shen woke Shen Yunyao and immediately hit her with devastating news.

"Did something happen to the flowers?"

Shen Yunyao couldn't imagine what could have gone wrong.

"No!"

Wet Nurse Shen shook her head. "Last night, two of the palace guards stationed outside Qinyuan Ju died!"

"As for whether anything happened to the flowers in the courtyard, we don't have a flower inventory, so we can't be certain yet."

"But with two palace guards dead, there's a very high chance something happened to the flowers!"

"Have you reported it to the authorities?"

Shen Yunyao got up quickly, dressed, and without bothering to freshen up or groom herself, just handled the basics and hurried out of the bedroom.

"It's already been reported to the authorities. Wet Nurse Ma has gone to deliver the news to the palace!"

"Nothing happened to the people at Qinyuan Ju, right?"

Shen Yunyao looked at Wet Nurse Shen and asked.

Wet Nurse Shen shook her head vigorously and said, "No, everyone in the residence is fine. I asked them earlier, and no one noticed anything unusual during the night."

"Where is Cuiyu?"

As Shen Yunyao walked toward the outside of Qinyuan Ju with Wet Nurse Shen, she suddenly realized that Cuiyu hadn't come to report to her at the first opportunity, which was wrong.

"Cuiyu?!"

"I haven't seen her!"

Wet Nurse Shen's eyes widened sharply.

Right, where was Cuiyu?

As the personal maid attending to Shen Yunyao, Cuiyu was by Shen Yunyao's side most of the time.

Now, with something this major happening, Cuiyu was nowhere to be seen—this was very wrong!

"When you came, you didn't see Cuiyu?"

Shen Yunyao stopped in her tracks, turned to look at Wet Nurse Shen, her expression already changed.