Surrounded by lush flowers and trees and sheltered by the courtyard wall, the two people talking in the corner didn't notice the Ministry of Justice official not far away.
The man in red finished his speech and turned around toward Anyin Hall. Seeing that he was heading straight in his direction, the Ministry of Justice official immediately sought the cover of a nearby tree and hid his figure.
The next moment, the maid hastily pulled the red-robed gentleman back.
"Master, you can't go!" She hurriedly said. "The Prince is sick. If you go now, what are we going to do if the Prince's health worsens from irritation?!"
The red-robed gentleman laughed furiously.
"Piss him off? I don't think so. Since he has the energy to fool around with vixens outside, I think he's in good health," he countered.
The maid said, "Why do you say that, Master? Besides, the courtyard where that gentleman outside lives might not have been bought by the Prince."
The red-clad gentleman laughed grimly.
"The Prince redeemed him, so where can he get the money to buy a house? Moreover, the mansion in the center of Changle Square faces the south. Without a few thousand taels of silver, can he afford it?"
The maid was rendered speechless.
The red-robed gentleman seemed to be getting more and more angry as he spoke, and his voice rose a few decibels.
"The manor's money has always been under my control. Say, there is no turnover in the house, so where did the Prince get so much silver to buy a mansion for that little vixen? Today, I must go to the Prince and ask about it. Otherwise, I might as well tell him to sell me quickly. It is better than suffering from this kind of confusion here..."
The maid hastened to stop him. They played tug of war and went straight into Anyin Hall.
A long time later, the Ministry of Justice official slowly came out of the dark.
He was so shocked that his hands shook.
He absolutely did not expect that a routine investigation, which was just a formality, would let him run into such a big secret.
So was the silver embezzled by His Highness Jingwang? He broke the law and embezzled His Majesty's birthday banquet funds because the concubine in his residence was violent. He embezzled the money to keep a mistress outside?
The official was not qualified to make decisions. In his shock, he just knew that he had to rush back to the palace without delay and inform His Majesty of this major discovery.
Inside Anyin Hall, there was a pleasant radiance of spring.
When Meng Qianshan saw Gu Changyun leading a maid straight into the courtyard, he was startled as he hurriedly welcomed him. Meng Qianshan wanted to stop Gu Changyun but didn't dare to.
Although Madam Gu was usually domineering, Meng Qianshan had never seen him visit His Highness' courtyard to meet him before.
Seeing how dumbfounded he was, Gu Changyun raised his eyebrows and smiled at him: "What? Meng Qianshan, are you so happy to see this Madam that you can no longer speak?"
Meng Qianshan forced a smile on his face and greeted him.
"Madam Gu, has something good happened today? Unfortunately, His Highness has just gone to rest. If you need anything, it'll be better for this servant to let His Highness know on your behalf..."
He kept apace with Gu Changyun, putting in a good word while attempting to stop him.
Gu Changyun frowned. He glanced at Meng Qianshan and pushed him away, then went straight to Jiang Suizhou's main room.
"Still trying to deceive me? Do you think I didn't see that someone just happened to come out from here?"
As he spoke, he walked up the stone steps and pushed the door to Jiang Suizhou's room.
Hearing the creak of the door, Jiang Suizhou glanced sideways in that direction. He saw a bright red figure making a beeline to his room.
Jiang Suizhou heaved a sigh of relief.
He knew that Gu Changyun had come to report to him after the deed was done.
Gu Changyun met his gaze, and while walking in, he cast an amorous wink at him.
Jiang Suizhou felt so sour his teeth almost fell out.
He glanced at Gu Changyun and was about to withdraw his gaze when he saw the man smile and greet him at the side of his bed.
"This concubine came here unannounced. Your Highness won't blame me, will you?" he smiled.
Jiang Suizhou looked at him indifferently and let him continue his act.
After bowing, Gu Changyun stood up and sat at the edge of his bed.
"Your Highness, please don't blame me. It's really because I haven't seen Your Highness for several days and was worried, so I took the liberty to come and visit you," he said.
Jiang Suizhou said indifferently, "Is it done?"
Gu Changyun knew what he was asking about.
He smiled and bumped his shoulder against him: "Your Highness, do you still not trust me?"
After speaking, he swept his gaze across the bedroom, paused on Huo Wujiu who was in the corner, and retracted his subsequent words.
After all, there was someone else in the room. If he wanted to say more, he had to exercise restraint to some extent.
Following Gu Changyun's gaze, Jiang Suizhou also saw Huo Wujiu, who was sitting there without saying a word.
This was usually how they coexisted in the room during the day. His bedroom was extremely spacious, and each of them were on either side of the room, not disturbing the other.
But at the moment, Jiang Suizhou felt that Huo Wujiu's body looked somewhat misshapen.
Where exactly was he misshapen...he couldn't put his finger on.
Gu Changyun, who was sitting beside his bed, turned around and reverted to his innate habit of teasing again.
He laughed: "Yo, this concubine's eyes are blind. How didn't I notice that Madam Huo is also here?"
Jiang Suizhou watched as Gu Changyun stood up from his bedside and went towards Huo Wujiu.
Huo Wujiu lifted his head and looked at Gu Changyun.
Huo Wujiu's gaze was heavy, and the cold emotions in it were hidden deep in the swirls of his eyes.
Gu Changyun was oblivious to it and stood still in front of him.
"It must be exhausting for you, Younger Brother, to serve the Prince everyday," he said smilingly.
Huo Wujiu didn't say a word.
But in the next moment, Gu Changyun extended his hand.
Then he grasped the book in Huo Wujiu's hand.
"Ah, what book is Madam Huo reading?" Gu Changyun smilingly asked while trying to pull that book out of Huo Wujiu's hand.
Once, twice.
The book didn't budge at all.
Gu Changyun blinked and looked at Huo Wujiu.