Chapter 2724 Xiao Jiu

"Ah! My Imperial Son, you must persevere, you must return; your Empress Mother is waiting here for you!" The Empress gazed at the sky and murmured.

Can this time be our turnaround? All hope rests on the Fourth Prince.

War Prince’s Mansion, Rain Listening Courtyard.

Xuexue sat at the table, intently examining the ledger.

Zi Xia stood by, serving water and tea intermittently.

All the maids walked on tiptoe, quietly, afraid of disturbing the Princess Consort.

At this moment, a clattering noise came in...

"Master, Master, there’s news, big news."

Immediately, a bird flapped its wings at the entrance and flew in...

Xuexue put down the ledger in her hand, looked up, and said with a smile, "Xiao Jiu, what’s the matter? What news?"

A couple of days ago, Xiao Jiu came back saying it had a fight with Big Worm, and would no longer play with him. Even though it was agreed to go to Gu’s Mansion for mischief, the Weirdo was greedy, delaying the Shichen Chinese Time, and when it went again, he resented it for chuckling, and when leaving, ignored it completely. It chased him to exhaustion. It’s a cheerful little Birdy; would it be itself if it didn’t laugh? Ridiculous.

These past days, Xiao Jiu stayed in the mansion, obediently to a degree that made one scarcely believe it was the same bird.

It had barely been a while since Xiao Jiu was last seen, and now it was back clattering!

Xuexue and Zi Xia were perplexed; had this little Birdy peeped at someone else’s secret?

"I saw that old man the other day; as he passed the War Prince’s Mansion, he actually spat a mouthful of water. Is he ill? Although the master didn’t see him that day, quite a lot of Silver was given to him." Xiao Jiu chirped a whole lot.

Xuexue listened, bewildered: "What? Xiao Jiu, what are you saying?"

Xiao Jiu, surely puzzled, said: "That old man from yesterday, the father of the Thin Man, spat water as he passed our mansion’s doorway, seemingly quite angry. Who provoked him? He’s crazy; why spit water at us?"

Xuexue’s heart skipped a beat, her gaze shifted to Zi Xia.

Zi Xia also puzzled, leaned forward and said: "Miss, could it be he’s learned of the Thin Man’s affair?"

Xuexue: "You hurry out to inquire, see what’s happened in the Capital these days?"

"Yes!"

Zi Xia responded promptly, turned, and walked out.

Xiao Jiu tilted its head, confused, and asked shrill-voiced: "Master, what happened? What exactly happened? What are you talking about?"

Xuexue smiled: "The steward saved some roast lamb for you, go eat quickly."

"Really?"

"Hm!"

"Great!"

Upon hearing about food, Xiao Jiu forgot what it had asked earlier, flapping its wings joyously, flying out energetically. The master was so considerate, initially saying it would be punished to a month without meat. After persistent whining, it finally relented, and the delicious meat was back again - truly hard to come by.

Xuexue shook her head with a smile, then bowed to examine the ledger again.

A few Shichen later, Zi Xia returned, recounting everything that happened at the tea house to Xuexue.

Xuexue’s complexion abruptly turned very unpleasant: "Who exactly did this thing?"

Zi Xia: "The maid has not yet figured it out."

Very few knew about the Thin Man’s affair, yet now it’s written into scripts and told at the tea house, indicating the person behind is malicious.

Xuexue pondered for a moment and said: "This person must be someone within our circle; otherwise, they wouldn’t know so clearly."

Though no one was in the room, Zi Xia mysteriously glanced around and asked: "Miss, could this matter have been leaked by someone from the mansion?"