Chapter 353: Chapter 353: Princess, the eunuch from the palace is here again
“You finally ca out? If you had taken any longer, the Prince and I were about to storm in to find you!” Qi Yu saw the two people arriving late, her tone teasing.
After seeing soone onto the carriage and giving a few more instructions, Shen Xiheng returned to the residence.
Inside the carriage, Qi Yu asked, “Are the Duke of Shen’s household and Madam easy to get along with?”
Shi Zhou nodded without hesitation, “They are very nice.”
Seeing that her deanor didn’t seem feigned, Qi Yu was reassured, “That’s good.”
After saying this, she sighed and complained, “You don’t know, after you two ran off, the Prince and I had to stay behind to dine with Father Emperor. It was as awkward as it could get!”
Shi Zhou saw her expression like one who had narrowly escaped disaster and beca curious, “What did His Majesty do this ti?”
“He didn’t really do anything, but he kept silent the whole ti with a stern face, as if we owed him money,” Qi Yu couldn’t help feeling speechless rembering the scene, as it was not like they had insisted on staying for the al.
During their conversation, the carriage stopped at the Prince Residence.
After taking a bath, Qi Yu returned to her room, too tired to move.
But she still had sothing on her mind. As soon as Li Mingjue entered, she imdiately sat up and asked, “Prince, have you seen my scripts?”
Li Mingjue glanced sideways, his gaze landing on the desk beside him, his aning clear, aren’t they right there?
Qi Yu observed his expression carefully for a while, seeing that he appeared straightforward, she knew she had probably mistaken.
It made sense, after all, the Prince always avoided those scripts like the plague, so why would he willingly browse through them?
But where had those erotic paintings gone?
She pondered with furrowed brows for a while but still had no clue.
Seeing her distressed, Li Mingjue arched an eyebrow and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Qi Yu blinked, not daring to tell him the truth, simply saying, “Just, a few of them are missing.”
“Missing…”
Li Mingjue’s typically indifferent expression faltered mid-sentence. The remaining word “fine” got stuck in his throat and didn’t co out.
But his face was always ice-cold, so even though he changed his expression, it was hard to notice.
Qi Yu didn’t detect anything unusual, just found it strange when he didn’t say anything for a long ti, “Why do you stop talking halfway?”
Li Mingjue slightly lowered his eyes, masking the slight flicker within them, and said indifferently, “It’s nothing. If they’re missing, just have soone buy replacents.”
Qi Yu sighed deeply, “But those were all unique copies, irreplaceable.”
According to Yuan Huan, they were not just unique copies but also masterpieces collected from various places over many years.
That’s why she wanted to help look for them.
If they couldn’t be found, then it couldn’t be helped. At worst, she’d compensate him with so silver, as a gesture of consolation.
Qi Yu wasn’t one to dwell on things. After convincing herself, she snuggled into the blankets, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.
Li Mingjue admired her ability to fall asleep instantly, and with a slight smile, he swept a stray lock of hair from her cheek before stepping out quietly.
Shiqi was guarding underneath a tree in the courtyard. Seeing him erge, he quickly jumped down, “Prince, is sothing amiss?”
Li Mingjue waved his hand, “Nothing. Continue to stand guard here, I’m just heading to the study.”
Shiqi had no choice but to climb back up the tree without further questioning his suspicious behavior.
After all, before the Princess had beco a regular part of his life, the Prince spent far more ti in his study than in his bedroom.
Elsewhere, having entered the study, Li Mingjue approached the bookshelf, searched for a while, and finally retrieved several books adorned with the image of a beautiful woman from the very bottom.
He looked at these books that were indecent inside and out with a bit of a headache, unsure whether to put the items back or destroy them on the spot.
Last ti, when he accidentally ca across these erotic paintings in Qi Yu’s hands, his emotions were quite complex.
He never expected that Qi Yu would usually read such things.
After pondering for several nights, he decided to take the opportunity when Qi Yu was not paying attention to destroy the items sooner rather than later.
After all, how could such crude and explicit materials appear in the Prince Residence?
The plan went very smoothly, as Qi Yu was always carefree and never noticed that several items were missing from her stack of storybooks.
But after he got his hands on the books, for so reason, he did not destroy them imdiately.
Of course, he also did not browse through them, rely placing them at the bottom of a cabinet in his study to keep them out of sight and out of mind.
He had almost forgotten about the matter, but tonight, reminded by Qi Yu, he suddenly recalled the secret action, feeling sowhat uneasy.
To think that he, a mighty Prince, would do such a thing was truly damaging to his reputation.
After much deliberation, he decided it was best to erase all traces.
But even though the candles were lit, he hesitated to take any action.
In the end, he frowned and put the books back in their original spot.
Early the next morning, when Qi Yu awoke, Chunlan hurried into the room and said to her, “Princess, the eunuch from the palace is here again!”
She was truly annoyed by these people’s manners and couldn’t help but speak with a touch of impatience.
Upon hearing this, Qi Yu quickly asked Chunlan to help her dress, thinking that Li Tianze had hatched so new sche to summon her to the palace.
But when she got to the front hall, she saw several large boxes laid out in the courtyard.
Zhou Fu was also beaming at her and said, “Hurry and have the Commandery Princess co out, Princess Qi.”
It was then that Qi Yu realized why he had co to the Prince Residence and let out a sigh of relief; she sent soone to call Shi Zhou over.
Seeing the person arrive, Zhou Fu promptly bowed and said, “This servant greets the Commandery Princess.”
The two rows of young eunuchs behind him also knelt and chorused, “This servant greets the Commandery Princess!”
Although Shi Zhou had seen them perform such salutations in the palace, she was still sowhat uncomfortable when they were directed at her.
She knitted her eyebrows and said in a cold voice, “Stand up, all of you.”
Zhou Fu then stood up and, with a smile, pointed to the large boxes, saying to her, “These were personally selected by His Majesty to be sent here. The Commandery Princess should inspect them personally; if there’s anything you dislike, you need only tell this servant.”
Half puzzled and half curious, Shi Zhou raised her hand to open one of the boxes, which contained various gold, silver, and jade articles, all clearly very valuable.
But she simply glanced at them and then closed the box, turning to Qi Yu to say, “You have a look. If you like sothing, keep it; if not, send it back.”
Zhou Fu was instantly anxious at her words, “How can you send back the emperor’s kind gesture?”
Shi Zhou lifted her eyelids and gave him a detached glance, “Why not?”
Zhou Fu was at a loss for words, “Well…”
He had never heard of returning the emperor’s gifts. Everyone who received the emperor’s favor was filled with a thousand thanks—it was only this young lady who begged to differ.
While he was taken aback, Qi Yu had already opened and inspected all the boxes, clapped her hands, and turned back to instruct Li Bo, “Call a few strong servants over to move these items to the storage room.”
She truly did not stand on ceremony, leaving Zhou Fu shaking his head in dismay.
This lady was formidable too, and he dared not offend her.
After the items were checked, Zhou Fu then said to Shi Zhou, “His Majesty has already chosen a residence. When does the Commandery Princess plan to move in?”
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