Though Erniu didn’t understand what Long Dan was saying, his master’s absence instinctively made him uneasy. At this moment, comfort from the mistress became especially important.
Erniu whimpered softly twice at Jiang Si.
Jiang Si rubbed Erniu’s head and asked Long Dan, “Was Young Master Yu taken away by the officials of the Shuntian Prefecture?”
Long Dan evaded the question: “Ah, this lowly one doesn’t know exactly which yamen’s officials it was. There are too many yamens in the capital that can interfere.”
“In that case, I’ll have my brother inquire about it.”
Long Dan hurriedly waved his hands: “There’s no need. This lowly one can ask around.”
Jiang Si fell silent for a moment.
If that was the case, why did Long Dan tell her all this?
Long Dan secretly observed Jiang Si’s expression and carefully said: “Miss Jiang, our young master has no one to rely on in the capital. This lowly one will be busy trying to get connections to rescue the young master. For now, there’s no one to take care of Erniu. You see—”
Old Wang, the doorkeeper, silently hid in a corner, pretending not to exist.
“With no one to feed Erniu, he’ll starve to death.”
As if understanding, Erniu flopped onto the ground, looking utterly dejected.
A vein throbbed at Jiang Si’s temple.
Long Dan had said all that in such a hurry just to get her to take care of Erniu?
Wait, did this mean that nothing serious had happened to Yu Seven?
Jiang Si gradually regained her composure, feeling annoyed at her instinctive concern earlier.
She couldn’t care less whether he lived or died!
“How about this—let Erniu stay with my brother for a few days.”
“That won’t do. Erniu can’t sleep in unfamiliar places.”
“Woof—” Erniu barked once in agreement.
Jiang Si glanced at Erniu.
She had never known Erniu had this problem.
Erniu raised his face, fawning at Jiang Si by twitching his nose. His big black eyes were watery as if he would cry if she didn’t agree.
Jiang Si silently sighed.
Fine, regardless of what happened, Yu Seven must have encountered some trouble. She might as well take care of Erniu for a few days.
“Then I’ll come by once a day when I have time. When you find out what’s going on with Young Master Yu, remember to let me know.”
Long Dan nodded repeatedly: “Rest assured, Miss Jiang. As soon as this lowly one learns anything, you’ll be the first to know. No need for you to worry.”
Jiang Si pressed her lips together.
She wasn’t worried at all…
“A Man, let’s go.”
As soon as Jiang Si left with A Man, Long Dan rushed to the side room.
The master was a prince, after all, so his life shouldn’t be in danger. However, to get information about the master’s situation, they’d need money to grease some palms. Fortunately, he had quite a bit of money saved up. It should be enough to make some connections for the master.
Long Dan ran to where he had hidden the money. Seeing the mess of clothes, he had a bad feeling. He hurriedly pushed aside the clothes piled on top and felt around the bottom of the chest.
There was nothing at the bottom of the chest.
Long Dan’s face changed instantly. He simply turned the chest upside down, spilling out a mess of items, but the money pouch was nowhere to be seen.
“Old Wang!” Long Dan screamed.
Old Wang stood at the door with his hands behind his back: “What’s wrong?”
“Did thieves break in?”
“No.”
“Then why is the money pouch I hid at the bottom of the chest gone?” Long Dan’s voice grew louder with each word.
Old Wang picked at his ear and pointed at Erniu: “You’ll have to ask Erniu about that.”
Long Dan forced himself to calm down and glared at Erniu.
He had an ominous premonition!
“Erniu, where’s my money pouch?”
“Woof woof.” Erniu looked up at the sky.
What? He couldn’t understand.
Old Wang couldn’t bear to watch anymore and revealed: “Erniu gave it to Miss Jiang.”
After a brief silence, Long Dan let out a heart-wrenching roar: “That was the money I saved at the bottom of my chest to get married! Erniu, you bastard, I’ll skin you alive—”
Erniu cast a disdainful look at Long Dan, wagged his tail, and ran off.
When Jiang Si and her maid returned to Haitang Residence, A Man exclaimed: “Young Miss, there’s so much money inside!”
So much money?
Jiang Si raised an eyebrow.
“Look, Young Miss, there’s a stack of banknotes!”
“Keep it safe. We’ll return it when Young Master Yu comes back.”
“Yes.” A Man responded, putting away the money pouch. “Young Miss, what do you think Young Master Yu did? How did he end up in prison?”
Jiang Si said coldly: “With his personality, it’s not surprising.”
He was a prince, yet there was nothing he wouldn’t dare to do. She had experienced it in her past life.
“Young Miss, don’t worry,” A Man consoled thoughtfully.
Jiang Si, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, snapped: “Don’t talk nonsense!”
A Man secretly rolled her eyes.
These days, one couldn’t even speak the truth. Indeed, being a senior maid wasn’t easy.
A moment later, Jiang Si instructed: “Go tell Old Qin to inform A Fei. See if he can find out anything about Young Master Yu.”
A Man: “…” Young Miss, could you hold out a bit longer before speaking?
“Hurry up!” Jiang Si felt extremely embarrassed and glared at A Man.
“Yes, this servant will go right away.” A Man left, suppressing her laughter.
Jiang Si stood up and paced a few steps before sitting down on the bed. She hugged a soft pillow and sighed deeply.
She probably needed more time to completely let go of that scoundrel.
After waiting for a while, A Man returned with A Fei’s message. Naturally, they hadn’t found out anything about Yu Jin.
Although Yu Jin’s royal title was causing a stir, it was limited to the inner palace and well-informed officials. The news hadn’t spread outside yet. Of course, even if the news did spread, no one would think that the Seventh Prince and Yu Seven were the same person. A Fei focused on finding information about Yu Seven, wouldn’t pay attention to such news.
So Jiang Si was destined to be disappointed.
Yu Jin had left with Leng Ying. Half a day later, Long Dan finally managed to contact Leng Ying.
“The… the master was granted a royal title?” Long Dan’s eyes widened, his jaw nearly dropping.
“Mm.” Leng Ying was concise.
Long Dan poked Leng Ying: “Can you give me more details?”
This person was so tight-lipped, it was maddening.
“I don’t know the details. Those people locked me up first, then released me. Then they congratulated me, and that’s when I learned that the master had been granted a royal title by the Emperor.”
Long Dan wiped his face: “This seems a bit strange. Have you seen the master?”
“No, the master was directly taken by the imperial guards to see the Emperor, then sent to the Imperial Clan Court. This is all that I heard from those people.”
For personal guards of princes like Leng Ying, without clear instructions from above, their treatment could be quite flexible.
Because Emperor Jingming’s orders only mentioned the princes, not caring about how to deal with the accompanying guards, Leng Ying was initially locked up, then immediately released upon hearing that the Seventh Prince had been granted a royal title.
Realistically speaking, this could be considered a case of “when one man attains the Way, his chickens and dogs ascend to Heaven.”
“So what do you know?” Long Dan asked irritably.
“The master will be released in three days.”
Three days later, the news of the Seventh Prince being granted a royal title finally spread throughout the court and society.
Jiang Si, still unable to get news about Yu Jin and not daring to have A Fei inquire about matters concerning princes, finally couldn’t resist asking Jiang An Cheng: “Father, is there any recent news outside?”
“News? There’s news in the capital every day.”
“Anything related to the court?”
Jiang An Cheng thought for a moment: “Actually, there is one piece. The Seventh Prince, who was raised outside the palace since childhood, has been granted a royal title.”