Lushengxiang was crowded with customers buying fragrances. The previously noisy shop suddenly fell silent upon hearing this voice. All eyes turned towards Lu Chuchu, and people stepped back, creating the typical scene of onlookers gathering to watch a spectacle.
Some had already quickly pulled out snacks like peanuts and sunflower seeds from their pouches. Unfortunately, Lushengxiang was a fragrance shop, not a tavern or teahouse, so finding a bench to sit and watch the commotion was impossible.
Lu Chuchu was momentarily stunned.
The man’s face looked extremely unpleasant as he loudly questioned, “Why is the Princess of Northern Qi appearing in a fragrance shop in our Great Zhou? What exactly is your purpose? Could you be a spy sent by Northern Qi to gather intelligence on our country?”
A spy?
The onlookers immediately perked up, staring at Lu Chuchu with intense gazes. Their previously curious looks had changed.
Lu Chuchu snapped out of her initial shock, her face flushing red as she stepped back half a step and demanded, “Who are you? Why are you spouting nonsense?”
The man bowed slightly and said, “I am an official from the Court of State Ceremonial. I once followed a superior on a diplomatic mission to Northern Qi and saw the Princess at a banquet.”
“I don’t know you at all, and I’m not any princess. You’ve mistaken me for someone else!” Lu Chuchu unconsciously clenched her fists.
The man sneered, “It’s natural that the Princess doesn’t recognize me. I was just an insignificant member of the diplomatic mission, always in the corner on various occasions. How would the Princess notice me? But I have a deep impression of you, Princess of Northern Qi. I couldn’t possibly mistake you for someone else.”
The man looked around and bowed to the crowd, saying, “This Princess’s title is Qiluo. She’s quite famous in Northern Qi and deeply favored by the Empress Dowager of Northern Qi. Now that I’ve recognized her, she denies it. She must have sinister intentions and wishes to harm our Great Zhou!”
Upon hearing this, the onlookers immediately became agitated.
“This official even mentioned the Princess’s title. It can’t be a baseless accusation.”
“That’s right. The official has no reason to falsely accuse this young lady. Moreover, anything related to Northern Qi should be taken seriously. We should thoroughly investigate this young lady’s background. If it’s a mistake, an apology will suffice, but what if we let a Northern Qi spy escape?”
Some people stared at Lu Chuchu’s features and commented, “Look, this young lady’s features are quite deep, and her nose bridge is high. She looks more like a Northern Qi barbarian than one of us—”
Lu Chuchu’s face changed colors as she listened to these comments. She picked up a round stool and asked the man, “Are you here to cause trouble because Lushengxiang’s business is thriving? Let me tell you, there have been troublemakers before. You can ask around about what happened to them!”
At this point, Lu Chuchu knew the situation was dire and could only try to change the subject by mentioning Lushengxiang.
Most of the onlookers were regular customers who still remembered the incident with the woman who came to cause trouble with a ruined face.
It was plausible that someone might be jealous of Lushengxiang’s business and come to make trouble.
However, the man wasn’t swayed by Lu Chuchu’s words. He loudly proclaimed, “How ridiculous! Who doesn’t know that the owner behind Lushengxiang is the current Crown Princess? Even with the greatest courage, no one would dare to cause trouble here! Princess Qiluo has come to Great Zhou in disguise and is even in contact with our Crown Princess. What exactly is her purpose?”
When Lu Chuchu heard the man drag Jiang Si into this, she became extremely anxious and swung the stool at him, shouting, “Don’t spout nonsense!”
Surprisingly, the man didn’t dodge and took the hit.
The woman beside him turned pale with fright. “My lord, are you alright?”
The man showed a pained expression, but his tone remained firm. “Is Princess Qiluo trying to silence me by publicly beating a Great Zhou court official to death? If you truly believe I’ve mistaken you for someone else, you can come with me to the magistrate’s office. Whether to clear your name or prove my words true will be decided there. Acting like this now only shows your guilty conscience!”
The onlookers’ anger had risen, and they surged towards Lu Chuchu, shouting as they pushed forward, “The Northern Qi barbarian is attacking a court official—”
“Lushengxiang has a Northern Qi spy!”
Mixed in with these shouts, a voice said, “Maybe the Northern Qi Princess is so bold because she has the Crown Princess’s support!”
The source of this voice couldn’t be traced, but it quickly planted seeds of doubt in the minds of the onlookers.
Some people started throwing things at Lu Chuchu, while someone tossed a handful of peanut shells, earning a round of curses.
“Which bastard threw those peanut shells? They’ve gotten in people’s eyes!”
Missing even a moment of such excitement due to getting something in one’s eye was too great a loss.
Lu Chuchu held onto the stool but didn’t dare to swing it again, only able to dodge awkwardly.
Xiu Niangniang shielded Lu Chuchu and shouted, “Don’t throw things! Everyone, please calm down—”
The scene was in complete chaos.
People outside the shop were asking about the situation. Upon hearing that Lushengxiang had a Northern Qi spy, they immediately became agitated.
“What’s going on?” Soon, a team of yamen runners arrived.
Seeing the officials arrive, the onlookers retreated like a tide, exposing Lu Chuchu and the Court of State Ceremonial official.
The lead runner approached and asked, “What’s happening here? Who’s causing trouble?”
Xiu Niangniang quickly said, “Officer, this man is talking nonsense and causing trouble.”
These runners often patrolled this area and knew Xiu Niangniang well. They were also aware that the Crown Princess was behind Lushengxiang. Hearing this, the lead runner immediately waved his hand and ordered, “Take him away!”
The man sneered, “I am a court official. You’re arresting people without investigating just because this shop is related to the Crown Princess?”
While the runners hesitated, the onlookers shouted, “Officers, don’t arrest the wrong person! This official has caught a Northern Qi spy!”
“Northern Qi spy?” The runners were even more confused. “Where’s the spy?”
Countless hands pointed at Lu Chuchu, who was being protected by Xiu Niangniang. “It’s that young lady! She’s a Princess from Northern Qi!”
A Northern Qi Princess?
The runners almost had to hold their chins in disbelief.
What luck they had, to be on duty when Lushengxiang had another incident, this time involving a Northern Qi Princess.
For a moment, the lead runner didn’t know what orders to give.
As he hesitated, several men appeared and flashed their badges at the lead runner, coldly saying, “Take them all away.”
Soon, Lu Chuchu, the Court of State Ceremonial official, and his wife were all taken out of Lushengxiang, leaving the onlookers to continue their discussions.
“Those officials are from the Jinlin Guard, right?”
“That’s right, I’ve seen those badges before.”
“Great, the Jinlin Guard officials will surely report this. That Northern Qi spy won’t be able to escape now.”
“Not necessarily. Don’t you remember who owns Lushengxiang?”
“Do you think that noble person knew about the spy’s identity?”
“Quiet! We can’t discuss such noble persons!”
Despite this, the news that a fragrance shop owned by the current Crown Princess was harboring a Northern Qi spy spread like wildfire throughout the streets and alleys.
Han Ran, the Commander of the Jinlin Guard, received the report and invited several officials who had been on diplomatic missions to Northern Qi to confirm Lu Chuchu’s identity. He secretly worried for the Crown Prince and Princess, wanting to help but unable to do so.
With the Crown Prince now in the Eastern Palace, passing messages wasn’t as convenient. And such a significant matter couldn’t be suppressed without reporting to the Emperor.
The Crown Prince would have to fend for himself.