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Pingguo and Maidongjia rode in the same carriage to Yanbei Prince's Mansion.
In the carriage, Maidongjia asked, "Miss Pingguo, where is the young lady's letter?"
Pingguo glanced at Maidongjia and took out the letter. "Here it is."
Maidongjia reached out to take it, smiling as she said, "Let me hold onto it. Young girls like you often wear perfumed sachets, and it wouldn't be good if the scent got on the letter."
Pingguo frowned slightly but allowed Maidongjia to take the letter.
After receiving it, Maidongjia examined the letter carefully, confirming it was the same one Ren Yaoqi had sealed in her presence before tucking it safely into her own bosom.
"Miss Pingguo, you've been serving the Fifth Young Lady for quite some time, haven't you?" Maidongjia inquired.
Pingguo nodded.
Maidongjia smiled. "Miss Pingguo, you have such a steady temperament and don't speak much."
Pingguo gave a slight, forced smile.
Maidongjia pressed on, "Do you always accompany the Fifth Young Lady when she visits Yanbei Prince's Mansion? That must mean you're quite familiar with the place, right? I've never been to Yanbei Prince's Mansion before. Are the grannies and maids there easy to get along with?"
Pingguo replied curtly, "Yes. Not very familiar. Don't know, haven't interacted with them."
Faced with someone as unresponsive as Pingguo, Maidongjia felt helpless. She tried probing with various questions along the way, but the answers she received were all vague and uninformative. Before long, Yanbei Prince's Mansion came into view.
Pingguo led Maidongjia into the mansion with practiced ease and had someone announce their request to see Granny Duan.
Granny Duan emerged shortly after. Seeing it was the Fifth Young Lady's head maid along with an unfamiliar married woman, she remained expressionless, nodding slightly in greeting without much warmth.
Pingguo curtsied and said, "Greetings, Granny Duan. Our young lady asked us to deliver the letter she wrote for the Commandery Princess to you." She glanced at Maidongjia.
Maidongjia quickly produced the letter and handed it to Granny Duan with both hands, smiling as she said, "Greetings, Granny Duan."
Granny Duan looked at her, nodded, and then said to Pingguo, "I understand. The letter will be delivered to the Commandery Princess. You may return now."
Maidongjia hurriedly added, "Granny Duan, our Fifth Young Lady returned to White Crane Town a few days ago and only came back yesterday, which is why she hasn't yet paid her respects to the Princess Consort. She will come to offer her greetings in a few days."
Granny Duan frowned. "The Princess Consort is busy lately. She can come pay her respects another time." Without waiting for Maidongjia to say anything more, Granny Duan took the letter and left.
Pingguo said, "The letter has been delivered. Let's go."
Maidongjia had no choice. After all, the prince's mansion was heavily guarded, and they couldn't enter without permission. She could only hope for another opportunity to build a better relationship with Granny Duan.
After leaving, Granny Duan immediately went to Xiao Jingxi's courtyard and handed him the letter.
"The Fifth Young Lady sent her maid to deliver this, saying it was meant for the Commandery Princess."
Xiao Jingxi took the letter, glanced at the envelope with no name on it, and couldn't help but smile. He gently rubbed the letter and asked, "I see. Besides her maid, who else came today?"Granny Duan said, "There was also a woman around forty years old who looked unfamiliar. She told me that the Fifth Miss Ren wanted to come and pay respects to the Princess Consort. She likely isn’t someone from Fifth Miss Ren’s side."
This was because the Princess Consort had never said she would not see Fifth Miss Ren.
Xiao Jingxi nodded. "Give the order that from now on, anyone from the Ren Family should first be brought before you. You may leave now."
Granny Duan bowed and withdrew.
Once the room was empty, Xiao Jingxi opened Ren Yaoqi’s letter. When he saw the words "Commandery Princess, reading this letter is like seeing you in person," he was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head with a light laugh.
Although he knew this letter was merely a smokescreen Ren Yaoqi had used to deceive the Ren Family, Xiao Jingxi still read it carefully, word by word.
However, when he reached the end, he suddenly sensed something amiss. He read the letter again from start to finish and discovered that starting from the second paragraph of the main text, the first character of each line, when connected, formed a sentence: "All of the Ren Family’s Jiangnan assets can be taken into your possession."
Xiao Jingxi couldn’t help but be astonished.
After a long pause, he shook his head and sighed softly, "I thought I was ruthless enough, but you are even more ruthless than I am."
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