CHAPTER 647: [641] QING CHUAN CHENG WANGFEI 10 (2 MORE UPDATES)

Yun Mi had slept very soundly, and Xiyuan had not dared to disturb him, choosing instead to work on some needlework in the master bedroom. As she sewed, she herself began to feel drowsy...

When she woke up, it was already 3 p.m., and Su He was assisting her in getting up.

"The Prince had already come down earlier and hurried out the door. He instructed us not to keep the door for you tonight as he will be visiting Yuanming Garden."

Xiyuan uttered an ’Oh’ in response, as Su Mei came over with a cup of tea to help her rinse her mouth, "Princess Consort, I went to inquire with Little Yuanzi, and his expression was awful. It seemed as if he recalled something terrifying, but he kept his lips sealed, apparently unwilling to share. From his words, I gathered they hadn’t slept all night. I don’t know if something happened at Yuanming Garden. The Prince, when he left today, took two more guards with him."

As a rule, the household guards were not allowed entry into Yuanming Garden, but Yun Mi, being favored, naturally followed different rules. Besides, bringing only two guards was not excessive and should not have been a problem. However, this was not Yun Mi’s first visit to the garden, and he had never brought guards with him before. This time his action was indeed puzzling.

But since others did not discuss it, and as a married woman, she had no way to inquire, she could only pretend she had heard nothing. Besides, there was nothing much she could help with.

"Princess Consort, the 20th of May is a good day; do you plan to return to your family’s home?"

They were married on the eighth day of May, just after the Dragon Boat Festival, when the weather was at its hottest. With one thing leading to another, ten days had already passed. The 20th meant the day after tomorrow.

"That depends on the Prince’s wishes. Let’s see if the Prince returns to the Manor tomorrow!"

After resting for a while and feeling refreshed, Xiyuan followed two skilled gardeners to the backyard. There, in a corner against the wall, they had planted pumpkins and winter melons. These seeds had already sprouted after being soaked in water and were then planted into the ground and covered with soil. To help them grow quickly, she took the opportunity, when no one was looking, to water them with spiritual spring water from her space.

In the areas equivalent to the backyards of the Prince Manor, she planted pumpkins, winter melons, and climbing green beans against the walls.

She scattered seeds of Scallion, coriander, green vegetables, and chili in the flower beds. Because it was a bit late to plant them at this time, she hoped that the spiritual spring water would help them thrive.

In her own yard, she planted ginger, which requires frequent watering. This she could easily monitor.

In the areas farther from their residence, she mixed in chicken and sheep manure into the soil, while closer to where they lived, she spread plant ashes—both to enrich the land.

In the front yard’s corners, she planted corn, sweet potatoes, and potatoes, which are all drought-resistant and undemanding. The whole sweet potato plant is valuable; if there was ever a lack of green vegetables, the sweet potato leaves could perfectly fill the gap.

She also chose spots for cabbage, radish, long beans, eggplant, tomatoes (which were available since the Ming Dynasty), and celeriac. In the shortest time possible, she spread seeds on every available spot. As for the more valuable flowers in important areas, she was still in the process of moving them little by little with the help of gardeners. This required some time, but she estimated that they would be able to plant seeds within a week.

Naturally, the newly refurbished Prince Manor didn’t look as good as before. Even the estate’s procurement personnel complained, calling her efforts a waste, claiming it wouldn’t save much money.

These idle pieces of gossip eventually reached her ears. It wasn’t difficult to see that there might have been a purpose behind spreading these rumors. However, Xiyuan didn’t care in the slightest. As the mistress of the Prince Manor and overseeing the provisioning, she was not intimidated by these servants.

So, she had Su He and Su Mei secretly gather information on these servants, and if any were unsuitable, it would be best to replace them ahead of time.

Managing the household of the Prince Manor including the food, drink, and flower expenses, as well as the personnel, she might be young, but that didn’t mean anyone could just walk over her and relieve themselves as they pleased. If that were allowed, wouldn’t she be a disgrace of a Princess?

***

Yun Mi had his men sneak around Yuanming Garden for an entire day, but in the end, they failed to find any trace of that guard. It was very likely that the guard had been killed.

But the fact that not a single clue was left behind inevitably caused unease, so today Yun Mi brought two first-class guards into the garden.

He still attended to illnesses in the first half of the night, and in the latter part, he returned to his own residence to extinguish the lights and rest. An hour later, he stealthily set out with the two guards, following the route they had taken that night, carefully heading towards the Diligent Governance Hall where Yong Zheng was located.

The path was pitch black, so dark they could hardly see their own hands, because the garden was full of lush trees, and pavilions, terraces, and towers were all at a great distance from one another. The faint light was insufficient to illuminate the entire garden, so the road seemed even darker, not to mention, it felt unspeakably eerie.

When they approached the Diligent Governance Hall, they saw it heavily guarded, with three layers of soldiers both inside and out. The elder brother, who was supposed to have been asleep, was being carried away from the Diligent Governance Hall towards the depths of the garden. He remembered that direction was precisely where the elder brother highly regarded the founder of the southern branch of the Golden Elixir Sect, Zhang Borui.

The elder brother’s fondness for alchemy went back quite some time. When he was a Prince, he had developed a strong interest in elixirs. Even some of his poems contained verses about lead mercury, furnace fires, and swirling smoke; it was as if they depicted a vivid alchemical portrait.

The elder brother had later favored Zhang Borui and conferred upon him the title of "Great Merciful and Universal Zen Immortal Master Zi Yang." Starting from the fourth year of Yong Zheng, he often consumed a kind of elixir named "Jiji Pill," which he found very effective. He had even gifted it as a special present to favored associates like the Governor of Yun-Gui-Guangxi, Eertai, and the Governor of Hedong, Tian Wenjing.

But he had never expected that his current obsession would reach this extent. He pretended to be asleep in front of him, and after he left, he went to Zhang Borui’s. What, then, was he going to do? Could it be that the guard from that night saw this scene and thus followed, only to never return?

If that were the case, could the occasional disappearances in the courtyard be related to Zhang Borui?

Yun Mi felt chilled all over, and without realizing when, perspiration had broken out on his palms. The two guards, unsure of what to do, gently tugged at Yun Mi’s sleeve.

"My lord, shall we continue to follow?" they asked.

Yun Mi grew up in the Imperial Palace, and had witnessed the tragic fates of his elder brothers. He had seen for himself Yong Zheng’s ruthlessness; those who disappeared must have stumbled upon some secret, which led to their dire outcomes. Unless he was tired of living, he would never follow them. Even if Yong Zheng treated him as his own son, what of it?

With that thought, Yun Mi shivered abruptly: "Let’s go, leave this place, back to Qin Garden. As for tonight, act as if you’ve seen nothing. Otherwise," he paused.

When the pitch-black eyes of Yun Mi fell upon the two guards, they knelt down simultaneously and said in a quiet voice, "We have seen nothing, my lord."

Upon returning to Qin Garden, which had been waiting anxiously, Little Yuanzi immediately gathered around: "My lord, are you alright? You don’t look well."