Chapter 248

Chapter 248: No Good Banquet

The estate did provide food, but his monthly allowance was not even one tael. How much could he possibly eat? Before leaving, he still left behind ten taels of silver.

It was obvious he did not want to owe the Princess Residence a favor. Sheng Zhi Wan lifted her brows slightly, and as she thought of the person she had met that day, a guess formed in her mind.

At Ci Xi Hall, Gou Dan’s injuries had healed a great deal. New flesh had not fully grown in yet, but thick wound medicine covered the area, and it no longer looked as frightening as before.

Gou Dan lifted his head and stared blankly at Sheng Zhi Wan.

Only then did Sheng Zhi Wan realize the fool was actually quite handsome. Before, he had been filthy and disheveled, and his clothes had been ragged, so no one noticed. Now that he had washed his face and tied up his hair, he looked completely different.

Seeing that the wound had been handled well, Sheng Zhi Wan was about to leave when Doctor Jiang spoke up, “Princess, the Duke Residence sent the five hundred taels. Three hundred taels were for his treatment, and the remaining two hundred taels – I originally planned to give to his second uncle, but…”

“No! Don’t give it to him! Bad! Bad man!” Gou Dan suddenly got worked up.

Doctor Jiang hurried to soothe Gou Dan until Gou Dan stopped thrashing around.

Doctor Jiang gave a helpless smile and said, “You see how it is. But it isn’t safe to let him keep two hundred taels himself.”

How could a fool protect two hundred taels of silver? Even in the well-off capital city, a family that had two hundred taels to spare was extremely wealthy.

Earlier, Sheng Zhi Wan had already asked Liu Shang to look into Gou Dan’s background, so she knew the deceased old woman, Madam Mei, was not his birth mother.

Madam Mei had been widowed for many years. Only after she was over forty did she find him in a ruined temple and raise him to adulthood.

The widow and the orphan had no relatives. The only one who could barely be counted as related to Gou Dan was the brother of Madam Mei’s deceased husband, the “second uncle” Doctor Jiang mentioned.

Before this, Liu Shang had given that second uncle twenty taels and told him to take care of Gou Dan. The second uncle had agreed readily, yet after only one day, Gou Dan had been dragged along by Qi Shu Lang.

Even now, the second uncle still had not come looking.

“Doctor Jiang, why not let Brother Gou Dan sort herbs with us?” A young apothecary apprentice ran over as he spoke.

Doctor Jiang froze, glanced at Gou Dan, then asked the apprentice, “He can sort herbs?”

“Yes!” the apprentice said eagerly. “Brother Gou Dan is amazing. I only taught him once, and he remembered it all!”

As he spoke, the apprentice pulled out a messy pile of medicinal ingredients and demonstrated.

Sure enough, Gou Dan might have been foolish, but when it came to sorting herbs, he did not fumble at all.

After seeing it, Doctor Jiang was tempted as well.

Sheng Zhi Wan let Shopkeeper Lin decide and had them keep Gou Dan at the hall. As for the two hundred taels, Ci Xi Hall would hold it for him.

Gou Dan was not young anymore. If he stayed this way for the rest of his life, that money would be enough to support him in old age. Besides, sorting herbs would not be unpaid either, so he could still earn a steady income.

When Sheng Zhi Wan returned to the Princess Residence, an invitation card arrived.

Ming Jia had been granted marriage as the Crown Prince’s consort. The Princess Consort of Prince Huai had come to the capital city to accompany her daughter while she awaited marriage. She had only entered the city yesterday, yet today she sent an invitation to host Sheng Zhi Wan at the Spring Flower Banquet in the Prince Huai Residence.

The Prince Huai Residence might not even have been fully prepared yet. On top of that, Mo Bei was in chaos, and the Princess Consort still chose this moment to hold a banquet and invite Sheng Zhi Wan over.

Sheng Zhi Wan did not need to think to know it would not be a good banquet.

At most, it was meant to stand up for Ming Jia. But Ming Jia’s matter… if Ming Jia had grievances, Ming Jia could go find Crown Prince Brother. What did it have to do with Sheng Zhi Wan?

Sheng Zhi Wan tossed the invitation aside and told Nanny Yu to refuse it directly.

Unexpectedly, the next day, the Princess Consort of Prince Huai sent her own nanny to the Princess Residence to invite Sheng Zhi Wan in person.

The nanny bowed deeply and spoke gently, “Princess Qing Ning, my Princess Consort watched you grow up. When you were young and had a high fever, Princess Consort stayed by your side the entire night. Now we have heard that you divorced, and that your newly chosen consort went to Northern Di. Princess Consort has been very worried about you, and after coming to the capital city, the first person she wanted to see was you.”

The nanny continued, still polite, “Princess Consort has been worn out from the journey and is not feeling well. If Princess does not wish to go, then once Princess Consort feels better, Princess Consort can personally visit Princess instead.”

Her tone was mild, but every word carried a faint threat.

Nanny Yu felt displeased. A mere Princess Consort dared put on airs in front of a Princess? Yet what the nanny said was not entirely wrong.

When Sheng Zhi Wan was young, she really had lived in the Prince Huai Residence for a time. During that period, she had once developed a high fever that frightened the Princess Consort of Prince Huai badly. To avoid punishment from the Empress Dowager, the Princess Consort had kept watch over Sheng Zhi Wan for an entire night.

Hearing this, Sheng Zhi Wan fell silent for a moment. After a long pause, she let out a soft laugh and said, “In that case, trouble Nanny to tell Princess Consort that the day after tomorrow, I will definitely enter the residence to attend the banquet.”

Having received her answer, the nanny left with satisfaction.

Nanny Yu worried about Sheng Zhi Wan, but Sheng Zhi Wan did not worry about herself.

Since the Princess Consort of Prince Huai insisted on inviting her so warmly, Sheng Zhi Wan could use the chance to probe something. In her previous life, why had the Princess Consort liked Meng Yang so much?

Back then, many people said it was because Ming Jia had died and the Princess Consort saw Meng Yang and thought of the past. Yet no matter how Sheng Zhi Wan looked, she never felt Meng Yang resembled Ming Jia in any way.

Now Ming Jia was still alive, and the Princess Consort had entered the capital city early. If the Princess Consort met Meng Yang again, would she still feel an instant bond?

Sheng Zhi Wan really wanted to know.

Unfortunately, the current Meng Yang was only a bedchamber maid in the Duke Residence. Under normal circumstances, Meng Yang could not come out to meet outside guests.

Soon, it was the day of the Spring Flower Banquet.

When Sheng Zhi Wan arrived, many carriages were already parked outside the Prince Huai Residence. An Zhi and Liu Shang attended her on both sides. A servant boy led Zhang Da away to settle the carriage, while another maid came forward and respectfully invited Sheng Zhi Wan inside.

The moment Sheng Zhi Wan stepped into the back courtyard, her steps paused.

Not far away stood a slender, petite figure in a smoky pink gauze dress, following at Qi Fei Rui’s side.

If it was not Meng Yang, who else could it be?