Chapter 48 A Short Nigh
After TanTan walks out from the dining room, she just rushes to find QingQing and XiaoRue. Finally, she finds them in a guest room, where they also just finished their food.
"Found you!" Her voices surprise XiaoRue and QingQing. XiaoRue stands in reflex to give a seat for TanTan to sit.
TanTan smiles to her,
"Thanks, XiaoRue...you may sit also..."
XiaoRue obeys and sits beside her, she serves all with the tea on the table.
QingQing widens her eyes and then smiles to TanTan,
"You know usual I hate nobles but from the start, I already like you, HuaMuTan... I don’t understand why my sister hates you?"
"Well, you should ask her about it later... Now QingQing, as you stay here with me...I really hope you can help me!"
TanTan talks seriously.
QingQing becomes serious too, she stares on TanTan and sighs,
"Is this about the clues you want? about the silver-masked man?"
"Of course, it is...what else?! Tell me about the underground people you told before...Can I find any clue from them? Where can I find them?"
The enthusiastic spirit from TanTan scares XiaoRue and amazes QingQing.
"Wow...you really don’t want to waste any time, do you? Well, I still not sure its a good idea for a woman like you to go there... besides I confuse about one thing."
QingQing looks on TanTan seriously.
"What is it?" TanTan asks
"You have a great husband who has power in this town to find clues for you, why don’t you ask help to him? Is it easier and safer??"
"QingQing is right, XiaoJie...maybe XiaoJie have to tell the truth to Prince Li about this silver mask, he can be dangerous for XiaoJie..." XiaoRue hopes her XiaoJie won’t going to another dangerous trip anymore.
QingQing’s words might true if only the marriage thing is real and if she is really HuaMuTan,
"I am not sure he will help me. Don’t you know the rumor of our marriage, QingQing? He hates me!"
"I know it but I think it just a rumor, what I saw this evening that your husband seems has affection on you..." QingQing means about how Prince Li took TanTan home and had dinner with her, really aren’t seen as the hatred acts to do.
"Well, Prince Li is quite treating XiaoJie differently than before..." XiaoRue adds
TanTan wrinkled her eyebrows and stares sharply to XiaoRue and QingQing, she doesn’t angry just be irritated with their words.
"Enough with this nonsense! I can handle my own business without asking for his help! QingQing, you promise to help me, so give me any information I can really use!"
"Ok...ok, I see, well..." QingQing start explains "I think the silver man you are looking can be one of the underground people, it’s hard to find them openly coz of their secrecy. But there is one place where they usually gather to do their business..."
"And where is it?" TanTan urges to know the place coz maybe this is a chance for her to meet the silver man and ask him clearly about who willing to kill her or HuaMuTan exactly.
But before QingQing tells the place, Aunt Tong comes and informs that a room has been prepared for QingQing,
"Let me take you to your room, Ms. QingQing."
QingQing smiles to TanTan,
"Huahh...I am so tired right now... why don’t we take a rest for now and continue our talking tomorrow?" QingQing stretches her body and yawns to show her tired.
Although TanTan really wants to hear about the place, Aunt Tong is waiting there. She doesn’t want to let Aunt Tong knows what they were talking and then reports it to Prince Li later. So she sighs and agrees with QingQing,
"Very well, let’s call a day and take a rest. But promise me we will talk tomorrow!"
"Okay, don’t worry HuaMuTan...beside I don’t have any plan tomorrow! Well, good night, everyone!" QingQing excuses herself and lets Aunt Tong lead the way and then she follows Aunt Tong out.
"XiaoJie,..." XiaoRue is also feeling tired, but there’s something in her tone that sounded unsure. TanTan gives a questioning look to her.
"Is there something you want to say, XiaoRue?"
"How long will Ms. QingQing stay here with us?" XiaoRue asks.
TanTan still looking to XiaoRue, wondering the reason XiaoRue asks about it,
"I don’t know, XiaoRue...as long as she can help me to find the silver-masked man I guess...why?"
"Ah...Nothing,.XiaoRue just curious..."
XiaoRue doesn’t want TanTan to ask furthermore so she immediately changes the topic, "But this silver masked man? XiaoJie, isn’t it dangerous to meet a man like him? How if he is an enemy and hurt you?"
"No...I don’t think he is our enemy, XiaoRue. Remember what happened in the forest before? If he is my enemy, he would have killed me at that time and many times after that but no..he didn’t...on the contrary, he helped me so I believe he is not an enemy..."
"XiaoJie maybe right...let’s go back to the room, XiaoJie?"
XiaoRue decides not to ask anymore, so TanTan just nods and together they back to TanTan’s room.
While in the study room, Prince Li has an important meeting with ManQi. They are just finished setting a plan which based on the news ManQi brought about the return of the Crown Prince. All these years, every time Crown Prince went back from a battle, Prince Li got a report that he always stays for days in a small town beside Iron Place, celebrating his victory by spending his money on wines and women. But Prince Li puts spies around the place and figures out that every second night, the Crown Prince will disappear to somewhere and back with a huge fortune to fund his own army. For a long time, Prince Li and Prince FengEr suspected that the Crown Prince doing something illegal but they don’t have strong evidence. This time Prince Li plans to find out the proof.
ManQi seems concern about something, so he dares to speak his mind,
"Master...do I need to inform Prince FengEr about our plan?"
Prince Li calculates everything in his mind, "No...its fine, let us find the evidence first then I’ll tell him... besides if things go wild, I don’t want to put him in a difficult situation...Just make sure that everyone ready for the plan!"
"Yes, Master!" ManQi gestures to obey Prince Li’s command and ready to walk out, but Prince Li sudden stops him,
"Ah, ManQi..."
"Yes, Master?"
"Put more guards in this mansion while I go to the palace tomorrow and make sure that HuaMuTan doesn’t go out secretly again like before!"
Inside ManQi’s mind, he also promises himself for not to be fooled again by XiaoRue next time, he feels shameful to Prince Li now,
"Yes,...Master." ManQi once again excuses himself politely and then walks out.
After ManQi walks out, Prince Li is busy again with his thought, thinking about what kind of request he can ask from HuaMuTan tomorrow. Without he realizes, Prince Li seems to enjoy to have that thought as he smiles for himself.
While TanTan herself in her bedroom, hoping that this night can passes quickly so she can continue asking QingQing about the place.
In QingQing’s room, after Aunt Tong walks out from the room, QingQing observes the surroundings. And then she opens the window. It seems her room is in the closed position with the back wall, which she can easily sneak out from the mansion. QingQing smiles,
"Not bad..." She says to herself.
In another place, there is a secret room which seems nowhere. The silver-masked man is also setting his plan with his old man. Another black-clothed man comes and gives the report to the silver-masked man.
"So...that useless crown prince has returns hah! Interesting...I believe Prince Li won’t just sit down, right?" He looks to the black-clothed old man beside him.
The old man bows to respond,
"Yes, indeed. I believe he will put on his aware highly or even take a move later..."
The Silver masked man sighs,
"Let’s hope that he doesn’t jump into the tiger’s mouth without good preparation..."
"And what do you want to do about it, Master?" The old man asks like a teacher to find out if his student giving the right answer or not.
"As much I want to help him to get rid of that useless crown prince...but it’s not the right time...let’s just wait and observe for now" The Silver masked man has made his decision and the old man nods his head showing that he satisfies with the answer.
Then suddenly he looks to another black-clothes man,
"Do you have any report about HuaMuTan?"
The black-clothed man gives him a detail of what happened in the Law Mansion.
And as a result, the Silver man laughs so loudly,
"Hahaha...She is really a brave woman to able against Prince Li like that, isn’t she so interesting?"
The old man observes the Silver masked man with a worry look, wondering in his mind how interesting is this HuaMuTan in his Master’s eyes or even in his heart?