A wicked mother swaps her son and sucks his blood? The true legitimate daughter is reborn and goes o

That evening, Song Mingtang did not return home.

Yu Chan was worried that the young master's failure to return home at night would anger the Marquis, so she covered for him and had the people in the courtyard keep it a secret.

But Song Mingtang still did not return home the following evening.

After three days, Yu Chan began to panic.

But she still dared not tell the Marquis, and instead secretly went to the West Courtyard to inform the Second Madam.

"You idiot, it's been so many days and you're only now coming to tell me this." Madam Liu grabbed a teacup and slammed it against the door.

With a crisp sound, it shattered and fell to the ground.

Yu Chan was terrified. If the door hadn't been closed, that teacup would have smashed her head open.

"Second Madam, I know I was wrong. What should we do now? Could something have happened to the Young Master?"

"You come to ask me? Go find him! Report to the Marquis..." Madam Liu said, then suddenly changed her mind, "No, the Marquis must not know."

The Marquis was always strict with Tang'er.

He was rarely in the capital, but every time he returned, he would take the imperial examinations. The Marquis cared a lot about this heir.

We can't let Tang'er lose a good impression in the Marquis's eyes.

After a moment's thought, Madam Liu took some silver from under her pillow and continued to instruct Yu Chan, "Take this silver and go outside. Look for beggars or anyone else you can find. Inquire around and tell me as soon as you have any news."

"Yes, this servant will go right away." Yu Chan took the silver.

She was genuinely worried about the Crown Prince.

She was now the Crown Prince's woman; his future was her future.

She cooperated with the second young lady before because the engagement between the young master and Miss Yan was dissolved, which was in her best interest.

Following Liu's advice, Yu Chan left the mansion and inquired around.

Two days passed without any news, and Madam Liu was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan in the west courtyard.

Finally, on the third day, Yu Chan learned that "the young master went drinking with several familiar young masters that day, and while drunk, he offended His Highness Prince Huai..."

"Prince Huai!"

Upon hearing the name "Prince of Huai," Lady Liu was so frightened that her legs went weak.

Coming to her senses, she anxiously inquired about Song Mingtang's whereabouts, "Where is the young master?"

I have a bad feeling.

Through the crack in the door, Liu saw Yu Chan shaking her head, and she was immediately struck dumb.

"There's been no news for so many days, could it be that the Crown Prince has been...?" Yu Chan asked, her eyes filled with worry.

"Shut up!"

Lady Liu glared fiercely at Yu Chan, "Don't you dare curse the young master! He is, after all, the young master of the Yongning Marquis's mansion. How dare the Prince of Huai treat human life so lightly?"

"So what should we do now?" Yu Chan waited for Liu Shi to make a decision.

We still can't let the Marquis know.

Liu was still hesitant at first, because he got angry when she took the initiative to contact him last time.

For Yan'er's sake, she wanted to risk finding him again, but she was also afraid that he would be angry again.

But now that Tang'er has offended the Prince of Huai, she has no choice but to go all out.

"Don't let the Marquis know about the young master's affairs. Just say that the young master has been reading in his room recently. Be clever, I'll figure out the rest," Madam Liu instructed Yu Chan.

Then he called over Liu's mother and gave her some instructions.

The next day, before dawn, there was commotion in the west courtyard.

Inside the Brocade Pavilion, Song Qingning practiced her sword early in the morning as usual.

Not long after, Hongyuan quietly entered Jinxiu Pavilion and immediately reported to Song Qingning, "Second Miss, Second Madam has gone out."

"Which gate did you go through?" Song Qingning asked.

To ensure that Lady Liu could leave the mansion smoothly, Song Qingning placed people at both the main gate and the back gate.

"They went to the old Marquis's courtyard."

Song Qingning thrust out her sword, then stopped in surprise. Seeing the strange expression on Hong Yuan's face, she immediately thought of the day Jiang Sheng crawled through the dog hole into the mansion.

Did Liu also crawl through the dog hole?

"Heh, she's being a bit too cautious," Song Qingning sneered.

As soon as Lady Liu left the mansion, she was followed by people arranged by Song Qingning.

This time, Gu Ying brought two more women from the women's battalion.

Just like last time, the clues led to the Duke of Shen's mansion.

The difference was that not long after, Duke Shen Lin left the mansion with one person and got into a carriage.

In the afternoon, Gu Ying went to the Capital City Office to find Song Qingning and report the news: "The carriage of the Duke of Shen's mansion has been driving around the city for a long time and has stopped at several places, including a cloth shop, where Liu Shi also went."

"Duke Shen and Lady Liu must have met at the cloth shop."

Song Qingning listened to the news brought back by Gu Ying.

She still didn't believe that Shen Lin was the person behind the Liu family.

"You mean there's someone else with Shen Lin?" Song Qingning asked, as if she had grasped something.

"Yes, that person didn't look particularly outstanding. He looked like a scholar, dressed very modestly, and seemed quite close to Duke Shen," Gu Ying said.

Song Qingning suddenly thought of someone, "Shen Ao."

Shen Ao was a distant relative of the Shen family and originally did not have the surname Shen. He had heard that when Consort Shen was alive, he trusted his cousin very much.

For reasons unknown, he changed his surname to Shen.

In her previous life, Song Qingning had met him. He was a very shrewd man, but his eyes concealed cunning. He was helping the Shen family run their clandestine businesses.

Is he the person behind Liu?

Is the powerful figure behind him Prince Rui?

Song Qingning felt that something was off.

Lady Liu quietly returned to the Marquis's residence at night, still going through the old Marquis's courtyard.

Seeing Shen Ao, Madam Liu felt much more at ease.

Shen Ao said he would find a way to help both children. He worked for the Shen family, had Prince Rui's backing, and was supported by influential people.

He is capable of many things.

He rarely mentioned "benefactors," but whenever he did, he spoke with great respect.

Liu was still confined in the west main courtyard.

A few days later, Song Mingtang returned home, and Liu Shi's heart was finally filled with hope. However, there was still no news from Yan'er, and she wondered how she was doing at the Jiang family.

As the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, a banquet is traditionally held in the palace.

In the past, it was always Lady Liu who attended these palace banquets. She enjoyed having tea and drinks with the noblewomen on such occasions.

But now she's locked up.

But it doesn't matter, she can't go, and neither can Madam Lu's health.

Thinking this way, she felt a little better.

The entire Marquis's residence was preparing for the Mid-Autumn Festival, which was of great significance to Song Qingning.

Whether in their past life or this one, this is the first Mid-Autumn Festival in which their family of four has truly reunited.

Song Shiyin is learning to make lanterns.

He asked Song Qingning what kind of lantern she liked.

Song Qingning replied that she liked rabbits.

When she was a child, she rescued a rabbit and brought it home to raise, but when Liu found out, she had the rabbit killed by throwing it to the ground.

Liu has always enjoyed destroying everything she cares about.

My brother said he would make her a beautiful rabbit lantern.

When Song Qingning had free time, she would go to watch him make lanterns. Besides a rabbit pattern, there was also a butterfly pattern.

"Brother, is this butterfly a gift for Mother? But the butterfly's design seems more like something a young woman would like," Song Qingning asked suspiciously.

As soon as he finished speaking, Song Shiyin's cheeks suddenly turned bright red.

Song Qingning immediately realized, "Brother, you have someone you like?"

Song Qingning blurted out, seeing her brother's face turn even redder, as if it could drip blood.

More than anything, I was curious.

He immediately pressed on, "Who is it? Tell me quickly, which girl does my brother like?"