I just want to live a good life

Chapter 571 Concubine Dong has disappeared

The day was so fulfilling that Su Nuan was a little tired. After dinner, she was about to rest when an uninvited guest arrived at Duiyue Residence.

It's a peach.

As soon as they entered the courtyard of Duiyue Residence, they clamored for an audience with Consort Xia.

Su Nuan was somewhat impatient to see her, but hearing the urgency in her voice, it seemed that something had happened, so she asked Chunliu to bring the person in.

"Consort Xia, please have mercy on my young lady!"

The moment Pan Tao saw Su Nuan, she uttered this nonsensical remark, which left Su Nuan completely bewildered. She tried to recall when she last saw Dong Jingshu, but after thinking for a long time, she couldn't remember.

Chunliu had already spoken up for her, angrily rebuking Pantao: "What nonsense are you spouting? My lady has no grudge against your lady, what's this talk of letting go or not letting go? Are you trying to make people misunderstand that the two ladies are at odds?"

Ignoring Chunliu, Pantao continued to Su Nuan, "Consort Xia, my young lady has decided not to compete with you anymore, so please let her go."

Su Nuan rubbed her temples, enduring the headache, and asked Pan Tao, "What happened to Consort Dong?"

Pan Tao gave Su Nuan a look that said, "You know perfectly well," and then awkwardly replied, "Wasn't my young lady seduced by the actors that Consort Xia brought in?"

"what?"

Su Nuan's eyes widened in surprise. Falcon and his companion had only brought Zhou Jin back to the Crown Prince's residence from outside the city today, and she had only let Zhou Jin leave for two hours. In such a short time, Zhou Jin had already made contact with Dong Jingshu and even seduced her.

Composing herself, Su Nuan ignored the part about "having someone lure her away" and asked Pan Tao, "Where is Consort Dong?"

The peach seemed to want to say something, but the words caught in her throat, and she simply nodded heavily.

When did she disappear?

"It's almost the end of Shen Shi (3-5 PM)."

Su Nuan silently estimated in her mind that more than an hour had passed and it was already dark. Under normal circumstances, a noble person like Dong Jingshu should not be walking outside alone. Even if she had just returned from outside, she would not have run into Zhou Jin who was coming through the side gate. So how did she know about Zhou Jin's existence and walk with him?

"Explain what exactly happened to me clearly."

Su Nuan said with a sullen face.

The peach was still a little hesitant.

Seeing this, Su Nuan said, "I am not the one who instigated that actor. If you want me to help you find Consort Dong, tell me the truth. If you are hiding anything, I can't help you."

After thinking for a moment, the peach made up its mind and told the whole story.

Despite her loud and boisterous manner, she is very articulate and can explain things clearly.

Dong Jingshu had always wanted to find a spy in Duiyue Residence, but there were only a few people there, and they were all devoted to Su Nuan, so she couldn't bribe them. She wanted to plant a maidservant in the residence, but Duiyue Residence never used outsiders, and even tasks like sweeping the courtyard were done by Chunliu and a few others in turns.

Left with no other choice, Dong Jingshu had someone keep watch outside the Moonlit Residence. Because the person doing this was frequently changed, not only did the people inside the Moonlit Residence not notice, but even Falcon and Wind Hunter didn't pay attention.

Today was Pan Tao's turn to do this. Afraid of being recognized, she hid far away. When she saw Lie Feng and Lie Ying escorting Zhou Jin into Dui Yue Ju, she immediately connected the dots with the rumors circulating in the city recently and realized that Zhou Jin was the actor who looked like the Crown Prince.

This discovery was remarkable. As soon as Zhou Jin entered Duiyue Residence, she went back and told Dong Jingshu.

Then the master and servant stood guard outside the side gate, preparing to ambush Zhou Jin.

They actually managed to catch that big rabbit.

As soon as Zhou Jin came out, the two followed him until they turned a street corner and the people from the Crown Prince's residence could no longer see them, at which point the two went up to stop Zhou Jin.

Dong Jingshu pulled Zhou Jin into a teahouse to talk, and asked Pan Tao to stand guard outside the door. By the time Pan Tao realized something was wrong, Dong Jingshu and Zhou Jin had disappeared.

Pan Tao was terrified and her first thought was to ask Su Nuan for her return, but she didn't dare to ask for it directly, so she ran over crying and begging for mercy.

After hearing this, Su Nuan was very dissatisfied with Dong Jingshu for having someone monitor her, and she didn't want to get involved in Dong Jingshu's disappearance.

Pan Tao was very clever. Seeing Su Nuan's expression, she quickly said, "My young lady knew that His Highness would come to Duiyue Residence as soon as he returned to the manor. She just wanted to bump into His Highness and have a chat. She did not want to pry into Consort Xia's private affairs."

Seeing that Su Nuan remained unmoved, she continued, "If Consort Xia blames my young lady for this, then this servant will have no choice but to return to the Marquis of Zhongyuan's residence and truthfully inform the Marquis and his wife that the young lady was kidnapped by the actors."

These words sounded reasonable, but after a little thought, Su Nuan understood that Pan Tao was putting her in danger. Zhou Jin had left from Duiyue Residence, and Dong Jingshu had "disappeared" with Zhou Jin. If she told Lord Dong the truth, the matter of Dong Jingshu's disappearance would be pinned on Consort Xia, and the rumors in the capital would become "Consort Xia had someone harm Consort Dong in order to win favor."

Su Nuan clicked her tongue. She disliked trouble, and usually in this situation, she would send someone to find Dong Jingshu. But she wouldn't do that now that she was being threatened.

It's just a rumor, let it spread, it won't hurt her.

Thinking of this, Su Nuan smiled slightly and said to Pan Tao, "I also think this matter should be told to Marquis Zhongyuan. Marquis Zhongyuan will surely have a way to find Consort Dong."

"You—" Pan Tao looked at Su Nuan in surprise, "Isn't Consort Xia afraid of being punished?"

"Punishment? What punishment? I'm just a weak and helpless housewife, I'm not good at finding people, how could anyone punish me for this?"

“But, but that actress is yours.”

*Smack!* Su Nuan slammed her hand on the table, angrily rebuking, "Have I given you enough face by listening to all this nonsense you've told me today? You even dare to try and pin this on me! I was just curious about that actor who's been all over the place, so I had him brought here to see. How did he become one of my men? I could have said he was Consort Dong's man! Consort Dong found someone who looks like the Crown Prince to deceive me..."

At this point, Su Nuan suddenly paused, thinking that Zhou Jin might really have prepared it for her.