Not many people were on the stairs. It could be seen that there were more samples than the first floor and the material was much more gorgeous. There were as many people sitting beside and picking embroidery as there were downstairs. These customers were enjoying tea and chatting while shopping. Xiuning Workshop was getting more and more praised by the customers in this aspect.
It was just a suggestion. Mo Xuetong did not expect Shopkeeper Xing to be such a business talent and so smart. She also did not expect there was such a clever man among the secret guards. Mo Xuetong praised him in her heart. Her gaze landed on Shopkeeper Xing who was leading the way, and a hint of darkness appeared in her eyes.
“My Lady, please!” Shopkeeper Xing brought Mo Xuetong into a small private room and asked her to sit down.
Along the way, Mo Xuetong found that those private rooms were all occupied, but this one was empty. It was facing the window, so she could see the street below clearly. It was a leisurely room. The door was open, and there was a faint fragrance in the air, which was a little familiar.
“My Lady, there have been special people coming these days. They don’t seem to be locals. They came to Xiuning Workshop and looked around. I don’t know what they were doing. They seemed to be looking for something and suspected Xiuning Workshop.” Shopkeeper Xing didn’t hesitate this time. Although he cast a glance at Mo Lan and Mo Yu, he still said it directly.
These two maidservants were Consort Xuan’s trusted subordinates, so he did not ask them to avoid while talking.
“Someone came to probe again and again?” Mo Xuetong’s lively eyes paused for a moment, and a trace of surprise flashed in them. “Shopkeeper Xing, your men haven’t made any unusual movements recently, have they?”
Shopkeeper Xing thought for a while and replied, “Don’t worry, My Lady. For so many years, we have been very careful and have never been exposed. Even when we had money problems, we didn’t make money casually. Now that Xiuning Workshop has such a good business, we don’t need to do anything else at all, so we will be fine.”
Mo Xuetong keenly caught the meaning in his words and asked, “Then when Xiuning Workshop’s business was not good, did you do something to make money?”
In her past life, Mo Xuetong had not figured it out either. 100 people were not a small group. Furthermore, they were all skilled in martial arts. Mo Xuetong was very suspicious that these people were really willing to be at peace. Could they really wait when they didn’t have enough to eat and wear?
Even though the secret guards were hidden in the dark and did not stand out in front of others, at the very least, they were not lacking in money. However, her mother’s secret guards were not doing as well as ordinary people. Were they really willing to accept it? Thus, Mo Xuetong was certain that they would have other ways of earning money.
In her past life, everything she owned had been controlled by Sima Lingyun. Even her last store was in his hands. However, why was there still some money in her hands? This was definitely not the reason why Sima Lingyun and Mo Xuemin had let her off. The source of the money was rather suspicious.
Now, Mo Xuetong could almost be sure that some secret guards were not necessarily engaged in a legitimate business. With their powerful martial skills, they were originally talents cultivated for the Empress’s daughter, the noble princess. Chosen from so many contestants, few of the 100 people were willing to be ordinary.
Hearing Mo Xuetong’s straightforward question, Shopkeeper Xing explained with an awkward expression, “My Lady, Madam was in poor health and didn’t meddle too much in the business. She left the entire shop to me. As a man, I really didn’t know much about embroidery, so I didn’t run it well. So, sometimes, when we were really short of money, Yan Yue would take some people to do other things and temporarily solve financial difficulties.”
“What did you do?” Mo Xuetong took the tea that Mo Lan handed her, lifted the lid and blew it lightly as she glanced at Shopkeeper Xing from the corner of her eyes. Yan Yue should be the deputy leader of the secret guards. She had heard Shopkeeper Xing mention him. Mo Xuetong did not ask Yan Yue to come to see her because she did not plan to order the secret guards to do other things.
Shopkeeper Xing paused and gritted his teeth. “My Lady, I’m only responsible for making money with Xiuning Workshop. If we didn’t have enough money, Yan Yue would become a killer to earn money. But now, we don’t have the money problem, so Yan Yue has already ceased this job.”
To kill people, and being a killer? Mo Xuetong was slightly stunned, but then she calmed down. That was what she had guessed. It seemed that Shopkeeper Xing and Yan Yue were in charge of two different ways in the same group. It seemed that the 100 people not only had powerful martial skills, they were of other use. No wonder Bai Yichen had put in so much effort to marry the Fifth Princess.
An organized team of 100 secret guards was much stronger than a team of 100 scattered masters.
“Could it be because of this that you have been targeted?” Since Shopkeeper Xing had admitted it, Mo Xuetong did not force him anymore. Instead, she asked in accordance with Shopkeeper Xing’s train of thought.
Shopkeeper Xing frowned, shook his head, and said with certainty, “That’s impossible. It’s been some time. Yan Yue and the others are regular escorts now. How can they be targeted?”
Mo Xuetong did not pursue the matter further when he said in a certain tone. She only asked Shopkeeper Xing to pay more attention to these people. It would be best if he could get someone to keep an eye on where they came from. In that way, they could at least follow the clues and find the people behind the scenes. Otherwise, Shopkeeper Xing and his people who could not be seen would not know when they would die.
Therefore, they must be more vigilant than common people!
Although the matter happening in the past had faded, no one knew when it would be brought up again. Shopkeeper Xing and his people had always been worried. In terms of vigilance, Mo Xuetong was sure that there was no need to remind them. However, she still mentioned it worriedly. As a result, Shopkeeper Xing promised again and again that they would be more careful.
After chatting with Shopkeeper Xing for a while, Mo Xuetong and her maidservants wandered around the shop casually and bought a few embroidery items. Then, she got into the carriage waiting outside with her maidservants and refused Shopkeeper Xing’s request to send them to the door. She only claimed that it was a special period, so it was better to be careful.
As Mo Xuetong insisted, Shopkeeper Xing did not send her to the door.
After the few of them boarded the horse carriage outside, the carriage headed slowly to King Xuan’s Manor. Mo Xuetong leaned against the wall of the horse carriage and there was a hint of coldness in her eyes. She reached out to touch her forehead and moved back so that she could lean against the cushion behind her more comfortably.
Mo Lan handed over another cushion and asked uncertainly, “My Lady, Shopkeeper Xing and his people have been fine for so many years. Will there be someone who keeps an eye on them now?”
“Mo Lan, do you think such a thing will happen? Someone didn’t find out what they had done before, but now the person has a clue and thus begins tracking it down?” Mo Xuetong closed her eyes and asked after thinking for a while.
“I don’t think so. If there was a clue, those people would have found it a long time ago. Since others have never found the clue for so many years, it’s impossible for it to be found now. According to what Shopkeeper Xing said, those people have been specially coming to the shop for a long time. If they are almost confirmed, how could they just wait without doing anything?”
Mo Lan looked at Mo Xuetong’s obviously tired face and said gently.
Mo Xuetong did not open her eyes. She carefully thought over Mo Lan’s words. Mo Lan didn’t completely speak what she meant. However, after thinking about it for a while, Mo Xuetong figured it out. If those people came really because of what happened back then, then the Emperor was the mastermind behind the scenes. If the Emperor suspected someone and wanted to kill him, did he need a reason? So what if it was a false charge? They would not have investigated for a few days and would have caught those secret guards!
Judging by their behaviors, those were not Emperor Zongwen’s people!
There was another possibility—they were Yan Yue’s enemies he met when he was out on a mission. However, there was also a problem. After they discovered their enemies and also had unimpeachable proof, who would seek evidence instead of directly taking action? From this point of view, they didn’t become enemies when Yan Yue was a killer.
Then the identity of this group of people was rather suspicious!
Shopkeeper Xing put forward this matter so seriously. If it was not true, could it be false? But if it was false, then Shopkeeper Xing’s purpose was suspicious. What was he hiding? Or maybe he was trying to find out something. When Mo Xuetong went in, it happened that Princess Royal had just come out.
However, Shopkeeper Xing did not mention Princess Royal at all. Could there be any mystery behind this?
As if something had flashed through her mind, Mo Xuetong slowly opened her watery eyes. “Mo Lan, do you think that Shopkeeper Xing has no idea that Princess Royal has appeared in the shop?”
“Shopkeeper Xing should know Princess Royal…” Mo Lan and the others all knew about these things as Mo Xuetong did not hide it from them. Hence, Mo Lan thought for a moment and said hesitantly, but what she said next was smooth. “Shopkeeper Xing and the others are secret guards, and they were selected by the princesses in King Jin’s Manor back then. They definitely know the young princesses of King Jin’s Manor. As I see it, Shopkeeper Xing knows Princess Royal.”
An accident happened to King Jin’s Manor and then the princesses disappeared with their secret guards. It seemed that there was not much connection between them, especially when Princess Royal had survived because she was the daughter of the late Emperor. She had nothing to do with Luo Xia. Was it true? When she was a child, Princess Royal had a good relationship with Mo Xuetong’s mother.
Later, the two gradually understood their relationship. Hadn’t their secret guards met? If they had met before, then it was impossible that Shopkeeper Xing didn’t know Princess Royal. If they knew each other, then why did Shopkeeper Xing lie to Mo Xuetong today? What did he want to do?
Mo Xuetong had clearly seen that Princess Royal was inside and then went out. She had also smelled the fragrance from Princess Royal in the private room. Princess Royal was not in good health, so there was even a herbal scent in the fragrance, which Mo Xuetong had never smelled from another person. Furthermore, the other private rooms were occupied at that time, but why was that private room empty? Shopkeeper Xing would not know that she was coming.
The only reason was that there was someone in this private room before they came. It was just that the person had just left when they arrived, so that private room was empty!
What was the secret between Shopkeeper Xing and Princess Royal?
Princess Royal had secretly appeared in her shop and had left mysteriously. Shopkeeper Xing had not only hidden the whole matter from her, but had also deliberately changed the topic. How could there be nothing wrong with it? Furthermore, it would not be a small matter for Princess Royal to come even if she was ill.
However, Mo Xuetong could not figure out what was going on for the moment.
“My Lady, would you like to ask His Highness about it later?” Mo Yu suggested.
“His Highness is busy these few days. Let’s wait and see.” Mo Xuetong waved her hand and rejected her suggestion directly. Even though Feng Yuran looked calm on the surface, he was not. Mo Xuetong did not know how much he knew about what the He family had done. Even though he pretended that he did not care about anything, Mo Xuetong knew that he was suppressing his anger. As such, she did not want to bother him at this point.
