"Prince! Are you alright? Sister, how could you..."
Lin Fuying hurriedly got up from the ground and threw herself onto Ye Yunting with worry.
Chu Nanli had no interest in watching this couple's sickening display of affection in her room and said irritably, "If Nanny Hua is missing, go look for her. What use is it to find me?"
Lin Fuying's lips trembled, "Sister, you..."
Chu Nanli ignored her and turned to Ye Yunting, "Have you sent someone to look for her?"
Ye Yunting glared at her with a grim face and warned coldly, "You'd better truly have nothing to do with Nanny Hua's disappearance, or I promise you a life worse than death!"
"Fine."
Chu Nanli stood up, "In that case, to prevent you from further suspicion, I'll join the search."
"What tricks are you planning to play now?"
"I dare not, I merely want to prove my innocence."
Ye Yunting gave her a deep look and, with a snort, strode away.
Chu Nanli leisurely straightened her clothes and followed behind the crowd.
Upon reaching Nanny Hua's courtyard, a bodyguard came over with a resignation letter.
"Reporting! Prince, this was found in the room."
Ye Yunting took it and cast his eyes down to read.
Lin Fuying hurriedly leaned over to look at it. After only reading a couple of lines, her face changed, and she started speaking anxiously.
"How could this be? This certainly wasn't left by Nanny."
Lin Fuying, holding the resignation letter, looked at Chu Nanli, her eyes filled with dark clouds.
It must be this despicable woman's doing.
To use such underhanded methods against her was clearly a slap in her face, wasn't it?
"Is this Nanny Hua's handwriting?"
Ye Yunting asked.
Lin Fuying lifted her head, her eyes brimming with tears, "No..."
Chu Nanli snatched the letter from her hands, glanced over it with a smirk, and interrupted, "Concubine, you'd better think carefully before you answer. You said that Nanny Hua served by your side for so many years, so naturally, this room cannot be lacking anything written by her. If the bodyguards find something later and it doesn't match what you've said, wouldn't that be embarrassing?"
Lin Fuying's eyes flashed with hatred, but her face remained extremely frail.
"I would certainly recognize Nanny's handwriting. It's just that, sister, why do you need to be so aggressive? Nanny is missing, and I don't want to believe this has anything to do with you, but your various reactions are truly disheartening."
Chu Nanli truly admired this white lotus for being able to twist any conversation to her favor while removing herself from the blame.
There, Ye Yunting's gaze was becoming more unfriendly by the moment, as if he was about to devour her.
"Prince, let's judge by the evidence."
"Prince, Yingying is really worried about Nanny..." Lin Fuying's tears threatened to spill over.
Chu Nanli couldn't help but roll her eyes.
Ye Yunting, having witnessed this, frowned deeply, "Look at yourself now, where is the dignity befitting a Princess Consort?"
Hearing this, Lin Fuying immediately added fuel to the fire, "Prince, sister is just a commoner, and she probably didn't have the means to learn proper etiquette as a child. It's not her fault."
Chu Nanli responded indifferently, "True, I don't have the wealth of the Prime Minister Family's daughter, needing to spend the primary wife's dowry for medical expenses, and having the Prince pay back the money."
"Sister, I thought we were family..." Lin Fuying's face suddenly contorted, struggling to maintain her façade of weakness.
How had this little wench become so sharp-tongued? After narrowly escaping death, it was as if her tongue had been sharpened, her words mocking Lin Fuying's poverty and for being a concubine.
"Enough! Chu Nanli, how much longer will you continue throwing a tantrum?" Ye Yunting stared coldly at Chu Nanli.
Chu Nanli, stunned by the rebuke, was about to retort when Ye Yunting warned, "Don't provoke Yingying any further. I have already repaid your dowry with interest. Know when to stop."
Seeing the fragile figure beside him wavering, Ye Yunting affectionately drew her into his embrace.
If it turned out that Chu Nanli had anything to do with Nanny Hua's disappearance, he certainly wouldn't let her off easily.
Yingying had suffered enough in the Prime Minister Residence, he knew it all too well. That damned Chu Nanli even dared to use this incident to provoke Yingying, truly deserving of condemnation!
Chu Nanli was unaware of what Ye Yunting was thinking, only feeling extremely irate.
Had this dog of a man never heard the phrase "the provocative one is the cheap one"?
"Prince, these are the other writings found in Nanny Hua's room. Additionally, the subordinate also found a brazier with a lot of burnt joss paper and Buddhist scriptures inside."
At the bodyguard's words, both Lin Fuying and Chu Nanli's expressions changed.
Lin Fuying was full of uncertainty. Nanny really did believe in Buddhism, but this was not widely known in the Prince Residence. How had Chu Nanli found out? Could it be... this was not Chu Nanli's doing after all, and Nanny had indeed left the Prince Residence to return to her hometown to retire?
Chu Nanli also felt suspicious, looking at the brazier the bodyguard had presented.
She hadn't set up a brazier, nor had she burnt anything.
Who was behind this? Friend or foe?
"Yingying, it seems that Nanny Hua did indeed leave on her own."
Ye Yunting rubbed his temples, his emotions complex.
It turned out it really wasn't the doing of Chu Nanli.
No wonder he had wronged her, given that this woman was filled with lies and her nature was utterly despicable.
"Prince, Yingying doesn't believe it! Nanny is not that kind of person; she wouldn't abandon me and leave on her own."