Ah Man came to bring them some news before their performance started. Feng Yong Rui had agreed with the new plan because they had a higher rate to success with the new plan and Qi Hao had also sent his people to help them --- they came along with Ah Man. Yao Ling and friends sighed in relief when they knew that they had both men"s back up because it would make everything easier for them.
Yao Ling asked Ah Man in a low voice, "Ah Man, what about my father"s news? Do you find out anything about him? What happened to him?"
At first, she was afraid to ask, but she saw that Ah Man was hesitant to tell her something, Then she made a guess that it must have been about Rong Qiu. If there was real news about him, at least, it was better than nothing.
"I have a piece of news about Rong Qiu Da Ren," Ah Man answered. He explained that their spies in the palace were mostly alive and well. However, they saw that something was wrong in the palace, thus, they didn"t dare to give out uncertain information. Not only that, but the spies from another fraction had been caught here and there --- thus, they could only lay low for a little while.
They didn"t want to follow those spies" footsteps.
It seemed like the Han Emperor tried to clean up his palace for some reasons that were unknown to everyone else. People kept wondering what had triggered the Han Emperor to do something big --- that was also the reason why the officials felt a bit nervous when they entered the palace at this time.
They were afraid that something big would happen. Because so many spies were being plucked out, they also couldn"t find much information about the banquet. In these sensitive times, those officials didn"t dare to send a new batch of spies. It was better if they kept a low profile until everything had settled down.
Feng Yong Rui"s spies were hiding deep inside the palace, thus, it was hard to find them. Most of them were the confidants of important figures in the palace. Feng Yong Rui had nurtured the spies for a long time --- right after he found out about Xiao Fang"s real ident.i.ty.
His regret was for not placing any spies at Han Xiang"s courtyard, after all, he also trusted the little la.s.s was his daughter"s best friend. He didn"t think that Han Xiang would bring any harm to Xiao Fang --- it seemed like he miscalculated about this.
Fortunately, due to many people that went into the palace today, it was easier for Ah Man to keep in touch with a few of their spies secretly. He was careful when he was meeting them and gaining some pieces of important information--- one of them was about Rong Qiu Da Ren.
"How... How is he?" Yao Ling asked while gulping nervously.
Ah Man answered, "He"s currently fine."
Yao Ling sighed in relief at first, however, she was in a panic after understanding Ah Man"s meaning. "What do you mean by being fine at the moment? What about after this?" Yao Ling furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
Ah Man helplessly looked at Yao Ling --- the latter was too emotional for him to handle and he glanced at Yao Ying, asking for his help.
"Ling-er, calm yourself down!" He said in a soft and yet, stern voice. Whenever something happened to her family, she always couldn"t maintain her calmness. She really needed to learn to cover up her mood and expression better.
Yao Ying understood her feelings a little bit. It was by luck that she was able to find her real father and because of that, she was too afraid of losing her newfound happiness --- but still, this mentality wasn"t good if it continued on. He already tried to change the way she thought, but it was easier said than done!
Yao Ling nodded her head and she felt guilty for forgetting Yao Ying"s warn and teaching. She took a deep breath and became more serene, her previous weak image was gone in a heartbeat --- even Ah Man felt that Yao Ling was quite amazing ah~! How could her temperament change so fast?
No... no... it wasn"t only Yao Ling Gu Niang"s ability, but it was also because of Yao Ying Gong Zi"s reminder.
Yao Ling asked in a more poised voice, "Please... tell me... how is my father?"
Ah Man nodded his head in appreciation because it was easier to talk to a calm person. "It was said that the Han Emperor put him under house arrest for the time being. He was being kept inside one of the abandoned courtyards with a few guards and wasn"t allowed to go out," Ah Man explained. "However, he is still treated fairly well, so I don"t think that he is in immediate danger."
Yao Ling furrowed her eyebrows, "But... why? Does it have something to do with the matter at Crescent Lake?"
"No, actually," Ah Man answered. The matter at the Crescent Lake couldn"t be blamed to Rong Qiu, because at that time, he didn"t trust the rumor easily or make big trouble for the esteemed guest. The one who made trouble by making the wrong decision and was already killed, Hong Wen. The latter made a bold decision even after Rong Qiu tried to kill the rumor by making the Han Emperor"s guest angry. In the end, it made the relations.h.i.+p between the Han Emperor and the esteemed guest turned for the worst.
It was impossible for the Han Emperor to work together with that important man, thus, it annoyed the Han Emperor. Because of the Han Emperor"s current image problem, he didn"t want to make a big deal about what had happened at Crescent Lake.
"Then... why?!" Yao Ling asked in confusion.
"It seemed like the Emperor wants Rong Qiu Da Ren to make a comeback and become his right-hand man once more. The Emperor even apologized for not listening to Rong Qiu Da Ren"s advice back then and ending up losing a loyal official," Ah Man explained.
Lin Jian frowned and asked, "Why does the Emperor suddenly want Uncle Rong Qiu to make a comeback?"
Xiao Fang added, "He should have known that G.o.dfather is my father"s best friend..."
Yao Ying nodded his head in agreement. "Something seems a bit fishy..."
Ah Man noticed that they were quite perspective and answered with simple sentences, "Master"s guess is that the Emperor wants to use their relations.h.i.+p... Maybe he wants to gain Rong Qiu Da Ren"s knowledge about my master and use it to attack the latter."
After all, from all of the officials, the one was the hardest to deal with was his master. That was why the Han Emperor became so restless.
The youngsters shook their head --- at least, Rong Qiu was still safe at the moment. Yao Ying asked Ah Man, "What is Uncle Feng Yong Rui"s plan for my father in law?"
Ah Man shook his head. "Master never told me anything in details because we were afraid that someone would hear our plan. He just told me to tell you all that he will handle everything. Rong Qiu Da Ren will be safe under his care."
Listening to this promise, they felt better --- especially Yao Ying and Yao Ling. This way, they would be able to focus on their performance.
"Almost time... almost time... are you all ready?" A woman"s voice traveled into the tent from the outside. It seemed to be Bai Yi"s voice --- the palace maidservant had come back to the tent. Fortunately, she didn"t barge in directly but announce her presence loudly.
When Bai Yi opened the tent, she saw the hectic preparation inside the tent and she didn"t feel suspicious for one bit.
"Are you all ready?" She asked once again when she didn"t hear an answer from any of the performers.