Chapter 253
Chapter 253
Grandmother’s defining traits should have made her relatively easy to find.
That was why Jian Fan and the other three focused almost exclusively on elderly women.
Of course, they couldn’t exactly walk up to every old woman they saw and ask, “Hey, are you Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother?” Still, if she really was Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother, she would surely recognize Yang Zhen.
With that in mind, the four of them settled on a plan.
They would search the entire venue for NPCs who looked about the right age. Whenever they found a possible candidate, Yang Zhen would deliberately walk past her. If the woman was Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother, surely she would call out to Little Red Riding Hood.
However, even after the four of them had checked every woman of a suitable age in the venue, Yang Zhen still hadn’t found her grandmother.
Their search ground to a standstill.
Meanwhile, Zhou Jingying had already gone to request an audience with the Prince.
After making his announcement, the Prince had not left the ball.
He had found himself a quiet corner and poured a glass of red wine. Lounging lazily on a sofa, he gently swirled the wine in his hand without showing any intention of drinking it. Several bodyguards dressed in black stood around him.
Zhou Jingying walked straight toward the Prince.
“Hello. I have some information about the woman His Highness is looking for,” Zhou Jingying calmly told one of the bodyguards.
The bodyguard glanced at her. “Wait here.”
With that, he approached the Prince and whispered a few words in his ear.
Zhou Jingying saw the Prince look up at her after hearing the bodyguard’s report. Although she had already dropped her role’s persona, she was still dressed like a little girl. She quietly lowered her head, putting on a shy, sweet, and innocent expression.
For a Best Actress, this was almost laughably easy.
The Prince soon looked away and nodded to the bodyguard.
The bodyguard returned to Zhou Jingying and escorted her over to the Prince.
“Your Highness,” Zhou Jingying greeted him with her head lowered. She then stole a quick glance at the Prince before immediately averting her gaze, perfectly capturing the mannerisms of a shy little girl.
The Prince remained completely unmoved.
“You have a lead?” The Prince seemed interested in only one thing: how to find Qin Nan.
Zhou Jingying nodded, then hesitantly asked, “The person Your Highness is looking for is Snow White’s Stepmother, correct?”
The Prince raised an eyebrow. “Yes.”
“Why does Your Highness want to find her?” Zhou Jingying looked puzzled, but then abruptly feigned nervousness and hurriedly waved her hands. “Y-Your Highness, I was only curious. I didn’t mean to pry into your private affairs.”
The Prince merely smiled at Zhou Jingying without answering.
His reaction gave Zhou Jingying a better sense of what kind of person he was, and she immediately changed her approach.
“I can tell Your Highness that she’s here at this ball,” she continued.
“I know,” the Prince replied. Zhou Jingying had yet to offer any genuinely useful information, and he appeared to be losing interest.
Zhou Jingying gritted her teeth. “She’s with Snow White.”
The hand holding the Prince’s wineglass paused. Then anger visibly spread across his face.
Hm?
Anger?
Zhou Jingying was genuinely curious about where the plot was heading now.
She deliberately adopted another puzzled expression. “If Your Highness wants to find the Queen, why not simply ask Snow White? The princess has been with the Queen this entire time.”
The Prince raised his head to look at Zhou Jingying.
Still wearing that innocent, clueless expression, Zhou Jingying asked, “Your Highness, did Snow White hide this from you?”
“Where did you see them?” The Prince had no wish to answer her question. Instead, he went straight to what he wanted to know.
“Before the ball began. I saw someone confessing their love to Snow White,” Zhou Jingying replied, quietly studying the Prince’s expression as she spoke.
The Prince… was remarkably calm.
Zhou Jingying had no choice but to continue. “The Queen stepped in and turned them away on Snow White’s behalf.”
The Prince’s face instantly darkened.
What?
Zhou Jingying was stunned.
An idea had already formed in her mind. To test it, she continued.
“The Queen and Snow White seem to be very close. Intimate, even. Their relationship is nothing like the rumors say.” Confusion showed on Zhou Jingying’s face, while she watched the Prince from the corner of her eye.
By now, the Prince’s expression had gone far beyond merely dark. He crushed the wineglass in his bare hand.
The glass shattered. Shards and the trickling red wine fell onto the sofa, all without making the slightest sound.
Zhou Jingying no longer knew what to think.
The Prince didn’t like Snow White. He liked the wicked Queen?
Good heavens…
This…
Zhou Jingying was reeling inside, but her expression remained calm.
“Where are they?” the Prince asked again.
Zhou Jingying shook her head. “I only saw them before the ball began. I don’t know where they went after that, but I can tell you for certain, Your Highness, that the Queen and Snow White are together.”
The Prince glanced at Zhou Jingying. Once he determined that he would get no useful clues from her, he spat out a single word coldly.
“Scram.”
Zhou Jingying deliberately put on a shocked and frightened expression.
The bodyguard beside them stepped forward as soon as he heard the Prince’s order. He grabbed Zhou Jingying and dragged her away. Naturally, Zhou Jingying played along, looking terrified and struggling as she went. Her resistance proved completely useless, and the bodyguard soon escorted her out of the Prince’s area.
Once he had driven her away, the bodyguard released her.
Zhou Jingying cycled through a mixture of anger, grievance, and avid curiosity before leaving, grumbling curses under her breath.
She disappeared into the crowd.
After circling through it a few times, she went to find Lu Jing and the others.
The moment Zhou Jingying saw Qin Weiyi and the rest, she blurted out before anyone could ask, “I’m afraid the person the Prince likes isn’t Snow White, but the Stepmother Queen.”
Qin Weiyi and Lu Jing: “???”
Lin Junruo: “…”
Lin Junruo had a distinct feeling that this was exactly what she should have expected.
“The Prince likes the Stepmother Queen, which is why he’s trying to find her. So how will that affect our mission?” Lin Junruo asked.
Qin Nan’s mission had already been triggered, and just like in the fairy tale, he had to poison Snow White. That was clearly the most normal plotline imaginable, so why had everything gone off course the moment the Prince became involved?
Zhou Jingying shook her head.
Honestly, she did not have any theories at the moment.
Lin Junruo could only turn her gaze toward Qin Weiyi.
Sensing her stare, Qin Weiyi looked back at her.
Their gazes met in midair. As she stared at Qin Weiyi’s perfectly calm face, Lin Junruo belatedly remembered something.
Oh. Qin Weiyi couldn’t speak.
He could not give them any information at all.
Lin Junruo could only sigh helplessly.