"Whаt kind оf tаlk is this, Мistrеss?" Lingshu puffed оut hеr сhееks. "This servant wаs sаved by уou, and уоu'vе rаisеd mе for threе years. When you nо lоnger wish tо cоntinuе in this linе оf work, I will dеfinitеlу suррort уou!"
The littlе mаid, her fаce full of sinсerity, stоod straight with а bасkbоnе thаt sеemed tо сarrу а сertаin integritу.
Fеng Yue smiled, раtted hеr shoulder, and сontinued walking fоrwаrd. "Тhen in thе future, I'll be relуing оn уou!"
Lingshu fоllоwеd bеhind, tаking smаll running steрs, сlenсhing her littlе fists and seсretlу vоwing thаt she wоuld еаrn рlenty of silvеr!
...
Thieves had brokеn into the Genеral's Mаnsion.
Еаrly in thе morning, Yi Zhangzhu entered the palace to request an audience with the Crown Prince, appearing quite shaken. She asked the Crown Prince to dismiss his attendants and said seriously, "Thieves actually managed to break into the General's Mansion! Your Highness, this matter must be thoroughly investigated!"
Ye Yuqing sat in the main seat, smiling faintly. "The General's Mansion has always been watertight. Few thieves who enter ever survive. Where do you think the problem lies, Zhu'er?"
Yi Zhangzhu certainly wouldn't think the problem lay with herself. Even though she had brought Ye Yuqing and Miss Feng Yue into the mansion, one was the Crown Prince of the court, and the other was a lowly courtesan. Neither could possibly have any designs on the General's Mansion, so it must be an inside job.
"With Father away, I probably can't control the people in the mansion," she said, biting her lip as she looked at Ye Yuqing. "If someone has truly betrayed the General's Mansion, then I can only beg Father for forgiveness."
"Oh?" Ye Yuqing raised an eyebrow. "You don't suspect the brothel woman at all, or that it might be my negligence?"
"How could I suspect Your Highness?" she cooed, giving him a flirtatious glance. After thinking about Feng Yue, Yi Zhangzhu shook her head. "As for that young lady, she seems foolish and naive, inexperienced and without any background. There's no reason for her to do such a thing."
Foolish and naive?
Ye Yuqing chuckled softly, opening his fan to cover his eyes, his gaze deep and thoughtful.
If that young lady named Feng Yue were truly foolish, she would never have survived by Yin Gezhi's side. Since she was alive and well now, even sitting on a windowsill drinking wine with such ease, it meant she wasn't foolish at all.
Coincidentally, yesterday he had gone to the Vice Minister's residence and took a shortcut back to the palace through the alley behind Dream Return Pavilion. By chance, he looked up and saw such a tantalizing scene.
"Tantalizing" might not be the right word, but he had never seen a woman drink like that—not using a cup, barefoot, robe open, holding a wine jar. Surprisingly, it didn't seem wanton but rather carefree.
After returning, he had thought about it for a long time, unable to understand how he could see a sense of wild, unrestrained freedom in a woman. Yet last night, as he fell asleep, that scene entered his dreams again. Before he knew it, he had approached her and pulled her into his arms.
He wanted her.
Whether it was because of Yin Gezhi or because Feng Yue herself was intriguing, his obsession with having this woman seemed to be growing deeper and deeper.
As for the General's Mansion...
Snapping back to reality, Ye Yuqing smiled gently and innocently again. "I will have Minister Xu send someone to investigate thoroughly. Don't worry."
But since it was now in his hands, this case was destined to have no resolution.
Yi Zhangzhu, completely unaware, happily bowed. "Thank you, Your Highness!""This humble prince will escort you out of the palace." Considerately guiding her out, Ye Yuqing spoke with a tone of reproach: "A young lady shouldn't always wander about alone. If there's anything, you can always speak with this prince."
Blushing shyly, Yi Zhangzhu nodded and obediently followed him out of the palace.
"Where is Sun Li, who usually accompanies you?" Sitting in the carriage, Ye Yuqing suddenly asked.
She hadn't expected him to pay such close attention to her, even noticing the people around her in such detail. Yi Zhangzhu sighed and said with a pitiful tone: "Brother Yin broke his hand and sent him back to his hometown to recover."
Yin Gezhi? Ye Yuqing's expression shifted slightly. Upon reflection, he could guess the reason and couldn't help but take a light breath.
How rare... to care so much about a woman. It's only been a few days, and he's already standing up for someone? Usually, when I send him beauties, none of them ever stay in his residence. But he's found a treasure in a brothel and is protecting her like this?
Shaking his head with a light laugh, Ye Yuqing glanced outside and said: "Zhu'er, this prince suddenly has some matters to attend to. You should return to your residence first. Later, I'll have someone send you some small gifts."
Yi Zhangzhu was taken aback, quite puzzled: "What are you going to do?"
The Crown Prince's whereabouts—is that something people can casually ask about? However, Ye Yuqing didn't blame her, only smiled without answering, then got out of the carriage. Accompanied by his guards, he rode off in another direction on horseback.
An Shichong and Xu Huaizu arrived at Dream Return Pavilion on time for their meal—although they rather timidly entered through the back door, they seemed to strictly follow Yin Gezhi's instructions. Upon seeing Feng Yue, they even nodded slightly in greeting.
Quickly returning the courtesy to the two young masters, Feng Yue smiled and said: "Lunch is already prepared. Please enjoy your meal."
Curiously glancing at the empty room, An Shichong asked: "Where is our master?"
Before Feng Yue could answer, Xu Huaizu beside him playfully tapped An Shichong's head: "You really don't watch where you're walking. Didn't you see when we came upstairs? Master is in a private room on the second floor, watching someone dance."
Rubbing his head and giving Xu Huaizu an annoyed look, An Shichong fell silent and began eating quietly and elegantly.
These scions of noble families truly have grace. Though they clearly wanted to know why Yin Gezhi wasn't in her room, they refrained from asking. Feng Yue smiled, reaching out to serve them dishes. The cloth wrapped around her hand hadn't been removed yet, which only made the two even more curious.
An Shichong seemed more reserved and proper, but Xu Huaizu was livelier. Unable to hold back, he finally asked: "Miss, I heard your hand has a fractured bone. Can you still use it?"
Blinking, Feng Yue replied: "This humble one used to do farm work in the countryside and suffered many injuries, so naturally I can endure pain better."
Xu Huaizu's gaze toward her immediately held a touch of respect: "To be honest, if it were me, I might not be as resilient as you, miss. No wonder Master wants us to dine here—he must want us to learn something from you. If even a woman can be as steadfast as a rock, how can we men fear blood and sweat?"
An Shichong paused, put down his chopsticks, and also looked at Feng Yue with respect, appearing to agree with Xu Huaizu's words.
Feng Yue: "..."Are kids these days so honest? Yin Gezhi clearly just wanted her to cook, yet they managed to grasp some profound lesson from it?
Come to think of it, with two disciples so upright and righteous, how could their master spend all his time in a brothel? Was that appropriate?
"Feng Yue!" Mama Jin's booming voice suddenly rang out at the door, startling the two young masters at the table so much they nearly choked.
With an apologetic smile, Feng Yue turned to open the door, only to see Mama Jin winking and nudging as she pressed a hairpin into her hand. "That gentle, handsome gentleman from earlier sent this for you, saying it would look lovely on you! Look, it's a top-quality Hetian jade hairpin. Only officials' families have such pins!"
Pausing briefly, Feng Yue took the hairpin and held it up to examine it.
It was the one Yi Zhangzhu had given to the Crown Prince. Today, it had been sent to her?
The General's Mansion had been robbed—it seemed the Crown Prince already knew. But he certainly wouldn't know it had anything to do with her. So what did sending this hairpin mean?
After a moment's thought, adhering to the principle of not letting a good thing go to waste, Feng Yue reached up, removed the two new gold hairpins from her hair, and replaced them with this jade one—simple, elegant, and noble.
When Yin Gezhi returned from watching the song and dance performance, he saw his two disciples had finished their meal and were now staring at Feng Yue's hair.
"This hairpin is beautiful, and the craftsmanship is exquisite," An Shichong remarked.
Xu Huaizu nodded. "It looks very valuable at first glance."
Following their gaze to her hair, Yin Gezhi spoke up. "A jade hairpin suits a refined lady, highlighting grace and elegance. On your head, it's neither one thing nor the other."
At the sound of his voice, the two young masters instantly stood up straight and bowed in unison. "Master!"
The corner of Feng Yue's mouth twitched. Pretending not to hear his comment, she bowed as well.
Stepping inside, Yin Gezhi looked displeased. He glanced at her, then at the gold hairpins on the dressing table behind her, and remarked sarcastically, "You should just wear those. A hairpin specially tributed to officials isn't suitable for you."
This man's tongue must be soaked in poison! Feng Yue was so angry she rolled her eyes. She had never heard anyone speak so harshly—it was practically leaving no room for others to live.
Fortunately, she wasn't vain and had no pride. If it were anyone else, wouldn't they be driven to jump off a building by his words?
"This humble servant likes this hairpin," Feng Yue said after taking a couple of deep breaths, forcing a smile. "Even if it doesn't suit me, I still want to wear it."
"Master," Guan Zhi leaned in and whispered, "The Crown Prince personally delivered this earlier, but he didn't come upstairs. He just handed it over downstairs and left."
His expression unchanged, Yin Gezhi lowered his gaze to look at her, his voice calm. "Do you like the hairpin, or the person who gave it to you?"
Feeling a bit unnerved by his stare, Feng Yue reacted faster than ever, covering her head and dodging. "This humble servant likes both! How could I not like a gift from a patron? Sir, I may be booked by you for a few days, but you can't just take my things!"
Who cared about her lousy jade hairpin? Yin Gezhi was somewhat annoyed. Seeing her guarded expression, an inexplicable sense of irritation welled up inside him.
"Guan Zhi, take those two gold hairpins. Shichong, Huaizu, come with me to the training ground."
With a flick of his sleeve, he turned and left. On the surface, Yin Gezhi showed nothing. His two disciples didn't even realize their master was angry. Only Guan Zhi wiped the sweat from his forehead and stepped forward to collect the hairpins from Feng Yue's dressing table."What are you doing?" Feng Yue glared at him. "This hairpin was given to me by Mama Jin."
Huh? Guan Zhi was taken aback, confused as he said, "This was bought for you by my master yesterday. Didn't Lingshu tell you?"
Her heart skipped a beat. Feng Yue turned to look at Lingshu in the corner.
Lingshu puffed out her cheeks, guiltily raising her eyes to the ceiling rafters.
So it was actually a gift from Yin Gezhi? Feng Yue was somewhat stunned. Looking at the hairpin in Guan Zhi's hand, she reached out and snatched it away.
"Hey..."
"When you give someone something, there's no taking it back." Clutching the golden hairpin tightly, Feng Yue shamelessly declared, "Since it was meant for me, it's mine now. You can't take it away!"
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