If this mаttеr wеrе hаnded to sоmеоnе еlse, it would be sо simрle—a сourtesаn sееking wеаlth, а paуing client, all she had to dо wаs feеd the mаn shе wаs sеrving a раstrу fillеd with а maidеn's affectiоn. Еverуthing would seem nоrmal and gо smoothlу.
Вut Fеng Yuе wаsn't fооlish. Would she асcерt mоneу to hеlр someоnе targеt Yin Gezhi? She wouldn't еven know how shе diеd!
Fоr onе thing, Yin Gezhi wouldn't be соming tо her рlасе tоnight. Еven if hе did, hоw cоuld she dаre to tаmpеr with sоmеthing meаnt tо bе сonsumed? Thоugh she might smile foolishly, thаt didn't mean she wаs truly stupid!
Аfter sееing the сlient off, Feng Yue stared at the banknote for a moment, then got up to fetch paper and a brush. She wrote a small note, crumpled it into a ball, and took a hollowed-out silver ingot, stuffing the note inside before coating the outside with a layer of silver-colored clay.
"Lingshu," she called out, "go buy some mung bean cakes."
The little maid bounced in, took the silver ingot without a word, and dashed outside.
It seemed the Wu Kingdom was quite chaotic too—some were interested in Yin Gezhi, while others wanted to drag him into an endless hell. The Crown Prince was strange and sinister, and Miss Yi was naive and clueless. Could what she wanted to accomplish really go smoothly?
"Feng Yue."
Just as she was thinking, a gentle voice sounded behind her. Feng Yue paused and turned to see Ye Yuqing, dressed in splendid robes, fanning himself as he entered.
"You've come quite early, Young Master," Feng Yue said with a smile, glancing at the sky outside. "Aren't you afraid of gossip, coming here in broad daylight?"
"Among the guests here, eight out of ten must bow to me. Who, then, would dare to gossip?" Closing his fan and taking a seat, Ye Yuqing looked at her and said, "But it's strange—do you actually care about what others say?"
"I don'tt, but it’s rare to see someone as indifferent as I am." Smiling, Feng Yue poured him tea.
With just the two of them in the room, the atmosphere grew awkward when neither spoke.
Ye Yuqing showed no intention of easing the awkwardness. Instead, he looked up at her and suddenly said, "I’ve had too much tea today. How about drinking wine instead?"
Wine? Her eyes lit up, and Feng Yue immediately opened the cabinet, proudly declaring to him, "The one thing I have the most of here might just be wine."
Wine was good. Once drunk, you’d know nothing, and if you ended up sleeping with someone in a daze, it would be over—no need to dwell on it, simple and direct.
Seeing the gleam in her eyes, Ye Yuqing chuckled, stood up, and helped her bring out the wine jars. He ladled wine into two jugs, one for each of them.
Don’t ask why he didn’t use wine cups—such things were hardly suitable for someone like her to drink from. If not for the injuries on her hands, wine jars would have been far more fitting.
Envoy's Mansion.
Since they weren’t going to Dream Return Pavilion, Xu Huaizu and An Shichong had no choice but to dine at the mansion. Guan Zhi had prepared five dishes, which looked quite appetizing in color, aroma, and taste. However, as soon as the First Prince, Yin Gezhi, picked up his chopsticks, his face darkened halfway through the meal.
"Too much salt."
Guan Zhi was startled and quickly bowed his head.
He had always struggled to control the amount of salt properly. In the past, his master had never complained. Now that he’d pointed it out, what was he to do? Cook again? It was too late—it was already noon, and if he started over, all three of them would go hungry.Xu Huaizu forcefully swallowed the vegetables, took a couple of mouthfuls of rice to settle his stomach, and then asked, "Why aren’t you going to Dream Return Pavilion anymore?"
Yin Gezhi replied calmly, "I can’t eat there for a lifetime."
"If Guan Zhi can’t cook, why not just invite Feng Yue back to do it?" An Shichong said earnestly. "Too much salt is bad for your health."
Xu Huaizu hit him, both amused and exasperated. "What kind of person do you think Feng Yue is? Can she be treated like a kitchen maid? I heard the Crown Prince visited her today. If she’s lucky, she might even be redeemed by the Crown Prince."
His hand, holding the chopsticks, paused. Yin Gezhi’s voice turned cold. "You’re slandering the Crown Prince."
"Your disciple wouldn’t dare!" Xu Huaizu quickly replied. "How is that slander? If the Crown Prince wants to redeem someone, it wouldn’t be difficult for him to set up a residence outside the palace to keep her. Such things have happened before. I was just speaking casually..."
Glancing at Yin Gezhi, An Shichong tilted his head.
Although his master didn’t speak much, once you got to know him, understanding his emotions didn’t seem particularly difficult. For example, right now. He could sense that his master was a little angry.
But angry about what? Definitely not about Xu Huaizu slandering the Crown Prince.
"Master," An Shichong said after a moment of thought, "if you like Feng Yue, why not redeem her as soon as possible?"
A mouthful of rice caught in his throat. Yin Gezhi’s face turned slightly pale, and it took him a while to catch his breath. "I do not like her."
Then why was he acting like this? An Shichong couldn’t figure it out, so he simply lowered his head and continued eating.
After the meal, the sun shone brightly. Yin Gezhi lifted his foot to go out, but his two disciples followed closely behind.
He withdrew his foot and looked at them. "The sword manuals and knife manuals for the No Regret Sword and Eternal Sorrow Blade are on the third shelf in the middle of the study. Today, you should study them diligently. There’s no need to go out."
Hearing this, the two disciples ran off in a flash, disappearing in an instant.
Yin Gezhi let out a soft sigh of relief and smoothly stepped out the door. Just as he mounted his horse, he heard Guan Zhi behind him ask, "Where do you wish to go?"
"...Just taking a casual stroll."
He had shaken off two, but forgot there was still one he couldn’t shake off. Yin Gezhi pursed his lips.
It wasn’t that he absolutely had to go to Dream Return Pavilion. It was just that life was dull, and he always wanted to find some amusement. If not Dream Return Pavilion, there were plenty of other good places nearby, like the Beauty Courtyard or the Rouge Pavilion.
"Master," Guan Zhi said, "this subordinate forgot to report. After you issued the order, Ganjiang only made contact with three people. Two of them are from our network, and the other... I’m not sure if it counts as contact. It was the owner of a pastry shop. He went to buy pastries, paid for them, and everything seemed normal."
A pastry shop? Yin Gezhi asked, "Which pastry shop?"
"The one at the end of Xiangyu Street, the one that sells mung bean cakes," Guan Zhi replied. "This subordinate investigated. It’s an honest business. The shop has been open for several years, so there shouldn’t be any issues."
Is that so? Yin Gezhi pondered for a moment before suddenly asking, "Does Feng Yue also often eat mung bean cakes?"
It seemed so. Guan Zhi nodded. "Feng Yue’s flower stand often has mung bean cakes on it."
Nodding seriously, Yin Gezhi said, "I think this matter should be thoroughly investigated. Let’s go to Dream Return Pavilion."Huh? Guan Zhi was startled. He spurred his horse to catch up, thinking to himself that his master was far too sharp—just a few boxes of mung bean cakes, and he could already sense something was off?
It wasn’t about the mung bean cakes at all. Yin Gezhi didn’t know why he had turned his horse around and headed toward Dream Return Pavilion either. Perhaps it was intuition—intuition telling him he should go check on how she was doing.
Not that he meant anything by it. He’d rather be safe than sorry.
From morning until noon, Feng Yue was already half-drunk and half-awake. Surprisingly, Ye Yuqing remained as composed as ever, elegantly refilling her wine cup. “Would you like something to eat?”
“There’s still beef jerky, plenty to eat!” Feng Yue laughed heartily, having long abandoned all decorum. She sat boldly at the table, one foot propped on a nearby stool, one hand gripping the wine pot as she poured it straight into her mouth. Afterward, she wiped her lips and shouted, “Refreshing!”
Her eyes sparkled, her entire face radiant and spirited, looking far more pleasing than when she feigned smiles with poised hands.
Ye Yuqing fanned himself gently and remarked, “You seem to carry the free-spirited air of a wanderer of the jianghu.”
A wanderer of the jianghu? Feng Yue waved her hand dismissively, half-opening her eyes. “This lady is a troublemaker, not someone many dare to offend!”
Drunk and starting to talk nonsense. Ye Yuqing smiled, not bothering to dissuade her, simply watching with amusement.
Her outer robe slipped off her shoulder, and her sash hung loosely. Feng Yue’s eyes were seductive as silk, sweeping a flirtatious glance. “After finishing this pot of wine, let’s fight our way to the other side of the mountain, cut off the enemy general’s head, and bring it back to cook a dish!”
So fierce? Ye Yuqing raised an eyebrow. “Are you a general?”
“Yes!” Feng Yue nodded. “I am a female general!”
Slightly taken aback, Ye Yuqing looked at her in confusion. He watched as she stood up, swaying unsteadily, and went to a nearby chest, pulling out a white suit of armor. “See this? This is my armor!”
Only after realizing what she held was a stage costume did Ye Yuqing breathe a sigh of relief. He shook his head with a smile. “You’re truly impressive.”
“Of course! With a blade, I sweep away a thousand enemy horses; with wine, I drown ten thousand sorrows!” Feng Yue roared heroically before collapsing onto the soft couch to continue drinking. Her hairpins were uncomfortable, so she simply pulled them all out. Lying comfortably against the pillow, she raised a cup to the hazy, floating shadows in the air.
“Wait for me. Once I send them down, I’ll come find you, hey!”
A pang of sorrow struck Ye Yuqing’s heart. He reached out and took her wine pot. “Don’t get too drunk. There’s still a pleasant evening ahead tonight.”
A pleasant evening? Feng Yue was stunned, blinking blankly at him, her eyes unfocused. “Haven’t we already had many, many pleasant evenings?”
Scooping her up, Ye Yuqing walked toward the bed, whispering softly, “There will be many, many pleasant evenings in the future. The ones from before don’t count.”
The ones from before… don’t count? Feng Yue pouted, tears welling up in her eyes with grievance. “If they don’t count, then they don’t count. Who cares!”
“Don’t cry.”
“Who are you to tell this lady whether to cry or not! I’m not crying!” she snapped fiercely, her voice still tinged with tears.
Ye Yuqing stopped smiling. He laid her on the bed and leaned over her. “It seems you have many stories, don’t you?”
“No.” Like a child, she stretched out her hands for him to see, bringing both palms close to his eyes. “Look, I have nothing.”He lowered his head and gently kissed her palm, a complex expression flickering in Ye Yuqing's eyes as he whispered, "Whatever you desire, I can give it to you."
What did she want? Feng Yue thought dazedly for a long time, then drunkenly smiled again: "This humble servant has nothing she wants anymore. The only thing she might desire is Yi Guoru's life."
His body stiffened abruptly, and Ye Yuqing stared at her in shock.
The woman beneath him had flushed cheeks and misty eyes—already deeply intoxicated. Were the words spoken by someone in such a drunken state true or false?
Yi Guoru's life... just who was she?
His mind was a chaotic mess, and before he could sort out any thoughts, with a loud "bang," the door was kicked open once more.
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