Fеng Yuе gigglеd, nоdding shyly аs shе rерliеd, "I am deeрlу honorеd."
Ye Yuqing stoоd uр аnd wаvеd fоr the pеople behind him to entеr.
Fеng Yue stоle а glаnсе—two mаids wеrе hоlding а set оf clothing, clеаrly intеnding to dress her uр as a rеspeсtаblе wоmаn. Тhаt made sеnsе; if she wеrе tо go оut with him, she соuldn’t still reek оf thе brothеl.
But the Crоwn Prince’s tаstе wаs quite gоod—a rosе-rеd lоng skirt pаirеd with а milkу-whitе shаwl, both еlеgant аnd luxuriоus. The bоx оf jеwеlry wаs fillеd with gоld-inlаid jade and рearls, all looking quitе expеnsive.
Trulу worthу оf a rоyal playboy—so generous, so considerate, any woman would fall for him!
Feng Yue was deeply moved; the feeling of being pampered was simply wonderful. She immediately hopped down and bowed to him. "Thank you, Young Master!"
"Change into it," Ye Yuqing said. "I’ll wait for you outside."
With that, he led his attendants out and closed the door.
Look at this—what a gentleman, what grace and elegance! Feng Yue sighed inwardly. This was a brothel, after all. How many clients specifically requested to watch the girls change clothes? Yet he knew better than to look where he shouldn’t. Such a man, so refined and extraordinary, completely different from those lecherous scoundrels outside!
"Achoo!"
Yin Gezhi frowned as he sneezed inexplicably.
"Master," Guan Zhi entered from outside and reported, "We’ve investigated thoroughly. The other two leads couldn’t have leaked the information. It must be the mung bean cake shop!"
A mung bean cake seller with such extraordinary abilities? Yin Gezhi frowned. He reached for his outer robe. "Let’s go take a look."
Xiangyu Street was filled with snacks, with half the street dedicated to food stalls. The Zheng Ji Pastry Shop was located at the end of the street—inconspicuous but not hidden. Upon entering, the shopkeeper greeted warmly, "What would you like, sir?"
Glancing down at the pastries on the counter, Yin Gezhi said, "Half a pound of mung bean cakes."
"Right away!" The shopkeeper deftly took the money, weighed the cakes, and was about to pack them when Yin Gezhi spoke again, "I’d like to eat here for a while. Is there a seat available?"
"Yes, yes," the shopkeeper smiled. "The table behind you is still empty."
Nodding to her while discreetly observing her, Yin Gezhi sat down and began eating while keeping watch.
Guan Zhi also looked around but found nothing unusual about the shop. He simply asked, "These pastries taste so good. How long have you been in business, shopkeeper?"
Zheng Shi smiled. "It’s been over two years now. I’ve always enjoyed making pastries and worked for a wealthy family before. Later, I left and opened my own shop."
Guan Zhi nodded and added, "Judging by your accent, shopkeeper, you don’t seem to be from around here."
Pausing slightly, Zheng Shi lowered her eyes as she rolled out dough and said, "There are plenty of people here who aren’t locals. Many are refugees from the Wei Kingdom. Sigh, the war in Wei has been going on for so many years, and too many people have been displaced."
From the Wei Kingdom? Yin Gezhi glanced at her but remained silent, slowly savoring the pastries.
The shopkeeper’s every move showed no sign of suspicion. After half an hour, Yin Gezhi left the shop, intending to rest at the teahouse across the street.
"Let’s rest at this teahouse."
Before he could step inside, Ye Yuqing’s voice sounded from behind. "You must be tired from walking."
Feng Yue nodded, smiling shyly as she took Ye Yuqing’s arm and walked into the teahouse.Just as she was about to step through the doorway, a leg suddenly shot out from the side, tripping her so badly she nearly fell flat on her face!
"You..."
The person at the door turned around. Dressed in ordinary blue robes, his imposing aura remained undiminished. With a stern face, he nodded toward the person behind her: "Your Highness."
Ye Yuqing raised an eyebrow, studying him carefully for a moment before sighing, "I never expected to meet you here as well. It must be fate. Shall we go upstairs for some tea?"
"Very well." Yin Gezhi agreed, not even glancing at Feng Yue as he strode directly into the teahouse.
Feng Yue pursed her lips, straightened up, and forced a smile as she followed them inside.
After being dragged around by Ye Yuqing for quite a while, she realized this Crown Prince was far from simple-minded. First, he tested her repeatedly, confirming she had no martial arts skills whatsoever. Then he probed into her background. Fortunately, she had prepared thoroughly, revealing not a single flaw along the way, vividly portraying the character of "a woman whose family was destroyed, reduced to prostitution, longing for revenge but powerless to achieve it."
It was clear that Ye Yuqing had lowered half his guard against her. Thus, earlier in a secluded spot, he had said one sentence:
"You were once a lady of good standing. If possible, I would also like to help you seek justice."
Hearing this, Feng Yue laughed inwardly, though her eyes brimmed with tears as she looked at him.
What justice did she have to seek? Only vengeance. Rather than seeking justice for her, it would be better to offer her a path to exact revenge.
She hadn't misjudged him. The current Crown Prince indeed had intentions to eliminate General Yi. She hadn't chosen the wrong person.
"Has Miss Feng Yue twisted her neck?"
Just as she was lost in thought, someone beside her suddenly tossed out this remark, like ice-cold water poured over her head, instantly snapping her back to reality. She turned to look: "Huh?"
Yin Gezhi held a cup of tea, coldly offering it before her.
"Oh, oh, oh!" She hurriedly took it. Feng Yue grinned, taking a small sip.
Ye Yuqing stared at Yin Gezhi and said, "Your Highness has been exceptionally diligent lately in instructing the young masters of both families. I heard that yesterday, Marquis Anguo entered the palace and praised Your Highness extensively before His Majesty."
"Too kind."
"Your Highness possesses talent for military governance. It's a pity your status is awkward, preventing you from managing matters of the Wu Kingdom." Ye Yuqing smiled. "But for such talent to be wasted to this extent—I fear even Heaven would condemn our kingdom."
"I dare not claim such praise."
Feng Yue lowered her head, nibbling on pastries as she listened to these two—one offering flattery, the other coldly tossing back a few words. She thought to herself, the Crown Prince truly had a good temper. Why be so polite to Yin Gezhi? If it were her, she'd tie the bastard up and hang him from a tree! Willing to help or not? If not, she'd cut him down!
Ye Yuqing had long wanted to win Yin Gezhi over, but the Eldest Prince Yin seemed quite content with his idle, aimless days, showing no intention of joining forces with him. The Crown Prince was a persistent man, employing both soft and hard tactics, exhausting every means since Yin Gezhi entered Wu, struggling until now.
For some reason, Yin Gezhi had consistently refused to show goodwill toward the Crown Prince.
In terms of stance, Yin Gezhi certainly wanted to eliminate Yi Guoru. But perhaps because of Yi Zhangzhu, he appeared to get along quite well with Yi Guoru, harmoniously and without the slightest resentment over being captured as a prisoner.
His heart truly was vast.
"Feng Yue." Having reached an impasse in conversation with Yin Gezhi, Ye Yuqing turned to her instead: "Have some mung bean cake."Nodding in agreement, Feng Yue picked up a piece of mung bean cake from the plate and took a bite, raising her eyebrows in surprise. "This teahouse's pastries are bought ready-made from the pastry shop across the street."
"You can actually taste that?" Ye Yuqing chuckled. "It seems you really do enjoy eating."
Embarrassed, Feng Yue smiled. "I've lived through too many hard times. Now that I finally have the chance to eat my fill, of course I want to eat more."
Is that so?
Looking at this face with its insincere smile, Yin Gezhi suddenly asked, "Do you usually send your maid to buy things?"
"Yes," Feng Yue nodded, glancing at Lingshu behind her with a smile. "This girl is simple-minded—she never deceives or lies, and she’s very good at making friends. When I send her out to buy food, people never shortchange her on the scale."
Ye Yuqing glanced at Lingshu and nodded slightly. Part of the reason he was willing to trust Feng Yue was because of Lingshu. This maid was her most trusted person and truly had no ulterior motives—anything you wanted to ask, a few probing questions would get it out of her. If Feng Yue truly had something to hide, Lingshu would definitely have exposed it.
But Lingshu hadn’t.
Yin Gezhi looked at Lingshu, thought for a moment, and handed her a tael of silver. "Go buy some mung bean cakes for me from across the street."
Feng Yue’s expression changed slightly. Suppressing her panic, she forced a smile. "Young master? Your attendant is still here—why are you ordering my maid around?"
"Doesn’t she not get shortchanged on the scale?" Yin Gezhi stared directly at her. "My attendant doesn’t have such good luck."
The esteemed First Prince Yin—would he really care about saving a bit on the scale? Feng Yue felt a little panicked, but she had no idea what he was suspecting, so she could only restrain herself and wait.
Lingshu took the silver and went downstairs. Just as Ye Yuqing was about to speak, Feng Chuang beside him called out to him, whispering something quietly.
A hint of impatience and helplessness crossed Ye Yuqing’s brow. He stood up and said, "I have matters to attend to and cannot escort the young lady back. Could I trouble Your Highness to take care of it and send Miss Feng Yue to the Dream Return Pavilion later?"
"Of course," Yin Gezhi nodded.
Ye Yuqing hurriedly left. Feng Yue pursed her lips, feeling inexplicably tense all over.
"What’s wrong?" Yin Gezhi glanced at her. "Is this the expression you wear when the Crown Prince leaves?"
"Not at all… I’ll go see if Lingshu has finished buying!" Forcing a smile, Feng Yue stood up and ran to the window.
Lingshu had run across the street and was buying mung bean cakes. They weren’t far away, and their conversation could faintly be heard.
"Madam, one tael of silver’s worth of mung bean cakes… Wait, is this really one tael of silver?"
Seeing it was her, the shopkeeper smiled. "Why wouldn’t it be one tael of silver?"
"It seems… much heavier than the silver my master gave me?" Lingshu weighed the silver curiously. "Madam, could you weigh it for me? Is this really one tael of silver?"
"…" The shopkeeper paused for a moment, then took the silver and said with a smile, "It’s exactly one tael of silver. People’s senses can be wrong, but the scale won’t be. Here you go, miss."
Just as Feng Yue was about to breathe a sigh of relief, thinking the purchase had gone smoothly, she heard someone beside her say, "Your maid seems quite familiar with that shopkeeper."
Her hair stood on end. Feng Yue tensed up and said, "She’s bought things many times, so of course she’s familiar."
"Is that so?" Yin Gezhi placed a hand on her shoulder and said calmly, "Let’s go, back we go."
"…Alright."As if licked by a wolf, Feng Yue broke out in a cold sweat all over, following behind Yin Gezhi with her head lowered, not daring to make a sound.
"What did he talk to you about today?" the person ahead asked.
Feng Yue forced a smile: "Are you referring to that gentleman? He didn't say much, just casual conversation."
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