Old Master Wu could sense Di Wu Ya’s impatience and didn’t dare show the slightest negligence.

He kowtowed and said, “To save on taxes, this humble one did privately sell some spices to the Feng Clan official, but this humble one had difficulties—this humble one—”

“Whatever difficulties you had, our Prince has no interest in hearing about, nor does he intend to get involved in that matter.” Yu Jingfeng cut off Old Master Wu’s words.

“All we want to know are the details concerning the Feng Clan, no matter how small. As long as you explain everything clearly, we have no intention of making this matter widely known.”

Old Master Wu blinked, then kowtowed again toward Di Wu Ya.

“Many thanks, Your Highness! Many thanks!”

After kowtowing, Old Master Wu raised his head again and looked at Di Wu Ya. “In response to Your Highness, the matter is as follows.”

“A few months ago, I received a letter from a master of the Feng Clan. He said he had once encountered my family’s spices and was particularly fond of them.”

“He said he wished to come and see the situation in person, and if possible, would take the spices away directly, asking me to prepare more.”

“When exactly did this letter arrive?” Feng Jiu’er asked, looking at Old Master Wu in a deep voice.

Old Master Wu looked at the woman beside Di Wu Ya and cupped his hands. “It—it was three months ago. Counting from today, it has been exactly three months.”

“Continue.” Feng Jiu’er’s voice rang out again.

“Yes.” Old Master Wu nodded vigorously.

“At the time, this humble one thought that if I sold the spices through official channels, a portion of the silver would be deducted, so I took the risk.”

“After all, I had no way of knowing whether the person from the Feng Clan truly wanted my family’s spices or not.”

“Your Highness, this humble one does not know the person from the Feng Clan. If you ask me who he is, I truly do not know.”

“Ten days ago, he came as promised and took my family’s spices with him. He stayed only a single day before leaving.”

“Your Highness, this humble one did earn some silver, but I never committed any crime of murder or arson. The spices were all made through my family’s hard work, this humble one—”

“Was this his first visit? Was the amount of spices he wanted large?” Feng Jiu’er asked, frowning slightly.

For someone from the Feng Clan to come buy spices at exactly this time—wasn’t that too much of a coincidence?

“In response to Her Highness the Princess Consort, this was his first visit, and in fact, it was the first time I had ever dealt with anyone from the Feng Clan,” Old Master Wu recalled.

“That man didn’t like to speak. From start to finish, this humble one never heard him say a single word—it was always his subordinates negotiating with me.”

“The amount of spice they wanted was considerable, but it was only one kind—a spice my family had just newly developed. They bought up the entire batch.”

When Old Master Wu addressed her as “Her Highness the Princess Consort,” Feng Jiu’er couldn’t ignore the pleased reaction of the man beside her.

This man—he had given up even his empire for her sake. Was he honestly still worried she might run off?

Although her father’s disappearance had been completely unexpected, ever since learning of it Feng Jiu’er had felt restless and troubled.

But with him by her side, no matter how difficult the matter, there was always a way to solve it—wasn’t there?

She needed to calm her emotions and carefully sort out the full picture of this matter. Whoever had dared to take her father, she would not let them off easily!

“Very well, I’ll trust your words for now.” Feng Jiu’er nodded. “Is there anything else you can add?”

Meeting Feng Jiu’er’s gaze, Old Master Wu’s brow furrowed slightly, and he shook his head.

“Your Highness the Princess Consort, this humble one doesn’t know what kind of addition you’re looking for. But this humble one truly knows nothing more.”

“Other than knowing the visitor came from the Feng Clan, this humble one knows nothing else.”

“The matter itself was simple enough—they first sent a letter saying they would come to buy my family’s spices, and told me to prepare them.”

“When they arrived, they bought the spices directly and took them away, and also told me to keep it confidential. His subordinates said their master was merely a man of leisure who disliked drawing too much attention.”

“This humble one thought, since they didn’t wish to alert the local officials either, I simply treated the matter as an ordinary transaction—one that could save a little on taxes.”

Feng Jiu’er kept her eyes fixed on Old Master Wu, who wanted to look away but didn’t dare.

After their eyes had been locked for a moment, Feng Jiu’er asked indifferently, “You said that person bought up your family’s newly developed spice. Is there any of it left?”

“There is.” Old Master Wu nodded. “There’s—there’s a little left. We still intended to keep developing this spice, so we kept a small amount.”

“Go and bring it here.” Feng Jiu’er waved her hand.

“Yes.” Old Master Wu nodded, stood up, and hurried off.

The two servants guarding him left along with him, leaving only the outsiders in the hall.

“Miss Jiu’er, are you thinking of—” When Yu Jingfeng turned around, he noticed Di Wu Ya’s expression had shifted somewhat.

Drawing on years of experience reading his master’s moods, he immediately understood why.

“Your Highness the Princess Consort, what do you need the spice for?”

Sure enough, with that single utterance of “Your Highness the Princess Consort,” the Prince’s expression brightened considerably.

Feng Jiu’er turned her head and glared at Yu Jingfeng, who immediately looked away and gave a light cough.

“Do you remember the fragrance in my father’s chamber? If it really was that man, then it’s very likely this is the scent of that very spice.”

“That’s right.” Yu Jingfeng, looking at the two of them watching him, secretly took a deep breath and continued, “What Her Highness says is most correct.”

“If the scents match, then we can confirm that the Night Prince really was taken away by someone from the Feng Clan.”

“We’ll also need to check whether the Wu family has sold this particular spice to anyone else.” Feng Jiu’er frowned and looked away.

“Ninth Imperial Uncle, this place is very close to Father’s manor, and the timing fits as well. I believe there must be a connection between these two matters.”

Di Wu Ya reached out with his large hand and took hold of Feng Jiu’er’s small hand beneath the table.

“What the Princess Consort says is quite right. Just wait a little longer—the truth will come to light soon.”

Feng Jiu’er met Di Wu Ya’s gaze and pressed her lips together. “Ninth Imperial Uncle, why are you just as annoying as Yu Jingfeng? Always bullying people.”

Yu Jingfeng knew full well that he had offended Miss Jiu’er and wouldn’t easily get off the hook, but Miss Jiu’er was kind-hearted—offending her was still far better than offending the Prince.

Hearing Feng Jiu’er’s words, a chill ran down Yu Jingfeng’s spine. He wanted to explain himself, but didn’t dare interrupt the Prince and Miss Jiu’er’s playful banter.

Although, more often than not, their playful banter came at the cost of his own suffering, Yu Jingfeng had long since accepted it.

After all, only Miss Jiu’er could make their Prince truly happy.

As long as the Prince was happy, that was what mattered. When the Prince was happy, even the skies would clear.

“Yu Jingfeng!”

Before Yu Jingfeng could finish comforting himself, he heard his own Prince calling out his name.

“Yes!” Yu Jingfeng snapped back to attention, looking at Di Wu Ya with utmost seriousness.

Di Wu Ya looked at him, brow furrowing slightly. “This King’s Princess Consort—you dare bully her?”