◎The Peach Blossom Wine is So Sweet◎

Luo Wanqing didn’t answer. Zhang Jiuran was stunned, and it took her a long while to react before exclaiming in surprise: “No way, your alcohol tolerance is way too low, isn’t it?”

As she spoke, Zhang Jiuran suddenly remembered that she was currently blind and would need to rely on Luo Wanqing to get back.

She hurriedly fumbled around and poked Luo Wanqing: “Hey, give me some warning before you pass out, call someone! How are we supposed to get back?”

Luo Wanqing was drowsy and confused. Hearing Zhang Jiuran’s chattering, she pulled a short flute from her waist and slapped it on the table: “Blow.”

Zhang Jiuran only heard something being slapped down. She fumbled around to pick it up and felt that it was a short flute. After touching it for a while, she hesitated: “It’s not good for me to blow this thing, right? Isn’t this a love token? Besides, I don’t know how to play the flute. Xiniang? Wake up.”

Zhang Jiuran lifted her foot to kick her. Luo Wanqing was kicked awake by her relentless kicks, vaguely hearing her mention “blowing the flute.”

She immediately became spirited, snatched the flute back, and said seriously: “I can blow it.”

“I know you can.”

Zhang Jiuran responded. Luo Wanqing held the flute and took a deep breath.

Zhang Jiuran was bewildered: “This flute is broken, it won’t make a sound.”

Luo Wanqing frowned, staggered to her feet, walked to the railing, and began blowing vigorously breath by breath.

Zhang Jiuran heard her going toward the railing and hurriedly fumbled to get up and call to her: “Don’t run away, it’s dangerous over there.”

One was drunk, one was blind. They made their way to the railing where Zhang Jiuran sat leaning against it, wanting to restrain Luo Wanqing to prevent her from accidentally falling.

Luo Wanqing stood in the middle, seriously playing the flute.

She wasn’t playing any particular tune; she was just trying hard to blow breath by breath.

But the flute just wouldn’t make a sound.

She frowned in dissatisfaction, trying every method she could think of.

Xie Heng had originally been on the mountain reviewing case files when he heard this rhythmless flute sound that seemed like a cry for help. He frowned, quickly put on his mask, and hurried over.

When he arrived at the tavern, he saw a blind person holding a wine jar, supporting her head with her hand, advising: “Your flute is broken and won’t make sound. Give it up.”

Luo Wanqing stubbornly shook her head. She sat on the railing, her face full of seriousness, holding her breath and blowing so hard that her cheeks puffed up.

Xie Heng hurried forward, covering his nearly bursting ears with one hand while reaching for the flute with the other.

But as soon as he moved, Luo Wanqing immediately intercepted him. Her clear, moist eyes looked up sharply, and when she saw Cui Heng, she was stunned.

“Cui Heng?”

Then she frowned and immediately handed the flute over, saying seriously: “Cui Heng, it’s broken.”

“It’s not broken.” Cui Heng explained seriously, “I can hear it.”

“Jiuran can’t hear it.” Luo Wanqing shook her head, insisting, “It’s broken.”

“It’s a specially made flute. Zhang Jiuran doesn’t have internal energy, so she can’t hear it.”

However, Luo Wanqing couldn’t listen to reason and just kept shaking her head: “It’s broken.”

Cui Heng fell silent.

Luo Wanqing persisted: “Tell me, is it broken or not?”

Cui Heng knew he couldn’t argue with her and could only say: “It’s broken.”

“So you gave me a broken flute.” Luo Wanqing lowered her eyes, seeming hurt. “Your face is fake, your voice is fake, and the flute you gave me is also broken.”

Zhang Jiuran, nearby, heard this and spat out a mouthful of wine.

Cui Heng’s movement paused. He gritted his teeth: “Xiniang, I’ll take you to sober up.”

With that, Cui Heng called out his shadow guards and pointed at Zhang Jiuran: “Send Miss Zhang back.”

“Wait,” Zhang Jiuran raised her hand, stopping the shadow guard, and turned to look at Cui Heng with a smile, “Cui Heng?”

Cui Heng looked up. After thinking for a moment, he changed his voice, no longer using Qin Jue’s voice, and only lowered his eyes: “Yes.”

This voice was noble and clear, like some wealthy young master, extraordinarily charming.

“Is this your voice?”

Zhang Jiuran listened carefully. Cui Heng answered honestly: “No.”

“Oh,” Zhang Jiuran thought for a moment, “Are you planning to face her with this fake identity for the rest of your life?”

Cui Heng didn’t speak. After thinking, he only said: “My identity is not suitable for her.”

“Then why did you provoke her?”

Zhang Jiuran frowned. Cui Heng was stunned, then said hesitantly: “Miss Zhang has some misunderstanding. Between her and mex…”

Cui Heng weighed his words and finally only said: “I hope she lives well and has her ambitions. In the Supervision Department, she can go further. My feelings for her are not seeing her as some concubine in a courtyard.”

Zhang Jiuran heard this and thought for a moment, then only said: “Then you’ll take good care of her?”

“Miss Zhang, rest assured.”

Cui Heng looked up, extremely serious: “In the Supervision Department, she will be fine.”

“That’s good.”

Zhang Jiuran smiled and just nodded: “Then I’m relieved. People like you,” Zhang Jiuran raised her head and smiled, “are in for some suffering.”

With that, she stood up, stretched lazily, and said: “I’m going back.”

The shadow guard nearby immediately stepped forward and helped her downstairs.

After the shadow guard left, Cui Heng turned his gaze, half-crouched down, looked at the somewhat dejected Luo Wanqing, and said softly: “Xiniang, shall I take you back?”

“Cui Heng.” Luo Wanqing lowered her head, her voice very light, “Did I get my monthly salary?”

Cui Heng was stunned, then quickly nodded and took out a bag of gold pearls: “Yes, it’s all here.”

Luo Wanqing heard this and swayed as she took the gold pearls. She opened the bag, looked at it, and shook her head aggrievedly: “My monthly salary isn’t this high. I asked Zhuque.”

Cui Heng gritted his teeth: “Don’t believe him, his salary is low.”

Luo Wanqing shook her head, unusually smart: “I can’t possibly have a higher salary than the Four Chiefs.”

Cui Heng: “…”

He didn’t know Luo Wanqing could be so difficult to deal with.

Luo Wanqing continued, seriously picking out two gold pearls from his bag, muttering: “I asked already. My monthly salary is just this much. Don’t give me extra.”

With that, Luo Wanqing handed the money bag back to Cui Heng.

Having experienced the stubbornness of “the flute is broken,” Cui Heng didn’t dare to oppose her. Whatever she said was what it was.

Taking the money bag, he asked carefully: “You’ve got your monthly salary, shall we go back?”

Luo Wanqing shook her head. Cui Heng’s heart went “thud” – this little ancestor wasn’t done yet.

Luo Wanqing took his hand and placed the two gold pearls in his palm, saying seriously, “Cui Heng, I got my monthly salary, so I can treat you to a meal now.”

Cui Heng was stunned. Luo Wanqing raised her eyes to look at him: “I’ll take you to eat small wontons and saucy beef. Wait for me a bit, and sing for me, okay?”

Cui Heng fell silent.

He had learned everything except singing.

Luo Wanqing looked somewhat aggrieved, saying softly: “It’s been so long since anyone sang for me. Will you sing for me, please?”

Cui Heng paused. Looking at the expectant gaze of the person in front of him, he endured for a moment, then finally gritted his teeth: “Alright.”

Hearing Cui Heng’s agreement, Luo Wanqing finally smiled. She swayed as she stood up, quite happy: “I’ll take you to eat small wontons!”

Cui Heng quickly stepped forward to support her.

Luo Wanqing seemed very sober, but her steps were unsteady.

Cui Heng supported her, following her downstairs and letting her lead him onto the bustling street.

Although Luo Wanqing was drunk, she remembered the location of the wonton stall very clearly.

She led Cui Heng to the stall, seriously ordered all the wontons she had eaten earlier with the owner, then sat at the table with Cui Heng.

She lowered her head without speaking. Cui Heng observed her, not daring to ask what she was thinking.

After waiting for a while, the hot wontons were served. Luo Wanqing looked at the wontons, thinking about something unknown. She picked up the spoon, lifted the bowl, scooped up a spoonful with both soup and wontons, and brought it to Cui Heng’s mouth, saying seriously: “Cui Heng, ah.”

Xie Heng looked at the still-steaming wontons in front of him and couldn’t help but lean back slightly, reminding her, “Xiniang, it’s still hot.”

But Luo Wanqing seemed unable to hear, saying seriously: “Cui Heng, it’s delicious, ah.”

Seeing her determination, Xie Heng hesitated for a moment, then tentatively opened his mouth and reluctantly swallowed the half-hot wontons.

Luo Wanqing saw Cui Heng open his mouth to eat the wontons and smiled.

That smile was very gentle, her eyes bright as stars. Xie Heng was stunned. He looked at those eyes filled entirely with him, and in an instant felt his heart falling into soft, cotton-like clouds.

An unprecedented sweetness spread through his heart. Luo Wanqing scooped up another spoonful and brought it to his mouth, her eyes full of anticipation.

Xie Heng smiled helplessly. This time, he no longer struggled and willingly lowered his head, taking the wontons that burned his lips and tongue into his mouth.

But this time, he learned to be clever, knowing that Luo Wanqing would probably feed him the entire bowl. He chewed longer, wanting to let the small wontons cool down a bit.

After slowly eating this bowl, most of the later wontons had cooled, but Xie Heng’s tongue tip was still sore from the heat.

Fortunately, he didn’t mind this little pain much. Seeing Luo Wanqing contentedly finish feeding him the wontons, she seriously took out two small gold pearls from her pocket, exchanged them with the owner for broken silver, and pulled him to the street to buy many things.

Xie Heng had never wandered on the street like this before.

Not knowing where to go or how long to wander, Luo Wanqing was extremely stubborn when drunk – whatever she wanted to do, she had to do, and she was very generous, buying whatever she saw.

Xie Heng watched her with bitter amusement as she fooled around, buying many things along the way. When they had bought too much later and Xie Heng had to manage both the person and carry things, he finally felt that this couldn’t continue. Half coaxing, half persuading, he led Luo Wanqing away from the main street.

Luo Wanqing refused to return to the Supervision Department, so Xie Heng could only lead her outside the city.

When they reached the ferry outside the city, Xie Heng saw that there were no vendors and finally breathed a sigh of relief. He led Luo Wanqing to sit under a withered tree and began checking what she had bought.

Luo Wanqing seemed a bit sleepy, sitting by the withered tree, staring ahead in a daze.

Xie Heng ignored her and rummaged around for a while, pulling out a bottle of peach blossom wine. Only then did he discover she had also bought alcohol!

He was too lazy to take all these miscellaneous things back, so he simply opened the wine, planning to drink it all in one go.

Luo Wanqing heard the sound of him opening the wine and immediately turned her head. Xie Heng noticed her gaze, paused his movement, glanced at her, and immediately stopped her: “You’ve had too much to drink, you can’t drink anymore.”

Luo Wanqing stared with wide eyes but didn’t snatch it, just staring at him blankly, suddenly speaking: “You haven’t sung yet!”

Xie Heng stiffened for a moment, not expecting that even drunk, she could remember for so long. He said awkwardly, “I can’t.”

“No one can’t sing.”

Luo Wanqing shook her head: “You’re lying to me.”

“I…”

“You’ve been lying to me all along.”

When Luo Wanqing said this, Xie Heng fell silent.

Luo Wanqing was drunk, but he wasn’t. In an instant, he thought of the things he had done in the past, and his heart softened involuntarily, suddenly feeling that no request was impossible to fulfill.

He pressed his lips together, hesitating: “I really can’t, if you don’t believe me…”

Xie Heng bit the bullet: “Should I sing one for you?”

Luo Wanqing looked up expectantly. Xie Heng averted his gaze, not daring to look at her, and took a sip of wine to give himself courage.

He struggled to open his mouth and randomly sang a folk tune.

As soon as he started singing, Luo Wanqing looked surprised. Xie Heng’s face turned red, and even his ears turned completely red.

But since she didn’t tell him to stop, he didn’t dare stop either.

He hummed a northern folk tune in a low voice, then said stiffly: “I didn’t lie to you.”

Luo Wanqing was silent for a long time before speaking honestly: “Although… not a single note was on key, but…” Luo Wanqing looked up at him, “A’Heng sang for me, so I still think it sounds good.”

Xie Heng was stunned.

He saw Luo Wanqing nod seriously and thank him: “Thank you, A’Heng.”

She didn’t call him by his surname, just the two words “A’Heng” lingering on her lips and teeth, making his heartstrings tremble slightly.

He couldn’t help but smile, tilting his head: “Since you called it so nicely, shall I sing another one for you?”

Hearing this, Luo Wanqing didn’t speak but quietly raised her hands, curled up her body, and covered her ears.

Xie Heng was torn between laughter and tears, and couldn’t help but gently poke her forehead with his fan: “Still lying to flatter me?”

“Wanted to make A’Heng happy.”

Luo Wanqing looked at the ground, speaking seriously.

Xie Heng looked at such a girl, his heart as soft as cotton. After thinking, he said gently, “If you want me to be happy, then do something that makes you happy.”

Luo Wanqing heard this and turned her head, looking at Xie Heng with confusion.

Xie Heng raised his hand to stroke her smooth hair, saying softly, “If you can be happy, I’ll be very joyful.”

Luo Wanqing didn’t respond. She quietly gazed at Xie Heng’s lips, suddenly remembering Zhang Jiuran’s words.

“Listen to me, just hug him and kiss him, say you want to drink the wine in his mouth…”

She was quiet for too long. Xie Heng noticed she kept staring at him and looked up questioningly: “Hmm?”

Luo Wanqing didn’t speak. She moved closer, pressed against him, and looked up at him.

She was too close, instantly reminding Xie Heng of the scenes in his dreams.

He had been having such dreams frequently lately, so that just her pressing against him like this made him react.

He lowered his eyes to look at the person in front of him, whose eyes were full of seriousness, gently shaking the wine bottle, jokingly asking: “What are you doing?”

Luo Wanqing didn’t speak.

She pressed against him, her wine-scented breath spraying on his face. She raised her hands to cup his face, like a legendary mermaid breaking through water, leaning toward him.

Xie Heng didn’t stop her. He lowered his eyes to look at the person in front of him, watching her close her eyes like a sacrifice and kiss his lips, then begin to tentatively use her soft tongue to part his lips and teeth.

He involuntarily gripped the wine bottle tighter, his expression dark and unclear.

Stars filled the sky, fell into his eyes, and petals came with the wind. That clever soft tongue gently and domineeringly swept over all his details, as if absorbing something.

Xie Heng restrained himself from moving, but this person became increasingly bold, entwining and sucking on his tongue that was sore from the hot wontons.

After a long time, Luo Wanqing finally released him, withdrew a few inches, and smiled like a cat that had stolen fish: “The wine is so sweet.”

Hearing this, Xie Heng chuckled softly.

Luo Wanqing looked at him questioningly, then saw the person in front of her lean forward, getting closer, and ask in a hoarse voice: “Do you want to drink more?”

Luo Wanqing listened in confusion, but the other party didn’t give her a chance to refuse at all. He raised his hand to drink from the bottle, then pressed against her and transferred it over!

Luo Wanqing cried out softly, then felt as if a water python had come with the wine, wrapping around her tongue tip and fiercely devouring and strangling her.

She suddenly couldn’t remember anything clearly, only remembering someone transferring wine to her mouthful by mouthful, and she felt like she was drowning in that wine.

When Luo Wanqing woke up from her sleep, she was already in her room.

She opened her eyes and heard Zhang Jiuran’s voice: “Oh, you’re awake?”

Luo Wanqing heard this and felt her head splitting with pain. For some reason, the root of her tongue also ached faintly.

She supported herself to sit up, shook her head, and turned to look over. She saw Zhang Jiuran sitting nearby, cracking sunflower seeds.

Her eyes weren’t better yet, so she smiled and said, “You came back quite late. You didn’t go do bad things with Cui Heng, did you?”

Luo Wanqing was stunned. She had a few vague fragments in her mind.

It seemed like Cui Heng had his arm around her while walking on the street, and she seemed to be feeding Cui Heng wontons, and someone was singing terribly.

The more she thought about it, the more her head hurt, and she couldn’t quite recall.

Zhang Jiuran heard her voice and couldn’t help but complain: “Your alcohol tolerance is too low.”

“You need to build it up gradually; you can’t drink like that.”

Luo Wanqing shook her head, too lazy to argue with her: “Did Cui Heng bring me back?”

“Yeah, you blew a flute that wouldn’t make a sound and called him over.”

Zhang Jiuran said, then asked: “Can you bring me a roasted chicken today?”

“I’ll have someone bring you one.”

This request wasn’t excessive. Luo Wanqing got up dizzily and walked to the table to drink water.

She reeked of alcohol and didn’t know how much she had drunk.

She found it somewhat disgusting and had someone bring water for a bath, couldn’t help but ask Zhang Jiuran: “Did I vomit last night? Did I say anything nonsensical?”

“Ask Cui Heng.”

Zhang Jiuran said lazily, “It wasn’t me taking care of you. I’m blind – I went to sleep as soon as I got back last night, and when I woke up, you were already here.”

“Oh.”

Luo Wanqing responded, always feeling like she had forgotten something.

But before she could think more about it, Zhusi came from outside and said respectfully, “Chief Liu, the Young Master wants you to come over.”

Luo Wanqing paused, then nodded: “I’ll go right away.”

With that, she hurriedly changed into the official robes of the Supervision Department – black clothes with a gold crown – and rushed to the courtyard where Xie Heng was.

She hurried into the courtyard, knelt on the ground, and greeted: “Greetings to the Young Master.”

Xie Heng heard this and looked up, his gaze quickly sweeping over her face before forcing himself to look away, saying coldly: “You went out last night?”

Luo Wanqing heard this and her face showed slight embarrassment, but she still answered honestly: “Yes.”

“Did Zhang Jiuran agree to testify?”

Xie Heng went straight to the point. Luo Wanqing immediately became serious.

“She agreed.” Luo Wanqing said firmly, “But she requires protection for her family’s safety. Fengyu Pavilion knows her family’s identities, and she wants absolute security.”

“Who are her family members?”

Xie Heng was reviewing documents. Luo Wanqing hesitated and didn’t speak. Xie Heng looked at her once and understood her meaning, saying directly: “Today in court, someone impeached the Qin Wenyan case for suspicious points and demanded a retrial of this case in court. His Majesty has agreed. Zhang Jiuran is a key witness. You need to protect her and her family’s safety. Since she’s your old friend, this task will be entirely arranged by you. You may use any resources within the Supervision Department.”

With that, Xie Heng removed the waist token from his waist and threw it down to Luo Wanqing.

Luo Wanqing caught the waist token and looked at the token that held the highest authority within the Supervision Department. She was somewhat surprised but immediately said: “Yes.”

“I won’t interfere with this matter again, and others don’t know your task. Keep Zhang Jiuran under watch. Starting today, she cannot have contact with any outside information. You go protect Zhang Jiuran’s family members. Take the short flute and signal flares that Cui Heng gave you, and wait for the public trial.”

“Yes.”

Luo Wanqing responded.

Then the courtyard fell quiet. Luo Wanqing waited for a long time, raised her head, and saw Xie Heng looking down at her.

The late spring sunlight was just right, and the Young Master’s expression was gentle. Luo Wanqing was stunned, then Xie Heng withdrew his gaze and said lightly: “Go.”

Luo Wanqing properly saluted farewell, then turned and left the courtyard. Recalling Xie Heng’s final gaze, she couldn’t help but feel it was strange.

After thinking about it, she just felt that his mood was quite good today.

She didn’t think much more about it, turned to greet Zhang Jiuran, explained the situation, then packed her things to find Zhang Yiran.

She hadn’t seen Zhang Yiran for a long time and didn’t know where he was now. She could only first go to Zhang Yiran’s government office, inquire about Zhang Yiran’s whereabouts, and learned that Zhang Yiran had gone outside the city to repair river channels again. She went out to look for him but couldn’t find him, so she simply waited at the Zhang family’s gate.

She waited for most of the day until night fell, when Zhang Yiran finally arrived late.

As soon as he reached the gate, he saw a beautiful girl holding a bundle sitting at his door.

Zhang Yiran was stunned, then immediately recognized that this was the woman who had been abducted by human traffickers that day.

He couldn’t help but step forward, asking in confusion: “Miss?”

Luo Wanqing drowsily raised her eyes and saw Zhang Yiran looking at her with concern: “Miss, why are you here?”

Luo Wanqing looked at him with her still-sleepy expression. Zhang Yiran saw her appearance and couldn’t help but smile: “Why are you looking at me like that? Where’s your mother? Is her illness better?”

Then he seemed to remember something, frowning, his tone becoming more serious: “Did those human traffickers come to trouble you?!”

“I…”

Luo Wanqing hesitated for a moment, then realized that Zhang Yiran still thought she was the hunter’s daughter.

She considered between being honest and deceiving, feeling that if she directly reported her connection to the Supervision Department, she might be driven away and would be too conspicuous.

So she lowered her head, looking somewhat sad: “No, those human traffickers didn’t cause trouble. It’s just that my… my family…”

Before she could speak, Zhang Yiran said with some apology: “Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”

“Oh, it’s fine.”

Luo Wanqing shook her head and looked up with a smile: “I just… have nowhere to go, so I thought of you, sir.”

Zhang Yiran looked surprised.

Luo Wanqing held her bundle, raised her head to look up at the young man covered in mud, her eyes full of pleading: “Sir Zhang, could you take me in for a few days? I’m willing to be a servant or maid, just asking for a meal!”

While Luo Wanqing was crouching at Zhang Yiran’s house, waiting for him, in Kunning Palace, everyone sat quietly in chairs without making a sound.

Wang Lianyang sat at the top, supporting her forehead and lowering her head, seemingly enduring something.

Zhao Dewang massaged her shoulders, keeping his head down and not daring to make a sound.

Below her left hand sat a girl not yet twenty years old, wearing a light yellow shirt, with a cold and proud expression. Behind her stood a woman in red with her dark hair pinned high and an icy expression.

Across from them sat Li Guiyu, holding a teacup and tasting tea, his posture leisurely.

The only source of sound came from Li Shangwen.

He was pacing back and forth in the room, extremely agitated: “I said, why did we have to provoke that Liu Xiniang for no reason? Now look what’s happened – the Qin family case is being brought up again! The Xie and Lin families are meddling and won’t let go. I just don’t understand – the Xie Imperial Consort’s thirteenth son is only three years old, and they want to compete? Even if they win this position, do they have the life to sit in it?! And the Lin family, a second-rank aristocratic family, also wants to compete for the crown prince position, seeking death! That’s fine for them, but Li Shangwen turned his head and stared at Li Guiyu, “The Zheng family is also making noise today. You’re their son-in-law, brother, won’t you manage this?!”

“Manage what?” Li Guiyu looked up, “Zheng Pingsheng values me being obedient. Otherwise, why would they come to support a prince of the Wang clan? You offended people and want me to clean up the mess?”

“I offended people?” Li Shangwen couldn’t bear it anymore, “The trouble was caused by you. If you hadn’t wanted Liu Xiniang, none of this would have happened!”

“They’re using Liu Xiniang as an excuse to find trouble with you,” Li Guiyu reminded, “With or without Liu Xiniang, the Qin clan case would be overturned sooner or later. Zheng Pingsheng is adding insult to injury because you previously ruined Zheng Biyue’s marriage. The Father Emperor allowed this case to be retried because you showed your hand and made him suspicious. Most importantly—”

Li Guiyu sneered: “Why did you have the Jiang clan encroach on the Qin family’s land for no good reason? Don’t you know what Father Emperor abhors most? Qin Wenyan’s bones aren’t even cold, and you want to use the Crown Prince’s consort’s maternal clan to amass wealth. You’re seeking your death – you can’t blame others.”

“You…”

“Enough!”

Wang Lianyang raised her hand to stop the two, saying with restraint: “You’re blood brothers, there’s no need to argue like this.”

“Blood brothers?” Li Shangwen’s eyes reddened, gritting his teeth: “What kind of blood brothers are these? Mother, he’s plotting against me now. He wants to use others to bring me down…”

“Shangwen,” Wang Lianyang interrupted him, looking up at him, “If your brother wanted to depose you, he wouldn’t need to do it this way.”

Li Shangwen’s movement paused slightly, and Li Guiyu lowered his head to drink tea.

The yellow-dressed girl nearby had been listening for a long time and finally spoke: “Your Majesty, the most important thing now is the Supervision Department.” The girl reminded, “Zhang Jiuran is in the Supervision Department.”

“How could she be in the Supervision Department?!”

Li Shangwen turned around sharply.

Li Guiyu listened nearby. Although he didn’t know the details of the Qin clan case, he knew Zhang Jiuran’s reputation and looked up at everyone: “What did Zhang Jiuran do?”

“She’s from Fengyu Pavilion. You don’t need to know what she did.”

Wang Lianyang raised her head and looked at Li Guiyu, saying gently: “Guiyu, help mother with something.”

Li Guiyu heard this and turned his head.

Wang Lianyang smiled gently: “Do you know Zhang Yiran from the Ministry of Works?”

“I know him.” Li Guiyu was puzzled. “What does Mother want to do?”

“Capture him.”

“This kind of thing…” Li Guiyu smiled, “Why not have Fengyu Pavilion do it?”

“Don’t you know where Fengyu Pavilion’s people died?” The red-dressed woman behind the girl spoke coldly, “The entire Ming Pavilion was almost wiped out at Fangfei Pavilion. Wasn’t that all Your Highness’s handiwork?”

“Qinshu Pavilion Master wrongs me.” Li Guiyu looked toward the red-dressed woman Wang Qinshu, “This matter has nothing to do with me. Besides, Ming Pavilion is gone, but what about Dark Pavilion? Or is it that Qinshu Pavilion Master controls Dark Pavilion and is reluctant to use her people?”

“You…”

“Qinshu.” The yellow-dressed girl suppressed Wang Qinshu who was about to speak and looked coldly at Li Guiyu.

“Cousin, we’re all Wang family people. Since you’ve returned, you should also accomplish something.” The girl’s expression was cold and proud. “Dark Pavilion can kidnap Zhang Yiran, but everyone wants to see the cousin’s capabilities.”

“Wang Yunzhi,” Li Guiyu looked at the girl calmly, “don’t provoke me.”

“I’m not provoking you,” Wang Yunzhi stood up, her tone flat, “The Wang family doesn’t have only one prince. If cousin lacks ability, I’ll go back and explain clearly to father. Cousin should just be a good son-in-law to the Zheng family.”

With that, Wang Yunzhi bowed to the Empress: “Aunt, it’s late. I’ll go back first.”

Li Guiyu didn’t speak. Wang Yunzhi led Wang Qinshu out of the great hall. After they left, Li Shangwen gritted his teeth: “Yunzhi is also bullying…”

“Guiyu,” Wang Lianyang ignored Li Shangwen. She raised her weary eyes to look at Li Guiyu, “Capture him.”

Li Guiyu heard this and no longer refused.

He stood up and bowed: “Yes.”

Author’s Note:

[Mini Theater]

Cui Heng: “Singing… humans can all do it. I am a lark, beginning self-hypnosis.”

A moment later—

Luo Wanqing: “Cui Heng, stop singing. I still prefer Qin Jue’s voice.”

Cui Heng: “…”