With this fragrant entanglement, Suzhen could only think of two things: first, Quan Feitong’s taste was seriously flawed; second, he had seen through her disguise and was toying with her.

But the latter didn’t quite feel right either.

He suddenly held her as he sat down, his phoenix eyes staring at her with a rather dark gaze.

“What a lovely little maid.” He suddenly sighed softly and lowered his head to kiss her lips.

Lovely my ass. Suzhen was shocked. If she were Zhu’er – that Zhu’er currently detained with sealed acupoints at the inn – what would she do?

She probably wouldn’t resist.

But if she didn’t push him away, she absolutely couldn’t accept it…

“Chancellor, this humble official heard from servants that a maid in the manor offended you. This humble official will certainly punish her severely. This humble official brought two martial arts masters here, hoping to introduce them to the Chancellor…”

That elegant, refined voice suddenly stopped.

Quan Feitong frowned, clearly somewhat displeased, but loosened his hold on her. Suzhen felt greatly relieved and quickly retreated to one side.

Several men emerged from behind the artificial hill by the lake. The leader bowed deeply: “This humble official is at fault for disturbing the Chancellor’s leisure.”

This speaker was quite handsome with a scholarly air. Suzhen thought: This person must be Huang Tianba. He really does look refined – you truly can’t judge a person by appearance.

She then trembled slightly. Behind Huang Tianba were three other men. The first two – one tall and one thin – had an indescribable aura of murderous evil in their eyes. Weren’t these the two men who had tried to molest Wuyan at the inn?

That was one thing, but Li Zhaoting had also come.

Even though he didn’t know who she was, she still felt embarrassed.

Li Zhaoting and the others naturally knew what had just been happening. Seeing her appearance, they all looked surprised. Huang Tianba was especially shocked, looking at her several times as if she seemed somewhat familiar.

But Quan Feitong remained calm, directly asking Huang Tianba: “Magistrate Huang, may I ask you for this maid?”

Huang Tianba immediately replied: “If the Chancellor likes her, please take her.”

Quan Feitong saw Suzhen’s wide-eyed look of fear and dissatisfaction that she dared not voice. He took a bunch of grapes from the table, tossed them into her hands, and coaxed: “Eat these first. I need to discuss something with your master.”

Suzhen was sweating profusely as she clumsily caught them.

The men all marveled secretly. This Chancellor Quan was quite considerate of this ugly maid – he seemed genuinely fond of her. This Chancellor’s temperament was indeed unusual.

Quan Feitong glanced at Li Zhaoting: “Why did you come with Magistrate Huang? I was planning to rest for a while and have you both come discuss matters tonight.”

“Zhaoting had business at the manor and happened to encounter Magistrate Huang, so we came together,” Li Zhaoting replied.

Quan Feitong knew it must be urgent business. He signaled for him to wait, his phoenix eyes moving: “Magistrate Huang mentioned introducing two masters to me earlier. Are these the two?”

His gaze fell with a smile upon the two men.

The two immediately stepped forward to pay respects, and Huang Tianba made introductions.

The tall, sturdy man was called Mao Hui, and the thin man was Yu Jinglun. Both were disciples of Master Wuliang.

Hearing them mention their sect, Suzhen was shocked again. That was a famous evil cult in the martial world.

Master Wuliang was their leader, acting strangely and taking money to kill for hire, having murdered countless people.

In the past, she had loved listening to her father and brothers discuss court affairs and martial world events, so she was quite familiar with such stories.

But Quan Feitong’s expression remained normal as he said: “I’ve long admired your reputation. Your master’s name frequently appears on the Imperial Guard’s assassination lists.”

Mao Hui and Yu Jinglun had been quite respectfully listening with lowered heads, but hearing this, both changed expression. Mao Hui smiled coldly and even placed a hand on the weapon at his waist.

Yu Jinglun was obviously startled and immediately reached out to restrain him.

Quan Feitong absolutely couldn’t be harmed! Huang Tianba was also shocked and was about to speak diplomatically, wondering whether he should call for protection – better to offend these two than face consequences. But then he heard Quan Feitong laugh lightly: “Therefore, I greatly admire you. You two are products of famous masters. Meeting you today, I feel… your reputation is indeed well-deserved.”

The two immediately brightened, showing great joy.

Suzhen breathed a sigh of relief, quietly withdrawing the foot she had slightly moved toward the exit.

Quan Feitong didn’t look directly at her, but his eyes seemed to give her a warning look that was half-smile, half-serious: I’ve taken you as my concubine, yet you dare not share fortune and misfortune with me?

Suzhen pretended not to see and lowered her head to eat grapes.

Huang Tianba’s eyes shone with light: “Chancellor, these two often help this humble official with affairs and are quite capable. This time they have business and plan to return to their sect, so they came to bid farewell. Thinking they are talented people, Tianba took the liberty of introducing them to the Chancellor.”

Suzhen tensed. This Magistrate Huang was indeed no good person. What kind of business could these evil cult members do? This introduction had obvious purposes – using Quan Feitong’s presence to lift the Imperial Guard’s pursuit of these Wuliang master and disciples. Wouldn’t these people work even harder for him in the future?

She thought Quan Feitong would naturally have known Huang Tianba’s intentions long ago, but surprisingly he nodded: “I have some matters here that require exactly this type of person’s assistance.”

Mao Hui had been slightly afraid of his earlier impulsiveness, but hearing this was both shocked and delighted. This meant their grudge with the Imperial Guard was resolved. He immediately knelt with Yu Jinglun and answered: “We’re willing to serve the Chancellor.”

Only then did Quan Feitong look at Li Zhaoting: “What do you need? I’ve been contemplating a plan these past two days. This plan could change everything, so it’s not yet finalized. Tell me first – has Yan Da’s side come up with some method to investigate Magistrate Huang’s affairs?”

Li Zhaoting nodded, his expression somewhat grave: “Senior brother, though we’ve replaced all the civilian witnesses, Lian Yu has thought of a method.”

Suddenly, everyone held their breath. Suzhen’s heart jumped – she hadn’t expected this trip to the Huang Manor would really pay off, actually overhearing such matters! What exactly had Li Zhaoting learned about Lian Yu’s plans?

“Oh, what is it?” Quan Feitong smiled.

“In the next couple days, he plans to use our identities, substituting one thing for another, to secretly investigate the prison at night and interrogate the serious criminals.”