A ray of sunlight slipped into the dark hall of the Salt Guild’s Hangzhou headquarters.

“Who are you?” The young girl widened her eyes and stepped forward. Her pink gauze dress was crumpled into a mess, the pink silk ribbon in her hair had come loose, and her disheveled hair hung around her shoulders. Despite her slightly dirty face, her large eyes sparkled like spring water in March, filled with surprise and wonder.

She received no answer from the person she questioned, who merely furrowed their brows slightly.

“Do I know you? Who are you?” The young girl opened her eyes even wider and took another step forward.

She approached the table, leaning forward with her head tilted, her bright eyes nearly touching the other person’s face. “You’re handsome.”

Wei Xichen, the Third Master of the Salt Guild, cleared his throat: “Young master, is this the lady you wish to redeem?”

“Thank you, Third Master. Indeed, this is the lady I’m here to redeem.” The young man whom the girl was staring at turned his head toward Wei Xichen with a smile. He emphasized the words “indeed is” rather heavily, and for some reason, his calm voice carried a hint of gritted teeth.

“You’re not just handsome…” the young girl continued her admiration, her eyes never moving an inch from the young man’s face during this entire time. “Your voice is really nice too… like wind passing through a pine forest… Say something more for me to hear!”

“I’m glad it’s this lady.” Wei Xichen chuckled.

“You’re going to redeem me?” The young girl finally finished her admiration and started caring about her own situation. “That’s great, I can finally leave this godforsaken place…”

Before she could finish speaking, she suddenly received a flick on her forehead. The young man withdrew his hand, his expression still calm: “Young ladies shouldn’t speak so crudely.”

The girl was stunned by the flick, holding her forehead as she stared at him.

Following the young man out of the Salt Guild’s main entrance, the young girl surprisingly managed to keep quiet.

A few days ago, she had been imprisoned in the Salt Guild’s jail after getting into an argument with some guild members at the dock.

After waiting and waiting, help finally arrived, but it was someone she had never met before.

Now she walked silently, occasionally scratching her hair, rubbing her arms, and touching the spot on her forehead where the young man had flicked her.

“You…” After walking quite far, the young man finally stopped, let out an almost inaudible sigh, and turned around. “Are you alright?”

The young girl’s eyes lit up when she saw him turn to ask about her, but she responded with a rapid-fire series of questions: “Who are you? How did you know I was locked up there? Why did you spend so much money to redeem me? Are you my brother’s friend? Have we met before? Why don’t I know your name? Tell me your name, please?”

The young man looked at her sparkling eyes, unsure whether to laugh or be annoyed, but his lips curled into a smile: “If you have the interest and energy to ask so many questions, you must be fine.”

“I’m not fine at all!” The young girl immediately objected, “I haven’t bathed in five days! I haven’t eaten meat in five days! Those people only gave me cabbage, greens, and tofu…” As she spoke, she glanced furtively at the young man’s expression. Seeing no change in his face, she continued with a smile, “Hey, take me somewhere to eat something good, and get me an inn room to bathe… The Salt Guild took all my money.”

The young man looked her over and nodded: “Would you prefer to eat first or bathe first?”

“Eat!” The young girl answered without hesitation, then continued non-stop, “I want crystal shrimp dumplings with crab roe from the Five Phoenix Tower, pickled duck feet and lion’s head meatballs from the Free Spirit Pavilion, braised pork ribs from the Clear Clothing Garden and rose rice wine soup from the Moon Rest Tower, but tell them not to make it too sweet, I have to remind them several times every time…” She paused, carefully glancing at the young man who was quietly listening, swallowed, and added, “That’s all…”

After listening to her, the young man nodded slightly again: “Then let’s find an inn to stay at first, and have these places deliver the dishes.”

Seeing him grant her every request, the young girl gave a secret smile, her mood greatly improved. She looked up at the young man with a grin: “Although you probably already know, I should still tell you, my name is Ling Cangcang, you can call me Cangcang. What’s your name?”

After all that roundabout conversation, her thoughts seemingly having wandered far, her final question came back to this point.

The young man quietly looked at her for a moment. His expression, already subtle, became even more indiscernible. After a brief pause, he spoke: “Xiao Huan, my name is Xiao Huan.”

He said it very softly, his tone unchanged from before.

Cangcang’s eyes slowly widened, her back straightened, and the smile gradually disappeared from her lips. She furrowed her thick eyebrows and tentatively asked: “Are you… that Xiao Huan?”

“There shouldn’t be a second Xiao Huan in Great Wu.” The young man sighed very softly, a trace of amusement passing through his bottomless pupils as his lips curled up slightly, “If you’d like, you can call me Brother Xiao, I don’t mind.”

Cangcang didn’t speak, staring intently at his face as if there was a flower blooming on it.

“No!” Cangcang suddenly shouted, her face flushed, though it was unclear whether from embarrassment or agitation, “I won’t call you Brother Xiao!”

“You…” Cangcang stuttered for the first time in her life, “Why do you have to be that Xiao Huan!”

In Ling Cangcang’s life, she had only known of one Xiao Huan.

That Xiao Huan was always far away from her, that Xiao Huan’s face was always hidden behind green, purple, or red official robes, that Xiao Huan rarely spoke, and even when he did, she could barely hear his voice clearly.

The Qianqing Palace was too vast, the white jade steps outside too long. She was merely a minister’s female relative, always far from that noble throne, never having the chance to carefully observe that Xiao Huan’s face—nor had she ever had any interest in doing so.

Cangcang looked somewhat exasperatedly at the Xiao Huan before her now. He was very close to her, close enough that she could count each long, thick eyelash on his downcast eyelids one by one, and close enough that he could see her disheveled appearance reflected in his excessively dark eyes.

The Xiao Huan before her curved his lips slightly and smiled gently: “If you don’t want to call me that, then don’t.”

It wasn’t anything, actually it wasn’t anything at all. It was just that a young lady who had run away from home to avoid marriage discovered that this person, whom she had quite a good impression of, happened to be the betrothed who had come to catch her.

The young lady merely felt a bit like a thief caught in the act, but it wasn’t anything.

Besides, a caught thief couldn’t possibly have so many delicious things to eat.

Crystal shrimp dumplings with crab roe from the Five Phoenix Tower pickled duck feet and lion’s head meatballs from the Free Spirit Pavilion, braised pork ribs from the Clear Clothing Garden, and rose rice wine soup from the Moon Rest Tower—every single dish was laid out on the table.

Cangcang buried her head and worked hard to stuff food into her mouth. Her eating manner was fierce, and her gaze wasn’t much better. While sweeping through the delicacies on the table, she didn’t forget to occasionally glare at Xiao Huan.

By rights, after understanding Xiao Huan’s identity, whether inside or outside the palace, she should have immediately knelt and kowtowed.

But that person opposite her… he had first rudely flicked her forehead, then improperly suggested she call him Brother Xiao. Since His Majesty was being so casual, she might as well save herself the trouble—kneeling on the ground would hurt her knees anyway.

Cangcang not only saved herself the trouble but also completely forgot about the proper etiquette between ruler and subject. She seemed to have forgotten that the glares she was now directing at Xiao Huan were enough to warrant losing her head many times over.

Xiao Huan just sat across from her, facing these resentful glances, apparently having no intention of picking up his chopsticks to compete with her voracious eating. He just lowered his eyes carelessly and poured himself drinks from the wine pot before him.

He was drinking bamboo leaf green wine, unwarmed, and not particularly fine quality.

Cangcang had thought that if he were to drink wine, he would surely drink the most expensive kind. She had even imagined him waving his hand and having two black shadows leap out from some unknown darkness, holding precious wine specially transported from the capital, contained in jade vessels, with that kind of light called nobility floating even on the liquid’s surface.

Unexpectedly, he had only casually added after telling the inn’s servant about her ordered dishes: “Bring a pot of wine, bamboo leaf green.”

When the server asked what kind of bamboo leaf green he wanted, his answer was even simpler: “Any kind will do.”

After the wine arrived, he just slowly poured the pale green liquid into his wine cup and sipped it slowly. Though that trace of a smile that had never left his lips remained, his expression was so faint that, together with his pale blue robe, it seemed about to dissolve into the white daylight.

Cangcang stuffed in a mouthful of food, looked up to glare at him, and finally couldn’t hold back anymore, throwing down her chopsticks: “I don’t like you!”

Xiao Huan raised his eyes to look at her and smiled: “So what?”

His answer was so light and casual as if this matter had nothing to do with him. This made Cangcang even angrier, and she stared at him with wide eyes, righteously declaring: “Since I don’t like you, why should I marry you? I don’t want to marry you!”

Xiao Huan looked at her too, still smiling: “I know you don’t want to marry me, otherwise you wouldn’t have left a note and run away. But this matter isn’t something I can decide, there’s not much room for negotiation.”

Cangcang choked for a moment, knowing that what he said was quite polite.

Their marriage was decreed by the late emperor, which meant that under the burning gaze of all the court officials, unless Great Wu fell or the late emperor came back to life and withdrew the decree, they had to marry, regardless of whether either party was willing.

Who made her the daughter of Prime Minister Ling Xuefeng, and who made him happen to be the Emperor of Great Wu?

Perhaps without even realizing it herself, Cangcang’s thick eyebrows furrowed together, and her tone turned nasty: “I will never like you!”

“Is that so?” The person before her, who should have been in the heavily guarded forbidden palace at this moment, was still smiling, his tone gentle, “Come back with me, Minister Ling is very worried.”

A warm July breeze gently wafted through the open window. Cangcang glared fiercely at the person before her, but finally admitted defeat before that slightly upturned smile, deflating as she slumped onto the table: “Why do you have to be so handsome… Why are you always smiling?”

The door made a soft sound twice, and Ban Fangyuan, the commander of the Imperial Guard’s Guxing Camp, entered silently in his black combat uniform. He approached the table and cupped his hands: “Young Master, the carriage is ready. When would you and Miss Ling like to depart for the capital?”

Cangcang suddenly sat up straight, raising her head to look directly at Xiao Huan: “I was wrong earlier, you’re hideously ugly!”

After hearing the dreadful news about returning to the capital, Cangcang’s mood turned sour.

When she was pulled into the carriage, she muttered enough insults at the calm-faced person sitting across from her. Then, after she had declared for the umpteenth time with an extremely disdainful look that “only old grannies and grandpas ride in carriages,” the person finally let out a light sigh and said: “It would be much easier to escape on horseback when people aren’t paying attention.”

Cangcang was completely speechless. After glaring at Xiao Huan with intense hatred for a while, she finally had a moment of enlightenment and nodded: “You can’t ride horses because of poor health, right? They always said in the palace that you’ve been weak since childhood.” After looking him up and down, she added, “I hate sickly people the most.” Then, as if bestowing a great favor, she concluded, “Fine, since that’s the case, we’ll take the carriage.”

The recipient of this favor responded rather ungratefully with an upturned smile: “Then I should thank you for your consideration?”

“Don’t bother!” Even though Cangcang was typically carefree, she could tell he wasn’t genuinely thankful. Indignantly, she pulled over an embroidered pillow, tucked it under her head, and simply lay down on the small table beside her to sleep.

Having been locked up in jail for several days, she was already tired after her bath, and surprisingly fell asleep quickly despite the carriage’s jolting.

She slept soundly and had many dreams, but when she awoke to a sudden violent jolt of the carriage, darkness had fallen around them.

In the chaos, her body lurched forward but was caught by Xiao Huan. She quickly steadied her head: “What’s happening?”

“An ambush,” Xiao Huan answered after a brief pause.

“Assassins!” Cangcang immediately shouted, suddenly jumping up from her seat and pushing Xiao Huan against the carriage wall with her hands on his shoulders. “Someone must have discovered your identity and come to assassinate you!”

She continued in one breath: “See? See? What did you come here for? Now the bad guys have targeted you! Are those two outside any good? And that Ban Fangyuan! How could he arrange so few guards for someone as delicate as you who can’t even ride a horse? What a mess this is! Or did he think my martial arts were good enough and count on me to protect you? Ah, don’t be afraid, it’s fine, my martial arts are pretty decent, I should be able to protect you.”

Besides the two of them, there were two Imperial Guards from the Guxing Camp outside driving the carriage. The sound of clashing weapons indicated they had already engaged with the ambushers.

The carriage continued to lurch forward through the fighting. Cangcang finished speaking without giving Xiao Huan a chance to respond, patting her head: “Quick, lie down, sitting isn’t safe!” She grabbed his shoulders and pressed him down onto the seat, then positioned herself in front of him. As she was about to lift the carriage curtain to check outside, she turned back to remind him, “Don’t raise your head no matter what, it’s very dangerous!”

Before she finished speaking, a large blade suddenly pierced through the back wall of the carriage, and immediately after, the entire compartment split into two halves with a “swoosh.” The upper half of the roof came crashing down with crackling sounds in the fierce wind.

Cangcang reacted quickly—before the blade had even cut through, she had already ducked down to the carriage floor. She quickly crawled out from under the wooden splinters and debris, grabbed Xiao Huan’s hand, and pulled him to jump off the carriage.

After some fighting, the carriage had slowed down. After landing, Cangcang glanced at the Imperial Guards still engaged with the black-clothed attackers, and without even steadying herself, pulled Xiao Huan toward the dense forest beside the road.

Thick fallen leaves covered the forest floor on both sides of the road, but Cangcang paid no attention and just pulled Xiao Huan toward the densest part of the trees.

Fortunately, after running for a while, there seemed to be no one pursuing them. Cangcang stopped, somewhat out of breath, and turned to check Xiao Huan’s head and body, asking while examining: “Hey, are you alright? Didn’t get crushed, did you?”

“Mm,” came the response as Xiao Huan answered honestly, “I didn’t get crushed.”

“That’s good.” Cangcang let out a sigh of relief, not noticing the amusement in his voice, and patted her chest saying, “It’s good you didn’t get broken. Having to look after someone as delicate as you are worrying.”

“Mm, thank you for your concern,” came the quick thanks, still tinged with amusement.

This time Cangcang caught a hint of it, but didn’t mind. She reached out to pat his shoulder, but finding it too high to reach comfortably, patted his arm instead: “Don’t mention it. With me here, you don’t need to be afraid, I’ll protect you.”

After making this gallant declaration, she peered into the pitch-black forest for a while and seeing no sign of any black-clothed pursuers, she let out a sigh of relief: “Since they haven’t caught up after all this time, we should be safe.” She scratched her head, glanced back at Xiao Huan, bit her lip, and suddenly asked, “Are you afraid of the dark?”

It was now nighttime, and no moonlight penetrated the forest, making the surroundings frighteningly dark.

“Probably not,” Xiao Huan smiled and answered.

Cangcang nodded, and hesitated for a moment before saying: “I’m not abandoning you on purpose, but if I don’t run now, I won’t get another chance—”

She paused: “Don’t be afraid, just stand here for a while. Those two people you brought are quite capable, they’ll come to find you after defeating the enemy.” Still worried, she added, “If the enemy happens to find you, don’t try to fight them, just run quickly.”

After she finished speaking, she stepped back a few paces and added: “Take care of yourself, goodbye.” Then she turned and ran into the depths of the forest.

Watching her figure disappear, Xiao Huan remained motionless where he stood, as if truly intending to follow Cangcang’s instructions and wait for others to rescue him.

A slightly cold wind blew through the deep night, and suddenly Xiao Huan’s hand moved. Just as a flash of light was about to emerge behind him, his fingers suddenly sprang into action.

The force from his fingers struck like lightning, precisely hitting the acupoints of the black-clothed assassin. In the darkness, he judged position by sound and struck in one fluid motion, not missing by a hair.

The assassin’s steel blade fell to the ground with a “thud,” and though he immediately retreated several steps, he couldn’t dispel the numbness rapidly spreading through half his body. Cold sweat broke out instantly—he was considered a master, having roamed the jianghu for over a decade, yet had never been forced back in a single move before.

“Please go back and tell your master that if they want my life, they’d better send someone with better skills,” that voice sounded from nearby, still calm and composed.

That calm voice coming through the darkness somehow carried a stinging coldness. Cold sweat slid down the assassin’s temples. There was no more sound from outside the forest—those who had come with him must have all been subdued. This seemingly refined young man was an unfathomably formidable figure.

The assassin hesitated only for a moment, then no longer concealing his movements, turned and fled quickly into the depths of the forest.

As the rustle of the assassin’s footsteps faded away, darkness once again fell silent.

After a while, several light footsteps sounded, and an Imperial Guard approached, cupped his hands, and called in a low voice: “Young Master.”

A soft laugh sounded, followed by that calm voice from the darkness, carrying a trace of amusement: “Chu Qing if a young lady told you she would protect you, how would you feel?”

Before the guard called Chu Qing could answer, that amused voice continued, murmuring almost to himself: “This young lady, ah, she thinks I’m a vase, that I’ll break if touched.”

Cangcang wandered through Hangzhou at night, having been wandering for an entire day.

Yesterday, after running away from Xiao Huan in the chaos, she fled back to Hangzhou without even sleeping, but once she returned, she didn’t know what to do next.

And very sadly… she had no money in her pockets.

After wandering for the fifth time along the street lined with inns by West Lake, feeling troubled and distracted, Cangcang finally realized she probably couldn’t escape spending the night on the streets.

Sharp-eyed, she spotted a patrol of constables and quickly ducked into a nearby corner of a wall.

She had been on edge all day, hadn’t eaten, and was already exhausted. Adding to her aimless walking, she had somewhat lost her sense of direction. She simply curled up in that corner of the wall and lay down to sleep.

It was the last quarter moon, which only slowly climbed up after the night had deepened. Across from the street where Cangcang slept was an inn, and in a room with windows facing the street, a guest had gently pushed open the window, perhaps to admire the moon or get some fresh air.

First looking at the distant scenery, the guest’s gaze eventually fell upon Cangcang’s curled-up form in the street corner.

Seeming to let out a soft sigh, the guest braced against the windowsill, nimbly flipped over, walked to Cangcang’s side, bent down to gently lift her, and with just a touch of his toes to the ground, his body had already risen, leaping up to the second-floor window.

Not even a whisper of sound came from his flowing robes.

Not far away, on a tall building, an assassin with amber-colored eyes simply rolled over to lie down on the roof where he was hiding. The tiles made only the slightest sound, not even startling the old rat gnawing on wood in the rafters.

The assassin propped his head on one hand, rather contentedly closing his eyes, while the fingers of his other hand tapped rhythmically on the black-sheathed sword lying at his side.

In the cool night breeze, he appeared to be asleep, his fingers tapping on the scabbard creating, intentionally or not, something of a musical beat.

When Cangcang poked her head out from the soft, comfortable bedding, the sunlight had already filled half the room.

She drowsily yawned, rubbed her eyes, and after scanning the room once, suddenly let out a scream.

Awakened by her cry, Xiao Huan, who had been resting with his head on the table, lifted his head, gently massaging his temple with curved fingers while smiling at her: “Awake?”

“It’s you?” Cangcang turned over to sit up, staring at him with wide eyes: “How are you here?”

Xiao Huan smiled as he looked at her: “I didn’t expect someone would like sleeping on the ground.”

Only then did Cangcang remember that she had fallen asleep on that cold stone slab by the roadside last night, and when she woke up, she was in this room. She felt a bit embarrassed: “What’s wrong with me sleeping on the ground? It’s none of your business!”

Xiao Huan gave her an amused look without speaking and rose to go to the door to call for a servant to bring hot tea and hot water for washing up.

As neither the tea nor water had arrived yet, he returned to sit at the table, casually smoothing the wrinkles in his collar and sleeves.

Cangcang jumped down from the bed, put on her shoes, and shuffled toward the table. After clearing her throat, she asked: “Um, I wasn’t too heavy, was I?”

“Hmm?” Xiao Huan looked up with a smile.

“I mean, when you carried me up here, you didn’t find me too heavy, did you?” Cangcang felt somewhat awkward, and after speaking, looked Xiao Huan up and down again, adding, “You were able to carry me, right?”

Xiao Huan didn’t answer her first question, the smile lines at the corners of his mouth deepening slightly as he nodded: “It was manageable.”

Cangcang pulled out a stool and sat at the table, puffing her cheeks as she looked at the still-smiling Xiao Huan several times: “Is this how you always talk to people?”

Xiao Huan looked at her: “What’s wrong?”

“It’s so frustrating!” Just as she finished speaking, seeing Xiao Huan’s eyes brimming with amusement, she childishly raised her hand to cover his face: “Oh, and stop smiling so much, you’re making me blush!”

“That might be difficult…” Xiao Huan smiled, allowing her to place her spread fingers before his face: “I’ve been smiling for many years now, I’m afraid I can’t change it so quickly.”

“Then forget it… keep smiling.” Cangcang dropped her hand as if deflating, then stretched both arms out and slumped half her body onto the table. Thinking of her escape plan, she wailed: “Such a headache.”

Seeing her worried expression, Xiao Huan smiled: “If you don’t want to return to the capital, then stay in Jiangnan for now.”

Cangcang immediately sat up straight, full of energy: “You’re not taking me back to the capital?”

“Since you’re so unwilling to go back, forcing you to return would be pointless—you’d probably run away again as soon as we got there.” Xiao Huan answered with a smile, “So I can wait until you want to go back.”

Cangcang looked at him, bit her lip, her bright eyes flickering, and suddenly said: “If I ask you to promise to help me with something without telling you what it is first, would you agree?”

Xiao Huan smiled: “I don’t make false promises.”

Cangcang remembered the saying “a ruler’s word is no jest,” which seemed to apply to him? She immediately beamed: “You’re such a good person, I like you.”

They chatted for a while, and the inn’s servant brought hot water for washing up and a pot of premium Shifeng Longjing tea.

Cangcang had barely caught the fragrant tea’s aroma when her hand reached for the teapot, only to be caught midway by Xiao Huan.

He pointed to the washing items nearby: “Wash your face first.”

Cangcang secretly stuck out her tongue: “So bossy.” But she had no choice but to hurriedly wash her face and rinse her mouth with salt, before running back to the table to pour herself a cup of tea and drink it contentedly.

Xiao Huan was much more meticulous in his grooming than she was, rinsing his mouth, washing his face, then undoing and redoing his neat hair knot, and finally arranging his clothes before returning to the table to pour himself a cup of tea.

Cangcang watched him while drinking her tea, finally saying: “I thought you wouldn’t know how to do these things yourself.”

Xiao Huan smiled, lifting his cup for a light sip, lowering his eyes: “Would you like breakfast?”

Cangcang’s eyes immediately brightened: “I want two baskets of chicken soup dumplings.”

In a quiet courtyard in the auxiliary capital of Duiyu City, a cool breeze arose.

Early autumn had arrived, and as the autumn wind swept across the lotus pond in the garden, it turned over a few withered leaves, cool and somewhat desolate.

In a small pavilion built by the water, a solitary figure in brown sat, casually placing black and white stones on the Go board before him. This game was far from complete, with large empty spaces between the intersecting lines.

Another autumn breeze blew past, and just as the pavilion’s occupant had picked up a new stone but hadn’t yet placed it, a black figure walked over from the other end of the lotus pond.

The black-clothed person walked quickly and soon came directly to the stone table in the small pavilion. The person in the pavilion smiled and said to him: “Xian Xue, you’re back?”

But Xian Xue didn’t respond to his greeting, pausing for a moment before saying: “I saw the young lady in Hangzhou.”

The man paused, tapping his stone against the pearwood board, letting out a light sigh: “This girl, I have no way to handle her.”

Xian Xue continued, smiling slightly, then paused: “I saw someone else in Hangzhou.”

Hearing this, the man finally raised his head, his refined face bearing a pair of clear, sharp eyes, looking at Xian Xue: “Who?”

Xian Xue paused, then very softly uttered two words: “Xiao Huan.”

Those eyes suddenly narrowed, for an instant shooting out knife-like rays, and the man laughed softly: “So the one in the palace has long been a body double. Our frail Emperor has gone to Jiangnan alone—could it be just to catch his runaway betrothed?”

“Traveling a thousand li to find someone isn’t entirely impossible,” Xian Xue quietly added.

“You’re not suggesting that our Emperor has developed feelings for that girl?” The man actually chuckled, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes folding together, those sharp eyes instantly losing all their brilliance. At that moment, he transformed into an ordinary middle-aged man, lazy and showing signs of fatigue.

He spoke with a smile, carrying a barely perceptible sigh: “If that were true, it would be wonderful.”

Xian Xue didn’t respond further. He stood quietly for a moment, waiting for the breeze from the lotus pond to pass, then cupped his hands to the man: “Sir, I’ll take my leave.”

After receiving a nod of approval, he quickly turned and retreated along the lotus pond.

He left as quickly as he had come. Only after his figure had disappeared behind the flowers and trees by the pond did the refined middle-aged man at the table pause and stand up from the Go board.

The smile had completely vanished from his face, and along with it, that hint of laziness. With a wave of his hand, a black-clothed attendant appeared at his side.

Addressing the attendant, he spoke coolly: “Write an anonymous letter to Feng Yuanjiang of the Phoenix Tower, and give him five thousand taels of silver to bring me Miss Ling’s head.”

The attendant noticeably stiffened: “The young lady?”

“No need to worry,” noticing his subordinate’s tension, he finally smiled again: “With that person there, the girl’s life won’t be in danger.”

Only then did the attendant relax, cupping his hands before leaving to carry out the order.

Casually tossing the black stone in his hand into the game, the brown-robed middle-aged man also stepped away from the cool pavilion.

In the northern autumn, the chill was gradually deepening, and this lakeside pavilion was no longer comfortable for sitting long.