Just as Feng Yue was worrying about how to sneak into the Court Commandant’s mansion, she was unexpectedly dragged out by Guan Zhi and pushed into a carriage.

“Hey, hey, hey?” Clutching the carriage shaft, Feng Yue stared wide-eyed. “Where are we going? I haven’t even put on my fake beard yet!”

“There’s no time!” Guan Zhi sat on the shaft and whipped the reins, saying, “The Master in the palace and General Feng are fighting again, and it’s getting quite intense. If you arrive any later, someone might end up dead!”

Fighting again? Feng Yue frowned, pulling out her regular face cloth from her sleeve to cover half her face, then said, “Before, it was me constantly fighting with Feng Ming. Now that I’ve stopped, why have those two become so enthusiastic about fighting?”

That’s something we should ask you! Guan Zhi closed his eyes, knowing his master wasn’t typically one who enjoyed fighting – he’d even said before that those who fought outside the battlefield were just brutes.

Yet now, Yin the brute and Feng the brute would start grappling every time they met. Their fights were truly remarkable to behold.

“Lord Guan Zhi!” Gan Jiang suddenly appeared from somewhere, running alongside the carriage at full speed while saying, “Here’s this month’s news. Please take it to the Master on your way.”

Taking the letter handed to him, Guan Zhi paid little attention. After all, every month’s letter had brought no news, and since his master had lost hope, he too no longer held any expectations. He only cast an admiring glance at Gan Jiang’s incredibly swift legs.

“What’s that?” Feng Yue asked curiously.

“News about someone the Master is searching for,” Guan Zhi felt Feng Yue was no longer an outsider, so he spoke frankly. “There used to be a steward in the Eastern Palace called Yan Qing. The Master has been searching for him for some unknown reason for over three years without results, but every month, Bai Xiaosheng still sends letters reporting on the situation.”

Yan Qing?

Upon hearing this name, Feng Yue’s heart skipped a beat.

Yan Qing had once served in the Eastern Palace. When the Crown Prince opened the back door of the Eastern Palace for noble families’ daughters who wished to offer themselves, he became quite powerful, as he was in charge of reviewing the list and verifying the identities of the young ladies before they could enter the Eastern Palace.

Due to their good relationship, Yan Qing had once erased her name, skipping the verification process and secretly letting her into the Eastern Palace. This matter was known only to heaven, earth, her, and him – no one else knew.

Why was Yin Ge Zhi looking for him? It couldn’t have anything to do with her, could it? It shouldn’t – after all, during their half-month of intimacy, although their bedroom activities had been harmonious, Yin Ge Zhi hadn’t shown any extra interest. He’d just enjoyed teasing her about her naive reactions and liked chatting with her casually. He’d never said he wanted her to stay in the Eastern Palace, nor had he ever said he liked her.

Looking at it this way, in his heart, she was probably just a bed partner who had stayed longer than others. How could he still be thinking about her?

Shaking her head to stop her wild thoughts, Feng Yue decided to enter the palace first to assess the situation.

An hour passed, but Feng Ming and Yin Ge Zhi still hadn’t stopped. However, since Yin Ge Zhi was a seasoned battlefield veteran, his stamina was considerably better than Feng Ming’s, so toward the end, Feng Ming’s disadvantage became quite obvious.

“Royal Brother!” Nan Ping couldn’t bear to watch anymore. “Please calm down! It’s been so long – you might not be tired of fighting, but we’re tired of watching!”

The crowd of palace guards watching enthusiastically shook their heads: “We’re not tired!”

Nan Ping: “…”

Yin Ge Zhi sneered, looking at the panting Feng Ming across from him: “Your footwork has improved, but your techniques are outdated. It seems you still lack actual combat experience, General Feng.”

Feng Ming’s face darkened. He spat to the side, then swept his robe and charged forward again!

“Princess!”

Just as Nan Ping was getting worried, she turned to see Guan Zhi had already brought someone, returning the token she had given him with both hands.

Taking back the token and looking behind him, Nan Ping had expected him to bring some extraordinary expert, but instead… it was a woman.

Staring at Feng Yue in astonishment, Nan Ping forgot about stopping the fight and asked curiously, “Who is this?”

“This humble woman greets the Princess.” Feng Yue knelt with lowered eyes and formally said, “This humble woman is a famous mediator from among the common people, specializing in stopping fights.”

At this explanation, Guan Zhi wiped his brow, thinking: Do you think the Princess is so inexperienced that she’ll believe any lie?

Nan Ping remained silent. Her gaze was full of seriousness, she stared at Feng Yue for quite a while, then relaxed her brow and said, “No wonder they say the true experts are among the common people. This time I’ve truly learned something – there are even professional mediators. Quick, go stop them!”

Guan Zhi: “…”

Did this count as deceiving the Princess?

Feng Yue nodded in agreement, stepped forward, took a deep breath, and shouted: “Thunder’s coming—”

Yin Ge Zhi’s body stiffened, and Feng Ming also froze. They both turned around to see the face-veiled Feng Yue standing beside Princess Nan Ping.

She dared to come to the palace?! They were both shocked and immediately stopped fighting, cold sweat breaking out on their backs.

Nan Ping looked at them in surprise and said softly, “Hey, they stopped!”

Guan Zhi forced a laugh: “Princess… this person…”

He wanted to say that this person was a friend of both the Crown Prince and General Feng, which would at least reduce one charge. But before he could finish, General Feng rushed over and glared at Feng Yue, asking, “How did you get into the palace?”

Yin Ge Zhi also strode over, and though he didn’t ask, his expression was very unpleasant.

Nan Ping blinked and said, “You know each other? This person said she’s a professional mediator from among the common people, whom Guan Zhi invited to stop you from fighting. Otherwise, wouldn’t you have fought all night?”

Thus, two burning gazes fell upon Guan Zhi, who was already exhausted and had even been stepped on.

Unable to laugh or cry, Guan Zhi knelt with a fallen face and said quietly, “Your servant… was just following orders…”

Heavens above, why did he have to be caught between everyone like this? Princess Nan Ping never left the inner palace, so how would she know Lady Feng Yue? What were they so nervous about? Besides, wouldn’t it be more useful to quickly escort her out instead of glaring at him?

“I… also know her from among the common people,” Feng Ming tried to cover up, stroking his chin. “Last time when I got into a fight with someone, she also came to mediate.”

“How impressive!” Princess Nan Ping’s gaze toward Feng Yue was immediately filled with admiration.

Feng Yue gave a dry laugh, thinking that lying was truly an endless spiral. How many big lies would it take to cover up one small lie?

“It’s getting late.” Straightening his robes, Yin Ge Zhi said expressionlessly, “Since the fighting has stopped, I’ll escort this commoner out of the palace. She shouldn’t be here.”

“No need for Your Highness to trouble yourself. This official can escort her out,” Feng Ming narrowed his eyes.

Letting out a cold laugh, Yin Ge Zhi turned to look at him, a strand of hair floating in the wind before his forehead, his killing intent gathering again.

Seeing they were about to fight again, Feng Yue smiled and raised her hand: “This humble woman can leave on her own!”

Nan Ping raised an eyebrow, already sensing something was amiss. She was a clever young lady – one look at the men’s expressions told her something was wrong. Especially her usually trouble-avoiding royal brother, who was now volunteering to escort a commoner out of the palace.

Something wasn’t right, something wasn’t right!

“Stop arguing,” Nan Ping’s eyes rolled as she smiled and said, “I find this lady quite interesting. I’d like to keep her here to ask about interesting matters from among the common people. Today, there’s no need to hurry out of the palace.”

Yin Ge Zhi immediately shook his head: “No.”

“Why not?”

“…Having commoners lingering in the palace at will – Father Emperor would be displeased if he knew. It’s better to send her away.”

This made sense, but the more he tried to prevent it, the more curious Nan Ping became. She smiled and said, “It’s fine, Father Emperor won’t know.”

Then she turned to hold Feng Yue’s hand and asked, “May I ask the lady’s name?”

“This humble woman is Feng Yue.”

“Ah, Lady Feng Yue, let’s go sit in the palace hall and have some tea. It was rather rude to bring you here in such a hurry.” Nan Ping smiled mischievously and pulled her toward Zhao Wu Palace.

Feng Ming was stunned and quickly elbowed Yin Ge Zhi beside him, asking in a low voice, “What do we do now? What if…”

“You’re asking me?” Yin Ge Zhi gritted his teeth: “If you hadn’t spoken so provocatively, would we have ended up fighting? Would Nan Ping have had Guan Zhi bring her into the palace?”

“You’re blaming me?” Feng Ming frowned: “If you hadn’t been so concerned about private betrothals and such, how would it have come to this?”

“…”

“Though today’s fight was quite satisfying.” Touching his lip corner, Feng Ming gave a rakish smile: “At least I learned one thing.”

Yin Ge Zhi glanced at him sideways.

Lifting his chin, Feng Ming curved his lips, staring at Feng Yue’s retreating figure, and said, “I cherish her more than you do. The things you care about, I don’t care about. Whenever she wants to come to my side, I will always open my arms to receive her.”

Slightly startled, Yin Ge Zhi’s face darkened as he watched him catch up. He stood there frowning in thought for quite a while.

Was he concerned about whether Feng Yue was untouched? Not at all – he was concerned about who she had liked before, liked enough to make a private betrothal! If he found that person, he wanted to see if they could compare to himself.

“Master.” Guan Zhi stood beside him, seeing he seemed to have calmed down, and handed over the letter: “This month’s news.”

Coming back to his senses and looking at the envelope before him, Yin Ge Zhi suddenly remembered that Bai Xiaosheng hadn’t sent any letters for several months, and he had almost forgotten about finding Yan Qing.

Should he still look for him now? He remained silent, lowering his eyes as he took the envelope, thinking that if there was still no news this time, he would give up.

However, life often turns out unexpectedly – the news he had waited for so long, hoping against hope, finally came just when he no longer wanted to search.

“The person is in Wei Kingdom’s Li City, in the newly established Meng Hui Tower.”

His pupils contracted slightly as Yin Ge Zhi pressed his lips together, holding the letter with complex emotions in his eyes.

In Li City, right there in Li City? What did “newly established Meng Hui Tower” mean? Wasn’t Meng Hui Tower in the Wu Kingdom?

His heart’s waters were turbulent as Yin Ge Zhi felt lost and confused. He called out softly, “Guan Zhi?”

“Your servant is here.” Sensing his master’s emotions, Guan Zhi quickly asked, “Is there news?”

“Yes, but…” Pressing his lips together, he frowned and asked, “Should I still look for him?”

The person he had thought about constantly for three years now seemed to have faded like a shadow. He still loved her proud spirit, her body’s innocence, loved her unique temperament. But… finding her now seemed somewhat superfluous.

Someone like her, even if they finally reunited, would probably not tolerate him having feelings for others while still wanting to keep her by his side, right?