Chapter 13

The young prince had been very busy lately.

Ever since he heard that the princess had been assassinated while he was away from the manor, he had spent these past few days angrily arresting people and conducting investigations. On top of that, our group was leaving tomorrow, and he could not accompany us, so he acted as though facing a great enemy. It had practically reached the point where the entire city was on alert. He even brought people to clear the road leading to Maple Leaf Mountain, cutting down and pruning quite a few of the bushes and trees that blocked the roadside.

Now, when one went out to buy vegetables, one would find that those playboy wastrels who flirted with decent married women had disappeared. The aunties who fought in the street were gone. The prodigal sons who lost money gambling and got thrown out to be beaten by a crowd were gone too. Even people with shifty, rat-like faces had become much fewer. It was truly a beautiful scene of clarity, peace, and order.

In addition, the young prince was also busy blocking his elder sister’s rotten peach blossoms. For example, those noble young masters who fancied themselves romantic, those sour scholars who wrote love poems to confess their feelings, and certain martial artists from the jianghu who claimed to be men the princess could rely on.

That noon, after returning from his investigation, miserable screams once again came from his courtyard.

“Prince, I was wrong!!! Ah!!! I take back what I said before! I-I’ll never dare again! Aiyah, it hurts so much!!” The tall, mighty man dressed in fitted martial clothes was currently streaming tears, crying with an especially twisted expression.

Standing not far away, I stared at his distorted face and thought, Isn’t this the escort agency young master who drunkenly confessed his love in front of the prince’s manor the day before yesterday…

At this moment, several neat and powerful calls of “Prince!” sounded behind me. Turning around, I saw a handsome man nod toward the guards and stride toward the pavilion. Deputy General Lin immediately went forward, saluted, and reported, “Prince, we have already deep-fried the third one!”

The pot of oil was still bubbling and smoking, and the screams had already stopped. The young prince furrowed his thick brows and waved his hand with a dark expression. [read the original at bailiantales.com]Two brown-clothed guards then dragged the unconscious escort agency young master away.

When they passed by me, I glanced over. Although that man had only injured his fingers, he would probably need half a year to recover.

“Hmph, they don’t truly like my sister at all!!” At this moment, the young prince flung his sleeve and cursed angrily.

I could not help tugging at the corner of my mouth. They were clearly loving her with their lives, young prince! Calling me here to watch beautiful men get deep-fried—just what exactly are you trying to do?!

A certain prince, however, seemed not to notice me and continued cursing to himself. “These men, rotten on the inside, cannot withstand the slightest test, yet they dare loudly proclaim that they admire my sister and would climb mountains of blades and descend into pots of boiling oil for her. They are simply ruining her clean reputation!”

Enough already… No wonder the princess had always stayed away from men. So it was because her own younger brother had scared them all off?!

Smelling the faint scent of meat drifting through the air, I shuddered. “Prince, you called me here because…”

“Oh, Dahua…” Only then did he notice me. For once, he did not roll his eyes at me. Instead, he smiled at me, and he smiled so warmly and kindly that it was as if the fierce, evil-looking person from the previous moment had not been him at all. “Hehe, this prince has something to discuss with you.”

So scary. I took a small step back. “May I ask what matter it is?”

“No hurry~ We can talk slowly.” His voice was gentle. Then he raised his hand to signal those subordinates and said, “Dahua, you haven’t eaten lunch yet, right? Come eat with this prince.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the guards efficiently carried away the oil pot. Then they moved aside the screen beside it, revealing a table full of dishes before my eyes. I froze for a moment and felt more and more that the situation was not good. “Prince…”

“Come, come, why are you still standing there? Sit down quickly.” The young prince urged me to sit and handed me a pair of chopsticks.

People from the military were not particular about trifles, and their words and actions were very forthright. But when he showed me such courtesy for no reason, it definitely meant nothing good… I secretly guessed that perhaps it had something to do with tomorrow’s trip. Sure enough, after only a few bites, the other party revealed his fox tail.

“Eh… Dahua, you’re responsible for arranging this trip to Maple Leaf Temple, right?” The handsome man across from me smiled.

I replied, “This servant is only helping Lady Fang manage a small portion of the matters.”

“Eh, what servant this, servant that? With me, there’s no need to be bound by those rules!” He waved his large hand and leaned a little closer. “Uh, well… Hao Shanzhong is also going along, right? Then at the temple… won’t you all be able to see each other every day?”

“Lord Hao?” Why was he bringing up that person? I nodded. “That should be the case.”

“I see…” He lowered his eyes and muttered.

I suddenly felt that something was not quite right. Why did his tone ​Read on BaiLianTales​sound a little jealous and envious… While pondering and guessing, I carefully chewed the beef. Unexpectedly, it was flavorful. I had to say, these dishes suited my taste very well.

“Eh, don’t just focus on eating.” Seeing me eating happily, a certain prince became dissatisfied. After hesitating briefly, he simply stopped beating around the bush and directly revealed his intention. “Dahua, let me tell you—I want to secretly follow along for two days. What do you think?”

Before I could speak, he hurriedly continued, “Aiya, I really can’t stop worrying about my sister. Those thieves have been too rampant lately. Look, just two days, all right…”

What kind of joke was this? Expressionlessly, I stretched out my chopsticks to pick up the eggplant in front of him. “Young Prince, this servant cannot make decisions about that.”

“Eh, as long as you secretly help me, no one will know. I’ll just blend in with those guards.”

“Why not ask Dafang for help?” I asked.

The man across from me immediately shrank back. His eyes drifted, and his tone became somewhat unnatural. “Dafang… Dafang is hard to talk to.”

… I really wanted to know what Dafang had done to the young prince. I sighed deeply, set down the bowl and chopsticks in my hands, and said with heartfelt sincerity, “Prince, the day after tomorrow, you need to go south to inspect the city. Besides, with the princess’s intelligence, we would never be able to hide it from her. If you were discovered, it would definitely make her unhappy. If this matter were to spread, it might even damage the royal family’s dignity.”

“Ai…” In the end, the young prince was still someone who understood reason. After hearing this, he also felt that his idea was inappropriate. But he was still somewhat angry and unwilling. “Honestly… why must she go stay at Maple Leaf Temple for so long? It would be fine to invite all those monks into the manor instead. That way, I could also properly spend time with Shanzhong…”

My brow could not help twitching. What was with the young prince’s eyes and brows being so full of love like a maiden in spring whenever he mentioned Hao [Read on BaiLianTales]Shanzhong?!! Speaking of which, I had already felt something was off just now…

A bold idea suddenly popped into my mind.

Could it be… could it be that the young prince liked Hao Shanzhong from Prince Ding’s Manor? No way! Although Shanzhong was beautiful like a fair maiden, he was still a genuine man!! The chopsticks in my hand almost slipped to the ground.

Wait. Even if the prince liked Hao Shanzhong… the person Hao Shanzhong liked was Dafang, right? I had seen yesterday’s scene with my own eyes. That beautiful man Hao clearly admired Dafang. When he saw Dafang, he looked like his heart had blossomed, shy yet resentful!! Tsk, tsk… I really did not know what exactly he liked about Dafang. She was as cold as ice, expressionless, and did not even look at him properly…

Eh, that’s right!!

A flash of inspiration lit up in my mind.

Dafang’s martial arts were unfathomable, she was utterly loyal to the princess, and she was usually inseparable from her like a barrier, making it difficult for me to get close. And I could not violate righteousness and abandon my integrity by sneaking in to assassinate the princess while she was changing or using the bathroom. If I could think of a way to bring Hao Shanzhong and Dafang together, making Dafang’s spring heart ripple… Hehe. As the saying goes, a married daughter is water splashed out; a married maidservant would be even more so. Once Dafang forgot loyalty for beauty and married Shanzhong, I would be able to take advantage of the opening~~

It was decided!!

And so, after eating and drinking my fill at the young prince’s place, and agreeing to his shameless request to help record Hao Shanzhong’s daily life, I found an opportunity to contact the well-informed hidden broker. After much trouble, by evening, I finally succeeded in obtaining the information I wanted.

I returned to my own room, closed the doors and windows, then carefully opened [bailiantales.com]the envelope. At this time, the princess happened to be reading in the peach garden, so I had plenty of free time to study my new strategy. Hehe~

There were three large sheets of paper inside the envelope. I took them out and unfolded them, discovering that there were so many words—three full pages. No wonder the price had increased by twenty percent… Tsk, but it really was detailed. I could not help wanting to laugh. Written on it was:

Hao Shanzhong, courtesy name Yuanxiu, from Mao County. He is tall, with fair skin and a beautiful appearance unlike that of a man, so he is often mistaken for a woman. His family is ordinary. His father is a private school teacher, and his mother is an embroiderer at Bisi Workshop in the city. When Hao Shanzhong was young, he loved playing with needles and thread, sewing clothes and embroidering. He liked things used by girls, but because his temperament was weak and unsociable, he was bullied by children of the same age…

Pfft haha, even this was known!! I could not help bursting out laughing. But when the thought sank in, I was startled into a cold sweat.

This well-informed hidden broker was terrifying. Silently and without a trace, they had grasped so much unknown information. Was this done by one person, or was it a powerful organization operating across the entire country? It was truly too mysterious. Even now, no one knew the background of the well-informed hidden broker.

I shuddered and continued reading.

Since childhood, Hao Shanzhong had been bullied by the little tyrant Wang Dabao from the neighboring village and was often beaten until his body was covered in bruises. Unexpectedly, through a series of coincidences, his Ren and Du meridians were actually opened, and from then on, he became a martial arts prodigy. That year also happened to be when Perfected Changji of the Clear Wind Sect was traveling. Passing through the area and encountering him, he was astonished and accepted him as an inner disciple…

Pfft hahaha, his Ren and Du meridians opened! And he even met Perfected Changji… “Astonished” was actually because Shanzhong was beautiful, right!!

I laughed until tears came out. This was too fun to read!!

At this moment, someone knocked on my door. I instinctively stopped making noise and tucked the letter into my robe. Fortunately, I had restrained myself earlier and had not made too much sound. The person outside only knocked twice, and then a gentle, sweet voice came in. “Lady Hua, Lady Hua, are you inside?”

I recognized it as Xiao Lan’s voice, so I could only reply warmly, “I’m inside. What is it?” As I spoke, I hurriedly pulled out the third sheet of paper. This page was exclusive secret information about Dafang! Moreover, once information bought from the hidden broker was opened, one could not delay. Otherwise, when the time came, the writing on it would disappear.

“Oh, so Lady Hua is inside,” Xiao Lan said. “But why are the doors and windows shut? I thought you had gone somewhere. The princess asked me to pass on a message for you to go to Misty Rain Pavilion. I don’t know what it is for.”

The princess was so clingy! I curled my lips.

Xiao Lan added with a smile, “Lady Hua, may I come in?”

I was startled and hurriedly spoke. “Eh, wait. I… I was sleepy and napped for a while just now. I’m not dressed properly yet. Wait a little longer. I’ll finish putting on my clothes soon.”

“Oh, then I’ll wait outside. In any case, the princess didn’t say you had to go immediately.” The little girl’s tone sounded rather happy. I let out a breath of relief, but when I looked at the paper in my hand again, I discovered that the writing had faded so much it was almost invisible!

Ah!! The writing was about to disappear! Because of this interruption, I still had not read the most important page! This was something I had spent ten taels of silver on with great difficulty! The writing was disappearing so quickly, and there were so many words—I could not possibly memorize it all!!

And so, when I came out of the room, my face was already full of exhaustion.

Under the little girl’s astonished gaze, I smiled weakly, then walked gracefully toward the peach garden… Although time had been tight, relying Read on BaiLianTales on my excellent memory, I had at least managed to remember part of the contents. Now I only needed to repeat them in my heart several times to strengthen the memory.

“Lady Hua, what happened to you? Your complexion doesn’t look good.” At this moment, a certain little girl just had to come closer. I worked hard to focus my attention.

“Lady Hua, are you feeling unwell somewhere? I’m very worried.” Seeing that I did not speak, she asked anxiously again.

“Lady Hua? Lady Hua, you’re breaking out in cold sweat!”

…

Sigh…

I… where had I just memorized up to?

I had never felt Xiao Lan was this noisy before. Seeing my hesitant, awkward, pained expression, she finally bit her lip shyly and tentatively asked, “Is it… your monthly period?”

So exhausting…