Chapter 231: Surprise Greater Than Joy

“Xuan Er!” Imperial Concubine Roujia exclaimed in surprise, stepping forward to check on Xia Mingxuan’s injury, only to be pushed away by him.

Xia Mingxuan looked up at Feng Tingye, his eyes flashing.

The next second, a silver steel knife appeared in Xia Mingxuan’s hand. The knife was adorned with exquisitely crafted patterns that made it seem more like a collectible art piece than a deadly weapon.

“What is that…” Cui Er was the first to notice the weapon in Xia Mingxuan’s hand, her face changing.

“That day in the Spring Pavilion, the person who conspired against Ai Fei, it was you,” Feng Tingye said, looking at the weapon in Xia Mingxuan’s hand. His eyes tightened, and a hint of understanding and coldness flashed through them.

“The Spring Pavilion?” Apart from a few people who were present in the room at the time, most of the people present were not aware of the beginning and end of the matter.

After a moment of contemplation, Yan Tingfang also realized what was happening and said in surprise, “Is he that young master Xie? He didn’t look like this at that time. Did he change his appearance back then?”

With Yan Tingfang’s reminder, Xia Yuqing also reacted and turned her head abruptly to look at Xia Mingxuan. So the last customer that night Miss Yan brought her to serve … it was Fourth Royal Brother?!

At that time, she had been drinking heavily and didn’t know what she had done in the end. All she knew was that when the Ultra Seme Lord found her later that night, he was very angry and almost destroyed the Spring Pavilion.

The next morning, she woke up and realized that… she couldn’t believe that the person was Fourth Royal Brother, and even more surprising was that he already had feelings for her back then…

Thinking of this, Xia Yuqing couldn’t help but shrink her neck, looking at Xia Mingxuan with some fear.

Xia Mingxuan seemed to have no intention of continuing to hide, and he looked up and burst into laughter: “Hahaha, that’s right. I was the one that day in the Spring Pavillion, that young man named Xie. If it wasn’t for you guys getting in the way, I would have taken Qing Er back long ago. Who gave you the right to still hold onto her until now? She’s mine, mine!”

Imperial Concubine Roujia looked at her son with astonishment and called out in fear: “Xuan Er, you…”

Xia Mingxuan ignored Imperial Concubine Roujia’s distress and looked up at Feng Tingye, sneering: “Back then in the Spring Pavillion, I underestimated you, and I paid a heavy price for it. Today, it’s time for us to settle accounts properly.”

When Feng Tingye heard this, he also smiled, and his wrist flipped as his sword danced out a beautiful flower.

“If we’re going to settle accounts, we should first clarify them. In Shu Country, you revealed our identities and whereabouts with the Xue King through Princess Chang, causing us to nearly fail at the last minute. Shouldn’t we settle this account as well?”

When Feng Tingye spoke, not only Su Wuduan and the others, but even Imperial Concubine Roujia were shocked and stared at Xia Mingxuan, questioning him: “Xuan Er, you knew about their whereabouts early on? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Feng Tingye’s eyes flickered slightly, and there was a hint of clarity in his eyes. Sure enough, this matter was Xia Mingxuan’s own decision, and Imperial Concubine Roujia was not aware of it. Otherwise, at that time, their loss would not have been so simple!

Xia Mingxuan faced Imperial Concubine Roujia’s gaze and sneered, “I just wanted to retrieve my most important thing from their hands. What’s wrong with that?”

Back then, his agreement with Princess Chang of Shu was that he would assist her in resolving any future problems, and after the matter was done, Princess Chang would hand over Xia Yuqing to him intact.

Unfortunately, that woman was too useless, and only slightly disrupted Feng Tingye and his group. Without shaking them, she instead fell into her own trap.

Xia Yuqing trembled all over as she listened to Xia Mingxuan’s words. That inexplicable sense of foreboding became even stronger, and she discreetly tightened her hands.

If… If Fourth Royal Brother found out that she wasn’t actually Xia Yuqing, the one he had made a promise with and obsessed over, the one who had likely died years ago… What would he do?

“I knew it! I knew that Royal Sister suddenly discovering Lord Lan’s identity and catching him so easily was all because of this guy’s meddling!” 

Yun Zhongyue recalled the danger at that time and felt extremely resentful. He rolled up his sleeves and was about to step forward. Under his call, the people around him also wanted to go forward one after another. However, someone stopped them before they took a few steps.

“What are you doing, Junior Sister’s husband? Are you planning to rebel against us?” Yun Zhongyue frowned as he looked at the sharp sword in front of him, his eyes deep and serious.

“Your business can wait until I settle accounts with him first.”

Yun Zhongyue was taken aback. He looked back and forth between the two people, and a hint of realization flashed in his eyes. The struggle between men sometimes couldn’t allow others to interfere, especially when it was about a woman…

Yun Zhongyue turned his head and glanced at Xia Yuqing, who was not far away, looking bewildered. His mouth twitched. These two men were fighting for his junior sister’s sake, and he didn’t know who was more fortunate and who was more unfortunate.

“The Emperor is planning to fight Fourth Royal Brother one-on-one?” Xia Yuqing was startled awoke by Feng Tingye’s words, her face full of concern. “Emperor…?”

Shao Zitang glanced at her and smirked, “Don’t worry. If that guy is really serious, even I have to be cautious. Unless the Fourth Prince grows three heads and six arms, he won’t stand a chance against him.”

“Huh?” Xia Yuqing looked at Shao Zitang, puzzled and confused.

How come the little Shang Shu, who is considered to have the strongest martial arts among the group, said that he fears the Ultra Seme Lord? 

It seems that Shao Zitang understood what Xia Yuqing was thinking, and sneered: “Feng Tingye has been smart since he was a child. After three years old, he often played tricks on the teachers who taught him, earning himself the nickname of ‘mischievous little devil’. In the end, even the teachers in the palace were afraid to teach him. The late emperor had no choice but to personally teach him martial arts.”

Shao Zitang didn’t mention that even the late emperor didn’t escape his poisonous hands and suffered greatly. 

“….” Xia Yuqing was surprised to hear that even the emperor was such a mischievous child. In the end, it must be a matter of genes since their eldest son is just like him when he was young. 

“However, after the late emperor passed away, he never used the martial arts he learned from the late emperor seriously again. In these years, even those of us who were closest to him cannot gauge the depth of his skills.” 

“….” Xia Yuqing finally understood. They couldn’t tell if the Ultra Seme Lord or the little Shang Shu was stronger, so she felt like she had been tricked. 

“In all these years, the only time he truly got angry and used his skills was when you were taken to the brothel by those kidnappers.” 

Shao Zitang remembered the commotion caused by Feng Tingye’s intervention that day and felt a surge of fighting spirit. 

“Come to think of it, he goes all out every time he fights with your fourth imperial brother. Your fourth imperial brother is really lucky!” 

Xia Yuqing couldn’t help but detect a hint of schadenfreude and envy in the little Shang Shu’s tone. She had known him for so long but had never realized that he was a sadomasochist. 

After Feng Tingye finished speaking, Yun Zhongyue and his men wisely stepped back to avoid being caught up in the fray.

What a joke, these soldiers were all borrowed from his stingy brother at great difficulty. If he suffered heavy losses, his brother would make him do hard labor if caught, and he wouldn’t have anywhere to cry!

As Yun Zhongyue retreated, the secret guards followed suit. The old ministers didn’t even need to be mentioned and retreated outside the palace if they could, far away from this place of trouble.

In the blink of an eye, an unusually spacious area opened up around the two of them. Xia Yuqing had already been pulled out of the circle by the others and was eagerly watching the two in the distance.

Without warning, the two who had been facing off simultaneously tightened their grip on their weapons and charged towards each other.

With a clatter, the sound of sword and blade colliding pierced the night sky, creating a splendid array of sparks.

Xia Mingxuan’s silver blade clashed with Feng Tingye’s long sword, but then he turned the hilt, using the momentum of the clash to flip the entire blade over Feng Tingye’s sword and directly towards his face.

Then, as Xia Mingxuan’s body lowered, he flicked his right hand, and an identical silver blade flew out of his sleeve. He precisely gripped the hilt and, taking advantage of Feng Tingye’s focus on the other blade, made an unwavering slash forward.

“Be careful!” The onlookers beside them couldn’t help but exclaim, their hearts pounding.

Feng Tingye sensed Xia Mingxuan’s true intentions and stepped back, but he was one second too late.

The sharp blade quickly passed by Feng Tingye’s face, and in that moment, he vaguely saw Xia Mingxuan’s eyes and smiling face, just like the smile of a grim reaper harvesting lives in the Spring Garden.

Just as he managed to steady himself, a strand of ink-black hair drifted down from mid-air, and there was a small yet deep cut on Feng Tingye’s chest, which slowly began to bleed.

“Your Majesty!” Xia Yuqing saw Feng Tingye’s wound in the distance and her face changed, wanting to go forward but was grabbed by Xia Haotian.

“Don’t come over!” Feng Tingye growled lowly, stopping Xia Yuqing. He lifted his gaze to look at the person opposite him, his expression slightly cold. If he hadn’t reacted in time and leaned back slightly, Xia Mingxuan’s sword would have accurately cut his own throat, cutting off his airway.

“Don’t worry, it’s just a small cut that didn’t hit anything important,” Shao Zitang’s words finally eased Xia Yuqing’s heart.

“What the f***! That guy’s martial arts skills are definitely not something someone from the interior could have! Third Junior Brother, are you sure that guy isn’t from your Assassin’s Tower or the disciple your dead father left behind?” Su Wuduan saw through Xia Mingxuan’s movements and burst out with a curse, turning to look at Hua Nongying.

“Third Senior Brother’s father?” Xia Yuqing looked at Su Wuduan, who was emotionally excited, with confusion.

“Oh, don’t you know, Little Junior Sister? Third Senior Brother’s biological father was a member of the Western Qiang ethnic group. He was famous in the Western Qiang back then, but unfortunately he died young and was killed by Third Senior Brother’s mother.”

“…” You guys never told me, how could I possibly know? And what do you mean by “killed by his mother”? Third Senior Brother, your family is so brutal, do you know that? Okay, you should know that, otherwise, how did you end up looking like a crooked gourd?

But speaking of it, her Third Imperial Brother was still an ancient version of a “mixed-race” child, no wonder his taste was so heavy!

Listening to Su Wuduan’s inquiry, Hua Nongying pondered for a moment with his hand on his chin and said, “My father died early, he should not have had the chance to take in a disciple yet. However, this kid is quite talented. If he is willing to join our Assassin’s Tower, I could make an exception and reluctantly take him in.”

“…” Third Senior Brother, did you forget that we are currently on opposite sides? D*mn it, spokesperson for the superficial association of appearance!

“He is indeed quite skilled, but just now Tingye underestimated that person too much. If they were to fight again, the result may not be the same.”

“Huh?” Xia Yuqing hadn’t had time to digest the meaning behind Shao Zitang’s words when she saw Feng Tingye take the initiative and charge towards Xia Mingxuan.

As the two collided, Xia Mingxuan noticed something was off. The long sword that Feng Tingye had swung down had no strength at all, and it was he himself who…

Feng Tingye’s lips curved slightly, using Xia Mingxuan’s force to flip over him and directly leap over his head.

Inwardly, Xia Mingxuan cursed, realizing too late to make up for his mistake. The long sword sliced down from his shoulder, blood flowing. His block only managed to avoid Feng Tingye’s sword from hitting a vital area.

“Xuan Er!” Imperial Concubine Roujia exclaimed in shock, wanting to step forward but was too afraid to do so due to the swords nearby.

Xia Mingxuan didn’t pay attention to the wounds on his shoulder, squinted his eyes, and flipped his hands. The slender sword tip moved slightly, and several silver knives appeared in front of everyone like a budding flower.

Xia Mingxuan turned his head towards Feng Tingye’s direction, raised his hand, and the sharp silver knives flew directly towards where Feng Tingye was in the night sky, leaving behind a cold silver light.

Feng Tingye leaped onto the roof on one side, but Xia Mingxuan wasn’t going to let him go that easily. He stepped on the nearby beam and followed Feng Tingye onto the roof, relentlessly pursuing him.

The two fought fiercely on the roof, and tiles and bricks fell from above, making a crashing sound.

“Hey, could it be that the Emperor and Fourth Royal Brother want to demolish this house?” Xia Yuqing sidestepped a flying tile and looked at the ruined palace roof above caused by the two fighting, speechless.

“Jiejie…” At this moment, a finger suddenly poked Xia Yuqing’s side.

Xia Yuqing turned her head in confusion and saw Liu Yixiang standing beside her, looking at her cautiously.

“What’s wrong?”

Liu Yixiang looked up at the two still fighting on the roof and said mysteriously, “Jiejie, don’t you think the Emperor and Fourth Royal Brother look compatible?”

“…” You Shrew, the people are listening! How dare you set your sights on your cousin, and even intend to drag Royal Sister into your schemes!

Xia Yuqing was stunned, she turned her head to glance at the two on the roof and then looked back at Liu Yixiang.

Just as those who knew the situation were feeling uneasy and those who didn’t know were thinking that Xia Yuqing was about to get angry, Xia Yuqing suddenly let out a cry of surprise. Her eyes shone brightly as she exclaimed, “Xiang Er, you have such good insight! I never noticed it before, but Fourth Royal Brother and the Emperor do look compatible!”

“…” How did he forget that his little sister was the real source of trouble! Sigh… Xia Mingyuan couldn’t believe it.

“…” Niang Niang (Junior Sister), have you forgotten that the two people up there are fighting for someone’s sake? If they knew that you were so blatantly playing matchmaker for them, they would definitely go crazy! This is a group of stunned onlookers.

“…”Why can’t we understand a word of what the little princess and the crown prince consort are saying? It seems that the little princess is dangerous, it’s better to stay away from them. This is the opinion of the ignorant people of Xia Kingdom.

Unaware that they have once again become the sacrificial pawns of Xia Yuqing and Liu Yixiang’s YY, the two were still fighting on the rooftop, oblivious to the fact that many people are looking at them with obvious…sympathy.

After a fierce fight, Feng Tingye kicked Xia Mingxuan in the chest. Xia Mingxuan hastily defended himself but was still forced back several steps by Feng Tingye’s kick, stopping just at the edge of the roof.

Feng Tingye, taking advantage of the recoil from kicking Xia Mingxuan, flipped backwards and landed leisurely on the other side of the roof.

The huge full moon hung in the center of the two, emitting a soft, gentle light. The two were breathing heavily, but their eyes were still fixed on each other.

At this moment, Xia Mingxuan had many wounds on his body, on his arms, shoulders, waist, and back.

Compared to his sorry state, Feng Tingye looked much better, although he also had many injuries, they didn’t seem as deep as Xia Mingxuan’s.

“Ai Fei is already mine, body and soul, and even gave birth to several children for me. What do you have? You haven’t even touched her, how can you take her away from me? Even if you take her back, she is mine for life and death!” Feng Tingye’s almost domineering words made Xia Mingxuan tremble all over, his hands tightened, his eyes staring at Feng Tingye was like a beast ready to pounce on its prey and tear it to pieces.

“I won’t let go, I won’t let go, I can never let go in this life! I have nothing but her, nothing else…” Xia Mingxuan howled in despair like a trapped animal, causing Xia Yuqing to tremble again with the discomfort that had just been suppressed.

Just as the two were deadlocked, another burst of fireworks rose into the night sky in the distance, blooming on the ink-black night sky behind them with a long, mournful cry.

The light from the fireworks illuminated the side of their faces, making their expressions even more obscure.

“The fireworks at the city gate, it looks like Ruofeng has taken the city gate. Xia Mingxuan, you have lost completely.” Feng Tingye stared at Xia Mingxuan’s eyes and cruelly exclaimed a sentence.

Xia Mingxuan’s face turned pale, and he was about to speak when he suddenly heard a commotion from below and a familiar shout.

“Xuan Er, quickly save mother!”

Xia Mingxuan’s expression changed slightly as he followed the sound and saw that Imperial Concubine Roujia had been captured by the hidden guards, and his own guards were nowhere to be seen.

“When did this happen?” Not only Xia Mingxuan but also Xia Yuqing, who heard the noise from the other side, was stunned. She had been standing there for so long, how did she not notice when those hidden guards had sneaked over?

“Your eyes have never left the roof, how could you have noticed?” Shao Zitang rolled his eyes and laughed. “From the moment our Emperor took action, your father sent people over.”

Xia Mingxuan was stunned and looked at Feng Tingye with a murderous intent. “You did it on purpose!” He deliberately led him away, causing those guards to be leaderless and defeated, and then took the opportunity to launch a surprise attack and take them down with one blow.

Feng Tingye raised his long sword and the blood on the blade sprinkled onto the roof tiles, splashing a glamorous and colorful flower.

“This is why I became the ruler of a country, while you spent your whole life unable to sit on that throne.”

Xia Mingxuan narrowed his eyes and heard Imperial Concubine Roujia’s cries. His gaze lingered on Xia Yuqing for a moment and, realizing that there were too many guards around her and he couldn’t take her away, he reluctantly bit his lip and threw a few silver knives towards Feng Tingye before leaping down from the roof and grabbing Imperial Concubine Roujia from the crowd. He quickly fled.

“He’s gone, chase after him!” The crowd shouted and rushed towards Xia Mingxuan’s direction.

Shao Zitang and Yunzhong looked at each other and also followed the crowd.

Feng Tingye, however, did not pursue them. He flew down from the roof and landed in front of the crowd.

Xia Yuqing rushed over and looked at the wounds on Feng Tingye’s body. Her eyes turned red as she had never seen so many wounds on him before, even though she had been by his side for so long.

Seeing Xia Yuqing like this, Feng Tingye smiled and reached out to hold her slightly cold hand, comforting her in a low voice: “It’s okay, it’s just some minor injuries, they will be fine in a while.”

Xia Haotian glanced at the two of them, then looked at the old ministers who were restless because of Xia Mingxuan’s departure not far away. His face darkened and he said coldly, “It’s getting late, send all the ministers out of the palace and back to their homes to rest. Also, send someone to invite a few doctors from the hospital. As for tonight’s events, it’s best to keep your mouths shut. Otherwise, don’t blame me for doing something that will make each other look bad, despite your past merits and hard work.”

The ministers who had just wanted to speak all turned pale when they heard this. Although they were unwilling, they had just experienced a great shock and still had some lingering fear. They could only leave with a gloomy face, following the eunuchs who led the way.

After the ministers left, Xia Haotian glanced at a few people and said coldly, “Follow me.”

Xia Yuqing and the others were stunned, although they were a little unwilling, they obediently followed Xia Haotian into the inner hall.

After a quarter of an hour, Cui Er took the gauze and medicinal materials handed over by the doctors and bandaged Feng Tingye’s wounds. A group of old doctors next to them stared wide-eyed, without any room to intervene.

Being told to their faces that they were not trusted and only leaving the medicinal materials was like a slap in the face for these old doctors. Unfortunately, the person who spoke was not someone they could provoke, so they could only hold their breath and stare at each other.

In addition to them, there were two other people standing next to them, staring at the person bandaging the wounds and the person being bandaged with vigilance.

Su Wuduan saw this and looked at Cui Er with a face full of sadness, whining, my wife hasn’t even bandaged my wounds for so long, but in the end, this little guy got the advantage!”

As soon as Cui Er finished bandaging the wounds, she was pulled aside by Su Wuduan without even having time to tidy up. Feng Tingye turned his head and saw Xia Yuqing pouting. He couldn’t help but laugh, reaching out to pull her into his arms and gently asked, “What’s wrong? Are you jealous?”

Xia Yuqing coldly snorted, neither confirming nor denying. If you had to say she was jealous, there was indeed a hint of it. Watching the people beside her staring fixedly at the white skin of her family’s Ultra Seme Lord, Xia Yuqing felt a little heartbroken for the first time.

Hmph, it’s mine, all mine! What are you looking at, don’t look!

But of course, Xia Yuqing wouldn’t say that out loud. If she did, wouldn’t it be too beautiful for a certain beast?

After weighing her options, Xia Yuqing decided to vent her dissatisfaction in another way: “Let Cui Er wrap it for you.”

“Hmm?”

“Let Cui Er wrap it for you. You won’t let me wrap it!”

“….” The suspicious silence in the inner palace lasted for a few seconds.

The people from Xia didn’t know the inside story, wondering if the little princess was throwing a tantrum or being cute. It was amazing that King Ye could indulge her with such unreasonable behavior!

The people from Ye who knew the inside story: We don’t know anything, we don’t know anything!

As for the origin of this binding curse, it started when they were still in Ye. One day, a certain big gray wolf couldn’t stand seeing their little white rabbit clinging to two little buns all day long, so they resorted to a bitter plan and made a small hole in their precious finger, hoping to lure the little white rabbit into wrapping it for them. Afterwards, they took advantage of the situation and tricked them into doing certain activities with them on the bed.

The little white rabbit fell for the plan as expected and carefully wrapped it up for them, even tying a beautiful pink butterfly bow on their finger for aesthetics.

Needless to say, after wrapping it up, the little white rabbit couldn’t escape the tragic fate of being torn apart and eaten.

But the next day, no matter how much the big gray wolf tried to coax the little white rabbit, they refused to believe in them again.

Helpless, the big gray wolf agreed to the condition proposed by the little white rabbit and carried the small object she wrapped for him the whole day.

Thus, the ministers of Ye were fortunate enough to see their emperor, with his imposing aura leaking out, wearing a pink butterfly bow on his finger that greatly damaged his tall and majestic image.

Afterwards, this incident became a taboo that Feng Tingye could not speak of to outsiders, and since then he never let Xia Yuqing bandage his wounds again. In the end, it was also a… tragedy!

Feng Tingye warned the few people who were still holding back their laughter and looked at Xia Yuqing’s angry profile, his expression subtly changed: “Um, I’m just worried that my Ai Fei hasn’t recovered from the shock just now. Besides, it’s blood. If I scare you, it won’t be good, so I asked Cui Er to help bandage it, okay?”

Xia Yuqing turned her head and looked at Feng Tingye, her face full of suspicion. “Really?”

Feng Tingye coughed slightly, feeling a bit guilty. “Of course it’s true!”

“Then from now on…”

“You can bandage it.”

“That’s more like it!” Xia Yuqing raised her head happily, her eyes shining as if she wanted to poke a few holes in someone and let her bandage them properly.

“….” The onlookers looked at the shameless display of affection between the two of them, speechless. Your Majesty, you really know how to go all out to please your consort!

“Ahem…” Xia Haotian timely spoke up and broke the harmonious atmosphere between the two, staring at Feng Tingye, who was holding his daughter in his arms, with a few traces of displeasure on his face. “Thank you, King Ye, for your help today.”

Feng Tingye naturally sensed the slight criticism from his father-in-law, but he showed no signs of letting go. He raised his eyebrows and smiled, “Don’t mention it, Father-in-law. But rather than speaking of this, I would rather talk to you about this Ye Gongzi.”

As soon as Feng Tingye spoke, Xia Haotian couldn’t help but shiver all over, his face instantly becoming guarded.

Xia Yuqing also suddenly realized something and whispered, “Right, Little Shuyan, didn’t you go to find your long-lost brother? How did you end up in the Xia country palace? Could it be that you came for…?”

Xia Yuqing’s gaze swept over Xia Haotian and Ye Shuyan, wondering if her cheap father was Ye Shuyan’s long-lost brother? And was Ye Shuyan her mysterious uncle who appeared out of nowhere?

“!” Ye Shuyan looked obviously younger than them, how could he be their uncle? Even if her imperial grandpa was a master at reviving the dead, he couldn’t possibly come back from the grave and have a child again. Well, that was just unscientific!

“He is…” Xia Haotian had just wanted to reveal someone’s identity when he was stopped by Ye Shuyan’s hand.

The words Xia Haotian was about to speak were caught in his throat and he fell silent.

Feng Tingye watched the atmosphere between the two of them and narrowed his eyes. If he wasn’t mistaken, his father-in-law seemed to be wary of this Young Master Ye. With just a hand gesture, Xia Haotian instantly fell silent!

“I didn’t come for him, I came for you.” Ye Shuyan stepped forward and looked at Xia Yuqing with a faint smile.

“For me?” Xia Yuqing was still in a daze when Feng Tingye pulled her behind him, and his eyes narrowed slightly with some caution.

Seeing Feng Tingye’s hostility towards him, Ye Shuyan didn’t get angry, but smiled, “King Ye, you don’t have to be so nervous. I have no ill intentions towards her. Otherwise, Cui Er who has been by her side for so many years, yet they still are getting along peacefully now.”

“Cui Er? What does he have to do with Cui Er?” Xia Yuqing leaned out from behind Feng Tingye, looking surprised.

Su Wuduan’s face also suddenly darkened. This so-called cousin-in-law was not as simple as he appeared on the surface!

“Cui Er is his person. To be precise, she is the person he placed by your side to protect or… monitor you.”

“What?” Xia Yuqing gasped and looked at Cui Er with a stunned expression, full of questions.

Cui Er turned her face away, feeling embarrassed, neither admitting nor denying it, pretending to ignore it.

“Ai Fei…”

Everyone nearby looked worriedly at Xia Yuqing, afraid she wouldn’t be able to handle this news. But they saw her coldly pondering for a moment, her face full of curiosity. “Cui Er, how much is the monthly salary for a month of you monitoring me? Um, how much is it?

“Ah?” Cui Er was stunned, and she looked up at Xia Yuqing with a bewildered expression. 

However, Xia Yuqing had an expectant look on her face as she asked, “Are there any gold or silver ingots? Ahem, since you neglected your duties, I have decided to confiscate all of it and you will have to hand it over to me when you return.”

“… Niang Niang, there is no monthly salary?”

“What? You don’t even have a monthly salary?” Xia Yuqing looked at Ye Shuyan with disdain, as if saying “You are a capitalist who exploits labor and doesn’t pay them. You are so greedy!”

Ye Shuyan: “…”

Xia Yuqing sighed to herself, “Ah, I was so happy for nothing. Now my little treasure chest has lost a lot of income again, sigh…”

“…” Ai Fei, is the money I give you on a regular basis not enough? Do you really have to think about how to exploit everyone you see?

“Does that mean that everything you said before was a lie, and you didn’t really come here to find a long-lost brother?”

Ye Shuyan paused and nodded.

Feng Tingye’s brow furrowed as he asked in a low voice, “Who exactly are you?”

Ye Shuyan smiled and, under everyone’s eager gaze, uttered a sentence, “I am the leader and priest of the Yue Clan, and also…”

“?”

“The adoptive father of the former dynasty’s empress.”

“!”