Feng Yao blankly blinked as she stared at the scene in front of her that was currently blocking her passage in the middle of the streets.
"Darling, it's this man right here! He's the one who assaulted me last night and stole all of my valuables!"
A woman messily dressed in a yellow robe sobbed as she tugged on the sleeve of the man standing next to her. The pitiful state of her robes made it look like she had been grievously wronged and had only managed to dragged her poor self out of bed for the sole reason of exacting vengeance.
Combined with the makeup on her face that emphasized the dark bags underneath her eyes, she completely fit the part of a poor and pitiful woman.
Hearing the words of the woman, the man that she was holding on to immediately darkened his gaze as he turned to scan the faces of all the people who were unlucky enough to be near them.
"Who dared to touch my woman? Come forth, you coward! Which one of you was so arrogant to come and provoke me on my turf?!"
All of the people who had been secretly watching this drama unfold in the middle of the city suddenly turned away and pretended to be incredibly interested in their tasks.
"Ah, I forgot to double check my garden! Nothing's more important than my squashes!"
"Is that my mother calling for me? Yes mother! I'll coming home right now!"
"Such a beautiful day! I think I'll test how fast I can sprint to the other end of this street to, uh, practice running from my future wife!"
Feng Yao was speechless as the crowd around her abruptly dispersed like tiny cockroaches, leaving her alone with this crazy couple in front of her.
What is with the standard of humanity nowadays? Sheesh! If they were going to scatter so quickly, at least give me a signal so that I can get a chance to escape with the crowd too!
She sighed. Alas, her luck seemed to have finally run out. To have a run in with scammers on her very first time alone out of the estate was extremely pitiful.
All of the other civilians living in this area seemed to already be familiar with this couple and their crazy antics. It was only her, a poor newbie, that was unaware of the dangers lurking at every corner on this street which caused her to be the target of these two scammers.
It was clear that they were going to try and get her caught up in their drama so that they could steal her money pouch when she wasn't paying attention.
Ahhh, but still! I'm actually quite impressed! It's still so early in the morning, but they've already come out to earn some money!
What hardworking people! I must take notes for future reference!
Letting out a slight cough to hide the sparkle of anticipation in her eyes...wait no. That wasn't right. She wasn't supposed to be excited during the process of getting conned, right?
"Darling darling! Look, it's that man right there! Right there! He's the one who grabbed my money pouch and the beautiful jade bracelet you gifted to me during our outing!"
The woman broke down into sobs as she repeatedly tugged on the man's sleeve while staring up at him with her red-rimmed eyes. In response, his expression softened before he gently pulled her into his embrace.
"Don't worry, my love. It's not your fault. You were clearly taken advantage of and had your items stolen. Just let me know which despicable creature here it was that threatened you yesterday."
"It was...him!"
Suddenly, the woman pointed a finger directly towards Feng Yao, and everyone who was still secretly hiding all simultaneously turned to look at her in pity for being chosen.
Looking down at her attire, Feng Yao sighed.
Wow, not bad Feng Yao. Your disguise skills actually made this crazy couple think that you're a man. I don't know if I should feel flattered or angry though...
Currently, she was dressed in a simple brown male attire with padding placed in a few places to mimic a masculine body shape. Earlier today, she had also put on a bit of makeup on her features to disguise her looks and make her look slightly different.
It was all for the purpose of collecting information. She had simply wanted to wander the shops around her to quietly listen in on the conversations of the merchants and civilians.
Who'd have known that she'd run into these scammers first?
Feng Yao looked up only to notice the man was now walking towards her with a furious look on his face. He looked like he was ready to pummel her small figure down into the dirt.
Hmm...his facial expression is not bad! It holds just the right amount of anger and righteousness! If he wasn't acting, I really would have believed that I had somehow robbed and wronged his beautiful mistress yesterday.
Nodding to herself, she continued to casually study the man as he made his way threateningly closer. A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes when he saw that she was still just staring at him.
Seeing the slight break in the man's acting made Feng Yao suddenly break out into a small smile.
Ahh, there we go. That's the weakness that I was looking for.
The man was slightly taken aback before his eyes narrowed at her.
"What are you smiling about? Are you some kind of sicko that likes getting beaten up?" He gazed down at her, his gaze now filled with genuine disgust.
"Who, me?" Feng Yao pretended to look around in confusion. "Are you talking about me?"
Letting out a snort, she continued, "Do I look like I enjoy getting beat up? What about you then? Are you someone who enjoys beating people up? You sicko sadist."
"..." The man stared blankly back at her.
"Furthermore!" Feng Yao loudly continued. Suddenly, a wicked glint appeared in her eyes as she suddenly squatted down and hugged his legs. "I can't believe that you'd leave me for this woman, my darling!"
Everyone watching was taken aback. Especially the man, his eyeballs looked like they were about to pop out. From behind him, his mistress looked completely and utterly confused at this unexpected development.
"Ah...Darling--" The woman hesitantly began as she took a step towards her so-called husband, but Feng Yao abruptly cut her off with another loud wail.
"Don't call him that!"
Tears and snot covered her face as she suddenly jumped up and grabbed the man's hand tightly.
"Darling, didn't you once tell me that you only loved me? You said that you were only fooling around with woman to hide our forbidden and passionate relationship!"
The man stared back at her in horror as he continuously tried to yank his hand out of her grip. Unfortunately, Feng Yao didn't want to let go.
"You--you!" He spluttered frantically. "When have I ever said that?!"
"But you do remember me! I knew it!" Feng Yao brightly smiled as she jumped on the man and hugged him.
To everyone watching, it looked like a scene of two males currently embracing passionately, and it immediately made them scratch their heads in confusion.
What was going on here? Wasn't this just about to be the scene of a scam? Why did the person being scammed suddenly seem like he was scamming his scammers?
Abruptly, Feng Yao pulled away from the frozen man.
"It was good seeing you again! Good luck trying on your next victim!"
She brightly waved before she scurried off. Her exit was so sudden that no one had even had the chance to stop her.
"Ah--ah..." The man could only stare blankly in the direction that she had run off in before staring blankly at the hand the strange boy had grabbed.
He knew he, out of everyone he knew, enjoyed the company of women the best...but why did he feel that the hug from that young man had seemed strangely soft and fragrant?
Were his tastes...changing?
"Darling, what are you doing? Did you manage to steal his money purse?"
The woman walked up to him, her face showing no trace of her grief from earlier. Instead, it was filled with a look of greed as she gazed at him expectantly.
"...No," he finally replied as he forced himself to tear his gaze away from the direction that the young man had disappeared in. "I wasn't able to get anything from him."
Reaching down towards his inner pocket, his fingers felt around for his own money bag.
Suddenly, he froze. The woman waiting impatiently to the side looked over and noticed his strange expression.
"What is it?" She snapped, annoyed that their first prey of the day had managed to escape their grasp.
"Our money....I think it's been stolen..."
"What?!" The woman's face paled as she suddenly turned to look in the direction that the strange boy had disappeared to.
"That brat! He dared to steal from us! What are we going to do now?!" She began to loudly wail in the street, crying about her lost money.
The man next to her also had similar restless thoughts in his heart, although they were for a completely different reason.
Feng Yao hummed happily to herself as she walked calmly down the streets, completely unaware that she had just overturned the hearts of two strangers and left them internally crying in turmoil.
One over her lost money and the other over his confused sexual preferences.
"La la la~ Money is the heart of evil, so I will be the brave warrior who takes it from the hands of those evildoers~"
Ahh, what a kind person I am for being able to brave through these dangerous situations and save them from the dangers of having money~
She proudly grinned as she secretly patted her robes in the place where she had hidden the stolen money pouch. Earlier, she had taken a look inside and was quite surprised at the large amount of coins hidden within it.
As expected from my fellow schemers! I knew I could count on them for making good money!
Letting out a slight laugh, she turned and walked into a large building. The sign in the front said 'Green Jade Tea House'.
Although it was still early morning, there were already quite a few people inside. Half of the first floor was already filled with customers who sat together cheerfully talking and drinking tea together.
As soon as Feng Yao stepped foot inside, a pleasant and light scent wrapped around her like a warm blanket. It was both comforting and pleasing to her senses.
"Greetings to the Young Master! Welcome to the Green Jade Tea House."
One of the servers at the side immediately noticed the quiet entrance of a young man. Although his clothing was plain and inconspicuous, his posture was straight while footsteps were proud and steady.
The server had enough experience serving customers to know that many important guests often liked to come and enjoy their tea in a false appearance. Most likely this young man that had just entered was also another important young master.
Of course, he still hadn't been able to tell that Feng Yao was actually a woman. Or the fact that she was purposefully changing her gait from her usual carefree style into a more rigid and structured pattern.
Feng Yao nodded, as she immediately channeled her inner Ru Qiang.
"En."
Intentionally, she gazed around the entire building with expressionless eyes. It gave her a feeling of being a great person unconcerned with worldly affairs.
From out of the corner of the eye, she could also see the other servers exchange meaningful looks. If they hadn't been sure earlier that she was someone important before, then they were definitely sure of it now.
One of the younger servers hurriedly came over and bowed. "Our second floor is much nicer and quieter than the first floor. Young Master, shall I lead you there?"
Feng Yao only nodded once in response, aware that upstairs was where the more important figures were allowed to go. Normal civilians usually didn't have the chance to go up there unless they were accompanied or invited by someone with a higher standing.
It was also a place where she'd have a greater chance of finding others with the information she wanted to know.
Feng Yao followed the young boy as she was seated by the corner, a request that she had earlier made to him. After he disappeared with her order, Feng Yao calmly settled back into her seat and glanced around her.
The server had been right. There were much less people up here compared to the bustling life downstairs.
If she had to compare it, downstairs would be like the busy streets filled with merchants and vendors. Up here, it was more like a calm gathering of scholars and aristocrats.
Sweeping her gaze across the room, her eyes lightly landed on a group of people on the other side of the floor.
It was a group of young men. Dressed in similar outfits, they all reminded her of the imperial scholars in this country. Perhaps they had met up to discuss some important matters?
Every once in a while, their hushed whispers would float over towards her.
"--unable to do anything. The Emperor ordered it himself."
"Although our Emperor did order it, no one is happy. I still stand with Adviser Fan on this issue."
"Preposterous! How could you side with him? Even if you don't like that person, Adviser Fan is not the right person to become comrades with."
"That's correct. Don't you remember what happened with General Lan's family last year? They partnered up with Gu Fan behind the scenes to attack him, but when the scheme was exposed, Gu Fan unhesitatingly placed all of the blame onto them. In the end, the entire Lan family was wiped out!"
Feng Yao quietly listened, her thoughts churning in thought.
Gu Fan? Adviser Fan? Wasn't he the one who confronted Ru Qiang during our journey back into the Zheng country?
Their voices had gotten quiet again making it impossible for her to continue eavesdropping. She turned her attention towards a couple sitting near one of the windows.
A beautiful young lady sat in front of a young man. Her expression was filled with boredom as if she didn't want to continue listening to him anymore.
"Shall we head over to see the gardens? Any later this year and all of the flowers will be completely gone!" His heated gaze was full of passion as he earnestly tried to win her favor.
Unfortunately for him, she didn't seem the least bit interested.
"No."
His eyes slightly dimmed with disappointment before he immediately perked back up again.
"Then how about--"
"No."
Feng Yao immediately looked away, unable to watch her brutal answers continue to pierce heartless arrows into that poor man's soul.
Ahh, the pain of love...
At that moment, the server returned with a tray. As he set down the white teapot and cup filled with honey-colored tea on her table, she tossed him an extra coin from her stolen moneybag.
Seeing this, the server's eyes lit up before he hurriedly gave another deep bow.
"Thank you, Young Master!"
"Mhm." Feng Yao nodded before waving him away. He quickly disappeared from her sight.
Just as she was about to pick up the cup and take a sip, she suddenly felt a gaze on her.
Oh ho? I wonder who is watching me so intently?
Calmly, she set the untouched cup back down on her table before lazily leaning back into her seat.
When she glanced up, she noticed that the gaze had come from a group of two men who were sitting calmly in the shadows of the room. They were dressed in simple black robes, but if you looked closer, the material of their clothing seemed to be of incredible grade.
Their movements as they drank their tea were calm and natural, but the sharpness in their eyes gave them away. They had been watching her.
One of the men at the table was still staring at her, studying her calm gaze and emotionless face. It was only after that man blinked that he noticed that a small smile had appeared on her face.
He narrowed his eyes at her making the other man turn around to look at her too.
But before they could come over to question her, Feng Yao had already stood up and began walking over towards them.
"Hello gentlemen. May I ask if this seat next to you both is taken?"
A polite smile was on her face as she looked at them both. The two men gave each other a glance before one of them finally motioned for her to sit down.
"Thank you," she replied before pulling the seat out and sitting down on it.
She pretended not to notice the wary looks on their faces and the way that their hands were slowly inching towards something hidden in their waistband.
Most likely, they were reaching for their concealed weapons just in case Feng Yao did something.
But of course, she didn't. She simply sat there and continued to allow them to study her.
Feng Yao had already guessed that they'd allow her to join them. The answer was simple. She was betting on the fact that these two were part of the patrols in the city. The fact that she, an unusual stranger, suddenly approached them most likely made them willing to allow her to join them so that they could gather more information about her.
As expected, after a moment, one of the men spoke.
"Young Master. You are...?"
Feng Yao couldn't help but inwardly chuckle at the way he was respectfully addressing her.
"I am just a passing visitor in this giant world and have already long forgotten my name. However, if you must call me something, I prefer the surname Zhuang." Feng Yao didn't even blink as she calmly lied to their faces.
They seemed slightly taken aback at the fact that such a young looking man could have the same temperament of a wise elder. It made them wonder if this young man that had suddenly joined them was actually an incredibly important figure in an influential family.
Feng Yao watched as a look of understanding appeared in their eyes before their hands moved away from their weapons.
Quickly regaining his composure, one of the guards replied, "Pleasure to meet you, Young Master Zhuang. I am simply called Gu Ting. My good friend sitting across from us is called Bei Yu."
Bei Yu slightly inclined his head towards her and greeted her. "Nice to meet you Young Master Zhuang. I am Bei Yu."
Gu Ting? Bei Yu?
They are...
She suddenly understood.
A small mysterious smile emerged on her lips as she calmly said, "Since you both are part of the patrols around the city, would you care to enlighten me about a question I had?"
Their gazes immediately darkened, and their hands went straight back towards the swords hidden at their sides.
"How do you know who we are?" The man's voice was much colder this time. No one outside of his direct supervision knew his name, so he doubted that that was the reason why his identity was discovered.
The aura around him was powerful and overwhelming, but Feng Yao didn't even blink.
"Calm down." A slight frown appeared on her face as she looked at him, seeming to be unimpressed by his lack of control.
"You both should have realized that by bringing your swords with you that the tassel tied to it also symbolizes your position as commander and second-in-command. Surely, you both wouldn't have forgotten about this, right?"
They paused before Gu Ting narrowed his eyes. "How do you know what our tassels look like? Each tassel is unique to each person in the patrols. How did you know that this one belonged to the commander and the second-in-command?"
Feng Yao, however, ignored their question as she shook her head sadly. "I was right. Gu Ting, you don't remember me, huh?"
With a sigh she explained, "On the first day of winter last year, I saved you when you fell victim to an ambush outside of the city borders. We were both pursued after that, so we had to hide in the slums for a few days. If you remember, we even paid a little boy to buy some medical supplies for you before you became well enough to be taken to your second-in-command."
Gu Ting was astonished. Other than Bei Yu, no one had known about that attack on his life. It was a tightly guarded secret. He had almost died and it really had only been the help of his unknown savior that allowed him to live through that ordeal.
Even though he had been largely unconscious during the entire thing, he definitely did remember bits and pieces of hiding in the slums with a little boy bringing them medical supplies.
Was it possible that this young man in front of him really was the person who saved him?
"You...you're saying that it was you that saved me?"
Feng Yao could feel his suspicious gaze wash over her figure. Of course, it was hard to believe that her thin figure could single-handedly defeat his attackers and bring him back to Bei Yu in the city.
Pretending to cough in embarrassment, she added, "Right after I saved you, I was poisoned and it weakened my body." A bitter smile twisted her lips as she continued.
"Now, I am regretfully only a shell of what I used to be."
To an outsider, no one would have realized what her words implied. But to Gu Ting and Bei Yu, they instantly realized what she had meant.
It was because she had saved Gu Ting that those men who had been after him changed their target and decided to attack her life instead.
Of course, Feng Yao was also completely lying about being his savior. The only reason why she had even known about his and Bei Yu's true names were because she had befriended that little boy from the slums a long time ago.
Back then, right after that little boy had helped Gu Ting and his real savior, he had immediately fled to the Wei Kingdom in fear of being murdered by those people pursing Gu Ting. Feng Yao had managed to accidentally stumble across him and offered some of her food to him. In return, he told her the story of why he was running away.
But then again, Gu Ting didn't need to know this.
Gu Ting instantly felt a wave of guilt as he looked at this young man in front of him.
Quickly bowing, he apologized. "My deepest apologies, Young Master Zhuang! I didn't realize that you were the person who saved me. Please let me know if there's anything I can do to thank you!"
Hearing his words, Feng Yao just simply shook her head before smiling at him.
"There's no need for apologies or gratitude. I am just happy that you were able to survive such a brutal attack."
"Nonsense! If there's anything that I can do, please let me know!" Gu Ting wouldn't give up.
Feng Yao hesitated as if she wanted to say something. Both of them noticed and Bei Yu immediately added, "Please Young Master. You are the person who saved our commander. Don't hold back on asking for anything that you may need."
"Well..." Feng Yao slowly began. "My question from earlier. Would you both be willing to answer it?"
"Of course! This is only a small payment for what you've done. What question do you have?"
Feng Yao smiled at their enthusiastic answer as she hid her inner glee.
Continuing with her act, she calmly asked, "I've heard news about the trouble in the Wei Country. Do you know if the area near the borders are still just as chaotic as they used to be?"
Gu Ting paused.
"The Zheng-Wei border? Hm...Indeed, they used to be quite chaotic. But ever since the Wei Emperor met with trouble, he's been forced to pull his forces away from there in order to try and calm some of the other problem areas in his kingdom."
"So the borders are calm at the moment?"
"Yes, Young Master. The land near the borders are much more peaceful than before. Many villages there are now prospering because the battles between us and them have stopped."
So the Zheng country has control of the border now. But I doubt Long Yi will allow that to continue for long.
But then again, it doesn't matter to me. That wasn't my true question anyways.
Feng Yao sighed before saying, "What a blessing to our people. Those living near there no longer have to fear for their lives. They must be glad to be able to share in the same peaceful lifestyles that the others at the Zheng-Qin border have too."
She casually threw out those words, masking them with an expression of deep sympathy. Discreetly, she watched the expressions of the two men at the mention of the Zheng-Qin border.
A odd look flitted across their faces before Bei Yu slightly coughed.
"Cough cough, Young Master...Perhaps you haven't heard, but the area near the border of us and the Qin country is forbidden to trespass on. Those were the direct orders of our previously reigning Emperor before he passed."
"Ah?" Feng Yao pretended to be taken aback.
Gu Ting hesitated before he added, "Although it has been forbidden, the higher figure heads have heard rumors of a moving village that secretly lives there. Because no one is allowed to go there, the people in that community thrive without any threat besides having to evade the sight of the Qin army. As long as they can avoid being found by the Qin patrols that constantly protect near the border, then they are considered safe."
A small memory suddenly emerged in her mind as his words triggered her to remember something from a long time ago.
[There is a small village near the Zheng-Qin border. Perhaps you'll be able to see it one day. But hopefully, that day never comes. Because that's a place where only escaped criminals, fugitives, and the hunted dare to live.]
Those were sentences from another letter written by Z. She didn't question about how he seemed to already know about this hidden group of people so many years ago.
I see...So Z was talking about this hidden village? No wonder he said that only criminals and fugitives dared to live there.
The Qin army is known for being vicious towards anyone they find nearing their borders. I just didn't expect that their kingdom was finally starting to try and expand their borders.
Most likely, the current Zheng Emperor didn't directly confront the Qin Kingdom because he still wanted to hold onto the peace in this country. Now that the Zheng-Wei border dispute was settled, he probably didn't want to jump right into another battle, especially with a kingdom as mysterious as the Qin Kingdom.
Feng Yao had to admit, the late Zheng Emperor's foresight was quite impressive. He had even already realized that the Qin kingdom might make a move to expand their borders one day. That must have been the reason why he passed down the orders to evacuate the land near it many years ago.
However, she still couldn't figure out why the Qin Kingdom stayed silent for so long until recently to begin expanding their borders. What was the reason behind the sudden change?
She slightly shook her head. Right now wasn't the time to think about that.
Feng Yao had already achieved what she had set out this morning to do. Originally, she had been trying to find information about the situation between the countries so that she could figure out a good hiding spot for her.
Who knew that she'd be so lucky to hear about this hidden village?
Right after she fulfilled her promise to Bai Qing, she was immediately going to head over towards that area to find that village. She wasn't worried about the Qin forces that patrolled near there or the dangerous people that made up the population of that hidden village. In fact, those factors are the exact reason why the Zheng Emperor cannot send his men over there, making it a perfect hiding place for her.
Truth be told, she was actually much more worried about staying here.
Ever since the sudden chaos broke out in the Wei Kingdom, the other Emperors had suddenly stopped pursuing her. She could only think of a few reasons.
The first one was that they were unsure of her identity. As of now, the majority of the public thought that the legendary strategist was still Concubine Zhao who was in the Wei palace. No one realized that the real one had already escaped.
The second one was that they may have already realized that the legendary strategist's return was fake and was just a ploy by Long Yi to throw everything into chaos. Even now, there were many people who don't know if the legendary strategist was actually real, not to mention what she truly looked like.
If this was the case, then it'd be perfectly fine for her to stay in the main cities.
However, it still made her a bit uneasy. Makeup could only change her looks so much. She still didn't know much about the Zheng Emperor, so it probably wasn't a good idea to stay near the center of his kingdom where she could be easily captured.
Most of the people she eavesdropped on actually had a pretty positive opinion about him. Although he was only in his early twenties, he had already done so much to protect and grow his country after the war.
Perhaps he was really as upright and kind as the rumors said. But still, it would still be better to retreat into hiding until most of the rumors about her died down again.
"Young Master," Gu Ting spoke and interrupted her thoughts. "Have you found a place to stay yet?"
"A place to stay?" Feng Yao paused.
Gu Ting nodded. "Yes. I don't know if you've heard, but there's recently been a lot of political unrest in the palace. Everyone is unsure of how everything is going to play out, so I recommend that you stay alert."
Feng Yao paused, suddenly remembering something else that slipped her mind earlier.
"...Does this have something to do with the house arrest of the Jun Young Master?"
Both Gu Ting and Bei Yu seemed surprised that she knew before their faces darkened.
"Yes. A few weeks ago, something serious happened to the imperial family. The Jun Clan's Young Master is one of the major suspects of this crime. Although there is no evidence against him, most people in the Emperor's court had demanded that he be imprisoned because of his identity. That's why he's currently on house arrest."
"Hm? Because of his identity?" Feng Yao was intrigued. "What do you mean by that? Isn't he just the Young Master of the Jun Clan?"
Gu Ting hesitated before answering. "Well yes...and no. It's not that simple. He was actually once the best friend and personal guard of our Zheng Emperor."
At this, Feng Yao was taken aback.
Personal guard? So Ru Qiang's skills were so great that he even was once the Emperor's personal guard?
Gu Ting continued speaking, unaware of her surprise.
"A long time ago, the Jun Clan used to be a great military clan known for their frightening fighting prowess. Their master even saved the late Emperor multiple times during various assassination attempts. As a result, both the master and madam from the Jun Clan became incredibly close with the previous Emperor and Empress. When the crown prince and their son were born around the same time, it was only natural that those two became great friends.
As the Young Master from the Jun Clan grew slightly older, it soon became obvious that he also inherited his father's fighting skills and soon became the beacon of light for their clan at only the age of three. When the Emperor realized his skills, he immediately brought him into the palace to become the crown prince's personal playmate and guard. They grew up together, studied the sword art together, and faced life together.
Just like the crown prince, he only briefly appeared during certain events. But when he did, he was like a warm sun. Full of energy and laughter that matched the bright smiles of the crown prince."
Feng Yao listened quietly, trying to picture Ru Qiang as this person. How was she supposed to connect the image of the calm unsmiling man back at the Jun estate with this bright and lively boy?
"However, he suddenly changed during the Great War. No longer was he the same person that he used to be. His personality turned cold and uncaring, and he even refused to pick up his sword. In the end, he even betrayed his best friend, the crown prince, by not helping protect him during the assassination attempt that killed the late Emperor. As a result, the crown prince gained an ugly scar across his face and lost his vision in one of his eyes.
Although everyone wanted to immediately execute that betrayer, the crown prince who had been immediately crowned the new Emperor was magnanimous and took into account their many years of friendship. Instead of killing him, the Young Master of the Jun Clan was instead relieved of his duties and sent back to his clan."
Snorting, Gu Ting angrily added, "I can't believe that ungrateful human still had the nerve to return home after his betrayal. He was spared only because of his past friendship with the new Emperor, but he was still shameless enough to accept the Emperor's decree and leave the palace in one piece. He should have instead just committed suicide right then and there to atone for his wrongdoings!"
Feng Yao hadn't expect to hear such fury in his voice. Was this the way that most people felt about Ru Qiang? Is that why all of the servants in his estate looked down on him?
Bei Yu sighed. "Ah, it's truly a pity. The Jun Clan really is unfortunate to have such a bad omen of luck. His return to his family brought disgrace to their entire clan. His mother ended up passing away and his father even left. Now, the Jun Clan is just an empty name. It's only because of the Emperor's protection that they still haven't collapsed yet."
Feng Yao frowned. "Does everyone know about this?"
It didn't make sense to her. If the Jun Clan truly was an empty name, then why did the people in the Wei Kingdom regard it as a powerful and influential name?
Gu Ting shook his head and answered her question.
"No, it was such a scandal that the Emperor immediately locked down the information so that it didn't spread outside of the main palace. It wasn't until a few months ago that all of the truth was leaked to the civilians in the main cities. Now, it's only a matter of time before it spreads to the other countries too."
"...I see. Thank you for telling me." Feng Yao's brows were furrowed in thought, but she didn't forget to give them her thanks.
Gu Ting shook his head as he quickly replied, "No need for thanks. I only wanted to warn you about the unrest hiding in the city. Now that the Jun Young Master has been put on house arrest, there's no doubt that the other factions of the court will take action to improve their standings with the Emperor."
"...What was his crime?" Feng Yao hesitantly asked, unsure if she really wanted to hear.
"His crime?" Gu Ting's expression suddenly turned ice cold.
"Oh, it was more than just a simple crime. He actually dared to murder the imperial nephew of the Emperor."
Feng Yao suddenly stiffened.
The imperial nephew...If I remember correctly, that's the only heir to the throne.
Oh Ru Qiang, what kind of mess did you find yourself stuck in?
* * * * *
Author's Note:
Hello!
First of all, so sorry for the late update! Basically, this is what happened:
[Big storm] -> [No electricity] -> [No internet] -> [Late update]
Sigh...such harsh times...harsh times indeed...
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Anyways, we're finally picking up the pace again! Mwahaha, oh how I do wonder what will happen in the next few chapters...
So everyone get ready! We'll finally starting the uphill climb on our roller coaster ride~
Fu fu fu...
*evilly cackles*
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