Perhaps the mention of Feng Xingzhi dampened Ji Yunxi's mood, which had just brightened up, all of a sudden.
"Guess we'll have to do it this way."
Su Ningyuan was utterly confused. "May I ask, young man, who is your master?"
Lu Shu glanced at him and suddenly let out a disdainful snort. "My master is Feng Xingzhi, your very own Prince Feng!"
Amused by the boy's proud look, Su Ningyuan couldn't help but smile. "I see. So you're here to find the prince at the Jiang Mansion?"
Qing Xuan stepped forward. "That's right. But when we visited during the day, the head of the Jiang family didn't let us in."
Su Ningyuan turned to Ji Yunxi. "Miss Ji, what happened? Could you tell me?"
"Of course there's nothing I can't tell. The prince just left without saying a word, so we've come to look for him."
Ji Yunxi had a sudden thought. Jiang Yaoji would surely never let her in because of their feud, but Su Ningyuan was different. He was a general from Qixing Pass, and the Jiang family relied on his protection for their business between Xirong and Nanyan. He'd surely be treated as an honored guest.
If he could take her in, it would be a perfectly legitimate and safe way in!
"Brother Su!" Ji Yunxi suddenly turned around and grabbed the corner of his robe. "Could you go to the Jiang Mansion?"
"You mean I go in and then bring you all in?"
Su Ningyuan readily agreed. "Why not? Although I'm a border - guarding general, the prince is missing. Even if the emperor found out, I don't think he'd blame me, right?"
He gave a sly smile, and Ji Yunxi quickly nodded.
The next day.
As soon as the inn door opened, a handsome young gentleman walked out with three maids.
Ji Yunxi's eyes were a bit red, not because of Feng Xingzhi, but because of the two people beside her, Qing Xuan and Lu Shu.
To conceal their identities, the two had dressed up as women and were following Su Ningyuan as maids.
They had delicate looks, so they didn't look out of place in women's clothing. But since Ji Yunxi had seen them as men before, it was quite amusing.
Ji Yunxi had helped them change their clothes and hair accessories, and they looked like real beauties.
"Master, stop laughing!" Lu Shu gritted his teeth.
Ji Yunxi quickly composed herself. "Okay, okay, I'll stop..."
Qing Xuan took it quite well. "Lu Shu, what's wrong with the master laughing? I really want to laugh when I see you too, okay?"
"You're laughing at me?! You're in the same boat as me! Don't you get it?"
Qing Xuan shook his head. "No. Even in a girl's dress, I still look good. But as for you..."
Lu Shu was speechless. "What do you mean? Are you saying I'm ugly?"
"I didn't really say that, but if you want to think so, it's up to you."
Su Ningyuan walked in the front, covering his face with a fan, trying hard not to laugh. He just couldn't understand why these two were arguing...
When they reached the Jiang Mansion, Su Ningyuan stepped forward and announced his identity to the guards. "I'm Su Ningyuan, a general of Nanyan. Please announce my arrival."
Upon hearing his distinguished identity, the guard quickly went inside. Soon, a woman in a red dress rushed out.
"General Su, we're sorry we didn't greet you from afar!"
Ji Yunxi thought to herself that Jiang Yaoji was really good at socializing. She even came out to greet Su Ningyuan in person!
To avoid being recognized, Ji Yunxi and the other two quietly stood behind Su Ningyuan, with their heads down, looking meek.
"I just happened to pass by, so I thought I'd pay a visit. I hope the head of the family won't mind."
"General Su, you're being too polite."
Saying so, the two walked in together. As Su Ningyuan's maids, the three silently followed behind.
Jiang Yaoji noticed that the three of them had quite high spiritual power. She was a bit suspicious at first, but then thought that since Su Ningyuan was a great general, it was normal for him to have some skilled people around him. Besides, they were all charming young girls.
Even though two of them seemed a bit tall.
"General Su is really lucky. Your maids are so beautiful and well - proportioned." Jiang Yaoji casually probed.
Su Ningyuan remained calm. "They were sent by my family."
Hearing this, Jiang Yaoji's suspicion was mostly dispelled. Everyone knew that Su Ningyuan had rejected the marriage proposal from the second miss of the Ji family, so it was reasonable for his family to send some beautiful maids.
When they entered the banquet hall, there were quite a few guests.
"General Su is an honored guest. Follow me to the upper seat."
Jiang Yaoji's words announced Su Ningyuan's identity, and many people cast curious glances at him.
Su Ningyuan remained expressionless and calmly sat down on the upper seat. His three maids immediately stood behind him, ignoring everyone's speculation about his purpose.
Ji Yunxi looked around. There was no sign of Feng Xingzhi in the whole banquet hall. So she bent down and said, "Brother Su, I'll go look for the prince."
Su Ningyuan nodded imperceptibly. Only then did she quietly leave and head for the inner courtyard of the Jiang Mansion.
The Jiang Mansion was full of winding paths. Ji Yunxi searched for a long time but didn't find any trace of Feng Xingzhi. She felt a bit disappointed.
Suddenly, she seemed to hear a rustling sound behind the rockery.
Ji Yunxi immediately held her breath and quietly crept forward. She peeked out with one eye.
The sight nearly scared her out of her wits.
Someone was furtively dragging a blood - covered person!
She almost let out a scream, but the next second, a hand tightly covered her mouth and she was pulled to the other side of the rockery.
Her body tensed up. Ji Yunxi was about to fight back when she suddenly smelled the scent of the person behind her.
The scent was so familiar and reassuring—it was Feng Xingzhi.
All the worry and anxiety of the past few days suddenly welled up. The grievance in her heart instantly turned into tears.
"Um!"
Ji Yunxi thought, Feng Xingzhi, you jerk! Let me go! I'll surely teach you a good lesson!
But no matter how she struggled, she couldn't break free from Feng Xingzhi's embrace. Instead, he held her tighter and tighter, as if they were about to merge into one.
"Don't hold me!" Ji Yunxi sobbed out three words.
Feng Xingzhi felt heart - broken seeing her tears, but at the same time, he thought she was extremely cute.
"Don't move." He whispered in her ear.
The breath in her ear made her blush. She angrily glared at him and then calmed down. Only then did Ji Yunxi remember what she had just seen. A chill ran down her spine.
She had become the biggest witness. One wrong move and she'd be silenced.
But she hadn't seen the murderer's face.
Seeing that she had calmed down, Feng Xingzhi slowly let go of his hand.
She slowly turned around. When she saw Feng Xingzhi's eyes, the tears welled up again. She reached out and touched his face.
Forget it. As long as he was okay, there was nothing to worry about.
But before they could say anything, a scream pierced the peaceful garden.
Ji Yunxi realized that the body had been discovered. She was startled and grabbed Feng Xingzhi's hand, trying to leave.
She walked in a hurry and didn't hear Feng Xingzhi's soft murmur behind her. "I'm sorry, Xixi."
The next second, a wave of spiritual power hit her.
Ji Yunxi slumped down limply, her vision going black.