Both being prominent noble ladies, their different ways of doing things inevitably led to conflicts when they interacted frequently.
Qiao Yan couldn't stand Ye Jueyao's affected gentleness and pretentiousness. Ye Jueyao, on the other hand, disliked Qiao Yan's rudeness. A proper young lady should not learn martial arts and speak so sharply. In the past, whenever they met at banquets or outings, they would always trade barbs.
Now, as rivals in love, they instantly saw through each other's intentions.
Qiao Yan sneered, "Oh, isn't this Miss Ye? What a coincidence. Not only did I run into the prince, but also you."
Ye Jueyao's smile froze slightly, and a hint of disdain flashed in her eyes.
"Miss Qiao is here too~" Ye Jueyao quickly regained her composure and spoke in a soft voice.
"Did Miss Qiao come specifically to accompany the prince?"
Qiao Yan glanced at Yi Yuan awkwardly. She wanted to say yes, but Yi Yuan was right beside her.
"So what if I did?" Qiao Yan dared not lie, so she replied vaguely. "So what if I didn't? Miss Ye is usually only good at poetry and looks down on people like me who practice martial arts. Why? Have you also started studying martial arts and weapons?"
"Thank you for the compliment. I'm naturally no match for Miss Qiao. You're so good at martial arts. I just wonder how much knowledge you have in your head."
Ye Jueyao retorted.
Seeing the two of them bickering, Yi Yuan felt that he must have been out of his mind to think of asking them for help.
Suddenly, Ye Xi's bright eyes flashed through his mind. Yi Yuan thought that she must have her own ideas.
That young lady had no wild thoughts, was good at comforting Yaofeng, and even knew fortune - telling. He shouldn't have judged her preferences based on these other ladies'. He should have just brought her here to choose.
Wait...
Fortune - telling!
Yi Yuan suddenly remembered the Taoist nun he had saved in the Curiosity Shop.
No wonder he had felt a sense of familiarity at that time. Even though he knew that the Curiosity Shop would handle the trouble - maker on its own, he still couldn't help but step in to rescue her.
That figure was really too much like Ye Xi...
Yi Yuan frowned. Ye Jueyao was here openly. Why did Ye Xi disguise herself and come to the Curiosity Shop instead of coming with her? And judging from Ye Xi's reaction at that time, she was clearly avoiding him.
And who was the other man who had helped him at that time?
Yi Yuan's face darkened.
No longer caring about Qiao Yan and Ye Jueyao, Yi Yuan quickly went downstairs.
"Where is the Taoist nun just now?"
Yi Yuan asked Mianxiao, who was guarding on the first floor.
Mianxiao and Lin'an were both Yi Yuan's personal guards. Because of Yi Zhuo's death in battle, Yi Yuan didn't trust others to investigate, so he sent the two of them out.
However, the matter was more complicated than expected. Mianxiao and Lin'an split up and had been investigating for three months. They were supposed to return yesterday, but Lin'an was still missing, and Mianxiao had just returned when he encountered Yi Yuan's assassination. So he had no idea about Ye Xi's relationship with the prince's mansion.
Even though Yi Yuan had just saved Ye Xi, Mianxiao didn't think much of it.
After all, based on his understanding of his prince, Yi Yuan would never take a fancy to a woman, let alone a Taoist nun.
Now, Yi Yuan's question left Mianxiao stunned.
"S-she left. I don't know where she went."
Mianxiao was extremely surprised but still had to answer truthfully.
Yi Yuan scanned the area coldly and frowned deeply.
"There was another man who helped just now. Did you see who it was clearly?"
"It seems to be the grandson of Prime Minister Shen, from the eldest branch of the Shen family. He's the second son in the family, named Shen Zhou."
"Shen Zhou..." Yi Yuan unconsciously repeated the name. "I've never heard of him. Is he very familiar with the Taoist nun just now?"
"He was unknown before. He only became prominent in the past two years. There are many people in the capital who don't know him." Mianxiao answered one by one.
"From what I saw just now, Second Young Master Shen and the Taoist nun didn't seem to be familiar."
"Okay." Yi Yuan gave a non - committal grunt and continued,
"Check on this Shen Zhou." After a pause, he added, "Now, find someone."
Ye Xi didn't know that she had already been exposed.
She carefully counted the silver that Qiao Yan had given her just now. In total, there were fifty or sixty taels.
Ye Xi didn't know much about other things, but judging from Ye Pengcheng's annual salary, not counting the rice allowance and the income from the family's shops and properties, Ye Pengcheng only got fifty - five taels a month.
Qiao Yan could casually take out a purse full of silver that was equivalent to Ye Pengcheng's monthly salary. It was obvious that she was a wealthy person.
The Ye family only regarded Ye Xi as a tool to ward off bad luck and didn't teach her anything else. Even when the maid came to teach her the rules, the Ye family was only afraid that Ye Xi would disgrace the family, and Ye Xi had to learn hard.
Ye Xi had no concept of money and didn't know the current market prices. Now that she had been out and about, she realized how important silver was and how much more difficult it was to leave the Ye family than she had thought.
Ye Xi weighed the purse in her hand, led Saixing around a few times, and walked into a real - estate agency in the capital.
Since she was going to run away, she had to first understand the current prices so that she could find a place to stay.
"What? A house that's not even one mu in size and is only a single - courtyard residence costs eighteen thousand taels!"
Even though she was behind the curtain, Ye Xi could imagine Saixing's incredulous expression.
"The housing prices in the capital have always been like this. Maybe the Taoist nun has been living in the mountains for a long time and doesn't know that every inch of land in the capital is as valuable as gold."
The real - estate agent looked as if to say, "Do you think I'm lying to you?"
"If the Taoist nun thinks it's too expensive, you can look at the houses in the suburbs or in the towns below. The prices will be much cheaper."
Hearing the mockery and disdain in the real - estate agent's words, Saixing was very angry.
"Hey, what do you mean? Our young..."
"Stop," Ye Xi quickly interrupted when she saw that Saixing was about to explode. "The prices in the capital are indeed too high. It's not suitable for us. Since Agent Zhou has given us a suggestion, let's go to other real - estate agencies and take a look."
"The Taoist nun is indeed well - behaved." Agent Zhou gave Saixing a sarcastic look.
People who had no money shouldn't come to look. His time wasn't for wasting on a few poor Taoist nuns.
"You..."
Saixing still wanted to retort, but Ye Xi had already grabbed her and turned away.
"Oh, Miss..." Saixing was still muttering dissatisfiedly. She couldn't bear to see her young lady being wronged.
However, Ye Xi walked so fast that she bumped into someone with a "thud".
【I've found you.】
Ye Xi froze.
That voice... seemed to be Yi Yuan's.
But why would Yi Yuan be looking for her?
Still afraid of exposing her identity, Ye Xi lowered her voice as much as possible and said roughly,
"I'm sorry."
Then she tried to slip away.
Yi Yuan was quicker. As soon as she moved, he blocked her way.
Looking at the guilty look on the Taoist nun's face, Yi Yuan was even more certain that this was Ye Xi.
"Please wait, Taoist nun," Yi Yuan said calmly. "I've heard of the Taoist nun's abilities and came here specifically to ask for help. I have something that I need your assistance with."
Seeing that she couldn't escape, Ye Xi had to keep up the pretense.
"I wonder what the prince needs. But I'm really busy right now. Maybe tomorrow..."
"Prince Yu'an?"