"How much do you, the immortal maiden, want?" Yi Yuan stared at Ye Xi coldly. He was eager to see how exorbitant Ye Xi's demands would be.
"Well, it depends on the matter. The starting price is fifty taels of silver."
After saying this, Ye Xi felt a bit guilty. After all, fifty taels was almost equivalent to her father's monthly salary.
Yi Yuan: ……
It seemed that Ye Xi, the second young lady of the Ye family, was not living a comfortable life.
Yi Yuan stared at Ye Xi indifferently for a while before saying,
"Let's go first."
After a pause, he added,
"I'll do as you say." There was a hint of helplessness in his tone.
Ye Xi's eyes immediately lit up.
The Wangfu was quite far from the tooth shop. While Ye Xi was "divining the fortune", Mian Xiao had asked someone nearby to rent a carriage, and it had just arrived.
Ye Xi, together with Sai Xing and Yi Yuan, got into the carriage, while Mian Xiao drove outside.
Originally, Yi Yuan had planned to find Ye Xi, figure out why she had disguised herself and gone to the Curiosity Hall, and then take Ye Xi to choose something as an apology. But after seeing Ye Xi's "fortune - divining" act just now, Yi Yuan changed his mind.
The two assassins from last night had said nothing under interrogation, and the people he had sent to look for Lin An had found no trace of him. The two things happening at the same time couldn't possibly be unconnected. Since they couldn't get a word out of the assassins' mouths, he might as well take a different approach and try Ye Xi's "fortune - divining" technique to see if he could find out something.
Without exposing Ye Xi's identity, Yi Yuan briefly told her what had happened.
"Their palms might be a bit unsightly. I wonder if you, the immortal maiden, can still 'divine the fortune'?"
Ye Xi thought to herself that of course she could ask as long as she touched them. But she definitely couldn't tell him this. Otherwise, if people knew that they could read minds just by touching, they would be on high alert. It would be extremely difficult for her to secretly obtain information in the future.
After a moment of thought, Ye Xi pretended to be in a difficult position.
"It's really hard to say. I have to see what the two assassins look like after being tortured to judge if I can 'divine'. If their conditions are too miserable, I'm afraid I'll have to find another way."
"Really..."
Yi Yuan said no more but just stared at Ye Xi quietly.
His phoenix - like eyes were as calm as water, which made Ye Xi feel nervous. She always felt as if Yi Yuan had seen through her identity.
In the strange silence, they finally arrived at the Wangfu.
Ye Xi followed Yi Yuan through twists and turns and came to a remote attic. Yi Yuan opened a mechanism on the wall, and inside were the imprisoned assassins. Since this was related to the death of his elder brother in battle, just in case, Yi Yuan had not sent the assassins to the Dali Temple. Instead, he had suppressed the news and kept them in the Wangfu.
The pungent smell of blood and filth almost made Ye Xi suffocate. She couldn't help covering her nose and mouth.
Sai Xing, on the other hand, was not as affected. After all, as a maid, she had seen different degrees of bloody scenes and often dealt with filth.
Seeing Ye Xi in great discomfort, Yi Yuan stopped.
"Mian Xiao, bring the people out and..."
"It's okay." Ye Xi interrupted him, enduring the discomfort. She had to see more different scenes to avoid being easily flustered in the future.
"I appreciate your kindness, Your Highness, but I'm not a delicate person. I'll just go in and take a look."
Seeing Ye Xi's firm attitude, Yi Yuan didn't force her anymore.
Soon they reached the two assassins.
The assassins were covered in dirt and blood. It was impossible to tell what they originally looked like. Both of them were on their last breath.
Ye Xi couldn't help frowning.
How could she "divine the fortune"? Their hands were injured, and their faces were disfigured. How could she make up a story now?
"Your Highness, it seems that 'divining the fortune' won't work..."
After walking around the two assassins a few times, Ye Xi really couldn't find a place to pretend to "divine the fortune".
"I have to use another method." Ye Xi started to make up a story calmly.
"I have another technique called 'pulse - probing'. Just like a doctor diagnosing a patient's pulse, I can detect what I want to know from the pulsation of the human pulse." Ye Xi turned to Yi Yuan with a very serious look,
"However, this technique is more mentally exhausting. I usually don't use it unless it's a special situation."
The implication was too obvious.
Yi Yuan just felt speechless. How could the second young lady of the Ye family seem so money - hungry in just one day?
"Mian Xiao." Yi Yuan said expressionlessly, "Give the embroidered golden - crane cloud - brocade purse to the immortal maiden."
"Yes."
Ye Xi couldn't help smiling. She motioned for Sai Xing to take the purse, said a few polite words, and finally started "pulsing - probing".
However, as soon as she touched the assassin, she heard extremely filthy curses.
Ye Xi was so scared that she almost withdrew her hand.
Steadying her mind, Ye Xi endured the curses and started to read their minds.
"They were sent by their master..."
Ye Xi struggled to find useful information from a string of curses.
"Oh? What's their master's name? Male or female?" Yi Yuan immediately asked.
"I don't know..." Amidst the overwhelming curses and sneers, Ye Xi could only hear the sentence -
[The master is just the master.]
Then there was another string of curses, and Ye Xi was also cursed.
Ye Xi: Well, since you're in such a bad state, I'll just pretend I didn't hear it.
"What about Lin An?" Yi Yuan was not surprised by this result. He just continued to ask,
"The location and time of their recent interceptions?"
[Lin An? Who's Lin An?]
[The interception was three days ago. Asking now, this prince is really as stupid as a pig...]
[Even if you find him in Wu City, so what? That person is already dead! Haha... Already dead!]
[You won't end well either! Yi Yuan, you...]
There was another string of curses and curses after that. Ye Xi frowned tightly and subconsciously looked at Yi Yuan.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing that Ye Xi had stopped, Yi Yuan sensed something was wrong.
"She said..."
Ye Xi told Yi Yuan what she had heard, picked and chosen. After hesitating for a while, she still told him that Lin An might already be dead.
"It's not up to her to decide."
A strong killing intent emanated from Yi Yuan. His voice, as clear as jade colliding, carried an innate dignity and momentum:
"My people are decided by me."
Ye Xi gave a soft "hmm" and continued,
"Does Your Highness have anything else to ask? Like the purpose of the interception or the contact method?"
"No need. I know the purpose. They are all dead - soldiers. If they didn't return after the mission, it was assumed that they had been captured and were dead. The original contact method is already invalid."
Yi Yuan folded his arms across his chest. His well - defined index finger tapped gently on his slender arm. He calmly ordered,
"Mian Xiao, immediately select six people to go to Wu City with me. Set off in half an hour."
Mian Xiao took the order and left.
"Your Highness," since there was no more business for her, Ye Xi was about to leave. "Since I've completed my task, I'll take my leave first."
Yi Yuan looked at Ye Xi meaningfully but didn't answer. He just turned around first and led Ye Xi out.
The courtyard gradually became more spacious, and the main gate of the Wangfu gradually came into view.
Ye Xi bowed and was about to leave after a polite remark.
Finally, Yi Yuan spoke,
"Wait a moment, immortal maiden. I still have someone for you to 'divine the fortune' for."
Ye Xi turned back in confusion,
"Who?"
"Ye Xi."