Zhao Shuning, who had originally intended to get off the carriage immediately, stopped.
Xu Yue'er got off the carriage early, supported by a maid beside her.
This was Flower Capital, the place where she was born and raised. Here, Xu Yue'er shouldn't encounter any trouble.
Luo Qiu spoke up, "Miss, aren't you going down?"
"Not yet. We're all strangers here. It's best to keep a low profile and avoid getting into trouble."
Luo Qiu smiled but said nothing.
Was it because the person outside the carriage wasn't someone the miss cared about that she was so indifferent?
"What are you smiling at?"
"Nothing."
Zhao Shuning gave Luo Qiu a strange look. Seeing that she just smiled and didn't say a word, she stopped talking too. Instead, she pricked up her ears and focused on listening to the commotion outside.
Xu Yue'er looked displeased, but the moment she turned to face Qi Huan, she put on the calm and gentle expression a young lady of a noble family should have.
"Greetings, Lord Qi."
Qi Huan got off his carriage and stepped forward to help Xu Yue'er up, but she deftly avoided him.
In front of everyone, even though Qi Huan was an elder to her, they had no blood relation. Given the gender difference, such physical contact was inappropriate.
Qi Huan's hand missed its target, but he quickly understood and smiled.
"Yue'er's back. Let's go in together. I'd like to visit my mentor. I wonder how he's been lately."
Xu Yue'er felt a tinge of disgust. In her opinion, if Qi Huan was really as he described himself, he wouldn't have chosen today to visit her father. From his words, it seemed he hadn't been to the Grand Tutor's Mansion recently.
"Lord Qi is being too kind. You're a busy and important person, always concerned about the people of Cangwu. It's understandable that you haven't had time to visit my father."
Qi Huan liked Xu Yue'er's elegant and gentle manner, her being neither overly enthusiastic nor obsequious towards him, just like Mei Feixuan in the past.
"Let's go into the house then."
"Lord Qi, please go first. I have something to attend to and need to wait for a while."
"Waiting is no problem."
Xu Yue'er turned to look in the direction of the carriage and said again, "If the senior has found a place to stay, could you please send someone to inform me? If I have the time, I'd like to consult the senior on some issues."
"Sure."
"Thank you, senior."
Xu Yue'er curtsied. The joy on her face was worlds apart from the expression she had when facing Qi Huan.
The carriage turned around and slowly drove away.
Qi Huan stared at the carriage, his eyes flickering.
Fortunately, it was a woman inside. If it had been a man, Qi Huan would have made him disappear from Flower Capital completely tonight.
Qi Huan and Xu Yue'er entered the mansion together.
When they parted ways, Zhao Shuning lifted the curtain of the carriage and saw their backs.
Qi Huan happened to turn around and saw a pair of eyes staring at him from the carriage.
Zhao Shuning put down the curtain and shook her head meaningfully.
The noble - looking man in white clothes, of unknown age, seemed quite aristocratic. It was a pity that there was a faint blackness between his eyebrows. Although his eyes were bright, they were also flickering, showing a somewhat vain look.
On the surface, the man seemed to pay great attention to his appearance and clothing, but his eye bags were rather heavy. His steps were so unsteady that he must have had many sleepless nights.
If Zhao Shuning's guess was right, Qi Huan should be over - indulging in lust without self - restraint.
"Miss, that Lord Qi should be Qi Huan, the prime minister of Flower Capital."
"I guessed so."
Judging from the grandeur, besides Gu Zhiruo, who else in Flower Capital would be so ostentatious?
"I wonder if he knows about the dirty deeds of the governor of Jiangning and that lecherous Taoist priest Lu."
Is it possible that he doesn't know?
Looking at the prime minister's grand entrance, his salary alone couldn't support such arrogance. Take the white clothes he was wearing. At first glance, there was nothing special, but upon closer inspection, it was woven from fine silk threads.
At the corner of the clothes, there was a python woven with white silk threads. It was just because everything was white that it wasn't noticeable at first sight.
Qi Huan's intentions were obvious.
"Xiao Qiu, have you gotten used to the journey?"
"Yes, I'm used to it. Miss, just give me your orders."
"When the night is darkest tonight, sneak into the inner palace and find out the current state of the king of Cangwu for me."
"Xiao Qiu understands."
Zhao Shuning nodded and slightly closed her eyes.
The inn they found was in a bustling area. Knowing Zhao Shuning's habits, Luo Qiu had booked a room on the top floor.
After they had put their things away, Zhao Shuning wasn't in a hurry. She took Luo Qiu to the first - floor of the inn to have tea and snacks.
Her fingers tapped the table absent - mindedly.
Luo Qiu was sitting opposite Zhao Shuning. Just by stealing a glance at her, she felt that although her sister had a different face, her old behavior patterns and way of handling things remained unchanged.
When she was thinking, her mind always seemed to wander, but her hands never stopped.
"Xiao Qiu, eat more. You need to be full to do your job well tonight."
Luo Qiu nodded with a smile.
The moment she lowered her head, a flying dart whizzed past her hair.
In the depths of Luo Qiu's eyes, infinite hatred instantly emerged.
Zhao Shuning's hand quickly pressed on Luo Qiu's, preventing her from standing up immediately.
She looked up and saw Zhao Shuning shaking her head at her. Her soaring anger instantly subsided.
There was the sound of fighting outside. Looking at the people dining on the first floor, they just casually glanced outside, then remained silent. They didn't panic or run away. Instead, they calmly continued to eat snacks and drink tea.
Zhao Shuning just said, "Interesting."
She waved her hand, and the waiter who was running around quickly came to them.
"Sir/Madam, do you need more tea?"
Zhao Shuning looked outside and asked, "What's going on?"
"Are you from out of town, sir/madam?"
The waiter's tone seemed a bit impatient.
Zhao Shuning took out a gold ingot from her Qiankun bag.
When the waiter saw it, his eyes immediately lit up.
Zhao Shuning didn't give it to him right away. Instead, she placed the gold ingot beside her hand.
"If you explain clearly, it's yours."
Flower Capital was the capital of Cangwu. These servants had been hanging around in the capital for years and must have seen all sorts of grand scenes. Without some silver, it would be difficult to get information from them.
"Of course, of course!"
The waiter replied obsequiously while explaining, "The people fighting outside are obviously from the government and those quacks from the Jianghu. In the past two years, there have been frequent quacks in our Flower Capital, swindling people and causing many common people to become homeless."
"Oh—"
"Don't worry, sir/madam. Since this year, Prime Minister Qi has been vigorously rectifying this unhealthy trend. There are hardly any such charlatans left in Flower Capital."
Charlatans?
Zhao Shuning grinned and threw the gold ingot to the waiter.
Just as the waiter left, the table they were sitting at was smashed by a figure flying towards them.
"Bang!" The tea table instantly broke into two halves.
Zhao Shuning didn't want to meddle in other people's business and stood aside with Luo Qiu. But the moment the man smashed the table, a wooden plaque slipped from his waist and fell to the ground.
When Zhao Shuning saw it, her eyes tightened.