"If Prime Minister Feng is one of the Grassland King's men, why doesn't he ask the Grassland King to rescue his daughter?" Jing Xunchè was utterly confused. What on earth was this Prime Minister Feng thinking?
"Otherwise, how about I get that woman out and keep an eye on her?" Yuán Yǔhán was just making a passing remark, but to his surprise, Jing Xunchè actually agreed.
"Are you serious? I was just joking!" Yuán Yǔhán looked at Jing Xunchè in disbelief.
"This is the best solution. I suspect that brothel might well be one of Prime Minister Feng's properties." Sending his own daughter there without showing any concern was highly abnormal for a man who had doted on his daughter for years. Unless he knew his daughter was in no danger.
If that was the case, then everything made sense.
Yuán Yǔhán fell into deep thought after hearing Jing Xunchè's words. Prime Minister Feng's property? A brothel? "Zhànzhī, do you think it's possible that the brothel is a large - scale intelligence organization?"
"It's quite possible." This was also Jing Xunchè's initial speculation. It was the largest brothel in the capital. It seemed that Prime Minister Feng's influence was not as simple as they had initially thought.
"You'd better find an excuse to get that woman out of the brothel first. That way, we'll have a bargaining chip to restrain Prime Minister Feng's actions." Jing Xunchè hoped that Feng Qiao held a significant position in Prime Minister Feng's heart.
"Okay, I got it." He wasn't going to do this alone. As the saying goes, share weal and woe. He and Zhànzhī were thick as thieves. So, he'd involve Jing Xunchè too. Yuán Yǔhán secretly schemed against Jing Xunchè, who was completely unaware.
"By the way, how's Tūlè Hàoqié?" If there was anyone in the world who knew the Grassland King best, it was Tūlè Hàoqié, after all, the Grassland King had raised him.
"Mù Nán and the others have returned, but Lǚ Yún is still trying to find a way." When they came back, they brought a carriage full of books. The reason they didn't stay in the stockade to read was that Mù Nán and his companion were so lovey - dovey all day that the people in the stockade couldn't stand it and drove them out along with the books.
Thankfully, Lǚ Yún had managed to get the information she needed. The parasite in Tūlè Hàoqié's body was one that fed on a person's nutrients. As long as they found the mother parasite, everything would be fine.
The problem was, where was the mother parasite?
"Do you think the mother parasite could be on the Grassland King himself?" To truly control someone, one had to keep the most important thing close. Yuán Yǔhán thought this was highly likely.
A conceited man like the Grassland King would never trust others. So, the mother parasite might very well be on his own body.
"We're not sure yet. We need to confirm it." Jing Xunchè said.
Yuán Yǔhán looked at Jing Xunchè and asked, "How can we confirm it?"
"We need the Grassland King's heart - blood." Jing Xunchè said calmly. If it was something else, he would have already sent someone to handle it. But heart - blood was not easy to obtain.
Yuán Yǔhán was about to offer to send someone to do it, but when he heard it was heart - blood, he quickly changed his mind. Forget it. Let Jing Xunchè figure it out on his own.
The day after Yuán Yǔhán returned, he sent someone to bring Feng Qiao out and directly sent her to Mù Fēngqié's mansion, saying she was a maid for Mù Fēngqié.
Mù Fēngqié looked at Feng Qiao's angry eyes and rolled her eyes at the guard who had brought the girl. "Go back and tell the prince that I'll take this person in."
Mù Fēngqié knew what had happened the previous night, so she wasn't surprised that Feng Qiao had been taken out of the brothel. What surprised her was that Yuán Yǔhán had sent the girl to her.
Jing Xunchè also didn't expect Yuán Yǔhán to pull such a trick. The girl was out, but why send her to Qiér's place?
"Qióor greets the princess and the Marquis of Zhōngníng." Feng Qiao bowed politely to Mù Fēngqié and Jing Xunchè. There was nothing to fault her for.
But Mù Fēngqié always felt there was something off about Feng Qiao. She looked at Feng Qiao's face.
In the past, although Feng Qiao loved beauty, she always wore light makeup and never heavy makeup. What had happened to Feng Qiao? Mù Fēngqié glanced at Jing Xunchè, who shook his head, indicating he didn't know.
All information about Feng Qiao was monitored by Yuán Yǔhán's men. So, if there was a problem, they should ask Yuán Yǔhán. Mù Fēngqié stared at Feng Qiao without saying a word, carefully sizing her up.
"Since the Prince Regent has sent you to this princess, stay here obediently. Don't even think about playing any tricks, or this princess won't spare you." It was better to give a warning first. It was a reminder. If she made any mistakes in the future, don't blame her for being merciless.
"Yes, thank you, princess, for your instruction. This servant will surely keep it in mind." Feng Qiao quickly adapted to her new identity without any resistance.
This wasn't right. Such a delicate young lady, even after spending some time in a brothel, it was hard to change her in - born nature. But the Feng Qiao in front of her was as obedient as could be. This was just too...
"Then you can follow Zhū Fēi. Do whatever she tells you to do." Zhū Fēi was very good at managing people, so Mù Fēngqié was quite relieved to leave Feng Qiao in her care.
"Qiér, what do you think is wrong with this Feng Qiao?" Jing Xunchè also noticed something strange about her, but he hadn't said anything just now.
"I'm not sure yet. This Feng Qiao is like..." Mù Fēngqié suddenly stopped in the middle of her sentence.
"Like what?" Jing Xunchè didn't catch on and stared at Mù Fēngqié.
"She's like a completely different person." But Mù Fēngqié prided herself on her excellent disguise - detecting skills. As long as someone used disguise, she could spot it at a glance. But she saw no sign of disguise on Feng Qiao's face.
"I'll go ask Yuán Yǔhán." If Feng Qiao had been replaced, then who was this person? And where was the real Feng Qiao?
When Jing Xunchè came to see Yuán Yǔhán, Yuán Yǔhán was practicing sword - fighting in the yard. Ā Rú wouldn't let him into the house again, so he had no choice but to practice outside.
"My lord."
"Come on, there's no one else here. Do we really need to stand on ceremony?" Yuán Yǔhán felt uncomfortable seeing Jing Xunchè bowing to him so formally. He didn't know if he had some strange problem, but whenever Jing Xunchè was all serious with him, he just felt ill at ease.
"What brings you here?" Yuán Yǔhán voiced his question.