Mei Qing hung her head low. "Mei Qing wouldn't dare."
"I think you're quite bold," Gu Ruobai said with a gloomy face. "The fact that I allowed you to enter 'First Fragrance' means I have absolute say there. Now I'd like to ask where you got the nerve to try to deceive me?"
Mei Qing still kept her head bowed. "Mei Qing didn't mean to deceive my lord. It's just that Miss Su said she didn't want my lord to worry about her."
At the mention of Su Mingyu's name, Mu Yi's heart sank.
She was the sore spot of their lord. It was really unwise of Mei Qing to hide something related to Su Mingyu.
"How does she plan to set a trap for Su Yueyue?" Gu Ruobai narrowed his cold eyes slightly, his tone full of menace.
Mei Qing bit her lips. "This... Mei Qing doesn't know. Miss Su only said she hoped I could invite the King of Yu to this beauty contest."
Gu Ruobai stared at her coldly, as if trying to see through her. Under his sharp gaze, Mei Qing was too scared to look up.
After a while, Gu Ruobai waved his hand. "After the beauty contest, go and receive your punishment."
Hearing that she only had to receive a punishment, Mei Qing finally felt relieved. "Thank you, my lord."
"Alright, go." Gu Ruobai withdrew his gaze and picked up the book in his hand again.
Although his attitude was as calm as if they had just chatted about daily matters, Mei Qing felt soaked in sweat when she stood up again. Her knees were even a bit weak.
Seeing this, Mu Yi wanted to help her up, but was stopped by a look from Mei Qing.
Gu Ruobai was unhappy that she didn't report the matter about Su Mingyu truthfully, not because she had made a decision on her own.
As a small leader of the secret department, she still had the right to make some small decisions.
She had done bolder things before, but she had never seen Gu Ruobai so angry. It was obvious that he doted on Su Mingyu. Since it was related to Su Mingyu, there was no need to involve Mu Yi in the punishment.
Watching Mei Qing's staggering back, Mu Yi felt a bit sorry. "My lord, Mei Qing was just keeping it a secret for Miss Su. You..."
"Shut up," Gu Ruobai interrupted him coldly. "If you want to receive the punishment together, keep talking."
Seeing that Gu Ruobai was determined, Mu Yi had to obediently shut his mouth.
However, he was even more curious. The lord didn't ask anyone from the secret department to investigate this matter, and he had been at home all day. How did the lord know about the matter between Miss Su and Mei Qing?
Feeling Mu Yi's inquisitive gaze, Gu Ruobai gave him an impatient glance.
Mu Yi immediately withdrew his gaze. "My lord, I'll go on patrol."
Then he ran away in a flash.
Watching his back, Gu Ruobai frowned slightly. Had he become too easy - going recently? Why were his subordinates all becoming so unreliable?
Completely unaware that her little plan had been seen through, Su Mingyu was happily strolling in the market with Xia Mian.
Originally, Su Mingyu planned to send Xia Mian back quickly, but on the way, they saw a clothing store with some unique clothes, so they went in.
With the mentality of amateurs watching the excitement and experts looking at the details, Su Mingyu and Xia Mian picked out quite a few clothes.
Just as they were about to pay, a big hand suddenly took out a silver ingot in front of them.
Su Mingyu turned around curiously and saw an old acquaintance. "King of Yu... Why are you here?"
The King of Yu was wearing a purple long robe today, which outlined his tall and slender figure. Coupled with his outstanding temperament, his sudden appearance in the clothing store immediately attracted many curious looks.
The King of Yu wasn't pretentious. He smiled and pointed at the silver on the table. "I happened to be passing by. I saw Miss Su trying on clothes with her friend, so I dared to come and disturb you."
Then the King of Yu looked at the stunned shopkeeper. "What are you standing there for? Why don't you take the silver?"
Only then did the shopkeeper react. He quickly calculated the bill for Su Mingyu and Xia Mian, then gave the change to the King of Yu. "Sir, please take it carefully."
The King of Yu didn't take it. "This is a reward for you. Pack up Miss Su's clothes and send them to her mansion."
Then he looked at Xia Mian, indicating where she lived.
Xia Mian lowered her eyes. "I live nearby. I can take them back by myself."
Seeing this, the King of Yu nodded. "Alright, then I won't see you off, miss."
This obvious way of driving her away made Xia Mian stunned. She gave Su Mingyu a puzzled look.
Su Mingyu sighed in her heart, but still smiled on her face. "It's okay. You can go back first. Take my clothes back with you. I'll go to your place to try them on tomorrow."
Xia Mian still looked a bit worried. "But..."
Su Mingyu immediately interrupted her. "There's nothing to worry about when I'm with the King of Yu. He will send me back."
Seeing that Su Mingyu didn't want her to get involved, Xia Mian bit her lips and thought for a while, then finally nodded.
Although she was very worried, Xia Mian also understood that no matter what, Su Mingyu was the eldest legitimate daughter of the Su Mansion and Su Yueyue's elder sister.
Even if the King of Yu was bold, he wouldn't dare to do anything to Su Mingyu in front of so many people.
Xia Mian said goodbye to Su Mingyu reluctantly and looked back at her several times.
The King of Yu wasn't angry because of her slowness. Instead, there was a smile on his lips. "Miss Su has a really good friend. It's obvious that she's very worried about you."
Su Mingyu forced a smile. "She just doesn't know the name of the King of Yu. It's night, and she thinks it's not proper for me to be alone with a man."
Just as the King of Yu was about to say something, Su Mingyu smiled again. "Actually, Mingyu knows that the King of Yu is only being nice to me because of my engagement with the King of Ruixian."
"And because you're close to my younger sister. It's just that Mingyu doesn't want to tell her about these things."
Hearing Gu Ruobai's name, the King of Yu's face darkened slightly, but he quickly recovered. "How can Miss Su underestimate herself like this?"
"I just think it's very interesting to chat with Miss Su, so I want to get in touch with her. It has nothing to do with who Miss Su is engaged to or whose elder sister she is."
Saying this, the King of Yu suddenly leaned forward and got closer to Su Mingyu. "Besides, this engagement can be dissolved."
"I think Miss Su's friend's worry is not unfounded. After all, Miss Su is so outstanding. I don't know how many men are chasing after you."
The hint in his words was so obvious that if Su Mingyu didn't notice, she would be a fool.