Chapter Thirteen: Conspiracy and Scheming

  "Zhang Zuoyan?" The man furrowed his brow, seemingly disdainful, and snorted softly, "That flashy rich kid?"

  "Could it be that the two of you, Hua and Xun, are like two peas in a pod? You could say they're bound together by life and death!" The woman chuckled lightly and said, "How about it, are you interested now?"

  "Let's talk about it."

  "The young master of the Xun family is a renowned jade-like gentleman, and he would never come to such a place for pleasure. Moreover, the Xun family is an aristocratic clan after all, and their restraint on their children is not to be underestimated. Therefore, the possibility of me waiting here for the young master of the Xun family to show up is almost zero. However..." The woman stared at the man's cold eyes without blinking, but stopped there."

  She was looking forward to it, wondering if that high and mighty king would lower himself to ask her.

  He narrowed his eyes and softly spoke three words, "Liu Yuan Yuan."

  No sorrow, no joy.

  She suddenly became cold all over, and immediately put aside her other thoughts. "Since Zhang Zuoyan is Xun Qing's close friend, the possibility of getting information about Xun Qing from his mouth is greater than asking directly."

  "Oh." The tone was still flat and emotionless, but the oppressive pressure from earlier had clearly dissipated somewhat.

  "As the saying goes, 'wine makes you speak your mind', let alone Zhang Zuoyan that brainless beauty-obsessed fool."

  "What do you think is the likelihood that Xun Qing will tell Zhang Suoyan about that matter? The Qingyu Order is no ordinary thing, does Xun Qing really trust Zhang Suoyan so much?"

  "Hmph..." The woman sneered, provocatively staring at the man with a tone that was almost fearless, "As long as the Qingyu Order is still in the hands of the eldest young master of the Xun family, that's all that matters."

  That person remained unmoved, nodding slightly and turning away to avoid the woman's piercing gaze. He spoke in a low voice: "I don't have much time left. You have at most two months' time. It would be best if you could persuade Xun Qing to stand on our side; otherwise..."

  "If there's anything in the way..." The woman's slender fingers slid across her delicate neck, laughing wickedly.

  "It's dead, count it as mine. I'll take care of it." The man still had a calm and composed expression, as if he was chatting about something trivial like "nice weather".

  "Very good."

  The next day.

  The Fragrant Pavilion welcomed a noble guest.

  A person wearing a large red shirt, with a flowing cloud pattern on the hem, tightly tied at the waist, and a big red silk ribbon hanging down with a piece of emerald green jade pendant. A connoisseur can tell at a glance that this is no ordinary product, the color of the jade is transparent and even, with a smooth luster that still has a thick texture underneath.

  He walked in with a carefree attitude, as if this was the most normal place to be, and his confident demeanor ignored the surrounding gazes that were either sizing him up or filled with jealousy or admiration.

  He is undoubtedly a good-looking man, and just looking at the girls' meaningful eyes can explain everything.

  The old lady was already laughing so hard that her flower-adorned hairpins were shaking. "Is the gentleman here to have fun or waiting for someone?"

  "Of course, I came here to have fun. Why is Mom being so silly today?" Looking at his mother excitedly rubbing her hands, her bright red lips trembling nonstop, he couldn't help but find it amusing. "Mom still looks best in that blue-green dress, I'm afraid even the legendary Xi Shi twenty years from now won't be able to match your elegance today."

  "Zhang Gongzi is really good at making jokes." The old mother lifted her sleeve to cover her mouth, laughing so hard that she was shaking all over, but in her eyes, there was a genuine and innocent girlish sentiment. "Who's on your mind today?"

  "I'm looking for Liu Yingying."