Yun Qingge quickly retrieved the Purple Light Pearl from the Kongjian. When she returned, she found the three people in the shop wearing strange expressions.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, then opened her palm.
A pearl glowing with purple light lay lustrously in her hand.
Yun Wanyue’s eyes sparkled with delight as she stared at the pearl. Just as she reached out to take it, Yun Qingge suddenly closed her hand and withdrew the pearl.
“If you want it, it should be one hand for the goods, one hand for the money.” As she said this, Yun Qingge deliberately glanced at Ye Tianjue.
But…
His expression seemed a bit odd?
He was staring at her face with an unusually deep gaze that set off alarm bells in her heart.
“Your hands are rather soft and delicate.” Ye Tianjue suddenly remarked, his words laden with meaning.
Yun Qingge’s heart skipped a beat, but she still smiled and said, “Your Highness, instead of looking at this fine Purple Light Pearl, you’re looking at my hands. Could it be… Your Highness has some inclination toward men?”
Ye Tianjue wasn’t angered. Instead, he merely curled his lips and smiled.
The smile was like a snow lotus suddenly blooming on an iceberg—beautiful beyond the mortal world.
But… the smile was extremely dangerous.
Yun Wanyue was also somewhat annoyed, though her tone remained gentle: “How dare you speak like that? Whose ill-mannered servant boy are you, to show such disrespect toward the Crown Prince?”
“Ah, forget it then. If the two of you don’t want the Purple Light Pearl, so be it.” Yun Qingge sighed and turned to leave.
“Wait!” Ye Tianjue’s eyes flickered as he called out. “Name your price.”
A satisfied curve tugged at Yun Qingge’s lips. She thought to herself, finally, business has come knocking.
Her first transaction was swindling the male and female leads of the book. How amusing.
She half-turned her head, blinked, and feigned innocence: “Not much, not much. Just ten thousand taels.”
“Are you robbing us?” Yun Wanyue nearly spat blood.
Yun Qingge spread her hands: “If the two of you think it’s unfair, then forget it. As far as I know, no pharmacy on this entire street has the Purple Light Pearl. You’d have to travel to the coastal regions to obtain one.”
The book had mentioned that Yun Wanyue never got her hands on the Purple Light Pearl back then and had to substitute it with an ordinary pearl, deceiving the Empress Dowager into believing it was a Purple Light Pearl.
Now…
She wouldn’t let Yun Wanyue have it so easy.
Yun Wanyue’s gaze fell on the hand clutching the Purple Light Pearl. She pressed her lips together, about to say something more, when Ye Tianjue spoke first: “Fine, I’ll give you the money.”
…
Two hours later, at Jing Wang Fu.
Ye Feimo glanced at the Louke and asked Qingxuan, “How did it go?”
Qingxuan’s lips twitched. He truly couldn’t understand why their master took such great interest in this princess consort.
“Reporting to Your Highness, the princess consort was seen leaving through the back gate of Beiyuan. I followed her but lost her shortly after.”
“Did you see her face?” Ye Feimo suddenly lifted his gaze to look at him.
Qingxuan scratched his head and shook his head.
But the princess consort’s face was so distinctive—it shouldn’t be a mistake.
The man narrowed his eyes, a dark glint passing through them.
“Your Highness, shall I send more men to search the streets?” Qingxuan said hesitantly.
“No need. I’ll leave the residence myself.”
His intuition told him Yun Qingge still harbored many secrets—even ones that might surprise him.
Qingxuan was stunned as he watched his master rise from the wheelchair.
He knew the master’s leg condition had always been a pretense.
But…
What was the master planning to do now?
…
At Yunjue Pharmacy.
Yun Qingge waited for Ye Tianjue to produce the ten-thousand-tael banknote, but Yun Wanyue seemed to think it wasn’t worth it.
Yun Wanyue tugged at Ye Tianjue and said, “Jue-gege, ten thousand taels really isn’t worth it. Though the Purple Light Pearl is a rare treasure, it’s worth at most eight thousand taels. She’s clearly swindling us.”
“It’s fine. A difference of two thousand taels is pocket change to me.”
Yun Wanyue was about to say more when her hand was gently patted by the man’s large palm.
“Yue’er, compared to money, you are what matters most.”
“Jue-gege…”
The two gazed at each other with deep affection, completely forgetting that Yun Qingge even existed.
Yun Qingge felt a rising irritation—especially watching Ye Tianjue hold Yun Wanyue’s delicate hand with such tender affection. It was a fury born of her body’s instinct rather than genuine anger from her heart.
It was probably the original owner’s anger transmitting to her, making her feel that this was unfair to the original owner.
If Ye Tianjue ever learned that the woman he had yearned for all those years wasn’t the Yun Wanyue before him now, what would he do?
A dark glint flickered in her eyes as she spoke impatiently: “Hey there, Your Highness, have you made your decision? I still have things to do!”
Ye Tianjue narrowed his eyes and turned to look at her before saying, “Fine. I’ll give you ten thousand taels.”
“But I want you to sign a written agreement.” Before Yun Qingge could say anything, Yun Wanyue immediately added.
Those words made Yun Qingge’s gaze darken.
Yun Wanyue was indeed cunning. Having her sign a written agreement meant that if anything went wrong with the face mask for the Empress Dowager in the future, they could come after her.
Ha!
She nodded and said, “Fine, fine. Signing a written agreement is no problem.”
After saying this, he scribbled out an IOU on the paper—one hand for the money, the other for the goods. When it came time to sign, he paused, a strange glint flashing in his eyes, and wrote down three characters—Wu Mingshi.
Ye Tianjue took the IOU and glanced at it, his gaze landing on her name, a dark light flickering in his eyes.
“Wu Mingshi, are you toying with us?” Yun Wanyue’s delicate brows shot up, her usual gentleness gone.
Yun Qingge spread her hands and said, “No, no, my parents weren’t very educated and gave me such an odd name.”
Ye Tianjue tucked the IOU into his sleeve. “Fine. Someone, give him the banknotes.”
The guard stepped forward to take the banknotes and also received Yun Qingge’s pearls.
“I won’t disturb the two of you in your loving moment. I’ll be on my way.” Yun Qingge said calmly, then turned and left.
Ye Tianjue tilted his head to watch the direction she went and instructed, “Follow him.”
Yun Wanyue squeezed the purple-glowing pearl in her hand, still feeling rather unsettled inside.
Afterward, Ye Tianjue personally escorted Yun Wanyue back to the Houfu. When he turned to return to the palace, his subordinate stood at his side and whispered, “Your Highness, that servant has been wandering around the streets. He may have noticed we’re following him.”
“Where is he now?” he asked in a low voice.
If the IOU had been signed with a real name, he might not have taken such great interest in this servant—but the fact that he’d written a fake name was precisely what piqued his curiosity.
The subordinate said, “He’s at Cuizhu Restaurant right now…”
…
Yun Qingge went to Cuizhu Restaurant. She’d heard from Jixiang long ago that the chef at Cuizhu Restaurant was the best in all of Di Du—even the emperor had to send someone to personally invite him if he wanted a taste.
She’d come here first to eat, and second to borrow some ingredients from the place.
She’d heard that only this restaurant’s back kitchen had the most complete selection of spices. She needed to go back and cook for a certain prince, and the spices were indispensable.
But just as she sat down, she discovered that Ye Tianjue, who had been at Yunjue Medicine Shop earlier, had appeared in the restaurant.
Dressed in his striking silver brocade robes, he was far too conspicuous in the restaurant.
She frowned as that celestial figure strolled over and stopped in front of her.
“Heh heh, Your Highness, what a coincidence.”
“Not a coincidence.” Ye Tianjue sat down. “This meal is on me. Tell me—where did you get the purple-glowing pearl in your hand?”
How could a mere servant come by something so precious?
Yun Qingge’s gaze flickered. Suddenly she glanced over and noticed a man in dark robes sitting in the corner.
Because he was seated against the light, she couldn’t make out his features clearly, so she immediately rose and walked over.
“Master, you’re here!”
What happened today was somewhat different from the plot in the book… but then again, who asked her to be the variable that had appeared?
Just as she reached the table, the man in dark robes suddenly lifted his gaze and looked at her.
Their eyes met.
She met the man’s dangerous, deep black eyes, and her heart suddenly gave a jolt—something felt off…
This person… seemed somewhat familiar?