As soon as her words fell, the air in the room noticeably froze for a moment.
Song Jiuchen stared at her with deep eyes, his steady gaze filled with disappointment.
This feeling was like finally taking a fancy to a treasure, preparing to buy it, only to have someone else purchase it first.
Immediately, the originally amiable aura around him was replaced by a pure, aloof coldness.
“You may leave.”
He gave the order indifferently, no longer looking at her. His gaze turned toward the window, leaving only a cold, rigid profile.
Shen Qingyao curled her lips slightly. “Yes, this commoner takes her leave.”
With that, she rose and backed away, then turned and left the study, walking away with a sense of satisfaction.
Once out of the courtyard, she found the brocade-clad man and Xiao Mei. She put on a slightly embarrassed expression again.
Seeing her, Xiao Mei hurried over with concern. “Miss?”
Understanding her meaning, Shen Qingyao shook her head at her. “Let’s go, we can return now.”
“Wait.”
The brocade-clad man stopped them. Judging solely by Shen Qingyao’s expression, he seemed to have already guessed something and said, “After you leave this residence, you must not speak of having met His Highness the Prince. Otherwise, you will be executed without mercy.”
Shen Qingyao nodded. “Yes.”
How could she possibly speak of it?
She pulled Xiao Mei along and left.
The brocade-clad man watched them go, then hurried into the courtyard.
In the study, Song Jiuchen quietly stared at the cup of medicinal tea on the table, his heart…
Choked with frustration.
This woman was the first one he had taken a liking to since coming of age. Although she wasn’t qualified to be his princess consort or concubine, keeping her by his side to relieve boredom would have been acceptable.
Yet he never expected her to be…
He shook his head in frustration, then flicked his finger at the medicinal tea, sending it flying instantly.
He picked up the handkerchief on the table, wiped his hands, tossed it aside, and rose to leave the study.
As he stepped out, he happened to meet his personal guard, Ye Zhao.
“Your Highness?” Ye Zhao looked at him, awaiting orders.
He brushed past without stopping. “Return to the prince’s residence.”
With those three words, Ye Zhao understood completely.
Shen Qingyao and Xiao Mei had already boarded the carriage and were far away.
Now, the two were speaking in low voices.
“Miss, this won’t work. The Prince will definitely ask General Liu about this matter.”
Xiao Mei already knew what had happened and was filled with lingering fear. “Once the Prince finds out you deliberately deceived him to avoid becoming his woman, it would be a grave offense. He would kill you.”
Shen Qingyao fell silent for a moment. “Uncle Liu doesn’t watch me every day. How could he know my private affairs? As for the deception, I think the Prince has given up on me. He won’t investigate.”
With his status, if he had suspicions, he wouldn’t go to such trouble. First, he wouldn’t have let her leave so easily—at the very least, he would have warned her of the consequences of deceiving him. Second, he would have summoned a physician to take her pulse and expose her on the spot.
“Really?” Xiao Mei was still very worried.
“Yes!”
Upon returning to the teahouse, Shen Qingyao’s jumbled emotions had long since vanished. Feeling lighthearted, she swayed her waist and prepared to go upstairs.
“Proprietress?” Manager Wang emerged from a private booth and called out to her.
She stopped and turned around. “Hmm? What is it?”
Manager Wang walked up to her, wearing a gossipy smile. “Proprietress, I heard that Boss Mo next door was beaten by a customer three days ago.”
??
Hearing this, Shen Qingyao’s eyes immediately sparkled. “Who beat her?”
Didn’t that woman have a backer too?
Who would dare hit her?
The shopkeeper said, “It was the sixth illegitimate son of Magistrate Zhang. He harassed the tea master, and Shopkeeper Mo stepped in to defend her, getting punched in the eye.”
“…Is that so?”
The gossipy look on Shen Qingyao’s face vanished. The tea masters in the neighboring teahouse were all beautiful women—a business strategy employed by Mo Niang. Though it might sound a bit questionable, the girls were all respectable.
Who would have thought that someone as sharp-tongued and harsh as her would actually stand up for those girls?
After a moment of silence, she narrowed her eyes and instructed Xiao Mei, “Go, tell Little Duck Pear to bring two eggs to Shopkeeper Mo this evening to soothe her eye.”
Little Duck Pear?
Upon hearing this, Xiao Mei exchanged a knowing smile with the shopkeeper and replied, “Yes.”
Shen Qingyao went upstairs, thinking to herself, “No wonder I haven’t seen that woman these past few days—she got punched in the eye.”
The next day, at the Southern Prince’s residence.
Liu Hui had just left the Office of the Chief Steward when he happened to run into Song Jiuchen walking over with his guards. It was clear he was on his way to see Xiao Che.
Remembering how Song Jiuchen had sent someone to take the carriage from his wife the day before, Liu Hui immediately stepped forward and bowed. “Your humble general pays his respects to Your Highness.”
Song Jiuchen was dressed in a deep blue robe embroidered with subtle cloud patterns, his hair tied up with a golden crown and a jade belt cinching his waist. He looked exceptionally dashing and dignified.
His cool gaze fixed on Liu Hui before he spoke. “At ease.”
Liu Hui straightened up as instructed, first offering an ingratiating smile, then asked, “Your Highness, how was it? I assume you’ve already tasted the tea from my worthy niece yesterday? What did you think?”
In truth, he knew perfectly well that the prince had taken a liking to his niece, but he pretended to ask anyway.
He had been busy the day before and hadn’t had a chance to ask Shen Qingyao about it yet, but it was still necessary to sound out the prince first.
At the mention of Shen Qingyao, Song Jiuchen’s cool gaze shifted slightly, as if something taboo had been touched upon, and he averted his eyes.
Unwilling to discuss it further, he merely uttered a faint remark, “Her tea skills are decent, nothing more.”
With that, he walked past a bewildered Liu Hui and entered the Office of the Chief Steward.
Liu Hui was momentarily stunned, then immediately left the prince’s residence, boarded his carriage, and headed straight for Drifting Clouds Teahouse.
Shen Qingyao, with nothing better to do, was leaning against the windowsill again, watching the opposite side. She realized she missed bickering with that woman more than she’d expected.
“Miss, General Liu is here.”
Xiao Mei’s voice came from behind her.
Turning around, she saw Xiao Mei leading a stern-faced Liu Hui inside. Shen Qingyao immediately understood the situation and hurried forward with a smile.
“Uncle.”
Liu Hui glanced at her and walked toward the screen behind her—clearly, he had something important to discuss.
Shen Qingyao exchanged a meaningful look with Xiao Mei, signaling her to make tea. Xiao Mei scurried off.
Liu Hui sat down behind the desk and got straight to the point. “The prince summoned you for an audience yesterday. What did you talk about? Don’t lie—tell me everything, exactly as it happened.”
Shen Qingyao felt a bit uneasy, but there was something she wanted to know. “Uncle, since you knew the Southern Prince had taken an interest in me, why didn’t you send someone to warn me?”
She hadn’t been prepared at all.
Liu Hui shook his head. “The prince sent someone yesterday morning to demand the token and the carriage. It happened so suddenly, and he even ordered me not to pass on any messages. Did I have a chance?”
Shen Qingyao’s eyes shifted. Oh!
So that’s how it was?
“Are you going to tell me or not?” Liu Hui urged her.
She thought for a moment, then recounted everything that had happened during the meeting the day before.
Uncle Liu had been very kind to her family, so she could not hide this matter from him. Without his protection, she, an orphaned girl, would have no way to survive in this ancient world where the strong prey on the weak and men are valued over women.
“What?”
After hearing this, Liu Hui was stunned, his expression shifting from complexity to lingering fear.
After a long moment of daze, he finally composed himself and asked gravely, “You… how dare you? He is the Lord of the Southern Territory, a prince equal in rank to the emperor. The emperor once granted him the privileges of wearing swords and shoes in court, entering without hastening, being exempted from bowing, and receiving the Nine Bestowals. Do you know what this means? Do you know what deceiving him is equivalent to? Do you have a death wish?”