“Liyuan?!”
Shen Yi recalled the conversation Xiao Yu had just had with A-Li and turned toward him.
“So that’s why you asked A-Li if she knew where Liyuan was?”
“Mhm.”
Xiao Yu lifted his gaze toward Shouyang.
“Did you catch the assassin?”
Shouyang immediately dropped to one knee, a trace of shame hidden in his voice.
“This subordinate deserves punishment. That man’s movement technique was extraordinary—like a ghost. In the end, he threw a smoke bomb and escaped while we were blinded. I… failed to catch him.”
Xiao Yu said nothing, but the air around them instantly grew heavy.
A chill ran down Shen Yi’s spine. He quickly addressed Shouyang, whose head was still lowered.
“Do you know where the assassin came from?”
“After one of our men wounded him with a hidden arrow, he seemed enraged and shouted, ‘How dare you ambush the You Pavilion while we’re carrying out our mission!’ His voice wasn’t loud, but several nearby brothers heard it clearly.”
“The You Pavilion?”
Both Shen Yi and Xiao Yu frowned in confusion.
Shouyang hurried to explain.
“I’ve heard the You Pavilion is an underground intelligence organization, mostly active in Jiangnan. But over the past few years, they’ve spread throughout the entire Great Sheng Kingdom. They recognize only money, never people. Their Pavilion Master once declared that as long as the price is high enough, there’s no information they can’t obtain.”
“They answer only to money?” Xiao Yu took a slow sip of tea. “Then someone deliberately paid them to deliver this information to us.”
He set down the teacup.
“Shouyang.”
“Your subordinate is here!”
“Send people to investigate this You Pavilion. Find a way to establish contact with them if possible.”
“Yes!”
As Shouyang prepared to leave, Shen Yi folded up his fan, his expression turning serious.
“Then this information is likely trustworthy.”
He looked at Shouyang.
“Do you know where Liyuan is?”
Shouyang shook his head helplessly.
“The people of Suzhou avoid us the moment they see us. We haven’t been able to ask anyone.”
Shen Yi exchanged a glance with Xiao Yu.
It seemed there was only one person they could turn to…
“What?! You want me to take you to Liyuan?”
A-Li’s eyes widened as she waved her hands frantically.
“No! I’m not going!”
“My dear A-Li, please take your big brother there~~”
The moment Shen Yi finished dragging out the last syllable, both A-Li and Xiao Yu wore identical expressions of utter disbelief. Their faces practically screamed What is wrong with you?
“…What’s with those looks?”
Shen Yi flicked open his folding fan and struck a self-satisfied pose, convinced they simply lacked taste.
Without a word, Xiao Yu quietly moved a little farther away from him.
A-Li simply turned her head aside, unable to bear looking at such a painful sight.
Shen Yi ground his teeth.
Before, there had only been one annoying person—Xiao Yu. Now there was another uncultured soul who couldn’t appreciate true charm.
Still, he knew exactly how to deal with people like this.
He deliberately walked over to A-Li, gently cupped her face, and turned her head back toward him.
“Little A-Li, it’s rude not to look at someone when they’re talking to you~”
Pretending not to notice the murderous glare in her eyes, he continued,
“If you won’t take your big brother to Liyuan… is it because you’re worried about me? Aww, thank you for caring~”
Then he topped it off with an exaggerated wink.
A-Li finally reached her limit.
“I’ll take you! I’ll take you!”
Satisfied, Shen Yi released her.
Before he could say anything else, A-Li had already bolted out the door.
Only Shen Yi remained standing there in confusion.
“…What’s she doing?”
Before Xiao Yu could answer, loud retching noises came from outside.
Shen Yi: “…”
“…How can there be someone as annoying as Xiao Yu…”
The three of them rode in the carriage in complete silence.
As though they had secretly formed an alliance, Xiao Yu and A-Li sat as far away from Shen Yi as possible.
Unable to endure being ostracized any longer, Shen Yi protested,
“What’s with the two of you?”
Xiao Yu ignored him.
Seeing A-Li eyeing the pastries on the table, he quietly slid the plate toward her.
She accepted it happily and began nibbling away in tiny bites like a little hamster.
Seeing neither of them willing to acknowledge his existence, Shen Yi immediately turned to the seemingly easier target.
“Little A-Li, why are you sitting so far away from your big brother? Don’t you like me?”
After finishing one pastry, A-Li picked up another and shook her head.
“No. Men and women should keep a proper distance.”
“Then why are you sitting so close to His Highness?”
The casual complaint made both A-Li and Xiao Yu freeze.
A-Li stuffed the last bite of pastry into her mouth, picked up the plate, and shuffled farther away from Xiao Yu instead.
Xiao Yu wasn’t sure why.
He knew perfectly well A-Li wasn’t Xiao Li…
Yet somehow she felt strangely familiar.
He found himself wanting to stay close to her, unable to bring himself to speak harshly to her.
“If you move any farther, you’ll fall off.”
His voice was unusually gentle as he pushed the remaining pastries on the table toward her.
Hearing Xiao Yu speak in such an impossibly soft tone, Shen Yi nearly rolled his eyes into the back of his head.
Then…
His gaze drifted back and forth between Xiao Yu and A-Li before casually dropping another bombshell.
“You two have rather similar builds…”
Normally, one of them was standing while the other sat, so it wasn’t obvious.
But now, sitting side by side so closely, their physiques seemed almost the same.
“Cough—cough—“
Startled by his remark, A-Li accidentally choked on her pastry.
Xiao Yu immediately patted her back anxiously, shooting Shen Yi a cold glare.
“What nonsense are you spouting? Don’t ruin A-Li’s reputation with baseless talk.”
Shen Yi rolled his eyes inwardly.
I only said their figures were similar. How on earth does that damage her reputation?
Ignoring him completely, Xiao Yu waited until A-Li stopped coughing.
Afraid she might still be upset, he coaxed her gently,
“He’s just talking nonsense. Let’s ignore him, alright?”
The tone…
The words…
They were almost exactly the same.
“The bad fish didn’t bite Li’er’s bait. Let’s ignore it, alright?”
A-Li stared fixedly at Xiao Yu.
“Your Highness… do you always speak to people like this?”
Looking into those eyes, Xiao Yu’s expression flickered.
Before he could answer, Shen Yi chuckled from beside them.
“A-Li, you’re overthinking it. Normally he’s fierce as can be. But there is one exception—”
He deliberately dragged out the pause.
“His precious little sister.”
He grinned.
“Even these pastries are her favorites.”
Xiao Yu met Shen Yi’s teasing gaze but remained silent.
His carriage had always been stocked with pastries.
Only by doing so could he deceive himself into believing…
That Xiao Li was still alive.
That she was still waiting for the pastries he always brought her.
A-Li lowered her head without saying a word.
Yet the pastry in her hand had been crushed into crumbs.
So… he spoke to Xiao Wan with the same tenderness.
So… these pastries had always been prepared for Xiao Wan.