Song Xingzhi rode hard all the way back to Baiqu County and immediately reported the matter to Zhou Jin.
“Your highness, this is everything Luo Qiang confessed. Your subordinate has already buried his remains.”
The sandalwood beads in Zhou Jin’s hand turned slowly. He had never expected that the person behind the jiulan mountain bandits would be him.
Truly unexpected.
“Xingzhi, proceed according to the plan.”
If the person behind it was him, then it truly would not be wise for him to act personally. He would have to leave it to the crown prince.
The two exchanged a smile, and the plan was finalized.
Now that his face had healed, the crown prince did not care about the mountain bandits at all. He was soaking in a huge bathing pool, indulging himself with young men and women.
Bah, what kind of wretched place was this? It was both dilapidated and shabby.
If she had not prepared in advance, she really would have died of boredom.
The crown prince was naked, while handsome men and beautiful women beside him massaged his shoulders and fed him watermelon.
The crown prince narrowed his eyes in comfort.
Xu Yu'er, standing nearby, rolled her eyes dramatically. What a useless man. This was clearly the perfect opportunity to steal Prince Duan’s credit, yet as soon as the crown prince arrived, he acted like a bandit, plundering beauties everywhere.
His brain really was in his crotch.
“Crown prince, the time has come. We should go interrogate the jiulan mountain bandits.” The crown prince’s trusted eunuch bent down and whispered beside his ear.
“Can’t you see that I’m enjoying myself? I don’t want to see them today. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”
Tomorrow after tomorrow—if the crown prince kept delaying like this, he really might anger the emperor.
“Crown prince, only by obtaining useful information as soon as possible can we leave Baiqu County quickly. This servant knows that another interesting shop has opened in the capital city.”
“It’s even more exciting than the shops we visited before.”
Hearing this, the crown prince became interested and shoved away the handsome men and beautiful women beside him.
“Beauties are the source of disaster. All of you, get lost, lest you interfere with my important business.”
Xu Yu'er watched the crown prince climb out of the pool completely naked, the excess flesh on his body trembling with every movement. She nearly vomited in disgust.
There was nothing she could do. She and the crown prince were now in the same boat, so she could only endure it.
The crown prince and his party arrived at the prison, where many hardened criminals from Jiulan Mountain were locked up. The jailer had already selected someone for the crown prince to interrogate.
“I am the crown prince. You had better confess everything truthfully. If you refuse, my methods are far more formidable than Prince Duan’s.”
The crown prince paced back and forth, his gaze arrogant. He had long heard of Prince Duan’s thunderous methods on Jiulan Mountain, and he had been intensely envious.
If the Mountain Bandit before him refused to cooperate, he would use him to make an example and show off properly.
The soldier disguised as a Mountain Bandit was speechless inside. Fortunately, he served Prince Duan rather than the fool before him.
“I’ll confess. This little person will confess everything.”
“Crown prince, you are wise and mighty. This little person is utterly convinced and will tell you everything I know.”
The Mountain Bandit’s obedient appearance greatly satisfied the crown prince’s vanity, and joy was clearly written across his brows.
The Mountain Bandit before him was very talkative and even brought out all the evidence of guilt in his possession.
The moment the crown prince saw the evidence of guilt in his hands, he was overjoyed.
Who would have thought that the seemingly honest second brother had such tremendous ambitions?
He had actually used the mountain bandits to stockpile weapons and provisions and eliminate his rivals. Now the crown prince had caught him by the handle.
“Good, very good. I will reward you handsomely.”
Clutching the evidence of guilt tightly, the crown prince was indescribably happy. He knew that this was a great accomplishment, one that completely overshadowed Prince Duan.
So what if Prince Duan was good at bandit suppression? He was merely a reckless brute. How could he compare with someone as clever and wise as himself?
“A-San, did you miss me?”
Song Xingzhi was dressed in black garments, his white jade bead hair ribbon fluttering in the wind. With his peach blossom eyes slightly raised, a youthful air radiated from him.
“Here, this is for you.”
The pastries from the Treasure-Seeking studio were famous for being delicious. Xu Bao had not expected Song Xingzhi to find time to bring her pastries despite such a tight schedule.
“Red bean paste filling. I know you like it.”
“I brought them back on horseback at full speed. Hurry and try one.”
Xu Bao opened the box. Inside the redwood box, the pastries were shaped like peach blossoms, looking delicate and delicious.
“Thank you. They’re delicious.” Xu Bao tried one. The pastry was soft and fluffy, the red bean filling rich, with a pleasantly sandy texture and splattering fragrance.
“A-San, you know, on the way back this time, I heard a story about a woman disguised as a man who joined a military camp. Don’t you think it’s funny?”
“Disguised as a man? Anyone could see it at a glance.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Song Xingzhi looked at Xu Bao and remarked as if casually, “A-San, you’re so handsome that I almost thought you were disguised as a man too.”
Avoiding Song Xingzhi’s gaze, Xu Bao swallowed the last bit of pastry in her mouth.
“How could that be? Since I was little, I’ve hated people saying I look feminine. I’ve always wanted to punch them twice.”
“But since you’re my brother, I’ll let it go today.”
“That’s enough. I’ll take some pastries for Prince Duan to taste.”
Watching Xu Bao’s departing figure, Song Xingzhi lowered his head to conceal the disappointment in his eyes and spoke self-mockingly.
“It would be wonderful if you really were a man.”
Song Xingzhi recalled the night he went to find Xu Bao. He had seen her pass through the bamboo grove, where a bamboo branch accidentally snagged and pulled down her hair ribbon, sending her black hair cascading like a sea of clouds.
The woman bent down to pick up the hair ribbon from the ground. Her smooth hair slid down to her waist, her eyes shimmering like clear ripples, her lips naturally red without cosmetics, making her look just like a fairy of the forest.
Song Xingzhi’s thoughts suddenly became chaotic, and his heart pounded like a drum.
A-San was actually a woman.
Thinking of this, Song Xingzhi tightened his grip on the hibiscus-bead hairpin in his hand, and his adam’s apple bobbed slightly.
He had lost.
Xu Bao did not take the pastries to find Zhou Jin. She could see Song Xingzhi’s feelings, so how could Zhou Jin not see them as well?
Sitting on the eaves, Xu Bao took a bite of pastry, but then heard an argument from below and immediately lay flat on the eaves.
More gossip? Then she would eavesdrop.
“Father, your daughter does not want to go to the crown prince's residence.”
Oh, so it was the Magistrate of Baiqu County and his daughter.
This crown prince really was no good. He already had so many concubines in his residence. Yet on this trip, he had done nothing official and devoted himself entirely to plundering beauties.
“You have no choice. The crown princess has already given the order. Tomorrow, you will be taken back to the capital city.”
Xu Yu'er? What was she up to? Had she not always hated women entering the crown prince's residence? Why was she taking the initiative to bring a beauty back today?
“The crown princess wants your daughter dead!”
“Father, it’s because I saw her sneaking into Prince Duan’s study in the middle of the night that she came up with this idea.”
“If I truly enter the crown prince's residence, I won’t survive.”
Hearing his daughter’s words, the Magistrate of Baiqu County immediately scolded her to be quiet.
“You must never say such things.”
“If anything goes wrong, our entire family will lose our heads.”
The daughter of the Magistrate of Baiqu County sobbed, her voice choked with tears. “But I already have an engagement with Zhao Lang. I don’t want to enter the crown prince's residence.”
The Magistrate of Baiqu County was also in a difficult position. His daughter and the Second Son of the Zhao family were childhood sweethearts, innocent and devoted to each other, and were due to marry soon. Who could have known that something like this would happen?
“For the sake of the whole family, you can only suffer this grievance.”
The Magistrate of Baiqu County had no choice. If his daughter did not go, their entire family would certainly suffer. The crown princess was someone they could never afford to offend.