“But I really don’t know who to find to help me manage Qingyun Inn?” Yan Yu said, her delicate eyebrows furrowed.
In fact, she also knew that Qingyun Inn’s location easily attracted trouble. Ever since she took over the business of Qingyun Inn again, people would come to the inn to cause trouble every three to five days.
Fortunately, she knew a little bit of martial arts, which was enough to suppress those troublemakers who bullied the weak and feared the strong. Sometimes, when she couldn’t suppress them, Old Man Lu and the cooks in the inn would also come out to help.
However, like those masked men in black who assassinated Prince An and Prince Ji in her inn that night, she and Li Luo could not deal with them so easily. Those masked men in black were all martial arts masters. If her archery skills were not good, she and Li Luo would have been in danger that night.
“Yan Yu, don’t you have someone named Hao Gang in your Qingyun Inn? We’ve eaten with him twice, and everyone thinks he has good character, is honest, and righteous. I think he’s very suitable. You can promote him from the kitchen, give him two extra months’ salary, and let him be the manager to help you run the inn. You can come to the capital with me to invest in the hot pot restaurant, and then you only need to return to Qingyun Inn once a month to understand the situation.”
At this moment, Leng Ruo Li offered advice to Yan Yu.
“Princess Leng, Hao Gang is indeed a good candidate. I will follow your suggestion and hand over Qingyun Inn to him to manage, with me as the silent owner. However, I still need to go back to Qingyun Inn personally to make good arrangements for this matter,” Yan Yu said after a moment of thought.
“Certainly, I will have the Prince arrange for several guards to escort you back to Qingyun Inn to handle matters,” Leng Ruo Li agreed with a nod.
“Then, do I, this old man, not have to go back to Qingyun Inn with you two little girls?”
At this moment, Old Man Lu suddenly interjected.
Lu Li Luo and Yan Yu: “……”
“You don’t have to go back, but you can’t cause trouble all over the Cold King’s Estate,” Lu Li Luo warned Old Man Lu.
“Go away, go away! Hurry up and return my wine gourd. You little girl is becoming more and more disrespectful. You even dare to lecture your grandfather.”
After speaking, Old Man Lu quickly snatched his wine gourd from Lu Li Luo’s hand and turned to leave.
Lu Li Luo and Yan Yu immediately wore expressions of helplessness.
“Li Luo, Grandpa Lu, you don’t need to worry about him. We will keep an eye on him,” Leng Ruo Li comforted the two.
“Then we’ll set off.”
Afterward, Jun Mohan arranged for some people to escort Yan Yu and Lu Li Luo back to Qingyun Inn.
As a result, just as Yan Yu and Lu Li Luo’s carriage departed, Prince Ji’s carriage arrived at the entrance of the Cold King’s Estate.
As soon as he stepped through the main gate of the Cold King’s Estate, he loudly asked, “Are your Prince and Princess at the estate?”
“Replying to His Highness Prince Ji, our Prince and Princess are both in Hanche Courtyard.”
The steward of the Cold King’s Estate respectfully replied when he saw Prince Ji.
“Good, I will go to my second brother’s courtyard to take a look.” With that, he strode towards Jun Mohan’s Hanche Courtyard.
As for the Cold King and his wife, after seeing Yan Yu and Lu Li Luo leave, they returned to their own courtyard and, with the help of two maids and some servants, watered the sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn planted in Hanche Courtyard, and applied some burnt straw ash as fertilizer.
As the group was halfway through their work, they heard Prince Ji’s loud voice calling them.
“Second Imperial Brother, Second Imperial Sister-in-law, what are you doing? You’ve gotten yourselves all dirty.”
Prince Ji asked, puzzled, as he looked at the mud on Jun Mohan and Leng Ruo Li’s shoes and clothes.
“We are busy with farm work. May I ask what business Prince Ji has with us? Has Prince An had another accident?”
Leng Ruo Li asked casually.
“Pah, pah, pah, Second Imperial Sister-in-law, don’t guess wildly. My fifth brother has been in very good spirits and complexion since he woke up this morning, so nothing has happened to him,” Prince Ji explained speechlessly.
“Then what is your business at my Cold King’s Estate?” Jun Mohan asked impatiently.
Jun Mohan and his sixth brother had not been very close since childhood, but they did not get along poorly either.
Jun Mohan had lost his mother at a young age, and it was already difficult to survive the schemes and struggles in the imperial harem. Later, he was plagued by wolf poison for many years. To protect himself, he severed ties with his other brothers.
However, Old Man Qi was an exception, as Qi had always clung to him since childhood, so Jun Mohan was closer to Qi. As for this sixth brother, he was doted on and protected by his imperial mother since childhood, which resulted in him having a more carefree personality and no malice. Therefore, Jun Mohan did not reject him.
“Uh… Second Imperial Brother, you don’t seem to welcome me very much,” Prince Ji asked, raising his hand to touch his nose.
“Noisy!”
Then, Jun Mohan uttered two words indifferently.
“Heh heh, Second Imperial Brother, I really have something to do at the Cold King’s Estate this time. My fifth brother woke up this morning and told me and Mother about what happened before he fainted last night. He said that the one who sneaked into Yiran Hall to kill him last night was Huo Ying, the foremost assassin of the Dark Night Pavilion rumored in the martial arts world.”
Prince Ji changed his flippant demeanor and suddenly said with a solemn expression.
“Huo Ying? I didn’t expect it to be her.”
Jun Mohan’s expression became somewhat serious upon hearing the name.
Seeing Jun Mohan’s expression change, Leng Ruo Li curiously asked, “Jun Mohan, is this Huo Ying very terrifying?”
“According to rumors, this person’s height and appearance are only like those of a five or six-year-old child. She has a cute appearance and a sweet voice, which makes it easy for people to let down their guard against her and to bewilder others. Only those who have dealt with her know that this woman is not only highly skilled in martial arts, but also elusive, and her attacks are ruthless,” Jun Mohan explained to Leng Ruo Li calmly.
“Oh, since she is so powerful, why does she still submit to the leader of the Dark Night Pavilion?” Leng Ruo Li asked with some confusion.
“It is said that twenty years ago, Huo Ying lost a bet with the leader of the Dark Night Pavilion over a certain matter, so Huo Ying voluntarily became the leader’s errand runner for the Dark Night Pavilion,” Prince Ji explained to Leng Ruo Li on behalf of Jun Mohan.
“Oh, I see. It turns out it’s like that,” Leng Ruo Li nodded slightly after hearing this.
At this moment, Prince Ji’s gaze swept across the garden of Hanche Courtyard.
“Second Imperial Sister-in-law, are those two girls, Li Luo and Yan Yu, still at the estate?” Prince Ji suddenly asked slyly.
“Do you have something to do with them?” Leng Ruo Li asked with some curiosity.
“Heh heh, a few days ago, because of my fifth brother’s affairs, I didn’t have time to properly entertain them. Today, since I have free time, I wanted to invite them to have a meal at a restaurant outside,” Prince Ji said somewhat embarrassed.
“That’s too bad. Just a quarter of an hour before you arrived at the Cold King’s Estate, Li Luo and Yan Yu had already gotten into their carriage and left the capital to return to Qingyun Inn,” Leng Ruo Li said with a look of regret.
“What? They left? Why didn’t they say goodbye to me?” Prince Ji said with a dejected expression.
Seeing Prince Ji’s crestfallen look, Leng Ruo Li couldn’t help but add, “They will return to the capital! You can invite them for a meal in a few days.”
Upon hearing this, Prince Ji immediately smiled.