Qingyao was a little dazed, Yin Xuan’s dark eyes gazed at her intently. Perhaps he would leave soon, and now he only wanted to look at her, with no other thoughts.
“What are you thinking about?” When he spoke to her, his voice seemed always gentle and soft, completely different from when he spoke to others.
Qingyao snapped back to attention and looked up. For a moment, she almost superimposed him with that other person, but then she dismissed the thought. Smiling, she wondered how he could possibly be the person miles away. Was she being overly suspicious, or had she encountered too many things recently?
“Nothing, seeing your exquisite chess skills, I was reminded of someone else.”
“Who?”
Yin Xuan’s heart stirred, and he spoke slowly, gazing at her. However, Qingyao had already changed the subject, albeit with a hint of gentle probing: “Besides playing chess, what else can you do?”
“I can do many things, playing the zither, calligraphy, and oh, I can also make money.”
Yin Xuan laughed, and the room was filled with joy. Qingyao couldn’t help but smile. What was she thinking? So many people in the world knew how to play chess.
“Alright, I’m tired and want to rest for a while.”
Qingyao yawned and said softly. After traveling for over ten days, even the strongest person would feel tired. Yin Xuan nodded and stood up: “Okay, you rest for a while. I’ll call you for dinner tonight.”
“Alright,” Qingyao waved her hand and walked behind the screen, yawning.
Yin Xuan walked out, carefully closing the door, and instructed the two or three subordinates by the door: “Guard here, don’t let anyone disturb her rest. And keep an eye out.”
“Yes, Master,”
The subordinates acknowledged the order and stood motionless. Yin Xuan also felt a bit drowsy and turned back to his room to rest.
In the evening, Mochou and Moyou returned, bringing back more than ten children this time.
As soon as they entered the inn, the innkeeper covered his nose and refused to let them in. Later, Mochou paid for several rooms and gave some money to the waiter, asking him to buy clean clothes for the children to wash up.
After everything was arranged, they went to the private room on the second floor to report to their mistress.
Qingyao had woken up and nodded with pleasure after hearing their report.
“Hmm, excellent.”
The two seemed to still be a bit out of sync, but Mochou remembered something strange and quickly reported it to her mistress.
“But it’s strange, someone was following us. I originally wanted to teach her a lesson, but seeing that she was just a young girl, I let it go.”
After speaking, Mochou turned and glanced sideways at Moyou, whose face had been grim from beginning to end, as she had been ridiculing him quite a bit along the way.
She thought about the girl who had followed them; it was precisely because Moyou was too handsome that she couldn't help but follow them.
“Oh, she must have been attracted by our Moyou’s charm.
Qingyao joked, trying to get Mochou’s attention.
Unfortunately, this woman hadn’t thought about it at all from beginning to end, so she wasn’t angry, just a little disdainful or unwilling.
To think that such a little kid would have admirers, while she, an older woman, had none, what a stark difference in treatment.
“Alright, let’s have dinner later, and you should rest early. You must be tired.”
“Yes,” the two responded. The door to the room sounded, and Yin Xuan’s voice came through: “Is everything alright?”
He was asking his subordinate, who respectfully replied: “Master, everything is fine. Miss Mu has woken up.”
“Come in,” Qingyao said. Yin Xuan pushed the door open and ordered, “Tell the waiter to bring our inn’s signature dishes. We’ll dine in the room.”
“Yes, Master,” the man replied and went off. Soon, the waiter brought the food, and they had dinner in the room. After dinner, Qingyao asked Mochou and Moyou to rest, and she played chess with Yin Xuan for a while before retiring.
The next day, it was still dawn, and the sky was a hazy gray. Qingyao was still asleep when she heard noisy sounds in the corridor outside her room. Her brows twitched slightly, and she sleepily asked Mochou, who was sleeping on the other side of the room.
“What’s happening outside?”
Mochou also heard the commotion, got up, and dressed to go out and check: “I’ll go see.”
She returned not long after, looking conflicted and speaking indignantly.
“Miss, it’s that girl who followed us yesterday. She found her way here and insisted on seeing Moyou. Now she’s making a scene in Moyou’s room and refuses to leave.”
“Hmm,” Qingyao’s eyes suddenly opened wide, her dark pupils like a deep pool of seawater, dark and unfathomable. “What did that woman say?”
“She claims to be Moyou’s cousin, named Yi Shuang’er, and also says Moyou is the Seventh Prince of the Huangyuan Kingdom. Isn’t that strange?”
As soon as Mochou finished speaking, Qingyao sat up, looking thoughtful.
Moyou was actually a prince, which was similar to her initial guess. So, he was the Seventh Prince of the Huangyuan Kingdom. Then, who had harmed him back then?
Could it be someone from the royal family? If it were really those so-called elder brothers, with Yi Shuang’er causing such a scene, they would likely have no peace.
Qingyao got out of bed. Mochou quickly helped her up. The two of them left the room and heard a woman’s pleasant and sweet voice from afar.
In Moyou’s room, a group of people stood, led by a delicate and sweet-looking girl, who appeared to be no older than thirteen or fourteen. She was wearing a puff-sleeved embroidered long dress.
Her waist was tied with a large bow made of smoke-colored silk. She had thick eyebrows, large eyes, and two dark pupils like black grapes, making her look incredibly spirited.
Coupled with her proud nose and lips of appropriate thickness, this woman was a beauty. However, tears were streaming down the beauty’s face, and she gazed sorrowfully at Moyou.
Her fair and tender hands were tightly gripping his long sleeves, refusing to let go.
“Cousin, do you know? Since you disappeared, Shuang’er hasn’t had a good day. I never gave up looking for you, and finally found you. Come back with me. Although Auntie is gone, you still have us! We are your family.”
Yi Shuang’er became more and more distressed as she spoke, and her tears began to flow.
Qingyao led Mochou in, frowned slightly, and coughed. Moyou immediately shook off Yi Shuang’er’s hand and walked over, respectfully asking: “Mistress?”
Qingyao walked to the side and sat down, saying plainly: “What is going on here?”
Moyou stood by, but before he could speak, Yi Shuang’er, looking at her favorite cousin, who was showing such respect to the woman before her, angrily roared:
“How dare you! Who are you? You dare to make the Seventh Prince your subordinate? How many heads do you have to be chopped off?”