Chapter 63: Whatever you want, I'll give it to you.

Zhu Zhifeng waved her hand and ordered two of everything.

She didn't have that much money on hand originally. After telling Yu Wan about her plans yesterday, she agreed to borrow some money as start-up capital, and would repay Yu Wan with interest when she made money in the future.

Now that someone is helping her pay, she accepts the money rather unkindly.

"Cousin, you have no idea what a great thing you did today. I will repay you in the future!"

She bought it to study the product, not for her own use.

Of course, the reason I wanted to buy two portions was that one portion was to do Yu Wan a favor.

She linked arms with Yu Wan and said with a grin, "Let's each have one."

Yu Wan declined.

Zhu Zhifeng seemed fine, but Jin Yifei looked very disappointed.

“Awan, the Jin family has been quite neglectful to you these past two days. Consider this my apology, okay? We've known each other for a long time, so you don't need to be so polite with me. Whatever you want, I'll give it to you.”

Yu Wan laughed and said, "Really, there's no need. I have enough. Buying so much would be a waste. A-Feng needs to do research, so I'll pass. As for the Jin family, I completely understand. You don't need to worry about it too much."

Seeing her cousin's dejected expression, Zhu Zhifeng comforted him, saying, "A girl can never have too much cosmetics, clothes, or jewelry. You've already bought them, so what? You don't need them now. Once you've used up what you have, you won't need to buy any more."

The brother and sister had known Yu Wan for a long time, but they had never seen her interested in anything other than making money.

Just as Yu Wan was about to decline, Zhu Zhifeng said, "Don't say that. These are the best products from Jiangnan. If you want to buy them again when you go back to the North, you'll have to spend more money. That's not worth it. Besides, you don't have to spend any money now."

During their conversation, Jin Yifei paid the bill and asked the shop owner to send someone back to the Jin family.

Yu Wan could only thank her, but said she would only accept this one gift and that she shouldn't buy anything else for her if she wanted it; she would buy it herself if she wanted it.

The two men had no choice but to obey her.

For the next few days, they ran all over the city, exploring every street and alley. Every night, Zhu Zhifeng would concentrate on her research, but she needed Yu Wan's opinion, so she simply moved all her belongings into Yu Wan's room, and the two of them ate and slept together.

Xue Xiujun hasn't returned for several days.

He Jing would come back for a short while each day, but would leave again without even eating.

Yu Wan found these two people increasingly strange, wondering what they were busy with all day, but she also knew her limits and didn't meddle in other people's business.

That night, Zhu Zhifeng was still staying up late researching the differences between the rouge and face powder from various shops when she heard someone knocking on the door.

She looked at Yu Wan, who was fast asleep by the bedside, tiptoed to the door, and whispered to ask who it was.

"It's us." He Jing's deep, cold voice came from outside the door.

Zhu Zhifeng found it strange that two men would come to Yu Wan's room in the middle of the night.

She was reluctant to open the door. "It's so late, Awan is already asleep. Let's talk about it tomorrow."

Although they were speaking very softly, they still woke Yu Wan from her sleep.

She opened her eyes groggily, and for a moment she had the illusion that she was still in Sui County. Only when she saw the things in front of her did she realize that she was a guest at the Jin family's house.

Hearing voices at the door, I got up and put on my coat. I saw Zhu Zhifeng telling the people outside to leave through the door.

Upon learning that He Suzhi and his companion had returned, she sensed something was amiss. They rarely disturbed her late at night unless it was something important.

Upon opening the door, one could see He Jing and Xue Xiujun standing side by side in the doorway. Xue Xiujun's face was unusually pale, and her lips were completely devoid of color.

"What's wrong? Come in." She quickly ushered people into the house, and once everyone was inside, she hurriedly closed the door.

As she expected, Xue Xiujun was indeed injured.

He was hit in the back by a dart, and the blood that flowed out was black.

"This hidden weapon is poisoned," she judged at a glance.

He Jing's expression was serious. "You got a lot of medicine from Elder Rong. Is there any that we can use? The poison is very strong. If we don't get an antidote in time, we're afraid our lives will be in danger."

Zhu Zhifeng had never seen such a scene before. She had never seen a chicken being killed in her life. She was so frightened that she covered her face and only dared to peek through her fingers.

"What's going on? You two are never home. Have you been doing something sneaky? Awan, is he going to die?"

Xue Xiujun's face was deathly pale, but his lips were still sharp; he grinned.

"It's okay, I definitely won't die. I'm tough as nails."

Without saying a word, Yu Wan found a small white porcelain bottle in the package and poured out a black pill.

"Old Rong said that this medicine can cure all poisons."

Xue Xiujun took the food without thinking and ate it, while He Jing stared at him in surprise for a while.

How could this person trust Awan so much?

Yu Wan offered to help treat the wound, but He Jing refused.

"I'll do it. Men and women should keep to themselves. Please step aside."

After the wounds were cleaned, the four of them sat down together again.

It turned out that two people had been following them ever since they left Sui County.

After discussing it, He Jing and Xue Xiujun decided to remain silent and secretly investigate the other party's background and purpose.

Or rather, who exactly are they targeting?

Yu Wan recalled the assassin she met when she first met He Suzhi, Xue Xiujun's equally mysterious background, Jin Yifei's status as the son of the richest man in Jiangnan, and Zhu Zhifeng, the daughter of the county magistrate.

These people could all be targets of those people, because their identities are all unusual.

Zhu Zhifeng was confused. "So you've investigated thoroughly? What exactly is their purpose?"

He Jing looked at Yu Wan and said, "They're after A Wan."

Yu Wan blinked, her bright, beautiful eyes filled with great confusion, and pointed to her face.

"Me?" She never expected it to be her.

She doesn't like making enemies because she simply doesn't have the time, energy, or even interest in it.

She looked at He Suzhi, "How are you? Are you hurt?"

He Jing felt a warmth in his heart, and the corners of his lips curled up slightly.

"I'm fine."

Yu Wan was relieved to learn that the two were alright.

"Honestly, why did you only tell me about something so important now? You secretly went out to investigate this matter. If something goes wrong, we won't know where to find you."

Xue Xiujun grinned and said, "Well, I'm back now."

Yu Wan tapped his forehead. "It's good you came back. What if you hadn't?"

Xue Xiujun said nonchalantly, "If they can't come back, they can't come back. Anyway, I only have one life left. It's just a pity that I can no longer eat the landlady's cooking. It's really a shame."

As he spoke, he started to whine and tug at her clothes, his handsome face contorted into a pitiful expression.

"Boss lady, my wound hurts so much. If only I could have a bowl of braised noodles, the kind you gave me the day you took me in. I don't know if the poison has completely dissipated. If it suddenly flares up again, that bowl of noodles will be my last thought before I die..."

Zhu Zhifeng curled her lip, "With that mouth of yours, I bet you won't die."

But just thinking about braised noodles almost made her mouth water.

Yu Wan knew that Xue Xiujun was just making an excuse, but she didn't refuse and told them to explain things clearly first.

"We'll talk about the noodles later. First, tell me how your investigation is going? Who exactly is targeting me, and what are their motives?"

Xue Xiujun pointed at He Jing, "Let him say that my wound hurts."

He Jing then began to recount how, several days before their departure, they had already noticed someone loitering near the Yu Family Restaurant. The person was extremely cautious and possessed strong counter-surveillance capabilities; even He Jing and Xue Xiujun themselves couldn't find the person behind those individuals.

On the surface, they were just small vendors, wandering around the streets doing small business, but they always revolved around Yu's restaurant.

In fact, there are many small vendors like them. Because so many people go to restaurants to eat, these vendors have found a business opportunity. As long as they don't affect the restaurant's business, Yu Wan never bothers with them.

Unexpectedly, someone had infiltrated the group with ulterior motives.

Her first concern was that after she left Sui County, the restaurants and food courts would be without a leader and might be sabotaged.

She had been corresponding with Lord Zhu these past few days, but he had only said good things and hadn't mentioned a single bad thing. Now she was starting to suspect that he was deliberately hiding something from her to put her mind at ease.

He Jing reassured her, "Don't worry, the restaurants and food courts are fine. You left some contingency plans before, and they've all been used. There won't be any major problems. According to the information I received, everything is fine in Sui County."

Yu Wan breathed a sigh of relief, but then a new question arose: "So, the other party came for me personally?"

Xue Xiujun seemed to have fallen asleep on the table due to excessive blood loss and the effects of the poison.

He Jing pursed his lips. "We didn't want to alert them, but they're being too cautious, unlike ordinary martial arts practitioners. They seem more like..."

Yu Wan thought for a moment, then was startled by her own guess and asked, "You're not saying it's someone from the government, are you?"

Zhu Zhifeng panicked upon hearing this, "Your Majesty? You don't suspect my father, do you? He would never harm Awan. He loves her very much and would love to adopt her as his goddaughter. How could he do such a thing!"

Yu Wan smiled and said, "Calm down first, don't make wild guesses. I'm afraid you don't know something. Guan Niangzi and I were once invited to cook, and some things happened afterward. I think it might be related to this. Isn't that right, He Suzhi?"

He Jing nodded. "After those two took your medicine, they lost their memory of those few days. Later, their men overheard the old steward talking nonsense while drunk, so they beat him half to death. Now they've returned to the capital, and they must have found out our whereabouts, so they've been sending people to follow us. If I'm not mistaken, they want to kidnap you without anyone knowing and secretly bring you to the capital."

Yu Wan had almost forgotten about these two people.

"How is Yanling? Is she alright?"

“She’s fine,” He Jing replied.

Yu Wan noticed something amiss in his expression, and recalled everything he had just said.

"How do you know everything? Who are you in contact with? The people at the restaurant?"

He Jing pursed his lips, "I..."

Xue Xiujun, who was lying on the table, twitched his ears.

However, Zhu Zhifeng interrupted their conversation, "Then let's not go to the capital. If we go there and end up on their territory, wouldn't Awan be like a lamb entering a tiger's den? I think we should set off back to Sui County tomorrow."