"Find someone else? If I'm not mistaken, Miss Lu is meticulous and must have already planned this out very carefully. Most people probably wouldn't dare to do this for Miss Lu! That's someone the Spirit Void War God, King Qin, has publicly declared he wants to find. If King Qin were to punish her... well... it would be more than just the extermination of her entire family!" Tuoba Ze stood up and walked around her, scrutinizing her from head to toe. His words were sharp and cutting, each sentence piercing her heart.

Upon hearing this, the room fell silent. After an unknown amount of time, only the soft tapping of Tuoba Ze on the table could be heard. Lu Tianjiao stood there with his head down, motionless for a long time, his face full of confusion and helplessness, caught in a dilemma.

After a moment, Tuoba Ze finally relented and said, "Miss Lu, please don't be in such a hurry. I didn't say I wouldn't do it, it's just..."

Hearing Tuoba Ze speak again, Lu Tianjiao suddenly felt a little impatient, but he still suppressed his impatience and slowly sat down again. As if he suddenly understood the meaning behind Tuoba Ze's words, he coldly questioned him: "You want... chips?... How many?"

Now, everything was firmly under Tuoba Ze's control. He smiled confidently, tilting his head back slightly, and said, "The Qin Prince's Mansion's missing person notices all say that if anyone can find this person or provide information about their whereabouts, they can make any request to the Qin Prince's Mansion. So, I wonder what stronger bargaining chip Miss Lu has? I'm afraid Miss Lu doesn't have the ability to pay that price."

"Tuoba Ze...you..." Upon hearing this, Lu Tianjiao glared angrily at Tuoba Ze, speechless with rage.

Tuoba Ze, as expected, turned his back on her and started talking about money. It seems she really has no feelings for this money-grubbing merchant from a barbarian land; she almost mistook him for a friend in a similar predicament.

But he wasn't wrong. Who in the world would dare challenge the King of Western Qin who wanted to protect them? If she hadn't slept a wink last night and could still think of someone else, she certainly wouldn't be foolishly suffering this humiliation.

The person in front of her, with such power, probably has a price to pay that she can't afford.

Just as he was pondering this, a woman's domineering and imposing voice suddenly rang out from outside the door: "Then I wonder if I can afford to pay this price?"

Before Tuoba Ze could even speak, the door was suddenly pushed open from the outside, and two well-mannered and humble maids, who appeared to have been trained in a wealthy household, appeared out and lifted the thick beaded curtain.

Then, a celestial being, dressed in a light purple brocade robe and radiant with beauty, calmly and slowly stepped through the door and entered.

She had fair skin and delicate features, with beautiful eyebrows and red lips. Two sweet dimples on her exquisite face seemed to draw people in. A rare red beauty mark was also on her brow, making her look incredibly charming. Every smile and frown of hers was radiant.

For a moment, Tuoba Ze stared blankly at that celestial face with its mouth half open, as if he were nailed to the spot, completely dumbfounded.

Upon hearing that all-too-familiar voice suddenly ring in her ears, Lu Tianjiao immediately stood up in a flustered manner and went to her. She timidly took two steps forward, bowed, and exclaimed in surprise, "Sister, why are you here too?"

Lu Tianjiao stopped and glanced at her contemptuously, but smiled while suppressing his great anger and said, "What? You can come to the famous Sihai Tea House that just opened in the city, but I, the princess, can't?"

"Sister, please don't misunderstand. I just don't know how you got out of the Prince's mansion?" Lu Tianjiao asked, quite puzzled.

"Didn't you just tell me yesterday that as the only mistress of the Qin Prince's mansion, I can go wherever I want, and no one can stop me? How come you've forgotten so quickly? It seems that your memory has become much worse since you woke up!"

Mei Xiyuan, who overheard all this from next door, was already displeased. Lu Tianjiao's words reminded her of how she had to report to a guard before leaving the house, which made her even angrier.

She finally took a breath, quickly composed herself, and gave Lu Tianjiao a deep look. Then she glanced disdainfully at Tuoba Ze, who was sitting blankly to the side, drooling over her. She looked back at Lu Tianjiao and asked casually, "Is this the person you mentioned who wrote you a letter home?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Tianjiao hurriedly raised his eyes and looked at the oval-faced maid with a mixture of anger and confusion. As soon as the oval-faced maid met Lu Tianjiao's eyes, she immediately lowered her head and did not dare to raise it again for a long time.

Upon seeing this, Mei Xiyuan sighed and said firmly in a deep voice, "Don't look anymore. My people are my people. No matter what methods you use, you will never win their hearts. You are the daughter of Lu Xian of Xiqin Academy and are hailed as a great talent of Xiqin. As the saying goes, 'In barbarian lands, how can there be upright people?' You so easily believed this barbarian and fell for his trick. Shameless merchant, shameless merchant, indeed, no merchant is without cunning."

Upon hearing this, Lu Tianjiao fell silent, bowing his head in quiet contemplation.

Meanwhile, Tuoba Ze was secretly gloating. Given his current status, he naturally couldn't get close to the Prince of Qin's residence, but he never expected that his plan to kill two birds with one stone would so easily make the two women suspicious of each other and leave the residence to find him.

Yesterday, he went out intending to ask someone to deliver a letter containing his new place of residence to Lu Tianjiao. However, when he was halfway there, he suddenly heard a woman dressed as a maid with an oval face bargaining with an old woman selling rouge and powder on the street. She said that she served the Princess of Qin in the Prince of Qin's mansion. Suddenly, he thought of a better way.

Tuoba Ze randomly picked a passerby on the street, gave him two silver ingots, and instructed him to deliver one of them along with the letter to the maid, saying it was a letter from home to Lu Tianjiao, who was a guest at the Qin Prince's residence. He knew the maid would first inform the Qin Princess, who would then send people to track them down to the Sihai Tea House. Then, naturally, all the events he had orchestrated today would unfold.

It turned out that the guard had come in to report that the Princess Consort of Qin had also personally visited the Sihai Tea Plantation. At that time, Tuoba Ze had already anticipated that today was the best opportunity to close the net on his objectives in Western Qin.

Unexpectedly, all of this happened so suddenly. Seeing the two men from the Qin Prince's residence arrive one after the other, Tuoba Ze suspected there was something fishy going on between them, so he ordered someone to deliberately arrange for Mei Xiyuan to be entertained in the room next to this private room. As a result, she naturally overheard all the transactions and conversations between him and Lu Tianjiao inside the room.

Upon realizing this, Tuoba Ze quickly came to his senses and stepped forward to bow to her with utmost respect, saying, "So it is the Princess Consort of Qin who graces Sihai Tea House with her presence. It is truly an honor for our humble tea house! Please take a seat, please take a seat."

Following behind Mei Xiyuan, as they walked towards the table, he complimented her, saying, "I've long heard that Princess Qin is a woman of unparalleled beauty, a beauty that could topple kingdoms. Now that I've seen her, I realize that Princess Qin is not only stunningly beautiful, but her style and charisma are also truly breathtaking! However, how could Princess Qin judge me by my appearance and make such a comment?"

"What, did I misspoke, Your Excellency? Or is it that I, Princess Qin, can order you to do something without paying any price?" Mei Xiyuan said disdainfully to Tuoba Ze, who was bowing and scraping as he served tea, as Zhao Mama helped her to sit down.

Upon hearing this, Tuoba Ze, still maintaining a wry smile, stammered, "Well... I'm just a small-time businessman. I'm even working as an assistant at this Sihai Tea House..."

Before he could finish speaking, Mei Xiyuan interrupted him with a snort, saying, "Small business? I've heard that your business at Wanjiao Pavilion in the south of the city is thriving! That's the largest brothel in Western Qin. Is that considered a small business?"

At this moment, Tuoba Ze's eyes widened slightly, but he quickly regained his smile and respectfully handed the tea he had poured to her with both hands. However, Mei Xiyuan did not reach out to take it. Tuoba Ze looked embarrassed and helplessly placed the tea carefully on the table in front of her.

Mei Xiyuan carefully examined the luxurious furnishings of the room and then said, "I heard that the nominal owner of Sihai Tea House, who was originally the owner of this restaurant, sold it to you cheaply because his wife and children were suddenly kidnapped and he urgently needed money! Could it be that the kidnappers were arranged by you?"

Upon hearing this, Tuoba Ze's smile gradually faded, and he feigned panic and surprise, saying, "Princess Qin, you can't just say things without any evidence, or you could lose your head."

“Without any evidence, I, the Princess Consort, would certainly not dare to gossip. What, do you want to see proof? Granny Zhao…” Mei Xiyuan said, casually calling over Granny Zhao behind her.

Just as Granny Zhao pulled a man's purse from her person and took two steps forward, Tuoba Ze's smile vanished instantly. He quickly raised his hand and solemnly stopped her, saying, "No need. Princess Qin is indeed incredibly resourceful!"

Seeing that Tuoba Ze had already tacitly admitted that this was her doing, Mei Xiyuan said coldly, "Hmph... If it weren't for my prince, how could you have fled here like a stray dog ​​and gone into hiding? If I, the princess, were to tell my prince your whereabouts, I wonder if you would still have a place to stay in Western Qin?"

"I know that Princess Qin is a smart woman, so she wouldn't do that," Tuoba Ze chuckled and said decisively.

"Why not?" Mei Xiyuan asked, feigning composure.

At this moment, Tuoba Ze suddenly glanced at Lu Tianjiao, who was standing silently to the side. Lu Tianjiao was already stunned by Mei Xiyuan's meticulous thinking and amazing speed.

A moment later, Tuoba Ze actually went over and sat down opposite Mei Xiyuan...