Chapter 70 Locking the Phoenix Tree (Part 3) None of them are the prince's biological children...

Upon hearing this, the man called "Guan Yan" turned slightly and carried the cat down to the pavilion.

Perhaps because of the soft fabric of the man's clothes, the cat was surprisingly docile and nestled in the man's arms without moving.

As far as the eye can see, there are piles of bluish-gray Ying stones, with a few sporadic forsythia flowers between the crevices. The new leaves of the willows by the lake have turned from pale yellow to emerald green, with long branches dipped in water, and occasionally white willow catkins fall.

As the man ascended the steps, the faces of the three men below the pavilion became clearer. A quick glance revealed their delicate skin and luxurious clothes, suggesting they were pampered young masters.

However, it was too late to get a closer look. In the blink of an eye, the cat had been handed over to a pink-clad maidservant by the man. Its white furry paws scratched impatiently, and after a few struggles, it finally landed on the ground, where it suddenly saw a stack of finely torn strips of meat.

Song Qiling had a bad feeling. She saw the glutton staring intently at the dark red shredded meat on the plate. He strode forward, his nose twitching, and then began to lick it with great delight.

"..."

Didn't you just eat that? Why are you eating it again?

"Young Master, you have quite the taste, keeping a cat as a pet." A male voice rang in my ears.

Unlike the clear voice before, this person's voice was high-pitched and slightly hoarse, indicating that he was younger, probably not much older than Yu Qi.

Song Qiling silently noted in her heart that the man called "Guan Yan" was the son of the Prince of Nancheng, and now, this noble prince was gathering with several young people under the Golden Summit Lake Pavilion.

Guan Yan chuckled and said, "That's not my animal. It's very intelligent. It always sticks to me whenever it sees me, probably because I have food here."

As soon as he finished speaking, another unfamiliar voice suddenly rang out, "Hahaha... So that's why you ordered your servants to carry duck meat with them. It was for this cat."

"No wonder this cat is so robust." The other person chimed in, his voice deep and suggesting he was older.

After the laughter subsided, a sudden silence fell over the pavilion.

Song Qiling tilted her head and saw the pink tongue still licking tirelessly. She thought to herself that the talisman was still effective. Just as she was wondering, she suddenly heard a faint sigh.

"Ziyuan, the matter of proposing marriage to your younger sister must be decided by your father." The prince suppressed his smile, his tone revealing a hint of barely perceptible apology.

As soon as he finished speaking, another deep male voice responded, "Of course, marriage is a major event that should be decided by one's parents and the matchmaker. Guan Yan, does the Prince... not agree to you being with Wan Niang?"

Song Qiling raised an eyebrow slightly.

It turns out that today's gathering was not a typical get-together for young masters.

"No, that's not true." The prince hurriedly denied it. "Wan'er is virtuous and kind, the best woman in the world. Father will surely be pleased to see her, but..."

Another long silence followed.

Just as the cat finished licking the plate of duck meat clean and was grooming its fur by crossing its legs, Song Qiling heard the young master say with difficulty, "Father has locked himself in his room and hasn't seen the light of day all day. I haven't seen him for a long time."

Song Qiling suddenly felt a sharp pain between her eyebrows, and her eyelashes trembled slightly. She tried to endure the discomfort and wanted to listen more. Suddenly, a short "meow" sound rang in her ears. The raccoon dog suddenly lost control, stepped on the railing of the lakeside pavilion, and jumped down, disappearing into the grass by the water.

In the distance, the faint sounds of barking dogs and hurried footsteps could be heard.

Song Qiling was startled and suddenly opened her eyes, her chest heaving violently.

The drawbacks of synesthesia are thus revealed. Whether the fox is happy or angry cannot affect her; only pain will have a doubled negative impact on the caster.

The raccoon is naturally very sensitive, but it is also timid and easily frightened. The dog that appeared outside the pavilion in the middle of the lake just now must have frightened the little guy quite a bit.

After lying in bed for a long time, Song Qiling finally regulated her breathing, raised her hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead, and sat up.

She sat down at the table, took out a brush, ink, and hemp paper, and began to sketch and draw on the paper, recalling what she had just seen.

Draw a winding path, and at its end, depict water ripples and a pavilion sign. Song Qiling pondered for a moment, then wrote the four characters "Close the door and don't go out" next to the pavilion.

She couldn't help but click her tongue softly.

It's really strange. Everyone says that the old lady's birthday is approaching and the household is in a busy period, but the person in charge is staying at home. It's simply unbelievable.

Could this matter be related to Princess Zhaoyi...?

Thinking of this, Song Qiling closed her eyes, struggled for a moment, and then let out a soft breath: "What's the rush?"

These words were actually spoken to himself.

Quietly waiting for the ink to dry, Song Qiling carefully put away the hemp paper, lowered her head, raised her hand, and unfastened the gold lock behind her neck.

It was midday, and the bright sunlight clearly illuminated the longevity lock in my palm.

The lock is about three fingers wide, made with filigree and inlaid gemstones, and features a "two fish playing in water" pattern with her name engraved in the center.

The longevity lock is slightly worn, and the golden bell at the bottom has long since disappeared, leaving only the bare lock body.

Song Qiling flipped it over, revealing a shallow dent on the back, from which she could barely make out the densely packed characters that were her birth date and time.

This longevity lock, which Chu Yue found, should have been hanging around her neck, but she only stole it from Chu Yue's room last year.

The clasp is the key to the Chiwen swallowing ring; with a touch of the fingertip, half of the lock pops open with a "click," revealing a piece of cloth the size of a fingernail inside.

Song Qiling lowered her eyes to look at the piece of silk as thin as a cicada's wing, her gaze slightly darkening.

-

Two days later, Old Zhao finally felt completely at ease and handed over the task of delivering vegetables entirely to Song Qiling.

In the few days that followed, Song Qiling quickly became familiar with the vegetable farmers and, in their casual conversations, also learned a lot of secrets and rumors about the Prince's mansion.

As seen that day, the Prince's heir and the third son of Minister Li of the court have a close relationship and have been visiting each other much more frequently lately, which is vaguely related to the heir's marriage.

As for Zhao Yu, the Prince of Nancheng, he had indeed not appeared for a long time. However, due to the disparity in their status, the vegetable vendors regarded it as mere gossip and changed the subject with a few laughs.

This was exactly what Song Qiling had expected.

However, Zhao Yu had a secret that she couldn't understand.

"Don't be fooled by the large number of people in the Prince's mansion; none of those young masters and ladies are the Prince's own flesh and blood," said Aunt Hong, who was picking vegetables.

Upon hearing this, Uncle Gen, who was plucking chicken feathers by the sink, looked up, his brows furrowed: "What nonsense are you spouting? Aren't you afraid of getting caught by your superiors and facing your death?"

Aunt Hong said nonchalantly, "This matter is hardly a secret anymore, why be afraid of it?"

She winked at Song Qiling and continued, "The Prince of Nancheng adopted three sons and one daughter in his early years and treated them as his own, but he never married. He only took a few concubines to decorate his household. In recent years, he has stayed at home and devoted his days to studying the art of immortality."

Song Qiling clicked her tongue in astonishment: "Is this about cultivating immortality?"

Aunt Hong threw the rotten vegetable leaves into the basket on the ground. "Who knows? I've long heard that the royal family members are obsessed with cultivation. Perhaps the Prince of Nancheng is also keen on this path. I heard that this year is the old lady's birthday, and the prince specially ordered people to refine the Rejuvenation Pill as a gift. Isn't that going mad from cultivation?"

Upon hearing this, Song Qiling's brow twitched suddenly, as if an icy needle were shooting up her spine and down her neck. Recalling the strange events she had encountered while following the Wanxing Trading Company's caravan, she felt a sense of unease.

The story of Wanxing Trading Company escorting birthday gifts is indeed true, but the secret behind it—the collusion between officials and bandits and the use of secret techniques in medicine—is little known.

Could this really be the work of the Prince of Nancheng?

"What nonsense about 'rejuvenation pills'?" Uncle Gen grabbed the chicken by the neck and sneered, "It's just some tonics to strengthen the body and bones. Don't exaggerate and make a fool of yourself."

Aunt Hong curled her lips and snorted, "Xiao Guizi isn't a stranger. It won't hurt him to tell. You just can't stand me joking around with young men."

A hint of embarrassment flashed across Song Qiling's face. Seeing that the vegetable rack was almost tidied up, she turned around and said goodbye to the couple: "Aunt Hong, Uncle Gen, please take care and don't quarrel anymore. I will ignore what happened today and won't gossip about it."

"Brother Gui, may you rest in peace." Aunt Hong raised her mud-covered hands and waved before continuing to pick vegetables.

Uncle Gen, his hands covered in filth, nodded to Song Qiling upon hearing this, "Brother Gui, go back and give Old Zhao a good greeting for me."

"Yes, definitely." Song Qiling reached into the handkerchief at her waist, grabbed a handful, and walked out.

She looked up at the sky and saw dark clouds overhead, a sign that a storm was brewing. She quickened her pace, left the side gate of the Prince's Mansion, and hurried along the vegetable alley.

Through these few days of "spirit transfer," she has gained a general understanding of the terrain of the Prince's Palace and has even drawn a complete map.

But... that's still far from enough.

She needed to find an opportunity to enter the bedroom of Zhao Yu, the Prince of Nancheng, located in the core area of ​​the Prince's mansion, and investigate it.

There was absolutely no way she could enter the backyard as a vegetable vendor; she was quite agile and could have scaled the wall under cover of darkness.

But the Prince's mansion is heavily guarded. If someone catches them in the act, they might die before they even get started.

By then, let alone finding Princess Zhaoyi's whereabouts, they might even lose their own lives.

It seems we can only patiently wait for the old lady's birthday banquet and then try to take advantage of the chaos...

Amidst her chaotic thoughts, a large raindrop landed on her forehead with a "thud." Song Qiling looked up blankly and saw rain slowly falling from the sky.

"...Ah, it really is raining."

I was in such a rush this morning that I forgot my rain gear.

Once she left the vegetable alley, she started running without a care in the world. It wasn't because she was afraid of catching a cold, but because the cream on her face would melt when it came into contact with water. If people saw her, they might mistake her for a mud ghost.

"Hey, don't drop it! I spent a whole tael of silver on this. What if you break it?"

"This shop is taking advantage of the rain to rip off customers. I'll never go there again."

A crowd of people gathered around the umbrella stand at the street corner to take shelter from the rain.

Song Qiling's heart skipped a beat. Before she could see the still object by the roadside, "it" suddenly stood up and bumped right into her as she walked straight towards it.

Fortunately, she dodged quickly, barely brushing against half of the man's shoulder. At the same time, a bamboo-green oil-paper umbrella suddenly opened, shoving her away.

"..."

The 'sorry' that was about to come out was drowned out by the rain.

Knowing that she was in the wrong first, Song Qiling turned around and bowed to the person before continuing her journey amidst the wind and rain.

Yu Qi stepped out from under the eaves and hid under Gu Lianzhou's umbrella. He caught a glimpse of Gu Lianzhou's shoulder out of the corner of his eye and couldn't help but twitch his lips. "Oh dear, this guy hasn't been scrubbing in days, the color has faded."

Gu Lianzhou followed his gaze and turned his head to look at his clothes. He saw that a patch of ochre yellow was abruptly printed on the black fabric.

Without a flicker of emotion, the young man looked away in the direction the person had gone, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes.

In the hazy rain, the man's disheveled figure looked strangely familiar.