"Registration is definitely possible, but we are supposed to keep this information confidential for our customers, but..." the shopkeeper said with a troubled expression.
Yi Junhao quickly said, "To be honest, that woman is my cousin. She came here alone without telling her parents. I had already found her at Wanjiao Pavilion, but she insisted on going out with a stranger for a while. Perhaps he is the person she stayed at the inn with. We had arranged to meet here, but it's almost midnight. Could something have happened?"
However, since she was a young woman, the shopkeeper did soften his heart upon hearing Yi Junhao's words.
He glanced at the water clock behind him and saw that it was indeed very late, and he seemed to be a little worried for him.
After hesitating for a long time, and seeing Yi Junhao's almost pleading eyes, she gritted her teeth and hurriedly got up and strode towards the counter. Yi Junhao also stood up and followed closely behind, looking energetic.
"Young master, please look. This is the registration made by the seemingly extraordinary young man wearing a mask. All the expenses were paid by this young man." Yi Junhao hurriedly looked in the direction the old shopkeeper pointed. On the registration book, the three words "Jiang Zhixuan" were clearly displayed in black and white.
However, upon seeing the name, he was immediately stunned.
As the owners of Baicaogu and Baicaotang, giants in the pharmaceutical industry of the Western Qin Kingdom, there are few wealthy and powerful people who can afford to live in Ruyi Residence in the south of the city. However, the name in front of him is really unfamiliar, and it is highly likely that the visitor has ill intentions.
He hesitated for a moment, then frowned and glanced quickly at the room numbers. As fate would have it, the two rooms were right next to his. He then strode straight towards the top-tier room on the east side of the second floor.
Upon seeing this, the shopkeeper suddenly sensed that something serious was about to happen, so he hurriedly followed.
He jogged all the way and finally caught up with him. He was panting and about to tell Yi Junhao that he had forgotten to tell him that the guests in the room had just returned and were resting.
But with a loud bang, the door was kicked open by Yi Junhao with tremendous force.
What followed was an extremely bizarre and terrifying scene that left the old shopkeeper speechless with shock.
Sometime later, the person inside the room had miraculously vanished into thin air, leaving no trace. Yet he was still downstairs, waiting to serve his distinguished guest at any moment!
After a while, the innkeeper was still standing at the door of the room with a look of astonishment on his face. Looking at the empty guest room, he wondered to himself, "Where is he? I clearly saw him come upstairs with my own eyes. Am I just seeing things?" As he spoke, he rubbed his eyes hard.
Yi Junhao also narrowed his slender eyes, frowned, and looked at everything in front of him with suspicion.
After standing side by side in silence at the door of the empty room for a long time, Yi Junhao suddenly came to his senses and asked, "The shopkeeper just said that this guest was wearing a mask, was it a silver butterfly-shaped mask?"
The innkeeper seemed to still be in a dream, replying only faintly, "Indeed, but he clearly stepped into Ruyi Residence just before the young master returned. After that, I talked with the young master downstairs the whole time, and I didn't see him come down and leave. Did this person grow wings and fly away?"
The innkeeper had barely finished speaking when, seemingly still unable to fully believe what he was seeing, he hurriedly strode into the room and carefully examined every corner. He even peered out the window, looking up, down, left, and right, but his expression remained one of utter disbelief.
"Jiang Zhixuan, who exactly are you? Is this really your name? What do you want to do to the girl?" Yi Junhao murmured to himself.
However, at this moment, he became even more certain that this person was not so simple. His identity was also extremely special, and he was probably not an ordinary spy. He also suspected that Yi Shangyun's motives were impure.
Suddenly, he looked up, his eyes widening in shock, as if he had been greatly frightened. A bad premonition arose within him, and he shouted, "Oh no!"
Then, he rushed downstairs, and as soon as he stepped out of Ruyi Residence, he turned back towards Wanjiao Pavilion.
Not long after he stepped out the door, Xuan Yuanhan, accompanied by Cheng Liang, also slowly entered the gate of Ruyi Residence, both of them silent and showing expressions of exhaustion and disappointment.
Upon seeing Xuan Yuanhan enter, the shopkeeper hurriedly stepped forward and bowed to him with an extremely respectful smile, saying, "Your Highness is back."
Xuanyuan Han had no time to pay attention to him at the moment, and simply dragged his unusually heavy steps slowly upstairs.
The shopkeeper was also unaware of what had happened. He glanced at Cheng Liang beside him, who gave him a wink. He immediately fell silent and followed Cheng Liang upstairs.
It turns out that both Xiangmanlou in the south of the city and Ruyiju were properties of Prince Qin, Xuanyuan Han.
After waiting for a long time in front of the extremely quiet and solemnly decorated apartment on the far east side of the third floor, Cheng Liang finally came out of the room after settling his master in.
After pondering for a long time on his way upstairs, the old shopkeeper finally came forward, smiling and asking with concern, "General Cheng, you've had a long day. Has Your Highness retired for the night?"
Cheng Liang glanced at him indifferently, then sighed deeply, as if afraid that their conversation would disturb their master. So, as he walked towards the corner of the third floor, he said, "Your Highness is already busy with state affairs all day long, and now that you've lost your beloved, how could you possibly be asleep so early? You're probably still in your study, reminiscing about her. I've escorted Your Highness back, and now I must go back to guard Wanjiao Pavilion."
"Your beloved is lost? Could it be the Princess Consort of Qin?" the shopkeeper exclaimed in surprise.
Cheng Liang glared at him, seemingly somewhat displeased, and said, "Not the Princess Consort of Qin, but a... useless, ugly girl from the Pharmacist's Mansion who always wears a veil, likes to run around alone, cause trouble, and loves to meddle in other people's business. Well, she's finally lost herself in the south of the city."
Cheng Liang's words were full of complaints, but the shopkeeper, who was old and experienced, could tell at a glance that Cheng Liang was just saying this in anger.
However, after not seeing him for so long, it was quite a surprise that His Highness Prince Qin, who was usually calm, reserved, cold, and indifferent to women, would have a woman who could capture his heart. He couldn't help but become quite curious about this woman.
So he tentatively asked, "Why has the woman Your Highness loves come to this place in the south of the city?"
Without thinking, Cheng Liang blurted out, "Who knows what crazy thing she's gone wrong with again? She thinks she's so capable, causing trouble for Your Highness. A woman who hasn't even married yet, doesn't even know anyone, yet dares to run around with a strange man. Now look what's happened, she's finally lost. It would be best if she never came back, so Your Highness can finally have some peace and quiet."
The shopkeeper smiled and shook his head. "General Cheng, you are mistaken. With His Highness's temperament, if this girl had truly captured his heart, he would search the earth three feet deep to find her safe and sound. General, please don't be upset. We should be happy for His Highness that he has found someone he loves."
After listening to the shopkeeper's words, Cheng Liang really stopped complaining.
But then, remembering what had just happened at Wanjiao Pavilion, he became angry. He had been holding back his anger for most of the night, and now he seemed to have finally found someone to vent to. "Tell me, this general is really unlucky today. I was actually bewitched by that alluring Young Master Yi, which is why Miss Yi was taken away from Wanjiao Pavilion right under my nose. And that man with the silver mask who took Miss Yi into Wanjiao Pavilion, everyone in Wanjiao Pavilion saw him go into the room next to Miss Yi, but he disappeared into thin air as if he had vanished into thin air, without leaving any trace."
No sooner had he finished speaking than he turned around and slammed his fist into the railing beside him, causing the railing to shake violently up and down.
Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper seemed to suddenly realize something and murmured softly, "The alluring Young Master Yi? The man wearing a silver mask? The girl in the veil?...May I ask, General, is Young Master Yi's full name Yi Junhao?"
Cheng Liang suddenly turned around and asked in surprise, "How do you know this name?"
The shopkeeper suddenly realized, "Judging from the general's expression, my guess was correct. Everything makes sense now..."
Cheng Liang stepped forward anxiously and asked, "Everything matches up, quickly explain yourself clearly."
The innkeeper, however, remained unhurried and calmly said, "General, you may not know this, but a few days ago, a guest named Yi Junhao checked into Ruyi Residence. He was also extremely flamboyant in appearance and attire. Moreover, this evening, three more guests arrived, including a veiled girl and a man wearing a silver mask, accompanied by a servant..."
Upon hearing this, Cheng Liang was so shocked that he couldn't speak. He excitedly stepped forward and grabbed the old shopkeeper's arm, scolding him harshly, "What did you say? Why didn't you say so earlier?"
After saying that, he tried to pull the old shopkeeper inside to see his master.
The shopkeeper, unaware of Cheng Liang's sudden anger and agitation, was startled and stumbled backward, crashing into the railing behind him. He nearly fell off the building if Cheng Liang hadn't held him tightly.
It took him a while to come to his senses, but he was still in shock. He lowered his voice and explained in a fearful tone, "I didn't know that Your Highness and the General were looking for these people in the south of the city. Your Highness, the Princess and the Crown Prince left Ruyi Residence less than half an hour ago, and Miss Na Yi and her party arrived."
The shopkeeper's voice grew softer and softer.
Cheng Liang sighed in frustration, "Where are they now? Take me to see them quickly."
"There's no need to go, they've already left," the shopkeeper said helplessly.
"They've all left?" Cheng Liang asked in surprise.
The innkeeper said quietly, "After Miss Yi checked in, she changed into men's clothing in her room, had dinner, and then the three of them left together and haven't returned yet. As for the Third Young Master Yi that the general mentioned, according to him, he claims to be Miss Yi's cousin. He also said that he had just found Miss Yi in Wanjiao Pavilion, but then she was lured out by someone else. He suspects that the person who stayed with him has ulterior motives..."
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