"Do you know how to get to Peach Blossom Village?" After a moment, the flamboyant man came to his senses and asked anxiously.
"This village is almost completely isolated from the world, and very few people know about it. It's not even marked on a map. What? You two seem unwilling to pay the price and want to find it yourselves?"
As Long En spoke, he secretly glanced at the expressions on the two men's faces when they weren't paying attention. Then, he pretended to start moving his body and said nonchalantly, "But it's alright. I was planning to discuss this deal with the Prince of Qin's Mansion anyway. Since you two aren't interested, I'll take my leave. I wish you both success, and I hope we'll meet again!"
Although he spoke with utter nonchalance and disdain, all the worries and gloom that had been weighing on Long En's heart for so long were instantly dispelled and brightened upon meeting these two people.
He never imagined that the amnesiac young lady of the Yi family he had unexpectedly saved would actually be a noble princess of the Dongning Kingdom. Dongning Kingdom was renowned for its immense wealth, being the most powerful and prosperous of the four kingdoms on the Lingkong Continent.
He had originally planned to use her to make a deal with the King of Qin to bolster his own power, but he was afraid that the King of Qin was cunning and full of tricks.
If he were to expose himself at this critical juncture, all the efforts and sacrifices he and his brothers in the Xiaolong Society had made over the years would likely be in vain.
Clearly, he has now completely changed his mind, because he has found a better and safer alternative than the King of Qin.
Since their minds were made up, the two noblemen had no other choice, and it became a foregone conclusion. So, as he spoke, Long En stood up, bowed to the two men, and slowly walked away.
Seeing that Long En had already left, the gentle and refined man hurriedly looked up at his retreating figure as if he wanted to say something, but the alluring man beside him quickly reached out to stop him, saying warily:
"This person is acting suspiciously, he doesn't seem like an upright person. Now, he's even overheard and knows our true identities, and he's come up several times trying to strike up a conversation. I'm afraid he has ulterior motives. Since this place isn't even on the map, how did he know about it?"
The flamboyant man narrowed his beautiful peach blossom eyes and thought carefully for a moment: "I have been in Xiqin for so many years, traveling all over the country, going up mountains and down to the sea, and I have never heard of such a village! His words are full of loopholes. Don't be fooled. Xiqin is now the target of everyone's criticism and is full of scoundrels."
“But why do I always feel that what he said doesn’t sound like a lie?” Just as the two men were hesitating, a man dressed as a guard with a sword at his waist rushed up to the second floor, came to the side of the gentle man, and respectfully handed a secret letter to his master with both hands: “Master, this is an urgent letter that I just received from the young lady.”
The flamboyant man stood to one side, arms crossed, still pondering the retreating figure of Long En. Suddenly, the gentle-looking man beside him, who had quickly finished reading the secret letter, spoke up, urging Long En, who had already reached the stairwell, to stay: "Friend, please wait! I'm willing to pay this price!"
Upon hearing this, Long En immediately turned his back to the two men and stopped, a smug smile playing on his lips, a smile of triumph that suggested his scheme had succeeded. Unbeknownst to the two men, the moment Long En turned and took his first step, he had already confidently begun a silent countdown in his mind to the sounds of those trying to persuade him to stay.
"Are you crazy? How can you believe him?" Upon hearing this, the flamboyant man immediately looked at him and exclaimed in surprise.
However, the gentle man didn't even bother to look at him. He simply pushed the letter he was holding into the man's arms and hurriedly strode towards Long En, who was standing there waiting to be respectfully and politely invited back.
As expected, Long En was invited back to the tea table by the gentle man, who then ordered several more pots of fine tea and snacks to be added before the three of them sat down together.
However, the flamboyant man was already stunned by the contents of the secret letter he was holding in his hand.
That letter was written by Princess Mei Xiyuan of Qin herself. It told the gentle man, her elder brother Mei Zhixuan, that the person he was looking for was in a little-known village called Peach Blossom Shop in the southern border of Western Qin.
At the same time, Mei Zhixuan was also informed that Prince Qin, Xuanyuan Han, had personally led his men to search for the person.
Mei Zhixuan smiled as he personally poured tea for Long En, and then asked, "May I ask how this friend is addressed?"
"I am but a mere commoner; I fear that speaking out would offend His Highness the Third Prince! It is better that you do not know." Long En sneered, humbly and tactfully refusing him.
"I think you must be much older than me. How about I call you elder brother?" Mei Zhixuan looked the man in front of him up and down, then smiled and offered him a bowl of fragrant tea with both hands.
"Whatever, I don't care!" To everyone's surprise, Long En took the teacup and said with an indifferent expression.
Seeing the slight embarrassment on Mei Zhixuan's face, the flamboyant young man, Yi Sanshao, who had come out with him to inquire about Yi Shangyun on the street, finally came to his senses. However, looking at the extremely discordant scene of politeness between the two, he was quite displeased and shouted at them, "Just say what you want! What's the point of being polite and arguing with people like this? Name your price! How much do you want?"
Upon hearing this, the room fell silent; so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Long En leisurely blew the tea leaves from his lips, then closed his eyes, sniffed the tea, and took a small sip before opening his eyes and praising with great interest, "Good tea, indeed good tea!"
Just as Young Master Yi had already lost his patience, his eyes widened, and he clenched his fists, about to unleash his anger and provoke him again, Long En suddenly asked contemptuously, "I wonder, esteemed guests, who is the one searching for the person, and who is the one paying the stakes?"
"I"
"I"
Unexpectedly, the two of them said the same thing at the same time.
Seeing that the two men had said the same thing about this woman, Long En seemed to understand something. He smiled and shook his head, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration and unexpectedly said, "I'm sure you two know better than I do about the Qin Prince's offer! Since we've met today, why don't you name your price? What do you think that woman is worth to you?"
Before he could finish speaking, Mei Zhixuan exclaimed in surprise, "Who would do a deal like this with you?"
After speaking, he turned his gaze to Young Master Yi by the window. Unexpectedly, Young Master Yi was unusually quiet and sat silently by the window this time. This shrewd and wise businessman had suddenly lost all the powerful aura and cunning he usually displayed at the negotiating table.
He stared blankly at the teacup that was turning unconsciously in his hand, and said in a deep voice, "Girl, she is more precious to me than anything else. How can she be measured by gold or silver?"
Upon hearing this, Mei Zhixuan and Long En both looked at him with solemn expressions.
At this moment, Mei Zhixuan also said with great sorrow, "Yes, my sister was born into a noble family, but her fate has been so tragic. It's pitiful that she was lost at birth and has endured hardships, criticism, and the coldness of the world... If we can find my sister, we will definitely reward her handsomely!"
At this moment, Long En's resolve, which he had so painstakingly hardened, began to waver again. But in the end, reason and desire crushed and buried his pitiful compassion, and he silently thought to himself:
"Ruoxi, Brother Long is sorry. In the end, Brother Long still can't let go of all this. If he could, wouldn't my life have been wasted? Now, there's no going back. Can you understand? Can you forgive me...?"
Finally, he took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and said resolutely, "If I help you find the eldest daughter of the Yi family, I want 100,000 taels of gold."
Upon hearing this, Young Master Yi and Mei Zhixuan looked at Long En's face in astonishment.
Long En looked into their eyes, thought for a moment, and then said, "Of course, you can also go to Peach Blossom Village to find it yourselves. I can tell you the route for free. But I'm afraid you'll end up returning empty-handed."
Seeing Long En's confident and serious expression as he spoke, the two of them felt inexplicably nervous.
After a long pause, Mei Zhixuan asked, "My imperial sister... is she alright?"
Although he had made up his mind to use her as a bargaining chip, a trace of worry still appeared on Long En's face when he mentioned her. He said intermittently, "She is fine... but... she suffered a head injury... she doesn't remember anyone or anything from before... including her name, where she came from... she... has amnesia... now, her name is Ruoxi."
In an instant, Young Master Yi's face turned ashen. He clenched his fists in front of his knees and exclaimed in shock and anger, "What? She has amnesia? The girl has amnesia? You said she has amnesia? How could she have amnesia? How could she not remember me? How could she be so cruel? How could she, how could she..."
Mei Zhixuan suppressed his anger and immediately pulled out a bank note from his pocket, handing it to Long En. With a determined look, he said excitedly, "I accept your offer. Here is the 100,000 taels of gold you asked for. Take me to Peach Blossom Village. Hurry up, now, immediately."
As Long En slowly took the receipt handed to him by Mei Zhixuan, he suddenly felt a sense of loss, as if his whole being had been hollowed out.
Before he could even react, Young Master Yi leaped from his seat, grabbed his arm, and dragged him downstairs.
As soon as he came downstairs, Long En suddenly remembered and hurriedly said, "Please wait a moment, I'll go into this jewelry store to get some things, it'll be quick."
"Give me the jewelry store receipt, I'll go get it for you. Now that you've already taken our money, I won't allow you to pull any more tricks," Young Master Yi said, extending a long, handsome hand towards Long En.
Long En had no choice but to take it out and hand it to him.
Soon, Young Master Yi came out carrying several boxes, glaring at Long En and saying, "Can we leave now?"
"Okay, let's go!" It seems we can only lead them to Peach Blossom Village first, and then decide what to do along the way. We can't let Xiaolong be exposed.
With this thought in mind, the three of them spurred their horses and hurriedly headed towards the southern border.
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