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"Is this not allowed to pass through?" She pretended not to know and walked up to Xiahou Yuan, even peeking across the door. Sure enough, there were two guards on the other side.
Xiahou Yuan turned around, looked her up and down, and said irritably, "The people opposite are male guests. There is a difference between men and women, so it's not appropriate for you to go over there. Who are you from? I've never seen you before. Are your father or brothers some newly risen nobles in the court?"
"Ah, me? I came with the Prime Minister's family. I went to the restroom and got lost." Qin Sang saw that the girl's eyes were bright and innocent, and she started making things up.
Xiahou Yuan was pretty and cute, with big, bright eyes. Upon hearing this, she didn't doubt it at all. She just thought for a moment and asked, "Which Prime Minister's residence?"
Qin Sang cleared her throat: "Right Prime Minister's Residence."
Xiahou Yuan's eyes widened: "From the Xie family? You don't know your way around? Why didn't you have a maid lead you? Why are you running around on your own?"
"..." Qin Sang smiled and said, "Yes, what you said is right, sister."
"How do you know I'm older than you? You call me 'sister.' How old are you?"
"Two more months, the sixteenth."
Xiahou Yuan's big eyes darted around: "Two months later? What day in early June?"
June 16th.
"June 16th?!" Xiahou Yuan's eyes widened. "We share the same birthday!" She was initially happy, but her smile quickly faded. "How come you look so much taller than me?"
"..." Qin Sang was about to speak when she heard footsteps coming from the other side.
Xiahou Yuan immediately shifted her attention to that side, and as soon as she saw the hem of a khaki robe embroidered with gold cloud patterns, she excitedly called out, "Brother Qing!"
Her voice was much sweeter and more charming than when she spoke to herself, making Qin Sang shudder.
Sure enough, a tall and handsome man appeared on the other side of the moon gate. His clothes were simple yet elegant, which made his snow-white face look like jade or ice sculpture, so beautiful that it seemed unreal.
Qin Sang was stunned for a moment, and the fan in her hand also stopped moving.
Isn't this the handsome young man in white I met at the inn when I caused a scene with Xie Sui'an in Quzhou Prefecture?
At that time, he was dressed in white robes and white hairband, pure and immaculate, like a celestial being descended to earth, untouched by the mundane world.
Today, dressed in a moon-white robe embroidered with gold, and with her hair tied up with a jade crown, she exudes an air of unparalleled elegance and nobility.
Xiahou Yuan had already run over, but in the end she didn't dare to overstep the threshold. She smiled sweetly and said, "Brother Qing, I've asked you about Mother!"
Qin Sang instantly recognized who this person was—Princess Yuanzhao's son, Bai Yiqing.
She recalled Xie Wu's words and could no longer agree that Bai Yiqing should be ranked first among the four young masters.
At this moment, Bai Yiqing's gaze swept lightly over Qin Sang, his face still expressionless. He merely nodded slightly to Qin Sang, his demeanor reserved and distant.
He recognized Qin Sang at first glance.
He initially thought Qin Sang was innocent and released her overnight, never expecting that she would lead troops to raid the gold mine in Quzhou and ruin his grand plan.
Now she has arrived in Kyoto again, looking calm and calculating, who knows what kind of wicked scheme she is plotting now.
Although Bai Yiqing was reserved, Qin Sang was quick to take advantage of any opportunity. Thinking that they had at least dined together before, and that he was such an important person, she immediately put down her fan and chuckled ingratiatingly, "What a coincidence, young master is also a guest of this house?"
Xiahou Yuan stood discreetly in front of Bai Yiqing, slightly blocking the handsome man's view: "He is Bai Yiqing, the son of Princess Yuanzhao, and you don't even know that??"
Qin Sang pursed her lips and waved her fan: "Yes, I've run into you elsewhere before."
Xiahou Yuan raised an eyebrow, about to turn around and ask a question, when she heard Bai Yiqing ask her in a deep voice, "What did Aunt say?"
Upon hearing this, Xiahou Yuan became happy again and was about to speak when Bai Yiqing raised his hand to stop him and glanced intentionally or unintentionally at Qin Sang, who was standing behind him watching the commotion.
Qin Sang was taken aback again; they were whispering something, and she couldn't listen.
Xiahou Yuan, being quick-witted, hurriedly said, "Hey, I need to have a few words with my cousin. Didn't you need to use the restroom? Go quickly, and take this road back. Find a maid from the princess's residence to take you!"
Qin Sang hadn't expected the other party to be so indifferent, showing no regard for their feelings. She could only smile, lead Lingding to say goodbye to the two, and slowly walked back, fanning herself with her folding fan.
As she turned the corner at the end of the road, she glanced back and saw Xiahou Yuan whispering in Bai Yiqing's ear. Bai Yiqing, as if knowing she was peeking, was staring intently at her...
Qin Sang could only smile again, walk around a small flower hall, and walk to a corridor with seats, where she sat down.
Lingding stood quietly to the side, still holding the tray, not disturbing her. Seeing that she didn't intend to speak, she finally spoke up, "Miss, are you going to change your clothes? Are we going back to find Miss Wu?"
"No, I won't change it, I won't go back," she replied emotionlessly.
Just because I was thinking back, why did I meet Bai Yiqing in Quzhou at that time, and why did he happen to be in Quzhou at that time?
Could it be that he is the mastermind behind the Quzhou treasury?
At the time, the blame for the illegal opening of the treasury in Quzhou was entirely placed on Master Wu, which she naturally didn't believe. However, there were no other leads available, only the knowledge that Prefect Qiao Zhiyong was likely involved. But in the end, even the imperial envoy sent from the capital couldn't uncover any clues. If Qiao Zhiyong wasn't truly innocent, then the person behind it must have had too much influence.
If it really involves Princess Yuanzhao's residence...
"Wasn't my sister changing clothes? Why is she hiding here?" Just then, a slightly familiar voice came from inside.
Qin Sang looked up and saw that Princess Fangfei, Tan Wuyan, had already glanced at the tray in Lingding's hands and said sarcastically, "What, the clothes I gave you don't fit? Why don't you go and change them?"
At the same time, the laughter of several women rang out. Only then did Qin Sang realize that there were five, six, seven or eight elegantly dressed noble ladies standing behind Tan Wuyan. Looking at them one by one, each of them had a foolish confusion and an expectant look of watching the show.
Qin Sang was already unhappy, but she remained seated and looked up at Tan Wuyan: "I went to the toilet earlier and my stomach was upset, so I rested here for a bit. Princess Fangfei, is it... that you need everyone to accompany you to the toilet? Are you afraid that your own fragrance of perfume won't cover up the stench of excrement?"
As soon as she said this, the faces of the noble ladies all fell. How could such vulgar language have been heard by ladies of good families?
However, Princess Fangfei was clearly targeting her right now, so whether she said nice things or not, the result would be the same, and Qin Sang was too lazy to deal with her.
Qin Sang had seen plenty of cases of gangs forming cliques to bully the weak.
This situation cannot be resolved peacefully.
I could tell just now that Princess Fangfei appeared refined on the surface, but the fierceness in her eyes was impossible to hide. I guessed she would give me a hard time, so I deliberately avoided her, but I didn't expect her to come looking for me anyway.
If Qin Sang is afraid of her, how will she ever get along in the capital? Does she think her powerful backer in the Prime Minister's mansion is made of paper?
Perfect, I'll use her to establish my authority.
Tan Wuyan was completely taken aback that Qin Sang would dare to say such vulgar things in front of so many people. Her beautiful face immediately turned fierce, her eyes filled with disbelief, and she said in a cold voice, "What did you say??"
Qin Sang simply stared at her without changing her expression, her eyes full of provocation.
Tan Wuyan was used to being flattered, and when had she ever been provoked like this? She glared and raised her hand, but Qin Sang smiled and easily intercepted her wrist, while simultaneously turning and standing up from the bench.
Before anyone could see clearly, Tan Wuyan's entire arm was pinned down on her waist, and at the same time, her legs went weak, and she knelt on the ground.
"How dare you, you vile woman!" Tan Wuyan shouted angrily, her voice trembling.
Another woman chimed in, "Hey, let go! You wild girl from this backwater village, how dare you lay a hand on me here?!"
"What's there to be afraid of?" Qin Sang said calmly. "Is she some kind of precious princess? I've heard that Princess Fangfei's father is weak and incompetent, and he's even squandering the marquisate that his ancestors earned through bloodshed on the battlefield, all because of..."
"You...you must let go of the princess! She...she...she will soon become the Princess Consort of Ning'an! You dare to stab the Prince of Ning'an? Are you out of your mind?!" Another woman standing in the crowd also urged urgently.
Princess Ning'an?
Qin Sang turned to look at the noblewoman who had spoken: "Prince Ning'an, Liu Kun?"
The woman said in a trembling voice, "...You...you dare to address the prince by his name! You...you must release the princess!"
Qin Sang looked down at Tan Wuyan: "You want to marry Prince Ning'an? Hasn't he already killed two of his wives? Are you so arrogant that you're planning to marry him and fight him? I heard he's impotent and has a violent temper. Are you so obsessed with power that you want to marry him?"
With her hands tied behind her back and hearing her crude and mocking words, Tan Wuyan's face turned bright red. She couldn't help but scream, "You little bitch, let me go! I'll kill you... Ah!"
Qin Sang tightened her grip, feeling helpless: "Get this straight, you're in my hands now. Are you going to kill me?"
Tan Wuyan struggled, her hair slightly disheveled, and cold sweat beaded on her forehead: "Let go, or it'll break! My brother won't let you get away with this!"
Hearing her mention her brother, Qin Sang found it interesting. She wanted to get to know this powerful and ambitious young Commander Tan, who was, in fact, at the top of her list of potential husbands.
“Oh,” she finally let go, “So, I was just thinking of getting to know your brother. You can have him come find me. We can settle our score with him.”
Tan Wuyan was utterly speechless. How could there be such a brazen woman? Did she even know who her brother was? Was she truly ignorant, or did she think that with the Prime Minister's backing, she could act with impunity in this vast capital city?
Tan Wuyan gripped her wrist, which had been pinched red by Qin Sang, took a step back, and immediately shouted, "Where is she? Is she dead?!"
Qin Sang: "...?"
No sooner had she finished speaking than a slender figure appeared out of nowhere, landing lightly in front of Tan Wuyan and kneeling down: "Princess."
She was a maidservant dressed in ordinary clothes.
Tan Wuyan kicked her in the chest: "Are you blind? You just let me be humiliated and you won't come out!"
The maid was kicked and slightly unsteady, but she immediately knelt up straight: "Princess, the young master instructed that today is the Princess's birthday and we must not cause any trouble."
"Did I cause trouble?" Tan Wuyan's face, originally very beautiful, had become extremely ugly due to anger and the murderous intent in her eyes. "You..."
Qin Sang couldn't help but click her tongue twice.
Tan Wuyan immediately retorted, "What are you tsking about!"
Qin Sang sat down leisurely to the side: "I just felt it was a pity, so I clicked my tongue."
Xie Wuyan: "What a pity!"
Qin Sang slowly shook her folding fan again: "Tsk you, you clearly have a face that can topple kingdoms, but you are full of hostility and have a bad temper. Do you want to take a look in the mirror? You don't look like the number one beauty in the capital at all. I'm afraid you didn't get this title of number one beauty in the capital to be beaten up by these maids and servants to force them to say nice things for you, right?"
Tan Wuyan's face turned pale and then flushed. He walked past the female guard and prepared to fight again: "Qingniao, if anything happens to me today, you'd better go back and prepare a straw mat for yourself!"
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