Night Owl was embracing a woman with a voluptuous figure.
He whispered flirtatiously in her ear:
"Oh my, my little darling, you look so beautiful today! Come here, let me pamper you!"
The woman smiled shyly, gently rested her head on Night Owl's shoulder, and said in a sweet, coquettish voice:
"My lord, you are so eloquent. I am completely captivated by you."
Night Owl chuckled inwardly; this woman was quite the actress, and she really knew how to act.
However, he wasn't here to have fun; he was gathering intelligence.
Those guys in charge of surveillance were always eager to report Night Owl's "absurd behavior" to Jin Xuanming.
He embellished the story, making it sound so real, and described it vividly.
"Duke Wu, that Night Owl went to the casino again today and lost a whole hundred taels of silver! He even boasted that he would win it back. What a spendthrift!"
An observer gave a vivid report to Jin Xuanming.
"He even went to the brothel, where he hugged and kissed the top courtesan, and stuffed a large sum of money into the madam's hand! He's utterly shameless!"
Upon hearing the report, Jin Xuanming, with his nostrils flared, snorted coldly:
"Hmph! As expected, he's an incompetent good-for-nothing, indulging in wine and women. He's nothing to fear!"
He gradually lowered his guard against the night owl and turned his attention to Princess Aisha.
As Night Owl gathered more and more intelligence in casinos and brothels, he gained a deeper understanding of the situation in Java.
They learned that Jin Xuanming harbored ill intentions towards Princess Aisha, and also knew that Princess Aisha deeply resented Jin Xuanming.
He decided to take advantage of this to sow discord between Jin Xuanming and Princess Aisha.
That night, the owl disguised himself and sneaked into Princess Aisha's palace.
"Who?" Princess Aisha asked warily.
“It’s me, Night Owl,” Night Owl whispered.
Princess Aisha was taken aback and quickly asked:
What are you doing here?
"I'm going to tell you a secret."
"Night Owl said mysteriously."
"Jin Xuanming wants to marry you in order to control Java."
Princess Aisha's expression changed; she had long suspected that Jin Xuanming had ulterior motives.
But I never expected him to be so despicable!
"What evidence do you have?" Princess Aisha asked.
The Night Owl told Princess Aisha the intelligence he had gathered in the casino and brothel.
They also produced some secret letters that Jin Xuanming had written to the King of Java.
Princess Aisha was furious after reading the evidence.
She never expected Jin Xuanming to be so treacherous and cunning, actually trying to use her to achieve his own goals!
"I'm going to kill Jin Xuanming!"
Princess Aisha said through gritted teeth.
No, now is not the time.
"It's Night Owl," he said calmly.
"We need to take a long-term view."
"Your Highness, what you need to do now is to keep Jin Xuanming calm and make him think that he still has a chance."
"This way, we will have more time to gather evidence and expose his conspiracy."
Princess Aisha took a deep breath, trying to calm the surging anger within her.
She understood that Night Owl was right; acting impulsively would only make things worse.
She nodded slowly, a resolute glint in her eyes:
"You're right, I can't let him succeed!"
After the owl left, Princess Aisha paced back and forth in her bedchamber.
Jin Xuanming's ugly face kept flashing through my mind.
She bit her lip tightly, trying hard to suppress the urge to tear him to pieces immediately.
The next day, Jin Xuanming indeed came again.
He held a huge pearl from the South China Sea in his hands and presented it to Princess Aisha as if presenting a treasure:
"Your Highness, this is a pearl from the South China Sea that I specially sought out for you. I hope you will like it."
Princess Aisha glanced at the bead; its luster was indeed quite good, but she felt nothing but disgust.
She forced a smile and accepted the pearl:
"Thank you for your kind offer, Duke Wu."
When Jin Xuanming saw that Princess Aisha had accepted the gift, he was overjoyed.
He rubbed his hands together and said with a shameless grin:
"Your Highness, if you like it, I will send it to you every day from now on."
Princess Aisha, suppressing her nausea, said with a forced smile:
"Duke Wu has really gone to great lengths."
Over the next few days, Jin Xuanming sent Princess Aisha a variety of gifts.
From pearls of the South China Sea to precious horses of the Western Regions, from rare spices to fine silks and satins, it encompassed virtually everything.
He was so attentive that he wanted to show Princess Aisha his heart.
Princess Aisha had absolutely no interest in a rude and boorish man like Jin Xuanming.
However, she cleverly used Jin Xuanming's affection for her to maneuver between them.
She would show some affection for Jin Xuanming one moment, and then deliberately ignore him the next.
He could never figure out what was on his mind, yet he couldn't stop himself from being captivated by it.
She was like a highly skilled animal tamer, manipulating Jin Xuanming, this ferocious beast, at will.
She subtly extracted information from Jin Xuanming while secretly protecting Night Owl.
Meanwhile, Night Owl continued to frequent casinos and brothels, pretending to be indulging in wine and women.
The people Jin Xuanming sent to monitor him reported Night Owl's "absurd behavior" to him every day.
This further convinced him that Night Owl was an incompetent good-for-nothing.
One day, Princess Aisha came to inspect Haixia Pass.
They happened to see the owl directing the craftsmen on the embankment.
She saw the owl looking disheveled from afar and couldn't help but smile.
"Lord Night Owl, thank you for your hard work."
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