"You mean... if you kill the Emperor Emeritus, Yuwen Yao will also die..."
Nan Lingqin closed her eyes slightly, offering no explanation, which was tantamount to admitting it.
"Baiyu, cook me a bowl of maocai (a type of Sichuan hot pot), spicy, very spicy, the really spicy kind."
Nan Lingqin said softly.
Bai Yu took a breath, calmed the turmoil in her heart, and went down to prepare.
Before long, a small table was set up in the backyard, with tea, pastries, and a large bowl of spicy hot pot on the side.
Fresh, fragrant, and spicy, it tantalizes the taste buds.
Bai Yu sat opposite Nan Lingqin, watching Nan Lingqin pick up her chopsticks, take a bite, and put it in her mouth. Although Nan Lingqin's brows were furrowed from the spiciness, she remained unmoved.
"Don't eat spicy food. I found out while I was cooking that the Emperor Emeritus is really troublesome. He just sent several young ladies from noble families to the Crown Prince's residence."
Nan Lingqin lowered her eyelashes slightly, and a smile suddenly appeared on her face. "Oh, has it been sent in?"
"It is said that... he entered the Crown Prince's residence."
Nan Lingqin paused, holding her chopsticks, and looked at Bai Yu. "They seem to be quite good-looking, otherwise he wouldn't have agreed to let them enter the Crown Prince's residence."
"So what are you still doing sitting here? Aren't you going to actually go and take a look?"
"Bai Yu." Nan Lingqin suddenly put down her chopsticks. "He betrayed me first, and he's the one who didn't want me, understand?"
Nan Lingqin looked up and met Bai Yu's surprised expression. She straightened her sleeves and said calmly, "He is too stubborn. He has already resigned himself to death. In his heart, he has long regarded himself as a dead man. His purpose in living is to wait for the Cloud Technique in my body to be fully released to break the poison and to reclaim Bei Rong."
Nan Lingqin finished speaking in a soft voice, then suddenly chuckled coldly to herself, picked up the cup of green tea on the table and drank it all in one gulp. "Tell me, why is he so stubborn? Stubbornly doing only what he wants to do."
"But what he really wanted was for you to live a good life."
Bai Yu was incredibly insightful. Nan Lingqin didn't say it explicitly or say much, but he instantly understood the key point.
In other words, the reason why the Crown Prince hurt Nan Lingqin in that way was that he wanted her to hate him, forget him, and never have anything to do with him again.
"...too difficult to understand."
Bai Yu sighed, then sat down abruptly, looking at the round moon with its deep, haloed glow on the horizon, and then at Nan Lingqin. "Suddenly, I feel so happy."
Upon hearing this, Nan Lingqin immediately rolled her eyes and said, "Should I go and badmouth you to Manager Nie?"
"Oh, who are you talking about?"
A burst of laughter filled the air, and a beautiful figure landed in the courtyard.
It was Nie Zui'er.
Even after several months apart, she remained as alluring and seductive as ever.
"Isn't this the Princess of Southern Qi? It's been months since I last saw her, and she looks absolutely stunning." Nie Zuier stepped forward, her laughter radiant, her steps light and graceful, her waist swaying – still captivating.
Bai Yu, who had been completely at ease just moments before, blushed the moment she saw Nie Zui'er.
Nan Lingqin glanced at him and said, "You're really hopeless."
"I said, you've already slept with me, why are you blushing?"
Nie Zuier glanced at Bai Yu, her expression straightforward, and then looked at Nan Lingqin, "I heard from the servants that someone was looking for me, and for some reason I thought it was you, so I came here to see. I didn't expect you to actually be here. Did you come to the capital alone?"
"Um."
"Xu Yiran is really at ease."
Nie Zuier clicked her tongue, seemingly feeling sorry for Xu Yiran.
Nan Lingqin raised her hand to her chin and pointed to the hot pot in front of her, "Want to join us?"
"No need, but since you're here, I'll take you somewhere."
"where?"
"Hmm... one place where my opinion of Yuwen Yao has changed." Nie Zuier said, not insisting on going there, but looking at Nan Lingqin, "Shall we go?"
"It seems you feel sorry not only for Xu Yiran, but also for Yuwen Yao?"
Nan Lingqin chuckled softly.
Nie Zuier's beautiful eyes flickered, "Yuwen Yao is Yuwen Yao, and Yuwen Shu is Yuwen Shu. I can tell them apart."
"I'm not going!"
Nan Lingqin refused decisively.
Nie Zui wasn't surprised. He shrugged and, as if remembering something, said, "By the way, let me tell you something. A few days ago, Liu Yunzhou secretly came to my place, trying to find out about you."
Liu Yunzhou!
Nan Lingqin murmured the name softly, and a slight smile appeared on her face.
"Shopkeeper."
At this moment, someone came from outside the courtyard to report.
"explain."
Bai Yu was very unhappy, and at the same time, he wanted to establish his authority in front of someone.
The man trembled, seemingly wondering why the usually easy-going shopkeeper was acting so aggressively and violently today. He swallowed hard before saying, "Shopkeeper, big business."
"Speak up."
Keep being arrogant.
The man shook his head again and continued, "The guards from the Crown Prince's residence outside the shop have come to deliver a message, saying that Tianxia Yiwei should prepare five bowls of extra spicy maocai and send them to the Crown Prince's residence. If they are not spicy, they will be punished."
As soon as the newcomer finished speaking, Bai Yu in the courtyard was stunned. Looking to the side, Nan Lingqin also looked surprised.
"Shopkeeper..."
Seeing that Bai Yu didn't respond for a long time, the person called out to her softly again.
"Okay, go to the kitchen and give the order, cook it quickly, no, I'll cook it myself."
Bai Yu raised her sleeve and led the man away, looking quite excited.
"Wow, it seems this new emperor is really good to beauties."
Nie Zuier found it quite amusing.
Nan Lingqin, unusually, remained silent.
An hour later, a servant came out of Tianxia Yiwei with five bowls of spicy maocai in a food box and boarded the carriage from the Crown Prince's residence.
The horseman, Tingfeng, glanced at the servant and asked with a furrowed brow, "Is it spicy enough?"
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