Su Mengzhen was chatting politely but distantly with Lei Sun. However, Yan Liang, completely oblivious to his new ally's good intentions, was still holding Da Xue and chatting with Di Feijing, who even responded. Lei Sun, puzzled, glanced back and saw the Crown Prince's fat white cat rolling around on Di Feijing's lap.
Yan Liang noticed his gaze, smiled slightly at him, and Lei Sun gave him a deep look before turning back to continue talking to Su Mengzhen.
The "crown prince" here does not refer to Crown Prince Zhao Huan, but rather to Yan Liang, a friend of Su Mengzhen. It is perfectly normal for Lei Sun, the head of the Six and a Half Hall, to ignore the friend of his rival.
Yan Liang wasn't annoyed by being ignored. He leaned back in his chair and lazily watched Da Xue dance on Di Feijing's lap. Di Feijing reached out and touched Da Xue.
"It has grown up."
Di Fei said in surprise.
"Yes, I've grown up."
Yan Liang leaned on the armrest of his chair, watching the snowflakes rolling around on Di Feijing's lap, and sighed, "It really likes you."
Di Feijing simply looked down at the white ball on his lap, smiling without saying a word.
When Su Mengzhen, relying on the fact that he had six and a half members of the gang, proposed an unequal treaty to Lei Sun, Lei Sun reluctantly agreed, his expression grim. After all, Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou was in the right, and Su Mengzhen had seized on this point to take advantage of him, so he was in the wrong.
All of this was thanks to Crown Prince Zhao Huan, and Lei Sun looked at Yan Liang with very unfriendly eyes.
Lei Sun and Di Feijing left with the hostages. Yan Liang touched the snow and looked at Su Mengzhen. The young man's eyebrows and eyes were filled with a light smile, and his whole person was much more lively.
Yan Liang overheard this and knew that Su Mengzhen had really tricked Lei Sun, getting control of several gambling dens in the capital from him, so he wasn't surprised that Su Mengzhen was happy.
Congratulations!
Yan Liang offered his congratulations, and Su Mengzhen nodded slightly to him, the smile fading from her eyes.
When Yan Liang said he wanted to leave, Su Mengzhen offered to send someone to escort him back to his residence, but he refused because he thought it was too much trouble. Su Mengzhen looked disapproving and said, "Cai Jing is still watching you. Your Highness should consider your status."
Yan Liang suddenly realized what was happening and laughed, "Does Master Su think I'm powerless against an assassin?"
Su Mengzhen looked at him without saying a word, her eyes telling Yan Liang that it was true.
Previously, Yan Liang of Kushuipu used a sleeping potion and did not personally take action; before that, no one knew that Yan Liang had knocked away Gu Xichao's weapon with a stick except for his bodyguard and Fang Yingkan. He only explained to Zhuge Zhengwo last night that his bodyguard was Fang Yingkan's man, and Zhuge Zhengwo had not yet had time to tell Su Mengzhen about it.
Su Mengzhen assumed that it was the Crown Prince's guards who had dealt with the assassins for him that day.
Yan Liang felt it necessary to explain: "I still have the ability to fight back, Master Su."
Su Mengzhen was not very convinced. In his opinion, this was just the stubbornness of a young man. According to the information he found, the Crown Prince only started practicing martial arts after moving out of the palace, which was only half a year at most.
Judging from the Crown Prince's habit of always running out of the mansion to play, his martial arts skills must be quite poor.
"Master Su knows Gu Xichao, right?" Yan Liang continued with a hint of smugness, "Back then, he came to assassinate me, but I defeated him."
Su Mengzhen's expression shifted slightly: "Isn't he your guard?"
Yan Liang said, "No, he hasn't even realized it yet." He seemed to remember something and said, "I forgot to mention, that guard is one of Young Master Fang's men, but Young Master Fang's men are only so-so, they can't even beat me."
Su Mengzhen: ...
"...Are the guards beside Your Highness Fang's men?" Su Mengzhen asked with difficulty, "Who are your current guards?"
"After recruiting Gu Xichao, I made him my bodyguard for a few days, but then he left the capital," Yan Liang said with a smile. "I don't have a bodyguard now."
At this moment, Su Mengzhen felt the same way as Zhuge Shenhou.
...It's a miracle that the Crown Prince is still safe and sound.
Su Mengzhen said, "Your Highness should bring up such matters sooner rather than later."
He said these words as if he had just said them himself.
Yan Liang remembered that Su Mengzhen had said something similar when they first talked, and he felt inexplicably guilty, so he nodded in agreement.
He tried his best to fight for it, after all, those things were really no big deal to him.
Yan Liang's sudden revelation made Su Mengzhen even more uneasy, and she insisted on sending someone to escort him back to his residence. Yan Liang had no choice but to agree.
However, after Yan Liang left, Su Mengzhen followed him and said to Yan Liang, "I'll go back with you."
Yan Liang said, "No, no, that would be too much trouble for you."
Su Mengzhen's attitude was firm, and Yan Liang had no choice but to go down the mountain with him.
The carriage of the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion was parked at the foot of the mountain, and the driver had been waiting there since receiving the news. Su Mengzhen talked with the driver for a while, and then got into the carriage with Yan Liang.
The carriage moved slowly, and the summer breeze lifted the curtains, allowing Su Mengzhen to see Mingyue Mountain, which is adjacent to Yuquan Mountain.
As dusk fell and twilight descended, the setting sun cast its light upon Mingyue Mountain. In the distance, birds could be seen swooping down, their wings turning into dark shadows that gradually disappeared from sight.
Su Mengzhen recalled that when he first met the Crown Prince and Pang Jin, the two young men were asking about Mingyue Mountain. Thinking of this, he turned his head to look at Yan Liang, only to see the young man gazing at Mingyue Mountain with an unreadable expression.
It seemed like a sigh, a nostalgic sigh, yet also carried a hint of a smile.
Su Mengzhen thoughtfully withdrew her gaze and looked at the white cat rolling around in the carriage. It ran around here and there, grabbing Yan Liang's sleeve that was hanging on the ground and then running over to bite Su Mengzhen's sleeve.
Su Mengzhen looked at it, her gaze softening unconsciously.
Upon arriving at the Crown Prince's residence, Yan Liang jumped off the carriage and politely invited Su Mengzhen to come in and sit down. Su Mengzhen, remembering that Fang Yingkan was with Yan Liang, decided to go in and take a look, and accepted the invitation.
At this very moment, Bai Choufei and Wang Xiaoshi were admiring the flowers in the garden of the Crown Prince's residence.
After Wang Xiaoshi finished his work as a pharmacist at Huichuntang, Bai Choufei took him back to the Crown Prince's residence. On the way, he revealed Yan Liang's true identity and that Yan Liang's father was the Emperor of the Song Dynasty.
Wang Xiaoshi was astonished. Yan Liang's actions made it hard to believe that he was a person of high status. Now, after hearing the truth revealed by Bai Choufei, he still found it hard to believe.
It was also unbelievable that Yan Liang agreed to let them live in the Crown Prince's residence.
The guards at the Crown Prince's residence had already received Yan Liang's instructions and recognized Bai Choufei. Seeing Bai Choufei bring Wang Xiaoshi back to the residence, they made no comment. The servants of the Crown Prince's residence respectfully welcomed the two into the residence and prepared rooms for them.
Bai Choufei and Wang Xiaoshi's rooms were next to each other. After strolling around the courtyard, Bai Choufei noticed another prepared room. A servant in the Crown Prince's residence said that the Crown Prince's strategist, Lord Gu Xichao, lived in that room.
With Gu Xichao's name memorized, Bai Choufei and Wang Xiaoshi spent their time in the garden.
"So you will be serving the Crown Prince from now on?"
Wang Xiaoshi asked.
Bai Choufei nodded. He considered Wang Xiaoshi a friend and was willing to share some things with him.
Wang Xiaoshi sighed, "Yan Liang... he doesn't seem like the Crown Prince."
In the eyes of the world, royalty is always high above, separated from ordinary people by a chasm, and the two should be in two different worlds.
But Yan Liang was an outcast in the royal family who crossed the river and ran back and forth between the two banks.
Putting aside his status and focusing solely on his character, Yan Liang is an extremely easy person to get along with.
Bai Choufei remained silent. When he was with Yan Liang, he would always forget Yan Liang's identity, so he understood what Wang Xiaoshi meant.
After Yan Liang entered the mansion, a servant informed him that Bai Choufei and Wang Xiaoshi had arrived. He then took the puzzled Su Mengzhen to their courtyard to find the two men. On the way, he explained to Su Mengzhen that Bai Choufei and Wang Xiaoshi were the two young men he had seen at the Bitter Water Shop that day.
"You want to recruit them?"
Su Mengzhen asked, surprised that the Crown Prince had invited someone to live in his residence in just three days.
“It’s not that I want to, it’s that I’ve already recruited them,” Yan Liang replied. “I think it would be good for you, Su Louzhu, to meet them. You might have more contact with them in the future.”
Su Mengzhen remained noncommittal, but silently followed Yan Liang to the courtyard of Bai Wang and the other man.
The courtyard was very quiet, located next to the Crown Prince's courtyard, with only a wall separating the two courtyards.
Yan Liang stepped into the courtyard, and the two people who heard the noise looked up and saw him and Su Mengzhen beside him.
"Oh, you're here." Yan Liang waved to them while holding Da Xue's hand. "How's the environment? If you're not used to it, we can change."
Wang Xiaoshi eagerly moved closer: "The environment is great, no need to change... Can I hug Daxue again?"
"Okay." Yan Liang reached out and handed it over, and Da Xue affectionately rolled around on Wang Xiaoshi's arm and slid into his arms.
Bai Choufei and Su Mengzhen watched the two interact naturally, their feelings complicated. They exchanged a glance and nodded to each other.
Upon seeing Su Mengzhen, Bai Choufei realized that Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou was on the Crown Prince's side. Hoping to prove his abilities to Yan Liang, he revealed his discovery as the four sat down to talk: "There are people planted in your household."
Yan Liang raised his eyebrows slightly, waiting for him to continue.
"I saw someone release a carrier pigeon," Bai Choufei said slowly. Seeing Yan Liang's natural expression, he asked him, "You knew about it?"
Yan Liang admitted, "I know."
Bai Choufei: "You're not going to do anything about it?"
Yan Liang touched his nose, looked at Da Xue rolling around in Wang Xiaoshi's arms, and said, "There are too many people, we can't manage them all... Besides Lord Fang's men, there are also Liu Fen Ban Tang's and Cai Jing's men."
Su Mengzhen's eye twitched, thinking to herself that the Crown Prince's residence was like a sieve.
Bai Choufei hit the nail on the head: "Isn't it just because you're too lazy to care?"
Su Mengzhen looked at Yan Liang thoughtfully, and the other man's expression told him that this was indeed the case.
Yan Liang shrugged and laughed, "Anyway, I won't die. Rather than angering them, it's better to avoid trouble and be more relaxed."
...To put it bluntly, it's just laziness.
"It's a miracle you're still alive."
Bai Choufei said mercilessly.
He spoke the unspoken thoughts of Su Mengzhen and Zhuge Zhengwo.
Su Mengzhen silently agreed with him in her heart.
Author's Note: Bai Choufei: It's a miracle you're still alive.
[The author of Jinfeng Xiyu Lou, Su Louzhu, gave it a thumbs up.]
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