After Becoming a Concubine, I Took Down the Princess - Chapter 2

The two people Cloud Vine brought followed Young Master Yue and entered the private room.

“Young Master, my wife can’t speak, and her gestures aren’t clear, so I came to help her convey her meaning,” the man, one of the two Cloud Vine brought, was the first to speak.

Young Master Yue nodded, motioned for them to sit down, and personally poured two cups of tea, pushing them in front of the couple.

The two accepted the tea with awe and placed it on the table, not daring to drink.

Young Master Yue pondered for a moment, then began to question the woman: “Your name is Yan Chun, and you previously served the Emperor, responsible for serving tea, is that correct?”

Yan Chun nodded.

“Then do you remember if anything special happened in the autumn eleven years ago, which was the ninth year of Shunping?” Young Master Yue’s gaze was sharp, making Yan Chun feel uneasy for no reason.

She closed her eyes and thought carefully for a while, then made a few gestures.

“Yan Chun says the Emperor’s health was poor that autumn, and the imperial physicians couldn’t figure out the ailment,” her husband translated.

“I remember that. What else?” The Emperor’s health had been fluctuating over the years, which was nothing new to Young Master Yue.

“Prince Chen brought a skilled person from outside the palace, who claimed they could help cure the Emperor’s illness,” Yan Chun gestured again, and her husband translated as he watched.

“Did you see that skilled person?” Young Master Yue only knew that the Emperor recovered soon after, but had no idea someone from outside the palace had been brought in.

How could the Imperial Medical Institute be so useless?

Yan Chun tried hard to recall, and just as she was about to shake her head, she suddenly remembered something.

“I didn’t see their full face, only caught a glimpse once while serving tea.”

“Do you still remember what they looked like?”

Yan Chun frowned. After eleven years, recalling it was difficult.

The movements of her hands were also hesitant.

“That person was dressed in white, looked like an immortal, and was very young, with a mole below their lip. I remember it because it was quite unique.”

“Anything else?” Young Master Yue’s tone was excited; he was almost about to stand up from his stool.

Yan Chun regretfully shook her head, indicating there was nothing more.

Young Master Yue sat back heavily, his eyebrows tightly furrowed, his expression one of deep disappointment.

The information obtained today was insufficient to investigate the events of that year.

Eleven years had passed; how much of the truth, already buried in the dust, could be uncovered?

She reached out and pinched her brow. The other man standing beside her noticed this and pulled a bundle from his sleeve, placing it in front of the couple.

Yan Chun’s husband took it and found it was a heavy package of silver.

“When you leave, no matter who asks, say you haven’t seen Young Master Yue. Your visit today was just to find your cousin, a courtesan, and she gave you this bag of silver.”

The two had worked as farmers for many years and had never seen so much silver. They nodded repeatedly, promising to remain absolutely silent.

“Let’s go.” The standing man waved his hand and escorted the two out.

After closing the door, the man returned, lowering his voice to ask: “Young Master, have you seen the person they described?”

Young Master Yue’s hand was still on his brow. After a moment of thought: “The person Yan Chun described bears a strong resemblance to the Imperial Advisor. I will find a reason to meet him another day.”

With that, he called out to the person beside him: “Moon Shadow—”

Before he could finish, there was a sudden clang, and the door was violently broken open from the outside. A girl in red rushed in, glaring fiercely at the dumbfounded Moon Shadow and Young Master Yue.

The girl was exactly Yan Heng, who had been dancing downstairs earlier.

“I followed the scent and came here! Sure enough, it’s strongest here!” Yan Heng’s gaze swept over the two of them, then settled on Young Master Yue.

Moon Shadow reached out to draw his sword, intending to stop this impudent girl, but suddenly found himself unable to move, as if his xue points had been sealed.

Yan Heng stared at Young Master Yue through gritted teeth, her eyes suggesting she wanted to swallow him whole, which made him feel a chill.

“You… what are you going to do—Ah!” Young Master Yue was interrupted mid-sentence as Yan Heng pounced on him, knocking him off balance and causing him to tumble to the floor.

Moon Shadow, whose entire body was immobilized except for his eyes, rotated them wildly in frantic worry.

“Take the Heartstring Knot off me!” Yan Heng lay on top of Young Master Yue, exposing a pair of sharp canine teeth with a grin, as if she would bite off his neck at any moment.

“What are you talking about? Men and women should maintain distance, please mind your conduct, Miss!” Young Master Yue was slender. With Yan Heng pressing down on him, and seeing her actions, he thought she was about to assault him.

Having been strictly taught etiquette since childhood, he dared not push Yan Heng away rashly and lay in shock on the ground.

“Heart! String! Knot!” Every word Yan Heng spoke was filled with utter hatred.

Young Master Yue clearly had never met her and could only fiercely kick the immobile Moon Shadow with his still-movable foot.

Moon Shadow was clearly unable to move, and a layer of fine sweat broke out on his forehead from anxiety.

Suddenly, Yan Heng realized something was wrong.

The person who placed the Heartstring Knot on her was a half-grown girl, who should now be a graceful maiden after nine years. How could the person emitting the lotus scent now be a man?

Could she have smelled the wrong person because of the heavy scent of cosmetics in this building…

Young Master Yue, pinned to the ground, completely forgot to resist. His face was flushed crimson, making him look exactly like a man being molested by a frivolous woman.

So, Yan Heng slowly sat up, her pair of long, narrow, fox-like eyes filled with confusion.

Young Master Yue rubbed his sore arm from the fall and also sat up.

Suddenly, Yan Heng leaned in again, scaring him into raising his hand defensively.

However, Yan Heng did not attack him, but instead—

Sniffed him all over.

Yan Heng’s nose twitched, and she used both hands to climb onto his shoulders, sniffing vigorously around his neck.

The redness that had just faded now returned to his cheeks. In his eighteen years, this was the first time a woman had been this close to him, and what’s more, was smelling him.

The girl’s breath circled his neck, just like… a dog kept in the Imperial Palace licking him.

Although it was mean to think of a girl this way, that was the first comparison that popped into Young Master Yue’s mind.

Yan Heng sniffed and muttered: “Impossible. You definitely have the lotus scent—”

Before she could finish, Moon Shadow, finally able to move, hoisted Yan Heng up in one swift motion.

“Squeak—” The door opened.

“Squeak—” The door closed.

Yan Heng was screaming and shouting as Moon Shadow tossed her to Cloud Vine, who happened to be passing by. Cloud Vine, having been a madam for years, had immense strength. She bundled and carried the girl away.

Moon Shadow stepped forward to help Young Master Yue up: “Young Master, are you alright?”

Young Master Yue shook his head: “I have a lotus scent? I’ve always used sandalwood.”

“That girl must have mistaken you for someone else, Young Master, you don’t need to worry about it,” Moon Shadow said, pondering by his side.

“What was wrong with you just now? Why couldn’t you move?” Young Master Yue turned and asked suspiciously.

“Your subordinate doesn’t know either. As soon as that woman came in, I was about to draw my sword, but I was suddenly immobilized,” Moon Shadow felt utterly ashamed, wishing he could dig a hole and crawl into it.

He had been a bodyguard for almost five years and was immobilized by a young girl. If his elder brother, Moon Ferry, found out, he would be laughed at endlessly.

Seeing Moon Shadow looking like a resentful woman, Young Master Yue felt slightly better, but then felt something was amiss and asked: “Then why could you move afterwards?”

Moon Shadow awkwardly scratched his head, a blush even rising to his face: “Perhaps, perhaps my inner strength is profound…”

Young Master Yue: … Your face is red like a teapot lid.

Young Master Yue gave up on prying further and waved his hand: “Never mind. Perhaps she used some hidden weapon to seal your xue points.”

Moon Shadow nodded in agreement, indicating the matter should now be dropped.

“Should we return to the manor or the palace?” With the farce over, Moon Shadow opened the door, asking solicitously.

Young Master Yue stepped over the threshold, saying: “The manor.”

Yan Heng sat in the private room, furiously gripping the chopsticks in her hand.

Her nose couldn’t be wrong. Either that person had been a boy since childhood, or they were a woman disguised as a man!

And the other man, how could he have broken her immobilization spell!

Just after finishing her dance, Cloud Vine had instructed her to go to a private room on the second floor to accompany a guest. Unexpectedly, a rich lotus scent drifted over, the very scent she had been searching for for nine years.

Yan Heng’s expression was grim, looking just like a scorned wife.

The official sitting beside her felt quite uneasy, not knowing where he had offended the girl.

Rain Ripple, who was accompanying the guest on the other side, couldn’t bear it and nudged her with her elbow: “Miss, decorum!”

Yan Heng immediately put down the things in her hand, replacing her expression with a seductive smile that charmed people’s hearts and instantly made them forget her earlier expression.

Yan Heng said apologetically: “My apologies, Sir, I lost my composure.”

The official waved his hand: “Miss, why would you say that?”

Suddenly, he noticed something, pointing at Yan Heng’s head and asking: “Why is there a button hanging on your head?”

Yan Heng reached up to touch it, and indeed plucked a button from her hairpin.

The button was presumably made of jade, warm and smooth to the touch. It was such a tiny button, yet it was engraved with something, resembling a bald bird.

This must have fallen off the man’s lapel when she pounced on him.

The official leaned closer to examine it: “Oh, this is an item of the Imperial Family.”

Imperial Family? That neither-male-nor-female person was from the Imperial Family?

The official took the button from Yan Heng’s hand and carefully scrutinized it under the candlelight: “It really is an Imperial Family item. This carving is of…”

His colleague next to him also leaned in and added: “Isn’t that a Phoenix?”

The button was delicate and small, but the Phoenix carved on it was still recognizable, which showed the superb skill of the craftsman.

“With a Phoenix carved on it, this must belong to the Empress or a Princess,” the official sighed.

Either the Empress or a Princess…

Yan Heng suddenly realized something, grabbing the official’s arm and asking: “Sir, what is the given name of our Great Ning’s Princess?”

“This…” the official looked troubled.

In Great Ning, the given names of the Imperial Family were not to be spoken by commoners; they could only be referred to as a certain Prince or Princess. If an yamen runner overheard, one would be arrested and whipped.

Yan Heng immediately shook the official’s arm, coquetting: “Just tell me one character, it shouldn’t be a violation of the prohibition.”

“Xiao,” the official, unable to resist the beauty, conceded.

The colleague interjected: “This Princess Yong’an is the Emperor’s only daughter, cherished as the apple of his eye!”

The Imperial surname of Great Ning was Liang, and Princess Yong’an, Liang Xiao, ranked seventh among all the Emperor’s children and was the Emperor’s only daughter. Yan Heng was not a subject of Great Ning, so she knew very little about these matters that were common knowledge among the people of Great Ning.

Yan Heng’s eyes darted about: “Does the Princess catch foxes?”

The official and his colleague looked at each other in confusion.

What the heck?

Catch what the heck?

What the heck catches foxes?

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