Mingyue, the little princess?
Chu Qianli frowned, looking up at the person standing before her.
A man in disguise.
She was highly sensitive to drugs, and this man had applied medicine to his face, altering his features to resemble a man in his late forties or early fifties.
In reality, he was no older than thirty.
Her brow furrowed deeply, and she said displeasedly, "Let go!"
"Mingyue..."
"I am not some Mingyue, you have the wrong person."
Her frown deepened. "Let go!"
Qing Ming and several guards hurried over. Qing Ming immediately moved to seize the man's wrist, "Let go!"
However, before he could even grasp the man's wrist firmly, Qing Ming's expression suddenly changed. He was sent flying back by the man's internal energy.
A master!
Chu Qianli's eyes lit up, and she became quite interested, watching the embarrassed Qing Ming.
"How can you be so useless? You just stand there while I'm being bullied. How will you explain this to your Prince when you return?"
Qing Ming's face turned green as he swiftly drew his long sword.
The other guards also drew their swords in unison, surrounding the man in black.
They, from Prince Xuan's mansion, had never suffered such a humiliation.
In the imperial city, someone dared to oppose them!
Chu Qianli, however, chuckled. "What? One can't defeat him, so you want to attack together? You've completely disgraced Prince Xuan's mansion!"
"So you are from Prince Xuan's mansion! I did indeed mistake you for someone else. Please forgive my rudeness."
The man in grey finally released Chu Qianli's arms and cupped his hands towards Qing Ming. "My apologies!"
Qing Ming pursed his lips. Seeing that the man truly meant no harm, he finally sheathed his sword.
He looked at Chu Qianli. "Miss Li, please get into the carriage!"
His tone was extremely unpleasant.
The frustration he felt from the encounter with the man in grey was now directed at Chu Qianli.
Chu Qianli didn't even glance at him, her gaze fixed on the bottle that had fallen to the ground.
As she was about to bend down to pick it up, the man in grey beat her to it.
"My apologies, miss. I accidentally broke your bottle just now."
He weighed it in his hands, his brow furrowing slightly. "This material... forgive my ignorance, I've never seen anything like it. What is its value?"
"Priceless." It was not an item from this era, so its value could not be measured.
The man in grey looked at her again, his gaze still unable to move from her face.
She looked so much like her! Truly so much like her!
Not because of her looks, but because of her eyes, that half-smile in her gaze...
However, this girl looked at most fifteen or sixteen years old, while Mingyue...
If she were still alive, she would be over thirty now.
It absolutely couldn't be Mingyue.
Her appearance wasn't that similar, it was just that one glance...
The man in grey shook his head, feeling somewhat uncomfortable due to his own indiscretion.
"Miss, I apologize. I am not a lecherous scoundrel, it's just..."
He sighed, unsure of what to say.
Chu Qianli smiled. "Is it because I resemble an old friend of yours?"
The man in grey smiled faintly. "Precisely. You are truly intelligent, miss."
"My bottle..."
"I didn't bring much money with me today. Are you from Prince Xuan's mansion? I will visit you another day and personally deliver the money."
"How can you just enter Prince Xuan's mansion as you please?"
Qing Ming's face darkened.
Looking at the man in grey's appearance, he was certain he had never seen him before.
But his tone suggested that the gates of Prince Xuan's mansion were places he could freely enter and exit.
The man in grey glanced at him and then suddenly chuckled heartily. "Actually, I can indeed enter and exit the gates of Prince Xuan's mansion as I please."
"You..."
"My bottle is priceless, not in the sense of being worth a fortune, but rather, it's simply not available on the market."
Chu Qianli glanced at the man in grey, then back at Qing Ming, a smile flickering in her eyes that made Qing Ming's scalp tingle.
"How about this, you take me out for a meal, and we'll call it even for the bottle."
"Alright."
"Nonsense!" Qing Ming hurried over, about to grab Chu Qianli's hand.
This man in grey possessed extremely high martial arts skills, and he couldn't handle him.
Therefore, he couldn't concern himself with etiquette anymore; he had to get Chu Qianli back first.
Otherwise, if Chu Qianli really left with this man, where would they find her?
Unexpectedly, Chu Qianli suddenly dodged behind the man in grey and said urgently, "If you want to compensate me, take me out to eat!"
"Alright." A smile flickered in the man in grey's eyes.
Just as Qing Ming was about to reach Chu Qianli, he casually pushed out a palm.
Qing Ming and the guards felt a powerful gust of wind rushing towards them.
They were all forced back several steps. When the strong wind subsided, they opened their eyes to find Chu Qianli nowhere in sight.
Qing Ming's face darkened, and he quickly chased towards the end of the street. "You guys take the alleys and split up to pursue her!"
...
The man in grey led Chu Qianli into another alley.
"I don't have much money with me today, miss. What would you like to eat? I can pawn some things first..."
"No need." Chu Qianli suddenly stopped and looked at him.
"Miss?" The man in grey also stopped and turned around, meeting her gaze.
The smile that had been in Chu Qianli's eyes was gone.
She said faintly, "You know Feng Yexuan. I have nothing to say to you. Goodbye."
"Little girl?" The man in grey immediately caught up, somewhat taken aback. "You..."
After a moment's thought, he suddenly understood. It must have been his casual remark about frequently entering and exiting Prince Xuan's mansion that had tipped her off.
It seemed this girl and little Xuanzi had a very poor relationship.
Qing Ming called her Miss Li, was she perhaps the legendary Princess Xuan?
He hadn't expected this little girl to be so perceptive, so meticulous.
At her age, it was truly rare.
So intelligent!
"Little girl, although I have a good relationship with little Xuanzi, I always distinguish right from wrong. If it's little Xuanzi's fault, I won't side with him."
"Miss, they call you Miss Li. Are you the seventh daughter of the Duke's mansion, Chu Qianli?"
"I heard I'm the fifth daughter now." She smiled sarcastically.
"I am not from the Northern Ming Kingdom and am not very familiar with the relationships within official families. My apologies."
"You are not from the Northern Ming Kingdom?" This was somewhat unexpected for Chu Qianli.
His accent was really not much different from people in the imperial city.
"Then you must be from the Southern Ming Kingdom."
The man in grey was surprised.
Chu Qianli pursed her lips and said faintly, "Never mind. If you don't wish to reveal your true appearance, then it's inconvenient to disclose your identity."
"I am not curious about your identity either. I bid you farewell."
She turned to leave.
The man in grey, however, was very interested in her.
Firstly, it was because this girl's demeanor was truly similar to that of Sister Mingyue from years ago.
Secondly, it was also because this girl was too intelligent, so intelligent that he couldn't take his eyes off her.
The man in grey chased after her and said with a smile, "What if I am willing to show you my true face?"