After Wen Mohan left, Nangong Yu kept making noises to attract Xiao Man's attention, but Xiao Man paid him no mind.
"Man'er," Nangong Yu moved the official document to Xiao Man's desk. "It's just the two of us now. Shall we do something else?"
"Do you want to sleep all the way back to the imperial capital?" Xiao Man raised an eyebrow, glancing at Nangong Yu, and continued writing.
Nangong Yu's eyes lit up. "If you accompany me, I'm willing to sleep all the way back to the imperial capital."
Xiao Man looked up and gave Nangong Yu a bewitching smile. Nangong Yu immediately smelled a faint fragrance, similar to the scent on Xiao Man, both gentle and lingering. But he quickly became alert. No, it wasn't the same as Xiao Man's scent!
Just as Nangong Yu was about to distance himself, he felt dizzy and stumbled to the ground. Xiao Man didn't even glance at him, continuing to organize the information and then issue orders. Since they were returning to the imperial capital, everything had to be foolproof. All the spies hidden in the General's mansion must be uprooted!
When Nangong Yu woke up again, it was already dark. Because they had been traveling, they hadn't checked into an inn. Xiao Man was lying on the only soft couch in the carriage, sleeping soundly.
Nangong Yu rubbed his sore neck. "Cruel girl, you didn't even help me to bed."
The carriage door opened, and Si Chen poked his head in. "My Lord, Princess Yongning has a message for you."
"What message?" Nangong Yu asked, taking off his clothes as he walked towards the bed.
"Don't come within three feet of her, or next time it won't be just three days of sleeping."
Nangong Yu's steps faltered. "How long did I sleep?"
"Three days."
"On the floor, for three days?"
"Yes, sleeping on the floor for three days. Originally, I wanted to move you to the bed with Si Ye... As soon as Si Ye stepped inside, he fainted and hasn't woken up yet." Si Chen's expression was priceless. He finally understood why Xiao Man could repeatedly break through their defenses and capture so many of their Lord's 'high-and-mighty' beauties. With her masterful skill in poisons, the Lord deserved to fall for her!
Nangong Yu glanced at the beauty within arm's reach, then thought of Xiao Man's warning words. A smile of amusement curved his lips. With a wave of his hand, the carriage door closed again, leaving Si Chen outside.
A moment later, Si Chen heard the sound of a heavy object falling inside the carriage. He sighed. My Lord, you've been warned, why don't you believe it?
Princess Yongning was indeed beautiful, but she was covered in thorns. If you weren't careful, you'd be bleeding profusely. Unless she willed it, no one dared to force her… King Han was a bloody lesson!
Si Chen looked at Dongfang Wei, who was driving in Si Ye's stead. "You are the young master of the martial arts alliance, why are you willing to be ordered around by Princess Yongning?"
"Am I willing?" Dongfang Wei glanced at Si Chen. "She tricked me into signing a contract of servitude and convinced my father. My father ordered me to stay by her side for three years, or I would end up like Yu Qianmo, becoming an enemy of the martial world!"
"Are you sure you're your father's biological son?" Si Chen asked.
"Biological, absolutely!" Dongfang Wei said through gritted teeth. "I'm not as skilled, so I admit defeat! However, your master isn't much better, he's practically begging for a beating!"
When Nangong Yu woke up again, he was lying alone on the couch. He looked around but couldn't find Xiao Man.
"Si Chen, where is Xiao Man?"
"My Lord, Princess Yongning entered the imperial capital yesterday. You slept all the way back to the imperial capital."
Nangong Yu's face darkened to the point where it looked like ink. He told him to sleep all the way back to the imperial capital, and she really made him sleep all the way back. What a heartless girl!
"How is the General's mansion?"
"I don't know how the General's mansion is, but I do know that the Prince of Qin's mansion is in chaos." Si Chen's expression was solemn. "Si Feng was framed by Miss Luo, and it just so happened that the Crown Prince, who was visiting you at the mansion, broke in. Now, everyone in the imperial capital knows that you favored Miss Luo."
Si Chen broke out in a cold sweat for Si Feng. Si Feng, as Nangong Yu's substitute, had disguised himself as Nangong Yu to deceive people when Nangong Yu had to leave the imperial capital. He had never made a mistake all these years, but this time he fell into Luo Bingqing's hands!
The key was that being framed was one thing, but being caught in the act by the Crown Prince and having it spread everywhere, even an eighty-year-old grandmother in the imperial capital knew that the Prince of Qin had favored Luo Bingqing.
Nangong Yu's already dark face grew even darker. He had finally used Xiao Man's excuse of recuperation to avoid marrying a concubine, but Luo Bingqing ruined it!
"Return to the mansion!"
Prince of Qin's mansion, Si Feng locked himself in his room, pacing anxiously. Had his Lord received his message? He had made such a grave mistake due to his carelessness. If his Lord found out, would he cut him into pieces?
"Senior Brother," Luo Bingqing's voice sounded outside the door, filled with an indescribable charm and sweetness. Her face was beaming with the satisfaction of a young girl who had gotten what she wanted.
Upon hearing her voice, Si Feng almost fell to his knees. Being framed by Luo Bingqing was bad enough, but then being caught by the Crown Prince and having it spread like wildfire. His Lord would definitely chop him up when he returned!
"Senior Brother, I made some ginseng soup for you in the kitchen." Luo Bingqing knocked on the door again, her eyes full of shyness. "Senior Brother, are you there?"
Si Feng covered his ears, pretending not to hear the voice outside. When he woke up and found himself sleeping with Luo Bingqing, he had broken out in a cold sweat. Although his Lord favored Princess Yongning, he was still impersonating the Lord. What he did was equivalent to what the Lord did. If Princess Yongning misunderstood his Lord… Si Feng wiped away a tear. If Princess Yongning misunderstood, his Lord would surely tie him up and throw him into a cauldron of oil!
Just as Si Feng didn't know what to do, Nangong Yu appeared before him. Si Feng immediately knelt down. It was over, his Lord was in a terrible mood!
Nangong Yu looked at Si Feng coldly. Si Feng felt an invisible pressure that made it impossible for him to lift his head, and he kept lowering his body, his face almost touching the ground.
At this moment, there was another knock on the door.
"Senior Brother, Qing'er is already your woman. You must not fail Qing'er."
"Scram." A cold, hard word, devoid of any emotion.
The smile on Luo Bingqing's face instantly froze. She seemed unable to believe what she had heard. "Senior Brother, what… what did you say?"
"Scram!" Nangong Yu's voice, cold and without fluctuation, came out.
Luo Bingqing's beautiful eyes instantly filled with tears, and she choked up. "Senior Brother, why are you so heartless to Qing'er? We are Senior Brother and Sister. Now that Qing'er is Senior Brother's woman, is Senior Brother going to fail Qing'er? If Senior Brother truly does this, Qing'er will have no choice but to die."
Nangong Yu frowned in displeasure. "Do you want me to have Old Master Xiao come and take you back?"