As the ancients say: A woman adorns herself for the one who fancies her! This saying applies equally to Xing Yuan.
Perhaps it was because the original host had suffered poverty in her youth, that after becoming an assassin, she would always set aside half of her bounty for savings while keeping the other half for personal use. If her savings ran out, she would then take on another mission. Over time, she had amassed a considerable fortune.
Xing Yuan did not have such habits. After collecting her bounty from Wu Ren Gui, she immediately bought herself a new set of attire. The original host was already young, her appearance merely dulled by her somber clothing. Now, clad in a vibrant dress, she looked more like a charming young girl than a cold-blooded killer.
Xing Yuan dared to guarantee that even if she stood before acquaintances now and claimed to be an assassin, they would not believe her. After all, who could believe that a person who killed like a butcher would suddenly transform into a maiden in love?
The current plot had only progressed to the point where the Second Prince, Feng Li Yan, was about to depart for disaster relief. Xing Yuan had arrived, and naturally, she had no interest in accepting the so-called assassination mission anymore. The most important matter now was to go to the capital and see her elder sister!
As for revenge, she would deal with that person casually once she had free time, as she was very confident in her skills.
After finally traveling a long distance to the capital, Xing Yuan suddenly realized a problem: she didn't know her elder sister's current identity in this life, nor where she was.
According to the original host's memories, the jade pendant rightfully belonged to her elder sister, so her sister must have known Feng Li Yan and perhaps even admired him. Thinking of this, Xing Yuan radiated a low pressure, feeling angry just at the thought. Perhaps she should eliminate that fellow in advance! Solve the problem from the root.
Never mind! It was too far. She would deal with him when he returned! She needed to find her elder sister first. Xing Yuan thus successfully convinced herself.
However, the capital was teeming with people! Xing Yuan was alone and had no connections, completely in the dark. At this moment, a conversation among several people on the street caught her attention.
"Did you hear? The First Prince is hosting a banquet at his manor again," one person whispered mysteriously.
Xing Yuan, with her superior martial arts skills, had sharp ears and heard the news, instinctively focusing her attention.
"What? No way! Hasn't the First Prince's manor hosted two banquets already this year?" another person exclaimed in surprise. To him, this First Prince was truly a talent, possessing an outstanding family background yet insisting on finding a soulmate.
"Alas, why wouldn't it be? My aunt's second cousin works in the First Prince's manor, and he told me this news. Don't spread it around!" the first speaker cautioned, his eyes full of schadenfreude.
Perhaps seeing someone of much higher status and position facing similar troubles brought them a sense of balance.
"I know about this too. It's said that the Empress personally prepared the initial banquet, and the subsequent two were arranged by the First Prince. The Empress has not shown her face at all," a person from a nearby table chimed in upon overhearing their conversation.
"Ah, you don't know this! His Highness the First Prince is not the Empress's biological son. It's already extremely benevolent of the Empress to plan for him, yet the First Prince doesn't appreciate it," the person seemed to know many inside details, speaking with conviction.
"That's true! It's a pity that we commoners are not fortunate enough to witness this grand feast," one person sighed. Soon, they seemed afraid of being discovered and ceased their chatter.
Xing Yuan, who had listened to the entire conversation, wore a thoughtful expression. Since it was the First Prince's concubine selection banquet, most noble families would attend. Her elder sister's jade pendant had fallen into Feng Li Yan's hands, so her identity must be extraordinary, making it highly probable that she would attend this banquet.
With this thought, Xing Yuan made up her mind instantly; she had to find a way to sneak in.
As an assassin, the original host did have some connections. After all, no one wanted to die in their sleep. Although she had never actively managed them, Feng Li Yan later leveraged the favors owed to her to advance significantly on his path to the throne.
Xing Yuan carefully considered potential candidates and finally unearthed a kind-faced胖子 from some obscure corner – Feng Li Pan, yes, the First Prince of the Feng Yuan Dynasty.
Feng Li Pan's birth was not as distinguished as the other two princes. His birth mother was merely a concubine who died in childbirth. Thus, he was raised by the Empress from a young age. However, the Empress also had her own biological son, the Third Prince Feng Li Yu, so she had always adopted a hands-off approach towards Feng Li Pan.
Feng Li Pan was quite intelligent. Knowing he had no chance of inheriting the throne, he requested to be enfeoffed as a prince as soon as he came of age. After withdrawing from the struggle for succession, he lived more freely than others.
To lower the guard of his two brothers, Feng Li Pan was considered mediocre in both literary and martial arts. Later, he developed a fondness for commerce. The original host met him during his first venture into business.
Although Feng Li Pan brought many guards, some regions of the Feng Yuan Dynasty were still plagued by bandits at the time, with even some establishing their own strongholds. He, however, was unafraid of trouble and stumbled directly into the hands of the strongest among them, Tian Hu Mountain.
At that time, someone had offered a hefty reward for the original host to assassinate the leader of Tian Hu Mountain. The original host's martial arts were extraordinary. Although Tian Hu Mountain sounded formidable, they were not an army, merely a group of people gathered for profit, lacking high loyalty to their leader.
After successfully completing the mission, she happened to pass by the prison and, on impulse, released the innocent individuals captured by Tian Hu Mountain. Feng Li Pan was among them.
Upon seeing the original host's impressive martial arts, Feng Li Pan became interested. Despite his lack of favor, he was still a prince. After using considerable resources to investigate her whereabouts and identity, he persistently pursued her for some time.
Later, the original host, fed up, actively sought several martial arts manuals. After extorting a substantial sum from him, she handed him the manuals, taught him a few self-defense moves, and then successfully extricated herself.
According to the subsequent plot, Feng Li Pan placed immense faith in those manuals. Later, through his diligent study, he actually managed to comprehend something from them. It was a pity that when the original host was later by Feng Li Yan's side, she always acted as a hidden guard, and Feng Li Pan never saw her. Otherwise, he might have truly enlightened the original host.