Chapter Eighty-Five: No One Knows

If you do not know, then no one in this world knows.

Sino Sang answered with regal authority.

Yuan Qianlu shook his head. He truly did not know; he only wanted to avoid the two of them. How could he still care where they were? He did not want trouble at all. Right now, Yuan Qianlu would dodge whenever he could. He would rather go to the battlefield and kill enemies than be caught between those two and take the blame for their quarrels.

"My lady, may this servant say a word?"

"Go on, then. Let me hear it."

Sino Sang looked at him, curious to see what he had to say.

"Every time the prince and the princess quarrel, it puts us servants in an awful position. We all avoid it if we can."

In other words, they would rather run than rush toward it. How could they possibly offer themselves up?

"What do you mean?"

"Forgive me, my lady. This humble servant simply does not wish to be drawn into the struggle between you and the prince. Please spare me, my lady. I still have matters to attend to."

Yuan Qianlu did not linger at all. He hurried past her, leaving Sino Sang momentarily stunned.

Was she really that frightening? Not really, was she? Or did he truly not know?

Watching the departing figure, she could see that he was indeed avoiding her. Ah, it seemed that her conduct with Xuanyuan Juesi had already affected his subordinates.

Yuan Qianlu was honestly at his wits' end over the two of them, but he had no way to say it aloud. Today, after what she had done, he had no choice but to speak.

Sino Sang reflected on herself and felt she had been childish too, never considering the thoughts of the people around her. She had even forgotten that everyone was equal. She had really begun to think of herself as a princess. Yet she was a modern woman. If she had already regressed into an ancient one, that would be a failure indeed.

But people in love are always blind.

They are even completely unreasonable.

Sino Sang sat alone by the doorway. She did not go to look for Ye Xuan, did not investigate the case, and did not seek out Xuanyuan Juesi either.

She simply sat there, staring at the great tree in the courtyard, her mood clearly poor. She kept thinking about many things. Small things.

She had once thought she would begin anew here, and that she would forget Wen Shuanan. But now she realized that reality was just as difficult no matter the era. Reality was reality, not a dream, not whatever one wished it to be.

Not to mention whether she could truly forget Wen Shuanan, could she really start over with Xuanyuan Juesi alone? She began to doubt it all.

Ah, being alone made one too prone to wild thoughts. One starts thinking of all sorts of nonsense, so people must never be idle. Idle hands invite a wandering mind.

As for Ye Xuan, he slept until this hour, and no one had awakened him. By then the sky was already bright.

Ruan Qingnong was asleep with her head on the table beside him.

"Miss Ruan, wake up."

Ye Xuan gently shook her.

"Young Master Ye, I am sorry. I fell asleep!"

"It is fine. Has Mother come by?"

He looked at the still-warm dishes on the table.

"Yes, she just came to bring food."

Ruan Qingnong nodded and quickly straightened her hair.

After Ye Xuan and Ruan Qingnong finished eating, they settled the bill with Mother and then left. This place was a good one for eating and sleeping; perhaps he could come more often next time. Ye Xuan noticed that Sino Sang had not come looking for him. Had something happened? Was Xuanyuan Juesi making things difficult for her?

He had no way of knowing, but one thing he understood clearly: Sino Sang could not possibly stay by his side at every moment.

So he had to learn to live with days when Sino Sang was not near him. This impossible thing was something he would eventually have to accept.

Sino Sang did not belong to him; she belonged to Xuanyuan Juesi. Xuanyuan Juesi merely wanted to curry favor with her, to play the good man, and that was why he let Sino Sang remain with him. More than that, Xuanyuan Juesi had another plan: to let Sino Sang discover Ye Xuan's proximity on her own. In that way, he would not be the villain.

Sino Sang was clever. Xuanyuan Juesi would surely think that if she stayed with Ye Xuan too long, she would begin to suspect his identity. So letting her discover it herself was the best possible outcome.

Ye Xuan would need to be even more careful, or else he would truly be serving the other man's wishes.

"Are you planning to ignore me?"

At that moment, a voice sounded beside him.

"Qin Li? What is it?"

Seeing that it was Qin Li, he realized how distracted he had been. Otherwise he would never have failed to notice her at his side. If it had been someone else coming to assassinate him, he would already be dead.

"What are you doing?"

"Taking a walk. Do you have a problem with that?"

"The master is looking for you."

What was Bai Ming calling for him this time? Ye Xuan gestured for her to lead the way.

"Then let's go."

Ye Xuan said, and Qin Li looked him over before saying, "You had better not go see the master looking like that."

"Like what?"

"Like a dead man."

Qin Li was not in the least bit polite. Ye Xuan gave a cold snort.

"Isn't this all because of you? If not for your case, I would not be like this. This affair was done by Thousand Gates, and their target was you."

"Is that so?"

He had not expected Thousand Gates to kill and frame her, intentionally making Sino Sang and Xuanyuan Juesi suspect him. But Xuanyuan Juesi had believed him from the start, and Sino Sang was also beginning to believe him. So this framing had effectively failed.

But why would Thousand Gates do such a thing?

"Of course. Have you offended Thousand Gates somewhere?"

Ye Xuan said, and Qin Li smiled.

"Do you think I alone am the one who offended Thousand Gates?"

Had he, Ye Xuan, not offended them? Had his Bright Tower not offended Thousand Gates? They were born enemies; do not place all the blame on one person.

She could not bear it.

Ye Xuan said no more and followed Qin Li to where the master was. It was surprisingly not far from the pleasure quarter.

Apparently, this was also arranged in view of his actions. But that was of no concern. He was doing his job, after all.

Following Qin Li, he arrived before Bai Ming. Seeing the master, Ye Xuan lowered his head as well, for that was best; it would avoid the master targeting him. Though he had never feared being targeted, there was no need for it. Some things, he still understood very well.

"Any leads?"

Bai Ming asked him.

Ye Xuan shook his head.

"Not yet. There is no news of that gem."

He answered truthfully. Xuanyuan Juesi truly did not seem like a man who possessed such a thing. Could the information have been mistaken?

But Ye Xuan did not ask back. The master had never been wrong; there must be proof pointing to all of this.

"Useless trash."

Bai Ming looked furious, but he did not shout at Ye Xuan. Instead, he shouted at Qin Li.

Qin Li looked rather pitiful. Clearly, the master had intended those words for Ye Xuan, but could only say them to her. Perhaps because her background was inferior to Ye Xuan's, so she could only serve as the scapegoat. Qin Li lowered her head and dared not answer back.

"I am sorry, Master."

"Enough. I do not need apologies. If you cannot find that gem, none of you will end well."

Bai Ming looked at the two of them. They were among his most capable subordinates, yet even such a task could not be accomplished.