Chapter 148: A Request For Marriage (1/2)

“It was decided that one of third brother's men would be in charge of the construction. That we cannot change. Still, I'm not willing to let everything go his way…”

“Does Your Highness intends to teach the third prince a lesson?” asked Jun Huang. “Your Highness can report to the emperor that the third prince has taken bribe from the official. That's why he recommended the official to take on the job. You can then tell the emperor that you are willing to complete the construction with money out of your own pocket.”

Qi Chen blinked. For a moment, he didn't quite understand what Jun Huang was getting at. He frowned as he went through the whole plan in his head. It was a low blow, but it would be effective.

Anger drained out of his body. With a faint smile, he ordered a servant to bring in the dessert that the cook had prepared as an offering to Jun Huang. Jun Huang wasn't going to let Qi Chen get what he wanted. She glanced at the delicate dessert and said, “This gentleman has not been feeling well recently. The doctor told me to not eat anything sweet. Thank you for your consideration, Your Highness, but this gentleman will have to turn this away.”

“Of course,” Qi Chen muttered. “Your health is more important.”

They shared a few more words before Jun Huang took her leave.

As soon as she left the manor, she saw one of her men waiting for her in an alleyway. Her heart pounded against her ribcage. She had sent this man to look for Yin Yun and Jun Hao. Had he found something?

Jun Huang barely kept herself from bursting in excitement. Once she had left the scrutiny of Qi Chen's people, the man walked up to her and cupped his hands in greeting. “This subordinate has visited many places. I found clues to the whereabout of the men gentleman Feng is looking for – it seems that they are in Yun Town.”

Jun Huang tightened her fists and took a deep breath. Her breathing became shallow and quiet. “Are you certain that the information is reliable?”

“This subordinate has not seen them with my own eyes, but from my questioning the information seems to be legitimate.”

Jun Huang tried to think about it with a clear head, but she could not form a single coherent thought. Her emotions had gotten the better of her.

She returned to Nan Xun's manor like a lost spirit. Seeing her unfocused eyes, Nan Xun approached her and asked, “What happened? Is there a problem you can't solve?”

Jun Huang had not recovered from the news yet. Her heart soared even higher with Nan Xun here. Inhaling deeply, she tried her best to calm down. “The man I sent out to track down Jun Hao has returned. He and Yin Yun seem to be in Yun Town… Ah, I have to leave for Yun Town at once! I can't sleep easy until I make sure they are safe!”

Jun Huang shot up to her feet and intended to return to her place to pack.

Nan Xun frowned. Jun Huang had completely lost her calm. He didn't have any evidence, but his instinct told him that something was amiss. They had both sent many people to track down her brother to no avail, and now a mere guard came back with concrete lead?

Either the guard had been compromised, or someone had deliberately led the guard to Yun Town for some unknown reason.

Nan Xun grabbed Jun Huang's arm before she could rush out to prepare for the trip. He held Jun Huang's gaze. “Calm down. If you run off to Yun Town without a plan, you may be falling into someone's trap. We have to think about this.”

Jun Huang's heart was already in a different place. She had made up her mind to go to Yun Town. She was barely listening. “Calm down? How can I be calm? I've been apart from my only family for too long! I don't know how they are right now. I've never stopped looking for them. Every day I found nothing but dead end. Now that I finally got a clue, I have to go look for them even if it is a trap.”

“That's exactly why we have to be careful!” Nan Xun said seriously, holding firm to Jun Huang's arm. “Don't you want to avenge Western Que? If it's really a trap, you'll be losing your chance to achieve your goal.”

Jun Huang finally managed to settle her racing heart. She took a deep breath and turned to Nan Xun. “What will you have me do?”

Nan Xun was quiet for a moment. The logical thing to do would be to question the guard who brought her the news.

Jun Huang ordered a servant to retrieve the guard for her without any arguments. Nan Xun took the lead in interrogating the guard.

The guard said that he had followed the breadcrumbs to Yun Town. He heard a local resident say that there were refugees from Western Que in the area. The guard had intended to continue investigating, but Yin Yun was a master in martial art. Every time he felt like he was getting close, he lost the trail. In the end he had no choice but to report back to Jun Huang.

Nan Xun let the guard leave after questioning him. It was difficult to tell if the information was legitimate.

He didn't want to put Jun Huang in danger. He told his own shadowguard to look into the matter, trying to rea.s.sure Jun Huang.

Once she had calmed down, Jun Huang agreed with Nan Xun that everything seemed too good to be true. She threw herself back into the wedding preparation and never mentioned Yun Town again.

She spared some time to offer advice to Qi Chen on how he could undermine the third prince. It was as if she was playing a chess match against Ji Bo through the two princes. Qi Chen and the third prince were locked in a vicious fight. Neither had the efforts to spare for Qi Yun.