Chapter 314: Facade (1/2)

“Oh, right, it's your sister who likes cilantro,” the mistress quickly recovered and said with an embarra.s.sed smile, but the surprise and panic flas.h.i.+ng through her eyes didn't escape Jun Huang's notice.

As if to prove her claim, the mistress put some cilantro into the plate of the girl next to her. The girl pursed her lips. It was clear she didn't like cilantro, either, but after glancing at her mother, she took a deep breath and nodded with a stilted smile. “That's right. I love cilantro. Mother must have gotten us mixed up.”

She ate the cilantro with a slight frown.

Jun Huang watched them silently, her expression impa.s.sive, but in truth, she was a little hurt. She'd thought these people were her family. However, there were too many signs for her to believe their lies.

Her appet.i.te lost, she put away her chopsticks and managed a smile. “I'm tired. Please excuse me.”

“Alright.” The woman rose to her feet and walked her out with the other girls. Jun Huang's chest tightened and she smiled ruefully. “We're a family. You don't have to walk me out.”

“Ah, I've forgotten to tell you,” the woman quickly came up with a lie. “It's a little habit of ours.”

Jun Huang nodded and made her way to her residence with a few servants in tow. She dismissed them, claiming to be tired, and spent some time contemplating what she should do next. Then she opened the window and lit the signal flare the man had given her last night.

After about a quarter of an hour, Yin Yun showed up outside the building. His mastery of martial arts allowed him to make his way upstairs undetected and enter Jun Huang's room.

Jun Huang considered him quietly. She knew she wasn't who everyone said she was, but she didn't entirely trust Yin Yun. Nonetheless, the man was her only source of information. If she brought the issue to the mistress, she wouldn't get an answer and may instead put herself in danger.

Yin Yun patiently waited for Jun Huang to speak up, his presence quiet and steady, which eased Jun Huang's nerves. “You called me princess. Will you tell me who I am?”

“You're Jun Huang, the princess of Western Que. Our homeland has been destroyed by Eastern Wu. You have a great strategic mind and have been working to avenge our homeland. This subordinate and Prince Jun Hao were hiding in Eastern Wu, intending to provide you with inside help...”

Yin Yun told Jun Huang everything. She stared at him owlishly, first shocked and in denial of the reality he'd painted, but then seeing the truth in his words. She forced herself to calm down.

“Did you find Jun Hao?” She'd decided to stay put at the moment. However, she was worried about her brother, despite not remembering anything about him.

Yin Yun nodded. “This subordinate suspects that the prince is being kept in the Grand Chancellor's manor. However, the manor is too heavily-guarded, and there are places I can't enter, which impeded my search.”

Jun Huang nodded. She could tell Yin Yun was telling the truth. “It's the Grand Chancellor's manor. Of course it'll be more heavily-guarded than other places. You should stay hidden. I'll try to gather some information.”

Yin Yun relaxed and vanished into the night. Jun Huang slumped over her divan. Just when she was about to fall asleep, her personal maid entered. She jerked up and stared at her.

The maid interpreted Jun Huang's reaction as being startled. She placed a book on the table and explained, “This is the book you told me to find for you, my lady. It was delivered earlier.”

Jun Huang hid the alertness in her eyes and nodded.

“Why don't you stay and have a chat with me?” she asked, beckoning the maid over.

The maid couldn't possibly say no. She nodded and walked up to Jun Huang.

Jun Huang maintained a calm front to avoid alerting the maid, and the maid answered her questions seemingly without holding anything back. Their conversation was normal, if not pleasant. Jun Huang soon got the maid to talk about the layout of the manor. The maid didn't notice anything wrong.

It turned out no one was allowed to get near the back of the manor. When asked, the maid only said it was the master's order. She didn't know why it was a forbidden area, and no one dared ask. She reminded Jun Huang to not get too curious. Jun Huang nodded with a smile.

“It's late,” the maid said, looking outside the window at the moon. “You should rest, my lady.”

Jun Huang smiled. “Alright.”

The maid helped Jun Huang settle on the bed and left the room, but not before reminding Jun Huang again to not go against the rules in the manor. Jun Huang humored her with a nod, but she'd decided to go have a look with Yin Yun.

Early the next morning, Jun Huang woke up to a woman sitting by her bed. She started and realized that it was the mistress. She frowned and asked, “Why are you here this early in the morning, mother? Is something the matter?”