Lu Qianning’s expression grew increasingly strange, her face filled with confusion and bewilderment.
How fast could a mule possibly be?
Besides, they had been traveling in a mule cart, while Lu Qianning and the others had ridden horses day and night without stopping. Yet they had actually been outpaced by a mule cart.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind. If they were talking about speed, she had indeed seen something remarkably fast—the strange ghostly fire. Most of the people along the road had probably seen it as well.
But after thinking about it for only a moment, she shook her head and dismissed the idea. Although the Xi Qingyue sisters were strange, they were not monsters. How could they possibly have anything to do with ghostly fire?
She decided to visit Lu Jinshuang’s residence that night. At the very least, she needed to confirm that the two children were all right.
“Mu Jin, make the preparations. We’ll go to the capital shortly. We’ll use Eldest Sister’s jade token to enter. Also, have the others enter the city separately. Tell them to be careful.”
“Don’t worry, Princess. Even if you put them in the middle of a crowd, they wouldn’t stand out. No one will pay them any attention.” Mu Jin was very confident.
A quarter of an hour later, Mu Jin took Lu Qianning and Luo Ling aboard a carriage bound for the capital.
When they reached the city gates, Mu Jin produced one of the Eldest Princess’s jade tokens. The guards saw it and, without asking a single question, respectfully let them pass.
The moment they entered the city, they heard the common people cursing the Fourth Prince and the Tenth Prince, along with voices expressing sympathy for Lu Qianning.
Naturally, there were also some voices of doubt, but they were drowned out by the louder curses.
Inside the carriage, Luo Ling grinned. “Princess, the Fourth Prince’s reputation is ruined. He’s completely lost any chance of inheriting the throne.”
Lu Qianning chuckled softly. “He’s already half-dead. Even if they made him Crown Prince, it would be useless. Now that I’m back, it’s time to settle some old scores.”
She had not returned to play the dutiful daughter or pretend that her siblings were all harmonious. Her first priority was to avenge herself—and rid Great Jing of its pests.
As the carriage passed a restaurant, she suddenly heard a familiar child’s voice outside.
“Sis, we haven’t tried the food here yet. Shall we go in and see whether it’s good?”
“Sure. We’ll eat here today. Tomorrow, we’ll try another place. If the food is good, we can have them prepare more for us next time.”
The familiar voice and familiar way of doing things made Lu Qianning unable to resist lifting the carriage curtain. She saw two children standing at the entrance of the restaurant, hand in hand as they walked inside. Following behind them were a maid and a guard—the very Xiaolian and the head guard from the Seventh Princess’s residence.
She could not help smiling and sighing, “They’re living even more comfortably than we are.”
With that, she lowered the curtain. She would wait until nightfall to meet the two children.
What she did not know was that the instant she lowered the curtain, Xi Qingyue suddenly turned her head toward the carriage. She even gave it a radiant smile.
The woman driving the carriage was not an ordinary maid. She was a martial artist from the jianghu, and a rather skilled one at that.
When she saw Xi Qingyue’s brilliant smile, she felt a chill run down her spine.
After one glance, Xi Qingyue calmly entered the restaurant. Lu Qianning’s arrival in the capital had been within her expectations. Judging by the timing, she should have arrived around now, so running into her here was no surprise.
After they left, the woman driving the carriage told Lu Qianning what had happened.
Lu Qianning merely smiled. “It’s fine. She knows we’ve entered the capital. Perhaps she has some impressive methods we don’t know about, but she’s one of our own. There’s no need to worry.”
She had already heard the whole story about the pastries and understood why the two children were staying at the Seventh Princess’s residence. She was simply puzzled by the fact that they had remained there for so long. In the past, they had never stayed in one city for more than three days before buying what they wanted and moving on.
As soon as Xi Qingyue and Xi Weilan entered the restaurant, they ordered a whole tableful of delicious dishes. If they had not been so young, they would certainly have ordered a couple of jugs of wine as well.
Xi Weilan was eating a lotus-flower roast chicken when she muttered under her breath, “What a pity. If only we could have a bottle of cola.”
Hearing this, Xiaolian hurriedly asked with concern, “Miss Lan, what kind of water would you like? Shall I buy some for you?”
Xiaolian was very fond of her two new young mistresses, and she was especially enamored with Xi Weilan. When she heard the child say she wanted a drink, she assumed it was some new beverage being sold in one of the shops.
Xi Weilan smiled and shook her head. “No need. I was just saying it.”
Xi Qingyue shook her head with a smile. If the child wanted some, why was she afraid to say so? Did she think Xi Qingyue would refuse to let her have it?
She came up with an excuse to send Xiaolian and the guard out to buy something. Then she took out a bottle of cola and handed it to Xi Weilan.
“Go ahead and drink it, but only one bottle. No more.”
“Yes, Sis. One bottle is enough.” Xi Weilan’s eyes immediately curved into a happy smile.
She picked up the bottle and began drinking. Once she had finished, Xi Qingyue swiftly put the bottle away.
When Xiaolian and the guard returned with pastries and two bottles of drinks, there was no sign of the cola on the table. Only the faintest trace of its flavor lingered in the air.
If Lu Jinshuang had not insisted on having people accompany them, and if she had not wanted to focus on eating, drinking, and enjoying themselves, Xi Qingyue would never have allowed the two to follow them.
Having them along could prevent trouble and allow the sisters to stroll around happily, but it also came with its inconveniences.
Once they had spent the next two days familiarizing themselves with the capital, they would no longer need these two burdens. After that, whenever they went out, it would be to buy things. It would also be time to leave the capital.
Xi Qingyue felt that their lightness skills had reached the beginner level. From then on, Xi Weilan could cultivate slowly on her own and did not need to keep training with Lu Jinshuang. Their dream of traveling the world and eating their way across it had yet to be fulfilled.
There were simply too many spoiled young masters in the capital. They could never kill them all—never.
Just as she was thinking this, the door was suddenly slammed open with tremendous force. An uninvited guest appeared at the entrance of their private room.
“Impudent! These are the Seventh Princess’s sworn younger sisters. What do you think you’re doing?” the guard shouted angrily at the newcomer.
His duty was to protect Xi Qingyue and Xi Weilan. The situation was clearly hostile. The newcomer had obviously come looking for trouble—and he certainly had some nerve.
The intruder was a handsome young man of about twenty. He looked respectable enough at first glance, but the pallor of his face told everyone that his body had long since been drained by dissipation.
He sneered. “What Seventh Princess’s sworn sisters? I am the grandson of the Grand Tutor. My aunt is Consort De, and my father is the Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Frontier forces. Two wild girls like you are nothing in front of me.”
Only then did the guard recognize him. He was Wei Da, the Fourth Prince’s cousin.
A month earlier, Wei Da had seriously injured the son of the Vice Minister of Justice and had been impeached. The Vice Minister had refused to let the matter go. To avoid trouble and silence public opinion, the Wei family had sent Wei Da to a manor outside the city. He had only returned to the capital that very morning.
After returning, Wei Da had gone straight to the restaurant to drink. He had not heard the people outside discussing the Fourth Prince. But while he was in his private room, he heard them talking about Xi Qingyue and Xi Weilan. Without a second thought, he had brought his men over and kicked open their door.
Xi Qingyue spoke coldly. “What do you want? Who you are has nothing to do with us. You’ve interrupted our meal.”
The guard stepped forward and positioned himself between Wei Da and the sisters. His tone remained neither servile nor overbearing.
“Lord Wei, these are the Seventh Princess’s sworn younger sisters. Think carefully before you say or do anything.”
Wei Da let out a disdainful snort. “What do you mean, sworn younger sisters? Calling each other that doesn’t make you related by blood. As it happens, my residence is short of two maids. You two can come work as maids for me.”
He didn’t believe there was any real familial affection in the imperial household—especially not between people who had merely sworn brotherhood or sisterhood.
He had always disliked the Seventh Princess, and by extension, anyone connected to her. Besides, the Seventh Princess was currently under house arrest. Even if he took these two away and killed them, there was nothing she could do about it. By the time she was released, he could simply hide somewhere for a while, and the matter would blow over.
Once his father returned, the Seventh Princess would be powerless against him anyway.
His intentions were written plainly across his face. The guards and Xiaolian both turned pale. Wei Da truly was capable of anything, and he had brought a whole group of guards with him. The two of them stood no chance in a fight.
Just then, Xi Qingyue smiled faintly at Xi Weilan. “Lan’er, did you see which foot he used to kick the door?”
Xi Weilan hurriedly nodded. “Yes, Sis. I saw it—it was his left foot.”
