Lu Jinshuang had barely stepped into Drunken Moon Tower when one of the waiters ushered her into a private room. This was the room reserved for honored guests, the one she always used.
The room was on the second floor, and through its large window, one could clearly see the acrobatics happening in the hall below—actually with a better view than from the ground floor. At the center of the first-floor hall was a circular performance area, with seats for spectators arranged all around the stage. The private rooms on the second and third floors were also built around the central hall, and guests in each room could see the occupants of other rooms through their windows.
"Bring us one of everything from your pastry menu, and a pot of good tea," Dongxue ordered the waiter as soon as they entered.
Xi Qingyue stood by the window, looking down at the center of the hall. The view from this spot was excellent. She then swept her gaze across the private rooms on the second floor—most of them already had guests.
Xi Weilan's little face was full of anticipation as she stared down at the hall below. On their way here, she and Xi Qingyue had watched some street performers, but they were just roadside acts. She had never seen anything like tightrope walking high above the ground.
Before long, the performances in the first-floor hall officially began. The first act was the tightrope walk—two performers walked across a rope suspended in the air, looking incredibly dangerous. The audience watched with bated breath, and many children let out gasps of alarm.
Xi Weilan watched without blinking, letting out cheers of excitement from time to time, her little face beaming with pure joy.
There were only four people in the private room: the two sisters, Lu Jinshuang, and Dongxue. To give the girl a better view, Lu Jinshuang even held her in her arms and stood by the window, making the two of them quite conspicuous.
As they watched, Xi Qingyue kept handing pastries to Xi Weilan, letting her eat while she enjoyed the show. Dongxue was equally attentive, pouring tea and passing a cup to Lu Jinshuang and Xi Weilan every few minutes.
They were completely absorbed in the performances below—from tightrope walking to pole climbing, bronze bell tossing, human pyramids, and more. Act after act appeared without end, and the smile on Xi Weilan's face never faded.
Lu Jinshuang chuckled at her reaction. "Little Lan'er, is it really that entertaining?"
Xi Weilan was just giggling at the monkey taming act below. At the question, she nodded vigorously. "Mm! It's much better than what Sister and I saw before. I really like this place."
Hearing this, Xi Qingyue smiled and patted her head. "Then we'll come back here tomorrow. Once we've had our fill of this place, we'll find somewhere else to go."
While they were lost in the show, people in many of the other private rooms were curiously glancing their way—especially those in the Tenth Prince's room.
A group of young wastrels was eyeing the Xi sisters. They were waiting for the two children to step out to use the restroom. Once the girls left their room, they would have a way to knock them unconscious and take them away. In a crowd this size, losing two children was a common occurrence. Even the Seventh Princess wouldn't be able to do much about it—she couldn't exactly have everyone dragged to the capital's magistrate for questioning, could she?
Finally, their chance came.
Xi Weilan had drunk too much tea and needed to use the restroom. Lu Jinshuang told Dongxue to take her.
But Xi Qingyue smiled and stopped her. "No need. I'll take Lan'er. I've had a bit too much tea myself."
Lu Jinshuang was uneasy. The place was crowded, and children could easily get lost. She spoke up. "Better let Dongxue go with you too. The two of you don't know the way."
"No need. I have a very good memory. We'll be right back." Xi Qingyue shook her head, declining.
Lu Jinshuang relented but still reminded her, "Alright, just be careful. If you can't find it, ask one of the waiters for directions."
Xi Qingyue took Xi Weilan's hand and stepped out of the private room. Beyond the door was a long, winding corridor that ran in a loop, connecting to every private room on the second floor.
The moment they came out, the group of wastrels quickly left their own room and strode toward them.
Once outside, Xi Qingyue used her ability to sense the layout of the entire second floor. She immediately detected the men approaching.
She gave Xi Weilan's hand a light squeeze and whispered, "Some people are coming to cause trouble. Let's go to the restroom first, and we'll deal with them later."
"Okay, I'll do whatever you say, Sister." Xi Weilan wasn't the least bit worried. She'd seen plenty of big scenes on this journey, and she even had a pistol tucked at her waist. She wasn't afraid of any troublemakers.
The two had just entered the women's restroom when the group of wastrels appeared at its entrance, blocking the way.
A man in blue robes sneered with satisfaction. "Once we take care of those two, the Tenth Prince will definitely think highly of us. Then we'll have an in with the Fourth Prince, and our futures will be set."
"Exactly. They're just two kids. Why would the Seventh Princess launch a massive search over them? Besides, with all these people around, even if she looked, she'd never trace it back to us. Maybe the Fourth Prince will reward us for this."
The men chatted openly among themselves, as if Xi Qingyue and Xi Weilan were nothing more than merchandise.
Inside the restroom, Xi Qingyue led Xi Weilan in and immediately shifted them into her dimension, where they used the restroom there instead.
A moment later, Xi Qingyue led Xi Weilan back out of the restroom.
Seeing the four wastrels blocking their path, Xi Qingyue feigned fear and shrank back. "What do you want?"
Xi Weilan played along, hiding behind her sister, but her hand was already reaching for the pistol at her waist.
The man in blue looked down at them with scorn. "I am the son of the Minister of Rites. You commoners don't deserve to be by the Seventh Princess's side."
Xi Qingyue pretended to be puzzled. "Isn't the Ministry of Rites supposed to be the most proper and polite? How come you have no manners at all?"
Before the man in blue could get angry, she turned to the others. "Are you his servants? Where are you taking us? If the Princess finds out, she'll have you punished. Aren't you scared?"
"You'll never see the Princess again. And for the record, I'm not a servant—I'm the son of the Director of the Revenue Bureau." A man in green glared at Xi Qingyue, offended by her words.
The others each announced their identities as well, and Xi Qingyue smiled with satisfaction.
"Since you've all introduced yourselves, you can rest in peace now."
As the words left her mouth, an invisible shield of wind slammed into the four men, knocking them unconscious.
The sisters quickly stripped them of all their valuables. Then, Xi Qingyue and Xi Weilan hauled the men, head-first, and dumped them into the latrine pit.
The unconscious men knew nothing of what had happened—and they never would.
Having done all that, Xi Qingyue took Xi Weilan's hand and cheerfully walked back toward their private room.
Lu Jinshuang had been waiting for quite a while and was just about to send Dongxue out to look for them when the two came back hand in hand.
She smiled and teased them, "I thought you two got lost. You missed the magic show just now."
Xi Qingyue shrugged casually. "That's fine. We can come a few more times—we definitely won't miss it then."
The two looked perfectly normal in every way, and Lu Jinshuang noticed nothing amiss, nor did she give it a second thought.
The Tenth Prince was stunned when he realized the two had returned to the private room. Were those young ruffians made of paper?
He waited darkly in the room for those men to come back, but after a long while, no one returned.
Just as he began to think the ruffians had slipped away, he heard the shocked and loud shouts from the waiters of Drunken Moon Tavern: "Someone come quick! A man fell into the outhouse pit and drowned! Someone, hurry!"
