His tone was as cold as ever, a stark contrast to how he held her wrist so tightly.
Feng Yinwan struggled but couldn't break free.
At this moment, Ye Tinglan happened to catch sight of the lingering bruises on her wrist, recalling how she had cruelly dislocated her own wrist bone that day. His eyes narrowed, and his grip immediately loosened.
Seizing the opportunity, Feng Yinwan pulled her hand away.
"You speak," she said.
She didn't know what scheme he was hatching, but if he didn't say what he needed to say today, she feared it would drag on indefinitely.
She had plans to leave and didn't have the energy to deal with this.
The warmth of her fingertips vanished in an instant, leaving Ye Tinglan momentarily dazed.
He furrowed his brow and then smiled, "Regarding your affairs in Jinzhou, this king was unaware of them before."
The hidden guards below had been investigating, but they hadn't found any clues. The secret letter sent by Li Chengyan had also not reached him.
If that were not the case, he would have found her long ago. Why else would he have endured such detours to reach this point!
Feng Yinwan, however, frowned at his words.
"So?"
Ye Tinglan pursed his lips, his gaze involuntarily scanning her movements.
"The assassins who appeared at the Xu family's residence earlier were not ordered by this king."
If Li Chengyan hadn't inadvertently mentioned it today, he would likely have remained in the dark until now.
The matter of the assassins was truly peculiar!
"Is this what the Prince wishes to say?"
Her red lips curved slightly, but the arc was cold and mocking.
Her tone clearly indicated disbelief.
Ye Tinglan's eyes dimmed almost imperceptibly. "Feng Yinwan, this king would never do such a thing."
He would protect her; how could he possibly...
"Then perhaps the Prince should see what this is."
She tossed him a jade token.
With just a glance, Ye Tinglan recognized it as belonging exclusively to the hidden guards of the manor.
Feng Yinwan watched him, a chilling coldness seeping from her eyes.
"This was found on the assassin."
The implication was self-evident.
On the other side, Ye Tinglan's hand gripping the jade token tightened abruptly before he finally said in a deep voice,
"This matter, this king will give you an explanation."
Qi Xuan's secret letter had arrived before dinner, and after reading it, Ye Tinglan had ridden down the mountain.
Feng Yinwan truly didn't care for his explanation, but she was quite pleased that he had left the mountain villa.
Without him, she wouldn't have to restrain herself.
However, she soon discovered that she had been too optimistic.
Ye Tinglan was gone, but the Cold Armored Cavalry remained. Not only were they present, but they also guarded the villa so tightly that it was like an iron bucket.
Feng Yinwan circled the villa and found only one place that was not being guarded: the sheer cliff behind Yingyue Pond.
The cliff led directly to the foot of the mountain, shrouded in mist and clouds, a drop of at least a hundred zhang.
Places that could directly kill someone like this indeed didn't require guards.
Feng Yinwan returned dejectedly, forced to consider other options.
As soon as she returned to her courtyard, she heard a commotion. Upon entering, the first thing she saw was a figure in a crabapple-colored dress.
The woman stood with her back to her at the door, her raven-black hair falling to her waist, appearing quite gentle and demure.
However, the moment she turned her head, Feng Yinwan saw... Feng Yun's face?!
She rubbed her eyes and looked again, unsure.
Yes, she was sure now. It was indeed Feng Yun!
After a brief moment of shock, it was replaced by an even stronger sense of doubt and astonishment.
Feng Yun had a fiery temper and always wore a fitted outfit, her hair simply tied up with a wooden hairpin at the back. When had she ever dressed like this?
What had she... gone through?
Yubing had clearly also woken up. The two stood confronting each other at the door, their faces flushed as if they had been arguing for quite some time.
The fear she had felt under their dominance was still vivid. Forgetting her shock, Feng Yinwan quickly stopped at the doorway.
Um, she suddenly remembered...
"Miss!"
"Stop!"
Their voices overlapped as they called out together. Feng Yinwan wanted to escape, but she couldn't.
"Miss, you're finally back! This woman is here to cause trouble again!"
Yubing's face was red with anger. She stomped over, her shoes on the wrong feet.
Feng Yun followed closely, and upon seeing the expression on Feng Yinwan's face, her demeanor immediately turned sour.
"I'm causing trouble? If the Pavilion Master hadn't ordered me to call her for dinner, do you think I would be here?"
She was referring to Feng Yinwan.
Yubing was displeased.
"You can call, but I was just resting on Miss's bed for a while, not intentionally falling asleep. Why are you yelling at me!"
Miss's bed seemed to have a calming effect. She had initially wanted to wait for the Jade Muscle Dew to dry completely, but as she lay there, she somehow fell asleep.
When she opened her eyes, this woman had pushed the door open without a word. Her movements were rough, not to mention her loud voice. Was she polite at all!
"Is the master's bed a place for a mere maidservant like you to lounge on casually? You were sleeping so soundly. If I hadn't raised my voice a little, could I have woken you?"
After speaking, she glanced at Feng Yinwan again and said coldly,
"It's mealtime, and you don't even know to go yourself, having to be called by others. It's truly 'like master, like servant,' not a single one of you is easy to deal with."
"You're not allowed to talk about Miss like that!"
"If you're not doing well, I'm not allowed to say it? I will say it!"
A battle was about to erupt.
Feng Yinwan, caught in the middle, felt her eyelids twitch. She grabbed both of their hands and, with lightning speed, pressed them together!
The two were caught off guard and immediately fell silent.
Feng Yinwan (smiling): "Go on, why aren't you speaking anymore?"