"My Lord!"
Feng Yinwan subconsciously wanted to call out to stop him, but Ye Tinglan's actions were faster.
The mask was removed, revealing a very unfamiliar male face. Ye Tinglan's eyes flashed with disappointment, and his expression sank again.
As expected, it wasn't her.
In just an instant, his slender neck was gripped again.
"Speak, and don't make me repeat myself for the second time."
Feng Yinwan hadn't recovered from the shock and adrenaline of the previous moment. Hearing his words, her lips pressed together tightly. After calming her breathing, she spoke again.
"I dare not deceive my Lord. This silver needle was given to me by chance, a gift from someone."
The pair of dark, cold, and sharp eyes on the opposite side softened for a moment upon hearing this.
"Who? Was it a woman, and a physician like you?"
"Where is she now...?"
As these words left his lips, there was a slight tremor that Ye Tinglan himself hadn't noticed.
He stared intently at the pair of slightly pursed red lips before him, afraid of missing any syllable.
Unexpectedly, the person before him turned cold for a moment upon hearing this.
"I dare to ask, what is the relationship between my Lord and that woman?"
The knuckles pressing against her neck tightened for an instant, veins bulging, but the force was restrained and controlled.
After a long while, the restraint was removed. Feng Yinwan heard him say, "She is this Lord's Princess Consort."
A trace of cold mockery crept into her eyes. Feng Yinwan smirked, her expression unchanged.
"My Lord must be mistaken. That girl is merely an ordinary woman, not some noble Princess Consort."
"Impossible!"
"I would never mistake her silver needles! Where is she now?"
Feng Yinwan found it laughable.
First, at the Prince's manor, he refused to believe and intentionally covered for her. Then, at the Xu family's, he sent assassins in the dead of night to silence her.
Since he was so heartless, why was he putting on such a show of deep affection now?
"I dare not deceive my Lord, but that girl is indeed not the person you are looking for. I cannot help you, my Lord, please seek elsewhere."
Ye Tinglan's dark eyes instantly turned icy, and a biting chill surged again.
"You only need to tell me her whereabouts. As for anything else, it is not your place to inquire."
He glanced at her coldly, his thin lips parting again.
"If you insist on not revealing it, this Lord will cease the transaction with Wu Xi Pavilion."
He would get the answers he wanted, and he was always adept at using threats and enticements.
Feng Yinwan inwardly sneered. Her gaze shifted, and she looked up again.
"Why is my Lord so certain? What if that girl does not wish to see you?"
In an instant, terrifying killing intent surged before her.
His thin lips pressed together sternly. After a long silence, he only repeated one sentence.
"Where."
Since he was determined to ask, she would give him an answer.
Feng Yinwan lowered her eyes and looked away.
"I only met that girl once at the border. We parted in haste, and I do not know where she has gone now."
The word "border" truly made Ye Tinglan tremble.
No wonder he had ordered people to search every province without finding any trace of her; she had actually... gone there.
His large palm clenched instantly, and a hint of complexity flickered across Ye Tinglan's face.
Just as Feng Yinwan thought he was about to leave, she heard him speak again.
"Did she... say anything else to you?"
The heavy hesitation in his tone made Feng Yinwan pause slightly.
She shook her head and replied indifferently, "No."
Ye Tinglan's eyes darkened upon hearing this. His brows twitched slightly, and he turned to leave.
Feng Wuxi only returned at dawn.
At the fifth watch, as the sky was just beginning to lighten, Feng Yinwan, who was drowsily asleep, was woken up by him.
Ye Tinglan had not been gentle when he interrogated her earlier. Her skin was delicate, and the two finger marks on her fair neck were extremely obvious. Feng Wuxi glanced at them and tutted.
"Truly no pity for the fairer sex."
Feng Yinwan was still groggy. Upon hearing this, she frowned, but sensed something was amiss.
"What 'pity for the fairer sex'?"
As soon as she finished speaking, she saw him looking at her with a look of someone watching a show.
She paused slightly, raised her hand to touch the fake mask on her face, and her mind cleared in an instant.
"You knew Ye Tinglan would come?"
She wondered why this scoundrel suddenly wanted to alter her appearance and even used an excuse to slip away.
These two scoundrels were definitely making shady deals behind her back!
Her chest heaved. Enraged, she scrambled off the bed and reached for her silver needles.
Feng Wuxi's forehead twitched subtly at the sight. He quickly called out to stop her.
"No! It's not like that, it's not like that!"
"This Lord didn't know. This Lord purely relied on prediction!"
Feng Yinwan chuckled twice, indicating that after twenty years of practicing acupuncture, she too relied purely on prediction.
The Qingying Needle was originally a secret technique of Wu Xi Pavilion. Feng Wuxi naturally knew its power, but he admitted he was in the wrong and merely dodged her attacks without retaliating.
Finally, after the nth time of hitting air, Feng Yinwan gritted her teeth and gave up.
She switched to retrieving poison!
Feng Wuxi's expression changed drastically at the sight, and he quickly shouted to stop her.
"Feng Yinwan, dare to cause trouble again, and don't blame this Lord for showing no mercy!"
As he spoke, he used his internal energy to shatter a teacup on the table as a warning.
Feng Yinwan's lips curved into a cold smile. The moment she threw the poisonous powder, she simultaneously kicked towards him.
Moments later, Feng Wuxi used his internal energy to dispel the red mist, flung away her leg, and his face looked worse than if he had constipation.
"You poisonous woman!"
She dared to kick his vital spot!
The poisonous woman, Feng Yinwan, unhurriedly withdrew her leg. Seeing his pathetic state, she rose with satisfaction.
"It is my honor to receive a compliment from Pavilion Master Feng."
Her gaze clearly implied: Speak up, quickly tell me what other shady business you two were involved in behind my back!
Feng Wuxi had a headache.
There was no trust between them anymore.
"This Lord said, it was merely a prior prediction! If this Lord hadn't disguised you, would you be safe and sound here now?"
She would have been dragged away by Ye Tinglan by now!
Feng Yinwan found some logic in that. She knitted her brows and asked again.
"Then how did you predict he would come looking for me?"
Feng Wuxi glanced at her, a wicked smile curving his lips.
"You still don't understand men."
The moment Ye Tinglan stepped onto the painted boat yesterday, the first glance he gave Feng Yinwan held an unusual meaning. Coupled with several probing attempts in the private room, he was certain that Ye Tinglan would definitely come.
"What kind of reason is that?"
Feng Yinwan thought they were both a little crazy. She frowned and pointed at her face, urging him.
"Quickly get this thing off me. I've been wearing it all day, and my face is numb."
Feng Wuxi glanced at her, reached for a small bottle from his waist.
The mask was removed with a special solution. Feng Wuxi fiddled with it for a while and placed the removed piece of skin into a basin of water.
"Done."
Feng Yinwan patted her slightly stiff face, and just as she was about to get some warm water to wash up, news from outside arrived first: the Southern Tour plan had changed, and the Imperial Envoy team was temporarily rerouting to Yuzhou.