Shangguan Xi, however, was preoccupied with something else.
He murmured, "This Four Saints Casino... it seems to be Second Brother's property."
Yu Feiyan and Ye Tianshu were momentarily stunned, then burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha! Exactly, exactly! The Four Saints Casino belongs to the Second Prince, Shangguan Li. Oh, that girl! By sheer luck, she managed to swindle the very person who is Eldest Senior Brother's enemy!" Yu Feiyan laughed until he was pounding his chest, tears streaming from his eyes.
Ye Tianshu also roared with laughter: "Hahaha... she really is, she really is a lucky star!"
Yu Feiyan looked at Ye Tianshu and shook his head. "You, you are so fickle. Just before, you were calling her a jinx."
"I did not!" Ye Tianshu retorted defensively. "Before Eldest Senior Brother returned to the Capital City, Master had me cast a fortune for him. The divination showed a nine-out-of-ten chance of death. There was only one way to break the curse: to embrace death in order to find life."
That was why Shangguan Xi had allowed himself to fall into the murder trap without resisting—he wanted to use the "death" to escape from the light and move into the shadows.
But Yan Weichi’s sudden appearance had clearly shattered Shangguan Xi’s original plan.
Yu Feiyan sighed and said, "Now the divination of near-certain death is broken, but Eldest Senior Brother cannot move from the light to the shadows. He is still stuck having to tangle with the Empress and Duke of Anguo."
Ye Tianshu replied, "That may not necessarily be a bad thing. At least Eldest Senior Brother is still the Crown Prince. With this status, while there is danger, there is also authority. The court officials, out of respect for the Crown Prince, dare not openly support Shangguan Li. But..."
Ye Tianshu looked at Shangguan Xi, asking with concern, "Senior Brother, in the Capital City, we only have the Red Sleeve Tower. We have neither military power nor personal connections. What should we do next?"
Shangguan Xi tapped his fingers lightly against the bed, pondering for a moment before saying, "Embrace death in order to find life. She said that, too."
"Hmm? What was that?" Ye Tianshu asked, confused.
Shangguan Xi snapped out of his thoughts, belatedly asking, "What did you say?"
Ye Tianshu gave a wicked smile. "Oh my, my dear Senior Brother, what were you thinking about? You were so lost in thought you didn't even hear us!"
Shangguan Xi had been thinking about Yan Weichi, but he certainly wouldn't admit it.
Ignoring Ye Tianshu’s teasing, he continued, "That old fox, the Duke of Anguo, is not easy to deal with. Since I cannot move into the shadows, I will simply continue to cross swords with him. Feiyan, stay and help me. Tianshu, you continue to search for Shangguan Qing's whereabouts."
The "Qing'er" Shangguan Xi spoke of was none other than Shangguan Qing, who had disappeared over a decade ago.
Although everyone believed Shangguan Qing must be dead—after all, a month-old infant falling into a frozen river stood almost no chance of survival—without a corpse, a glimmer of hope remained in Shangguan Xi’s heart.
If it hadn't been for him back then, perhaps none of this would have happened.
Shangguan Xi’s face clouded with sorrow, clearly sinking into self-reproach again.
Yu Feiyan and Ye Tianshu exchanged glances, neither knowing how to comfort him.
Yu Feiyan thought for a moment and said, "That girl Yan Weichi should be back soon. In all likelihood, she will come to look for me. I’ll return to my courtyard and wait for her. Tianshu, you should hurry back to your Red Sleeve Tower as well."
Ye Tianshu did not refuse. After urging Shangguan Xi to rest and recover, he left the Crown Prince's Mansion.
No sooner had he left than Yan Weichi returned with a carriage full of supplies.
She first instructed the servants to store the goods, then, clutching the banknotes, she went to Yu Feiyan’s courtyard.
"Heir Yu? Heir Yu, are you there?" Yan Weichi asked, knocking on the door.
Yu Feiyan hurried to open the door, pretending to be sleepy as he let out a yawn. "Hah... is that you, little sister-in-law? What’s up? Time to eat?"
Yu Feiyan looked up at the sky, feigning laziness.
Yan Weichi didn't mind. She walked straight into the room, reached into her pocket, pulled out a ten-thousand-tael banknote, and handed it to Yu Feiyan.
"Here, this is ten thousand taels. I figure it should be enough to repair the Crown Prince's Mansion. If it’s not enough, just fix the areas we use most for now. I’m really not familiar with the Capital City, so I have to entrust this to you."
Yu Feiyan took the banknote and asked, "Where did you get so much money?"
Yan Weichi, having anticipated this question, replied instantly, "Street performing!"
"Performing?!" Yu Feiyan’s eyes widened as he watched her.
Yan Weichi thought about it; she supposed it was performing. Who said bamboozling people wasn't a talent? Most people didn't have acting skills as good as hers!
Yan Weichi repeated with a smile, "Yes, performing. Oh, right, I asked around at the bank—these banknotes are universally accepted; there's no risk of them being blocked. You can hold onto them without worry."
Yu Feiyan’s mouth twitched, thinking that this girl was quite thoughtful.
When he told her his own banknotes had been blocked, she had actually remembered to check if these would be as well.
In truth, he had been making it all up!
Yu Feiyan nodded with a grin. "Alright then. Leave it to me; I’ll make sure it's all handled properly."
"Many thanks, then!" Yan Weichi said, turning to leave.
Looking at the ten thousand taels, Yu Feiyan thought about Yan Weichi’s haul for the day and couldn't help but chuckle. "Little girl, you’re stashing away private funds—are you planning on running away?"
Yu Feiyan was right; Yan Weichi was making plans for herself.
But she wasn't foolish enough to run away right now.
In this ancient world, she didn't need to be told how difficult it was for a woman to support a household alone.
So, she planned to stay obediently by Shangguan Xi’s side. Unless he was utterly defeated, she wouldn't look for an exit.
Besides... being the Crown Princess was actually quite nice!
And... she had another important matter that required Shangguan Xi’s help.
Yan Weichi returned to Shangguan Xi’s courtyard with a smile. From the pile of things she had bought today, she selected a few items and took them to the small kitchen.
Half an hour later, she brought a bowl of thick, black medicinal soup to Shangguan Xi.
"Oh, you're awake!"
When Yan Weichi entered the room, she saw Shangguan Xi sitting at his desk, seemingly writing something.
Shangguan Xi set down his brush and frowned. "No manners at all. Why didn't you knock?"
In truth, he had already heard her footsteps, but he wanted to scold her a bit.
Yan Weichi rolled her eyes at him and retorted, "How was I supposed to know you were awake? Besides, there isn't a part of you I haven't seen—what do you have to be afraid of!"
"You..." Shangguan Xi felt his face flush again.
Perhaps because he was naturally fair-skinned and had an air of sickly elegance, the blushing was exceptionally prominent.
Yan Weichi tilted her head, unable to stop herself from marveling: *He's so good-looking. In my world, he’d be the dream of nine hundred million girls.*
"What are you looking at?!" Shangguan Xi didn't like Yan Weichi’s... her lecherous gaze.
Yan Weichi withdrew her eyes and placed the medicine in front of him. "Time for your medicine, drink up!"
Shangguan Xi turned his face away in disgust; he clearly didn't want it.
However, Yan Weichi moved to his other side, opened her palm, and signaled for him to look.
Shangguan Xi saw a few plump, white lotus-seed candies lying in her delicate, slender hand.
Shangguan Xi looked at her, confused.
Yan Weichi said with a smile, "Eat a candy, and you won't fear the bitterness!"
Shangguan Xi let out a cold snort. "I am no child!"
"Tsk! Stop with the nonsense!" Yan Weichi pinched Shangguan Xi’s cheeks and stuffed a lotus-seed candy into his mouth.
Shangguan Xi froze.
As the Crown Prince of a nation, and in the borderlands, a commander of three armies, who had ever dared to be so audacious with him?
While he was still stunned, Yan Weichi lifted the bowl and held it out. "Drink it quickly, while it's hot. You can have more candy once you're finished."
Shangguan Xi’s brows were furrowed. He should have been angry, but the sweet, soft taste spreading in his mouth left him unable to flare up.
This soft, sweet sensation made him involuntarily recall the scene he had witnessed last night.
The memory of Yan Weichi stripped bare—that smooth, full, lovely, and alluring sight.
*Whoosh!*
Blood began to surge toward both ends of his body, scaring Shangguan Xi so much that he quickly grabbed the bowl and downed the medicine in one gulp.
He needed to drink some medicine to calm down!
Yan Weichi, standing to the side, was momentarily stunned, then sighed helplessly. "Sigh, drinking it so readily—so you do like candy. You should've just said so! I’ll buy you more another day!"
With that, she took the entire bag of lotus-seed candies from her pocket and set it in front of him.
"Here, these are all for you. But dinner is coming soon, so don't be greedy!" Yan Weichi grabbed the empty bowl and left happily.
It wasn't until she had left the room that the tense Shangguan Xi finally let out a sigh of relief.
He looked down at his bulging trousers and couldn't help but rub his temples in frustration.
What was wrong with him? In over twenty years, he had never been this uncomposed.
There were soldiers in the military who frequented brothels, but he had never had the slightest interest.
How could he be having such wild thoughts about a crazy girl?
Shangguan Xi circulated his inner energy, finally managing to suppress the part that shouldn't have been stirring.
"I use the *Qianqiu Xue* technique Master taught me to suppress the Cold Gu Poison, yet here I am using it to suppress my own delusions. If Master found out, he would surely break my legs! Sigh!"
Shangguan Xi shook his head helplessly.