Spring arrives and the land smiles

Inside the room, Qingyan listened intently through the hidden door for a while, only feeling relieved when she was sure no one was eavesdropping.

When Qingyan turned around, she found Luo Qing smiling at her with his arms crossed.

"The hidden door is made of double-layered iron and wood, which can completely prevent the ear from passing through the wall."

Qingyan paused for a moment, then frowned and pouted: "Why didn't you say so sooner?"

"Because you look so cute when you're being silly." Luo Qing cupped her face and kissed her forehead.

"Is this the time to discuss whether something is cute or not?" Qingyan pushed him away, sat down at the table, poured herself a cup of tea, and then poured one for Luo Qing as well.

Luo Qing smiled and sat down as well.

"Is there something wrong with this Flying Snow?" Qingyan took a sip of tea and asked the crucial question.

"Judging from his pulse, he hasn't taken any Chinese medicine, and it's vigorous and powerful, indicating he's a martial artist with profound internal strength," Luo Qing replied.

Qingyan said, "It seems our opponent is quite capable. Knowing that Liu Qizhuo is an idiot, they replaced him with a smarter one."

Luo Qing: "I don't think Fei Xue has anything to do with Liu Qizhuo. He should be someone sent by the hidden adversary we've been looking for."

Qingyan said, "Yes, if it's related to Liu Qizhuo, they should have sent someone over before Feixue."

Qingyan thought for a moment and then said, "In that case, let's play along."

Luo Qing nodded and instructed people to keep an eye on Fei Xue, but not to stop him from doing his thing.

Soon, the scouts reported that Feixue had first been secretly searching for the boy's residence, and then she had been rummaging through the princess's room, as if looking for something important.

"Looking for something?" Qingyan asked, puzzled. "What is he looking for?"

He was busy searching for the boy's place and looking through his belongings, but what was he looking for?

Qingyan thought about the things in her room that were worth coveting. They were nothing more than a token that could represent her identity and a jade pendant that could command the Listening Wind Pavilion. Both of these required her private seal to use, so she never let go of her private seal. However, she had to deal with those male performers these past few days, and Qingyan was afraid that they would take her private seal away, so she left it with Luo Qing.

Tokens and jade pendants might be easy to steal or forge, but private seals are impossible to counterfeit. In this era, most seals were made of stone, and it was already difficult to carve identical characters on a seal. Moreover, after the seal was finished, the carver would tap it a few times to create random cracks, which were very difficult to fake in this era. Therefore, fake seals were rare. Qingyan's seal was even more difficult to counterfeit because she had the carver carve half of her index finger's fingerprint on it.

"Could it be that they're looking for bloodstone?" Luo Qing guessed.

Right, how could I forget that?

Qingyan reconsidered. Since Feixue had already investigated the young man's residence, the bloodstone might also be one of his objectives.

"It must be so. The bloodstone is a token to prove the boy's identity. The letter given to Lady Yong'an specifically mentioned that recognition could only be made upon seeing the bloodstone, so—"

“Therefore, this Feixue must not be one of the Marquis of Yong’an’s people.” Luo Qing interrupted Qing Yan first, stating her own thoughts.

"Why?" Qingyan asked, puzzled.

"Qingqing, have you forgotten? Marquis Yong'an always used robbery." Luo Qing laughed.

Haha, Luo Qing really hit the nail on the head.

Qingyan said, "If it's neither Liu Qizhuo's man nor the Marquis of Yong'an's man, it can only be the mastermind behind it all."

Luo Qing: "This mastermind is colluding with the Marquis of Yong'an, using people like Liu Qizhuo as intermediaries. However, the two do not seem to trust each other, otherwise they would not be openly and secretly vying for the boy. Perhaps this is exactly what we can take advantage of."

Qingyan nodded and said, "They only know about chicken-blood stone, but they don't know what it looks like. However, Lady Yong'an Marquis knows about it. Let's create some discord between them."

Luo Qing lightly tapped Qingyan's forehead with her finger: "Qingqing is so smart."

The next day, the male actors didn't wake up until after noon, but Qingyan was too lazy to deal with them and continued to pretend to be asleep in bed.

Seeing that Qingyan was still asleep, the four of them did not dare to disturb her. They hurriedly got out of bed and dressed, knowing their status and that they dared not disrespect the princess.

When the four male performers came out of Qingyan's room, they were stopped by Zhuier: "Gentlemen, please follow me." Then, she led the four of them to stay in Sujing Garden, which was next to Qingyan's.

"So, the princess has kept us here?" Liu Yun asked happily.

"I think so," Xihua replied.

Mu Ye, being the youngest, remained silent and cautiously followed behind the others.

Feixue said sarcastically, "It would be good if we stayed, but I'm afraid we'll be kept in this illusory world. Who knows when Her Highness will remember us after she returns to Shengjing?"

Liu Yunfeng frowned, thought about it, and realized that what Feixue said was not impossible.

"What should we do?" Mu Ye hadn't spoken until now, when she did, it was in a panic.

“Naturally, it’s to make the princess unable to leave us.” Feixue raised an eyebrow, and everyone understood.

The four of them felt that keeping a young woman in their lives should be easy.

The four of them couldn't help but have different thoughts.

Only Feixue's face darkened as she calculated her next move. Since the token wasn't in the princess's room, she would have to look for it on her.

Qingyan opened her eyes and got out of bed after all four of them had left.

Now that Feixue knows she's lying, there's no need to pretend about the bruises on her body anymore. Qingyan called Zhuier in to help her with her makeup.

Qingyan asked Zhuier, "Are there any unusual things about these four people?"

"Princess, they are plotting to return to Shengjing with you." Zhui'er smiled and combed Qingyan's hair.

At this moment, Luo Qing entered, and Zhui'er bowed and withdrew.

Luo Qing stood behind Qing Yan, looking at her beautiful and gentle face in the dressing mirror. She took out a jade hairpin from the dressing case and inserted it into Qing Yan's hair.

"I love you dearly, that's why I call you 'my dear'. If I don't call you 'my dear', who will?"

"Is Brother Luo Qing confessing his feelings?" Qing Yan adjusted the jade hairpin that Luo Qing had put in his hair, then turned back to look at him with a bright smile.

Upon seeing this, Luo Qing blushed again: "If you think so, then so be it."

"In that case, I'll accept it." Qingyan stood up with a smile and hugged Luo Qing. "Come with me for a meal."

After having lunch in the side hall, the two went to Qilu, the coolest summer retreat in Mirror Flower Water Moon.

Qilu, as the name suggests, has seven cool rooms, namely Dongjing, Yugui, Zuliu, Qixing, Zhangshou, Leyi, and Fengzhen. They are named after the seven constellations of the Vermilion Bird. It is said that the seven rooms are formed in the sky and their shape is like the Vermilion Bird, so they were named after these seven constellations.

Qingyan changed into a cool outfit and entered Qilu with Luoqing. She deliberately flaunted her way through Sujing Garden, which was clearly seen by Liuyun Feixue, Muye Xihua.

"Greetings, Princess." The four hurriedly bowed.

Beneath the light-colored brocade cloak, Qingyan's cool attire was faintly visible, and the four people had different expressions.

"Are you hot? Do you want to go to Qilu together?" Qingyan reached out and touched the face of Liuyun, the most radiant of the four.

Liu Yun was naturally delighted to have such an opportunity and hurriedly expressed her gratitude: "Thank you for the princess's reward."

"Where are you guys?" Qingyan's hand moved from Liuyun's face to his chest.

"Thank you for the gift, Princess." The other three also looked delighted.

Only Luo Qing knew that Qing Yan's other hand, which was holding his, was clenched into a fist that was getting tighter and tighter.

"Princess, only the Seven Stars of the Seven Pavilions have made preparations today. It may be too late to make any more preparations now." Luo Qing looked at the four people with a resentful expression, but spoke softly to Qing Yan. She even whispered in Qing Yan's ear in front of the four people, making them feel ambiguous and making them envious.

Qingyan withdrew her hand from Liuyun, lifted Luoqing's chin, and kissed him on the corner of his lips: "Is that so? Then let's do it next time." Then she took Luoqing's arm and walked away gracefully.

The four of them went from heaven to hell in a single sentence from Luo Qing, and Liu Yun looked the worst.

"Who is he? The princess listens to him so much."

“They’re just like us.” It was Xihua who spoke up.

“He’s different from us,” Feixue chimed in. “He is Lan Zhen, the Prince Zhao sent by the Southern Xia Kingdom for a marriage alliance.”

"What?" This information made Liu Yun's expression even worse.

"Then, we're completely out of luck." Xihua was utterly disappointed.

"Not necessarily." Surprisingly, it was Mu Ye who responded.

"Do you have a good plan?" Liu Yun and Xi Hua quickly gathered around, while Fei Xue glanced at Mu Ye and was a beat late in approaching.

Mu Ye spoke his plan in a low voice. Liu Yun and Xi Hua nodded hesitantly, while Fei Xue looked at Mu Ye with even more complicated emotions.

Meanwhile, inside the Seven Houses, Qingyan and Luoqing were also discussing something.