My Years in the Jianghu with the Prince: A Time of Unethical Conduct

At 5:15 PM, the kitchen of the Alliance Leader's mansion was bustling with activity.

A maid coughed as she looked up from the stove, revealing a face blackened by smoke.

She wiped the sweat from her face with her sleeve and turned to the person beside her, saying, "Aunt Wang, have you heard? Several handsome young men came to our house today."

"Didn't the master say that he wouldn't receive guests before the conference? Why is he making an exception today? Do you think it's because there's a son-in-law he's chosen among them?"

Upon hearing this, Aunt Wang paused in her chopping motion, turned her head and glared at her, saying, "Don't talk nonsense. What son-in-law or anything like that? Be careful someone hears this and it gets out and ruins the master's reputation."

"Hey, it's just the few of us here, who would tell anyone?" The maid waved her hand dismissively and reached out to lift the pot lid.

In an instant, a cloud of steam rose into the air, blurring her face.

All that could be heard was her clear, melodious voice, "Aunt Wang, as Miss's wet nurse, do you know what kind of young master Miss likes?"

Aunt Wang wiped her sweat, pondered for a moment, then shook her head and said, "To be honest, I don't know either."

“Miss has been sensible since she was a child. She doesn’t like to go out, unlike the young ladies of other mansions who love to play in the streets. She stays in the mansion almost all day long. Even I can’t figure out what she likes.”

"Ugh……"

The maid sighed, her voice tinged with sadness.

"I just feel sorry for Miss. Why did Master have to betroth her to someone he's never even met?"

"What if the person who becomes the leader of the alliance is ugly? That would be one thing, but if he is also of bad character, wouldn't that ruin Miss's life?"

The maid pouted and muttered a small complaint, "If you ask me, we should just give away that treasure map. Why drag Miss into it?"

Upon hearing this, Aunt Wang sighed softly and said, "This is the master's decision, so we shouldn't interfere."

"After all, the master must be doing this for the young lady's own good. Marrying the leader of the martial arts alliance is better than marrying someone else. At least the young lady's life will be more secure."

"But..." the maid was about to say something more.

"Alright, enough with the 'buts,' hurry up and cook the rice, we need to deliver it to the front later."

Aunt Wang interrupted her, looked down at the ribs on the cutting board, and said, "Take these ribs to Miss later."

"Okay." The maid nodded and reached out to put the pot lid on.

Xie Yan carried the ribs and secretly inquired along the way before finally finding Dongfang Su's residence.

He sighed softly. Why were the servants in this mansion so tight-lipped?

Including Aunt Wang, this is the seventh person he has found, but he has not been able to get any information about the whereabouts of the treasure map from them.

Or perhaps they didn't know either? It's possible that Dongfang Shuo hid the treasure map well.

As Xie Yan pondered this, she reached out and knocked on the courtyard gate.

"Who?"

A crisp sound came, and then the courtyard gate was opened from the inside, revealing a round face.

The woman looked at him and asked in confusion, "Who are you?"

Xie Yan snapped out of her daze, lifted the ribs she was holding, and said with a smile, "I'm from the kitchen, here to help Aunt Wang deliver rib soup to Miss."

"It's Aunt Wang. She's so thoughtful."

The girl sighed, looked back at the courtyard, and said, "But Miss hasn't had much of an appetite these past few days, so I'm afraid she'll have to disappoint Aunt Wang's kind intentions."

Xie Yan blinked but didn't say anything.

"Come in quickly."

The girl stepped aside, reached out and pulled him inside, saying, "Come with me."

Xie Yan nodded and quickly followed in her footsteps.

As he walked, he subtly observed his surroundings.

The courtyard is not large, but it is decorated with exceptional elegance.

The courtyard is planted with many flowers and plants. As soon as you walk in, a faint fragrance of flowers lingers in your nose, making you feel refreshed and relaxed.

The two hadn't walked far when the round-faced maid stopped.

"Alright, Miss is just ahead. Give me the soup."

Xie Yan looked up and saw a stone table set up under a tree not far ahead.

A woman dressed in pink is sitting upright in front of a stone table.

The afterglow of the setting sun dappled through the gaps in the leaves, casting a soft golden glow upon her.

Perhaps hearing their commotion, she looked up and glanced in their direction.

Xie Yan was stunned.

However, it wasn't because the woman was exceptionally beautiful, but because she was holding half a tattered scroll of paper in her hand.

They found it so easily?

Xie Yan blinked, somewhat incredulous.

Seemingly noticing Xie Yan's gaze, Dongfang Su put away the paper roll and glanced at him lightly.

Xie Yan quickly lowered her head and handed the pork rib soup in her hand to the round-faced maid.

"Miss, these are spare ribs sent from the kitchen."

The round-faced maid stepped forward and placed the pork rib soup on the stone table.

Dongfang Su gave a faint "hmm," looked up at Xie Yan, and asked, "Who are you? Why have I never seen you before?"

Xie Yan's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly raised her head and said, "Miss, I'm new here. Aunt Wang saw that I was quick and efficient, so she asked me to help her deliver the soup."

Upon hearing this, Dongfang Su thoughtfully observed him for a while before turning her gaze away and saying, "Alright, you can go now."

"Yes."

That night--

A dark figure swept across the rooftops, deftly avoiding the patrolling martial arts alliance disciples, and stopped in front of a courtyard.

The dark figure leaped down from the roof and landed steadily on the ground without making a sound.

I could smell that familiar floral scent again.

The lights were off all around, and the room was pitch black. There were no maids on duty.

Xie Yan looked at the bedroom in front of her, but still felt it wasn't appropriate to enter the young lady's room.

He turned and pushed open the study door, deciding that if he couldn't find it here, he would have to ask Tao Xian to come next time.

The study was pitch black; you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

Xie Yan groped around in the dark for a while before finally finding the tinderbox in her arms, which were full of things.

With a "click," the study was instantly illuminated.

At a glance, he spotted the conspicuous treasure map on the desk, and—

A pink figure standing beside the desk.

Their eyes met, and the study fell into a deathly silence.

After an unknown amount of time, Dongfang Su broke the silence first. She glanced coldly at Xie Yan, picked up the half of the treasure map, and said, "Is this what you're looking for?"

Chu Ling waited in the room for most of the night before Xie Yan finally returned.

He had a smile on his face and seemed to be in a very good mood.

Seeing this, Chu Ling also smiled, picked up a teacup and poured tea for Xie Yan, saying gently, "Did you get the treasure map?"

"Do not."

Unexpectedly, Xie Yan shook his head. He looked at Chu Ling, his smile deepening, and said, "I think Miss Dongfang is a very nice person, so I plan to run for the position of leader of the alliance."

"At that time, we will naturally be able to retrieve the treasure map."

With a "crack," the teacup in Chu Ling's hand shattered.