Lanshan started laughing at this.
“There’s no need to get angry, Prince Yun; my intentions are sincere.”
Yun Ruofeng smirked. “Sincere? This Prince couldn’t tell.”
“While protecting yourself, Prince Yun is also trying to look for my weak point. It seems that the one being disingenuous may be you.” Lanshan answered tepidly.
“Haha!” Yun Ruofeng scoffed. “You’re the one coming to ask for my help, not the other way around.”
He didn’t deny the claim; as long as he had Lanshan’s weakness, he would be able to turn the situation to his advantage. It was just unfortunate that the latter had a wealth of experience in such matters, and was much harder to work around than Hua Ziqing.
“Prince Yun, this is nothing more than a mutually beneficial transaction, am I wrong?” Lanshan spoke calmly with shining eyes.
Yun Ruofeng laughed and said, “Oh? What will this Prince get from it then?”
“Prince Yun, Xiliu will become your strength. If I’m not wrong, the title of Prince Yun is no longer recognised by Nanzhao, right?” Without mercy, Lanshan aimed straight for his weakness.
Yun Ruofeng’s gaze turned cold. “You’re threatening me? As expected of Hua Ziqing’s shifu, even your tactics are the same.”
“Prince Yun, if you perceive this is a threat, it would mean to say that this is a matter of importance to you.” Lanshan answered without a ripple of emotion.
Yun Ruofeng was caught off guard for a moment before he came to his senses. This woman is even more unpredictable than Hua Ziqing. I should take care to avoid falling into another trap.
He then said, “You’re still not getting to the point. I guess our discussion ends here.”
“The walls have ears, Prince Yun. I’m sure you know how important this is.” Lanshan then dipped a finger into her tea and wrote something on the desk.
Yun Ruofeng looked at the words and said, “I hope you’re telling the truth.”
He then answered with the same method. Lanshan smiled and nodded upon seeing his answer, prompting Yun Ruofeng to wave his hand and signal that they had come to an agreement. As for what it was, only the two of them knew.
At the same time, the guard Hua Zirong had sent to tail Lanshan escaped the compound as quickly as he could after realising that he had been found out.
Hearing the slight disturbance, Lanshan gave a few knocks on the desk before her expression returned to normal.
“Prince Yun, let us continue.”
“You knew he was there from the beginning, right? Why didn’t you say anything earlier?” Yun Ruofeng’s tone was sardonic, seemingly annoyed that Lanshan was playing him for a fool.
Lanshan did some quick calculations in her head before saying, “I just wanted to see when the almighty Prince Yun might realise he was being watched. I didn’t expect that…”
What she meant was rather obvious even without finishing her sentence.
Yun Ruofeng smirked. “Judging from how you handle things, I’m guessing that man won’t make it back alive? Why would this Prince have any cause for concern?”
Yun Ruofeng was not backing down that easily, and the realisation threw Lanshan off. Despite having had the advantage for most of this conversation, she had yet to actually gain anything.
If they were to go against each other, it would likely end in a stalemate.
~~~
In the meantime, the Xiliu imperial palace was in a state of chaos as Hua Zirong sat upon his throne with a serious expression on his face. The guard he had sent out had died right in front of him before being able to provide any information.
Hua Zirong knew that Lanshan had done this on purpose. It was meant to be a warning to him, telling him that he should stay his hand.
