On the outskirts of the Capital stood a seldom-visited inn, guarded by Hidden Guards. Not a soul could be seen anywhere, yet countless eyes seemed to watch from the shadows, sending a chill through anyone who approached.
By a window on the second floor, a pair of slender hands poured hot tea from a pot into a cup. The scalding liquid struck the bottom, sending steam billowing up as the fragrance of tea spread.
The man slowly set down the teapot, a gentle smile on his face.
"Second Master, she is here," his attendant Jing Feng reported.
"Mm. Show her in." Xie Jinqian's voice was calm, his expression neither startled nor afraid.
His visitor, however, had a fiery temper. The moment she entered, she kicked away the stool beside him, pointed at him, and began berating him.
"Xie Jinqian, I listened to your nonsense and set this whole scheme in motion. Now we haven't secured Qingli City, the Li Family's divine gu has vanished, and even the Saintess we sent, Li Siqin, has been thrown into the dungeon!"
"If Aunt finds out, how am I supposed to explain myself? And you still have the leisure to sit here drinking tea? What about everything you promised me?"
Commandery Princess Yan'er's usual lofty arrogance had been battered down until she resembled a flustered shrew from the streets.
Some time earlier, her aunt had been worrying over how to obtain Great Xia's Qingli City. After all, the Great Xia Dynasty would soon send them back to Southern Mei.
They could hardly arrive carrying the Glazed Glass Lamp only to carry it back home again.
The Jade Mines and Founder's Divine Soul they had lost along the way had dealt them a crippling blow. If they failed to bring back some benefits from Great