Villain Lady

Shi Yan's servant didn't say anything else. Prime Minister Wei was considered as one of the most influential people in Han Shi Kingdom. It was close to impossible for anyone to get close to him without attracting other people's attention. At the same time, the matter of his family couldn't be discussed by commoners easily.

"What's your name?" Shi Yan asked Xiao Qing. In the past, Xiao Qing had never met with Shi Yan because Wei Liuying didn't let him met any of her servant. They wanted to keep the fact that they knew each other a secret even from their servants unless they completely trust them.

And Wei Liuying didn't really have anyone whom she could completely trust because everyone around her was placed by her mother.

"My name is Xiao Qing, but Young Master may give me another name," Xiao Qing replied softly.

Shi Yan waved his hand to his servant. "You take care of her. I want to visit some of my old friends."

"Yes, Young Master."

Xiao Qing hung her head low. When Shi Yan passed by her, she stretched her hand and tugged his sleeve as a bamboo slip was passed. Shi Yan's eyes narrowed slightly, but he acted like nothing happened and kept the bamboo slip within his own wide sleeve. It seemed that Wei Liuying truly had a message for him.

Shi Yan continued to walk to the second floor and swaggered to one of the room. There was a servant guarding the door, but he didn't seem to mind when Shi Yan simply knocked the door and pushed it to the side.

The two people inside raised their head when they heard the door opened. 

"What are you doing here, Shi Yan?" one of them, Yang Xian, asked in annoyed tone.

The other one inside the room was not Ji Sheng but Shi Mo. The two of them were currently talking about some matters regarding the northern border because the Xiong Tribe had noticed that Prince Ji Sheng was not in his original place and began to make their move repeatedly over the past few days. The letters that the commanders delivered were not that of good news.

Shi Yan sighed. "Third Miss Wei is here just now."

"Eh, your friend?" Shi Mo asked in surprise.

"Yes. Now, you can get out, Shi Mo."

"What? You can't just kick me out like that, Cousin!"

"Please get out for a moment, Shi Mo," Yang Xian was the one who gave the order.

This time, Shi Mo no longer complained. Yang Xian could be said to be his superior in the military, so Shi Mo have to follow his order. Besides, it was likely that the two of them didn't want anyone to know what they were talking about.

"What is it?" Yang Xian asked after Shi Mo had closed the door. The restaurant belonged to their friend, so they had ordered for a sound proofed room. This way, those outside wouldn't be able to hear their voice so easily.

"She came and sell her servant."

"What?"

"Hard to believe, right?" Shi Yan proceeded to tell everything that occurred to Yang Xian. Since Prince Ji Sheng was currently busy because of the court, Yang Xian couldn't follow him to the palace. For some reason, there was a meeting between the Emperor and his subjects including the four princes.

Yang Xian knitted his eyebrows. He had just finished taking care of the bandits' arrangement and heard a piece of bad news from the frontline. Now, it seemed that another upheaval occurred in Wei Family Residence.

"What did she say in the bamboo slip?"

"Let me take a look first."

Shi Yan took out the bamboo slip and read the sentence on top of it. His eyes widened when he realized what Wei Liuying actually wanted.

Let the pillagers roam and in the midst of chaos, the full moon shall shine.

"She's so outrageous." Shi Yan groaned. The sentence was full of riddles, but he knew exactly what she wanted. Pillagers referred to bandits because they would pillage villagers, so he often termed them as pillagers. As for full moon, it meant that she needed two days because in two days, it would be full moon.

Yang Xian took a peek to the sentence and nodded. "It seems that she has made her mind."

"Made her mind for what?"

"You'll know later."

Shi Yan: "…" let me strangle you.

Yang Xian ignored the death glare that Shi Yan gave him. It was already common for him to not reveal what Ji Sheng actually planned to others, including the blabbermouth Shi Yan. The same would apply for Wei Liuying. He would not reveal her plan to anyone even if he knew what she planned to do.

"Do you plan to help her?"

"Why not? I can just ask Brother Shan to lead his men to create some chaos. As long as I tell him the location of some treasure, he'll willingly do anything," Shi Yan replied.

"Yes, both of you are money digger."

Shi Yan: "..." can you not slight me for a moment?

Yang Xian tapped the table with his brows creased. "Tell Shan Yi to be careful. Even though it should be save for him to make move at any time, there's currently an upheaval in the court and might implicate him."

"What kind of upheaval?" Shi Yan asked with a frown.

"His Highness the Fourth Prince and His Highness the Crown Prince have been making their move," Yang Xian replied with a faint smile. "What kind of upheaval do you think will happen when both princes make their move?"

The smile on Yang Xian's face sent a chill on the back of Shi Yan's body. He stared at Yang Xian for a moment then decided to not speak anymore. He knew that no matter what he asked, Yang Xian would never reveal his plan to anyone. Besides, he was sure that there would be great changes in the court soon.

Whether it would be good thing or not for them, no one knew for sure.

"I'll be going now."

"Eh, where do you want to go?" Shi Yan asked in confusion. He was holding onto a cup of tea when he listened to what Yang Xian said.

Yang Xian smiled. "I'll go and visit the academy."

Pfft!

Academy?

Shi Yan looked at the door behind him with bewilderment. He could guess that Yang Xian must have his own plan to do this. However, he couldn't understand what someone like Yang Xian could even do in the academy? There was no way he went there to study when he had already mastered most of the lessons.

'Ah, the brains of these thinkers are too hard to see through.'

"Cousin?" Shi Mo's head peeked from outside. "I see that Strategist Yang had left. What did you say to him?"

"What do you think I can say?" Shi Yan asked back. "I don't even know what's inside his mind."

"True enough."

"Now that you're here, help me out a bit, Mo."

"Uh…" Shi Mo's face turned pale when he heard what Shi Yan said. The last time Shi Yan asked him for help, it was to seduce a woman in order to gain some information. Even though he was at the same age as Shi Yan, he was not comfortable to get close with those women.

The smell of their makeup was simply unbearable!

"Come on, don't be shy. I'm sure that a lot of people would be willing to get close to you with your face."

"Cousin, my face is similar with you."

"What are you talking about? Come on."

"Wait, I still need to…Agh, stop pulling me."

In the end, Shi Mo had no other choice but to entertain Shi Yan in the latter's game. As a soldier, he couldn't understand why his cousin was in the mood to have fun like this. What he didn't realize was that the servants who usually stayed beside Shi Yan could no longer be seen in that place.

They have already departed when Shi Yan was busy playing with Shi Mo.

…

In the carriage, Wei Liuying told the driver to bring her back to the academy. The classes hadn't started yet, so there should be enough time for her to arrive there. Besides, even if she was late, she didn't mind in the slightest bit.

The teachers would not care for her.

"Third Miss, we have arrived."

"You can go back. I'll return with Second Sister."

"Yes, Third Miss."

Wei Liuying alighted from the carriage and scanned the area. She could see some of the noble ladies were looking at her with hostile gaze. They were the ladies who were staying with Wei Xiao Hua back during the hunt.

Ah, it seemed that they would continue to talk about her no matter what.

There was a faint cold gaze within Wei Liuying's eyes that disappeared as fast as it appeared. Slowly but surely, Wei Liuying made her way back to her own class.