The Dramatic Crown Princess Wants to Poison Me!

Chapter 78: Chapter 78: Shadow Pavilion

North of the Capital City.

The top-ranked restaurant ”Moon Full Building” is located on the busiest street, bustling with activity, and the business of the restaurant is excellent.

What truly attracts people is, of course, the cuisine inside the restaurant.

The restaurant has four floors; the first three floors operate as a business, but the fourth floor is forbidden territory.

At this moment, the shopkeeper of the restaurant is quickly heading to the fourth floor.

As the door between the third and fourth floor opens and he goes up the stairs, everything on the fourth floor comes into view.

The fourth floor has only three rooms, and the shopkeeper knocks on the middle one.

A crisp voice says, ”Come in!”

The shopkeeper pushes open the door, and what meets the eye is a square study. By the desk stands a person, back to the door, splashing ink and writing. As his brush moves, the landscape on the white paper gradually reveals its elegance, with rain, mist, and clouds appearing almost real.

The shopkeeper sees him halfway through his painting and doesn’t dare interrupt, standing quietly to the side once inside.

However, while the man colors his painting, he asks, ”What’s the matter?”

Only then does the shopkeeper report, ”News from the west side, someone is willing to pay a large sum to buy information about the Crown Prince when he was in Ningzhou.”

”It’s in the past; buying it now?” The man, still painting, casually asks, then stops, gazes at the artwork with satisfaction, and says, ”Sell it to him.”

The shopkeeper asks, ”Pavilion Master, since it involves courtly matters, shouldn’t we verify the identity of the buyer this time?”

”No need, I already know who!” That man picks up the painting with both hands; the ink’s density was just right, amidst the smoky rain, the landscape seemed even more real, as though the mountains and waters came alive in the painting, with the rain and mist about to drift out of it.

The shopkeeper is a bit surprised and says, ”The Pavilion Master already knows the person’s identity?”

The man turns around; he’s twenty-one or twenty-two years old, with long, narrow eyebrows and eyes slightly raised, seemingly smiling, his obsidian-like eyes glimmering with intelligence, his lips red and vibrant, and he is handsome and refined. His stature is as straight as an ink bamboo.

He casually rolls up the painting and throws it to the shopkeeper, saying, ”Help me burn it!” Watching the shopkeeper reach out to catch it, he leisurely says, ”Coming to buy information at this time, it is naturally the Second Young Master from the Crown Prince Mansion. It seems that the trip to Jinzhou is set on this Second Young Master’s success, not even focusing on the Crown Prince’s news at the first opportunity!”

The shopkeeper laughs; he’s around thirty years old, with an honest face, but a clever sparkle in his eyes, and says, ”This Second Young Master has just returned to the Capital City today, didn’t enter the city, went straight to the West City Gate to meet someone, probably doesn’t know what happened yet? Or maybe he’s alerted by matters at the West City Gate, finds no news, feeling blind, hence willing to spend heavily! But it seems to be somewhat late!”

The Pavilion Master raises an eyebrow, his cool and breezy gaze casual, indifferent, and says idly, ”Don’t bother with so much, our Shadow Pavilion is no longer part of the Imperial Family; the business we should do, we do, and the silver we should earn, we earn, as for those court disputes, just watch them!”

The first generation Pavilion Master of Shadow Pavilion was Emperor Tianqian Chen’s father, Shangguan Qianyu, later passed down to Emperor Chen Shangguan Beichen, because the Pavilion Master is an Emperor, the Shadow Pavilion can be considered the Emperor’s ears and eyes.

However, at sixty years old, Shangguan Beichen suddenly separated the Shadow Pavilion, letting it continue independently in the Jianghu. So for so many years, though the Shadow Pavilion’s headquarters is in the Capital City, it remains independent. Even the Emperor needs to pay them silver to buy information.

The shopkeeper, upon receiving the Pavilion Master’s instruction, is ready to leave, but glances at the painting in his hand, with a flicker of regret in his eyes.

He doesn’t even know how many such paintings he’s burned. With such skill, such brushwork, such mastery, each piece could sell for a fortune.

However, the Shadow Pavilion doesn’t lack money, so if the Pavilion Master wants it burned, it gets burned.

Along the way, Huangfu Jingchen avoids the main road, opting for smaller paths.

Xia Wenjin has been walking for several days, getting farther from the official road, she really couldn’t take it anymore, and said, ”There’s a perfectly good official road you’re not taking, going by the small ones, do you even know the way?”

Huangfu Jingchen gives her a glance, his handsome eyebrows and eyes with a hint of chill, his tone indifferent: ”You think the small road is difficult, unless you want to become a groom at that Haotian Village?”

Xia Wenjin: ”...”

So, he is preventing Uncle Bai from coming after them.

Her clear eyes rolled, and she laughed, ”You’re right, though the small road is harder, it is safer. Otherwise, I’d be okay, at most becoming a groom for someone, but you’d be used to sacrifice for the road, leaving no remains behind!”

Huangfu Jingchen snorted heavily.

That Haotian Village, certainly not a good place.

The villagers there fight with such shamelessness, just like this petty Long Yang in front of him. It seems their young lady is equally shameless. Otherwise, why would they force this petty Long Yang to marry her?

Did he make a mistake? Should have let this petty Long Yang be taken up the mountain by them.

He wonders what mysterious experience it would be for a petty Long Yang to marry a woman? Thinking of the bridal chamber night, petty Long Yang facing a woman with a red veil over her head, would he lift the veil?

A scene comes to mind, bridal candles burning, Xia Wenjin with a woman in red bridal attire drinking wedding wine...

Thinking like this, Huangfu Jingchen’s lips couldn’t help but curl upward. But only a curl, another emotion surged, hiding this schadenfreude.

It’s an uncomfortable sensation.

Especially envisioning the lad with a smiling face drinking wedding wine.

His heart suddenly jumped, even if this lad marries another woman, isn’t it normal? Why does he feel uncomfortable about it?

A side glance shows Xia Wenjin’s radiant face, her brows curved, eyes incredibly black, black and white distinct, as she blinks, her eyes seem to gather starlight, sparkling, her smooth forehead, neat nose, even more delicate than a pretty woman, and so close to him...

Instinctively, he steps back two paces.

Xia Wenjin blinks, curiously asks, ”What’s wrong?”

Huangfu Jingchen suppresses the shock in his heart.

Yes, what’s wrong with him?

He’s a man, the lad before him is also a man, what does he retreat for? What does he panic about?

It must be because this is a petty Long Yang, especially thinking of her embrace, the sensation makes him... want to vomit? ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

No, not at all!

Huangfu Jingchen shockingly discovers that the first time at Hua Cheng Villa, when Xia Wenjin hugged his waist once, he vomited.

The second time, at the inn planning a night escape, he held Xia Wenjin, she hugged his waist, he was somewhat uncomfortable, yet didn’t feel particularly nauseated.

He actually didn’t feel much disgust?!

Huangfu Jingchen’s expression shifts slightly, his heart extremely alarmed, suddenly reaching out, grasping Xia Wenjin’s shoulder: ”The Jade Pendant, quickly return it to me!” Once he gets the Jade Pendant back, he’ll stay far from this person, pushing aside those strange emotions, never meet again!