Reunion with an Old Friend

n intimate scene between lovers.This way Doesn't seem right."Emperor...""I am not the Emperor; I'm just a guest at Drunken Flower Pavilion, Bai Fenghuang." Feng Changqing placed his hand on Qi Lin's l...Chapter 27 Reunion with an Old Friend

Under Cheng Ren's strong support, Feng Changqing finally agreed to let Qi Lin leave the palace after a night of consideration.

Upon receiving this special permission, Qi Lin rolled around in excitement several times, even startling Lvzhu. However, only Qi Lin, Lvzhu, and Jinyu knew about her departure from the palace.

To avoid drawing attention, Qinqquan軒 received an imperial edict stating that Qi Lin had gone to see the emperor without being summoned and was therefore sentenced to solitary confinement for self-reflection. No one could visit her during this period.

This edict left the palace servants at Qinqquan軒 disheartened; they thought their fortunes were about to change but instead faced a cold reality that seemed unchangeable.

As part of the agreement, Qi Lin had to write daily letters to Feng Changqing reporting on her situation and also take care to protect herself. This was the first time she felt that Feng Changqing paid even more attention to her than her own mother would.

No matter what,

"I'm finally out," Qi Lin exclaimed as soon as she stepped through the final gate of Phoenix Palace, spreading her arms and closing her eyes in satisfaction. She then awkwardly cleared her throat, "Ahem... The weather is nice."

Thunder rumbled.

The moment Qi Lin spoke, a bolt of lightning struck, followed by a loud thunderclap, causing several strands of black hair to appear on Qi Lin's head

In reality, she might have been able to leave the palace largely due to Cheng Ren. However, when Feng Changqing looked at her with a slightly changed expression after hearing "He who wins over the unicorn wins the world," it seemed like there was a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

Later on, when Cheng Ren spoke privately with him for a while, those words made Qi Lin feel increasingly uneasy.

"Although he who wins over the unicorn wins the world, from an astrological perspective, the unicorn already belongs to someone else."

Qi Lin had initially thought that Cheng Ren was just being mysterious. However, this statement surprised her greatly. When he said "unicorn," he meant Qi Lin herself; her name, Qi Lin, sounds like "Qilin" (a mythical creature), which now belonged to someone else Could this person be Bai Qianye

Just as she was contemplating this, the carriage suddenly jolted, bringing her back to reality. Peering outside through the curtain, she noticed that although the streets were still bustling with activity, they appeared much less lively than before, and children were almost nowhere to be seen.

"I didn't expect such a big impact in just a few days; people are talking about it everywhere," said Lvzhu with a furrowed brow. "But Young Master..."

Noticing her mistake, Lvzhu quickly corrected herself, "Sir, I meant to ask, should we choose Drunken Flower Tower as our base this time around"

Dressing as a man was Qilin's decision. She said it would be more convenient to travel the world like this, but up until now, she still hadn't fully grasped what Qilin meant by "the world."

"There are too many people who know us there. No good." Although her first thought was to go find Yu Mu, considering that she had become quite familiar in the back courtyard of Drunken Flower Building, if she went now, how could it be considered a covert visit "Let's stay at an inn and try to choose one where fewer people recognize us."

Suddenly, a familiar figure caught Qilin's eye. She slightly raised her corners of mouth and said, “Stop.”

Even though she didn't understand why Qilin wanted them to stop, Lüzhu still instructed the coachman to do so.

After getting off the carriage, they looked at the inn. It had three floors, with a fine red wood carved signboard that read "Friendly Inn."

The name was quite nice, and judging by the attire of those entering and exiting the place, these should be wealthy individuals, from which it could be inferred that this was also an assembly point for merchants.

"Hey there, sir. Are you here to eat or stay overnight" The waiter saw Qilin approach and immediately put on a radiant smile, respectfully saying, "Sir looks prosperous and blessed."

Qilin smiled slightly but didn't acknowledge the waiter, instead walking straight in. On the first floor were mostly guests eating and drinking tea; she glanced around but didn’t see any familiar faces. The same waiter was still nearby, apparently enthusiastically promoting their signature dishes.

"Boss," Qilin walked over to the counter, took out a silver ingot, yet surprisingly, the boss didn't even look up, continuing his calculations. It was rather the waiter’s eyes that shone like night pearls, staring intently at the silver on the table.

"You..." Lüzhu wanted to speak up but was stopped by Qilin and could only stare daggers at the boss.

Qilin sized up this boss. From appearance, he seemed around forty-five years old; perhaps due to excessive hard work, even running such an inn left him gaunt. At present, he was engrossed in manipulating a counting board and rapidly jotting down numbers on the ledger—his calculation speed was almost as fast as she could type data into a computer.

In the twenty-first century, people were too reliant on computers to manually calculate each number when inputting data; they only needed to find their desired function. However, seeing someone use an abacus with such rapid and accurate proficiency was truly amazing.

Lüzhu thought Qilin must be contemplating how to deal with this difficult boss but noticed that her gaze seemed to be glowing when looking at him. Following Qilin's line of sight, Lüzhu saw she had focused on the counting board. Just as she wanted to call out to Qilin, a young scholar was seen eyeing them curiously.

What situation is this While pondering whether or not to let Qilin know someone was watching her, Lüzhu suddenly realized who this man was.

Isn't he Mu Qingfeng, the richest merchant of Phoenix Nation

"Young Master Mu," Lüzhu walked over and nervously looked at Mu Qingfeng, softly saying, "I didn’t expect to meet Young Master here. Truly a stroke of luck."

Mu Qingfeng glanced at Lüzhu before returning his gaze to Qilin and asked, “Am I acquainted with your friend over there”

"Uh Who in the Phoenix Kingdom doesn't know Lord Mu" Green Bamboo awkwardly tugged at the corners of his mouth and returned to Qi Lin's side, pulling on Qi Lin’s sleeve to remind her, "Miss, Lord Mu is beside you."

But Qi Lin was focused intently on the abacus and completely failed to notice Green Bamboo's reminder. Just as she concentrated hard, the shopkeeper suddenly stopped, raised his head, glared at Qi Lin for a moment, then respectfully stepped forward with clasped fists.

"Lord Mu, why are you here so early today"

Mu Qingfeng waved his hand and tossed a gold ingot to the shopkeeper. He then walked straight up to Qi Lin and performed a formal bow of greeting, saying, "It's been a long time."

"You seem well," Qi Lin smiled faintly as she also caught sight of the shopkeeper’s stunned expression, particularly his sunken eyes that seemed ready to pop out. If not for her strong self-control, she would have vomited already.

She hadn’t expected people here to be so status-conscious; silver coins were no longer valuable. She picked up the silver coins on the table and stuffed them into a pouch at her waist. Hmph, nobody wanted silver coins—what fools!

After exchanging pleasantries with Mu Qingfeng for a while, Qi Lin followed him to a private room on the third floor of Good Friend Inn. From here she could see the entire street and even the river across from her. The view was pleasant enough, but what she truly enjoyed were the aromas wafting through the air.

Hardly had they entered when the waiter brought in an overflowing table of delicious dishes. Qi Lin’s appetite immediately roused, and after the waiter left, she looked at Mu Qingfeng who gave her a silent nod. She could no longer wait to pick up that plump chicken leg.

Unfortunately, though she tried several times, she couldn’t manage it. Qi Lin had to give up on picking up the chicken and instead opted for the fish beside it, although her gaze still lingered on the chicken leg.

"Hahaha" Mu Qingfeng laughed heartily; extending his large hand, he smoothly picked up a chicken leg and put it in Qi Lin’s bowl. "It's been so long—nothing has changed about you except that you've lost some weight. Is there something wrong Do the imperial dishes not meet your taste anymore"

"Um You should know." After swallowing a chunk of chicken, she picked up another piece of fish and put it in her mouth with satisfaction; after chewing and swallowing, she said, "Everything must be done carefully within the palace. The same dish can’t be touched more than three times with chopsticks. Even if you don't like something, you have to pretend that you do—especially when it comes to those pastries. I’m staring right at that delicious red bean cake, yet I either have to watch as they leave or give them away as tips."

The red bean cakes were what she enjoyed doing in the palace; sweet and delicious, she could never tire of eating them, but unfortunately each time she was only allowed three maximum. She also couldn’t eat the same pastry for three days.

"Haha This is to prevent anyone from poisoning your meals," Mu Qingfeng explained gently while helping Qi Lin pick up some dishes. "How have you been"

Had she gained favor with the emperor That was what Mu Qingfeng wanted to know, but he didn’t say it outright; instead, he looked at her with a faint smile and gentle eyes.

"Huh." Hearing this question, Qi Lin paused in eating. She put down her chopsticks, wiped her mouth, and raised her gaze to look Mu Qingfeng in the eye as she said, "Green Bamboo, go buy me some red bean cakes."

"Yes."

After sending off Green Bamboo, Qi Lin picked up her chopsticks again and grabbed an undisturbed mushroom ball that had been on the table. She didn’t immediately put it in her bowl but instead kept poking it until its shape was completely distorted.

Mu Qingfeng quietly watched Qi Lin without disturbing her.

"Alright, Mu Qingfeng, can you come sit a bit closer" Qi Lin forced a smile and patted the chair next to her, saying, "It won't take long."

Mu Qingfeng smiled slightly, walked over to Qi Lin's side, put his hand on her head, and said softly, "We are friends."

Qi Lin nodded. That was enough.

"We are friends."

In the next half hour, Qi Lin leaned against Mu Qingfeng's shoulder as tears soaked through one side of his clothes.

She talked about seeing a mother's repentance, a son’s devotion, a mother’s hatred, and a woman’s longing. She also expressed her dislike for such a life.

But she had to accept it.

Mu Qingfeng was an excellent listener; he said nothing throughout the entire process, only affectionately stroking her head, breathing in her scent, occasionally adding a piece of fish meat to her dish, and carefully removing any bones.

"Let me help you." After hearing Qi Lin's purpose for leaving the palace this time, Mu Qingfeng didn't hesitate to offer his assistance. "I'm a merchant here with extensive connections; I know quite a bit about Fenghuang Kingdom. How does that sound Friend"

Qi Lin smiled slightly and looked at Mu Qingfeng's wet shoulder. She poured wine into her cup, saying, "Rely on you."

Seeing Mu Qingfeng frown slightly, Qi Lin shook her head and said, "Friend, thank you."

"Haha"

From Mu Qingfeng, Qi Lin learned that every night, many dark figures would swiftly glide across the sky and knock on windows.

He had also conducted nighttime reconnaissance and could hear flapping sounds when they were close enough.

"Young Master, I heard you knew Mu Young Master before. Didn't expect your relationship to be so good." Green Bamboo said while tidying up the beddings. "Mu Young Master even prepared such a nice inn for you; everything is arranged perfectly. You should see how deferential that innkeeper was towards him just now, groveling like a lackey. Truly disgusting; it would be great fun to tease him."

"Why not" Qi Lin stuck out her tongue playfully and took off her hair tie, letting her long hair flow freely down to her waist as she shook her head. "We'll see how things go."as naturally good to begin with. Even in the twenty-first century, she only wore makeup when necessary for work. Since coming here, she had either bathed in stream water or taken a quick shower with h...