In the main hall of Shao's palace, he was idling around. He was patiently waiting for his surprise guest.
One hand was twirling around a jade bracelet. His hand slipped and the bracelet rolled away.
Just so happened it rolled down the walkway right towards the guest. As if the jade bracelet wanted to be found, it flipped over and stopped at the guest's foot. The man slowly picked it up.
"Nan! What a surprise." Gu Shao pretended to be surprised. He quickly went over to the lost in thought Pei Nan. Gu Shao watched Pei Nan's expression to the bracelet. Surely he would recognize the bracelet in his hand, right?
Seeing that Pei Nan didn't have a good relationship with Yu Mei to begin with, he wasn't 100% sure Pei Nan would recognize. He would have never have guessed that it was a betrothal gift given to Yu Mei. Even if he didn't have a good relationship with Yu Mei, Pei Nan remember such a gift.
Pei Nan unwillingly stretched his hand out to hand it over to Gu Shao. "I didn't know you were into rare jades?" Pei Nan asked. He looked calm but his insides were burning with fury. Of course he recognized it. The question is where Prince Shao got it from. This was something he would not leave until he found out. Thankfully Prince Shao didn't let him wait too long. He immediately replied. "I don't care much about jades. I only care for this one." He dangled it in front of Pei Nan. "I got it from a cute friend."
The annoyance on Pei Nan's face could not be hidden. Surely Yu Mei wasn't the one to give it to him. It's a common piece of jade, he told himself.
Gu Shao chuckled and broke the silent atmosphere. "Let's not talk about it anymore. You're just in time." Gu Shao lightly hit his arm. "I was about to have my aged plum wine. Have a seat and chat with me for a while." Gu Shao offered.
He took the seat next to Gu Shao.
"I'm assuming the meeting with the town magistrate went well?" Shao asked. Since Pei Nan returned a day early, that could be the only case.
To be honest, Gu Shao already knew Pei Nan had returned since early. At the restaurant earlier, on the opposite side where another inn was, he saw Pei Nan and Feng Ju.
"It went well. One more ally in the future." Pei Nan vaguely replied. His journey was to ask for assistance against the Lian Army.
"When did you return?"
"Not too long ago." Pei Nan lied.
Prince Shao placed his palm on his chest and acted as if he was very touched. "I'm flattered I was the first person you thought about. If I had known you were going to come here first thing, I would have prepared some entertainment."
"You're right. You were indeed the first person I wanted to see. I've been thinking, we haven't had a drink in a long time. Cheers!" Pei Nan and Gu Shao both took a sip of the wine.
"Not bad." Pei Nan complimented.
The whole time while they were talking, Pei Nan's eyes could not help but wander towards the corner of the table where the bracelet lay. It was as if Gu Shao did it on purpose. It was driving him insane.
"Do you find this bracelet quite stunning?" Gu Shao asked cheerfully. "I see you've been eyeing it for a while now."
"It is quite a piece. Based on the quality and carving, it must have cost quite a bit. I am really curious as to how close you and this friend of yours is?"
Gu Shao smiled. "Brother Xu is indeed a very close friend of mine. Of course I didn't get this bracelet for free. I traded my blood jade pendant for it." He picked up the jade and carefully looked at it like it was a national treasure.
"Blood jade pendant?" Pei Nan's mind went back to Yu Mei. She too had one.
Now they were getting somewhere. Gu Shao arched his brow. "You don't remember? The hand-carved phoenix pendant."
Of course Pei Nan wouldn't remember. When did he ever take notice of Gu Shao's stuff. Only that he now remembered one similar to it. "The one with the small crack on the bottom right?"
Gu Shao excited pointed his finger at Pei Nan. "Right! So you do remember. I dropped it when we were little. We were both afraid father would scold us. I didn't think you would have such a bad memory." He shook his finger disappointingly.
The more Gu Shao talked about it, the more anxious he got.
He couldn't stay any longer. After a short chat, he excused himself.
Pei Nan was trying to piece everything together. This morning he had indeed seen Gu Shao with a stranger at the restaurant but why was it not Pan Yu Mei. That day Feng Ju had reported to him the contents of the letter. Yu Mei and Prince Shao were meeting. So why did it turn out to be a young youth instead? Could they have possibly found out that he knew?
This Brother Xu…it was the same guy that Gu Shao had asked him to help find. It was as if he didn't exist though. Feng Ju could not find any information on him. He was like the wind that came when he wanted.
The strangest thing was, how did Gu Shao get a hold of the betrothal gift given to Yu Mei. And how did Prince Shao's pendant end in Yu Mei's hand? There was only one possibility…
He needed to confirm.