Yu Feng blinked her eyes back at the officer. She tilted her head sideways and a mischievous grin curled on her lips.
"Officer Zhou, I know my crimes. Over the years, I have only stolen some stale bread and pastries to fill my stomach. Although you and your men were eager to catch me, in the end, didn't all of you choose to give up in catching me? Wasn't that because none of the victims was willing to spend their time to charge me as it would be wasting their time? Putting me on trial over some petty theft would be a waste of government money. Since I know that you did not catch me over the things I've done, then why do I have to be afraid of you?"
Officer Zhou listened to her explanation with a poker face. After a while, the corner of his lips tilted up into a slight smile. "Don't try to be smart with me. Little boy, what is your name?"
Hearing his question, Yu Feng feigned a surprised look on her face. "Officer Zhou, we have been playing hide and seek for so long. I know a lot of things about you, but you did not even know my name?" She put a hand on her chest and gasped dramatically. "Officer Zhou, I'm very hurt!"
The corner of the man's lips twitched. "I began to suspect that other than stealing, you might have swindle people with your lousy acting as well."
Yu Feng clicked her tongue. "I may be a thief, but I haven't scam anyone before."
Officer Zhou's lips tilted up into an amused smile. "You said you know a lot of things about me. Tell me, what do you know?"
Yu Feng continued to look at the man in front of her with a lazy smile on her face. It has been a while since Officer Zhou had been chasing her and after a while, due to her curiosity about this man, Yu Feng had tried to find out more about him.
Officer Zhou Ming was someone in his late thirty. He had a burly build and despite his age, he had a youthful look on his face.
As she tapped her finger on her chin, she began to spoke "I know that you live in Begonia Street. I know where you live and your family members." She peered at the officer's face and saw that the man's expression grew darker. "I know that your mother made a very delicious pancake."
Officer Zhou pulled at Yu Feng's collar and lifted her off the ground. At this time, Yu Feng was regretting that she had chosen to say something that would agitate this burly man.
"You went to my house?" Officer Zhou narrowed his eyes dangerously.
His mother was old and she was someone who did not like to leave the house. If this boy was able to meet his mother and tasted her pancake, then, doesn't that prove that this boy had walked into his house before?
To think that this boy was able to enter his guarded residence made him furious!
Yu Feng quickly covered her chest area with one hand and tried to peel the officer's hand with another. She had decided to conceal her gender, and it would not be good if Officer Zhou found out about it.
"Hey, hey, don't be mad. I only know this because your mother happened to see me when I was walking around the residence. She pitied me and gave me those pancakes. I have never walked into your house, alright?"
Officer Zhou continued to stare at her and judging whether she was telling him the truth or not. After a while, he loosened his grip on her collar. Then, he tugged at her arm and dragged Yu Feng out of the shed. "Come with me."
Yu Feng took this chance to scan her surrounding. She was not surprised upon seeing that the sky had turned dark. Lifting her head, all she could see was the tall trees looming over her. She seemed to recall that earlier, Officer Zhou had thrown her into a carriage and she was brought to this isolated place.
Officer Zhou dragged her towards a large tent. Once they arrived, Yu Feng saw that several guards were standing outside. Officer Zhou exchanged a brief greeting with those guards and brought her inside the tent.
"My lord, the boy is here," Officer Zhou announced. He bowed his head to greet the man and frowned upon seeing that the boy did not do the same. Swiftly, Officer Zhou pushed her head down so that Yu Feng was lowering her head to the man.
Yu Feng peeked at the man curiously and saw that the man who had caught her earlier at the market was sitting behind a large table.
At this time, the man had changed out of his blue robe and was now dressed in a black garment and his hair was tied with the same color of strings.
Looking at the man's lazy temperament while he was browsing through the documents, Yu Feng was momentarily stunned at his handsome look.
At her age, Yu Feng was old enough to get engaged or married. If she was a girl, living in a normal household, Yu Feng would have been engaged or married by now.
Of course, as a normal girl, there were times when Yu Feng would have an interest in ogling good looking men. Looking at those eye candy was her favorite past time with her cat, Orange.
With her status as a mere thief, Yu Feng was fully aware that there were men were people that she can look at, but she should never covet.
The man in front of her was different. He was the type of man that she should not even look at. Even if she wanted to ogle at him shamelessly, Yu Feng knew that she should not be playing with fire for this man gave her a feeling like she was going to lose her life if she continued to stare at him for a long time.
"Arise." The man's voice resonated in the tent.
Officer Zhou raised his head and pulled Yu Feng with him.
"Did he tell you anything?"
"No, my lord," Officer Zhou glanced at Yu Feng and hesitated. "The boy would not even tell me his name."
The man's movement paused. He then closed the documents on his desk and lifted his head. Meeting the man's piercing gaze, Yu Feng suddenly felt as if it was hard for her to breathe. The man's scrutinizing gaze was just too scary.
The man who sat behind the table was no other than Qin Zhi Hao, the seventh prince of the current Emperor, with the title of Prince Yi. His mother was the Emperor's favorite, Consort Xian. When he was older enough, Qin Zhi Hao had followed his maternal uncle, General Li Mu into battle for years until he was summoned to come back to the city six months ago.
After a while, Qin Zhi Hao pulled out another document on his desk. He glanced at the documents briefly and looked at Yu Feng again. "Your name is Xiao Feng, right?"
Her eyes dimmed, but Yu Feng chose not to say a word. It has been a long time since anyone had addressed her as Xiao Feng. Before her father passed away, he would always call her Xiao Feng with such a gentle voice.
Later, when her father was no longer around, she would often introduce herself as Xiao Feng. One of the reasons was to conceal her identity. But she did not expect that later, everyone would think that 'Xiao Feng' as a boy.
Qin Zhi Hao shifted his gaze on the documents again. His eyes darkened and he grabbed the documents on the table to throw it into the brazier. He turned to Yu Feng again and his lips curled into a smile. However, this smile did not reach his eyes.
"Other than this name, I don't seem to have any other information about you," Qin Zhi Hao spoke again. He put both hands under his chin and propped his elbow on the table. His piercing gaze was still staring at her. "It seemed as if your information was missing. It's like you do not exist."