Yan Xing almost spurted out the wine in his mouth, "cough, cough... it's not what you think. Besides the lady was wearing a veil, I haven't seen her face"
"Back to the topic, there was something off with the young man beside the lady", said Xiao Shan.
Wiping his mouth, Yan Xing said, "That's a lady too she was cross-dressing as a man"
Xiao Shan gulped down the wine from the wine pot and asked, "how did you know?"
"Innate talent", Yan Xing chuckled.
Xiao Shan rolled his eyes and didn't bother with him anymore.
"Senior sister, are we staying for the night or leaving", asked the young man who was leaving the tavern with Zhao ling.
"We are leaving. Even if I have let Fei'er disguised as me and let her stay in my courtyard, we shouldn't dally long. We should reach the capital before General Xiao and Prince Yan Xing. If the Emperor wants to bestow a marriage, he will announce it at the welcoming banquet right after they reach the capital and I might be invited to the banquet too", said Zhao Ling
After that Zhao Ling threw a glance at Qing'er and took out a scarf from her bosom said, "cover your neck"
Qing'er only now realized that although she had disguised herself as a man, she forgot to take care of the adam's apple. Lowering her head, she quietly took the scarf and covered her neck. "I will be careful next time", said Qing'er.
Zhao Ling nodded, "you are quite talented, it's not even a month since you started learning the skills and you are already good"
"Thank you, Senior sister. I will work hard", replied Qing'er
After filling their stomachs, Prince Yan Xing and General Xiao too mount their horses and left Lan City. Both Yan Xing and Zhao Ling were moving towards the capital, with each brewing a pot of devious schemes inside their heads.
On the last day of the eleventh lunar month, when the sun was preparing to go dive down the mountains, General Xiao and Prince Yan Xing entered the capital.
Many people gathered at the gates of the capital. Eunuch Wang lightly bowed towards General Xiao Shan and Prince Yan Xing, "Welcome back to the capital, General and Your Highness. The Emperor had heard of the Black Eagle Cavalry's victory at the southwest border and he is extremely proud of the cavalry and General. The Emperor, therefore, arranged a welcoming banquet at the palace in the evening. I hope both the general and His Highness the Fifth Prince will be present at the banquet"
General Xiao nodded his head, "thank you, Eunuch Wang, rest assured we will be there"
Prime Minister's estate
"Young Miss, there is an invitation for you to attend the welcoming banquet tonight at the palace", said Xue'er as she saw Zhao ling coming out from the bathroom after washing up.
Zhao Ling had just reached the capital. She took the invitation from Xue'er and sat down near the bronze mirror. Xue'er immediately took a piece of cloth and helped dry Zhao Ling's hair.
Looking at the invitation, Zhao ling lightly smirked, "so I will be going with my father!"
"Yes, Young miss, your father had already sent the new set of dresses for you to wear at the banquet", Xue'er replied.
"Looks like he couldn't wait to marry me off to that impotent prince", Zhao Ling coldly snorted.
At this moment there was a knock on the door, "Young miss"
"come in", Zhao ling responded.
Two pretty maids entered the room with light and graceful steps. Zhao Ling motioned them to come close.
"Fei'er, did anything major happened while I was away? And also no one noticed anything right!", asked Zhao Ling.
"Young Miss was only away for a week, so nothing happened during that time. Besides with my skills, how can anyone noticed that I am not the original Second miss!", Fei'er raised her brows in a narcissistic way.
Zhao Ling and the other two girls rolled their eyes inwardly. It could be seen that they had gotten used to Liu Yifei's narcissistic behavior. Not bothering anymore with Liu Yifei, Zhao Ling's gaze landed on Qing'er.
Noticing the look Zhao Ling was giving her, Qing'er turned serious, "After entering the capital, I directly went to the headquarter and got some important information. Our people got a wind of someone secretly investigating Young miss"
Zhao furrowed her brows, "investigating me! Why would someone want to investigate me, a sickly and weak girl who can't even lay eggs"
The three ladies in front of Zhao Ling couldn't help but twitched their lips. It would have been quite sad and painful to hear that sentence from Zhao Ling if they weren't aware of the real situation.
"At the moment we suspect that it is either the fifth prince or the General of the Black eagle cavalry", replied He Qing.
Zhao Ling was silent for a moment, "The Fifth Prince and the General might have gotten the wind about the Emperor's plan to bestow a marriage too. We are not the only ones who can plant moles. I am sure they might have gotten the information from the mole they planted beside the Emperor. Qing'er, go and investigate if there were only one group or more than one that had investigated about me"
"Young Miss, are you trying to find out whether the Fifth Prince had investigated too!", asked He Qing.
Zhao Ling nodded her head, "Back at the Lan city, I saw the fifth prince. He is quite different from what the rumors say. I am sure he has his eyes and ears in the capital. Go and investigate whether the fifth prince had sent his men to investigate me or not and how much did he find out"
He Qing nodded and immediately left the courtyard.
Soon the time for the welcoming banquet arrived. All the officials and dignitaries who were invited made their way to the palace.
Inside the Fifth Prince's carriage, Yan Xing was seated wearing a luxurious silk robe. Opposite to him, a young man around the age of twenty years was seated.
"You mean someone was investigating me too!", asked Yan Xing.
The man nodded his head. "Yes, and I have a suspect too. But I am not sure cause no matter what, it still doesn't make sense", said the young man with a frown.