“Young Master, you lack a true identity, and I lack a true throne to prove myself. Let us cooperate and each take what we need. How about it?”
Seeing Ji Yumeng’s ease, Chu Yunlan’s expression flickered with uncertainty.
The other party’s smile was still so innocent, like flowers blooming in spring.
But the sweet scent of these blooming flowers made Chu Yunlan feel nauseous.
The word Counterfeit –was like a thorn stuck in his heart, destined never to be pulled out in this lifetime.
He really hadn’t expected that the disguise he had spent so many years carefully crafting would be shattered like glass shards by a few sentences from this Second Princess.
Taking a deep breath, Chu Yunlan tried to suppress his emotions back into his heart.
When he looked up again, a gentle smile was once more hung on his face.
“The Second Princess is absolutely right; cooperation is the best strategy for us. However, as for the specifics of how to act, we need to discuss them in detail!”
Hearing this, Ji Yumeng raised her eyebrows, half-teasing and half-admiring.
“Young Master Yunlan is indeed a man who does great things.”
“If it were someone else whose secrets were exposed like this, they would have panicked long ago. You can still discuss cooperation with me without changing your expression. It’s not easy.”
The corners of Chu Yunlan’s eyes twitched. For the first time in many years, he was being manipulated like this.
However, the intelligence held by the other party was indeed fatal to him, so he had to appear humble.
He paused and then changed the subject. “The Second Princess overpraises me; I am merely someone who recognizes the circumstances. So, regarding the framing of the Crown Princess…”
“Secret letters. I need secret letters of correspondence between the Young Master and the Crown Princess as evidence. Do you have any questions about this, Young Master Yunlan?”
Chu Yunlan pondered and offered his opinion.
“The content of the secret letters from the Crown Princess to me must be carefully designed.”
“The handwriting, phrasing, and seals must all be flawless. It would be best to ‘inadvertently’ reveal some details that only the Crown Princess herself would know.”
Ji Yumeng nodded. “There are several old ministers in the court who served as her teachers in her early years.”
“They are more than familiar with her handwriting and writing style. It will be most credible for them to ‘verify’ the authenticity of the secret letters.”
“Secret letters alone are not enough; we also need witnesses! Ideally, someone close to the Crown Princess who can ‘prove’ she indeed had dealings with the Holy Domain.”
Ji Yumeng smiled, her expression carrying a hint of cunning. “Witnesses? I have those too.”
She did not go into detail, and Chu Yunlan did not ask further.
The two discussed for a while longer and finalized several key steps: when the secret letters would be sent, who would present them, when to launch the impeachment…
Every single detail was meticulously handled.
During their discussion, Ji Yumeng’s gaze was suddenly attracted by something outside the window.
Turning her head, she looked toward a distant window. The window of that private room was open, and she could clearly see the people seated inside.
Ji Xuanyuan, her sister, sat upright in the main seat, but her gaze occasionally fell on the person beside her.
Following her sister’s gaze, she saw a youth sitting there.
The boy wore expensive brocade robes and had a delicate face, looking to be only 18 or 19 years old.
He sat there quietly, like a small plant growing in a corner, inconspicuous, yet somehow making people look at him twice.
Especially as her biological sister, Ji Yumeng clearly saw that the look her sister gave this boy actually revealed ninety percent affection.
Ji Yumeng tilted her head, her gaze resting on the youth, not looking away for a long time.
When did such a person appear by her sister’s side?
She had grown up with Ji Xuanyuan and knew her sister’s temperament best—cold as ice and hard as stone, never letting anyone get close.
So many young masters from noble families in the court tried all sorts of ways to get close to her, but she wouldn’t even give them a glance.
Yet now, she actually allowed a youth to sit by her side?
Ji Yumeng’s eyes shifted slightly. “Young Master Yunlan, who is that?”
Following her gaze, Chu Yunlan’s lips twitched.
Regarding the two in the distance, he admired the Crown Princess and hated Chu Yuan.
However, now being threatened with secrets by the Second Princess, he also had to face his identity as a fake young master.
Compared to romantic feelings, for him, securing his position as the Holy Son and future Sacred Lord was the priority.
Suppressing the jealousy in his heart, a look of contempt appeared on his face.
“Oh, that one. He’s a piece of trash from a collateral branch of the Chu Clan. I don’t know what dog-shit luck he had to be favored by Her Highness.”
“Recently, he’s been following Her Highness every day, never leaving her side.”
He paused, his tone becoming increasingly sinister.
“Speaking of which, these past few days, your sister seems to be having so much fun with that trash of mine that she’s forgotten to go home. I wonder if this counts as useful intelligence?”
Ji Yumeng’s brow furrowed slightly, and she didn’t respond immediately.
She was extremely good at reading people’s expressions. Looking at the youth in the distant window, her cherry lips murmured.
“That doesn’t seem to be the case, does it? From the look of it, it seems more like my sister is the one forcing him?”
“Maybe! Previously, the Great Elder of my Chu Clan’s collateral branch wanted to take him back, but the Crown Princess rejected him on the spot.”
Since they were already allies, Chu Yunlan didn’t mind telling her everything that had happened over the past few days.
From this information, it wasn’t hard for Ji Yumeng to judge: was this a man her sister liked but couldn’t have?
Was there actually something in this world that her sister couldn’t get?
Her gaze lingered on Chu Yuan, and Ji Yumeng suddenly felt something quietly sprouting in her heart.
When she was a child, her sister got a toy that she also really wanted. She didn’t dare to snatch it and could only watch from the side.
She secretly vowed: ‘One day, I will have one of my own.’
In the end, before she could even act, her sister had already grown tired of it and casually gave it to her.
Ji Yumeng loathed this kind of charity more and more.
Now, facing a “toy” that her sister loved but couldn’t have, she suddenly developed an interest.
If my sister cares about him, and I snatch him away, wouldn’t that prove I am better than her?
At that time, what kind of interesting expression would appear on my sister’s face?
Thinking of this, Ji Yumeng’s playful smile grew even wider. “Interesting.”
Looking at her expression, Chu Yunlan’s heart skipped a beat.
‘This Second Princess… could she be interested in that piece of trash? Just what kind of charm does that kid have?’
Just as he was about to speak, a booming voice came from outside the window.
“FELLOW TAOISTS, WELCOME TO THE DIVINE GRADE AUCTION!!!”
During their conversation, the once-in-a-century Divine Grade Auction had officially begun.
The host of the auction was a gray-robed old woman. Her voice was aged but full of vigor, spreading throughout the entire venue via a magic formation.
Without much of an opening speech, the old woman went straight to the point.
“Today’s first item—the complete scrolls of an ancient sleeping technique, called the ‘Back-to-Yang Lie.'”
“This technique is extraordinary. It does not cultivate spiritual energy or refine muscles and bones; it focuses solely on the path of ‘sleeping’.”
As she spoke, she raised her hand. A jade slip slowly rose from a brocade box, hovering in mid-air and radiating a faint spiritual light.
At this, a burst of whispering broke out in the venue.
“What the heck? A sleeping technique? This is the first time I’ve ever heard of such a thing!”
“Yeah! What kind of thing is this? What’s the use?”
However, inside the Crown Princess’s room, Chu Yuan suddenly became energized.
‘A sleeping technique? The Back-to-Yang Lie? I remember this technique!!!’
According to the sequence of the auction catalog, the Dragon Egg would be coming up soon!