Chapter 564

"Wake up, Young Master Ai Luoxiu is in the country." Man 1 shook his head, took back the binoculars and readjusted the focus.

But we need to keep the quotes exactly as in source? We used double quotes for speech. That's fine.

Now after all lines, output ===TITLE=== with translation of chapter title: The Scent of Money Evaporating.

Then

In the soft light by the sea, the girl's delicate, exquisite side profile was clearly imprinted in view, her pink-gold long hair fluttering in the breeze, extremely recognizable.

"I told you, Ai Luoxiu……" the nonchalance on his face vanished instantly, his expression changed abruptly, "Princess!"

Man 2 rubbed his eyes and blurted, "Princess Ai Luoxiu?"

"What is that, that's Princess Mingxi!" Man 1 quickly adjusted the telescope's angle, bringing the distant image closer, "Beside her is Young Master Jiang."

Man 2 stared for a long time before coming to his senses, sheepishly scratching his head, "Just now I thought Ai Luoxiu Young Master, fearing being recognized, wore a wig while playing in the sand."

He secretly regretted it deep down; if Ai Luoxiu Young Master were really here, they might still be able to plead and go home early.

Man 1 warned him with a glance, "Don't talk nonsense, let's go over and say hello."

"Yes, yes, yes, we should go say hello!" Man 2 quickly gathered his thoughts and composed his expression.

He earnestly said, "Let's first look up how to greet her politely, after all she's from Z Country."

Man 1's face tightened a bit, "Behave well; if we can make the princess remember us, we might not have to stay in this dump and can go back early."

The two quickly finished reading the etiquette guide, but still felt their demeanor wasn't formal enough.

First tidy up the clothes, need to be more formal.

Okay.

They let out demonic laughter, tidying their clothes as they laughed.

But by the time they had tidied their clothes, the four people by the sea had already vanished.

On the empty beach, only the two of them remained, standing alone in place.

When the two strangers used the binoculars for a second time, Mu Youyu hadn't yet noticed anything wrong before being escorted into the car by Jiang Liangjin and the two bodyguards.

Jiang Liangjin half-bent, one hand protecting her head, the other pulling open the car door, "Get in first."

Mu Youyu was pushed by him into the back seat, not forgetting to tilt her head, "Your hands have sand, don't touch me."

Jiang Liangjin obediently withdrew his hand, "Okay."

Mu Youyu tilted her head to look out the window; the two figures had their backs to them, bent over something in the distance, completely unaware of this side, curious, "What are they doing?"

Jiang Liangjin followed her in, closed the car door, "We don't know them, no need to worry."

Mu Youyu: "Then let's head back; A Ci should be arriving around this time."

Song Zewu in the driver's seat started the car and voluntarily explained, "Miss, those two just now are from Y Country's noble circles, both heirs of their families; family background doesn't matter, people… they're a bit slow-witted."

He has also followed the young master for over ten years, so he naturally knows the figures in the noble circles.

Those two, together with others, had been schemed against several times by the young master and Princess Xun Li working together.

Their family members had been restless since youth, the family power harboring covert shifts; the young master, sensing their family's restless ambitions, openly and secretly joined forces with Jun Chenling to suppress them several times.

But many only thought Jun Chenling hateful, failing to notice the young master also had a hand in it; they always cheerfully chatted with the young master, telling him any secrets.

Including those two.

Over time, the young master casually pulled their families from the upper noble stratum down to the bottom, completely undermining the foundations of both houses' power.

Recalling Song Zeyi's earlier group message, Song Zewu raised his eyebrows.

Those two were each schemed against by the other, both exiled here by the imperial household; "poor fellows" indeed.

The other bodyguard, sent by the Jiang family, nodded feigning understanding, "Right, Miss, don't get too close to those slow-witted people."

Jiang Liangjin raised his eyebrows, no wonder Ling-ge told him to avoid conflict.

Mu Youyu didn't think much of it, "Okay."

Returning to Mingxi Castle, Yu Ci and Gu Xingnan's car happened to be parked at the main gate.

Yu Ci was leaning against the car door drinking coffee; seeing the two walking side by side, he strode forward to greet them, as if seeing family.

"Where did you go? We just went around and couldn't find you, thought we took a wrong turn—this place is too convoluted."

"Morning." Gu Xingnan walked over at a leisurely pace, catching a whiff of something, "You went to the beach first?"

Mu Youyu smiled faintly, "Yeah, just played a bit; you came pretty much on time, why didn't you call?"

"Just about to call." Yu Ci looked left and right, then looked up at the carved golden gate before him and clicked his tongue in admiration, "This castle is also too beautiful, are you staying here tonight?"

Jiang Liangjin said lightly, "Yeah, you're also staying here; the rooms have been prepared."

"Ling-ge is really generous, does he still need a brother?"

Yu Ci shoved the coffee cup into Gu Xingnan's hand, looked around a moment, then turned back, "I think A Jin could also buy a castle next time, impressive."

Mu Youyu curled her lips, "Buying a castle isn't expensive, it's just the upkeep that's a hassle."

Yu Ci said righteously, "He can hire people to maintain it; anyway he has plenty of money."

"Even if I bought it, I wouldn't let you stay." Jiang Liangjin sneered.

The palace servant reached out to push the door open, stepping aside to let Mu Youyu enter first.

Yu Ci: "……"

After his speechlessness, he wasn't discouraged, following behind into the door, "If you won't let me stay, it's fine; I'll stay at A Nan's, A Nan at yours, which basically means I'm staying at yours."

Gu Xingnan's steps paused slightly, his eyes holding a feeling others couldn't quite read.

Yu Ci, oblivious, had already walked in on his own, wandering around the living room.

He stopped in front of the oil painting on the wall by the door, glanced at it for a moment, and voiced his puzzlement: "Where did you get this painting? My family also has one exactly like it, but my dad said this piece is a one-of-a-kind, the only one in the world."

Jiang Liangjin drawled, "Uncle Yu bought a pirated counterfeit."

Mu Youyu and Gu Xingnan both looked at him.

Poor Uncle Yu.

Yu Ci's eyes lit up, "Wow, I'll have to give him a good dose of yin-yang!"

Mu Youyu changed her shoes, placed a cushion on the sofa before sitting down, then waved at Jiang Liangjin, indicating he should sit beside her.

Jiang Liangjin had just sat down when Yu Ci swayed over to the vase on the other side of the living room, where a row of exquisitely shaped collectible vases was displayed, exuding an air of astronomical price.

Only at the very center of the display table sat a simple, plain white vase, which stood out starkly among the many ornate decorations.

This vase is really ordinary.

They reached out, while touching and speaking: "Are you still going to the beach tomorrow? I'm most interested in treasure hunting!"

Jiang Liangjin: "Then go to sleep early tonight."

Yu Ci didn't react to why they brought this up: "What does this have to do with me sleeping early?"

Jiang Liangjin just smiled without speaking, and Gu Xingnan said: "You can go only if you wake up tomorrow; if you can't wake up, then don't go."

Yu Ci immediately straightened their back: "I'll definitely wake up; when have you ever seen me sleep in?"

Gu Xingnan: "Ten o'clock the morning before yesterday."

Yu Ci picked up the plain white vase without changing expression, held it in hand and shook it, explaining: "That's me adjusting for jet lag, you know—cross‑timezone travel requires adaptation."

Gu Xingnan was silent for a few seconds, then still chose to go along: "Hmm, that sounds fancy."

"It's fine, you guys rest more; we can go the day after tomorrow." Mu Youyu leaned their face against Jiang Liangjin's shoulder, then asked: "What do I want to eat tomorrow?"

Jiang Liangjin turned their profile, testing: "Do you want to eat a croissant?"

"I want to eat too!" Yu Ci heard, immediately turned around: "I want to eat, I want to eat! Is there any tomorrow morning?"

After saying that, they casually pushed the vase onto the table, preparing to move over to join the conversation.

But the vase, pushed by them to the edge of the table, became unsteady, wobbled lightly on the tabletop, and slid straight off.

Clatter—

Yu Ci's whole body shuddered, ceramic shards scattered on the carpet, and they smelled money evaporating quickly.