Chapter 50: Can I Refuse?

In truth, the vocal timbre was not quite the same; compared to the past when she was "Doukou," her voice now carried a touch more coldness and was unfamiliar, yet Xiao Youlan felt that this was exactly how she should sound.

He did not speak, and Nan Xueyin, assuming he did not wish to, pursed her lips.

Before she could ask again, Xiao Youlan's Adam's apple bobbed, and he suddenly asked, "What is your name?"

Though Nan Xueyin was puzzled, she still repeated, "Wu Zhui."

Xiao Youlan, however, smiled.

The redness in his eyes faded inch by inch, and he nodded, saying, "I know, his name is Wu Zhui. I am asking about you."

Nan Xueyin was startled.

"Tell me your name, and I will tell you what happened with Wu Zhui," Xiao Youlan coaxed.

Nan Xueyin felt an inexplicable emotion.

In the past, she had also announced her identity; for instance, before killing someone, she would grab the person's hair, lift their head up, and say, word by word, "Remember this: Duan Prince Mansion, Nan Xueyin."

Then, with a swift strike of her blade, she would watch the light and vitality in their eyes gradually fade away.

But at this moment, she averted her gaze.

A flash of inspiration struck her, and Nan Xueyin parted her lips, saying slowly, "Hua Lianying."

Xiao Youlan pressed, "Which three characters?"

Nan Xueyin shifted her gaze even further away and answered concisely: "Flower and bird, pity and cherish, oriole and swallow."

Xiao Youlan fell silent for a moment.

He always felt that her name should contain the character "Snow," as it would suit her temperament very well.

As for "Hua Lianying," the name, whether heard or seen, was far too delicate; it sounded more like a dodder flower living in attachment to others, which was completely different from the temperament and experiences of the woman before him.

But he said none of this, only remarking, "This name has more poetic quality than the two characters 'Doukou'."

Nan Xueyin's expression did not change as she asked, "Why is Wu Zhui no longer by the Duan Prince's side?"

Xiao Youlan kept his promise and said, "The day the Duan Prince sent you to the Dali Temple Prison, a doctor was invited to Jiaoyuan; he was a gynecological expert with quite a reputation in Fengdu."

Having said this, he paused briefly.

Nan Xueyin roughly understood what he meant. Since he was called a gynecological expert, it was obvious that a woman in Jiaoyuan had some urgent matter, and it was a woman very important to Xiao Mingyu—namely, Hua Lianying.

She was likely pregnant.

Nan Xueyin had no expression on her face, but she felt a bit surprised inside. In the past, Xiao Mingyu had had so many women, yet he had never let them conceive his children; after their intimate encounters, a bowl of contraceptive soup would always be brought over.

But it seemed there was nothing to be surprised about; Xiao Mingyu loved Hua Lianying, so it was only natural for him to permit her to conceive and bear his child.

"The Duan Prince did not rush to the Dali Temple Prison to meet you, but that attendant named Wu Zhui did lead men to the prison gates. However, he arrived too late; by then, you had already been dragged back into the prison. He returned to Jiaoyuan to report this to Xiao Mingyu, who flew into a rage and sent people everywhere to investigate your whereabouts. However, I had already sent men to seal off everything and kept the Dali Temple Prison under strict guard. They found nothing. After that, Wu Zhui investigated the source of the problem in Jiaoyuan and interrogated several people; he must have found out, and thus he had a falling out with the Duan Prince. The day you woke up, he left Jiaoyuan."

Xiao Youlan's account was very detailed, perhaps even too detailed.

As Nan Xueyin listened, she could not help but feel a lingering fear—to be able to understand things to this extent meant the intelligence capabilities under the Crown Prince were far superior to Xiao Mingyu's.

Thinking about it carefully, after all, this was the legitimate Crown Prince, having been in Fengdu for many years; how could he not have such abilities?

Nan Xueyin naturally asked, "What did he do after he left?"

Xiao Youlan did not rush to answer, but instead looked at her with a smile and countered, "How old are you this year?"

Nan Xueyin was puzzled: "What?"

Xiao Youlan laughed: "You seem to still be unwilling to talk to me unless we are discussing content you want to know. So, there is no other way; I have no choice but to use the content I want to know to trade for the content you want to know."

Nan Xueyin understood.

She just didn't quite understand why such important intelligence—the whereabouts of the Duan Prince's personal attendant—was being used to trade for something as insignificant as her age.

But since it was ultimately insignificant, Nan Xueyin spoke plainly: "Twenty."

Xiao Youlan nodded slightly, "Still younger than me."

Nan Xueyin looked at him suspiciously.

He continued, "Wu Zhui is searching everywhere in Fengdu for news of you."

Nan Xueyin was stunned.

"The Duan Prince is about to leave Fengdu, which means he will no longer concern himself with your affairs. But he has not given up yet."

After finishing, Xiao Youlan asked, "Are you and this Wu Zhui very close?"

Nan Xueyin shrugged and said, "We must trade answers."

Xiao Youlan was not annoyed and raised an eyebrow; she truly had a temperament that never let herself suffer a loss.

He smiled and nodded, "Fine. What do you want to ask?"

Nan Xueyin said, "Can you have the Hidden Guards in the surroundings withdrawn?"

Xiao Youlan explained, "Those Hidden Guards are not there to monitor you, but to protect you. The two Momos were also left by me to take care of you."

"So, you will not withdraw them?"

"Why do you want them withdrawn?"

In fact, the answer was obvious; it was nothing more than the word 'escape'.

Both of them should have known this clearly, yet Nan Xueyin said calmly, "I am also an Assassin; I can sense their presence. It is very uncomfortable."

Xiao Youlan was silent for a moment, resting his arms lightly on the table, his slender fingers rubbing back and forth.

Nan Xueyin assumed he would certainly not agree and did not hold high expectations.

Yet he spoke slowly, saying, "Fine."

Nan Xueyin was slightly startled.

Xiao Youlan said, "I will have them all withdraw to outside the estate."

Having agreed so readily, Nan Xueyin was even more stunned.

But this was the result she wanted; this way, it would facilitate her next move.

"Thank you."

Nan Xueyin said a word and stood up to leave.

Xiao Youlan suddenly reached out and accurately caught her wrist.

Nan Xueyin turned her head back.

Xiao Youlan raised his handsome face to look at her, "You haven't answered my question yet. Are you and Wu Zhui very close?"

Nan Xueyin gave an 'en' sound, "We grew up together more or less; later, most of the time, I was responsible for killing, and he arranged the extraction."

Xiao Youlan understood; that meant they were friends.

He did not let go of her and asked again, "Where are you going?"

"To the courtyard for a walk."

Xiao Youlan nodded, still not letting go of her, and instead stood up as well, "Together."

Nan Xueyin said without thinking, "Can I refuse?"

Xiao Youlan was already standing still and replied to her, "You cannot."

Nan Xueyin then stopped speaking.

She took the lead and walked outside, while Xiao Youlan followed behind at a leisurely pace.

The injuries she had suffered in the Dali Temple Prison looked mostly healed on the outside, but they still needed to be nursed internally.

Nan Xueyin came out for a walk, firstly because her body needed moderate exercise, and secondly because she wanted to get a general understanding of the manor's basic layout and terrain to facilitate a future escape.

"What do they usually call you?" Xiao Youlan asked.

Nan Xueyin was concentrating on observing her surroundings, mentally mapping out escape routes over and over, and when she suddenly heard his question, it took her half a beat to snap out of it and realize he was asking about how others addressed her.

She replied vaguely, "They call me all sorts of things. Miss Hua, Miss Lianying, Miss Yingying."

Xiao Youlan thought it over and felt he couldn't bring himself to say any of them; the main thing was that these names really didn't suit her at all.

For a moment, he even felt that it would be better to keep calling her Doukou.

The two walked for a distance and stopped to rest for a while in a small pavilion by the water.

Xiao Youlan wanted to ask where she was from, but before he could open his mouth, he saw Feihong rushing over in a panic, "Your Highness!"