Chapter 62: My Brother Has Plenty of Silver

Nan Xueyin fell silent.

That day, she had chosen a random eatery by herself, and what she ate was bo tuo.

The taste was average; the dough slices could not be called chewy, they were a bit hard, the broth was not fragrant, and it was even a bit too salty.

Nan Xueyin assumed that bo tuo all tasted roughly like this. At the time, the waiter kept boasting beside her: "Although our shop only opened last year, this bo tuo is not inferior at all to those decades-old shops. Once you eat a bowl, I guarantee you'll want to eat another!"

But Nan Xueyin didn't even finish the first bowl.

It wasn't because it was too terrible, but because Xiao Mingyu had encountered Assassins on his side. They came with great momentum, and the Hidden Guards beside him struggled to fend them off, suffering heavy casualties. One of them dragged their broken body over to find Nan Xueyin, asking her to go provide support quickly.

By the time Nan Xueyin arrived, the beauty had died a miserable death on the spot, lying face up on the ground, clothes disheveled, eyes wide open, unable to close them in death.

Xiao Mingyu was not injured, only frightened, and his body was stained with that beauty's blood.

She only took one look before withdrawing her gaze, and with a flick of her sword, she drove the Assassins back one by one.

When everything returned to calm, Xiao Mingyu looked at her with bright eyes and said, "This Prince knew it, you are the best."

"What are you thinking about?" At this very moment, Xiao Youlan opposite her asked in a deep voice.

Nan Xueyin didn't speak; she collected her thoughts and lowered her head to take another big bite of bo tuo.

At this time, the sound of conversation came from the next table: "I heard that Prince Duan is going to Baoli Pavilion today."

There were two men of similar age there who had just ordered bo tuo. The kitchen hadn't finished preparing it yet, so in the gap while waiting, the two of them just chatted about whatever.

The other replied, "I'm afraid it's to coax the young lady of the Yan Family into being happy, right?"

Nan Xueyin caught an earful and continued to focus on eating her bo tuo.

She could feel Xiao Youlan's gaze opposite her landing on her body, but she still didn't have any reaction, not even lifting her eyelids.

The man at the next table was very curious: "Why are the two of them going to a gambling den?"

"Miss Yan has been raised in the boudoir all year round; where would she have seen such things? Presumably, she is curious in her heart and wants to get to the bottom of it. The Yan Family follows the rules and would never let her go, unlike Prince Duan, who only spoils and indulges her to make her happy."

"That is indeed the logic."

"Yesterday they even went to a brothel. This Miss Yan was dressed as a man, but who among ordinary people couldn't tell she was a woman? It's just that they were mindful of Prince Duan and the Yan Family's power and didn't expose her."

That person was stunned, "What? Went to a brothel?"

"Yes, I heard they even booked a private room and chose a few dancing girls and singing girls. Midway, there was probably a dancing girl who didn't know better and accidentally touched Prince Duan. How could Miss Yan tolerate that? She flew into a rage on the spot, broke one of the singing girl's hands, and sold her off."

"That singing girl is also pitiful!"

"Who's to say she isn't."

"They're going to Baoli Pavilion today; who knows what kind of trouble they'll stir up?"

While they were speaking, the bo tuo was brought up.

The two of them then stopped their conversation and said no more.

Nan Xueyin finished the last of the dough slices, put down her bowl and chopsticks, and carefully wiped her mouth.

"Do you like eating this?" Xiao Youlan asked.

Nan Xueyin said the opposite of what she felt: "Average."

Xiao Youlan smiled: "As long as you like it, I'll go pay the bill."

After speaking, he stood up. Nan Xueyin didn't look at him; she also stood up and walked outside.

Outside the door, there was already a stretch of setting sun.

Xiao Youlan returned quickly, stood beside Nan Xueyin, and said, "Baoli Pavilion is not far from here; let's walk over."

Nan Xueyin did not refuse.

The two walked and soon arrived at Baoli Pavilion.

Outside the door, there were servants waiting to receive guests.

These servants could roughly judge a person's status based on the carriage they arrived in, the attire and accessories on their body, and their appearance, and also used this to determine how to treat the guests.

Xiao Youlan and Nan Xueyin looked plain, and their clothing could not be called magnificent.

The servants' attitude toward them was correspondingly much colder.

However, since the visitor was a guest after all, a servant with a fair face still wore a polite smile, stepped forward, and asked, "Are you two here for the first time?"

Nan Xueyin replied, "Yes."

"There is a rule that I must tell you in advance: the minimum bet at our Baoli Pavilion is ten taels."

Nan Xueyin said calmly, "My brother has plenty of silver."

She called out this 'brother' casually, still using a man's voice.

But falling into Xiao Youlan's ears, it felt as if his heart had been scratched by something soft, making it itch.

He paused before taking a money bag out from his sleeve.

The servant took a look, and only then did he smile again, "Good, then please follow me, you two."

Just at this moment, a luxurious carriage stopped steadily outside the door.

Several servants saw it and their eyes lit up in unison. For a moment, they couldn't care about other guests and crowded toward the carriage.

Nan Xueyin turned her head inadvertently and saw Xiao Mingyu, dressed in simple clothes, get off the carriage first. He didn't rush to walk but stood there, reaching his hand out toward the back.

Someone else leaned out from the carriage.

With just one look, Nan Xueyin recognized that this was Yan Zhirong.

No wonder those two men said that earlier; Yan Zhirong's cross-dressing was indeed very immature, one could even say perfunctory. Her willow eyebrows were long and thin like a crescent moon, and the lip rouge on her lips hadn't even been wiped off, bright and moist; she was completely a woman's appearance, barely wearing men's attire.

"Those two are likely Prince Duan and the young lady of the Yan Family."

The servant leading the way for Xiao Youlan and Nan Xueyin mentioned it at the right time.

Nan Xueyin withdrew her gaze and glanced at him, "Likely?"

The fair-faced servant smiled, "The two of them have noble status. They don't directly reveal their identities when coming here, but hide them instead. Those officials all know to pretend they didn't recognize them. We are all commoners, so we should be even more sensible and only say 'likely', not 'definitely'."

The servants outside the door swarmed up, crowding around Xiao Mingyu and Yan Zhirong as they walked into Baoli Pavilion, saying loudly as they walked: "Make way! Everyone make way! Let the noble guests go first!"

The fair-skinned attendant also sighed: "One is a Prince, the other a young lady of a noble family; we cannot compete with them, so let us just let them go in first."

A Prince, a young lady of a noble family.

Nan Xueyin cast a glance at the Crown Prince beside her.

Xiao Youlan had adapted well to his current identity as an ordinary person and had already walked to the side; meeting her gaze, he lowered his head slightly: "What is it?"

Nan Xueyin did not reply aloud, but thought to herself that it just felt a bit absurd.

Xiao Mingyu and the party of Yan Zhirong had all gone inside, and the fair-skinned attendant breathed a sigh of relief: "Alright, let us go."

Upon entering the main gate, one was in the main hall of Baoli Pavilion.

It was a high-ceilinged hall, spacious and bright, with candles burning brilliantly.

"Do you two have anything you would like to play or are interested in?" the attendant asked politely.

Nan Xueyin: "You make a recommendation."

The attendant smiled: "The simplest is naturally dice, betting on big or small."

Following the direction of his finger, Nan Xueyin looked over.

With this one look, she saw Xiao Mingyu.

He was sitting side-by-side with Yan Zhirong in front of a gambling table, appearing to be discussing what to bet on; Xiao Mingyu said something with a smile, and Zhirong covered her lips and laughed.

The attendant asked: "Do you want to play this?"