CHAPTER 368: CHAPTER 322

"Girl, you’re back so early. Why didn’t you stay out and play with them longer?" Mr. Mo smiled and squinted his eyes while looking behind Lan Tian, "Where’s Hua Zi? Why didn’t he come back with you?"

"He went to get me some milk. I came back to let you know, I’m going out to play with Mo Junhua, Hua Jifeng and the others. We won’t be back so soon. Please stay with Mr. Ji for now, so we don’t have to look for you everywhere when we’re back."

"Alright!" Mr. Mo agreed readily, the two conversing in hushed voices, with others around them unable to catch what was being said. To outsiders, the scene of the two deeply engaged in conversation was delightful. They felt that Old Mo’s suddenly emerging granddaughter should not be underestimated. Having not been in Beijing for long, she had already charmed the old man’s heart. In this kind of gathering, instead of bringing his male disciples, he brought his granddaughter, which showed her unique approach.

Lan Tian didn’t realize that, at that moment, many in the Hua Hall held the impression that she was a scheming woman with sophisticated tactics. Even knowing, she wouldn’t care. Her gaze shifted towards Mr. Ji’s direction, not seeing Ji Feng by his side but noticing Hua Kongque talking to Mr. Ji about something. As Mr. Ji nodded, Hua Kongque walked out of Hua Hall, glancing sneakily in Lan Tian’s direction. Their eyes met, and Hua Kongque slightly shook her head. Lan Tian’s gaze darkened, and with a curved lip, she said to Mr. Mo, "Grandpa, I’m going to find Mo Junhua."

"Don’t get too crazy with the fun; be careful!" Mr. Mo advised before letting her go.

Hua Kongque led the way, with Lan Tian following about four or five steps behind. They left the Hua Hall one after the other, and as they entered the garden, Hua Kongque started playfully bantering with people around, heading towards a corner of the garden, with Lan Tian also walking in that direction.

"Why are you following him?" Suddenly, a slap on the shoulder from behind startled Lan Tian, who turned to see Ye Junying glaring at her angrily.

"What’s the matter? Don’t you know scaring people can scare them to death?" Lan Tian patted her chest. With people coming and going in the garden, Ye Junying didn’t mean any harm and unexpectedly hadn’t noticed his appearance. Being startled like that by an ordinary person, Lan Tian felt aggrieved and said irritably, "Where did you pop out from? I haven’t seen you all night."

Looking back, indeed Yang Lan was also there. These two were always inseparable like peas in a pod, always together whenever seen, just like Hua Kongque and Zhang Shenjing.

"Hua Kongque is infamously known as a playboy around Beijing. What are you doing following him?" Ye Junying glanced at Hua Kongque amidst the crowd, his eyes carrying intriguing implications while looking at Lan Tian. Yang Lan, with his simple and honest face, just touched his nose, and no one knew what he was thinking.

Lan Tian blinked. Something about that seemed off, didn’t it? However, there were more pressing matters at hand.

"Just in time, you two come along." Lan Tian gestured with her head, implying for them to follow. They were both Ji Feng’s people, and they could be useful at this moment. Seeing Lan Tian’s indifferent face and the flash of murderous intent in her deep eyes, Ye Junying swallowed what he was about to say, exchanged a look with Yang Lan, and quietly followed.

What happened?

With their family backgrounds well-known, there were few in the garden who didn’t recognize the pair. As people approached them to strike up conversations, Yang Lan responded with a smile at the corner of his mouth, while Ye Junying nodded in pretense. Seeing Yang Lan and Ye Junying following behind Lan Tian, Hua Kongque’s gaze flickered.

"There’s no need for introductions since you all know each other," Lan Tian said as the four of them gathered, scanning the three of them. "You’re all people Ji Feng trusts. This isn’t the place to talk. There’s a pavilion in Gong Garden ahead; it’s more secluded. Let’s talk there."

Hua Kongque looked at Yang Lan and Ye Junying with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile, and in return, they glanced back with the same seemingly amused look. It was as though the three of them had established some kind of agreement in that instant.

"Where’s Ji Feng?" The four sat in the pavilion as Lan Tian activated a protective shield to cover the pavilion, preventing eavesdropping. Both were gone, and the longer the delay, the less favorable it would be for them. At this point, Lan Tian couldn’t afford to worry too much.

Peacock Hua and his two companions saw Lan Tian making a semicircle in the sky, her actions peculiar, unsure of what she was doing, but no one asked.

"I’ve checked with Mr. Mo, and the Crown Prince hasn’t been back to Hua Hall after he left." With the matter concerning Ji Feng, Peacock Hua dropped his usual nonchalant attitude, becoming serious and reliable.

"Did you two see Ji Feng in the garden?" Lan Tian turned to ask Yang Lan and Ye Junying.

"No," Ye Junying shook his head, "I only saw the Crown Prince in Hua Hall, he had just arrived with Mr. Mo, but there were too many people around so I didn’t go over."

"What happened to the Crown Prince? What exactly is going on?"

"Ji Feng has disappeared, no, to be precise, he’s gone missing, and with him is Mo Junhua." Lan Tian thought of the few people who were missing from the garden, a spark of realization in her eyes, wondering if they could be related.

"Can you help me check if these girls are still in the garden, or where they might have gone?" Lan Tian took out several notes, each with names written on them; she gave one to each person and the last one to Peacock Hua, "Give this one to Mr. Zhang, meet back here in half an hour. If I’m not here, don’t wait for me and don’t look for me. Just make sure Mr. Ji and my Grandpa are safe."

"This is..." Peacock Hua glanced at the note and looked at Lan Tian in astonishment. The Crown Prince had once asked him to keep watch on these girls for a while, which is why Peacock Hua was so shocked to see the familiar names on the note - could these girls really be problematic?

"What’s wrong with them? What kind of charade are you two playing?"

Opening the note, Ye Junying found the names all too familiar. In the upper echelons of Beijing, their circle wasn’t so vast; not everyone could meet with them. Beijing wasn’t so large, and there were only so many top-tier aristocratic families; others might not have met them, but that didn’t mean they were unaware of these elites’ information.

Yang Lan also looked at the note, "It is quite familiar, oh, they’re the daughters of those families."

"Here, amulets, one for each person." During times like these, Lan Tian was very generous, taking out three peach chains to keep them safe.

"Dude, you still believe in this?" Peacock Hua glanced at the chain, taking a look at the women’s bracelet, frowned, but put it on anyway. His sister rarely gave him a cordial gift, as her brother he couldn’t disdain it, had to save face for his sister.

Lan Tian didn’t explain. After seeing him wear it, she tied a firm knot for him, then looked at Yang Lan and Ye Junying. Ye Junying raised an eyebrow, glanced at the peach chain in his hand; it was too elegant, clearly meant for a woman, and he really didn’t want to wear it.

Yang Lan looked at the bracelet, then at Peacock Hua, and finally at Lan Tian, quietly put it on, planning to remove it after the banquet was over.

When Yang Lan was done, Lan Tian also tied a firm knot for him.

Seeing Yang Lan wear it, Ye Junying curled his lips in disdain and reluctantly put it on while muttering about Yang Lan being a traitor and so on; the three of them automatically blocked out his words as they tied a firm knot on his wrist.