20. Too late Yubei....

Bai Yubei was getting a terrible headache arguing with the shopkeeper. The man didn't seem to be ready to listen to them. That is when he heard the voice of a female asking what was going on.

He didn't want to deal with another flirty slut and turned towards the direction of the voice with an annoyed face. When he looked at the direction, he saw a beautiful woman wearing a simple yet classy hanfu standing and looking at them interrogatively.

" Who are you to even worry about this??", the shopkeeper asked arrogantly. Lu Chang Chang just smirked and said," A detective authorized by the Emperor of Zodiac Land". Many of the spectators gasped.

Recently a rumour was spreading that the wife of the Second Prince was a detective. Could it be her?? They all thought.

" You must be an experienced businessman.. I believe you know that you should respect your buyers, especially the ones from our neighbouring empire…", she said while walking closer towards them.

The shopkeeper started sweating the minute he heard that she was a detective. The fear was evident on his face.

The woman standing next to the Prince spoke." He says that we broke the lantern, but it was already broken…", she said while pointing towards a lantern whose wooden framework was broken.

Lu Chang Chang went and took it in her hand and inspected it quickly. She then looked at the shopkeeper with a questioning look. She placed the lantern back and reported her observation.

" You claim that the lantern was broken by these customers. But the broken edges of the lantern are smooth symbolising that the lantern was broken much before and also the fine border lines indicate that they were purposefully broken…", she said while looking at the shopkeeper. The man was standing with his head lowered.

" Don't you know that deceiving a customer is a serious crime and can put you in prison for up to two years..", she continued. That instant the man fell on his knees and confessed.

" That's right… I lied… But please do not report me…. My daughter is unwell and I don't have enough money to treat her.. The business these days was also very bad and so… I…", the man said with his hands clasped in front of his chest.

" Please stand…", she said. The man looked up and stood. She took his hand and placed a few silver coins in them." Take this money and treat your daughter… I am not reporting you this one time… But that doesn't mean you can do this again… And also apologize to these two for the circus you have caused…", she said.

The man looked at her with tears in his eyes and said," Th.. Thank you so much miss… May God always bless you… I will never repeat this mistake again…". Lu Chang Chang just smiled and said," By the way… I have a business opportunity for you… Make me 27 lanterns in red colour within a week… I'll come and collect them… Take this as an advance….", she said and put 3 more silver coins into the man's palm with a smile.

" Sure miss… If you want I can prepare them by tomorrow morning itself…", the man said. She just chuckled and walked away from the crowd.

At that time, one of the people who stepped out of the restaurant recognized her. He immediately bowed down and said," Greetings Royal Consort". She acknowledged and walked into the restaurant.

The crowd was shell shocked that the woman in simple clothes was actually the Royal Consort. The word about this incident spread like wild fire across the empire within just a few days.

Even Bai Yubei was surprised when he heard that she was actually the wife of the Second Prince. Along with the rumours of her being a detective, even many rumours that she was a woman who disrespected the poor had also spread. But after today's incident, the people were sure that the second rumour was definitely a lie.

Bai Yubei felt a tinge of sadness that she was already married. It wouldn't be a lie to tell that he felt attracted to her. Too late Yubei….