Familiar Faces

Lei Mingxing stepped out of the bedchambers she had been confined in.

The intensely red fabric of the new robes clung tightly to her body, clearly outlining her ample curves.

Even the guards outside the room couldn't help but stare, only serving to disgusting Lei Mingxing, whose heart was already burning with rage, further.

She flashed them a dark look before turning to the two maids still waiting for her.

The guards abruptly stopped their lascivious staring as if splashed with cold water and hurriedly averted their eyes.

Their Young Master wouldn't let them live if he found out that they were ogling his future concubine.

Meanwhile, the two maids had other thoughts in their minds, mainly feeling annoyed that Lei Mingxing had kept her faceveil on, although they had to reluctantly admit that even with this, her exceptional looks shone through.

Especially eye-catching was her luxuriously shining black hair that framed her figure with its soft waves, existing in stark contrast to her pale skin and red robes on her body.

It took a moment for the taller maid to snap out of admiring Lei Mingxing's looks.

Slightly embarrassed, the taller one was just about to complain while wondering why her usually so outspoken and hot-tempered colleague wasn't saying anything when she suddenly met Lei Mingxing's eyes.

"Bring me to my companion," Lei Mingxing simply stated but there was no mistaking the annoyance in her voice.

The maid hurriedly closed her mouth again and swallowed down any curses she had. A fearful expression appeared on her face as she glanced at her colleague, but the other was already nodding like a pecking chicken while tugging at her sleeve to start walking.

Disturbed by her companion's behavior and Lei Mingxing cold gaze, the taller maid finally turned around. With that, the two began to hurriedly lead the way, the shorter maid relieved that she didn't need to meet Lei Mingxing's unsettling eyes directly anymore.

Their group, consisting of Lei Mingxing, the two maids and the two guards, quickly walked down several corridors and stairs before stopping in front of yet another room.

Light was streaming out of the gaps of the closed doors, along with the sound of casual conversation and the soft, pleasant tune of a pipa.

The maids quietly grabbed one door each before slowly pulling them open at the same time, their heads respectfully lowered. Revealing the dinner party inside.

Immediately, the guests sitting inside turned their heads to look at this newcomer.

And Lei Mingxing froze.

There were four familiar faces in the dining hall with a table that stood in the hall like an open rectangle facing the open door and a pipa player at its center, but only two of the familiar faces also recognized Lei Mingxing.

The first one was of course Suan Bian, resting on the left near the head of the table.

His eyes had lit up the moment he set eyes on Lei Mingxing with an unpleasant smile on his face that sparked the desire to smack someone, preferably him, inside Lei Mingxing.

The other, the person Lei Mingxing had been looking for, Chang Liuyun sat at the tail end of the left table as well almost right next to the door. His mask was gone and his hair had loosened, leaving him looking disordered and unkempt. He had only raised his head slightly to discreetly look at the new person entering, clearly trying his best to conceal his resigned expression behind his bangs. But his eyes widened when he realized it was Lei Mingxing.

Lei Mingxing also focused her gaze on him for a moment, and this was all it took for Lei Mingxing to notice his busted lip and bruised cheek.

Her eyes narrowed, she had a clear hunch on who the culprit behind Chang Liuyun's injuries was.

And he was stretching his lips into the most fawning smile he could produce.

Huo Dong.

Sitting next to Chang Liuyun.

He smiled warmly at Lei Mingxing with a hint of calculating appreciation, but clearly oblivious to the fact that she had been the one to help Chang Liuyun and the other people escape.

Lei Mingxing coldly looked away, fearing that he might realize something from her gaze.

The final person Lei Mingxing had recognized also had a friendly smile on his face but he was the only one who really meant it.

Crown Prince Shao Tianyu from Huoli State.

A person Lei Mingxing had only met twice in her entire life, although he probably didn't remember her. Once when they were still children at the banquet he first received the title of Crown Prince and later when she got married to Xia Beilian.

He was the eldest prince of the Huoli State and quite frankly an honest fool right until his death.

All his siblings had been conspiring against him, almost as if they were racing on who would be the first to kill him, anyone who was even a bit involved in politics knew about this. But Shao Tianyu just dismissed it as rumors and continued trusting his siblings wholeheartedly, until the fourth prince's sword pierced his heart that was.

He then bled out quietly, with his name tarnished and betrayed by the people he had trusted most.

But this was something in the future, at the moment, Shao Tianyu was still the reputable Crown Prince of Huoli State and as popular as could be.

So, what brought him to this backwater town in Qingshui Kingdom?

The answer was obvious.

He was also looking for the ancient treasure.

And it could only mean that this ancient treasure had more political value than Lei Mingxing previously thought.

"Please sit."

Lei Mingxing directed her attention to the lone middle-aged man sitting at the head end of the rectangle-shaped table.

He had a well-maintained appearance and indisputable similarity with Suan Bian, which made Lei Mingxing guess that the other was none other than Suan Bi.

From what Jing Jiang had told her, he was the richest man in Dark Spirit Town, owning the majority of pharmacies and forges in town and working on making it all of them, but it wasn't necessarily wealth he was after.

No, Lei Mingxing could tell he had higher ambitions, the fact that he was sitting at the head-end of the table whilst in the presence of a noble proved this.

And there was no way Suan Bi didn't realize that Shao Tianyu who only sat at the high end of the right side, was a high-ranking noble even if the latter hadn't officially revealed his identity, his attire much too lavish and the artifacts he carried too priceless.

After all, she could tell from a glance.

So, Lei Mingxing just raised her eyebrow and ignored Suan Bi's invitation, instead walking to the right, sitting a few meters away from Shao Tianyu who looked at her in surprise for a moment but didn't say anything.

Now sitting across from her were two men clad in dark robes, keeping most of their faces covered and reminding her a lot of the two cultivators that had overpowered her and Chang Liuyun.

Small theater:

Shao Tianyu: My disguise is truly impeccable! Nobody even suspected me of being a noble! See, even this girl sat down next to me!

Lei Mingxing: ...

Everyone else around the table: ...