Chapter 27
Chapter 27: She Is Princess Yong Ning
When Bing He saw Ye Wan Lan sitting across from Yan Ting Feng, he stopped short.
Tie Ma, right behind him, crashed into his back with a loud thud. Bing He yelped, baring his teeth.
Rong Yu shot them a disgusted look. “Look at you two. Rushing around like that—what kind of behavior is this?”
“N-no, we just…” Bing He rubbed his back.
With Ye Wan Lan present, the words stuck in his throat.
Ye Wan Lan’s expression remained calm. She glanced at Yan Ting Feng, took a sip of tea, and asked, “What woman are you looking for?”
Bing He brightened. Finding that woman was a one-of-a-kind achievement.
He was already imagining his year-end bonus—enough for an island vacation.
Yan Ting Feng finally turned his head. “Outside.”
He rose and walked out of the counseling room.
Bing He followed, practically glowing. This definitely wasn’t something they could say in front of Ye Wan Lan.
Rong Yu muttered under his breath, “Someone’s about to have a bad time.”
Yan Ting Feng looked gentle as water, but his methods were vicious. If you let his appearance fool you, you’d regret it.
Rong Yu shivered, as if remembering something.
Ye Wan Lan arched a brow, poured another cup of tea, and set it in front of him. “Doctor Rong, why are you shaking?”
She looked amused. “And you still haven’t said what woman.”
“Classmate Ye, to be honest…” Rong Yu dabbed at imaginary tears. “My brother is really pitiful. He’s so young, not even married yet, and then he—”
“And then what?” Ye Wan Lan asked lightly.
Yan Ting Feng was back at the doorway, arms crossed, leaning there with a half-smile as he looked at Rong Yu.
Rong Yu swallowed hard and forced the rest of the sentence back down.
He had a strong feeling that if he said “got slept with, paid off, and dumped,” he’d be assassinated on the spot.
Unfortunately, Ye Wan Lan asked again, unhurried. “And then… what?”
Under Yan Ting Feng’s steady, oppressive gaze, Rong Yu stammered, “And then… his brain stopped working right. He keeps going out at night to stare at the moon. So miserable. Such a painful life. Boohoo.”
“Is that so?” Ye Wan Lan smiled.
Rong Yu was lying, but it had nothing to do with her. She didn’t care.
She kept coming back for follow-ups because Rong Yu was stupid in an entertaining way—and because Yan Ting Feng intrigued her.
“I’m leaving,” Ye Wan Lan said calmly. “You two continue.”
“I’m fine. I’ll walk Miss Ye out,” Yan Ting Feng said, turning.
Rong Yu jolted upright. “Hey! You two, don’t go off alone together!”
Two lunatics plus two lunatics—what if it caused a chain reaction? Would the world explode?
But his protest did nothing. They left one after the other.
Sunlight filtered through leaves and spilled across the stone path, dappling it with shadow.
A breeze swept over the lawn, stirring the hem of Ye Wan Lan’s ankle-length skirt.
Yan Ting Feng smiled. “Miss Ye, Fang Qing Ye is looking for you.”
“Oh?” Ye Wan Lan raised a brow. “Are you going to tell him?”
“How could I?” Yan Ting Feng laughed softly. “If I tell, won’t there be a lot of people competing with me for your passenger seat?”
His smile deepened. “I’m selfish.”
Ye Wan Lan reached up, ruffled his hair once, and withdrew her hand. “You look better with white hair. All right—no need to walk me further.”
She waved lazily and walked away, her figure disappearing from his line of sight.
Yan Ting Feng narrowed his eyes slightly, then returned to the counseling room.
Rong Yu immediately demanded, “Where’s that trashy woman? Didn’t you get information? If you have information, how are you still this calm?”
Yan Ting Feng picked up the cup of tea Ye Wan Lan had poured. “Ask them.”
Rong Yu looked at Bing He and Tie Ma.
Bing He drooped. “I thought I’d found her IP address, but when I tracked it down, it was empty. Total blank.”
Tie Ma sneered. “Idiot.”
Good. This mess had nothing to do with him. He could dump it all on Bing He and watch Bing He get punished.
Rong Yu suddenly noticed something else. “Wait—Classmate Ye poured that. I haven’t even drunk it!”
“Mm.” Yan Ting Feng tilted the cup to show it was empty. “I did.”
Rong Yu stared, aghast. “You never even liked tea before. You’re just stealing it from me!”
He huffed. “Fine. It’s not like I don’t have hands. I’ll pour my own!”
—
The Lin Family.
Lin Wen Li was still buried in study.
There was a Chinese open class tomorrow, and he had to prepare a pre-class presentation. The historical sources his teacher had given him were solid, but he couldn’t find a fresh angle.
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
“Do you have a minute?” Ye Wan Lan pushed the door open. “I need some study materials.”
Lin Wen Li cut her off without looking up. “I put all my allowance on my meal card. I don’t have money. You can leave.”
Ye Wan Lan paused.
A sour ache flooded her chest, then spread through her limbs.
The Transmigrator had tricked Lin Wen Li out of his allowance again and again. His reaction had become reflex.
Ye Wan Lan forced a slow breath and stepped closer. “Studying history?”
“None of your business.”
“You look stuck. Want to talk it through with your sister?”
Lin Wen Li’s gaze was flat. “Can you get out?”
Ye Wan Lan ignored him and looked at the materials. “The Battle of Yan Mountain in 1715. In that war, the Prince of Yan wiped out the last barbarian force on Shen Zhou’s border and unified the region.”
She glanced up. “You’re trying to find a new angle for your critique, aren’t you?”
Lin Wen Li didn’t answer.
Ye Wan Lan lowered her voice. “Then have you considered this: the Prince of Yan went on a secret campaign, but Yan City still needed the Prince of Yan sitting in place to mislead the enemy into relaxing their guard.”
Her tone stayed even. “So the ‘Prince of Yan’ in Yan City was a decoy—Princess Yong Ning disguised as a man. That way the real Prince of Yan could strike the enemy by surprise and destroy their nest.”
Lin Wen Li stared. “What are you talking about?”
“It’s simple,” Ye Wan Lan said. “Princess Yong Ning and the Prince of Yan were siblings. The Prince of Yan was the head of the four princely ranks. If anyone could impersonate him without being discovered, who else could it be?”
She smiled faintly. “Unless you think two Princes of Yan could appear at the same time. He never learned Penglai arts. He can’t split himself in two.”
Lin Wen Li’s eyes snapped up. Ye Wan Lan met his gaze calmly.
After a long moment, he yanked two workbooks from his stack and shoved them at her. Then he closed his eyes. “You got your materials. Leave.”
Ye Wan Lan held the books and hesitated. Then she smiled. “All right. I’ll return them when I’m done.”
“No need.” Lin Wen Li’s voice was cold. “I have plenty.”
He wouldn’t be as foolish as before, forgiving her just because she spoke sweetly.
The door shut.
Lin Wen Li exhaled slowly.
What nonsense was she spouting?
Princess Yong Ning impersonated the Prince of Yan in 1715?
If it were true, how could the history books not record it?
And yet, less than a minute later, he found himself searching for sources anyway—following Ye Wan Lan’s logic, digging deeper, building a PowerPoint without even realizing it.
—
Zhou He Chen returned to the Lang Ting Hotel.
Sheng Yun Yi walked beside him, poised and elegant.
Zhou He Chen reined in his temper. “At lunch I saw President Quan at the Peninsula Restaurant. Besides work, I have some personal matters I want to discuss with her.”
“I’m very sorry,” the special assistant said, distant but polite. “President Quan has already chosen a partner.”
Zhou He Chen froze. “Can you tell me who it is?”