When Jing Nian arrived in his casual outfit, Qin Shuang had already finished preparing the cake sponges.
"How come you’re so late?" Qin Shuang asked as she folded the cream, her voice clear and cool.
The two of them were old friends who had met in a pastry chef training course.
Their personalities were extremely similar, one high cold, the other even more so, which made it difficult for them to greet each other warmly and noisily as common best friends would.
Even their greetings were indifferent, giving the impression that they were not very familiar with each other.
They both liked to bake because it allowed them to work without needing to talk, to immerse themselves fully in the task at hand.
Jing Nian was tying on her apron and, upon hearing Qin Shuang’s question, answered truthfully, "I ran into Tang Fei... he invited me to dinner."
"Tang Fei?" Qin Shuang stopped stirring and asked, "The Tang Fei from White Crane Academy?"
"Tang Fei from the Monitoring Bureau."
"Oh." Qin Shuang nodded and said, "Then we must be talking about the same person."
She hadn’t seen Tang Fei for a while since he left the White Crane Academy, and they hadn’t met since.
Seeing the thoughtful expression on Qin Shuang’s face, Jing Nian suddenly asked, "Do you want to see him?"
Qin Shuang rarely mentioned others, let alone a man.
Yet, she had mentioned Tang Fei in front of her.
Three times, she remembered the number very clearly.
"No, no." Qin Shuang quickly denied, adding, "I’m just curious... why would he suddenly want to invite you to dinner?"
"Normal interaction between colleagues."
"That’s not right." Qin Shuang shook her head and said, "He’s not someone who likes to make friends everywhere."
She had challenged him to a sword fight so many times and was always rejected.
If he liked making friends, he wouldn’t have so decidedly refused her.
Jing Nian raised an eyebrow and asked, "What are you suggesting?"
"He must want something from you, something he needs your help with."
"If it’s within your job scope and you can help, you should try to give him a hand," Qin Shuang said without lifting her head from the cream she was again mixing. "He hasn’t been in New Star long and isn’t familiar with this city; it’s tough for him."
"We’ve known each other for so many years, and this is the first time you’ve asked me to help with something," Jing Nian remarked, looking at Qin Shuang’s impassive face. "Are you friends?"
"No," Qin Shuang denied, "We were classmates."
"I see," Jing Nian responded, then went on to complete her own hands-on course for the day.
Qin Shuang glanced at Jing Nian out of the corner of her eye and quickly looked down, her thoughts a mystery.
This was one of Phoenix’s separate residences outside the palace, a secret place for handling private affairs.
With her innate talent for business, Zhong Daolong had entrusted a portion of the Royal Family’s businesses to her care. She had managed them so well that profits soared.
This fact put pressure on her aunt Zhong Sinian, who had always been responsible for the Royal Family’s business. Several times she had offered to hand over all Imperial Business matters to Phoenix.
However, Zhong Daolong had refused, citing Phoenix’s youth and lack of experience. He still wanted to focus on the bigger picture and maintain the internal relationships within the Royal Family.
"Your Highness." A stout middle-aged man dressed in a brightly colored silk robe and wearing a melon hat popular before the cataclysm at Blue Star bowed to Phoenix, looking very much like a wealthy local landowner.
"Lao Jin, you’ve worked hard recently. You said you had important matters to report, surely you’ve found some clues?" Phoenix, seated in the courtyard enjoying tea, spoke to the figure in front of her.
"Your Highness is wise; I knew I couldn’t hide anything from you."
"Enough with the flattery. Tell me, what new discoveries have you made?"
"Your Highness, ever since the assassination attempt on you in Old Land, I’ve been investigating this case," Jin Dewang stated solemnly, the smile disappearing from his face. "Based on the information Your Highness provided, those assassins said they were sent by the assassin organization. But I bribed a high-ranking member of the organization, and they claimed to have no knowledge of such a contract."
"Of course, for such a major case, perhaps it was handled via the Palace Master’s personal contact... I’ve been looking for the Palace Master of the assassin organization as well, but to no avail; that person is elusive. I’ve tried numerous methods, even pretending to be a big client to meet with him, but I’ve had no success."
"There’s always a silver lining. When General Bai Qi went to welcome Your Highness back, he accidentally encountered the Star Disc used by the assassins to flee..."
"Two survivors found inside the Star Disc were brought back and confined in the Royal Prison under the watch of the Imperial Guard Army... What I didn’t expect was that on that very night, in such a heavily guarded place, those two assassins were silenced."
"I know, whoever took action there must be one of the Imperial Guard Army’s own. I narrowed down twelve individuals from the duty roster provided by the Princess as prime suspects."
"We’ve been vigilant these past two years, never ceasing to keep an eye on these twelve individuals. Hard work pays off, and eventually, we spotted a flaw..."