This kid must have received guidance from a master. He seems to have acquired a bit of the shadow of a Divine Archer after only a few months.
"From the Divine Woman Sect."
Liu Muye instructed both Chen Long’s martial arts and Yu Zichuan’s archery.
Shangguan Ling grumbled in regret, "Such a loss! If I’d known earlier, I would’ve sent you to the Prime Minister’s Mansion as a mole while I’d gone to Witch Mountain to learn skills."
The two events didn’t happen at the same time, but there was a causal link: becoming a mole in the Prime Minister’s Mansion predestined the fallout leading to escaping the capital, infiltrating the Southwest to investigate the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion, and subsequently missing the opportunity to accompany Lu Yuan to Witch Mountain.
Shangguan Ling leapt upward and sat next to Yu Zichuan, patting his shoulder and saying, "Let me tell you, buddy, I’m not a traitor, yeah? I’m one of us, understand? Back when I coaxed you and Qing Shuang into working for the Prime Minister, it was me testing you two, got it?"
Yu Zichuan: "Get off."
Shangguan Ling: "Hmm?"
Yu Zichuan: "Only I can sit above him."
Shangguan Ling: "..."
Only then did Yu Zichuan realize Lu Yuan hadn’t returned yet, stretching his neck to look around.
See, the one wanting to anger Lu Yuan was him, yet the one worrying about Lu Yuan not coming back was also him.
Meng Qianqian said softly, "He has infiltrated the Crown Prince Mansion. Let’s head back and wait for news."
Shangguan Ling: "Now I can sit here?"
Yu Zichuan refused outright.
The rooftop belonged to him alone.
Well, he could maybe share half with Qing Shuang.
Shangguan Ling cursed under his breath as he climbed down from the carriage. He suddenly understood how foul-mouthed that hawk earlier must’ve been.
"Yu Zichuan, is it convenient to bring Shangguan Ling home with you?"
Yu Zichuan: "Oh, sure."
Shangguan Ling said smugly, "Knew it, you’re all bark and no bite!"
Then, recalling something, he asked, "By the way, that girl Tan’er? Didn’t she always stick with you? Didn’t she come to the Southwest?"
Meng Qianqian boarded the carriage: "She did, went to the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion."
Shangguan Ling’s jaw almost dropped to the ground.
What the hell, I was undercover for just a few months and now I don’t even recognize you guys?
Each of you this fierce?
Crown Prince Mansion, Thousand Mechanism Pavilion—damn, they’re all death traps!
With a cold sweat, he muttered, "Your next step isn’t going to be infiltrating the palace, right?"
Meng Qianqian seriously thought about it: "That’s a good idea."
Shangguan Ling stumbled and almost fell to his death: "Hey, I was just rambling! Young Madam, just pretend I said nothing."
Shangguan Ling had to conceal his identity and also boarded the carriage.
"Young Madam, my apologies."
He cupped his hands in apology.
Meng Qianqian and Lu Yuan didn’t have many rigid rules here. They were all their own people, everything prioritized for the bigger picture.
Yu Zichuan responded faintly.
But as Lai Fu drove the carriage to the alley entrance, a minor accident occurred—the road was blocked by another carriage.
Lai Fu got off to negotiate with the opposing party, hoping they’d grant them passage, but instead received a torrent of insults: "What kind of trash are you, thinking you’re worthy of my family’s young lady giving way to you!"
Although Lai Fu was young, his temperament was calm and unruffled. Adhering to the principle of minimizing conflict, he still politely said, "Brother, please grant us a small favor."
They’d been out for quite a while now, and if they didn’t return soon, Madam and Master would start worrying.
Especially since Madam was pregnant and more prone to overthinking.
Yet despite being just a coachman himself, the other party acted imperiously, shoving Lai Fu aside: "Scram!"
Lai Fu stumbled back several steps, but fortunately, Yu Zichuan caught him quickly, preventing him from falling to the ground.
Yu Zichuan said to the coachman.
The coachman glanced at Yu Zichuan, noticed the large bow in his hand, and sneered: "Oh, carrying a bow and arrow makes you think you’re hot stuff, huh? Planning to shoot someone in broad daylight? Go ahead, shoot me if you dare!"
Meng Qianqian observed the commotion through a gap in the curtain.
Shangguan Ling whispered, "It’s the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion’s carriage."
Thousand Mechanism Pavilion?
Meng Qianqian’s gaze turned icy.
Meng Qianqian instructed Yu Zichuan, "Xiao Chuan, come back."
Yu Zichuan obediently turned and walked away.
"Hey—did I say you could leave?"
The coachman reached out to grab Yu Zichuan’s shoulder.
Yu Zichuan absolutely despised being touched by others and threw the coachman to the ground with an over-the-shoulder throw.
The coachman cried out in humiliation.
Meng Qianqian could see clearly that Yu Zichuan hadn’t gone all out—if he had, a single move could have broken every bone in the coachman’s body, causing instant death.
The coachman didn’t even sustain external injuries.
"Who dares to be so bold as to assault someone from the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion?"
A sharp cry rang out, and a young woman dressed in luxurious yellow attire appeared at the alley entrance, her expression filled with arrogant disdain.
The coachman immediately scrambled to his feet: "Second Miss! Second Miss! Please help your servant seek justice!"
Shangguan Ling clenched his fists: "Oh no, it’s the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion’s Second Miss—Gongsun Ziyu."
Meng Qianqian asked, "Is she the one marrying Prince Jian?"
Shangguan Ling replied, "No, it’s her full-blooded elder sister. She’s sixteen, her sister’s eighteen; both are the biological daughters of the Pavilion Master’s Wife."
Meng Qianqian remarked indifferently, "So, the ’sisters’ of Wuyou and Changle?"
Shangguan Ling already knew about Shang Changle and Shang Wuyou’s parentage, so he made a point to inquire about matters related to the twins during his information-gathering.
He said, "This Second Miss is notoriously domineering and unreasonable. She frequently bullied Miss Changle in the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion. As for her elder sister, though she seems impartial on the surface, naturally sides with a sister from the same womb behind the scenes."
Gongsun Ziyu glanced at her coachman, then coldly turned her gaze on Yu Zichuan: "You dared to injure my servant this way? Which hand did you use?"
Yu Zichuan ignored her.
The coachman hurriedly pointed at Yu Zichuan: "Both! Both hands hit me!"
Gongsun Ziyu kicked him aside: "Useless thing! Got hit and didn’t even fight back?"
The coachman’s eyes flickered: "This servant... didn’t want others to see this servant as someone who abuses power."
"They’ve already bullied you, yet you’re afraid of appearing as a bully? Truly disgraceful to the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion!"
After scolding the coachman, she turned her sights on Yu Zichuan again. "Leave one hand behind, then kneel and kowtow three times. This Miss might spare your life."