Villain Lady

Yang Xian also stood up. He stretched his hands and legs. "Let's have a walk around the city. I'm sure that you don't have much time to look around in the past."     

"Are you going to come, Strategist Yang?" Wei Liuying asked in a deadpan tone. She was looking at him with a little hostile gaze. It was clear that she didn't find herself comfortable to walk around with Yang Xian near her.     

He was a dangerous person, someone whom she needed to stay careful.      

"Why not? I have some free time today?"     

Wei Liuying arched her eyebrows but didn't say anything else. What kind of free time he actually had? She had seen him swamped with work over the past few days. How could she not know that he was so busy that he nearly didn't have the time for anything else to do.     

"I'll guide you out," Yang Xian offered.     

"Thank you, Strategist Yang."     

They couldn't get out from the front gate because there were a lot of people who were watching over Prince Ji Sheng's residence. It was easy to guess that they must be coming from the other princes since they were so keen on watching over Prince Ji Sheng's residence.     

They all wished to get Ji Sheng's weakness.     

Even though they knew that the chance for him to get the throne was low, they wanted to reduce that small chance to zero.     

Yang Xian took them out from the back door. The three of them walked on the street leisurely. By this time, Wei Liuying was dressed up as a young boy, so she didn't look conspicuous on the street at all. The only thing that they couldn't change was her face, so she did look a bit girly.     

"The Capital City is large. Where do you want to go first?"     

"I'll go to the outer layer," Wei Liuying replied. She preferred places that were away from the palace.     

"Please follow me, Young Master Liu."     

Wei Liuying nodded then thought of something. "Manager Xin, is it alright for you to leave the bookstore empty? There are always some of your old friends who come to visit every day, right?"     

"There are, but I already ordered that no one shall disturb me today," Manager Xin replied with a laugh.     

"What if there's a naughty one?"     

"I'll take care of him." Manager Xin smiled. "Or do you dislike this old bone to be your guide today, Young Master Liu?"     

Wei Liuying smiled back when she heard how Manager Xin called himself. "Of course not, Manager Xin. I'm just worried that you'll get in trouble because of me."     

"This is just a small matter. I'm waiting for more of your writings."     

"I'll get to it once I learn more from Young Master Yang."     

Manager Xin nodded with delight. He looked at Yang Xian and smirked. "In that case, you have to make sure that you teach him properly. I don't want to get a bad manuscript the next time you visit the capital city in the future."     

"There's no need to worry so much," Yang Xian replied unhurriedly. "I'll never be a bad teacher."     

"I'll take you upon your words, Young Master Yang."     

In the capital city, the word strategist would be too eye catching. After all, Yang Xian was practically the only strategist in the capital city with the surname Yang. There was no noble family with that surname, and Yang Xian himself was a former commoner born in the north area of Han Shi Kingdom.     

Wei Liuying looked around the street. She had never seen the people from this close as they passed by. Most of the times, she could only see them through the carriage from a distance away.     

"There's a good restaurant nearby, but it has bad traffic lately because the owner changed," Manager Xin said after a while.     

"What is it good at?"     

"The location is strategic and the food is delicious back then. However, I don't know for sure how it is now since many years have passed."     

Looking at the restaurant that Manager Xin pointed, Wei Liuying noticed that the building did look old. There were some dilapidated woods that seemed to stick out in the crowd. She walked closer and smelled the smell of the food and frowned.     

After being mistreated for a long time, Wei Liuying was good when it came to differentiating food's condition. She usually had to make do with some lower quality food that might no longer fresh because it was kept for too long. Because of that, she always treasured fresh food that she could get.     

The smell from the food here was not exactly that good.     

Wei Liuying shook her head. "I don't think this will be a good idea for our place to have lunch. Shall we continue our stroll?"     

Manager Xin and Yang Xian looked at each other. They didn't expect Wei Liuying to reject the store outright just after seeing the store from the outside one time. It seemed that she had some high criteria for the restaurant that she wanted to buy.     

"In that case, we shall get going."     

Yang Xian rubbed his chin. "Now that I think about it, I owe you a meal, right Young Master Liu?"     

Wei Liuying arched her eyebrows. Owe a meal? Her brain was rotating at high speed until she recalled the time when she first met with Yang Xian. At that time, he said that he would treat her to a meal as thanks. She was a noble young girl, so it was impossible for her to accept it back then.     

"Didn't you have paid me with the sugar candy?"     

"How can it be compared with the help that you have given to me?" Yang Xian asked back with a laugh. "Don't reject me this time, Young Master Liu. I'll be very sad if you don't want to accept my goodwill."     

Hearing his sentence, Wei Liuying was itching to throw a stone down his throat. It seemed that he had the skill to twist words much better than many other nobles. The way he said seemed as if she had hurt his feeling by rejecting his offer.     

"In that case, I'll be the one to pick the restaurant."     

"As long as you don't pick the most expensive dish, it's fine."     

"In that case, I should pick the most expensive one."     

"Young Master Liu, are you trying to put me in trouble?"     

Manager Xin didn't know whether to laugh or cry when he listened how these two talked to each other. They were still polite by calling each other using the honorific 'Young Master,' but it was painfully clear that the content was anything but that. They were basically bantering with each other.     

He never knew that these two could be like this ah!     

The mischievous strategist indeed has ways with his mouth and known for his trickery. But since he was a former commoner with no family members, it was hard to control him with threats. The young girl was a bit more behaved in front of others and known to be timid, but isn't it all was an act to protect herself? In private, she was bolder and knew what she wanted much better.     

"This is the second restaurant," Manager Xin called out to stop the two of them from continuing their banter.     

Wei Liuying turned her head to look at the restaurant before her. Different from before, it was still in good condition. If she had to say, it has the vibe of good restaurant that seemed to be very suitable for rich people.     

"Is this not a famous restaurant?"     

"The previous owner gets into a debt because of gambling. He's hiking the price here much higher," Manager Xin replied.     

Wei Liuying scrutinized the servants who came inside. Even though the servants were walking in graceful manner, she could notice that there were some movements where she purposely showed out her woman's charm. The movements might be done unconsciously, but it was quite clear in Wei Liuying's eyes.     

Even Yang Xian also rubbed his chin. "He truly had a peculiar way to make sure that he can earn a lot of money?"     

"There are a lot of women who are willing to sell themselves for money," Wei Liuying said calmly.     

Manager Xin blinked his eyes. Is this restaurant also not good?     

"I'm not going to open a charity and with this kind of reputation, it won't last long before someone from the law enforcement come knocking." Wei Liuying's eyelids fluttered as she looked away. There were brothels in this city, but making it in restaurant was prohibited because this street was not the back street.     

"I thought you're going to help them."     

"They choose this path themselves. I'm not a saint who will help everyone around me when I don't have the power to do so," Wei Liuying replied.     

Yang Xian shrugged. Wei Liuying could buy the restaurant, but at the end of the day, she wouldn't be able to use it. Besides, reporting it to the officials were much better rather than dipping her hands on her own.     

"So, what do you plan to do?"     

"Let's make a detour there and then continue our stroll."     

From the direction Wei Liuying pointed at, Yang Xian could see several officials were sitting. They were only having a short break since they still have to do work because of the Emperor's decree, but they would be the best people to start this.     

"In that case, let's go, Young Master Liu."