Gifted Bride of the Sinned Prince

After a half-hour of walking, he arrived at the location mentioned by Xiaoming. To his surprise, it was a pawn shop along with a small restaurant.

Since it was lunchtime, he could see many people in the restaurant. ‘Why did she not tell me about all this?’ He thought Xiaoming thought when a hand rested on his shoulder. He tilted his head and looked at the person.

“Are you here to eat, Young Master? We have some offers going on for today’s meals,” a young man in his early twenties told Xiaoming.

“Thank you, but I have already eaten,” Xiaoming replied, and looked for Liu Jin Yu. When he didn’t see her, he decided to return to the palace before anyone could recognise him.

He turned to leave when his eyes fell on Kang Huijuan, and he immediately lowered the conical hat to hide his face. Kang Huijuan walked past him along with a few of his fellows.

‘What is he doing here?’ Xiaoming thought and turned to look. Kang Huijuan had gone to the restaurant, and he decided to go behind him. Kang Huijuan had taken a seat around the table inside the restaurant.

Xiaoming found that most of the tables were occupied by the customers near Kang Huijuan. It was important for him to find out what the Prime Minister’s son was up to. However, there was no way to get close to Kang Huijuan’s table.

He jolted in fear when he felt another hand on his shoulder. A smile formed on his lips upon seeing Liu Jin Yu, who looked at him in bewilderment. She looked at the people in the restaurant who were busy and dragged Xiaoming with him to the back of that place.

.....

“What is the Crown Prince doing here?” She inquired while keeping her voice low.

“Jin Yu, could you please help me? The Prime Minister’s son is here, and it’s odd. I need to find out what he is up to. Help me. I need to hear his conversation,” Xiaoming asked for her help.

“Where is he seated?” Liu Jin Yu asked.

Xiaoming explained the table’s location to her. She nodded and told Xiaoming not to worry and took him to a room on the other side. It was a storeroom, and it appeared to him that it hadn’t been cleaned in years. She pushed him in and told him to wait for her.

“Jin Yu, I cannot stay in-” Before he could complete his words, the door slammed in his face. He started to cough because of the dust inside the room. He covered his nose with his sleeve and waited for Liu Jin Yu to come as soon as possible because he could not stay in that place anymore. He hated dirty places. He was vulnerable to allergenic elements, and she left him in a room, filled with dust.

Inside the restaurant, Liu Jin Yu picked up the tray with water glasses and took them to the table where Kang Huijuan was seated. She put the glasses on the table while waiting for them to speak. She moved to the other table and put the glasses on that table too.

Liu Jin Yu found that her master, Wu Jin, walked up to Kang Huijuan, and they conversed in low voices. She pondered why those people came to the restaurant if the conversation was so important. Would it not raise people’s suspicion of them? Or it was something that they could not discuss in high-class restaurants which nobles could easily visit. She had heard how the noble families had a rivalry against each other.

In the general restaurants, mostly commoners used to come, so it would not affect Kang Huijuan in any way.

Kang Huijuan and his three friends stood up. They followed Wu Jin outside. Liu Jin Yu quickly put the tray on the counter and went after them while being cautious.

“Why are they going to the place where I hid the Crown Prince?” She murmured and got anxious. She ran from the other side to reach the room before them. She could not let them see Xiaoming.

Xiaoming thought to sit on the chair, and he stroked his finger on its surface. He saw the dust on his finger, and it turned off his mood. He almost yelled at Jin Yu for throwing him in such a filthy place when he heard the creak of the door. She pressed her palm on his mouth and dragged him to the backside of the room, where a few broken shelves were placed.

Xiaoming shrieked when his back hit the wall behind him, but it could not escape his mouth because Liu Jin Yin had covered his mouth. He put his hand on her arm to push her away when he heard the footsteps.

Liu Jin Yu, who was panting, covered her mouth as well.

“Young Master Kang, forgive me for putting your valuable things here,” Wu Jin said. Xiaoming tilted his head to check what they were exchanging when Liu Jin Yu pulled him back. She shook her head and slowly moved her hand down from his mouth.

“I wonder if Young Master Kang asked Wu Jin to put these valuable things in such a dirty place.” They both heard another voice.

“Because of Lóng Wei,” Kang Huijuan answered. “I cannot destroy them either because of my father. But if I keep them in my residence, Lóng Wei might find out about this,” he stated.

“Young Master Kang, don’t worry. This pawn shop is the safest place in the entire kingdom. No one will ever find out about it,” Wu Jin assured Kang Huijuan.

“Here is your reward,” said Kang Huijuan, taking out the pouch full of silver coins from his pocket and handing it to Wu Jin.

“The Young Master is always being generous on this lowly,” Wu Jin said and thanked him.

“Keep working for me,” Kang Huijuan told him, “and don’t ever betray me.”

“Yes, Young Master Kang,” Wu Jin said.

“Keep it safe until I come to take all this back,” Kang Huijuan instructed him. Wu Jin keenly listened to him.

“I will shift it to another place. Here, my servants come and go,” Wu Jin stated, picking up the wooden box.

Kang Huijuan nodded and asked him to carry the box. Wu Jin did so and left the room after locking it from the outside.