"Oh... so... you are coming with us." Lin Jian nodded for a while and then he froze for a moment. After realizing something, he asked in a loud voice. "With us?!" After seeing the people around them looked at him weirdly, Lin Jian turned down his volume.He whisper-yelled once again. "We are going to the hua lou, Yao Ling! Hua lou... Are you sure you are coming with us?" Lin Jian couldn't help but ask --- just to make sure that Yao Ling knew about their destination. If she knew about their destination, then she would probably not going with them.

Yao Ying muttered softly, "I already told her about that. But, she's so stubborn..."

Even though he talked in a low voice, Yao Ling was still able to hear his mutter. She laughed cheerfully and answered Lin Jian's question, "I know..."

"But why?" Lin Jian couldn't comprehend what's inside Yao Ling's mind. Why didn't she behave like other normal women? And Yao Ying just let her be?! If somehow other people knew about this, it wouldn't end well and her reputation would be affected. Not only that, it would also implicate w.a.n.g Fu ah~!

"I want to have fun with both of you!" Yao Ling really liked teasing Lin Jian because of his exaggerated expression. She was pretty sure that no one would be able to recognize her. Lin Jian also didn't recognize her at first, right?

Lin Jian looked at her in bewilderment. "What kind of fun that we can have? In the hua lou, there are only wine, music, and women. Do you even want to play with women too?" Lin Jian asked without censoring his mouth.

Yao Ying really wanted to gag Lin Jian's mouth! Did he trying to get him into trouble?! Play with women? When did he play with women? If Yao Ling was jealous or angry, he was so... going to kill Lin Jian!

True enough, Yao Ling raised one of her eyebrows. "Huh? Play with women? What kind of play that both of you enjoyed with them? Please let me know too!" She threw the questions at Yao Ying and the latter could feel the sweat on his back.

Lin Jian seemed to understand his mistake and he grinned at Yao Ying sheepishly. He mouthed sorry, but when he saw Yao Ying's murderous glare, he quickly erased his smile. He didn't dare to taunt him more.

Yao Ying tried to appease Yao Ling by saying, "What play? I never play with women. Lin Jian is just talking nonsense. Why should you listen to his rubbish?"

"Really?" Yao Ling squinted her eyes, feeling in disbelief. If he dared to lie, then he didn't need to sleep inside their room tonight.

"I swear!" Yao Ying quickly said. "Just ask Lin Jian! He was just joking. Right... Lin Jian?" Yao Ying turned his gaze at Lin Jian while emphasizing the last part. He warned him with his piercing gaze --- just in case, he was talking nonsense once again.

Lin Jian noticed his glare, so he smiled and fawningly said, "Of course, I am just joking. We went there purely for business." Then, he forced an ugly laugh, making Yao Ying and Yao Ling cringe. They could see how fake it was. "Only for Mi Hui..."

A man pa.s.sed by and heard the last part of their conversation. He laughed out loud and mocked Lin Jian, "Isn't Mi Hui the name of that popular courtesan? What kind of business that you have with her other than that kind of 'play'?"

Yao Ying and Lin Jian, "..."

Where did that man come from?! When they glared at the man, the man raised both of his hands in defeat. However, he didn't feel that he said something wrong, so he went away with a burst of crispy laughter.

Yao Ying quickly pacified Yao Ling and said, "Ling-er... don't listen to that man! You should understand what Lin Jian tried to say, right?" He started to get panicked and afraid that she would misunderstand him.

Yao Ling saw how panicked Yao Ying was and decided not to tease him anymore. She naturally knew what Lin Jian was talking about. "I know."

Yao Ying sighed in relief, along with Lin Jian. "Good!" They both said at the same time.

Yao Ling nodded in satisfaction. If both men dared to lie to her, she would pay them back tenfolds. When Yao Ying and Lin Jian knew that Yao Ling had been successfully appeased, they could finally breathe at ease. Lin Jian nudged Yao Ying and asked, "Why do you choose the hua lou to meet up when you bring your wife?!"

Yao Ying laughed bitterly, "Do you think I want to? She's the one who chooses the place!"

Lin Jian was quite surprised. "Why?"

"I guess she wants to play around in the hua lou. She has never been there before! Yao Ling probably just feels curious and wants to find out more about the hua lou," Yao Ying said.

"What are both of you whispering about?" Yao Ling asked behind them, feeling suspicious of their behavior.

They quickly looked at Yao Ling and smiled sweetly, "Nothing!" After that, they didn't dare to whisper at each other. Xiu and Xiao Yu who followed behind them could only hold back their laughter. Their Young Mistress is really powerful and able to tame the two young masters ah~ Xiu was the happiest among them, after all, Young Master had just mocked him regarding Xiao Yu. Young Mistress really helped him with his payback ah~

Yao Ling were brought to the hua lou and they stayed at their usual room. Yao Ling really admired the hua lou's decoration. It was decorated lavishly, probably because their floor was for VIP customers. Yao Ying had told her the basic outline of the hua lou and Mi Hui, so she didn't feel surprised at all.

She was in awe when the servants served them with various foods and wines. "Wow...! That's a lot of foods!" Her eyes were twinkling with happiness and she couldn't wait to taste them all!

"This is prepared especially for you, Yao Ling! You should try it!" Lin Jian said. He already told the shopkeepers to give them the best foods because this was the first time Yao Ling came to the hua lou. He also told them to prepare fruit wine just in case Yao Ling couldn't hold on her liquor. Better be safe than sorry!

Yao Ying really appreciated Lin Jian's gesture.

"I reckon that both of you already heard about the mission?" Lin Jian asked. They talked while enjoying their food.

Yao Ying nodded. "Yes. How do you feel about it?" Yao Ying asked hesitantly.

Lin Jian knew that Yao Ling had already been told about her mother's matter by Yao Ying, so he felt it was okay for Yao Ling to listen to what he was going to say. "I'm excited and at the same time, I'm also curious about my half-sister -- even though we are not connected by blood, but her mother is mine too. So, I will treat her as my half-sister." Lin Jian already made this decision a long time ago.

Yao Ling looked at Lin Jian while eating a small piece of kung pao chicken, then she asked, "After you meet her, what do you plan to do?"

"This... I'm not so sure myself. I want to ask a lot of things about my mother to her, but... I also know that my mother ran away from the Han Emperor's clutch a long time ago. She was supposed to be a baby around that time, so... I wonder if my half-sister still remembers anything about her? I'm also wondering why... I already try so hard to find mother with all of the resources that I have, but it seemed like mother has vanished from this world and she also left no trail at all!" Lin Jian said sadly. He felt frustrated because of his own incompetence.

Yao Ying and Yao Ling also wondered the same things. If Lin Jian's mother was able to run away, why didn't he run back to General Lin? It didn't make any sense at all! They really pitied Lin Jian, after all, he wouldn't be able to feel at peace without knowing whether his mother lived a good life or not.