Feng Qingyi looked at the message she had sent to Qin Yuchuan, feeling that she had been somewhat arrogant today.
Previously, out of guilt, she had been rather polite in her conversations with him. But now that she had spoken her mind, she no longer had any reservations.
Since he was willing to help her earn points, she might as well treat him as a friend!
[Qingyi: Let's agree that from now on, we can't give each other anything too expensive.]
[Yuchuan: Okay, I'll listen to you.]
[Qingyi: Besides that, there's nothing else. You focus on your work, and I'll read my book.]
[Yuchuan: Okay.]
After ending her chat with Qin Yuchuan, Feng Qingyi picked up a book and started reading.
In university, self-study played a significant role, as professors would disappear after class, and if you didn't understand something, you could only search online.
On the other side, Qin Yuchuan put down his phone and put away the ink, paper, and inkstone that Feng Qingyi had gifted him.
He should treasure the little girl's gifts.
"General, I have something to report!" Yan Chi entered.
Qin Yuchuan nodded for him to proceed.
"I've found out that the Emperor has recently been favoring Imperial Noble Yan. This Imperial Noble Yan is a woman the Emperor brought back from among the common people, and her background is unclear."
"Imperial Noble Yan has some talents, and it seems the Emperor wants to make her his Empress, but her uncertain background has put this on hold."
"Currently, the Emperor is discussing with Yu Prime Minister the possibility of having Yu Prime Minister acknowledge Imperial Noble Yan as his adopted daughter."
Qin Yuchuan: "What have you found out about this Imperial Noble Yan?"
"I have been unable to uncover any information about her."
Yan Chi found this Imperial Noble Yan rather mysterious, as their people couldn't dig up any information about her.
Looking at it this way, her background seemed quite problematic.
For his own safety, Qin Yuchuan naturally had his own underground forces, but even they couldn't find anything, which meant the person behind her was no ordinary individual.
Although he wanted to advise Xuanyuan Sheng, Qin Yuchuan knew that if he did so, the Emperor might accuse him of slandering the Imperial Noble.
But simply standing by and watching didn't seem right either. So he would have people continue investigating, and if the Imperial Noble turned out to be problematic, he would find someone to caution the Emperor.
Whether the Emperor listened or not would be up to him; Qin Yuchuan could only do his part and leave the rest to fate.
"Go to Wuyinggae Hall and buy information, but don't go yourself."
"I understand." Yan Chi replied.
Nowadays, Tianqi was one of the top powers on this continent.
But the stronger a country became, the more it attracted the attention of others.
In recent years, there had been a steady stream of spies and agents from other countries, but Xuanyuan Sheng didn't seem to care.
Qin Yuchuan enforced strict discipline in the military, carefully vetting his men, which was why no accidents had occurred.
But he could only control the military, not the court, where his influence was limited to offering advice.
...
On Sunday afternoon, Feng Qingyi received a video call from Qin Yuchuan.
The past two days when he had video called her, he had been at the General's Mansion, but today he seemed to be out somewhere.
"Qingyi, I heard you mention before that you're quite interested in markets and such. I'm out today, so I thought I'd show you around."
Feng Qingyi hadn't expected him to remember her casual remark, but she was indeed curious about the ancient architecture, markets, and streets.
"Great! Nowadays, except for a few specific places, you can hardly see such old-fashioned scenes anymore."
Qin Yuchuan held his phone and introduced Shengjing City to Feng Qingyi in detail.
From the streets to the buildings, Qin Yuchuan described everything meticulously.
The street scenes on the screen allowed Feng Qingyi to experience the atmosphere of that era.
"Qin Yuchuan, what's that building over there? It looks different from the surrounding ones!"
Qin Yuchuan saw the building Feng Qingyi was referring to and fell silent.
Seeing his silence, Feng Qingyi asked, "What's wrong? Is it something you can't talk about?"
"The Flower and Willow District, let's look elsewhere." Qin Yuchuan quickly changed direction.
Feng Qingyi realized what it was. "So that's a brothel? That building looks quite grand. Have you ever been there?"
"No." Why would the little girl be interested in such a place?
Feng Qingyi: "Can you take me to see what it's like inside?"
"A filthy place, not worth seeing." Qin Yuchuan refused.
Since Qin Yuchuan didn't agree, Feng Qingyi couldn't force him.
"I remember watching TV shows where the female leads disguised themselves as men to visit brothels, and it seemed quite interesting..."
"You should watch less of that kind of thing in the future."
What kind of nonsense TV shows had the little girl been watching, that made her think brothels were places a girl could visit?
"Oh!" Feng Qingyi responded.
Afterwards, Qin Yuchuan randomly showed Feng Qingyi around some more before taking her to a tea house.
"Is there anything you'd like to drink?"
Feng Qingyi shook her head. "You drink. I don't understand tea, so drinking it would be like a cow drinking water."
"Why say that about yourself?" Qin Yuchuan found it amusing.
Feng Qingyi explained: "I'm just being self-aware. Serving tea to someone who doesn't understand it is a waste."
"You ancient people were so fond of things like tea and calligraphy. It's good I wasn't born in your era, or I'd have died of boredom."
"You still haven't told me what you like to do in your free time."
He did need to get to know her better.
When asked about her interests, Feng Qingyi pondered for a moment.
"When I have free time, I like to watch TV shows, variety shows, listen to music, sing and dance, and play the piano."
"But now that I'm in school, it's not very convenient to sing, dance, or play the piano, so I mostly read books and draw."
"Besides those, my biggest hobby is buying pretty pens and notebooks. Let me show you my treasures!"
Qin Yuchuan watched as Feng Qingyi proudly displayed her notebooks and pens one by one.
Her interests were quite varied, but he didn't seem to understand them very well.
It seemed he had a long way to go!
"This notebook was a free gift when I bought the red one. I think it's kind of ugly, so I'll give it to you!"
Qin Yuchuan was stunned for a moment. She was giving him the ugly one? What did that mean?
Seeing his silence, Feng Qingyi sighed.
"Big Brother Qin, did you hear what I said?"
"Yeah."
She had just called him Big Brother Qin, a term of address he rather liked.
"Since you heard, I'll send it to you later." Feng Qingyi didn't give Qin Yuchuan a chance to refuse.
Yan Chi and Yan Yang, who were hidden nearby, were already used to Qin Yuchuan occasionally talking to a small box.
"Yan Chi, what do you think the girl in the box is like?" Yan Yang was very curious.
Yan Chi shook his head, "How would I know?"
"General Qin Yuchuan has been wandering the streets with a small box for half an hour now, and he has been in this tavern for quite a while. What are they discussing?"
Qin Yuchuan was usually a man of few words, which made Yan Yang feel curious.
Yan Chi: "If you want to know, you can move closer and listen."
"Nevermind, the General will definitely notice if I get too close." He did not want to invite trouble.
