CHAPTER 21: CHAPTER 21: LOOKING BACK NOW, WAS THE PERSON BEHIND QI NANFENG HIM ALL ALONG?

Qi Nanfeng listened and responded with a faint smile, "It’s an honor for my sister that Lord Dong thinks highly of her."

After the person left, Liu Family hurried out of the inner room, looking delighted!

"Nanfeng! I just heard Lord Dong say that the Princess has changed her mind and wants to save you again? I knew the Princess liked you and could not bear to see you in trouble."

"Moreover, although the Dong Family is no longer holding official positions in the Capital City, they are still wealthy! It’s obvious he has an eye on Linlin; you lucky girl, you truly have good fortune!"

Qi Lin didn’t want to bother with Liu Family and simply asked, "Brother, what does the Princess want you to do?"

Qi Nanfeng clutched the secret letter in his hand, his gaze suddenly turning cold, "Don’t pry into things you shouldn’t know!"

Meanwhile, Ruan Mian wandered in the yard and saw a corner piled high with unwanted duck feathers.

There were also two servants slaughtering ducks.

Upon inquiry, it was learned that so many ducks were being raised just to feed the Dong Family.

"Every morning we have to deliver fresh ducks to Lord Dong’s residence; the Dong Family Mansion is large, there are many people, and they pay well."

Ruan Mian reached out to turn over those duck feathers and the unwanted duck innards, and a distinct thought came to her mind.

But soon a name popped into her head.

"Is this Lord Dong you’re talking about Dong Jun? The former Vice Minister Dong Ye’s only son?"

In the original story, after the former Minister of Public Works Dong Ye retired, he died suddenly on the way back home.

The entire family estate was left to his only son Dong Jun.

Ruan Mian remembered this person well, as in the original story, he was a loyal follower of King Yan.

He operated a Beast Fighting Arena, using its guise to hide a King Yan’s intelligence agency.

In the story, when the dynasty changed and King Yan’s rebellion succeeded, it was because this intelligence agency leaked many court secrets.

And this Beast Fighting Arena attracted dignitaries daily, earning him a fortune and allowing him to walk boldly in Purple Leaf City, like a crab.

He forcefully seized women, oppressed civilians; that was all too normal.

He was a callous beast without humanity. His arena was not about beasts fighting each other, but about slaves and captives bought from all over, making them fight barehanded against wild beasts, while people wagered on them.

Thinking back now, could the person behind Qi Nanfeng be him?

Ruan Mian gathered herself, and from her purse retrieved two silver ingots in front of the servants.

Their eyes lit up, "Miss, what is this?"

"I’m buying these duck feathers and innards from you."

The servants looked at each other, hardly daring to believe, "Miss, these duck feathers and innards are meant to be thrown away and are of no use. Are you sure you want to buy them?"

Though they might be useless to others, they were quite useful to Ruan Mian.

When night fell and everyone was drifting into dreams, Ruan Mian, clutching her bracelet, sat beside the house and transferred all the duck feathers and innards to the space.

She recently discovered that the storage warehouse in the space didn’t just keep items; it could persistently maintain the freshness of food, keeping it from spoiling.

The pastries and cooked meat taken from the Qi Mansion kitchen remained as fresh as ever, with their flavor unchanged.

The duck feathers she collected were specially chosen fluffy down, accumulated over time by those two servants and handed off to her.

There’s also a small stream in the space. Ruan Mian casually put the fluffy down in a basin, and as soon as she filled it with the stream water, she was astonished to find the smell and grime on the duck feathers completely gone.

In the blink of an eye, they were clean and odorless.

Amazed, she spread those duck feathers out in the space, and within moments, the moisture evaporated, leaving a basin full of fluffy feathers!

It turns out the sunlight and stream water in this space were quite different.

She didn’t have time to tinker now, so she processed all those feathers and took some fabric strips, making a few simple scarves for the family. Since Mrs. Zhang and Ruan’s father were not in good health, she sewed some of the fluffy down into their coats for warmth.

Early the next morning, the government officer was still not urging them to set out.

Everyone else was puzzled, and seeing this, Ruan Mian decided to personally inquire.

As she stepped out of the courtyard, she saw the figure of Qi Nanfeng leaving the post station.

She frowned slightly, simply took out some warm, soft pastries from the space, and handed them to the nearby government officer.

"Lord, you haven’t had breakfast yet, have you? I’ve warmed up some pastries; come and try them."

Then she casually asked, "When are we setting off?"

Guo smiled, "We might not leave today; let’s see how things go."

He didn’t specify the reason, but Ruan Mian guessed it was related to Qi Nanfeng.

But she couldn’t ask directly, so she took out a gold leaf and handed it over with a smile, "Lord, since we’re not setting off today, why not let me go to the market and buy some supplies?"

"Rest assured, I definitely won’t run away; my whole family is here! Also, I see your provisions aren’t quite enough; last time at Li Zhuang Post Station, we didn’t replenish much. Why not let me handle today’s purchases? We have so many mouths to feed; we can’t starve, can we?"

"You all work so hard; it’d make me uneasy if you couldn’t eat something good."

They knew this Miss Ruan was special, especially with someone keeping her covered from above, so the officers wouldn’t trouble her.

They just set a time limit: "You must return quickly, within three hours. If you exceed this time, don’t blame us for being rude."

Others might bribe them and still not secure freedom, but Ruan Mian was different.

With permission granted, Ruan Mian quickly spoke a few words to Cui Zhu and left the post station, heading toward the direction Qi Nanfeng had left.

Qi Nanfeng was slow due to leg problems, so she soon caught up to him from behind.

At this time, he was with another stranger, and they walked into a tavern at the marketplace.

Ruan Mian followed them to the tavern entrance, glanced up, and hesitated about going in when a familiar face suddenly came out from inside.

He didn’t notice Ruan Mian, bearing a sword and striding broadly, with an especially conspicuous waist seal.

Vice Minister Dong?!

Ruan Mian immediately recognized him and saw him hurriedly leave, automatically following.

If Vice Minister Dong was there, does that mean Prime Minister is there too?

Compared to following Qi Nanfeng, she preferred to meet the Prime Minister.

If he was in Purple Leaf City, he was most likely investigating Dong Jun.

As Ruan Mian followed Vice Minister Dong to a place, her speculation was confirmed.

Vice Minister Dong hid his sword and entered the Beast Fighting Arena run by Dong Jun.

The location was at the most secluded part of the market, and the entrance was indistinguishable from a typical tavern, but behind that wide wall, there must have been another world.

As she pondered, suddenly two burly men rushed up to her, lifting her into the air, one on each side!

Before she could react, an evil-faced servant shouted angrily at her.

"A slave dared to escape?! Take her away! Next she’ll be thrown into the beast arena!"