[The bright sun shone high above.]
[Withered leaves drifted down onto the courtyard ground.]
[Almost the very instant you stepped out of the room, the sound of your footsteps drew Yan Jinghong's gaze. Her eyes, still slightly watery from a yawn, instantly locked onto you.]
[This time, however, you could clearly see a trace of indescribable, deep-seated worry suddenly emerge in her eyes.]
["You're awake?"]
[Faced with Yan Jinghong's words, you decided to…]
[You smiled faintly: "What urgent matter does Lord Cui have that he'd send you over so early? And right here at the Golden Dragon Trading Company, no less."] (Option 1)
[As soon as you spoke, a flash of unmistakable panic visibly crossed Yan Jinghong's face.]
[She hurriedly waved her hands, stammering slightly, "No, no, it's not that…"]
[But it was obvious that after speaking, she couldn't hide her guilty conscience, and her voice dropped considerably in volume:]
["It's just that there really are a few matters we need you to cooperate with for some questioning. Don't worry, you can rest assured…"]
[Faced with her words, you decided to…]
[You paid it no mind whatsoever. Instead, you stretched lazily, walked forward, and said with a smile:] (Custom Choice)
["If that's the case, then why did Lord Cui send you here? I believe I wrote in my letter last night that because I was drunk and my cultivation wasn't sufficient to expel the alcohol, I feared I would be negligent and disrespectful. Therefore, I stated I would go over first thing this morning.
If Lord Cui didn't believe me, why bother sending you? Furthermore, why investigate my residence and look for me here at the Golden Dragon Trading Company, rather than in those alleyways or at the center of West Lake?"]
[Hearing this, Yan Jinghong became slightly flustered, at a complete loss for words. She opened her mouth and mumbled "because…" for a long time, but couldn't form a coherent sentence.]
[Looking at Yan Jinghong's slightly flushed cheeks, you decided to…]
[You thought for a moment and continued speaking:] (Custom Choice)
["Therefore, Lord Cui must have had two intentions. First, he was likely afraid I would run away, so he sent you, Jinghong, to keep an eye on me. Second, he probably prepared for the possibility that I would run, wanting you to witness it, and perhaps even hoping that a conflict would arise between us, leading us to draw weapons against each other. That would make you, Sister Jinghong, completely give up on me—killing two birds with one stone, wouldn't you say?"]
[At these words, Yan Jinghong's face instantly drained of color.]
[Fortunately, you didn't give her a chance to speak, continuing with a smile:] (Custom Choice)
["Alright, Sister Jinghong, have you had breakfast yet? If you have, we can head over right now. If not, we can go after grabbing a bite to eat."]
[Yan Jinghong looked at your smiling face, slightly stunned. Then, she subconsciously shook her head:]
["No, not yet!"]
[You nodded in agreement:] (Option 2)
["That's perfect. The pine nut dumplings and osmanthus cakes at the end of Changxin Street are quite delicious. I had thought about treating you to them before, and today is the perfect opportunity."]
[Your words made Yan Jinghong purse her lips, a smile helplessly forming at the corners of her mouth. Seeing that you showed no signs of panic, her smile deepened, her relief almost overflowing. She hurriedly nodded, her eyes even reddening slightly:]
["Okay, I knew it! I just knew it!"]
[Looking at Yan Jinghong, a slight pang of guilt inevitably arose in your heart. Indeed, the only person you truly felt guilty towards was her.]
[Such a good girl!]
[Despite coming from a prominent aristocratic family with formidable martial arts skills, she treated you with such genuine sincerity. How could you not feel guilty?]
[But you asked yourself honestly: Jin Xilian aside, was Bai Lianxiang not a good girl? Was Sister Long not a good girl?]
[To let down any single one of them would leave you with a guilty conscience!]
[You sighed inwardly.]
[As for the others? Your heart remained entirely untroubled.]
[The reason was simple: you hadn't actually joined the Changle Palace in doing anything that harmed the common people.]
[Fundamentally, whether the Changle Palace was destroyed or not, or whether those people—even the higher-ups connected to you like Bai Ze—lived or died, had absolutely no emotional impact on you.]
[In fact, your main goal in joining the Changle Palace was to eliminate the mastermind behind it!]
[In the entire Changle Palace, the only ones you cared about were Bai Lianxiang, and perhaps, at most, Jin Xilian.]
[If the Changle Palace truly intended to plunge the world into suffering and ruin to achieve its goals, your Seven Kills Saber would absolutely not rest idle.]
[Similarly, you felt no guilt towards the Imperial Court either. The saying goes, "He who eats the Emperor's grain must be loyal to the Emperor's affairs," but the problem was, you had never eaten a single grain of the Emperor's salary.]
[Hell, even registering for the academy examination had cost you two maces of silver!]
[The only reason you were willing to pay attention to this Changle Palace affair was, ultimately, your personal relationship with Cui Jianxing and Yan Jinghong.]
[Cui Jianxing had genuinely saved your life, and even now, you were willing to repay his grace. However, if repaying him meant betraying Bai Lianxiang, that clearly violated your own moral principles.]
[So, as the saying goes, caught between the so-called grand righteousness of the Jianghu concerning the Changle Palace and the Imperial Court, and your own personal choices, you, Chen Siming, had a completely clear conscience.]
[Furthermore, because you had seen through Gu Ping's situation and understood the Changle Palace's true conspiracy, you had already made preparations. When you returned to Jinling, you planned to intercept the Heavenly King Army's treasure first!]
[But many things were just like that—they could be done, but they couldn't be spoken of.]
[As the saying goes, when one is in the Jianghu, they often have no control over their own destiny.]
[Therefore, you didn't want to put Yan Jinghong in a difficult position.]
[Fortunately, you wouldn't make things difficult for her now.]
[Still maintaining your fist seal, you smiled and walked out of the small courtyard with Yan Jinghong.]
[However, what neither of you expected was that upon stepping out of the courtyard, a figure stood blocking your path, frowning deeply. It was none other than the true master of this Golden Dragon Trading Company.]
[Zhang Xuelan frowned, her gaze fixed firmly on you before shifting to Yan Jinghong:]
["Boy, what is going on here?"]
[Faced with her question, your heart stirred slightly, and you decided to…]
[You smiled:] (Option 3)
["It's nothing. Lord Cui from Jinling City arrived in Lin'an yesterday to investigate some matters regarding the Changle Palace. Um, it involves some information about the Changle Palace's whereabouts that I discovered earlier. So, Lord Cui is reviewing the case files and asked me to go to the Six Doors for questioning…"]
[Hearing this, Yan Jinghong hastily interjected, "No, no, it's not an interrogation, just some minor questioning…"]
[Clearly, Yan Jinghong's guilty-sounding words did not sway Zhang Xuelan's gaze. She continued to stare at you intently, furrowing her brow slightly, but eventually said:]
["In that case, go quickly and return quickly. Something has come up with the fleet…"]
[You smiled and nodded: "Understood…"]