Tao Yao, seeing his strikingly alluring face, scrambled out from beside the table and said, "I already told you, your place here is very comfortable to stay in. I only have this one request—I just want one room here for free occupancy."
Ye Lanshan's lips curled into a smile as she said, "I don't trust anyone unless they swear a heaven-and-earth oath."
Tao Yao naturally couldn't swear such an oath, but giving up on Ye Lanshan was also impossible. In the end, she chose to have a proper talk with her again.
"Aside from heaven and earth, no one has ever made me bow my head or swear an oath. I probably can't do that, but you can trust me—I will never harm you."
Ye Lanshan shrugged after hearing this and said, "Why should I trust you? I remember that when I first met you, you were already trying to scheme against me."
In fact, if it weren't for that incense, Ye Lanshan wouldn't have kept Tao Yao around until now.
"I can have all the people I've trained submit to you. Even if I were to betray you, that group would remain loyal to you." Tao Yao didn't believe that Shan Luo didn't need to cultivate her own power.
Ye Lanshan thought for a moment and said, "Fine, but I'll add one condition. I want you to teach the art of incense-making to Qing Dai."
"Of course, there will be compensation. As long as you pass on this skill to Qing Dai, name your price, and I'll pay whatever you want."
Tao Yao hesitated and said, "Well, it's not that I can't teach her, but Qing Dai's age is a bit too old. She's already past the best time to learn incense-making."
Ye Lanshan smiled and said, "Then do you think there's anyone more suitable than Qing Dai in this brothel?"
"Shan Luo gege, don't always think Qing Dai is prettier and favor her while ignoring others,"
"I think Qiu Yue would be quite suitable. She's a bit younger, works diligently, is meticulous and cautious, and when it comes to being flirtatious and charming, she can really let loose. Teaching her incense-making would probably be much easier."
Ye Lanshan said directly, "Then let's do it your way."
"But I can't exactly train assassins for you in this brothel, can I? How about you find me a courtyard as well?"
Tao Yao figured that staying in the brothel all the time really wasn't ideal, so she might as well take this chance to ask Ye Lanshan for a residence and live outside for a while, since she still had tasks to complete.
Anyway, since she was training assassins for him and grooming an incense-making expert for him, he'd have to come check on things eventually. She didn't believe she couldn't win him over during that time.
Ye Lanshan didn't even think about it and directly gave her an answer: "Alright, fine. The day after tomorrow, I'll take you there. Anything else? If not, you can head back first."
"What, can't I stay with you just because I have nothing to do? I just agreed to your terms, and now you're chasing me away. How heartbreaking." Tao Yao dabbed at nonexistent tears with her handkerchief.
"Even if you don't leave, I still have to go." Seeing that Tao Yao didn't want to leave, Ye Lanshan turned around, opened the door, and headed downstairs.
"Hey, Shan Luo gege," Tao Yao called out, but Ye Lanshan acted as if she hadn't heard and walked straight down the stairs.
Afraid of being recognized, Tao Yao could only stomp her foot and return to her own room.
After Ye Lanshan left the Dream Red Pavilion, she realized it was already pitch dark outside. She strolled slowly along the path leading to the Ye residence.
Looking up at the star-filled sky, she unconsciously thought of the modern cultivation world again. She lowered her head with a bitter smile—clearly, there weren't many people or things in the modern world that caught her attention, so why did even looking at the stars make her think of that place?
"This Mu Ziming is too hard to win over. I think we should just off him and frame the Ye family, let them tear each other apart." Just as Ye Lanshan was lamenting her own sentimentality, a clear voice rang out.
From the sound of it, you'd never guess the speaker was such a ruthless person.
Then she heard Sun Chenbo's disapproving voice: "The Ye family and the Mu family have no conflict. They've coexisted peacefully for many years. Even if you want to frame someone, you need to find a point of contention."
Oh, Sun Chenbo was here too. This opportunity was too good to miss. Ye Lanshan pretended to be drunk, quietly leaning against the wall nearby, and closed her eyes.
"A point of contention? Isn't that easy? Even though these two families keep to themselves and don't interfere with each other, what if a Mu family shop gets trashed by the Ye family?"
"The Mu family surely won't let it slide. With that back and forth, the conflict will grow. Then we kill Mu Ziming and pin it on the Ye family. Even if they jump into the Yellow River, they won't be able to wash themselves clean."
The man wore a grin like a rat's, giving off an oddly dissonant vibe.
"The Ye and Mu families aren't fools. Why would they listen to us?" Sun Chenbo still thought this plan was too risky.
"It's not like we have a choice, is it? The Ye family has completely refused to support us, and the Mu family won't take our bribes. If those two aren't taken down, your Sun family will never sit on the throne."
So the Ye family had no conflict with the Sun family—why were they in the Sun family's way? It turned out the Sun family really was plotting rebellion.
"Who's there?" Sun Chenbo and the man immediately警觉地 raised their heads.
Seeing the situation was bad, Ye Lanshan quickly ducked into her space.
After Sun Chenbo and the others found nothing, they assumed it was just their imagination, shook their heads, and continued their earlier conversation.
Half an hour later, Ye Lanshan figured they must have left by now, so she came out of the space. Sure enough, they were already gone.
"So the Sun family really is rebelling. Looks like what those two said last time was right. I need to tell Grandfather right away." Ye Lanshan quickened her pace and hurried toward the Ye residence.
"Grandfather, the Sun family really is planning a rebellion."
"What? Say that again." Ye Luotian had been anxiously waiting for Ye Lanshan at home, ready to give her a good scolding when she returned.
But he never expected her first words to be this.
"I said our earlier intelligence was wrong. The Sun family really is rebelling." Ye Lanshan patiently repeated herself.
"You can't just say things like that. Besides, didn't we check before? Those two weren't sent by the Sun family, were they?" Ye Luotian still found it hard to believe the Sun family would rebel.
Ye Lanshan explained to him, "Remember the assassin I brought to the dungeon? He was sent by the Sun family. I was wondering at the time—our Ye family has no grudge against the Sun family, so why would they try to assassinate me?"
"Earlier, when you told me those two weren't from the Sun family, I was puzzled. If they weren't Sun family members and I hadn't offended anyone else, why would they frame the Sun family and try to kill me?"
"It wasn't until just now, when I overheard them discussing the rebellion, that I understood their motive."
"I never would have thought that Sun Zheng'an, loyal his whole life, would have a son who actually rebels."
"Wait, that's not right. Where did you hear this news? Are you hurt?" Ye Luotian scanned Ye Lanshan from head to toe, and only after confirming not a single hair was out of place did he breathe a sigh of relief.
Ye Lanshan rolled her eyes helplessly and said, "I overheard their conversation in an alley. They didn't notice me."