Chapter 989: Ye Wenxin’s Scandalous Past Unravels

“Sister-in-law? Why do they call her that?”

“You don’t know? Rumor has it that one of the Secret Guard commanders, Zhang Qianqian, is having an affair with the Cozy Gang’s leader, so everyone in the Cozy Pavilion calls Commander Zhang ‘sister-in-law.’”

“But I didn’t expect Commander Zhang to be so pretty.”

The crowd’s chatter explained the origin of Xiao Zhang’s “sister-in-law” title. Ye Wenxin would’ve forgotten this bit of her scandalous history if they hadn’t brought it up.

Noticing Xiao Zhang’s attention on her, Ye Wenxin awkwardly shifted her position. Admitting she was the rumored licentious leader of the Cozy Gang before so many people was still too embarrassing.

“You’re Commander Zhang?”

Sister Hong looked shocked. Of course, she remembered Xiao Zhang, who had personally come to pick up Ye Wenxin twice. Miss Yue’s identity would be extremely suspicious if this person were truly a Secret Guard Commander.

“I’m Zhang Qianqian, also one of the stewards of Cozy Pavilion.” Xiao Zhang smiled, helping Huang Hanyan up and feeding her a few pills.

The message in her self-introduction was clear. Her actions had nothing to do with the Secret Guard.

But Secret Guards were never allowed to moonlight in other businesses, let alone hold positions in other factions. Everyone knew something fishy was going on, but no one dared speak up.

Behind the Secret Guard was Eldest Princess Long Qingyue, whose name alone made emperors of neighboring dynasties quake.

Though Sister Hong and Qian Duoduo worked for the emperor, they were part of a civilian organization. They held no standing before Xiao Zhang.

Xiao Zhang had brought more Secret Guards with her, too. Ye Wenxin had no doubt she did so under Long Qingyue’s instructions. They were intentionally stirring things up, paving the way for Cozy Pavilion to replace Treasure Pavilion as the biggest trading center in the Golden Age Dynasty.

If this were true, Ye Wenxin would owe Long Qingyue a serious favor.

Considering how many schemes that woman might still be hiding, the days ahead wouldn’t be easy.

Seeing Qian Duoduo and the others looking uneasy, Xiao Zhang shared what she’d learned from the Secret Guards. “I’ve been informed of the situation. The fault does lie with us. We shouldn’t have made such a show recruiting new staff. But the attack? The Cozy Pavilion didn’t do that.”

“So someone set us up to fight each other.”

“That, I don’t know.”

Xiao Zhang gave a graceful smile, radiating a boss lady aura and casually downplaying the details. She could be considered the Cozy Gang’s founder.

Ye Wenxin suddenly understood why Long Qingyue had bewitched Xiao Zhang instead of killing her. Her innate leadership and business talent were too valuable. So Long Qingyue utilized her strengths and weaknesses to build the Cozy Pavilion.

Attentive as ever, Xiao Zhang understood Ye Wenxin had no wish to stand out when she didn’t come over to catch up.

“I’ve brought the culprits here to clear up the misunderstanding.” Xiao Zhang clapped her hands. Several Secret Guards stepped forward and tossed a few burlap sacks to the ground.

They opened the sacks. Qian Duoduo immediately recognized these people as the ones who had attacked him a few days ago. But he had searched all over the imperial capital for them. He had never imagined the Secret Guard would find them in a flash.

Realizing how terrifying the Secret Guard’s secret network was, a chill ran down everyone’s spine. Offending the Secret Guard was tantamount to offending Long Qingyue, and one wouldn’t even know how they died afterward.

Qian Duoduo was scared now. Forcing out a smile, he quickly said, “Thank you all so much for your help. If it’s not too much trouble, would you honor us by joining us for a meal, Commander Zhang?”

He tried to sweep the fact that they’d stormed the place under the rug, hoping dinner and an apology could earn Cozy Pavilion’s forgiveness.

Xiao Zhang had no intention of clashing with the emperor’s faction so soon. She glanced at Ye Wenxin again, waiting for her answer.

Ye Wenxin gave a subtle nod, and with that, Xiao Zhang agreed.

Qian Duoduo was overjoyed. He turned and shouted, “Quick, book First Under Heaven! I’m treating everyone to a feast!”

The servant immediately dashed off while Qian Duoduo grinningly walked alongside Xiao Zhang.

With the matter resolved, Han Shanxue stopped walking. Fei Chai also paused his steps, ready to follow his master back. It didn’t seem appropriate for the hired muscle to join the feast, no matter how beautiful Han Shanxue was.

Ye Wenxin stopped when she saw this. Even the storyteller felt too embarrassed to tag along for a free meal. The group of over a dozen was down to only a few, which was quite noticeable.

Sister Hong, who paid extra attention to Ye Wenxin, tactfully said, “Everyone’s worked hard today. Let’s have a good meal together. Boss Qian will reward you with extra spirit stones later.”

Han Shanxue couldn’t resist spirit stones, so she followed right along. Fei Chai and the storyteller were even happier to tag along. Ye Wenxin felt rather helpless. She only wanted a quiet moment to catch up without having her identity exposed.

But Sister Hong gently took Ye Wenxin’s hand and warmly said, “Don’t be afraid, Celestial Master Ye. The matter is done.”

Ye Wenxin’s fearful display earlier hadn’t disappointed her. In fact, she found it perfectly human.

Sister Hong’s tenderness only made Ye Wenxin feel guilty.

It wasn’t that she lacked strength. She didn’t want to stand out at the wrong time. So she smiled faintly and tried to hide behind Black Panther, avoiding Huang Hanyan.

Given what she knew of the girl, Ye Wenxin was sure Huang Hanyan would get flustered, maybe even cry upon seeing her. She planned to call her aside later to avoid such a scene.

More importantly, Ye Wenxin didn’t want Han Shanxue to know how wealthy she was. If that ever came to light, Han Shanxue would take her generosity for granted, and Ye Wenxin couldn’t happily swindle more cultivation manuals from her.

So she shrank back further. Unfortunately for her, Black Panther hated cowards. Noticing she still appeared terrified, he coldly barked, “Little girl, is this your first time out in the world?! Watch and learn from your grandpa!”

The former bandit had a crude vocabulary, and his booming voice quickly drew attention.

Huang Hanyan heard him, of course. She was about to turn her head, but Xiao Zhang quickly blocked her view. Though she didn’t know what had happened between Huang Hanyan and Ye Wenxin, Xiao Zhang could tell who Ye Wenxin was trying to avoid from her behavior.