She rummaged for a long time, frowning, "No water? I'm thirsty."
Su Yunmo took out an orange from her small cloth bag and made a throwing motion.
Ye Ningyuan's eyes lit up, and she raised her hand to catch it.
But the orange didn't get thrown.
It was still clenched in the little dumpling's hand.
Ye Ningyuan: "...Are you teasing a dog?"
The little dumpling leaned into Ye Jingyu's embrace and slowly peeled the orange, "Why were you trying to steal from the Southern Barbarians?"
"It's all because of you," Ye Ningyuan said, crossing her arms and complaining, "After the banquet last time, my father punished me when I got back. Now I have no pocket money. What do you expect me to do?"
The little dumpling threw the orange peel onto the table and broke the orange in half, "Even without pocket money, it shouldn't have come to you, a county princess, stealing things, should it?"
This person wasn't lacking food or clothing.
Ye Ningyuan licked her lips, staring at the orange in her hand, "I just need money urgently."
Su Yunmo smacked her lips, raised her hand, and stuffed half the orange into her mouth, immediately frowning.
It was really cold.
"Hey, hey, leave half for me," Ye Ningyuan reached out to take the other half.
Su Yunmo closed her hand, enduring the chill, "I'll give it to you if you tell me the truth."
Ye Ningyuan was helpless, "It's true that I needed money urgently. I didn't originally intend to steal from the Southern Barbarians. It's just that the bead you gave me last time, I exchanged it for a lot of money, so I thought things from the Southern Barbarians would be valuable."
She paused and added, "I can't steal from the palace, that's a capital offense. I don't dare to steal from home either. Anyway, the Southern Barbarians are on our territory, and they wouldn't dare to make a big fuss."
The responsibility for the stolen tribute lay with them. They wouldn't dare to make too much of a scene and would find a way to compensate.
Su Yunmo narrowed her eyes and stared at her.
Ye Ningyuan stared back, her eyes wide.
After a while, Su Yunmo threw the remaining half of the orange at her, "What kind of disreputable business do you need money for so urgently?"
Ye Ningyuan sat cross-legged on the ground, broke off a segment of the orange, and stuffed it into her mouth, "To buy a treasure map."
Su Yunmo exchanged a look with Ye Jingyu, who also frowned in confusion.
Ye Ningyuan's orange-eating paused, and she looked up at them in surprise, "No way, you don't know?"
She stuffed the rest of the orange into her mouth.
"That's a long-lost treasure map. It's said to lead to a place where a large amount of treasure is buried. Many people have offered a fortune to get their hands on it. I heard even people from Marquis Lin's estate have gone."
The two of them narrowed their eyes dangerously at the same time.
Treasure maps were usually used as gimmicks, all fake.
But if even Lin Ze Qu was targeting it, then it was a bit interesting.
Ye Jingyu said in a deep voice, "Who is selling the treasure map?"
"I don't know that either. No one has ever seen him. The other party just spread the word that the map would be sold today at Cuihe Tower, and the highest bidder would get it," Ye Ningyuan stood up and patted her clothes.
Her eyes were full of excitement, "How about it? Want to go take a look? If we find the treasure, we'll split it fifty-fifty!"
Ye Jingyu rubbed his fingers, pondered for a moment, and said, "Qianxue, go to Cuihe Tower."
Ye Ningyuan's eyes lit up, and she rubbed her hands excitedly.
The carriage turned midway towards Cuihe Tower.
At this time, the place was crowded, packed to the brim.
People were already calling out high prices.
Ye Ningyuan looked around and pointed to a restaurant across the street, "Let's go there. The third floor there directly faces the window on this side, so we can see more clearly."
Su Yunmo glanced over.
Cuihe Tower was already overcrowded. They had come too late, and it would be difficult to squeeze in even if they insisted.
Ye Jingyu then sent Qianxue to book a private room with a window on the third floor of the restaurant, and entered the room with the little dumpling.
Qianxue did not follow, and quietly withdrew.
Ye Jingyu entered and sat by the window with Su Yunmo in his arms.
The window of this room was very close to the window of the seller in the opposite building.
They could vaguely see someone sitting inside.
That person was hidden by a screen, and seemed to be wearing a bamboo hat, so their appearance couldn't be seen. Only from the silhouette of their body could it be roughly deduced that it was a woman.
And sitting opposite her, not blocked by the screen, was a man whose appearance was clearly visible. An old acquaintance.
Lin Ze Qu.
Su Yunmo narrowed her eyes.
He actually came in person. Was this treasure map so important?
"See, I didn't lie to you, did I?" Ye Ningyuan leaned over with a wide grin.
Su Yunmo reached out a small hand and patted her face, pushing her aside.
Ye Ningyuan immediately pouted aggrievedly and sat down to pour tea.
The woman behind the screen made a gesture, and Lin Ze Qu's expression immediately darkened. He said something.
But because it was too noisy outside, and they were across the street, it was difficult to hear clearly.
Su Yunmo instinctively leaned forward.
Ye Jingyu reached out and pressed her back into his embrace, "That woman is playing hard to get. The two of them haven't reached an agreement."
Su Yunmo was surprised, "You can hear them talking from so far away?"
Ye Jingyu shook his head.
Ye Ningyuan suddenly realized, her eyes full of admiration, "So Prince Yu can also read lips? That's amazing."
Ye Jingyu cast a disgusted glance at her, "Stay away from me."
Being disliked by two people at once, Ye Ningyuan immediately put on a hurt expression.
Lin Ze Qu's angry roar came from across the street, "You sell it or not, you have to sell it! I'm determined to have this thing!"
He stood up and slammed the table heavily, his eyes bloodshot.
The woman behind the screen remained calm and said something.
Lin Ze Qu gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, and said, "Deal!"
The last two sentences were so loud that the entire street could hear them.
Ye Ningyuan was getting anxious, "What are you two doing? Hurry up and have someone go down and bid, otherwise the treasure map will be bought by him!"
Ye Jingyu poured two cups of tea for himself, pushed one in front of the little dumpling, and held one in his hand to drink.
The little dumpling picked up the cup of tea in front of her, took a sip, and looked up at her, "How much money did you bring? Can you outbid the Marquis's estate?"
"Of course I can't outbid him, but the two of you combined can definitely outbid him!" Ye Ningyuan was very sure, "Why else would I bring you two here today?"
The little dumpling put down the teacup and said slowly, "My father was just expelled from the capital, and the General's estate is short of money. I don't have any."
Ye Ningyuan's mouth twitched.
Was she trying to fool a ghost with that statement?
"Forget it, forget it. Even if you're right, what about you?" Ye Ningyuan looked at Ye Jingyu, "Don't tell me you don't have money either."
The daily income from Yuqin Tower alone was enough to buy ten marquis' estates.
Ye Jingyu glanced at her and said nothing.
Ye Ningyuan was so anxious she was spinning around, "If I had known you two were so useless, I wouldn't have brought you. It would have been much better if I figured it out myself."
Su Yunmo watched her spin, and just as she was about to get angry, she suddenly said, "Why did you buy the treasure map?"
Ye Ningyuan's fingers stiffened abruptly, and she turned back with wide eyes, "Isn't that obvious? With so much treasure, who wouldn't be tempted? Even the Marquis wants it."
Su Yunmo rested her chin on her hand and looked at her, "Marquis Lin buying the treasure map might not necessarily be for the treasure."
"If not for the treasure, then for what?" Ye Ningyuan asked, confused, then pouted and crossed her arms, "I think it's for the treasure, I'm sure of it."