The Legendary Female Strategist

Chapter 14 - A Familiar Face

Hours slowly trickled by as the three of them sat and waited. Every once in a while, Ru Qiang would nudge Feng Yao's arm and she'd wordlessly pass over another orange for him to eat. 

Her eyes continued staring at the wall in thought before she asked, "What time of the day is it now?"

"...Young Miss, the time should be around sunset."

Feng Yao had already come to that same conclusion. But what she was surprised at was how the entire day had already passed without anymore contact from their friendly captor.

The door suddenly opened interrupting Feng Yao's thoughts.

Oh. Speaking of the devil....

The elegant figure of their beautiful captor greeted them. He was dressed in a spotless blue robe that seemed quite expensive. 

"Oh, Mr. Uncle! How nice of you to come visit us."

Feng Yao greeted him with a smile on her face as she gave a wave. Mr. Uncle's lips turned upwards at her enthusiastic hello.

"Hello again, little girl. I've come to greet my dear guests. I'm sure you all must have been so bored in here."

"Oh no, not at all. We've been having a ball in here!"

Mr. Uncle made no indication of hearing her response and instead gazed around the room. His wandering eyes paused on the pile of peeled orange skins laying in between Feng Yao and Ru Qiang. 

"You know," he slowly began. His smile didn't waver once. "I've been wondering. Just how exactly did the Wei Emperor's secret guest and the son of the reputable Jun Clan end up following my men into the slums?"

Feng Yao studied the man standing in front of her.

Of course he's already done research on who Ru Qiang and I are. I'd be surprised if he hadn't by now. 

But is Ru Qiang really the son of the Jun Clan? Hui Yi is known to be the famed daughter of the Jun family, but "she" ended up actually being Ru Qiang in disguise. Just what is going on?

Feng Yao suddenly realized that she had led a life far too peaceful and ignorant for the past years. But she wasn't sure if she wanted to leave such a carefree lifestyle just to find the answers she was seeking. 

With knowledge came trouble. With trouble came danger. Those things were what she wanted to avoid for the rest of her life. But it seemed like recently, they'd been following her no matter what she did.

She looked up at Mr. Uncle. "What do you mean? I'm afraid I don't understand." A smile appeared on her face. "I'm just a simple peasant girl."

During this entire time, Ru Qiang didn't speak. Naturally, Li Yue followed in staying silent.

Suddenly, the man turned to look at Ru Qiang. 

"How about you then? You want to tell me that you aren't the Jun Clan's prestigious son? The one that gained favor with the current Wei Emperor after helping him succeed during his bloody fight for the throne against his brothers?"

Ru Qiang finally looked up. His eyes were cold, much icier than normal.

"There's no reason to ask. You already know who I am."

Even the way Ru Qiang looks at me has never been that cold, thought Feng Yao.  

The man laughed at Ru Qiang's words. "That's true. However, I thought that it wouldn't hurt to be sure."

Feng Yao's eyes narrowed. There was something off about the way that the man's eyes looked. She sensed no malice in them making her even more wary. It was as if he was testing Ru Qiang.