Disguised as a man, she became the biggest villain in the book.

Chapter 179 Return Gift

At this moment, the envoys from the Northern Rong were slowly making their way to the capital.

Tuoba Yanqi sat on his horse, a faint smile on his lips, his gaze fixed on the distance, as if he were deep in thought.

He turned his head and looked at Tuoba Yanran, who was resting with her eyes closed in the carriage. He casually said, "Your Highness is really generous, sending Yunze away. However, Yunze has been gone for a long time, and there has been no news of him since. Could it be that... Yunze has met with misfortune?"

Upon hearing this, Tuoba Yanran, inside the carriage, slowly opened her eyes. She glanced at Tuoba Yanqi with her beautiful eyes, and sneered, "Hmph, I wonder who truly cares more for Yunze? Is it me, or you?"

Tuoba Yanqi was stunned for a moment by Tuoba Yanran's sudden words, but he quickly recovered and responded with a cold laugh: "Royal sister, some things should not be said carelessly!"

A sly and threatening glint flashed in Tuoba Yanqi's eyes, as if warning Tuoba Yanran not to speak out of turn.

Just then, the carriage suddenly stopped. Tuoba Yanran was about to ask a question when she heard Tuoba Yanqi say, "Royal sister, there seems to be an inn ahead. We've been traveling for so many days, let's rest for a while!"

Tuoba Yanran glanced at the sky. It was getting late, and they had traveled for a long time; it was time to rest.

Therefore, Tuoba Yanran ordered everyone to rest for one night and continue their journey the next day.

Tuoba Yanran and Tuoba Yanqi stepped into the inn together, their eyes scanning the surroundings.

This is an ordinary inn with nothing special about it, but its old appearance shows that it has weathered many years.

The two entered the inn, found a place to sit down, rested for a while, and then ordered some food to fill their stomachs.

After their meal, they dragged their exhausted bodies back to their rooms, collapsed into bed, and quickly drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Tuoba Yanran was awakened by Tuoba Yanqi's knocking on the door.

Tuoba Yanqi stood outside the door, pounding on Tuoba Yanran's door repeatedly while shouting at the top of his lungs, "Royal sister, royal sister, are you still there?" His voice was filled with anxiety.

Just as Tuoba Yanqi was about to force his way into the room, an angry shout suddenly came from inside: "What are you yelling about? Do you know what time it is? It's utterly disrespectful of you to knock on your elder sister's door like this!"

Upon hearing that familiar voice, Tuoba Yanqi finally felt relieved. He then raised his voice again and shouted, "Royal Sister, something terrible has happened! Our people and belongings are all gone!"

Tuoba Yanran hurriedly got out of bed, quickly dressed, and then walked out of the room.

Upon hearing Tuoba Yanqi say "Something's happened," Tuoba Yanran's heart tightened, and she rushed over to check the situation.

When she arrived at the inn's lobby, she was shocked by what she saw—the entire inn was empty, without a single person in sight.

Even more bizarrely, not only were the guests and staff who originally stayed at the inn nowhere to be found, but their own attendants and belongings had also vanished without a trace.

Oh no, it seems there was something wrong with the water we drank last night, and judging from this, they're clearly targeting our Northern Rong envoy! It seems Yunze has already been exposed! Tuoba Yanran's mind raced, and she instantly pieced together the whole story.

Tuoba Yanran immediately thought of Zheng Yuxiang, the prime minister of the Great Xia Kingdom.

After all, they had only just arrived in the Great Xia Kingdom and had not yet made any enemies. If they had to find someone who might be a threat to them, then it would only be the matter of Yun Ze.

Moreover, ordinary people don't have the ability to cause such a commotion without them even noticing.

Thinking of this, Tuoba Yanran couldn't help but sneer: "Hmph! How utterly ridiculous! I underestimated the methods of the Great Xia people."

I had heard that the Prime Minister's son was a womanizer, but now, even with Yunze's stunning beauty, he still couldn't win her over. It's truly unbelievable.

Could there be some hidden story behind this? Or is this young master of the Prime Minister not as rumored, and all of this is just false information they've spread? Tuoba Yanran fell into deep thought...

Tuoba Yanqi noticed that Tuoba Yanran was engrossed in her thoughts, so he asked, "Do you know who did it?"

Tuoba Yanran replied calmly, "I'm afraid Yunze's matter has been exposed."

Upon hearing this, Tuoba Yanqi looked astonished and asked incredulously, "What?"

Tuoba Yanran remained calm as she continued, "Besides this, it's hard to imagine any other reason. You see, we've only just arrived here and haven't made any enemies with anyone. Moreover, as envoys, even if we've done something wrong, logically no one would dare to make things difficult for us. So, the only reasonable explanation is because of what happened with Yunze."

She paused briefly, her gaze sharpening, before continuing her analysis: "It's highly likely that Yunze was exposed, which is why Zheng Yuxiang specially gave us this 'return gift.' This inn must have been prepared by Zheng Yuxiang, who knew we would definitely pass through here!"

"Let's go! All our men are gone. We can't stay here any longer. The nearest town is still quite a distance away. We have to get there before dark, or we might end up as wild animals outside." Tuoba Yanran said and immediately set off.

............

Inside the palace

Wen Nanwan was always kept by Chen Xianlin's side. Although she was kept by his side, she had no freedom of movement and could only walk around in that small courtyard.

Unless Chen Xianlin wants to go out for a stroll in the Imperial Garden, or Wen Nanwan asks to go out for a walk, Chen Xianlin will occasionally allow them to go together.

Ever since Wen Nanwan was rescued by Chen Xianlin, Chen Xianlin was afraid that Wen Nanwan would be depressed because of the Wen family's affairs, so she kept trying to find topics to talk to and chat with Wen Nanwan, hoping to bring their relationship back to what it was before.

The reason Chen Xianlin treated Wen Nanwan this way was ultimately because she still felt guilty and wanted to mend the rift in their friendship by doing something.

Moreover, Chen Xianlin would try her best to meet any requests Wen Nanwan had. Besides letting Wen Nanwan leave, Chen Xianlin was mainly afraid that Wen Nanwan would do something foolish.

Chen Xianlin thought that way, but Wen Nanwan didn't. The more Chen Xianlin did this, the more Wen Nanwan felt that Chen Xianlin was pitying her. How could Wen Nanwan, with her personality, stand it?

Although Wen Nanwan usually agrees with Chen Xianlin and acts as before, how could the wounds in her heart be soothed by Chen Xianlin's few words?

Chen Xianlin's attempt to restore their relationship to what it used to be was simply a pipe dream.

Sometimes even Wen Nanwan couldn't tell whether Chen Xianlin was pretending to be stupid or genuinely stupid.