Xiang Long Wei was the first to step into the pawnshop, followed closely by Nine and Hei Feng. Mei Liang, however, remained outside, her eyes sweeping the unfamiliar street.
Mei Lang hesitated at the entrance. She had wanted to follow the emperor in, but seeing Mei Liang—now clearly recognized as a concubine of the emperor—standing outside in silence, she didn't dare.
It was only after boarding the boat that Mei Lang had learned their true identities. The aloof man she had tried to impress was not just a nobleman, but the Emperor himself—and Mei Liang, the woman she had once mocked in the mountains, was a member of his harem.
Although Mei Lang found Mei Liang nauseating—a roadblock to her ambitions—she wasn't stupid.
If she hadn't been waiting at the base of the mountain that day, His Majesty might have left her behind entirely… and taken only that cold-faced Ming Mei along with Mei Liang and those two silent guards.
