I insist

Chapter 221: Meeting Her Once

Yu Huailin nodded and then asked in return, "What exactly do you want from me?"

The Imperial Guard scratched the back of his head and chuckled, "My master, Jin Buning, wishes to see you. May I accompany you to the Eastern Depot for a meeting?"

Upon hearing Jin Buning's name, Yu Huailin felt very conflicted. He and Jin Buning were childhood friends, but after arriving in the capital, he had been avoiding Jin Buning for fear that she would recognize him.

That would ruin everything for them.

Seeing that Yu Huailin was standing there blankly, seemingly lost in thought, the Imperial Guard waved his hand in front of Yu Huailin's face and said slowly, "My master has a bad temper. If you keep him waiting too long, he will probably get angry. Why don't you come with me quickly?"

Yu Huailin snapped out of his daze, gave a dry laugh, and said he didn't really want to go with the other person, "Could we not go?"

"Why?" The Imperial Guard turned to look at Yu Huailin, puzzled. He paused, then, recalling his earlier observation, offered a very tempting offer.

“My master managed to get Song Miqiu out of prison, so you must know that the woman is old and can’t take any more hardship. If you don’t come with me to see my master soon, it will delay the woman’s release date, and that would be bad.”

The Imperial Guard paused, then continued, "You should know what happens to every prisoner in jail, right?"

These words instantly stirred Yu Huailin's heart. Right now, he was like a headless fly, running around aimlessly, just to find the person who had rescued Song Miqiu from prison.

He didn't want to meet Jin Buning, but he was currently walking alone in the palace with almost no connections. The only connection he had was with the Crown Prince, who wouldn't help him.

Thinking of this, Yu Huailin finally resigned himself to his fate. He lowered his head helplessly, nodded slightly, and obeyed the meaning of the name.

“Alright, I will go with you to meet your crown prince.”

The Imperial Guard smiled. He could have taken Yu Huailin directly to meet Jin Buning, since Jin Buning hadn't instructed him to invite the man over politely; simply bringing him there would have been enough.

However, he doesn't usually like to treat others this way.

Yu Huailin followed the Embroidered Uniform Guard to the Eastern Depot. He strode along, his eyes subconsciously scanning his surroundings. He noticed that the atmosphere around the Eastern Depot was quite somber, which surprised him somewhat, as he couldn't believe that the Embroidered Uniform Guard could be trained to have such a personality.

Perhaps noticing Yu Huailin's gaze, the Imperial Guard turned and glanced at him with a smile. He said with amusement, "You're probably thinking, with such an atmosphere within the Imperial Guard, how could there be someone with a personality so out of place?"

Before Yu Huailin could say anything, the Imperial Guard spoke first, "Many people say that, and I'm used to it. I just don't know why, but I don't really like doing things according to the original nature of the Eastern Depot."

"Perhaps the master thought my personality was very strange, so he made me stay by his side to do things."

Throughout the journey, it was the Imperial Guards who spoke. Yu Huailin initially didn't want to respond, but in the end, he couldn't resist their talkative nature and responded to what they said with a smile.

Upon reaching Jin Buning's location, Yu Huailin noticed that the Imperial Guards gradually became quieter and more reserved.

The two men entered a room. The Imperial Guard strode up to Jin Buning, bowed, and said, "Sir, I have brought you the person you requested."

"Well, let's go down."

Soon, only Jin Buning and Yu Huailin remained in the slightly open space. The latter bowed respectfully to Jin Buning and asked, "What brings you here?"

Jin Buning stood up and strode to Yu Huailin. He looked down at the unfamiliar man in front of him and asked in a deep voice, "I only see an old friend of mine in you."

Yu Huailin paused, then immediately realized that Jin Buning was referring to himself.

He subconsciously swallowed, but Jin Buning didn't notice. He turned and walked to the bookshelf, took out a flute, gently tapped it in his hand, and strode over to Yu Huailin.

Jin Buning handed the flute to Yu Huailin and said with a deep smile, "Try playing it."

Yu Huailin instantly realized what was happening. He chuckled awkwardly for a moment and returned the flute to Jin Buning. "My lord, I don't know how to play the flute. Giving me such a fine flute is a waste of a precious gift."

Jin Buning was utterly disdainful of what Yu Huailin said. It was just a flute, nothing special. He lazily tossed it onto the table.

The two of them watched as the flute rolled on the table for a while before slowly coming to a stop.

This made Yu Huailin really unable to figure out Jin Buning's personality. He opened his mouth several times, wanting to question Jin Buning about what she wanted from him.

"Does it hurt your heart?" Jin Buning asked abruptly.

Yu Huailin thought of a flute he had given to Jin Buning when he was a child, which was very similar to the one in front of him. Just now, when Jin Buning threw the flute and let it roll on the table, he felt a pang of heartache.

However, Yu Huailin suppressed this emotion, knowing that his primary goal was to deceive Jin Buning.

He raised his eyes and smiled at Jin Buning, "Just now this servant could tell that this flute must be very valuable. Your Excellency, you just casually threw this flute away. Any person who loves collecting flutes would feel heartbroken."

Upon hearing this, Jin Buning's eyes lit up instantly, and he asked repeatedly, "You like the flute too, right?"

Yu Huailin paused, completely bewildered that he would make such a basic mistake.

Faced with the questioning from the person in front of him, Yu Huailin chuckled dryly, "I'm not interested in the flute, but I have a friend who is very interested in it. He plays it in my ear all day long, so it's hard for me not to know about it!"

Upon hearing this, Jin Buning lowered his head in disappointment, finally giving up on testing the other party.

He walked around the desk listlessly, then returned to his seat, sat languidly, looked up at Yu Huailin, and said, "I will help rescue Song Miqiu."

Yu Huailin looked at the other party with some confusion. Logically speaking, since he was disguised, Jin Buning should not know his identity.

But in his eyes, Jin Buning's actions just now seemed to indicate that he knew everything.

This made Yu Huailin very suspicious of the other party, but he couldn't find anyone else to help him rescue Song Miqiu right now. He nodded at what Jin Buning said, "Then I want to see Song Miqiu."