The Princess And The Lord

Lory's comment shocked Mong Gui but she was oblivious of his expression as her eyes were focused on the paper pinned to the wall and the paintings with names at the bottom. Lory observed the wall before her eyes moved to the papers on the table with deep contemplation.

"You gathered all of this?" Lory asked. Her eyes were on the wall and she picked one of the papers on the table.

"Yes, young Madam," Mong Gui nodded.

"It is good… but it is a little disarray. Could I arrange something for you?" Lory shifted her eyes to Mong Gui.

"Of course, young Madam!" Mong Gui nodded. There was no way he could deny her.

Lory placed the paper she was holding back to the table. She placed her arms to her waist and took a deep breath. "Do you have different colored threads?"

"I can find them for you at once," Mong Gui was puzzled by her request but a good servant did what his master asked for, even when he didn't understand.

"Thank you," Lory stretched her neck and muttered to herself, "We have a lot of things to do…"

Mong Gui was still perplexed when he left to get the threads for his mistress. He left Lory examining the papers. She sorted the information based on dates and locations. Girsha flew from her chest and perched at the end of the table. His eyes softened as he watched her. It was nostalgic. Girsha remembered an old human saying, 'Gold is still gold even when you throw it in the mud'. His Princess was still who she was even after moving to a new world. 

Lory screened the information as everything was jumbled up. It was not strange for Mong Gui to miss the big picture with the way everything was kept. Lory rearranged the paintings on the wall and added a few more information from the table. She was diligent as she arranged everything. The information that was not related to the paintings was pinned on the opposite wall. She saved the unrelated information in case there was additional news to make it more useful.

"Young Madam, I got the threads…" Mong Gui was dumbfounded when he came back.

"Good!" Lory took the threads and started to connect the paintings to some of the information. She also scribbled additional words on the wall for clarity. Mong Gui watched everything in awe as everything was now clearer than before. He realized he had overlooked a few things during his investigation. His eyes turned to Lory with admiration. His young Madam was smarter than the rumors said. It was no wonder his Lord dotted on her so much.

Lory took a step back and observed her handiwork once she was done. She turned to Mong Gui who had stayed in Cloud City for years and asked, "Do you want to add something?"

"Ah no, young Madam… I feel embarrassed," The startled Mong Gui blurted out his thoughts. He always thought he was good at his job but he now realized he had been conceit.

Lory sighed and encouraged him with a smile, "Don't be. You were doing great. You only need to learn how to process the information you receive. I believe you will get better after this."

Mong Gui gave a sheepishly smile. Lory's words lifted his confidence, "I will try my best, young Madam!"

"Good!" She was satisfied with his attitude. It was always good to have a motivated employee.

"Young Madam, is it true Mo Ning Yuan is involved with someone from the Chen family?" He was surprised Lory was able to discover something he didn't know before.

"Yes, she is not just involved but the two have an intimate relationship. But I don't know if that means something to Mo Ning Yuan because she also has an intimate relationship with her subordinate."

Mong Gui was stunned as the information was new to him. He wondered if his Madam was a spy before. She had only stayed in the city for a few days but she had managed to gather more information than him. It made him wondered if he was bad at his job or the young Madam was too good at it.

"Our priority now is to know the identity of the Chen involved with Miss Mo and if she is involved with only him or the entire Chen family," Lory tapped on Mo Ning Yuan's painting as she spoke.

Mong Gui sighed, "I never thought Mo Ning Yuan was this complicated. I thought she was just a weak lady from a ruined family."

"Don't underestimate women, Mong Gui. There is no one more relentless, patient, and vicious than a woman. Never let your guard down when dealing with women, especially a woman like Mo Ning Yuan who seems frail and harmless," Lory chuckled as she told the anxious Mong Gui.

"I will remember your teachings, young Madam," He deeply bowed his head. He was genuinely grateful to learn from her.

"What happened to Mo Ning Yuan's biological mother?" Lory realized there was not much information on the woman.

"The Mo matriarch lost her mind after her son's death. She used to cause a ruckus in her courtyard. They had no choice but to restrain her and even locked her up as the situation worsened," Mong Gui said.

Lory let out a long sigh, "Poor woman…"

"But I recently heard the Mo matriarch's condition is getting better. The only thing is her intelligence has regressed to a toddler's," Mong Gui shook his head. He pitied the woman as she used to be beautiful and elegant.

"So, the main Mo family is held by Mo Ning Yuan alone?" Lory frowned. She couldn't imagine how hard it could be, especially if Mo Ning Yuan was not trained to lead from childhood. Most women in this world were not expected to become successors of their families.

"Could this be the reason she used the man from the Chen family to help her?" Mong Gui contemplated.

"Perhaps… but we should first know how long their relationship has been going on. Find out if this Chen was there from the beginning or is there was someone else before?" 

"Yes, young Madam!" Mong Gui had not thought that far. He was amazed by Lory's fore thinking.

"By the way, do you know about the Forbidden Library at the top of the mountain?" Lory shifted the conversation.

"Yes, Milord also asked about this," Mong Gui said. There was something about the library that baffled Mong Gui. "The truth is I don't know why the place is highly guarded. There are multiple layers of protective arrays with experts guarding every inch of the library. Only those who have permits by the elders can enter the library. All I know about the place is old scrolls are the only things inside the place."

"That's very… suspicious," Lory tilted her head with puzzlement. If the map was the only thing they were hiding in the library, they could have easily taken it and hidden it somewhere else without others being the wiser. It seemed like something else was going on. They were hiding something more important than an old map in the library. 

"Young Madam, what are you thinking?"

Lory snapped out of her thoughts and shook her head, "Nothing… We should focus on the noble families first and see what happens later. Oh, about the permits… who gives out the library permits?" 

Mo Ning Yuan said she was able to get the permit but the place was more guarded than Lory initially thought. It seemed it was not an easy task. Which made her wonder why Mo Ning Yuan was confident she could get one.

"Only the elders from Xie and Nan families have the authority," Mong Gui answered.

Lory scratched her head with vexation. She needed to watch Mo Ning Yuan more closely as everything was connected to her.