16 Chapter Fifteen

Startled, the guards quickly followed suit and leaped out the window too.

It was a miracle that, with the manor's tight security, nobody noticed the presence of any of those guards, or even Yu You Lei who was a cultivation wastrel.

Yu You Lei flew over the walls and out her courtyard with six guards following her in the shadows.

Her light blue dress fluttered in the wind as she made her way over to her second brother's courtyard.

Avoiding the guards surrounding Yu Yuan Fu's manor was no easy feat, but Yu You Lei managed to do so with some effort.

Landing gracefully on the roof of her brother's house, she took a moment to compose herself before dangling from her legs and knocking on her brother's window.

Yu You Lei jumped off the roof the moment she heard movement from inside the house, and silently landed in front of the door.

She checked to see the guards were there one last time, before putting a innocent expression on her face and knocking on it.

From her memories, this Second Brother of hers didn't bully her, but didn't really help her out either. Yu Yuan Fu simply sat on the fence, occasionally offering Yu You Lei help if things got too out of hand, but usually just sitting by and watching.

Yu You Lei was sure that, with some persuasion, she could extort some of his money.

First, she could try the innocent and weak act. However, she was almost certain he wouldn't fall for it. He himself was probably a good actor, and Yu You Lei didn't want to bother with all the fake tears and whatnot.

If the act didn't work, then she could always use other ways to persuade him. She did have some herbs on hand, after all.

The door opened up to reveal a servant.

"Fifth Young Miss?" The servant seemed shocked for a moment, before bowing slightly.

Yu You Lei offered him a small smile, asking, "Is Second Brother around? I'd like to see him."

The servant hesitated for a moment, before opening the door wider.

"Please come in, Fifth Young Miss. This servant will go inform the Second Young Master." The servant spoke, gesturing to the seats in the main hall.

Yu You Lei nodded, not making things hard for the servant. She knew that brother of hers was always either playing the zither, writing, cultivating or dealing with finances and such.

Yu Yuan Fu was probably practicing his zither skills now, as the Crown Prince's birthday was coming up soon. There was bound to be a banquet, and the chance of him being pulled up to perform was very high.

Sure enough, when Yu You Lei sat down, she heard the faint sound of a zither coming from somewhere deeper inside the house. Another servant went off to brew her a cup of tea as she waited, listening closely to the melody Yu Yuan Fu was playing.

A disappointed look flashed by her eyes after a minute of listening, but Yu You Lei quickly covered it up.

Yu Yuan Fu's skills could be considered top-notch in most people's eyes, but for a perverted genius like her, he was still a bit lacking.

Yu You Lei let out a sigh as she took a sip of her tea and sank into her seat. Looks like Yu Yuan Fu wasn't as skilled at playing the zither as she thought he would be.

The servant standing by her side couldn't tell if it was a sigh of satisfaction or disappointment, and almost cried. In the past, Yu You Lei had visited her brother once or twice to try and get some money from him.

Each time, she was denied it and could only vent her anger on the servants, leaving an everlasting impression on them.

This was why the servant at the door had hesitated when letting her in. From past experiences, he knew she would only cause a ruckus every time she entered the residence.

The distant sound of the zither playing stopped, and footsteps echoed down the hallway.

Yu You Lei couldn't hold back a frown when she heard the two sets of footsteps. Even a wastrel like her was able to walk silently, yet her brother's footsteps were actually so loud.

It seemed like if she wanted to get him on her side, she'd need to groom him some more.

Yu You Lei placed down her cup of tea, mentally preparing herself.

Taking a deep breath, she placed the naive expression back onto her face.

Yu Yuan Fu's servant appeared before Yu You Lei first, and bowed slightly, proceeding to stop a few meters away from her.

One set of footsteps remained, and Yu You Lei was certain they were her brother's.

Sure enough, the sound of footsteps stopped as soon as Yu Yuan Fu sat on a chair opposite of Yu You Lei.

"Greetings, Second Brother." Yu You Lei sent a small smile at Yu Yuan Fu, earning a nod in return. After exchanging some superficial greetings, silence befell the room.

"Is Fifth Sister alright?" Yu Yuan Fu asked after a moment of consideration. Yu You Lei brightened up at his question.

"Just a bit weak. . . I came over to ask a favor of you, Second Brother!" Yu You Lei said, not bothering to hide her intentions.

Before Yu Yuan Fu could get a single word in, Yu You Lei continued speaking.

"It's like this- I need some money from you." Yu Yuan Fu's face darkened considerably at her words, just as she expected.

Yu You Lei let a trace of shame and guilt enter her eyes as she looked down to 'cover' it up.

"I-I hope Second Brother can understand, I need it to buy herbs so I can get better soon. . ." Yu You Lei tried to explain. It wasn't exactly a lie, was it?

Without even bothering hear the rest of her excuse, Yu Yuan Fu shut her up with a cold "No."

As an actor himself, Yu You Lei's effortless attempt at trying to deceive him didn't work in the slightest.

Knowing her plot was seen through, Yu You Lei simply sighed, accepting her fate peacefully.

She stared at Yu Yuan Fu, and pouted in one last attempt to win him over. All he did was scoff and look away, already knowing what she was playing at.

Sighing once more, Yu You Lei decided it was about time she resorted to her actual plan instead of keeping up this facade for any longer.

The two had somewhat reached a tactic understanding of each other, so when Yu You Lei motioned to the servants in the room with her eyes, Yu Yuan Fu immediately sent all of them out.

Yu You Lei similarly waved her guards off, leaving them once again to sit in a tree with their backs turned.

Once this was done, Yu You Lei leaned forward, a small smirk playing on her face.