Li Ming stared at the group of people who were sitting around the table where she had been resting just a few minutes ago.

Looked like she won't be able to have peace at all. The entire day was a struggle for her as she first visited the Dongji village, then the Capital city of the Wang Empire, and then the Tea house.

She was currently in the Black Jade Inn and finally had gotten some time to rest after taking a look over the business data of the past two and a half months.

Who knew that as soon as she closed her eyes to have some rest, a group of seven Young Masters of the Noble families of the Han Empire would storm inside the Black Jade Inn to find her.

Who the hell even told them about her return?

It was becoming harder for her to keep the facade up. Almost everyone had noticed the change and she could notice the suspicion and worry in their eyes.

She let out a frustrated sigh as she glared at Elder Fu who immediately disappeared from her sight in the name of bringing refreshments for the Young Masters.

Did not she order him to not let anyone disturb her even if the entire Inn was under fire? Then why he could not follow such a simple instruction?

It was around seven o'clock in the evening and the Black Jade Inn was bustling with customers.

During the winter season the previous year, she had expanded the area of the inn as the number of customers kept increasing rapidly.

Currently, there were two dining halls in the black jade inn. The one on the ground floor was always open for regular customers and could accommodate around fifty to sixty people at one time.

On the other hand, the dining area on the second floor was a little bit expensive as it provided more privacy and could only be used by the special guests of the Inn.

The living quarters were located on the third, fourth, and fifth floors.

"Are you gonna say something or just going to keep sitting there like a statue?"

The sudden cold voice that entered her ears brought her focus back to the Young Masters as each one of them stared at her with questioning eyes.

It was Wei Min who had spoken. His eyes staring at her accusingly.

Yep! All of them were unhappy about her sudden disappearance even when they were the ones who shared the details about the Snow Fields with her in the first place.

She wanted to stay silent, to complete the dare that was given to her by Ruoshan, but looking at the accusing eyes of her best friends she was suddenly facing a dilemma.

She could choose to stay quiet and indifferent and end up with a bunch of angry friends, or she could toss the dare out of the window and end up losing the challenge.

After thinking for a while she decided to save herself from the anger of her friends.

"Don't be so angry guys. I'm too tired after working my ass off the entire day. You should not be passing me those glares, it almost broke my fragile heart." Li Ming said while making puppy eyes.

Since her veil was back and they could not see the lower half of her face, therefore pouting was a completely useless tactic. Thank God, she had another weapon in her possession, her puppy eyes.

"Aish! Stop pretending and you are becoming more and more brazen by the day. You should act like a Young Miss. If you keep acting like this then how will we find a good husband for you?" Wei Rong reprimanded her immediately.

A smile formed on Li Ming's lips but of course, it was hidden from the eyes of her friends due to the veil.

"Brother Rong, why I would need a husband when I have so many brothers? Or are you trying to imply that you can't take care of me for the rest of your life? Have I become baggage on you?" Her tone came out filled with sadness and her eyes which suddenly appeared glossy due to the unshed tears played their part perfectly.

"You...!" Wei Rong was left completely speechless by the sudden change in her expressions.

"Alright! Stop acting. I can see that you have finally become a master in acting. No need to play your games anymore." The Eldest Young Master of the General manor said as he shook his head.

A chuckle broke out from her lips as Li Ming's expression returned to its normal self.

"Brother Rong, you are forgetting about the main reason for which we came here." Jing Lin suddenly spoke out as he looked at Wei Rong with worried eyes.

Li Ming raised her eyebrows at Jing Lin's words as she asked, "Huh? I thought you guys came here today to meet me since it's been quite some time since we last enjoyed each other's company. Who knew that all of this was just my wishful thinking. Tsk tsk, my fragile heart is really on the verge of breaking down into tiny tiny...OUCH!"

She suddenly shouted as a cherry hit her directly in the center of her forehead.

She glared at Wei Min as she picked up the cherry which almost gave her a concussion.

Alright, that was too much, right?

"Now you have also started hitting me. Huh!" She muttered in a low voice but it was loud enough to be heard by each of the Young Masters.

"I don't know why such rumors were traveling across the city about you. As far as we can see you are completely fine. Except for your overacting, there's nothing wrong with you." Wei Min said as he looked at her from head to toe as if checking something.

"What do you mean?" Li Ming asked him curiously, completely neglecting the part where he called her an overactor.

"Girl, you have no idea but there are weird rumors about you that are spread across the city. I was passing by the Minghue Tea House when we heard some people talking about how most of the staff members of the Teahouse were looking worried. I decided to visit the Teahouse after talking to the young manager I find out that they had experienced something weird in your behavior." Wei Min told her.

"Then I met with the others and told them everything. We got to know from the young manager that you are here in the Black Jade Inn, so we immediately came here to make sure that you are alright. But even Elder Fu and Madam were looking worried when we asked about you." Jing Lin added.

"Yeah, but looks like everything is alright. You are completely fine." Yue Zhe also added his part.

The rest of the Young Masters quickly nodded their heads as they all agreed.

"But I still can't understand why such rumors are spreading about you? And more importantly why everyone was looking so worried and even afraid? Hey girl, be honest and tell us exactly what you have done." Wei Rong asked as he looked at her with suspicious eyes.

"How would I know that? As you can see I'm completely fine and I have done exactly nothing to anyone. I don't even know that there is such kind of rumors spreading about me." Li Ming quickly defended herself.

It was not the first time when she had become a hot topic for the people of the city.

The first time was when she opened the doors of the Black Jade Inn for a special lunch for the very first time. She instantly became a hit topic that day.

The second time was when the Forth Prince of the Han Empire visited her inn.

Then when she opened the Minghue Tea House and ever since then she had become a constant topic of their discussion.

"Don't know why but I am not able to make myself trust you this time. We have known you from the very time when you appeared in the black market and we have seen your craftiness with our own eyes as well as been victim to it too. There's no way you are a complete innocent in all this. Nope!"

Wei Rong shook his head as he looked at her as if trying to read her mind and find out what was actually going on.

Unfortunately, it was Li Ming who had the ability of mind reading and not the Eldest Young Master of the General manor.

Li Ming scoffed at Wei Rong's accusations as she replied, "You guys are really something, calling me crafty and other such things. What kind of brothers are you all?"

"Miss Li!"

Suddenly a loud shout pierced the calm environment, making everyone jump in fright.

Li Ming turned her hand to look at the old madam who came running towards her with eyes filled with tears.

What on earth was going on?