IMPERIAL MATTERS OUTSIDE IMPERIAL WALLS.

     Fei Lin finds his curiosity piqued by this exchange. While it is absolutely none of his business, he can't help but get curious and even a bit excited as this is his first interaction with someone related to Imperial royalty outside the Imperial Grounds.

     Silently flicking the Qi ring on his finger, Fei Lin manages to zoom in on the suspicious duo's position only to be obstructed by a powerful sense blocking barrier that's obviously the result of a high level antique.

     His brows makes a small furrow as he can immediately tell that he's dealing with no ordinary pawn. Although some can afford the cost of expense, no-one carries or uses a high level antique for a casual or shady investigation as moving it around without detection brings about an even more ridiculous level of expenses and planning!

     As an Imperial Prince, his Signet ring is obviously a top tier high level antique but his is conditioned and he doesn't have to manage the cost which once more leaves him in thought.

*PANG*

     Flipping a red piece to capture a black piece he weight almost three options about why there is need for such an high-level artifact for this shady meeting.

     Either the duo are our on a secret Imperial mission they can't take chances to spill.. OR

     They are having a highly important meeting that's B.I.G.. OR,..

*PANG*

     Putting a black piece across the board, Fei Lin rubs his chin with his curiosity rising as he takes in the third possible option.

     The mission and meeting itself is something that must be kept an absolute secret!.

     With a natural expression and a natural gaze that has not for a single moment strayed from the board, Fei Lin rubs his ring while imputing a wave of mana at he sends a massage to his guard.

     Soon, a maid approaches the duo of the veiled woman and the mysterious man with a smile as she brings a tray of specially jaded alcohol kettle and exquisite ceramic shot glasses.

     The barrier disappears for a moment as they grant her entry to their space as the smiling maid greets the duo with a small bow.

     "A special treat, for special people. This is a very rare Rank two wine that mildly settles internal mana. Its main ingredient are gotten from an ancient Qi Mangrove sap of over a thousand years old and other rich flavors complements its fine taste. It is a treat we give to only our first time VIP's..", The maid says with a polite smile still plastered on her face.

     "Thank you..", The man responds with a small polite purse of his lips. The maid bows as if to say its my pleasure before she leaves the duo alone as she soon walks away.

     Another different yet unnoticeable pulse of mana from the mystery man silently scans the jug, the wine and the surroundings before the barrier comes back up.

     'Careful..', Fei Lin nods to himself in silence. *PANG*..*PANG* He gracefully moves another red chip twice on the board while successful eating up two black chips.

     'Unfortunately, the deed is already done..', He says internally as he takes the defeated black pieces off the board.

     He has no shadow but he had contacted his Sworn Knight earlier and he has given her the instructions to slip her contact ring into the jug before it gets served. This task is of course not any problem to a high level Knight.

     While his Sworn Knight's Ring isn't considered a high level antique, it isn't much off and its power cannot be easily detected by Cultivation arts or spells. He highly doubts the mysterious man and veiled woman has another high level antique for detection and so he took a gamble and from what it seems, it has paid off.

     As an Imperial Prince, planning and adaptation is one of his most taught subjects and he's fully using this chess level ability while playing a game of checkers.

     Flicking his Singet ring once more, he effortlessly connects to his Knight's ring despite the high level barrier. With his gaze still on his board game, Fei Lin begins to spy on their conversation.

     "..a lot of bravery delivering a message into the Palace", The veiled woman says as the neutral faced Fei Lin listens in with a buzz in the tone of their words due to slight interference from the barrier.

     " Barely a message, only a coded sentence and even that takes a undeniable hassle. ", The man says with slight indifference yet annoyance in his mannerism.

     "..Who are you people and how dare you reach out to my master so boldly?", The veiled woman speaks in a harsh tone but the man was obviously not buying it as he replies calmly.

     "And yet,.. here you are."

     Listening in on them, Fei Lin is not only able to confirm that they are from the Imperial Palace and they are in relation to a member of the Imperial family but he is also able to confirm the fact that something is seriously off.

     The messages flowing in and out of the Palace isn't exactly controlled or monitored so for them to have gone through such lengths like they've just spoken of means thar either the message or sender must never be discovered from fear of retaliation!.

*PANG*

     Confirming this, Fei Lin casually moves a black chip on the board in order to trap a red one.

     The veiled woman looks at the man in front of her for a uncomfortable while before speaking once more but with slight icy chill in her tone this time.

     "What do you want?..", She asks with her voice even and her gaze sharp and proud..

     "Wrong question, You should be asking 'What do we have?' and the answer to that is 'exactly what you need'. Power, influence, resources, information and finally, significance.". The man answers confidently with his presentation very impressive but his response only seems to anger the veiled woman even more as the ice in her stare intensifies.

     "What.. do.. you.. want?..", The veiled woman asks slowly once more obviously not swayed by the man's appeal.

     "We want to help the princess become an Empress..", The man finally responds after a second of silence. Hearing this, Imperial Prince Fei Lin brows slightly furrow as he already creates the most likely possibilities in his mind with his signals pointing to one specific direction.

*PANG*

     With his mind spinning, he moves another red piece across the board.

     "Then the first step to that would be telling us who exactly you are..", The veiled woman says while almost giving the impression that she has the upper hand in this exchange.

     "Judging by the methods we used for communication I think you can tell that we aren't exactly in the side with light but trust us when we say that our intentions are. We want to invest heavily in the princess but in exchange we want certain discussable compromises before and after she sits on the throne..", The man says calmly.

     "Why are you so sure that whatever 'investment' you can fork out would guarantee the Princess's Crowning?.." – The Veiled Woman asks almost with mockery in her tone.

     "Without our investment, what are the chances that the princess would sit on the throne?..", The man shoots back as the coldness in the veiled woman's eyes returns with a new found intensity!.