Ning Chen took the secret letter from Xie Siyu and opened it. One glance, and he gave a soft snort.

He'd seen this letter before. It was Kang Baobao's random jottings.

Ning Chen looked at Xie Siyu. "Who sent this out?"

"A maid for the rough work."

"Where is she?"

Xie Siyu didn't answer. He looked past Ning Chen.

Ning Chen turned around and saw Hua Linglong coming in, hauling someone along.

She walked up and dumped the maid on the floor... The woman was already out cold.

Xie Siyu said, "She's the one who sent the letter out of the residence by carrier pigeon."

Ning Chen grunted, then turned his attention to the man Xie Siyu had caught.

The man was in his forties and decent-looking, and between that and his clothes, he was clearly no ordinary commoner.

Ning Chen asked, "Who are you?"

The man glanced at Ning Chen, his eyes full of fear. He seemed to know exactly who was standing in front of him.

"Goddammit, you think you can play deaf and dumb in front of the prince?"

Feng Qizheng flew into a rage. He stepped up, raised his foot and stamped down hard. There was a crack, and the middle-aged man's shin snapped.

"Ahh... my leg, my leg..."

He screamed like a pig on the block and rolled around on the floor, clutching his shin.

Ning Chen said coldly, "Keep your mouth shut, and you'll lose the other leg too."

Feng Qizheng lifted his foot again, his face savage. "Talking or not?"

The middle-aged man shrieked in terror. "Spare me, my lord prince, spare me! This small man's name is Guo Wan, and I'm a flower selector. Have mercy, my lord prince..."

Everyone was taken aback to hear the man was a flower selector.

Feng Qizheng's voice rumbled like thunder. "You're a flower selector?"

Guo Wan nodded, trembling.

Ning Chen was curious too. He'd heard of flower selectors, but he'd never seen one.

Flower selectors came from the Flower Selection Office.

The Flower Selection Office had been set up by the Great Xuan's founding emperor…