"Old Cheng!"
"My lord!"
With just a calm remark from Qin Junxing, Old Cheng immediately fell silent.
The county prince twirled the cup in his hand and cast a cold - eyed look, his tone tinged with a hint of chill. "Were you doing that on purpose just now?"
He had been in the capital for many years. When he wasn't in the capital, how come this man never seemed to have any trouble handling things?
How could a mere Zhang family member throw him into such a panic this time?
Hearing his lord's tone, Old Cheng's expression turned solemn. He lifted his robe and knelt down. "Your subordinate admits the mistake, but I don't regret what I did!"
Qin Junxing's eyes narrowed slightly, his tone menacing. "If you can't give me a reason... Old Cheng, you know my rules. If it weren't for the fact that you were my mother's man, you wouldn't be here right now!"
"The princess gave the Lingfeng Tower to you, so your subordinate is now yours! Please listen to me, and after that, I'll go and take my punishment myself!"
Qin Junxing squinted his eyes, stared at him for a while, and uttered a single word.
"Speak!"
"My lord, the young lady from the Marquis of Dingguo's Mansion is not a suitable match. Please think twice!"
After Old Cheng finished speaking, he felt a sudden chill around him. The atmosphere in the room instantly turned cold.
"Old Cheng, since when has it been your turn to comment on my marriage!" Qin Junxing's gaze gradually turned colder, and his imposing manner filled the room. Soon, cold sweat broke out on Old Cheng's forehead.
Even so, Old Cheng didn't change his words. "My lord, you clearly know that the old marquis of the Marquis of Dingguo's Mansion was involved in the death of the old master. If Miss Xie becomes the mistress of the Zhou family in the future, the old master will surely rest uneasily in the underworld!"
"Humph!" Qin Junxing was so angry that he laughed. "Old Cheng, I know you're a servant of the Zhou family, but remember, now you have the surname 'Qin', and so do I."
"My lord..."
"Shut up!" The man who had been chatting merrily just now suddenly became full of hostility. He glared at Old Cheng. "Don't forget, I got this surname because the Zhou family asked the imperial grandmother to bestow it on me."
"Those who always covet things that don't belong to them shouldn't blame others when they suffer retribution!"
"Survival of the fittest. If he can't rest in peace, the person he should blame has already gone down to accompany him. What does it matter to me!"
Qin Junxing's contemptuous tone deeply hurt Old Cheng.
"But my lord, the emperor won't let you marry the young lady from the Xie family. Now that you've established a foothold in the capital, why bother to defy the emperor for this matter!"
"Humph, Old Cheng, you're so naive!" Qin Junxing scoffed, self - deprecatingly. "Do you think establishing a foothold by feigning madness counts as truly having a foothold?"
Old Cheng was stunned. He dealt with merchants all day long. Even though the guests he interacted with were either wealthy or noble, he didn't understand the intricacies of the court.
Wasn't it said that his lord was highly trusted by the emperor and that the emperor treated him well?
"Old Cheng, you've managed the Lingfeng Tower very well. From now on, you don't need to interfere in other matters. I'll send Qingyin to help you. When the time comes, you can just hand over the news about the court to her."
"My lord!" Old Cheng suddenly looked up, staring at Qin Junxing in disbelief.
Did his lord not trust him anymore?
Qin Junxing didn't look at him and continued.
"Previously, my mother asked you to manage the Lingfeng Tower, and you did a great job in business, which shows that you have a good head for business. Now I'm entrusting all my industries to you. These are not only related to what I'm going to do in the future but also to the military supplies for the million - strong army in the northern border. Can you guarantee that there won't be any mistakes?"
Over the years, the emperor had been wary of his mother's power. Every year, only two or three - tenths of the military supplies were allocated to the northern border.
The border was bitterly cold. To feed such a large army, fight against the barbarians, and defend the country's borders, the soldiers couldn't be short of supplies.
He wasn't good at business. If he could multiply the industries in his hands, perhaps the military supplies for the northern border soldiers wouldn't be a concern in the future!
Old Cheng originally thought that Qin Junxing was going to take away his power, but he didn't expect to be entrusted with an important task.
Over the years, working under the princess, although he had never been to the front line, he could vaguely know the situation in the northern border. Naturally, he knew the significance of these industries to his lord. Immediately, his expression became a bit excited. He kowtowed and said, "Your subordinate will surely live up to your trust."
"Get up!" Qin Junxing turned his back to Old Cheng and looked at the cheering crowd in the main hall.
His voice was tinged with exhaustion. "As long as the military power in the northern border is in my mother's hands, my emperor uncle will never truly trust me. But the day when we hand over the military power will be our death day. You need to weigh the relationship yourself. The business in your hands mustn't let anyone detect any connection with me or the Princess's Mansion."
"Today, you recklessly revealed my identity in front of outsiders. This is a big taboo. You can go and take your punishment later."
Old Cheng was shocked. A look of shame appeared on his face. He really hadn't thought things through today. He sincerely admitted his mistake. "It was my subordinate's oversight. Please forgive me, my lord!"
"You really didn't think it through!" Qin Junxing turned around and stared straight at Old Cheng. "If you mention the Zhou family again in the future, you don't need to stay by my side anymore!"
Old Cheng knew that yearning for the old master was a big taboo, but his lord had the blood of the Zhou family in his veins. Why did he think so too?
Seeing the sorrow on Old Cheng's face, Qin Junxing said coldly, "The one sitting on the dragon throne now doesn't have the magnanimity of the imperial grandmother. If you don't want your old master to be dug out and whipped, you'd better hide your thoughts well!"
Old Cheng was jolted and suddenly realized. "Your subordinate remembers!"
"Go down!"
...
On the other side, Qing Ye quietly sent Xie Fengran to the gate of the Xie Mansion. He watched as Xie Fengran entered the gate, and then the carriage sped away as if there was something chasing it from behind!
Lan Fang, who was a step behind, happened to see this scene.
"Miss, why is that guard driving so fast? You mustn't take his carriage again next time!"
Xie Fengran naturally knew the reason but didn't expose it. She nodded. "Don't worry. He won't dare to do it next time!"
She passed through the second gate and walked towards the courtyard. Passing by the garden, she happened to see Zhu Qing leading Xie Chenghui chasing butterflies!
Lan Fang followed Xie Fengran's gaze and saw Zhu Qing jumping around in the garden without getting tired. She said with admiration, "Miss, thanks to Zhu Qing. Otherwise..." This task would probably fall on her and Liu Yi.
Xie Fengran looked at the maid waiting in the pavilion not far away, frowned, and asked, "This can't go on like this. You should hurry up and sort out the roster with Liu Yi to see if there's a suitable person in the mansion. Choose one to be Chenghui's wet - nurse."
"Yes, miss. There are few people in the mansion now. Most of them are in the manor. I'm afraid they may be lacking in etiquette!"
"That won't do either. She must understand the rules and be able to discipline Chenghui. Chenghui is about to start his enlightenment education. He can't be allowed to play recklessly like this in the future."
Lan Fang looked at the young master, who was completely oblivious, with a bit of sympathy. She thought the child was so pitiful!
Xie Fengran didn't have time to think about these things because she was hungry!
After leaving the girls' academy and drinking a bellyful of tea with Qin Junxing in the teahouse, Xie Fengran didn't have the heart to care about Xie Chenghui. Let him have a few days of freedom first!
Lan Fang was also a bit hungry. When they got back to the courtyard, she asked Liu Yi to serve the meal.
"This county prince is really something. He doesn't even know to treat the miss to something to eat. Can drinking just tea fill you up?" He even claimed to like the miss!
Lan Fang looked at Xie Fengran, who was eating snacks after washing her hands, and said with a bit of distress.
Xie Fengran rarely saw Lan Fang complaining. She nodded in agreement. "Lan Fang is right. Next time, I'll definitely make him treat me to a meal!"
After saying that, she felt something was wrong.
Before she could figure it out, the little maid reported at the door.
"Miss, the servant from the gate said that a waiter from Jingyueju at the door sent a whole table of dishes and said it was for the miss. He asked if the miss would like to accept it."