Qin Junxing was so angry that he laughed coldly. He spat out a single word, "Get out!"
However, he had no intention of punishing her. Lingqing naturally knew how to read his expression and quickly backed out.
Qingye, who had been waiting at the door all the time, was a bit indignant when he saw that Lingqing hadn't been punished. "Why weren't you punished?"
Lingqing gave him a contemptuous look and sneered, "It's just because you're stupid!"
"..."
In the Marquis of Dingguo's Mansion, Xie Fengran wasn't as angry as Qin Junxing had imagined. She just felt a bit strange.
One's life and fortune!
These four weighty words made Xie Fengran unable to take them lightly.
After a moment of thought, she understood the significance of Lingfeng Teahouse to Qin Junxing.
Maybe that place wasn't just a teahouse.
But why was Qin Junxing so certain that she wouldn't tell anyone?
After all, she had always disliked him before. She herself hadn't expected that this man would trust her so much!
What did it feel like to be trusted?
Xie Fengran thought of Sun Yuelan and her brother. They had always trusted and supported each other.
But the trust from Qin Junxing felt different. It was heavy, with a kind of inexplicable self - satisfaction and pressure!
Yes, pressure!
Xie Fengran ran her fingers through her hair impatiently. She glanced at the box on the table and then shifted her gaze.
After thinking for a while, she looked at the box again. She reached out her hand to touch it but withdrew it the moment her hand touched the box.
After repeating this several times, Hexiang finally couldn't stand it anymore. She walked over and asked, "Miss, shall this servant put the box away for you?"
As she said this, she reached out her hand to take the box.
"Don't touch it!"
Xie Fengran gave a soft shout. Hexiang withdrew her hand as if she had been electrocuted. She wanted to apologize, but saw that Xie Fengran seemed to ignore her. Xie Fengran picked up the box on her own and murmured, "This is one's life and fortune. If I drop it, I won't be able to compensate even if I sell myself!"
Hexiang was so frightened that her face turned pale. She patted her chest.
So close! She had almost touched the miss's life and fortune just now!
Xie Fengran naturally didn't know what she was thinking. She muttered to herself and went into the inner room. She found the box where she usually put her precious jewelry and placed the box at the very bottom. After thinking for a while, she called Hexiang and asked her to find two big locks to lock it up!
After doing all this, Xie Fengran completely forgot about returning this thing. Instead, she called Zhuqing and ordered, "Go and find your senior brother!"
Three days had passed. It was time for him to make a decision.
When Zhuqing's senior brother came, Xie Fengran had just finished dinner and was taking a walk in the garden to digest.
The gentle evening breeze in April blew through the corridors, caressing people's bodies softly and blowing up the hair on their temples.
The charming young girl, who had just reached adulthood, had a faint smile on her face. Watching the children playing nearby, it seemed that the spring evening scenery had become a mere backdrop.
Zhuye followed Zhuqing and turned a corner through an arch. This was the scene he saw.
For a moment, he even felt reluctant to disturb her. But his silly junior sister rushed over without thinking and called out crisply, "Miss!"
Xie Fengran turned around and saw the tall and strong man behind Zhuqing. She raised her eyebrows and smiled. In an instant, it was like the flowers were blooming in spring. "Zhuqing, you're back?"
"Yes, Miss. Senior brother is here!"
Xie Fengran nodded. Looking at the man behind Zhuqing, she pointed to a pavilion not far away. "Please come to the pavilion for a talk, Chief."
The garden in the Marquis's Mansion was not in the inner courtyard. The pavilion was surrounded by water on three sides and there was a flowerbed on the other side. There was no place to hide anyone, and people outside could see what they were doing. Moreover, there were all of Xie Fengran's people around, so there was naturally no need to have too many concerns!
Zhuye nodded and followed Xie Fengran into the pavilion.
Lanfang came in, served the tea, and then silently retreated.
Xie Fengran pointed to the seat opposite her and said, "Chief, please sit!"
"This subordinate doesn't dare. Please, Miss, call this subordinate by name directly."
Xie Fengran was taken aback. "You want me to call you by your name. Well, at least you should tell me what your name is first, right?"
Zhuye felt a bit embarrassed. He hadn't expected that his junior sister hadn't even mentioned this. He said in a muffled voice, "This subordinate's name is Zhuye!"
"Oh! Zhuye. Okay, sit down and talk first!"
Zhuye clasped his fists and sat down opposite Xie Fengran.
Xie Fengran nodded in satisfaction. This was right. She didn't like looking up at others either.
Seeing that Zhuye was so cooperative, she didn't beat around the bush anymore. She directly asked, "Chief Zhuye, have you made a decision about the proposal I mentioned last time?"
Xie Fengran emphasized the word "Chief", and the meaning was self - evident!
Zhuye pursed his lips. His expression was serious. "This subordinate and the others will swear to be loyal to the master until death!"
"You don't need to play dumb with me. You should know what I mean when you come here today. If you still say this, it's really insincere!"
Suddenly, Zhuye looked up at Xie Fengran. There was an indescribable look in his eyes.
Just when Xie Fengran thought that he would resist her with silence to the end, Zhuye suddenly spoke up, "May this subordinate ask the miss a question? You're a young lady in the inner courtyard. This subordinate wonders where you would need the services of this subordinate and the others."
In his opinion, the only reason Xie Fengran wanted him was to investigate the trivial matters among the women in the inner courtyard. For them now, these things were a waste of their talents.
Although Zhuye was smart, he was honest and straightforward by nature. He didn't hide his expression much, and Xie Fengran saw it clearly.
She immediately looked serious. She glanced at Zhuye and said, "Chief Zhuye, although the women in the inner courtyard don't deal with major matters, they can influence the occurrence of those major events. Although I have no grand ambitions, I also want to have the means to protect myself. Especially when I'm in the middle of a game, I don't want to be inexplicably killed!"
Her current situation was like being surrounded by wolves, all of them eyeing her covetously. Plus, there was her grandmother...
Now the mansion was under the control of her grandmother. Everyone in the mansion was on her grandmother's side. If her grandmother forced her to marry someone in the future, she wouldn't even have the room to resist.
This feeling was really bad!
Zhuye paused for a moment. He seemed to be surprised by Xie Fengran's words. After thinking for a while, he asked again, "Does the miss know how much the Marquis's Mansion has spent on supplying the Bloodthirsty Guards over the years? If this subordinate and the others all belong to the miss in the future, how does the miss plan to deal with this sum of money?"
Xie Fengran looked deeply at Zhuye and said, "Chief Zhuye, you don't need to worry about this. Since I'm determined to have you follow me, I naturally have a way to support you. I will surely make your situation no worse than before."
After saying this, she added, "I won't use the mansion's silver."
Zhuye had done errands for Xie Fengran before. He naturally knew that she had money, and it wasn't a small amount. But he didn't know where a young lady in the boudoir got this money from. However, now that he heard her promise, he had no intention of probing.
Immediately, he lifted his robe and knelt on one knee. "This subordinate, Zhuye, pays respects to the master!"
It was "master", not "miss".
Xie Fengran raised her eyebrows and waved her hand. "Chief, there's no need for such formalities. Get up!"
"Yes!"
Zhuye looked up and met Xie Fengran's clear eyes. He just felt that his heart became a bit brighter.
He said in a deep voice, "Master, this subordinate has something to say. I don't know if I should say it or not."
"Just say it!"
"Master, the Prince of the Princess's Mansion has repeatedly said that he wants to marry you. He has other motives!"
"Do you mean Qin Junxing?"
Zhuye nodded. As if he knew Xie Fengran's doubts, he explained, "My master once served beside the old marquis for a while and knew some things about the old marquis.
"Master should know that the Prince Qin takes the surname of the Eldest Princess. The Eldest Princess's husband is from the Zhou Family. He is the legitimate son of the Zhou Family and was also a disciple of the old marquis. The old marquis and the old master of the Zhou Family were confidants of each other."
"Confidants of each other?" Xie Fengran slowly savored this sentence. It was very meaningful. However, "I haven't heard of any powerful Zhou Family in the capital nowadays?"
How could a man who married the Eldest Princess be so unknown?
"Because the Zhou Family no longer exists." Zhuye silently added and continued, "When the current emperor ascended the throne, the Zhou husband - in - law rebelled. The current emperor was merciful and only executed the entire Zhou Family. He didn't implicate the other clan members!"