Xie Fengran followed Qingye into the backyard of the Lingfeng Teahouse and then entered an unassuming low - lying room.
There was a row of bookshelves covering an entire wall of this room. In front of the bookshelves was a desk scattered with papers. There was still unused ink in the inkstone. It seemed this was the study of the teahouse.
But where was Qin Junxing?
Xie Fengran scanned the furnishings in the room and asked with some confusion, "You..." Before she could finish her words,
Qingye, who had been following behind her, quickly walked behind the desk and gently touched a mural on the wall behind it. Then the entire bookshelf began to slowly move.
This sudden change left Xie Fengran and her maid stunned. For a moment, they even forgot to stop it. It wasn't until the bookshelf was fully opened, revealing a dark door behind it.
Qingye stood beside the door, bowed to Xie Fengran, and said, "Miss, our master is waiting for you below!"
"Your master..." Xie Fengran looked at the dark door. Her hand clutching the handkerchief tightened. With a rather ugly expression on her face, she looked at Qingye and asked, "What does your master mean by this?"
"Miss, please don't misunderstand. This is just a secret passage. Behind it is the place where our master usually lives. Since this matter is of great importance, our master sent me to invite you here!"
"Humph." Xie Fengran snorted and wasn't easily convinced. "The place your master has so secretly concealed, and you tell me about it. Aren't you afraid I'll tell others?"
Hearing this, Qingye bent even lower and said, "Our master said that the miss is a trustworthy person."
"Trustworthy? I think he just relies on giving a generous hush - money!" Xie Fengran said resentfully, and a hint of conflict flashed in her eyes.
Qin Junxing had sent Qingye to bring her to his lair. He must have counted on her curiosity!
Qingye didn't urge her and just waited for Xie Fengran to make a decision.
After hesitating for a while, Xie Fengran gritted her teeth and took a step forward.
Anyway, when she asked him for help, they had already become intertwined. Since they were in the same boat,
she really had to see what this grasshopper, Qin Junxing, was really like in full!
Qingye didn't know what she was thinking. Seeing that she was finally willing to enter, he let out a sigh of relief and eagerly led the way in front of Xie Fengran.
Behind them, Hexiang followed nervously. She clung tightly to Xie Fengran's arm and didn't let go for a single step.
After they entered the secret passage, the bookshelf behind them automatically returned to its original position, and the room fell back into silence.
After walking for about half the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, it suddenly opened up in front of them. A ray of skylight shone down from above.
Suddenly seeing the light, Xie Fengran felt her eyes very uncomfortable and raised her hand to block it.
When she lowered her hand, she saw Qin Junxing smiling at the corner of his mouth, looking at her not far away.
The noble young man in the light was extremely handsome. The unruly spirit unique to the desert and the nobility of the capital in him were perfectly blended. His smile made people's hearts flutter.
Xie Fengran suppressed the inexplicable flutter in her heart and sneered, "Your Highness, you're really calculating!"
Qin Junxing pretended not to hear and took a step forward. "Ranran is here. I'll take you to meet someone."
Like punching into cotton, Xie Fengran didn't know how to continue the argument and could only follow him resentfully.
After walking a few steps, Xie Fengran found that this place was very spacious, as if an entire courtyard had been moved underground.
Qin Junxing had been observing the reaction of the people around him. Seeing this, he casually explained, "This was renovated by the people my mother left in the capital. It's connected to the underground secret passages in the capital, which are criss - crossed. After it was passed on to me, I modified the secret passages and built several such places as resting places."
"Are there really secret passages in the capital?"
"Of course. The secret passages in the capital were built by the founding emperor. After they were built, only each successive emperor knew the exits, entrances, and the specific blueprints of the secret passages."
"I see." Xie Fengran nodded, but soon reacted. She suddenly turned to look at Qin Junxing and asked in disbelief, "Then how do you know... Does the current emperor know about this secret passage?"
Qin Junxing hooked the corner of his mouth, and the smile in his eyes deepened. He said meaningfully, "Do you think if my good uncle knew, would we still be here now?"
"Let's go! We're almost there!"
Xie Fengran looked at the figure walking in front of her, and her heart was in turmoil.
If this secret passage was passed down from Emperor Dezong to the Grand Princess, then does it mean...
"Ranran, we're here."
Xie Fengran looked up. In front of her was a torture chamber. Vaguely, she could see a person locked inside.
She looked at Qin Junxing with some confusion.
Qin Junxing explained, "This man claims to be an old servant of the Marquis Mansion, one who served beside the old Marquis Xie. He refuses to say anything else. To ensure safety, I had to lock him up here."
Xie Fengran nodded to show her understanding. Qin Junxing waved his hand, and the man was brought out.
When the man came in front of them, Xie Fengran found that it was none other than the old eunuch she had seen at the racecourse yesterday. He looked much cleaner today, but his face was still very unfamiliar.
So she shook her head and said, "I don't know him!"
But unexpectedly, the old eunuch was very excited when he saw Xie Fengran. He trembled and opened his mouth. "Miss, Miss Sun!"
"Since you claim to be an old servant of the Marquis Mansion, who are you?"
The old eunuch kowtowed on the ground. "This old servant is Xie Sheng. Greetings to Miss Sun!"
"Xie Sheng?" Xie Fengran was a bit dazed. "You call me Miss Sun? Xie... Xie Sheng!"
Xie Fengran shouted in disbelief. "You're the former chief steward of the Marquis Mansion, Xie Sheng? Weren't you dead? How did you end up like this?"
Since she could remember, Xie Sheng had been gone. But from the servants in the Marquis Mansion, she knew that this chief steward had served her grandfather since childhood. He was the most just and strict person and had managed the Marquis Mansion in an orderly manner.
But hadn't he died accidentally?
"This old servant is useless! This old servant is useless!" Xie Sheng was in tears and choked with sobs. "If I hadn't seen Miss Sun at the racecourse, this old servant didn't know how long I would have to live on in ignominy. This old servant is useless!"
"How did you recognize me?"
Xie Sheng wiped his tears. Seeing the caution in Xie Fengran's eyes, he felt both sad and a bit proud. He explained, "Miss Sun looks very much like Lady Yun."
He still remembered that back then, Lady Yun was just a humble civilian girl from the southern border. Once she entered the capital, she amazed so many noble young men in the capital. Her beauty was still vivid in his memory.
Miss Sun looked three - tenths like her father and seven - tenths like her mother, so she was easy to recognize.
The caution in Xie Fengran's eyes lessened a bit. Then she asked several old things about the Marquis Mansion, and Xie Sheng answered them one by one. Only then did Xie Fengran believe that this man was really the chief steward of the Marquis Mansion.
Seeing that Xie Fengran had finished asking, Xie Sheng felt a sense of pride as if his own daughter had grown up. He took out something from his bosom and handed it over.
Xie Fengran didn't take it and asked, "What is this?"
Xie Sheng wiped his eyes and said sadly, "This is the Marquis's last will!"