"Well then, let's call it a day. Thank you for your help, Lady Bai Yueyue." Zhou Qing said, standing up. Bai Yueyue followed suit.

As soon as the two arrived at the door, it was opened by the servants. Bai Yueyue looked at the phone in Zhou Qing's hand and realized that Zhou Qing had sent a message to his personal attendant.

To their surprise, Li Jieyue was waiting at the door.

"Mother," Bai Yueyue said, bowing.

“Lady Li Jieyue,” Zhou Qing said calmly.

"Yueyue, go find your godfather first. I need to speak with Lord Zhou Qing," Li Jieyue said.

"Yes, Mother."

After Bai Yueyue left with Hu Meier's help, Li Jieyue looked at Zhou Qing and said, "Lord Zhou Qing, it's been so long since we last met."

"Yes, it has been more than twenty years. Seeing Lady Li Jieyue again, she is still so beautiful. I am truly happy for Lady Li Jieyue."

"Hehe, seeing Lord Zhou Qing brings back memories of the past. Lord Zhou Qing, Yueyue is my daughter. Bai Zhenhao and I have spoiled her too much since she was little, so if she says something wrong that displeases you, please let me apologize on her behalf."

Zhou Qing's eyes remained calm, but he stared directly at Li Jieyue.

Is she implying that Bai Yueyue's decision-making power rests with her, and that I shouldn't cause trouble for Bai Yueyue? Or is she worried that the Imperial Clan might take action because of my words? Zhou Qing began to ponder Li Jieyue's meaning. From their first meeting, Li Jieyue had been setting traps for her, ultimately obtaining a very important document from her. Therefore, Zhou Qing was very wary of Li Jieyue.

"Lady Bai Yueyue is very intelligent, but she is still too young and easily led astray. She is also not good at hiding her emotions." After all, she was his best student back then, and Zhou Qing still liked Li Jieyue quite a bit. "Of course, with Lady Li Jieyue's guidance, the Emperor, the Young Emperor, and the other officials will surely look forward to Lady Bai Yueyue showing the same brilliance as Lady Li Jieyue in the capital."

Zhou Qing had already pointed out Bai Yueyue's shortcomings during the conversation, including that if the Emperor wanted Bai Yueyue to marry into the Imperial Clan, the most likely marriage partner would be the Young Prince. Even the Li family only knew it would be one of the Emperor's sons, never considering it would be the Young Prince. Furthermore, the Imperial Clan, and even the five great noble families, were already considering how to bring Bai Yueyue to the capital.

"Thank you, Lord Zhou Qing, for your praise and high expectations of Yueyue. It is truly an honor for Yueyue to be regarded with such high regard by the Emperor and the Young Lord..."

After Li Jieyue took Zhou Qing to the lounge and returned to Qin Zhenming's room, Qin Limin was already inside pinching Bai Yueyue's face.

"You brat, do you even know how much trouble you cause!"

"Godfather, how can you say that! I clearly already took care of it!" Bai Yueyue used magic to move Qin Limin's hand away and said defiantly.

"Of course you handled it well! Because I was the one who submitted the follow-up report to His Majesty. And why did you have an orphanage and a factory just before your coming-of-age ceremony? Do you even know your current situation? Those guys have been asking me about you countless times!"

"Those were just accidents!"

It's not entirely her fault; they needed to build a good reputation for themselves before their coming-of-age ceremony, and it just so happened that they accidentally said the wrong thing. Besides, that factory was given to them by their father!

"Heh, I managed to suppress these two matters for you, but it's best to back down now." Qin Limin tried to extend his evil claws again, but this time Bai Yueyue noticed and dodged.

Qin Limin understood perfectly what Bai Yueyue's actions meant. They had been working very hard to keep her within the safe zone, but Bai Yueyue had created two breaches in her own safety zone. The best course of action now was to have her withdraw.

"Oh dear, Godfather, how can a nobleman so easily retract his words? Besides, I am also from a family of mayors, so of course I need to contribute to the citizens! More importantly, if I retract them, won't that give people something to talk about?"

The most important thing to persuade Qin Limin was the last sentence: Bai Yueyue had already gotten involved, so if she withdrew now, wouldn't that give people a chance to gossip about her?

"You little rascal, that's why I said you're a real pain! Li Jieyue, you need to think of a way to persuade this girl." Leaving a stain on her record is indeed a big problem, but with Bai Yueyue's coming-of-age ceremony approaching, no one knows what will happen. Qin Limin would rather leave a stain than leave two dangerous openings.

"I'm sorry, Lord Qin Limin, please forgive Yueyue. This is something I agreed to," Li Jieyue said, stepping between the two.

"How could that be?" Qin Limin looked at Li Jieyue in confusion, but Li Jieyue knew more about the matter than he did.

“After all, they will definitely target Yueyue,” Li Jieyue recounted her previous conversation with Zhou Qing. “If we protect Yueyue completely, their methods and aggression will become stronger and more unpredictable. Leaving two loopholes so they can attack from there will minimize our losses.”

"Ah, really, it's all your fault. Now the Imperial Clan and the Five Great Families have their eyes on Asia City." With Asia City being targeted, the first to bear the brunt is not Bai Yueyue, but him, the mayor.

Foster Father, how can you be so bad at hiding your emotions like Qin Ye? Please don't act like that!

Because this conversation was so important, even Qin Zijing wasn't qualified to participate, let alone her personal attendants. It was for this reason that Bai Yueyue and Qin Limin were able to speak so "unrestrainedly."

"Alright, Limin, you've faced this before," Qin Zhenming said. When Li Jieyue and Bai Zhenhao eloped to Asia City, the commotion was even bigger than it is now, but back then it was handled by Qin Zhenming and Li Jianchuan, who was in the shadows. "Yueyue, repeat everything that guy told you."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!