Chapter 97 Something is missing

I walked very fast, and when I got back to Guanlan Pavilion, I was still a little out of breath, and I still felt very frustrated.

Granny Pei was somewhat puzzled by the way the three of them, master and servant, seemed to be fleeing for their lives.

What happened?

Yu Qingci: "It's nothing, I was just accidentally bothered by a dog."

Granny Pei was even more puzzled: "A dog? Where did this dog come from? I don't remember anyone keeping a dog in the manor. How could we be harassed by a dog?"

Tong'er and Lian Qiao both looked indignant, but since it concerned the young mistress's reputation, they couldn't say it directly in front of so many servants.

Yu Qingci was full of frustration. The incident had happened so suddenly that she hadn't thought things through, but the cold wind on the way back quickly cleared her head.

How could a perfectly normal Qian-ge'er have climbed to such a dangerous place? The servant following him didn't seem to be in a hurry at all, and where did that ladder come from?

She hadn't noticed such a clumsy loophole because she was so preoccupied with her own concerns, until that bastard hugged her and she realized something was wrong. Now she was certain that Lu Yunbo had done it on purpose.

Yu Qingci: "Who knows where that stray dog ​​came from? But it's alright now. I need to take a bath. Tong'er, please prepare a new set of clothes for me."

Seeing that she looked gloomy and didn't want to say much, Granny Pei knew something was wrong, so she didn't ask any more questions. She gestured for the two maids to go in and serve her, and went out to urge for hot water.

After she finished bathing, Tong'er said, "Young Madam, the pair of tourmaline butterfly hair ornaments that you wore on your head are gone. Lianqiao and I removed your hairpins and didn't see them, but you were clearly wearing those ornaments when you went out."

Lian Qiao frowned and said, "Yes, I searched the room carefully but couldn't find it. Oh dear, could it have fallen into that spot?"

Yu Qingci's heart skipped a beat, and she whispered, "Lian Qiao, go out and look for it by yourself. Don't let anyone know you're looking for something."

Lian Qiao's expression grew even more serious: "Yes, this servant will be careful."

Lianqiao went out, and Tong'er stepped forward to help her mistress slowly dry her hair. Neither the mistress nor the servant spoke, and the atmosphere in the room was somewhat heavy.

Just thinking about it is unlucky. If an ordinary young girl were to encounter what just happened, no matter the reason, being held in the arms of a stranger would ruin her reputation if word got out, and she would most likely have no choice but to marry that person.

Even worse, if the man already has a wife, the woman can only reluctantly become a concubine in order to salvage some of her reputation.

Yu Qingci knew she had to swallow her grievances today. Fortunately, she was not an inexperienced and naive girl in this new life, and she would not be frightened by this unexpected turn of events.

She could guess that this was mostly Lu Yunbo's doing, that he even used Qian Ge'er, a child, just to get close to her, which was really despicable.

However, this matter cannot withstand scrutiny, and he probably wouldn't dare let more people know. So, besides them, there was only one servant present, so she didn't need to worry that the servant would dare to tell anyone.

After a while, Lianqiao returned.

"Young Madam, I've searched all the way but haven't found anything."

Yu Qingci sighed inwardly: "Oh well, what's done is done."

Still feeling uneasy, he instructed the two maids, "Pretend that what happened today never happened, and don't tell anyone."

Tong'er asked timidly, "Can't even Granny Pei tell me?"

Yu Qingci: "I'll talk to Granny Pei myself."

Lu Yunbo wasn't a fool like Yang Qi, who could be easily dealt with through a few tricks. She needed to have a serious discussion with Granny Pei and teach him a lesson to extinguish his filthy thoughts.

In the courtyard, Qian Ge'er tilted his head back and asked Lu Yunbo, "Second Uncle, didn't you say that you wanted Third Aunt to save me, and then I would take the opportunity to please her so that she would be willing to speak well of my father to my paternal grandmother because she likes me?"

What do we do now? This ladder wasn't sturdy and almost made my third aunt fall. She just left without even acknowledging us; is she angry?

Lu Yunbo said dismissively, "Your third aunt is fine, don't worry."

As he spoke, he squatted down and solemnly instructed Qian Ge'er face to face: "However, remember not to mention what happened today to anyone. If you can do that, your second uncle will buy you the most powerful slingshot to play with when he comes back from his duty tomorrow."

Qian Ge'er's eyes lit up: "Really?"

Lu Yunbo nodded.

Qian Ge nodded vigorously and said, "I definitely won't tell anyone, and Second Uncle, please remember to buy me a slingshot."

After coaxing Qian Ge'er away, Lu Yunbo looked down at his clenched hand, where a pair of small tourmaline butterfly flower ornaments lay.

Yang Qi's illness finally subsided under the careful care of the family physician and his third aunt. However, because he had soaked in the lotus pond for a while in the dead of winter, he had damaged his body. The family physician instructed him to stay in bed and recuperate for a period of time.

The third aunt was tense for several days before finally breathing a sigh of relief. Her eldest son had persuaded her several times in the past few days, and the third aunt began to consider going back.

With their youngest son causing one embarrassing incident after another, it would be shameful for the family to stay here. Besides, they had indeed stayed for quite a while this time, not having been back for several months. It would be better to take their son back to their own home to recuperate.

But remembering that her son's marriage was only half-finished, she was still unwilling to give up. Taking advantage of the fact that there were few people outside at night, the Third Aunt went to Songbai Hall again, wanting to talk to Old Madam Ning about her children's marriage again.

This time, without Madam Ning having to speak, Granny Wang retorted without hesitation: "Grandma, please save your breath. Our Seventh Miss wouldn't dare to aspire to someone like Young Master Cousin. He's so young, yet he's already indulging in all sorts of vices."

If our General were still alive, he wouldn't even let him in the door; he'd throw him straight into the barracks for re-education. How could I possibly have the nerve to propose marriage like that?

The third aunt was so embarrassed by the retort that she was speechless and left dejectedly.

Two days later, he listened to his eldest son's advice, packed his bags, and took his son and grandson back to his own home. Before leaving, he only called an old woman over and said a word, and then never showed up again.

After the family left, Lu Yunchu ran to find Yu Qingci.

“Sister-in-law, they’re finally gone. Now I don’t have to worry anymore. You have no idea how worried I was that day. I was afraid he would fall and freeze to death…”

Realizing he had spoken out of turn, Lu Yun Chu quickly covered his mouth with his hand.

Yu Qingci said seriously, "Don't take the blame. He was drunk and lost his balance and fell. What does it have to do with us?"

"Yes, sister-in-law is right. We're the ones who pulled him out of the water. He should be thanking us for saving him."

The little girl smiled, her eyes crinkling, and at that moment she felt that even the air in the yard was much fresher.

Seeing the little girl finally cheer up, Yu Qingci smiled and said, "I've already said, this is the General's Mansion, not the Yang family's. We don't need to compromise."