Chapter 8

There are always bad people trying to frame me.

"The tea and snack shop next door," Lu Qin repeated honestly. "What's wrong with it?"

"Buying a shop costs a lot of money. Where did you get the money? Did you rob someone?"

Lu Qin spread her hands: "Wasn't it my husband who gave me the money?"

Seeing her innocent look, Hao Jingshi was speechless and for a moment felt like pinching her philtrum.

No wonder her words were sweeter than honey; she was waiting for him here!

"Yes, the money was given to you by me." Hao Jingshi gritted his teeth. "But when did I say you were going to buy a shop? You clearly acted on your own initiative, you scoundrel, and you're trying to drag me down with you?"

"Oh dear, they misunderstood."

Seeing Hao Jingshi pointing angrily at her, Lu Qin pursed her lips, preparing to use the art of appeasement, reasoning with him and appealing to his emotions.

She pouted slightly, raised her eyelids, looked at him with her watery eyes, and said softly, with a very aggrieved tone:

"Husband, don't be angry. In this world, besides my father, you are the best to me. I just hope you can do what you like... Besides, you don't know, do you? The shop next door actually belongs to my older brother. He has planted spies there, trying to monitor you and me... I don't care about myself, but I absolutely cannot let my husband be harmed."

"..." After hearing her string of words, and seeing her looking at him pitifully with her smudged makeup and flowery face, Hao Jingshi felt a mix of amusement and exasperation.

This Miss Lu has been acting strangely lately, showering him with sweet words, and he just falls for it. Whenever he sees her weak, helpless, and pitiful eyes, he can't help but soften.

Fine, a prime minister's belly can hold a boat, and since I'm so righteous, I won't stoop to her level.

Anyway, she's his wife, and we still have to live our lives together, so he might as well put up with it.

"That's not what I meant." Hao Jingshi helplessly withdrew his hand from hers, and crossed his arms again. "The household income and expenditure are all recorded in the ledger. How do you explain that you suddenly spent a large sum of money? Aren't you afraid that Father and Mother will blame you if they find out?"

Lu Qin raised her hand confidently: "If they want to punish me, let them punish me. It has nothing to do with my husband. I will persuade my in-laws. I will also run the shop. My husband doesn't need to worry about it. He can just design clothing patterns in his spare time."

"That's quite thoughtful." Hao Jingshi said suspiciously, "Are you really doing this just for me?"

"Actually, I have my own selfish reasons too..." Lu Qin fiddled with her fingers and continued to coax, "My husband is often at the clinic, and I miss him terribly. If I opened a clothing shop nearby, I could see him all the time..."

"Alright, alright." Upon hearing such words, Hao Jingshi became even more sensitive than someone with sensitive skin. His ears turned red, and he waved his hand as if to mute her. "Stop talking about this. Just tell me what you want."

As soon as he said this, Lu Qin knew that the matter was probably settled, so she readily admitted, "I have already discussed it with Lu Ming. We will go to the government office to sign the land deed in three days. My husband will have to go there in person."

Hao Jingshi felt something was off after hearing this. It was supposed to be a gift for him, but it turned out to be his money that was spent, and he even had to go and sign the document himself.

But he couldn't be bothered to argue, so he plopped back down and said, "Okay. You can go back now."

After saying that, he leaned back in his chair, casually crossed his long legs, and picked up the book again to read.

Lu Qin didn't leave, pointing to her face: "Husband, my makeup is all ruined, what if we run into Zhao..."

"Xuan Lan".

"..." Did this guy realize he'd been tricked and that's why he was annoyed? He didn't have the patience to listen to anything, and he didn't even bother to lift his eyelids.

Lu Qin scanned the area but didn't see Xuan Lan. Then, two seconds later, he jumped down from the tree outside the window.

“Young Madam, I will escort you back to your residence,” Xuan Lan said, standing as straight as a wooden post.

"OK!" Lu Qin blew Hao Jingshi a few kisses with satisfaction.

My husband is very understanding; I give him a thumbs up.

"..."

Seeing Hao Jingshi staring at her with a puzzled look, Lu Qin realized that this person seemed not to understand English, so she coughed to cover it up and made a face at him.

"Hey!...Let's go, Xuanlan!"

Xuan Lan wanted to laugh but didn't dare, so she followed with a blank expression.

"Wait a moment."

Hao Jingshi touched his forehead behind her back, and couldn't help but call out to her again.

"Wash your face before you leave, I'm ashamed."

...

After washing her face, Lu Qin held up an umbrella and set off on her way back home.

Xuan Lan silently escorted her from behind. Seeing that his forehead was shining from the sun, Lu Qin invited him to share an umbrella with her, but he refused, saying it was impolite.

Lu Qin thought about it and realized it was indeed inappropriate, so she had no choice but to give up. As she walked, she began to think about the renovation.

With the shop secured and Hao Jingshi settled, her plan was more than half successful. She would keep it a secret from her in-laws for the time being, and once the shop was renovated and opened, things would naturally fall into place, and they would have no way to object.

Thinking of this, she turned to Xuan Lan and asked, "Xuan Lan, do you know where I can find skilled craftsmen who can repair houses?"

Xuan Lan replied, "There is a craftsman named Zhao on West City Street. I heard that he once worked for the royal family and his craftsmanship is excellent."

"Oh, West City Street." Lu Qin silently memorized it.

She cannot stay away from the manor for too long, and it is probably too late to go today; she will have to find another day.

As Lu Qin conceived the decorations for the shop, she walked forward, with Xuan Lan following behind. Xuan Lan walked silently and would occasionally climb trees to practice his skills, which startled Lu Qin, who thought he was an assassin and quickly turned around to investigate.

Seeing that she was nervous, Xuan Lan reassured her that she could take on ten men single-handedly and would not let any bad guys get close to her.

Seeing that he had climbed up the tree again in no time and picked several large leaves to weave together for shade, Lu Qin nodded, both amused and exasperated.

The sun, like a fireball, hung overhead, scorching the ground. The air was stifling, like a steam oven. As Lu Qin walked, she felt as if her umbrella was about to melt, beads of sweat dripped from her forehead, and her whole body felt sticky.

The journey back to the manor seemed exceptionally long. She finally breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the gates of the Hao residence.

Under the blazing sun, the gatekeepers were all listless, hiding in the shade under the eaves, looking rather listless. Only one thin figure held an umbrella and paced back and forth in front of the Hao mansion.

As Lu Qin drew closer, she realized that the maid pacing around was Zhilan.

She sensed something was wrong, so she quickened her pace. At the same time, Zhilan noticed her and hurriedly came to greet her, as if she had been waiting for her for a long time.

"Miss, you're finally back." Seeing that her forehead was covered in sweat, Zhilan quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe it away for her, looking flustered. "Master and Madam just called me to ask where you were. I answered as you said, but Master and Madam didn't look very friendly. They even sent me here to keep watch, saying they'd call you over when you come back."

I've already paid my respects in the morning, and it's not mealtime yet. If I call her over now, I'll probably give myself away.

Lu Qin had a bad feeling. Then she heard a whoosh as Xuan Lan darted up the tree as if to cause trouble, and then disappeared in a flash.

Lu Qin had no time to pay attention to him, "Where are my parents-in-law waiting for me now?"

Zhilan replied, "In the central hall."

“Come, come with me.”

Lu Qin tossed the umbrella to the servant and rushed in, followed closely by Zhi Lan, who held the umbrella high, afraid that Lu Qin would get sunburned.

After rushing a few steps, Lu Qin suddenly remembered that she was still wearing the clothes of a servant, so she slammed on the brakes and stopped.

She changed direction: "Zhilan, you go first, remember to stall for time for me, I need to change, I'll be right back."

Before Zhilan could answer, she hurriedly walked back to her room. Zhilan stamped her foot in frustration, but she could only do as her mistress instructed.

After hurriedly changing her clothes in the dormitory, Lu Qin rushed to the main hall.

A gust of hot air hit her face, exacerbating her unease and anxiety. Sweat beaded on her forehead as she feared she might be delayed.

When Lu Qin rushed over, she saw that Master Hao and Madam Hao were already sitting in the hall. They had dismissed all the servants who were close to them, and apart from Zhilan, none of them stayed by their side.

The trees in front of the hall blocked out the scorching sun, making the hall very cool, which brought her a sense of relief.

"Father and Mother, you have kept us waiting." Lu Qin knelt down hastily but with composure. "Your daughter-in-law knows her mistake."

"Are you aware of your mistake?"

Unexpectedly, before she could finish speaking, Master Hao said sternly, "Then tell me, what wrong have you done?"

Lu Qin's heart trembled at his questioning, but she knew that her in-laws were not unreasonable people, and there must be a special reason why they were angry with her today.

Therefore, she immediately said humbly, "Your daughter-in-law is unaware, please enlighten me, Father."

Master Hao put down his teacup and, without beating around the bush, said directly, "Shi'er is stubborn. We understand that we've wronged you before. But the Hao family has its rules, and since you've become our daughter-in-law, you have no choice but to obey. Today, you secretly disguised yourself as a man and went out into the street for a full hour. Do you even respect us?"

Hearing her father-in-law's powerful words, Lu Qin was stunned for a moment.

It's not hard to guess that someone tipped them off.

She thought for a moment, then chuckled and pretended to be naive, saying, "Father, you misunderstand. When I was young, I was bedridden and rarely went out, so I was unaware of these rules. I haven't been married into the Hao family for very long and am still unfamiliar with many things. I didn't mean to disobey. I went out today because my husband said he wanted to cure my illness and asked me to go see him every day. If you don't believe me, you can call my husband back to be my witness."

After explaining everything in one go, she slowly lowered her head, appearing obedient but actually panicking inside.

Please don't call Hao Jingshi back... or everything will be exposed...

"You still dare to lie!" Unexpectedly, Master Hao slammed his hand on the table and said, "You didn't go to find Shi'er at all. You clearly went to the tea shop next to the clinic. Your dowry maid saw it with her own eyes. Would she dare to lie to her?"

Did her dowry maid witness it herself?

Lu Qin immediately turned to look at Zhi Lan.

Zhilan shook her head in fear, knelt down with a thud, and moved her knees to stand behind Luqin.

“Miss did go to see the young master, but she left in a hurry and didn’t have time to report to the master and madam. So she asked me to stay at the mansion and let her know if anyone asked. I was afraid that Miss would be left unattended, so I had Yu Gui secretly follow her. I really don’t know anything else…”

Cinnamon? Where did you get cinnamon?

Lu Qin paused for a moment, and memories flooded back into her mind—this Yu Gui was indeed her dowry maid, but she was quiet and rarely appeared in front of her, not as close as Zhi Lan, so she had no impression of her.

This Zhilan, I already said that no one else is allowed to know and no one else is allowed to follow, how could she still do something bad with good intentions!

Lu Qin felt a bit disappointed in Zhi Lan, but this was not the time to blame her.

In order not to wrong her, Master Hao immediately summoned Yu Gui for questioning.

Compared to the nervous Zhilan, Yugui was neither humble nor arrogant. As soon as she entered, she knelt down and revealed everything she had seen.

“This servant dares not lie. Miss did indeed dress as a man and go out, and even took a lot of silver to buy shops. This servant knows that the silver in Miss’s hands came from the Hao family. This servant does not want to see Miss make a mistake, but no matter how I try to persuade her, I cannot dissuade her. I can only confess this matter to Master and Madam. Miss, please forgive me. This servant really cannot watch you remain so stubborn!”

After saying this, Yu Gui kowtowed deeply and lay prostrate on the ground, refusing to get up.

Although she had expected to be exposed and was prepared to be punished, Lu Qin did not expect Yu Gui to be so shameless.

"No matter how much I try to persuade you, I can't stop you." What's it to you? I didn't even see you when I left the house.

Why would someone fabricate a lie to expose her when there's no grudge between them? Yu Gui must be a spy planted by Aunt Zhao.

Lu Qin wanted to glare at her but couldn't, so she could only turn her head away angrily.

At this moment, Master Hao said, "My wife just told you to learn how to manage the household affairs, and you dare to take the money and buy a shop on your own initiative. What kind of behavior is this!"