"Brother Shen, your magnanimity is beyond my reach." He Qixie looked at him and said, "Brother Shen, I have some clean clothes in my bundle. Why don't you change into one and wash yourself before we continue our journey?"

He Qi Xie was actually very curious about Shen Junbai's original appearance under his disheveled appearance. Although his father had only met Shen Junbai twice, he praised Shen Junbai to the point of being the best in the world. Shen Junbai's demeanor was indeed good, but this only made people more curious about his true appearance.

"Thank you, but no need. I think I'll leave it at that and let me think about some things. We'll talk about it when we get to Xiangzhou City." Qiao Qiu refused. Not to mention that she couldn't wear He Qixie's clothes, Shen Junbai's stunning appearance alone was enough to be a menace.

"Alright then, we'll do as Brother Chen says."

He Qi Xie was somewhat disappointed, and He Su Yue was also disappointed, but compared to He Su Yue, He Su Yue's disappointment was much more obvious.

And so, Qiao Qiu followed the He siblings to Xiangzhou City.

Xiangzhou City is a very prosperous place, but it is still a little inferior to Shuzhou City.

As soon as Qiao Qiu entered the city, she bid farewell to her brother and sister.

In Xiangzhou City, there is the ancestral home of the Shen family. For many years, it has been guarded by the steward and his wife. The two are very loyal to the Shen family. After Shen Junbai turned ten, he insisted on returning every year to stay for a while, just to see the couple and treat them as his own family.

Upon returning to the Shen family ancestral home, Qiao Qiu was immediately embraced and cried by the housekeeper's wife as soon as she entered the door.

The housekeeper was also in tears, but seeing Qiao Qiu's condition, he quickly told his wife to boil water and change her into clean clothes.

When Qiao Qiu was washing herself, she noticed a scar on her wrist that was barely visible unless you looked closely.

Of course, she must have encountered all sorts of problems while washing herself, since the body she was washing, although it was her own, was also that of a man!

man!

man!

I'll say it three times because it's important!

However, after a few more touches, Qiao Qiu got used to it. So what if she was a man? As long as she wasn't allowed to get married, everything was negotiable.

Qiao Qiu tidied herself up and opened the door; it was almost dark by then.

The housekeeper and his wife invited her to the hall and handed her the things that Shen Junbai had sent over earlier—the land deeds for the ancestral home and some field and land deeds within the Xiangzhou City area.

Shen Junbai originally intended to personally come and present this to the steward as a birthday gift on his sixtieth birthday, but unfortunately, this happened.

Therefore, this land deed became Qiao Qiu's only property that she was fortunate enough to acquire.

"Young master, please tell the nanny what happened," the housekeeper's wife asked, wiping away her tears.

"I don't know either. A highly skilled assassin suddenly broke into our house and started killing everyone he saw. My two older brothers and I fought desperately to stop him, but we couldn't defeat him. My brothers died right in front of me, and then the assassin knocked me unconscious. When I woke up again, my whole family had been wiped out. The assassin took me out of the Shen family compound. I was lucky, though. The assassin was drinking water at the deep pool and wasn't on guard. I pushed him into the pool and he drowned." Qiao Qiu recounted the story in detail. Thinking of how Shen Junbai had witnessed his family being killed and then being taken away and humiliated, she couldn't help but want to cry, let alone the two old people.

The deceased are gone, but the living will always suffer the most.

"I got up and kept walking until I met the young master of Changfeng Escort Agency and his sister on the way, and then I was able to return safely."

The housekeeper and his wife were heartbroken over Shen Junbai's passing and cried uncontrollably. They couldn't utter a single word they wanted to say; a thousand words were left unsaid.

"Granny, I'm hungry."

"...Yes, nanny will go and make it for the young master right away. It was nanny who was confused. The young master must have been hungry all day."

The old woman wiped away her tears and left, while the steward stayed with Qiao Qiu and talked to her.

That night, Qiao Qiu slept soundly. The next morning, she took out all her plain white clothes and no longer used a jade hairpin to fix her hair. Instead, she used a plain white hair crown, with white ribbons floating behind her head, giving her a slightly ethereal look.

Qiao Qiu disliked this color because every time she wore it, it meant she had to observe mourning, and this time was no exception.

Having inherited Shen Junbai's body, Qiao Qiu was determined to live like him. Since he was a business prodigy, she would learn how to do business.

While eating breakfast, the housekeeper's wife saw her wearing this color of clothing and couldn't help but secretly hide and cry.

After finishing breakfast, Qiao Qiu went out, attracting heart-eyes from a group of girls. After finding out where Changfeng Escort Agency was located, she went straight there.

...

Upon hearing that Shen Junbai had come to see him, He Qixie immediately dropped what he was doing and strode out.

He Suyue heard this and followed.

As the brother and sister entered the main hall through a small back door, they were immediately struck by the breathtakingly handsome Shen Junbai, dressed in flowing white robes. They gasped, utterly stunned. This was the epitome of being utterly captivated!

Qiao Qiu stood up and walked to the two of them. "I have no way to repay the kindness of the young master and young lady for the meal you provided. I will cover your food and lodging expenses for the next few days."

He Qi Xie said regretfully, "I treated Young Master Shen that way at the beginning, but Young Master Shen didn't hold a grudge. I really... sigh."

Qiao Qiu said, "Young Master He has been traveling the martial world for many years, and this shows his maturity and composure. As for Miss He, she is innocent, kind, and generous, which is truly admirable."

"Oh, Brother Shen, please don't call me Miss He anymore. We're already acquainted, so just call me Suyue. As for my brother, you can call him He Qixie, that's fine too." He Suyue stuck out her tongue and smiled mischievously.

He Qi Xie laughed and said, "Yue'er, don't be rude."

Qiao Qiu smiled gently, "She's just being genuine, Brother He. You can call me Junbai."

He Qi Xie also smiled and said, "Then I shall respectfully accept your offer."

"Yay, that's great!" He Suyue jumped up with a smile.

After befriending the He siblings, Qiao Qiu said she had other things to do and left first.

The He siblings bid each other a reluctant farewell, saying they would visit the Shen family.

After Qiao Qiu left, she went to the slave market herself, picked out a few maids and servants, and then went to find a few beggars, bringing them all back to the Shen residence.

The maids and servants were handed over to the steward and his wife for training. They would be living here long-term, and it wouldn't be enough for the steward and his wife to take care of them alone, as they were getting old.

As for those few beggars, they are all very suitable for martial arts training. She doesn't want to hire mediocre people, and with her current financial resources, it's simply not feasible.

She needs to find a way to win over some people in the martial arts world to protect her.

As for the next two days, I'm afraid I'll have to trouble He Qixie again.

If I have the chance, I'll have to see his martial arts skills.