Chapter 105 Severe Punishment

Of all the noble ladies in the entire capital, Xie Qingran is probably the most well-behaved!

Lu Jinzhi glanced at Zhao Yuanqi and snorted disdainfully: "That's just on the surface. In reality, this woman is cunning, treacherous, and greedy!"

The thought of being extorted for a hundred taels of gold by Xie Qingran because of his mistress made Lu Jinzhi feel a pang of heartache.

"I think that girl is quite interesting. It's a pity she married Xiao Jue," Zhou Huai'an said with a deep, enigmatic smile as he took a sip of wine.

Shen Wenyuan nodded in agreement: "Speaking of which, the Xie family also wanted to form a marriage alliance with us back then, but I wasn't interested in her and was unwilling to go through with it. If I had known, I would have been better off agreeing to marry her!"

"You like her?" Lu Jinzhi stared at Shen Wenyuan with a strange look in his eyes.

Zhao Yuanqi picked up his wine glass and took a sip: "Qingran was so lively and playful when she was little, she was incredibly cute. How come she's so lifeless and cold now? But that makes her even more interesting."

Just thinking about it, Zhao Yuanqi could already picture what Xie Qingran would look like kneeling before him, begging and pleading.

Listening to their words, Shen Wenyuan felt that not only was he not comforted, but his mood seemed to have gotten even worse!

He felt a wave of frustration, took a sip of his drink, and said sullenly, "She said that not everyone is born to like me, and that she just happens to be one of the ones who doesn't like me. I think it's all Jinzhi's fault. You two were arguing the first time you met, so she must have mistaken me for someone like you."

Originally, Lu Jinzhi felt somewhat agitated whenever this person was mentioned.

Hearing this, Lu Jinzhi's expression turned even uglier, and he said irritably, "What nonsense are you talking about? Who am I?"

"I don't care, you guys figure something out!" Shen Wenyuan was spoiled by his family, so he didn't care who was sitting across from him and started to act spoiled and unreasonable.

Zhou Huai'an put down his teacup and said coldly, "We can't help you. She can't like you. She's about to marry Xiao Jue, the heir of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, and become his princess."

This is already a done deal.

But Lu Jinzhi's expression changed. Xie Qingran had always been clinging to him and wanted to marry him, so why did she suddenly change and become like this?

"He's just a cripple, who knows how many more days he'll live. If you really like him, just wait and see, you'll be there to take him on sooner or later." Lu Jinzhi put down his wine glass and looked at Shen Wenyuan with a hint of mockery, but more than that, he showed disdain for Xie Qingran.

"What nonsense are you spouting!"

Shen Wenyuan was genuinely getting anxious now. His eyebrows furrowed, and he rolled his eyes at him in annoyance.

Immediately afterward, Zhou Huai'an also snorted: "Young Master Lu, you should be careful with your words. Speaking of which, that Prince Xiao is related to you in some way. How could you say such vicious things? If Her Majesty the Empress finds out, she will probably punish you."

"So what?"

"He's a cripple, that's why the Empress couldn't bear to punish me for him."

Lu Jinzhi dared to say such a thing entirely because the Empress could no longer rely on the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion and could only rely on the Lu family, which is why she was so arrogant.

Zhou Huai'an found Lu Jinzhi's expression somewhat amusing, and calmly picked up his wine glass and took a sip.

Zhao Yuanqi, standing to the side, glanced at the two of them, his eyes darkening. He thought Lu Jinzhi was utterly brainless.

Soon, Sequoia found out what had happened to the Xie family. He was furious and went straight to Xiao Jue to tell him about it.

"Xie Zhaoye, that bastard! How can anyone treat their own sister like that!"

"I think he's a madman!"

As Sequoia continued speaking, she got angry and started swearing.

Xiao Jue's eyes were even more gloomy than his face, his eyebrows furrowed: "I'm going to see Xie Qingran."

"Yes, I'll go prepare right away." Hongshan nodded immediately and turned to get clothes for Xiao Jue.

However, after receiving the clothes, Xiao Jue hesitated again.

"Never mind, I'd better not go."

What's wrong?

Hongshan looked at Xiao Jue in confusion: "Miss Xie has suffered such a great injustice, aren't you going to go and see her?"

"Let your sister-in-law go," Xiao Jue replied indifferently, saying nothing more.

Seeing this, Sequoia felt completely bewildered, but she could only go and send a message to the Qin family.

Xiao Yanran somehow found out about the news and rushed to Qin Shi, crying and making a scene, insisting on going to see Xie Qingran together. She even prepared a small bundle that was full of stuff, but refused to let Qin Shi see what was inside.

The Xie family's main courtyard.

Wang looked at Qin with some guilt and said, "Qingran hasn't been feeling well lately, and the child is still young. I'm afraid she might catch a chill, so please go back first, madam."

"It's because I knew she was ill that I came to see her. This was also my young master's idea. What? Madam Wang, are you unwilling?" Madam Qin's expression changed, and her words became direct and harsh.

She had dealt with Wang before, so she knew that Wang was the one who liked to play dumb the most, so she simply spoke the truth directly.

Seeing this, Madam Wang understood that it was impossible to stop her from going, so she could only reluctantly nod and let the old nanny beside her accompany her.

Rose Garden.

Although Qin had prepared herself mentally, she was still stunned when she saw Xie Qingran's face covered in bruises: "What... what happened? How could this happen?"

"It's nothing, just a slight bump." Xie Qingran smiled faintly. "Sister-in-law, what brings you to see me?"

"Sister Xie, does it hurt?" When Xiao Yanran saw Xie Qingran like this, tears immediately fell down her face. She was clearly terrified.

Xie Qingran turned her face away, and said shyly, "Sister-in-law, why did you bring Yanran along? What if you scare the child?"

"What are you afraid of?"

"Yanran, don't be afraid, don't cry. Your sister Xie will be alright."

Madam Qin smiled gently and patted Xiao Yanran's head.

Xiao Yanran tentatively reached out and gently touched Xie Qingran's cheek, then whispered, "Did someone bully you? Sister Xie, who is so mean? How could they bully you like this!"

"No one bullied me." Xie Qingran thought to herself that she had fought back and didn't feel like she had been taken advantage of. She smiled and looked at Xiao Yanran: "But you, is anyone still bullying you now?"

Xiao Yanran glanced at Qin Shi and shook her head: "My brother severely punished those who bullied me, so they are all very nice to me now."