Jun Yannuo nodded, then frowned and looked up at Qin Kou'er: "But Xuzhou can't be left unattended, why don't I go and take a look!"

"No! You stay in Yangzhou!" Qin Kou'er thought for a moment, then said, "Have Haitian come back and go directly to Xuzhou. Find out everything! Remember, don't alert them!"

"Yes! I understand!"

After giving her instructions, Qin Kou'er turned softly to Uncle Hong and said, "Uncle Hong, I understand what's going on in Xuzhou. You can go back now. Don't worry, I'll definitely resolve this matter within three days. I'll need your continued attention to things at the docks. As for the people who were arrested, I'll get them back for you!"

Upon hearing this, Uncle Hong immediately stood up and said gratefully, "I am relieved to hear your words, Master! Rest assured, as long as I am here, the docks of Xuzhou will not be lost!"

Qin Kou'er smiled and nodded, then glanced at Jun Yannuo.

Jun Yannuo quickly helped the old man out.

Qin Kou'er only turned to look at Lan Linxue, who was sitting in the armchair like a grandpa, after the old man's figure had completely disappeared.

With a cold laugh, Qin Kou'er said irritably, "I have absolutely no good feelings towards you princes and nobles right now!"

"Oh? When?"

Lan Linxue narrowed her eyes as she looked at Qin Kou'er.

"How should I put it? Of course, I'll say it outright!"

Qin Kou'er angrily walked over and sat down next to Lan Linxue: "Don't tell me you can't see what's going on! Your Third Prince doesn't dare mess with your mess, but he dares to mess with us commoners! Who in Xuzhou doesn't know that your Third Prince has a hand on them? He even pulled these shady deals from the army for me, probably intending to use me as a hammer to give you a good beating. Tell me, what are we going to do about this?"

Qin Kou'er was so angry that she picked up the tea and took a swig.

"What's it to me?"

Lan Linxue tilted her head, her body limp, looking utterly innocent, yet with an infuriatingly pure and innocent gaze as she blinked at Qin Kou'er.

"Say it again?"

Qin Kou'er slammed the teacup down on the table with a loud bang, her eyes flashing with a fierce light.

"You cut off Lan Jiayuan's hand, so what? Does Xu Ming want each member of Qin Tiange to pay him with one of their hands? Let me tell you, I don't care if you're the Crown Prince, a prince, or whatever kind of scoundrel you are, anyone who wants my Qin Kou'er's people to pay with their lives is dreaming! Xu Ming is clearly stabbing me in the back and then reminding you: everyone has a weakness. You release Lan Jiayuan, and he releases me! If you want to just pack up and leave now, do you believe I'll be missing the grain warehouses of the Xuzhou camp tomorrow?"

Lan Linxue was still teasing Qin Kou'er, finding her angry expression particularly adorable.

He continued to act nonchalant, shrugging his shoulders, "Go ahead and burn it! Once you've burned it, you'll only give them more opportunities to act as accomplices!"

Qin Kou'er's eyes turned cold. Seeing that Lan Linxue was being shameless with him, she immediately called out to the outside, "Meiyan!"

"They've arrived, Sect Master!"

Mei Yan swayed and walked over.

"Greetings, Pavilion Master! What are your orders, Pavilion Master?"

"Calculate for me, how much silver has been spent in total since the Crown Prince moved into our Orchid Pavilion Garden?"

"No need to calculate, I know." Mei Yan didn't even bother to argue, and said directly, "Up to now, we've spent a total of 309,835.6 taels of silver!"

Qin Kou'er looked coldly at Lan Linxue, "Young Master, pay back the money!"

Upon hearing that money was involved, Lan Linxue reacted as if her life depended on it, sitting up abruptly with wide eyes.

"Is this a rip-off? What did I do to deserve so much money? Even the room I live in, Qin Kou'er, is an old, run-down place. Why are you trying to extort so much money from me?"

Qin Kou'er smiled coldly, showing no anger whatsoever, and said leisurely, "Meiyan, have the children bring out the list that the Crown Prince gave us again so he can take a look! Forget about the quilts and curtains, Your Highness, have you forgotten that the toilets you made are all inlaid with gold and white jade? Don't you think these cost money? Or are you sharing your toilets with others, planning to make them pay for it too?!"

Lan Linxue suddenly remembered the list he had made to deliberately make things difficult for Qin Kou'er, and he froze on the ground.

Seeing that Qin Kou'er had embarrassed Lan Linxue, Mei Yan's lips curled into an even more beautiful smile. She pointed at Lan Linxue with her slender hand and said, "Your Highness, don't think this is too much money! Let me tell you, this is because of your close relationship with our Pavilion Master. I've given you a big discount. Otherwise, this money would be more than 500,000 taels!"

Lan Linxue jumped up immediately, "Why do you need 500,000 taels? Qin Kou'er, if you're not running a shady business, I won't believe it!"

"What do you mean, running a shady business?" Mei Yan's eyes widened immediately. "Young Master, do you even know how many people you brought? A full two thousand! Besides this wooden-man-like adult in front of you, there are thousands of people outside who also need to eat, drink, and relieve themselves. What's more, every meal they eat is a feast of delicacies! Don't you know that the chefs at Qin Tian Pavilion are about to quit because of serving these thousands of lords you brought!"

Qin Kou'er leisurely sipped her tea, while Lan Linxue glared at her, feeling utterly frustrated.

He now fully understands one thing: anyone who tries to settle scores with Qin Kou'er in this life is doomed to die.

"Your Highness, would you like me to reimburse you for the expenses again, that..."

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