Broken Linglong (15)

"You must live..."

Qin Zhiqing dreamt of the past again, the mournful voice echoing in her ears. She suddenly woke up from her dream, wide awake and covered in cold sweat. Just then, she heard Zhique knocking on the door outside. She quickly wiped the sweat from her face and replied, "Come in."

Zhique rushed in and said, "Miss, Master and Madam have just arrived at the mansion and are in the front hall now."

A hint of fatigue flashed across Qin Zhiqing's face, but she quickly composed herself: "I understand, help me comb my hair."

Not daring to keep the master and mistress waiting any longer, Zhique worked quickly and efficiently, finishing Qin Zhiqing's washing and dressing in no time. The two hurried to the front hall, where they found Qin's parents sitting on rosewood chairs, enjoying tea. Qin Chaofeng's brows were furrowed, his face serious, revealing no emotion. He wore an exquisite dark green robe, seemingly simple yet embroidered with the family's dark patterns, symbolizing his status and authority.

Upon seeing Qin Zhiqing arrive, Qin Chaofeng put down his teacup and said sternly, "You're already so ill-mannered before even marrying into the Qin family, daring to make your elders wait for you."

Upon hearing this, Qin Zhiqing immediately knelt down and bowed, saying, "Your child dares not."

"Hmph, if this were at home, you would go and get ten strokes of the cane right now."

Zhique, kneeling to the side, swallowed hard. It wasn't that the young lady did it on purpose; it was just that according to the messages sent a few days ago, the head of the family and his wife were supposed to arrive in Yuancheng at noon. Who knew they would arrive before the birds had even woken up? Zhique could only secretly rejoice that this was the Qi family's residence, and Qin's father's rules wouldn't have a chance to be applied here.

"Your child knows she was wrong." Qin Zhiqing lowered her head even further, her posture becoming even more respectful and submissive.

Qin's mother, who was seated there, was concerned for Qin Zhiqing and came to her rescue, saying, "Alright, sir, don't you know whether Zhiqing knows the rules or not? Over the years, when has she ever disappointed you?"

Qin's mother was a middle-aged woman with a melancholy expression. Time had etched fine lines around her eyes and on her forehead. Her almond-shaped eyes were lifeless and empty, veiled by a faint sorrow. She always looked the same, and many years had passed in the blink of an eye.

After speaking to her husband, Qin's mother turned around and beckoned to Qin Zhiqing, saying, "Good child, come here quickly, let your mother see if you've lost weight these days."

Qin Zhiqing stepped forward, squatted down next to her mother, looked up at her directly, and didn't say a word.

Qin's mother didn't reach out, but just quietly looked at her face for a while. Not noticing anything unusual, she said, "It's good that you haven't lost weight. It seems the Qi family treats you well."

Qin Chaofeng, standing to the side, snorted and continued to scold, "She's been living freely in this unsupervised courtyard, completely lawless."

"With your utter disrespect for elders, you'll only bring shame to the Qin family at the wedding ceremony in a few days," Qin Chaofeng persisted. "Didn't the maid you brought know to remind you? Or is she copying you and becoming arrogant too?"

Zhique was terrified and kowtowed repeatedly, begging for mercy: "Master, spare my life! I dare not! I dare not!"

Ugh, so noisy... Qin Zhiqing's troubles were still unresolved, and she was already in a bad mood when she woke up. On top of that, she had to listen to this man domineering. Her agitation was about to reach its peak.

She suppressed her inner turmoil and knelt down, saying, "It is my fault. I have been lax in my attitude since arriving in Yuancheng. I did not come to the city gate to greet you both in time today. I am ashamed and hope that you will forgive me, Father and Mother."

In the past, Qin Chaofeng would have made her stay motionless for half an hour as punishment. But now they were on Qi family territory, and although there were few servants, they would inevitably be seen by outsiders and gossiped about.

Thinking of this, Qin Chaofeng snorted coldly: "Alright, your big day is in a few days, let's call it a day."

"Your son thanks you for your magnanimity, Father."

"Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!" Zhi Que kowtowed again, then quickly got up to help Qin Zhiqing up.

With her help, Qin Zhiqing stood up and suddenly heard a familiar voice from not far away: "Oh my! Why are you here so early, Father-in-law and Mother-in-law?"

She looked in the direction of the gaze and saw Qi Shuojun striding confidently towards her, her feet barely touching the ground.

Qi Shuojun stopped two body lengths away from her, his folding fan tucked into his waistband. He bowed to Qin's parents and said, "Your son-in-law greets you both. I was unaware that you had arrived ahead of time. I apologize for not being able to welcome you properly."

Upon seeing the elegant and distinguished son-in-law of the Qi family, Qin's father immediately changed his demeanor, smiling as he rose to greet him warmly: "My dear son-in-law, there's no need for such formalities. We're all family now, how could I possibly blame you for such a small matter?"

Qin Zhiqing sneered inwardly upon hearing his words, her gaze towards the interaction between the two men filled with sarcasm.

"Well, my father-in-law and mother-in-law have come from afar, how could I, as their son-in-law, dare to be negligent?" Qi Shuojun said respectfully. "How about I treat you both to dinner at Zuijinlou tonight?"

Father Qin shook his head, feigning reluctance, and said, "How could I possibly trouble my son-in-law?"

“How could it be troublesome? Father-in-law, you said we are family from now on, this is what I, as a junior, should do.”

Father Qin nodded in satisfaction and smiled, "Then I'll have to trouble you, my son-in-law."

"No trouble at all." Qi Shuojun smiled brightly. "Have you two not had a chance to see the bedroom yet? I already had a courtyard prepared, and I'll have someone take you there right away."

As he spoke, he beckoned to the steward standing to the side, who bowed and scraped and gestured for Mr. and Mrs. Qin to follow him to the other courtyard.

Father Qin paused for a moment, then asked, "Then, my dear son-in-law, you..."

Qi Shuojun remained smiling, his expression impeccable: "I am eager to take Zhiqing to meet the distinguished guests of the Lingyun Alliance, so I will not accompany you any longer. I hope you two will understand."

Upon hearing that they were meeting people from the Lingyun Alliance, Qin's father beamed with joy and quickly waved his hand, saying, "Alright, go quickly, don't keep the distinguished guests from the Lingyun Alliance waiting."

Qi Shuojun waved goodbye to the two elders from behind, and only after they had gone far away did he turn around to look at Qin Zhiqing.

Qin Zhiqing hesitated for a moment before thanking him, but Qi Shuojun's smile remained unchanged: "There's no need to thank me, come with me."

Qin Zhiqing didn't want to stay in the manor any longer, and besides, she was indeed planning to go find Ye Yingying, so she happily went to Lingyun Inn with Qi Shuojun.

Zhique wanted to go with them, but Qin Zhiqing used the excuse that her parents hadn't brought many servants with them to Yuancheng to send her to take care of her mother. After all, she couldn't let this little maid overhear what she wanted to say to Ye Yingying.

Qin Zhiqing followed Qi Shuojun to the inn, and as soon as she entered, she saw Ye Yingying and Zhao Yuxiao eating steamed buns.

The two were somewhat surprised by Qin Zhiqing's arrival, staring blankly at her, their mouths even forgetting to chew.

"Cough cough." Zhao Yuxiao choked on his steamed bun. He quickly drank some water and then looked at Qin Zhiqing. "Miss Qin, what brings you here?"

Ye Yingying swallowed the bun in her mouth with difficulty, blinked, and was puzzled. She thought that after explaining the situation to Qi Shuojun, she wouldn't need to have any more contact with Qin Zhiqing, but now Qi Shuojun had brought her here again. What was she doing? Besides, she clearly knew she had a problem, so why did she come here? What was she trying to pull?

Just then, Qi Shuojun spoke up: "Zhiqing is too bored staying in the courtyard, so I brought her out to play."

"Just playing around?" Ye Yingying looked at him with disbelief, but Qin Zhiqing took the initiative to show her goodwill: "I also miss Miss Ye very much."

Ye Yingying shrank back, completely bewildered by the two of them. What was this? Why had Qin Zhiqing suddenly changed her personality? Where was the person who almost killed her the night before last?

"If Miss Ye doesn't mind, would you like to take a walk and chat with me for a while?" Qin Zhiqing asked cautiously. "Just the two of us, without them."

Huh? Ye Yingying glanced at Qi Shuojun hesitantly, only to see him nod slightly as if he didn't mind. Ye Yingying then slowly agreed, "I don't like taking walks. Let's go to my room and talk."

"Okay." Qin Zhiqing smiled gently and followed Ye Yingying upstairs.

After the two women had walked away, Zhao Yuxiao grabbed Qi Shuojun's shoulder and urgently questioned her in a voice only the two of them could hear: "What's going on? Wasn't it already cleared up? Why did you bring her here again?!"

"Hmm..." Qi Shuojun looked at his anxious good brother, pursed his lips, shrugged and said, "I saw that she was unhappy at home, so I brought her here."

"What?!" Zhao Yuxiao couldn't believe his reason. "Are you kidding me? With the wedding just around the corner, it seems like my brother isn't as smart as he used to be."

"What's wrong with you? She's already met Ye Yingying. Letting them continue their contact now is just self-destruction! What if she finds out you're the mastermind?"

Qi Shuojun patted him with her folding fan and said casually, "Don't make a fuss. Miss Ye is very clever and won't let it get out of her mouth."

"Besides..." Qi Shuojun narrowed her eyes slightly, feigning mystery.

"Besides what?" Zhao Yuxiao asked anxiously.

Qi Shuojun smiled and winked playfully at Zhao Yuxiao: "It's a secret for now."

Damn it! Zhao Yuxiao cursed inwardly. Qi Shuojun was still keeping him in suspense!

Zhao Yuxiao was furious and simply let go of his shoulder, saying disdainfully, "Don't blame me for not warning you beforehand if things get out and you make people angry."

"Of course." Qi Shuojun smiled in a way that looked like she was asking for a beating.

Upstairs, Ye Yingying led Qin Zhiqing into the room, then leaned against the door, arms crossed, and asked Qin Zhiqing with a puzzled look, "What do you want to do?"

Qin Zhiqing didn't answer immediately, but looked around the room and casually praised, "As expected of the Lingyun Alliance, this room is no worse than mine."

"Huh?" Ye Yingying frowned. "Stop beating around the bush. I'm asking you what you really mean. You can't tell the truth in front of Qi Shuojun, but now that it's just the two of us, you should be honest."

Qin Zhiqing sighed softly, turned her head to look at Ye Yingying, and her gaze suddenly turned cold and stern: "You didn't get the true fire of the ancestral land at all."

Ye Yingying raised her eyebrows in surprise. You found out so quickly?

"Who told you that?"

"Never mind that," Qin Zhiqing said coldly. "It was Qi Shuojun who instructed you to follow me, wasn't it?"