When Mengbao asked He Yunxiao about the bank, he coughed twice and said, "Well... I still can't give it to you... Daqi Bank was indeed set up by me, but it doesn't belong to me alone."

Having said that, Meng Qingqian naturally understood He Yunxiao's meaning. The blush on her face faded considerably, and she said in a calm and ordinary voice, "Let's eat first. I'll go and have Jian Ling bring the food in."

"Mengbao? Are you angry?" He Yunxiao grabbed Mengbao's waist and wouldn't let her leave.

Meng Qingqian glared at the man, not wanting to bring up Du Yinyun's matter, "I'm hungry, aren't you going to let go?"

He Yunxiao held Mengbao, now in her "complete" form, with obvious affection. Mengbao looked best in the clothes she was meant to wear.

"Let go." Meng Qingqian lightly patted the large hand on her body. (M.cascoo.net)

He Yunxiao finally let go and allowed her to go to the door.

Jian Ling carried two food boxes, arriving quickly and leaving just as fast, seemingly not wanting to stay a second longer.

The two food boxes were opened one after another, containing a total of six dishes and a soup, all of which were exquisite dishes made by the palace chefs.

"Let's eat." Meng Qingqian sat down at the table.

He Yunxiao consumed just as much energy as Mengbao, and without a word, he sat down next to her and began to eat heartily, as if he had never eaten before.

Meng Qingqian stared blankly at He Yunxiao, her eyes suddenly softening, "Thank you for your hard work."

"Huh?" He Yunxiao was confused, but then he understood. "Oh no, it wasn't that tough. It was a bit harder at first, but then we started raiding the Yan army's supply lines. We had plenty of food and drink, but the Yan army was always hungry. They couldn't get enough to eat in the dead of winter. If you're talking about suffering, they were the ones who suffered more."

"So, you're saying you're doing pretty well out there?"

Although He Yunxiao was focused on eating, he did not lose his keen sense of smell.

Mengbao's words were clearly an implication that "you're comfortable without me, aren't you?"

After swallowing the last mouthful of rice, He Yunxiao wiped his mouth and then, without saying a word, nuzzled his head against Mengbao, holding her arms tightly.

"The world is too big, but only Mengbao's embrace is what I cherish most."

"We're eating."

"I don't care, I just love hugging."

“You…” Meng Qingqian put the bowl and chopsticks on the table, “Who’s in charge of your Daqi Bank now? Is it you, or Miss Du?”

“Miss Du,” He Yunxiao replied immediately.

"Then have her come to see me this afternoon and wait at Jinxian Courtyard."

"ah?"

"Two hundred and fifty thousand taels, but you are not allowed to go. Let her come alone."

"Mengbao~"

"Ben, cough, do you think I'd eat her?"

"Oh." He Yunxiao was relieved.

Meng Qingqian stared at He Yunxiao, then suddenly changed the subject. "Unless she has ulterior motives towards you. Does she?"

"Does my feeling for her count?"

Meng Qingqian glared fiercely at He Yunxiao. She never expected that this bastard He Yunxiao would admit to something so readily after going out for a while.

In fact, He Yunxiao's change of attitude was mainly influenced by Sister Jiang's views.

The female characters will have to interact sooner or later. The more they try to hide it, the more likely something bad will happen. It's better to let the hard rock meet the soft cotton first, to reduce some of the force so that the final impact won't be as destructive. Sending Sister Jiang to interact with Ruobao is the same idea as sending Yinyun to interact with Mengbao.

“Miss Du is beautiful and kind-hearted. I’ve always been a womanizer, as Mengbao knows.”

Meng Qingqian continued to stare at He Yunxiao.

He Yunxiao immediately followed up with an explanation, "It's just simple liking. I've never touched her virginity. I've never treated her the way I treat Mengbao. Mengbao is still my only Mengbao."

"Really?" Meng Qingqian was slightly suspicious, mainly because she didn't quite believe that He could hold back.

"Of course." He Yunxiao snuggled up to Mengbao, mimicking how Sister Jiang coaxed Ruobao, and whispered in her ear, "If the mistress doesn't give the word, don't all the younger sisters have to obey and wait?"

Meng Qingqian curled her lips; He Yunxiao's words had indeed struck a chord with her.

With Nan Zhu around, she originally didn't intend to take He Yunxiao for herself. However, not taking him for herself was one thing, but whether Princess Xiaoyue could have a say in the He family was another matter entirely.

It seems that her family's position as an imperial family is quite good now.

"I just wanted to talk to her about some banking matters. After all, the Great Qi Bank will be issuing gold and silver certificates for the imperial court in the future, and I need to ask her about some important points," Meng Qingqian said.

“Oh, okay.” Mengbao’s reasoning was sound, so He Yunxiao had no choice but to go along with it.

Taking advantage of Mengbao's good mood, He Yunxiao pressed on to another matter.

"By the way, Mengbao, do you know that Fan Ziruo?"

Meng Qingqian was more familiar with this "Miss Fan" than Du Yinyun was. Back then, she had used the title of "Empress" to blackmail Fan Yu.

Upon hearing He Yunxiao suddenly mention "Fan Ziruo," Meng Qingqian sensed something was wrong.

"What's wrong?"

"Well, we just came back from the war these past few days. My dad and Uncle Fan are quite familiar with each other, so there might be some small collaborations."

"Hmm. What kind of small collaboration?"

engagement.

In the end, He Yunxiao backed down, saying, "It's just some minor squabbles by the elders."

Meng Qingqian glanced at He Yunxiao, instinctively sensing that the matter was not as simple as He Yunxiao made it out to be. However, based on the letters Li Jin sent back each time, He Yunxiao and Fan Ziruo were probably not completely unrelated as Li Jin claimed in his letters; rather, their relationship was somewhat ambiguous, but it was unlikely to pose a threat to her throne.

Well, that girl from the Fan family doesn't seem to be the type to compete for favor. Besides, she's probably old-fashioned, conservative, dull, and boring. She's only good at putting on a show, so she's nothing to worry about.

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