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When Xiuzhu and Xiuhe heard Xie Qi's blunt question, they quickly retreated to a distance, lowered their heads, and pretended to be deaf.
Li Wan's ears turned red instantly, and she was so embarrassed that she wanted to shut his mouth.
But business was of the essence. She looked around and, seeing that there was no one else around, took a small step in front of him, tiptoed closer to his ear, and lowered her voice.
"It's not about dealing with the Fourth Prince; we need to come up with a plan as soon as possible."
Xie Qi smelled that faint, indescribable floral scent again. The woman was so focused on talking to him that she didn't realize how close she was to him.
He was so close that he could see the fine lines on her pink lips, feel her breath on his neck, and hear the tip of her red tongue when she tilted her head to speak…
His body stiffened slightly, and he subtly took a half-step back. "What's the rush?"
Seeing his indifferent demeanor, Li Wan was furious. She had come to his side to help him eliminate his political enemies one by one until no one could frame him and cause his defeat in three years.
The Fourth Prince harbors the deepest malice towards Xie Qi now. It's possible that in his past life, the Fourth Prince set up this scheme because he feared Xie Qi would hinder his attempt to seize the throne.
The sooner she resolves this matter, the sooner she can return to Niutian Village, so of course she's in a hurry.
She subconsciously took another step forward in front of him and explained, "Now that I have married you as the Fourth Prince wished, he will definitely have me work as his spy to monitor you. Why don't we think of a way to catch him in the act, and then you can expose him in court?"
She spoke quickly, as if she had planned it in advance.
Xie Qi looked at her for a while, then raised his forearm and pinched the slender, bony fingers of the cloak draped over her front. He slowly untied the loose ties and then tightened them again. The white fox fur of the cloak enveloped her exposed white neck, soft and warm.
He lowered his hand and took another step back. "Don't be afraid. Your value to us now is far greater than before. Xiao Fan won't easily expose your weaknesses."
Impatient with his sarcasm, Li Wan asked bluntly, "What if he asks me to tell him your whereabouts or spy on your secrets?"
She said seriously, "I think, since he's not a good person anyway, we might as well just bring him down and make sure he never has the chance to do evil again."
Xie Qi's handsome eyes curved into a rare smile. This petite woman, who barely reached his chest, was indeed straightforward... and rather foolish.
He asked knowingly, "What exactly does Xiao Fan have against you that makes you so ruthless towards him?"
"I want to know too!" Li Wan rolled her eyes at Xie Qi silently. If he saw with his own eyes the way he died tragically in his previous life, let's see if he can still make sarcastic remarks.
Thinking of this, Li Wan couldn't help but tease him, "Sir, you are kind-hearted, but if you are harmed by villains in the future and end up with a thousand arrows piercing your back and being stabbed by knives and swords, I'm afraid there won't even be anyone to collect your body... umm."
Before she could finish speaking, her thin lips were suddenly pinched. The man's thumb and forefinger applied a little force, and she burst into tears from the pain.
The man looked down at her, his voice mocking, "If you don't want this mouth anymore, I'll have someone sew it up with steel needles."
"Yes...yes," Li Wan mumbled hurriedly, quickly giving in.
The man withdrew his hand, his gaze lingering on her slightly swollen lips for a few moments before he turned and walked away.
Li Wan covered her mouth and watched him walk away before angrily cursing his retreating figure: "You're sick."
She had agreed to deal with the Fourth Prince, but now she said there was no rush. He had time to wait, but she couldn't just waste her time with him. She had to take action!
Are you alright?
Xiuzhu and Xiuhe looked at Li Wan's lips with heartache, thinking to themselves that their son-in-law was indeed unpredictable in his moods. He was fine just now, so why did he suddenly hit her? It was only the first day after she married into the family, how would she endure the rest of her life?
“Miss.” Xiuzhu had just opened her mouth when she saw Xiuhe glaring at her, so she quickly changed her words, “Madam, don’t be sad. No matter what happens in the future, Xiuhe and I will be with you. The young master has a bad temper, so we will not provoke him in the future.”
Li Wan knew that Xiuzhu and Xiuhe were both good people and didn't want them to worry, so she shook her head and pretended to be relaxed, saying, "Don't worry, there are no dangers ahead. You've just become a wife from a concubine today, how wonderful, you should be happy."
"Also, please call me 'Miss' from now on, it sounds nicer."
Xiuzhu and Xiuhe exchanged a glance, realizing that the young lady was trying to comfort them. They composed themselves and smiled through their tears: "Yes, young lady."
The three returned to Yingyue Residence, had lunch, and then someone came over.
It was the old nanny who served the old lady, surnamed Kang. She led several maids into the main room.
“Young Madam.” Kang Mama bowed respectfully. “The Old Madam sent me to deliver a message that the betrothal gifts for you have been sent to the Jiang residence. This is the marriage contract that the eldest young master has already signed.”
"Thank you for your hard work, Granny Kang." Li Wan took the document, glanced at it, and handed it to Xiuhe.
A look of surprise flashed across Kang Mama's eyes. Then she pointed to the four maids she had brought and said, "The old lady knew that you only brought two maids with you. She was afraid that you would not have enough people in your courtyard, so she asked Aunt Yang to personally select some good maids to send to you."
Yang Yiniang is the concubine of the Marquis of Ningyuan, and is also the person who is currently in charge of the inner quarters of the Marquis's residence.
Li Wan glanced at them and, seeing that they were all doing well, said, "Please ask Granny Kang to convey my thanks to the Old Madam."
Kang Mama nodded. "Yes, there's one more thing. The old lady originally wanted to move you to a more spacious garden, but after considering all the options, she still thinks this is the best one."
Li Wan was stunned. Could it be that the huge Ningyuan Marquis's mansion didn't have a courtyard better than Yingyue Residence?
Noticing Li Wan's confusion, Granny Kang coughed lightly and lowered her voice, "Yingyue Residence is the closest courtyard to Zhenyun Hall."
Li Wan was stunned for a moment, then realized that Zhenyun Hall was Xie Qi's residence.
It seems the old lady wanted her grandson and granddaughter-in-law to spend more time together, and might even have hoped to hold her great-grandson soon, but alas...
Li Wan sighed inwardly. Oh well, since she was close to Xie Qi, it would be easier for her to find out about him.
"Thank you for your trouble, Madam. This place is indeed excellent. I will stay here."
Granny Kang's eyes lit up, thinking to herself, "This young lady is indeed as the old lady said, extremely sensible."
After seeing off Granny Kang, Li Wan asked Xiu He to arrange tasks for the four maids, preparing to devise a plan to deal with the Fourth Prince.
Xiuhe stood in front of the four people and said, "Come with me to the courtyard."
The other three bowed their heads and replied, "Yes."
The one who was dressed the most beautifully and was the most pretty did not move. Seeing that everyone was looking at her, she blushed slightly and bowed, "My name is Jixiang. I am grateful to Aunt Yang for allowing me to serve in the room."
Upon hearing this, both Li Wan and Xiu He fell silent. The meaning behind Aunt Yang sending a beauty to the young mistress's side was obvious.
Taking advantage of Xie Qi's opening of the inner quarters, he quickly placed one of his own people in the household, fearing that if Li Wan were to seize control of the household in the future, he, as a concubine, would have no place.
It seems that this Aunt Yang is quite cunning.
Li Wan didn't care. It was good to have a beautiful woman, so that if Xie Qi ever went berserk, someone would be there to take her place.
So she nodded without hesitation, "Okay, then you can serve me in the room."
"girl!"
Xiuhe's expression changed, thinking that how could the young lady be so weak, being given a hard time by a concubine on the very first day.
Li Wan shook her head at her, indicating that she was alright.
Helpless, Xiuhe glared at the vixen before leading her people out.
Li Wan and Ji Xiang, one standing and one sitting, created an awkward atmosphere in the room.
Li Wan pursed her lips, her eyes darted around, and she pointed to the round stool beside her, saying, "Jixiang, please sit down."
Ji Xiang paused for a moment, then lowered her head and said softly, "Yes."
After Jixiang sat down, Li Wan took a closer look at her. She noticed that Jixiang had big eyes, a high nose, red lips, and a charming figure. She was indeed the type that men liked. Li Wan nodded and secretly praised Aunt Yang for her good taste in men.
Jixiang felt guilty under Li Wan's gaze. Before coming, Aunt Yang had repeatedly instructed her to stay in the young mistress's room so that she could find an opportunity to catch the eldest son's eye later.
She had expected the young mistress to be hostile towards her, but to her surprise, the woman in front of her seemed to have a very good temper.
"Jixiang, what do you think of the eldest young master?" Li Wan suddenly asked.
Jixiang was stunned. What did the young mistress mean by this? Was she trying to probe her?
She thought for a moment and said cautiously, "The eldest young master is busy with court affairs, and we servants rarely see him in the mansion. However, the Marquis's mansion treats us servants very well, so I imagine the eldest young master must also be a very good person."
"So what do you think of the eldest young master's appearance?"
Upon hearing this, Jixiang's face flushed red, and she stammered, "I only saw it from afar and don't know much about it."
The next moment, Ji Xiang's hand was gently grasped by Li Wan.
Li Wan said earnestly, "The eldest young master has the appearance of a celestial being. You will know this when you see him. Since Aunt Yang has sent you here, you must seize the opportunity. In the future, when you see the eldest young master, you must take the initiative to serve him well, understand?"
Jixiang's eyes widened, and she stared blankly for a long time. Was the young mistress encouraging her to get close to the eldest young master? But why?
Seeing the confusion on her face, Li Wan thought to herself: Of course, it's to get you to help me fend off Xie Qi. I'm here to help him with the political infighting, not to actually be his woman.
However, Li Wan only touched on the topic briefly, patted her hand, and told her to go and tidy up.
Li Wan was the only one left in the room. She took out paper, pen, and the calligraphy practice book that Jiang Feiwan had brought from the Jiang residence.
To avoid arousing suspicion, she had to make rubbings of Jiang Feiwan's previous handwriting when writing letters. Although she couldn't guarantee that they would be exactly the same, she could still achieve a resemblance of about 80 or 90 percent.
She wrote a letter to Xiao Fan, asking him what to do next after he entered the Ningyuan Marquis's residence.
After finishing the letter, she faced another dilemma: where should she send it? She couldn't very well just deliver it to the Fourth Prince's residence openly.
That Xiao Fan is really something. He made her a spy, but he didn't even give her a way to contact him.
Holding the letter, Li Wan paced restlessly around the room, still unable to come up with a good solution even after dinner.
In the evening, Xiuhe helped her remove her makeup and hair. The maid carrying a basin of clean water was one of the newcomers that day. Because she was the tallest of the four, Li Wan had a deep impression of her and remembered that her name was Suixi.
After Xiuhe finished untying her hair, she went out to get Liwan a hot water bottle for the night.
Sui Xi took a wet cloth and handed it to Li Wan. When Li Wan reached for it, Sui Xi suddenly pulled it back, leaving Li Wan holding nothing.
Li Wan looked at her in confusion, but saw that her eyes no longer held the submissiveness they had shown before, but instead revealed a deep coldness.
She placed the damp cloth on the edge of the copper basin, took out a letter from her bosom, and handed it to Li Wan.
“Miss Jiang, this is from your master. He has instructed me to stay with you at the Ningyuan Marquis’s residence from now on. If you need anything, just let me know.”
Li Wan took the letter. "Who is your master?"
"Fourth Prince," Sui Xi replied.
Li Wan nodded, "I understand."
It was said that she was accompanying him, but in reality, she was just monitoring him. Well, that was fine, she was just worried about how to contact Xiao Fan.
However, Xiao Fan was able to slip people into the Ningyuan Marquis's residence without anyone noticing. It seems that Xie Qi is nothing special; he can't even protect his own home!
As night fell, the cold wind picked up again, and the weather grew even colder.
After reading Xiao Fan's letter, Li Wan pondered it carefully before snuggling into her warm bed and falling asleep.
Meanwhile, inside the Pillow Cloud Hall, which was separated from her by only one wall, the lights were still on.
Xie Qi sat behind a large rosewood desk, his slender fingers tapping lightly on the table.
In front of him was a roster of Jinlin Army soldiers and officers.
Shen Jie placed a copied letter aside.
"The Fourth Prince's maid is named Suixi. She has been in the Marquis's mansion for less than half a year. Today, when Aunt Yang was selecting people for Yingyue Residence, she gave the head maid some silver and got into Yingyue Residence."
“We secretly took the letter from her, copied it, and put the original back to her. By now, she should have already given the letter to Madam Jiang.”
Shen Jie paused for a moment, then asked thoughtfully, "Why did the Fourth Prince ask his concubine to steal the roster of Jinlin Army soldiers? Will she actually try to steal it?"
Xie Qi lowered his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the letter and then over the list of Jinlin Army soldiers. His fingers, which had been tapping the table, stopped. "Whether Jiang Feiwan comes to steal or not depends on whether Xiao Xianrang allows her to steal."
Shen Jie's eyes lit up. "Yes, the young mistress is the Third Prince's person. Now that she has received a mission from the Fourth Prince, she must discuss it with the Third Prince. We can also find out how the young mistress and the Third Prince communicate."
After Shen Jie finished speaking, he vaguely felt that something was wrong. Why did it sound like the young mistress was going to have an affair with the third prince?
He glanced at the adult, only to be met with the adult's cold gaze, and quickly lowered his head.
"Withdraw the guards from Yingyue Residence first, leaving a gap for her to send a message."
The adult's eyes were cold, and his voice was devoid of warmth.
"Yes." Shen Jie quickly accepted the order.
The next day, Li Wan got up early, wanting to discuss things with Xie Qi before he left the mansion.
Unexpectedly, when she arrived at Zhenyun Hall, the servant told her that the master was on leave today and probably had not yet gotten up.
The sky was dark when I woke up, and it started to snow again.
Because Xie Qi never used a heater, the main hall of Zhenyun Hall was large and cold. Li Wan's hands and feet became icy cold after sitting for less than half an hour.
She downed another cup of hot tea and couldn't help but mutter, "Lazybones, it's already this late, why aren't you up?"
"Lazybones" is an insult they use on the border.
"I never expected that Miss Jiang, a lady from a respectable family, would use such vulgar language."
Xie Qi stepped into the main hall just in time to hear her words. He raised an eyebrow at her and said, "Lazybones, that's a fresh term."
Li Wan felt guilty and pursed her lips, not responding to his words.
He walked past her, radiating coldness. Judging from his energetic appearance, he clearly hadn't just gotten up, but had returned from outside.
"Where did the master go so early in the morning?" Li Wan blurted out, puzzled.
Xie Qi glanced at her, then casually sat down on the armchair opposite her and took a sip of hot tea.
"What, you're already trying to find out my whereabouts as soon as you enter the manor?"
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