Qiu Yan nodded in agreement. On the way to Xingyue Tower, she looked at the brat and really wanted to give him a good scolding.
"Xiao Ran, if I hadn't shown up in time today, you would have been taken away by bad guys long ago. Will you still run around like this in the future?"
Gu Xiaoran shook her head vigorously, "I'm not running anymore."
Qiu Yan's tone turned stern, "If you run away again, you'll never see your father again, and you'll never see me again!"
Gu Xiaoran knew she had done something wrong and nodded seriously: "Xiaoran won't run away anymore!" After saying that, she repeated, "Xiaoran really won't run away anymore, Xiaoran will be a good girl and listen to me."
After personally taking care of Gu Xiaoran for only half a day, Qiu Yan already felt physically and mentally exhausted.
A day of missing Gu Qian...
At Xingyue Tower, Zhou Zifang saw Qiu Yan leading the child and Madam Jiang Liuding slowly into the building, so he quickly stepped forward and led them to the second floor.
He asked Qiu Yan in a low voice, "How did things go?"
Qiu Yan: "It went very smoothly."
With the three of them and a child sitting at the same table, Qiu Yan felt a sense of unreality.
She never expected that she would be sitting at the same table as Madam Ding today.
Jiang Liu has never liked beating around the bush. During the meal, she directly told Madam Ding what she was thinking, "Madam Ding, I heard that you have been helping to manage your mother's family business. I plan to open a clothing store and would like to cooperate with your Zhang family."
Qiu Yan wondered to herself, is the Zhang family the Zhang family she had heard about?
This was business offered to her doorstep, so Madam Ding naturally wouldn't refuse. However, she was a little puzzled, "Madam Tang, are you also going to do business?"
Jiang Liu's husband is a county magistrate, why would she need to run her own business?
Although she had doubts, Madam Ding did not ask too many questions. "It is an honor for our Zhang family to gain Madam Tang's favor."
At the entrance of Xingyue Tower, Tang Yi, dressed in a moon-white robe, led his beloved concubine in.
"Sir, it's this restaurant that stole our chef."
Hearing voices from afar at the door, Zhou Zifang's heart tightened. Could the magistrate be here to cause trouble?
Because of Tang Yi's arrival, some diners who recognized him stopped talking and quietly ate the delicious food on the table.
Some passing merchants, seeing that the surroundings had quieted down, also stopped talking and turned their gazes to Tang Yi.
Only Song Jiao, behind the beaded curtain, continued to pluck the strings, producing a melodious sound.
Hu Ying kept complaining, while Tang Yi focused his attention on Song Jiao on the second floor.
Unexpectedly, a beautiful woman was hidden inside the Star Moon Pavilion.
"The sound of the pipa fills the ears, and the food and color enhance the aroma; how wonderful!"
He didn't want to come, but Hu Ying said that the chef they had carefully searched for was hidden in Xingyue Tower, so Hu Ying dragged him here.
"grown ups……"
Noticing that Tang Yi's gaze was fixed on the pipa player, Hu Ying was secretly annoyed and blocked Tang Yi's view.
What's so interesting about a pipa player?
Tang Yi was captivated by the sound of the pipa. "Oh, Hu Ying, what did you just say?"
“Xingyuelou stole our chef, you can’t let them get away with this.”
The three people, Qiu Yan and her companions, found that the noise had subsided and couldn't help but investigate.
Jiang Liu stared intently at the man and woman downstairs. Although she smiled kindly, her hands, hidden in her sleeves, were already clenched into fists.
When Qiu Yan and Madam Ding discovered that the magistrate had brought his concubine, they simply ate their meal quietly and did not make any changes.
Lin Shu greeted her with a smile, but Hu Ying bumped into her as if by accident and pushed her aside.
Lin Shu was forced to step directly on Qiu Dayu's instep.
"Tell your manager to come up and greet us."
Hu Ying, relying on Tang Yi's favor, looked down on everyone. However, her voice was soft and gentle, not fierce at all, but rather endearing.
Lin Shu's smile froze. So what if she's just a concubine? What's with the attitude?
Qiu Dayu's foot hurt, and he glanced at Hu Ying with displeasure.
Lin Shu and Qiu Dayu were caught in a dilemma: whether to step forward or not. The other workers dared not step forward either.
Seeing this, Zhou Zifang quickly led the two upstairs.
"Sir, this way please."
"Hmm." Tang Yi went upstairs to the second floor on his own, went to the room next to Song Jiao, found a seat and sat down, staring at the beauty next door.
Hu Ying suppressed her displeasure and followed behind, sitting down opposite Tang Yi.
Tang Yi glanced at the menu on the wall, casually ordered some of Xingyuelou's specialty wild game, and also ordered two small pots of wine. He enjoyed the music while sipping his drink alone.
"My lord, we came to Xingyue Tower, not to dine," Hu Ying reminded him.
Tang Yi was listening intently when Hu Ying abruptly interrupted his pleasant conversation, and he said impatiently, "He's just a cook."
Hu Ying shut her mouth awkwardly, her eyes flashing with intense jealousy.
Song Jiao noticed the strange occurrence beside her but ignored it, continuing to play her pipa with her delicate hands.
In another private room, Madam Ding saw that Jiang Liu was in a bad mood and couldn't help but comfort her, "Madam Tang, don't take it to heart. Now that you've married Lord Tang, you must hold onto his heart tightly. As long as you remain his legal wife, his concubines will be suppressed by you and unable to raise their heads."
Qiu Yan pursed her lips and remained silent.
Gu Xiaoran was getting restless and wanted to leave, but Qiu Yan glanced at him and he obediently sat back down in his chair.
Jiang Liu gave Madam Ding a wry smile, then turned to look at Qiu Yan.
"Qiu Yan, if you were me, what would you do?"
Having known Qiu Yan for so long, Jiang Liu knows that Qiu Yan is a person with her own ideas.
“I will break off all ties with him and become complete strangers.”
Qiu Yan's very ordinary tone of voice surprised both of them.
Madam Ding paused mid-air as she picked up some food. "Miss Qiu Yan, you can't just say things like that."
Qiu Yan: "Mrs. Ding, this is just my personal opinion."
Madam Ding sighed, "You're quite the unusual girl. I know you're standing up for Madam Tang, but do you really want her to end up like me, all alone and helpless..."
Before Madam Ding could finish speaking, Jiang Liu suddenly stood up, pushed open the door, and went out.
Qiu Yan and Madam Ding exchanged a glance, somewhat puzzled, before their gazes simultaneously turned to Jiang Liu's retreating figure.
Just as Tang Yi was engrossed in listening to the pipa music, the door to the private room was suddenly pushed open.
"Who is it? How utterly rude!"
As soon as Hu Ying finished speaking, she realized it was Jiang Liu who had come. She pouted and reluctantly bowed to her, saying, "Madam."
She dared not act presumptuously in front of Jiang Liu.
Jiang Liu sat down leisurely beside Tang Yi, which really surprised Tang Yi.
What are you doing here?
"That question is obviously about food." Jiang Liu smiled and waved to Qiu Dayu in the distance. "Add another set of chopsticks and a bowl."
"Please wait a moment, Madam, I'll be right there." Qiu Dayu quickly went to fetch the tableware.
When Jiang Liu saw Hu Ying's jealous eyes, she realized how ridiculous she had been before.
"Get out of here. I need to speak with Tang Yi alone!"
“You…” Hu Ying bit her lower lip hard, her fists clenched tightly.
"I told you to get out!" Jiang Liu raised her voice a few decibels.
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