Chapter 17 You've said this to other people as well?
Pan Chengjie was at a loss with her, so he shook his head and stood up. "Alright, if you get bored, you can come and chat with me. I'd be happy to keep you company."
After saying that, he went about his business.
Qin Song waited there stubbornly. In reality, she could have found Lu Youchuan by following the lingering scent, but this was a government office, a place for officials, and she couldn't act rashly.
Waiting is the only option right now.
Tea was poured again and again, but the sky was gradually darkening, and everyone in the government office had finished their shifts, yet Lu Youchuan still hadn't appeared.
"Miss, let's go back." Yun Qian couldn't bear to see her young mistress suffer. "Perhaps there are other ways."
There must be other ways, if it were her father.
But she didn't. She didn't understand court politics, had no reliable connections, and lacked sufficient power.
She was just Qin Daoji's daughter, nothing more. Once her father fell from grace, she would be nothing, and might even be implicated and die.
At that moment, she was overwhelmed by a tremendous sense of powerlessness, and tears welled up in her eyes.
But she herself didn't know why she was crying. She was afraid, but not to the point of tears. She felt wronged, but it was really insignificant.
If she had to figure out what she was thinking, it seemed to be a kind of remorse, a remorse for not realizing her dangerous situation after arriving here and experiencing so many helpless situations.
I had already thought of this point at the Taixu Temple last time, but I was blinded by a requirement for a qualified female lead. What exactly is a qualified female lead? What if she isn't qualified? What could be more important than her life?
Perhaps she not only wants to survive, but also wants to keep climbing higher!
Yun Qian had no idea what she was thinking, but she was startled and quickly took a handkerchief to wipe her face.
Qin Song, however, felt it was in her way. He took her handkerchief, wiped his own tears, and murmured to himself, "There must be a way, there must be a way."
She knows very few people here, and the one she is most likely to control is Li Yu, who is in the Eastern Palace and has no choice in what he does.
Her close friend Tao Yao was seriously injured and had just returned from her residence, so she was certainly unaware of what had happened.
As for Tao Qingyang, forget it, she can't see through him yet, and besides, he just suffered a defeat and can't even protect himself.
Right now, the only person most capable of helping her is Lu Youchuan.
After pacing back and forth for a long time, Qin Song decided to find another way out and took Yun Qian out first.
With the yamen empty, Pan Chengjie watched through the window as two women's backs passed through the gate. Turning back, he asked in confusion, "Old Lu, you definitely have feelings for that Miss Qin. She comes to your door, but you're avoiding her. What are you up to?"
Lu Youchuan, who had been sitting in the back hall of the yamen reviewing case files, had a deep frown on his face but did not respond.
Pan Chengjie looked him up and down and said seriously, "Don't say it's because she has the surname Qin. You've already taken her to the governor's mansion to test her. She hasn't had a single moment of contact with Chief Minister Qin, and she even got the banquet gift list from the governor's mansion. She and her father are definitely not on the same side. So why do you need to worry about her?"
Lu Youchuan let out a slight sigh of relief. Two hours had passed, and he hadn't finished reading a single file. He attributed all of this to Pan Chengjie's incessant chatter.
He put down the case file and glanced at the empty gate. "Her father just got imprisoned and she came to see me. What are her intentions? Don't you know?"
"Of course I know, but didn't you already help her review the case files? Although His Majesty intends to weaken the Qin family, you are currently highly trusted by the imperial family. Are you afraid that you can't protect a woman?"
Pan Chengjie directly exposed his purpose in looking at the case file.
He then went to his desk and said earnestly, "You should feel fortunate that she came to you. It means she trusts you and wants your support. If you push her away at this time, you'll only be handing her over to someone else. Where do you think she is now? If she's looking for Li Shaozhanshi, I bet that kid would go through fire and water to stand up for her. In that case, you've wasted your time reading this file."
Lu Youchuan tightened his grip on the file, his gaze returning to it. "Since she has someone helping her, why does she need to come to me?"
Pan Chengjie seemed to understand something from his tone. After a moment of contemplation, he murmured, "No, I saw the Junior Chamberlain with Miss Qin at the Governor's Mansion last time. This morning you even went to the Qin Mansion on your own initiative. It seems you don't take the Junior Chamberlain seriously at all. Could it be because of... General Tao?"
Today, General Tao and Miss Qin have been seen together everywhere. This is indeed a bit troublesome. Given your relationship with General Tao, his approach to Miss Qin… tsk, he probably has ulterior motives, perhaps to get revenge on you? Poor Miss Qin, she's likely to be taken advantage of by him.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Youchuan put down the file, the paper making a sharp, muffled thud, his impatience blatantly obvious.
"Alright! You should go back now." Lu Youchuan ruthlessly ushered him out.
Pan Chengjie sighed meaningfully, feeling that his advice had been in vain. He patted him on the shoulder and went back to his shift.
Everyone in the government office had left, and the duty room was quiet. Lu Youchuan's thoughts were in turmoil.
One moment she was struggling with Li Yu in the corridor, the next she was embracing Tao Qingyang intimately, and then she was sitting helplessly in the yamen hall, shedding tears. Countless chaotic emotions began to tear him apart again.
The urge to act recklessly was locked in a fierce tug-of-war with his rationality as an imperial censor, forcing him to concentrate countless times to barely clear his mind.
However, just as he was getting a glimpse of the information, footsteps sounded again.
He snapped irritably, "What are you doing back here again?"
"Looking for you."
A familiar and firm female voice rang out, and Lu Youchuan's heart suddenly raced. His thoughts, which had just calmed down, were instantly turned into a tangled mess.
He swallowed hard, forced himself to remain calm, put down the file in his hand, and looked up.
A young girl in a jade-white dress stood alone under the dim streetlights, more enchanting than the moonlight itself.
Her slender shoulders were straight, her gaze firm, carrying a resolute determination to sacrifice herself.
Qin Song took a breath outside the door, and without asking for permission, went straight into Lu Youchuan's duty room. "Lord Lu has finally returned."
Lu Youchuan's heart was pounding erratically. He only glanced at her briefly before pretending to be busy with official duties, looking at the files in his hands, and said distantly, "The Censorate is off duty. Miss Qin is late."
"No, it's not too late as long as you're here."
Qin Song came to his table, but he looked down at what he was holding and didn't even look up.
A sense of disappointment washed over her, and Qin Song pursed her lips sadly, but she wouldn't give up: "Lord Lu, let's cooperate one more time. As long as you can save my father, I'll agree to any conditions."
Lu Youchuan casually flipped through a page of the file and sneered, "Miss Qin, don't you suspect that it was I who ordered Lord Qin to be imprisoned?"
"Possibly, but not." Qin Song was very certain. "If it were related to the Censorate, there should be people from the Censorate working with the Court of Judicial Review to handle the case. But the Censorate personnel are all here, so it is absolutely impossible for them to have anything to do with Lord Lu."
Lu Youchuan kept his head down, working without even glancing at her. "Then why should I help you?"
"Marriage. If you're willing, I can get engaged to you."
Qin Song would never have gotten engaged unless the other person was easy to manipulate, and Lu Youchuan was clearly not. But she had figured it out: if marriage could bring her benefits, that would be her best bargaining chip right now.
She added, "My father only has one daughter, me. Whether you want to bring him down or use him, as long as you marry me, the Qin family will be yours, and you can do whatever you want with me."
But this bargaining chip doesn't seem to be working.
Lu Youchuan stopped what he was doing and finally raised his head, but his face was even more gloomy. "Qin Song!"
The first time he called her name, his tone was very serious, with an undercurrent of reprimand, but his jaw muscles bulged slightly, and he stared at Qin Song without saying anything for a long time.
Qin Song suddenly realized that, for so long, apart from sarcastically calling her "Miss Qin" twice, he had never addressed her properly.
But this formal, distant, and resentful call threw Qin Song into a panic.
Wouldn't it be better to marry her? People in her household say that anyone wanting to curry favor with the Qin family is doing everything they can to marry her. Even if he doesn't want to curry favor with the Qin family, marrying her wouldn't be a bad thing, would it? Is it because he's impotent or prefers men that he's being provoked?
Qin Song was startled by his tone and eyes and remained silent for a moment.
Lu Youchuan took a deep breath, his expression returning to its usual coldness, and continued looking down at the file. "You've said this to other people too?"
No, but if he doesn't agree, he might go to someone else.
Qin Song flattered, "Does Lord Lu think I could find someone more suitable than you?"
Lu Youchuan's chest heaved violently, and his throat bobbed as if he was suppressing something. He then said angrily, "The fact that Lord Qin entered the Dali Temple without cause means that there is no final verdict. No news is the best news. After all, your father is the Crown Prince's tutor. The people of the Dali Temple would not dare to touch him easily. Why are you in such a hurry? You are just a young woman. You should not go out casually."
She knew this, but as Uncle Zhao said, her father was getting old and was now in constant trouble. How could she be at ease with him being imprisoned? Moreover, even if her father was alright this time, she still had to take precautions and make plans in advance.
If she insisted on using her marriage as a bargaining chip, becoming empress would certainly be the most secure option. However, she had also heard the saying that serving a ruler is like serving a tiger, and she would probably be even more anxious and fearful.
The crown prince is young and it will take him a long time to ascend the throne. Even if she becomes the crown princess, she may be implicated and suffer before the crown prince takes the throne.
Therefore, the best option is to find a highly influential and trusted advisor to invest in. If her father gets into trouble, it would be best if her husband's family could save him as well. If they can't, at least she won't be implicated.
The same principle applies in reverse.
Looking across the government and the public, Lu Youchuan is undoubtedly the best choice.
This would not only ease her father's situation in the court, but also allow her to gain a more stable position. Moreover, he didn't care about fame and fortune and would not easily ruin his career, let alone commit the crime of implicating others.
Moreover, if he is impotent, and she builds a harem, he will definitely just turn a blind eye.
So she still needs to get him first.
But he didn't even glance at her; he was so cold-hearted.
Qin Song pretended to cry, "But I can't eat or sleep a wink as long as my father doesn't return... Does Lord Lu really have no news at all?"
Lu Youchuan finally raised his eyebrows and stared at her, his eyes seemingly churning with complex emotions—a scrutiny, a helplessness, and a burning intensity she couldn't decipher, which almost overwhelmed Qin Song.
He scrutinized her for a moment, sighed quietly, wrapped up the file in his hand, and handed it to her, saying, "Take a look at this; it might be useful."
Qin Song happily took it, her fingertips almost touching his hand, "So Lord Lu had already taken note of this for me! You really are..."
She paused halfway through her sentence, then eagerly unfolded the file. Before she could even look at it closely, she suddenly pressed the scroll tightly to her chest, as if protecting some rare treasure.
The next second, she quickly bent down, nimbly leaped over the desk, and unexpectedly placed a light kiss on his cheek.
"That's wonderful. I will definitely marry you." She whispered in his ear, her warm breath warming his earlobe and making his entire neck feel hot.
A note from the author:
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[Dog head with rose in hand] Praying to start daily updates soon~ Love you all
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