Inside the carriage, Xie Danling sat in a corner, watching Xie Lingqin across from him, who appeared completely relaxed and composed, while remaining fully vigilant.
"Don't be afraid, I don't eat people."
After a long while, Xie Lingqin's gaze finally fell on Xie Danling, her face calm and her expression gentle.
However, Xie Danling subconsciously shrank back further in and awkwardly looked away.
"There are plenty of carriages in the manor, but you insisted on riding with me. You're clearly trying to mess with me on purpose."
"How did I do anything to you? You've been perfectly fine since you left the manor, without the slightest problem."
"You...you're planning to make your move at Elder Dong's residence."
Xie Lingqin found it laughable and raised her hand, "Don't worry, I won't send you to a brothel again, there's no need to be so nervous."
Xie Lingqin is sincere.
But upon hearing the words "brothel," Xie Danling's handsome face changed color.
It seems the psychological trauma from last night is quite severe.
"I said..."
Xie Lingqin suddenly leaned back against the car wall with complete relaxation, looking at Xie Danling with a hint of laziness in her eyes. "You used to be so fierce towards me, always standing up for Xie Lingyu. How come you're so afraid of me now?"
"You..." Xie Danling raised her eyebrows and snorted, "I don't want to talk to you. I want to get off the carriage and go to Elder Dong's residence by myself."
“That won’t do. Mr. Dong liked me quite a bit before. If we go together, he’ll be very happy.”
"Didn't you say you were going to investigate a case? If you're not going to investigate a case, why are you insisting on coming with me to Elder Dong's place?"
"This Dr. Dong is a highly respected and revered doctor. It's perfectly reasonable for me to go and ask him for advice, isn't it?"
Xie Lingqin finished speaking in a serious tone, with a faint smile on her face.
After a moment, as if remembering something, Xie Lingqin turned her head to the side again.
Xie Danling immediately became fully alert again, "W-what are you doing?"
"It's nothing, I just wanted to say, why don't you care about your fake second sister?"
"She deceived me like that, why should I care about her anymore?"
"oh."
Xie Lingqin nodded slightly.
"Not too stupid."
"you……"
"Miss, sir, we've arrived." At this moment, the carriage slowly came to a stop, and the coachman's voice rang out.
Xie Lingqin then lifted the curtain, lightly jumped down from the carriage.
"She has absolutely no virtues of a woman."
"If you say another word, I'll cut out your tongue." Xie Lingqin looked at Xie Danling tenderly.
Xie Danling...
The coachman stood by, following the crowd...
The young master is so pitiful!
Servants were already waiting outside the Dong family mansion. They seemed surprised that Xie Lingqin would come, and their eyes showed obvious surprise. They immediately came forward and said with a smile, "I didn't expect Miss Xie to come. Dong will be very happy to see you."
"How could that old man be happy to see me? He'd probably be depressed."
As Xie Lingqin spoke, she had already stepped past the man and entered the mansion.
Xie Danling was now completely flustered.
He knew that Elder Dong valued him, his older sister, highly, but he never imagined it would be this much. Would he side with Xie Lingqin against him later...?
Forced to follow behind, Xie Danling was on the verge of tears.
It's still that same courtyard filled with herbs; you can smell the fragrance of herbs from a great distance.
At this moment, Old Master Dong, dressed in a wide gray robe, was frowning as he stared at a basket of herbs in the courtyard. Hearing the noise behind him, he turned around and saw Xie Lingqin. His eyes seemed to brighten for a moment, but then he frowned again and said, "Oh, this brat. I heard she's gained the Emperor's favor. I thought she'd ignore this old man."
"How could that be? Besides, you old geezer have helped me a lot, haven't you?"
Xie Lingqin approached and picked up a blade of grass to fiddle with.
Xie Danling followed her in.
"Young Master Xie is here! Over here, come on..."
Old Master Dong smiled kindly and led Xie Danling to the side, pointing to a winnowing basket of red and green beans, "Your task today is to separate these beans."
"What?"
Xie Danling immediately widened her eyes, looking at the especially kind and amiable Old Master Dong in disbelief, "I...I..."
"This is a test of your eyesight, laying the foundation for future acupuncture and treatment. Therefore, you must be humble and attentive." Old Master Dong stroked his stubble, speaking in a grand and reasonable manner.
However, Xie Lingqin, who was watching from the side, twitched slightly between her brows.
There are many ways to test one's eyesight, is this the only one?
It's not like we're practicing martial arts.
However, she didn't say much. Seeing that Old Master Dong had no ill intentions and that Xie Danling could suffer a bit and temper her character, she was happy to see it happen.
The truth is, Xie Danling was indeed intimidated by Old Master Dong. Although unwilling, she still slowly moved her feet to count the beans.
"Old Dong."
Just as Elder Dong was about to speak with Xie Lingqin, someone came in from outside the courtyard to report.
Old Master Dong glanced at Xie Lingqin, then raised his hand to the newcomer, "Speak."
"Master Dong, someone from the Prince Xian's residence just came and said that someone in the backyard of the Prince Xian's residence has fallen ill and they would like you to come over."
Upon hearing this, Old Dong's eyes, full of fine wrinkles, narrowed slightly.
A hint of a smile appeared in Xie Lingqin's eyes. Someone in the Prince Xian's mansion has fallen ill, so they've come to invite Elder Dong?!
Who is Elder Dong? Not to mention that it's difficult for ordinary people to invite him, even back at the General's Mansion, when the Prince Xian's people and her people went to invite him at the same time, he was turned away, while she managed to invite Elder Dong. The Prince Xian lost face, and although he didn't say anything openly, he must have felt resentful.
Moreover, given that he was punished by the Emperor for having an affair with the imposter Xie Lingyu in the palace and revealing the truth about persecuting her, why would he still come to invite Elder Dong, or would he be doing so on behalf of someone from the inner court?
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
