"Then tell me..." The Crown Prince gently closed the scroll, raising his eyes to look at Tingfeng, "Do you think she will be seduced by the Prince Xian's good looks?"
“This…” Tingfeng shook his head, thinking of the matter of Doctor Jiang that he had investigated today, and felt a pang of sympathy. “I think that Prince Xian may not necessarily come out on top. This Miss Xie is really not someone to be trifled with.”
"Is that so..." The Crown Prince raised a slight eyebrow. "You've become clever." With that, the Crown Prince gently opened the scroll in his hand with his slender fingers and continued to read it with an expressionless face.
However, in those deep phoenix eyes that seemed to see through everything in the world, a faint, unfathomable light flickered, like a whirlwind of dark clouds, and quickly vanished.
Tingfeng stood there, somewhat stunned.
Was the Crown Prince praising his intelligence or Miss Xie?
...
The next day, before dawn, Xie Lingqin got up and took stock of her belongings.
They called upon Zihe and Tridacna, and quickly sorted the gifts sent by the Wise King.
Then, I was somewhat disappointed.
The items are valuable, but few are worth pawning.
There's no way around it; once these things are displayed, their origins can be traced.
Who could believe that the Prince Xian's mansion would be so poor as to pawn its possessions? Xie Lingqin picked up a few jade hairpins that were available for pawn and whose origins were unknown, and her mood was not good.
However, no matter how bad it was, aside from keeping the finest fabrics, all the rest was given as a reward to the maids in the courtyard.
Instantly, everyone in the courtyard beamed with joy.
Although this young lady has been a bit cold-tempered since she woke up that day, she doesn't scold people much, and now she's being so generous to them.
Xie Lingqin won people's hearts effortlessly and without them even realizing it.
Of course, it wasn't just about money; that was just one of the triggers. The real purpose was to make them realize that their days in the young lady's courtyard had actually been incredibly easy.
Because the young lady never makes too many demands on them, and she certainly doesn't get angry with them all the time.
Xie Lingqin gave them this kind of invisible respect that they had never experienced before.
“Miss, actually, you don’t need to be like this…” Zihe sighed as she watched Xie Lingqin put away her hairpin and tuck her sleeves, and said softly, “The money will be distributed in a few days.”
It means that if you have money soon, there's no need to pawn these things.
"Poor." Xie Lingqin uttered only one word.
"Then, I'll give you my entire allowance for this month, Miss."
"Oh." Xie Lingqin suddenly patted her shoulder and gave her a meaningful look. "I'm sorry to tell you, your allowance for this month, including the allowance for the past six months, is no longer yours."
"this?"
"Those pastries from yesterday..." Xie Lingqin helped Zihe regain her memory.
Zihe immediately opened his mouth wide, unable to express his suffering.
"Oh well."
"Don't worry, I will definitely repay you double in the future," Xie Lingqin assured her again.
Zihe believed it, yet she didn't quite believe it.
Of course, the news that Xie Lingqin had distributed the gifts given by the Prince to the servants in the courtyard quickly reached the ears of the Second Concubine.
The second concubine was heartbroken and extremely disgusted. She secretly cursed Xie Lingqin as a fool, fearing that she had resorted to such a desperate measure to win people over.
Xie Danling, following his father's orders, was to return to the academy today. As he reached the gate, he heard the commotion, and his delicate brows immediately furrowed.
"Brainless, hopeless." He muttered to himself, his face full of disgust.
"What did you say, young master?" Miao Qiao asked in confusion from the side.
Xie Danling glanced at her and shook his head. "It's nothing. I'm going to the academy and won't be back until mid-month. You take care of the courtyard."
Miao Qiao curtsied and replied softly, "Don't worry, young master."
At this moment, Xie Lingqin used the excuse that she had just recovered from a cold and needed to rest to stay at home. In fact, she had already secretly left the mansion. She was about to turn the corner along the street when she suddenly saw Xie Danling at the mansion gate, so she stopped and looked at him for a while.
She naturally saw and heard his disdain and contempt for her, as well as Miaoqiao's shy and hesitant manner, seemingly obedient but actually extremely eager to get close to her master.
The daughter of the deceased Granny Liu.
Xie Lingqin only turned around after Xie Danling got into the carriage and the gate closed.
Dressed as an inconspicuous maid, she strolled from one end of the street to the other, pondering her plans while overhearing some gossip.
In a few days, the ninth young lady of the Marquis of Anping's mansion will turn ten, and a grand celebration will be held.
The Marquis of Anping's family has been a prominent clan for centuries, deeply favored by the emperor and hereditary. In addition, the Marquis of Anping's wife is fertile, bearing one daughter and two sons. The eldest daughter is a concubine in the palace and is currently enjoying great favor, while the two sons are also outstanding in talent and appearance...
I heard that not long ago, the eldest son was promoted to the position of Vice Minister in the Ministry of War, which is like adding icing on the cake.
He could be considered the most desirable person to curry favor with in the entire capital.
Speaking of which, the second young master of the Marquis of Anping's mansion...
Xie Lingqin frowned, turned around and went to the firecracker shop to buy some things, then walked towards the herbal medicine shop from the previous day.
I promised to come and pick up that herb today.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
"Girl, you've arrived." As soon as she entered, the shopkeeper from the other day greeted her warmly and gently, and seemed to be doing nothing wrong.
Xie Lingqin stepped forward and said, "Shopkeeper, I'm here to get the medicine."
"Please come with me to the back room, young lady. The medicine has just arrived and hasn't been sorted yet," the shopkeeper said with a smile, stepping out from behind the counter and leading Xie Lingqin through the curtain to the back room.
Xie Lingqin looked unperturbed, nodded, and followed.
As soon as she entered the back room, a cold dagger was pressed against Xie Lingqin's neck. The shopkeeper, who had been smiling gently just moments before, tightened his grip on the dagger, his face filled with a chilling murderous intent. "Miss, tell me, who sent you to retrieve this medicine? Where are the people we sent to follow you that day?"
Xie Lingqin remained unmoved, calmly looking at the shopkeeper. "Shopkeeper, didn't your mother teach you that it's best to ask questions one at a time?"
The shopkeeper was stunned, and in that instant, without Xie Lingqin's knowledge, the dagger in the shopkeeper's hand was transferred to someone else.
The situation reversed, and Xie Lingqin held the dagger to the fat shopkeeper's lower back. "Tell me, who is controlling this medicine?"
The fat shopkeeper seemed surprised by Xie Lingqin's skill. When a look of surprise flashed across his face, he was not afraid. Instead, he revealed a sinister intent.
"Hmph, you think you can escape now that you've come all this way?"
"Whoa—"
The next instant, a gust of sword wind blew, and more than a dozen people appeared out of nowhere, surrounding Xie Lingqin.
This book was first published by Xiaoxiang Academy; please do not reproduce it!
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