Both servants started trembling so much that their calves shook. They turned around and ran off in a hurry.
The beaded curtain obstructed the room, but they could catch a glimpse of the scene inside. When they came in earlier, they seemingly saw their master in a disheveled state...
Could they have inadvertently disturbed their master’s intimate moments?
Just thinking about it made the servants shudder more violently, tears already welling up in their hearts. They did not choose to come in of their own accord. Lady Li, whom their master had himself proposed, was essentially the madam. They could not go against her under any circumstances!
Seeing the two servants sprinting away as fast as their legs could carry them.
However, Marquis Mu’s sudden cold command stopped them: "Wait!"
The servants were so scared that their faces turned pale. Was he going to settle the score?
"Master... master, do you have any orders?" Their tongues tied due to fear.
"Prepare some cold water for me. I want to bathe," Marquis Mu ground his teeth while pronouncing the words.
"What?" Both servants were dumbfounded, unable to figure out why their master suddenly wanted to bathe and specifically in cold water?
But at this point, they had no ounce of curiosity left, as long as his anger was not redirected to them, they could just count their blessings and run away as quickly as possible!
"Yes!" Both servants ran off.
Chen Mansion.
When Chen Yining returned, she noticed Rui Xue waiting anxiously at the entrance, an obvious sign that something had happened.
"Miss is back?" Rui Xue promptly greeted her.
Chen Yining’s eyes were still a bit red and she looked rather upset: "What’s the matter?"
Rui Xue paused before hurriedly explaining: "Today, Master Chen asked about where Miss had gone. I did not dare to conceal it and told the truth, Master Chen seemed very angry and asked you to see him as soon as you returned."
Chen Yining impatiently said, "I got it."
Master Chen was pacing in his study wearing a particularly anxious expression.
Chen Yining walked in, pursed her lips, and asked, "Father, you were looking for me?"
Old Man Chen glared at her: "Did you meet Marquis Mu?"
Chen Yining lowered her head slightly, seemingly hiding the sorrow in her eyes: "Yes."
"Did you tell him about the drug?" Old Man Chen asked irately.
"No." Despite the guilt in her heart, Chen Yining staunchly denied it.
Old Man Chen swung a slap across her face, berating, "Do you think I am unaware? What kind of person is Marquis Mu? Would he bother meeting you if you didn’t have something beneficial for him?"
His Chen family had fallen to such lows, the only thing that could catch Marquis Mu’s eye was probably the special drug they were developing.
That Chen Yining could meet Marquis Mu today was likely because she had something that he would be interested in.
Chen Yining covered her slapped cheek, gritted her teeth, and felt a surge of rage in her heart. He knew as her father that unless she had something that interested Marquis Mu, he would not even pay her any attention. She found it laughable that she was only able to understand something even her father was aware of after so long.
This cold-hearted man did not care about her at all! No matter how sincere she was to him, no matter how much she had sacrificed for him, he would not care. In his eyes, the friendship of over ten years was probably nothing more than an acquaintance.
"What exactly did you tell him?" Old Man Chen inquired in anger again.
"I didn’t say anything. I just told him that father is developing a drug that can drive people mad," Chen Yining stammered.
Indeed, she had not said much more than that because she did not know any more about it.
"With the recent black bear incident unresolved and the notoriously astute Marquis Mu, do you think he can’t guess what’s going on? And you dared to approach him at such a time!" Old Man Chen was livid.
Chen Yining looked surprised: "That black bear incident, was it not father who..."
"It wasn’t me!" Old Man Chen interrupted with a cold huff: "Marquis Mu... you are not to have any dealings with him anymore. Sooner or later he will meet his end. Even if I can’t take him down, there will be others who won’t tolerate him. Do you understand?"
Chen Yining nodded: "Yes..."
Old Man Chen was about to leave the room when he suddenly paused, as if remembering something. He turned around and asked, "Are you sure you only mentioned that part? Did you give away anything else regarding the drug?"
Chen Yining shook her head in confusion: "No."
Old Man Chen seemed to breathe a sigh of relief: "That’s good. Don’t bring up this matter again!"
The daughter whom he used to appreciate and trust had turned out to be so useless.
He deeply regretted letting her know too much in the past.
——
The entire capital city was buzzing with news of the sudden fires at two places.
"What’s going on? Yueke Lai and Qinghe both caught fire at the same time. I can’t help but feel there’s more to this than meets the eye."
"Who knows? I heard that both families have reported the case to the Jingzhaoyin officials but they couldn’t find anything substantial. This mystery really is intriguing. Could it have been an enemy of theirs?"
While the outsiders were engrossed in heated discussions, Yuchi Gong and Ji Xinhe understood the situation all too well.
Yuchi Gong smashed a cup in anger, almost flipping the table as he raged, "What did you say? The Jingzhaoyin officials couldn’t find anything!? This is clearly Ji Xinhe’s trick! How could they not find anything?!"
The servant nervously said, "Master, only you and Miss Ji are privy to your private feud. Which outsider would know about it? The Jingzhaoyin officials found some lamp oil outside our winery, the same as that found outside the Qinghe winery. Apart from this, it would be hard to find more clues. Plus, if they dig deeper, aren’t we risking exposure too?"
Yuchi Gong was flustered and exasperated, "So, I should just swallow this humiliation?!"
"Master, since Qinghe’s winery has also been burnt, we are all in the same boat losing together. Isn’t it not that big a loss?" the servant comforted him.
Uyon Yuchi was puzzled by the notion. If Ji Xinhe really noticed his intentions, why would he end up burning his own winery?
However, the next second, another servant came in looking panic-stricken, "Master, I just came from Qinghe. Their business is booming! There’s no sign of a shutdown and there’s no apparent shortage of goods. Their establishment is busy with a never-ending stream of customers!"
Upon hearing these words, Yuchi Gong felt his head explode. He slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly, his face as black as ink: "What did you say? Where did they get their goods from? Wasn’t their winery burnt down?"
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