"What are you planning to do now? You saw how your older brother and sister-in-law treated you yesterday."
“Since they don’t agree, I won’t lend you money,” Lin Qixia said to Lin Jiudong behind her as she walked forward.
Lin Jiudong quickened his pace to keep up with her, smiling obsequiously, "Sister, you've misunderstood. How could I not listen to my brother and sister-in-law's opinions? I already know."
Lin Qixia breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that she seemed to have really given up.
But the next second, Lin Jiudong said to her, "But there's something else I want you to do me a favor for."
"What kind of help?" Lin Qixia glanced at her warily.
I knew this girl wasn't that simple-minded.
Lin Jiudong said to her, "Now that your business in Lichong County has taken off and is on track, don't you need any help?"
"Oh?" Lin Qixia stopped in her tracks, immediately realizing what she was up to.
Lin Jiudong looked at her with a grin: "Sister, if you want to expand your business, you definitely need someone to manage the store, right?"
For the past few months, she had only been doing odd jobs at Xiahezhuang and had no power whatsoever.
Of course, he had previously disdained working under Lin Qixia and had no desire to fight for her, but now—the situation is different.
She realized that she needed to have some resources at her disposal in order to be in charge of her own life.
Lin Qixia lowered her eyes. "I understand. Please allow me to think about it. I'll give you an answer in a few days."
"Thank you, sister!"
Even though Lin Qixia didn't agree immediately, Lin Jiudong still thanked her sweetly.
For her, as long as there is hope, that's good.
Afterwards, Lin Qixia brought the dishes to the main room, and Lin Jiudong followed.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the Lin family, including Lin Qixia, all put on new clothes.
Lin Jiudong wore a bright yellow jacket and skirt similar in style to Lin Qixia's, while Lin Yi wore a pink outfit with her hair tied in two buns on either side of her head, her rosy cheeks making her look exceptionally cute.
Lin Xiao was dressed in all black as usual, but he had changed into new clothes.
He Zhilan, who had just entered, was wearing a light blue new jacket and skirt. Her family sat around the table, and He Zhilan brought out the dumplings.
Lin Qixia casually leaned over and took a sniff, exclaiming, "Wow, these dumplings smell so good!"
He Zhilan smiled and urged them to eat as soon as possible.
The dumplings were filled with radish and mutton, and the dishes included almost all kinds of meat, such as chicken, duck, and fish.
Lin Qixia took a bite of the dumpling. The mutton wasn't gamey at all; it was incredibly tender and flavorful. She happily chewed it.
At that moment, Huo Yanqing came in through the door.
"Hey, come and eat too, these dumplings are delicious." Lin Qixia waved to him.
Huo Yanqing walked over silently and sat down next to her.
The boy had a very low aura, and no one else noticed his abnormality. After all, he rarely showed his emotions and was always gloomy.
Lin Qixia, however, seemed somewhat uneasy.
She guessed it was probably because she hadn't had a chance to answer the question he had asked her before.
Lin Qixia kept putting a lot of food on his plate until she finally managed to calm him down and get him to eat.
Overall, everyone in the Lin family ate very well on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year.
After finishing the meal, Lin Qixia grabbed Huo Yanqing and hastily made an excuse to leave.
The two arrived at an open space outside the courtyard, where Lin Qixia finally answered Huo Yanqing's request from that morning: "I can't leave with you."
The moment she uttered those words, the already cold air around her seemed to grow even colder.
The surrounding air pressure was terrifyingly low.
"Why?" Huo Yanqing asked her, frowning.
Lin Qixia took a deep breath and patiently said to him, "You know, I have a lot of things to do in Lichong County, and I can't leave for the time being."
However, judging from Huo Yanqing's situation, he really wanted to know his own situation.
So, she slapped her forehead and exclaimed, "Oh well! I can't worry about that anymore!"
"You—are General Huo's son."
Huo Yanqing was stunned by her sudden revelation and didn't react for a long time.
Seeing this, Lin Qixia continued, "You are Huo Yanqing, the son of Huo Qiming, the Pillar General of this dynasty."
Huo Yanqing finally found his voice and asked, "How did you know?"
"I guessed it!" Lin Qixia avoided his gaze and turned around. "The Pillar General is a renowned hero of our Great Yin Dynasty. Ten years ago, he led 10,000 soldiers to repel 30,000 iron cavalry of the Northern Rong in the northern frontier. Everyone knows about that."
"As everyone knows, General Huo has a son who stayed in the capital."
“I met you at the beginning of the year and saw the jade pendant on you. It had the pattern of the Huo family army flag engraved on it, and I recognized you immediately.”
Huo Yanqing opened his mouth, but could not utter a word.
He was so shocked by Lin Qixia's information that he remained silent for a long time.
After a moment, he asked again, "Since it's the flag and insignia of the Huo family army, then any accessory worn by members of the Huo family army could be there. Why do you think I am—"
"Because everyone else in the Huo family is dead!" Lin Qixia said through gritted teeth!
As she spoke, her fists clenched tightly.
In reality, although the Huo family suffered a mishap in the northern frontier, they were not completely wiped out. Otherwise, Huo Yanqing in the original work would not have been able to accumulate military strength so quickly after turning to the dark side, to the point where he could massacre cities and destroy countries.
After suffering a major defeat in the northern frontier three years ago, the Huo family created the illusion of total annihilation and has been lying in wait ever since, hoping to find their young master, Huo Yanqing.
During this period of chaos, they actually accumulated considerable power, becoming even stronger than before.
This provided considerable assistance to Huo Yanqing.
Huo Yanqing's voice rang out again: "Are they all dead?"
Lin Qixia noticed a slight tremor in the other person's voice, and a pang of pity flashed through her heart.
She gritted her teeth and said to him firmly and nervously, "That's right! They're all dead!"
In any case, she would not tell the other party that the Huo family members were still alive.
She didn't want Huo Yanqing to gain power in such a short time.
This is very disadvantageous for her; she is not prepared to deal with it yet and needs more time.
Therefore, during this period, she had to do everything she could to keep the other party calm.
"So, you don't need to bother investigating anymore; it's pointless for you." Lin Qixia's expression calmed down considerably as she finished speaking.
After she finished speaking, Huo Yanqing looked at her quietly for a long time.
"Alright." He finally relented and accepted the reality. "I understand."
Lin Qixia cleared her throat awkwardly and patted his shoulder: "I only saved you because I knew your situation and felt sorry for you."
"If you'd like, you can stay here."
"For General Huo's sake, as long as I have a bite to eat, you won't be shortchanged."
Even so, Lin Qixia still felt a little guilty.
Even though Huo Yanqing was a ruthless villain in the original story, he had never done anything to wrong her since she met him.
But……
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