What are you doing here?
Meng Qingluan reached out to grab its pig head, but as soon as her hand touched it, the piglet suddenly grunted and bared its teeth to bite her.
She pulled her arm back, slapped its head with her other hand, and then grabbed its neck and lifted it up.
Xiangxiang was grabbed by the back of her neck, her four fat short legs kicking violently in the air, while she whimpered and begged for mercy.
"stop!"
Before Meng Qingluan could do anything, Li Zhanlan rushed into the hall and shouted.
The roar was so loud that it startled her, and she turned to look at him for no apparent reason, her lips twitching.
Li Zhanlan's face flushed red, and his eyes were filled with tears as he looked at her, glancing at Xiangxiang who had been caught.
The father and daughter looked at each other, their eyes filled with tears.
Meng Qingluan: "..."
Did she do anything?
The piglets bit her, and before she could even confront them, they were the ones who started the trouble.
"If you want to do something, come at me! Xiangxiang, you're so vicious!"
"Hmph, panting—"
The piglet, suspended in mid-air, kicked its legs in response.
"Xiangxiang, boohoo, my Xiangxiang."
Upon seeing this, Li Zhanlan plopped down on the chair next to her, buried her face in her arms, and burst into tears.
"..."
Meng Qingluan narrowed her eyes slightly. This guy's crying was quite loud, but from her angle, she couldn't see a single tear.
The piglet beneath her grunted even louder, and Meng Qingluan impatiently raised her hand and slapped its rump.
Three seconds of silence—
"You're really going to do it?"
Hearing the noise, Li Zhanlan suddenly looked up and stared at her in disbelief.
Meng Qingluan glanced at him sideways, then approached, carrying the little pig in her hand. "What are you and your pig doing here?"
Li Zhanlan raised his hand to try to save Xiangxiang, but she easily dodged him with a single step, leaving him to fall empty-handed.
"Why can't I be here? Eleven is my subordinate. Isn't it normal for me, as his master, to visit his family?"
“Visiting is normal,” Meng Qingluan smiled meaningfully, “but going out to visit during a lockdown is not normal.”
Li Zhanlan tilted his head and chuckled, the moisture in his eyes turning into twinkling smiles. "I didn't expect Xiangxiang to care about me so much. It's no wonder I talk about you with Xiangxiang all day long."
Meng Qingluan hugged the little pig back to her arms, raised one hand, and prepared to land on it.
"Xiangxiang bites, just like you, she's very fierce!" Li Zhanlan said maliciously as she was about to strike.
Meng Qingluan ignored her and placed her hand on its back, running it from its neck to its tail.
Throughout the entire process, the miniature pig remained completely still, with only its tail trembling slightly.
Seeing this, Li Zhanlan withdrew his gaze in disappointment, "So it's just like Xiangxiang, a cowardly little pig with a fierce exterior but a weak interior."
Meng Qingluan finally stopped what she was doing and sat down in the chair opposite him.
"Is he just talking about me? Didn't he specially send Eleven to teach me martial arts?" she replied to his previous question.
"..."
Li Zhanlan's lips curved upwards even further. "Xiangxiang, you're so smart."
"Intelligent people speak plainly."
Meng Qingluan squatted down and put the little pig on the ground. It immediately took off running to the person on the other side, but before it could fly away, its tail was grabbed and it could only squeal.
Upon hearing its mournful howl, Li Zhanlan's smile faded. He waved his hand, and the servants standing inside the room immediately retreated.
"Alright, now you can speak."
Meng Qingluan stared at the little pig kicking wildly under her control, "I told you to deal with someone who isn't yours."
"..."
Li Zhanlan lowered his long eyelashes slightly, his fingertips tapping on the mahogany table, producing a rhythmic sound.
"Well--"
Meng Qingluan heard the sound of her body falling to the ground from a great height. Out of the corner of her eye, she looked outside and saw that several people had fallen in the once empty courtyard, with pools of blood under their motionless bodies.
In the blink of an eye, the two or three people disappeared without a trace, and the bloodstains on the ground were also cleaned up.
If it weren't for the faint smell of blood wafting into her nose, she might have doubted that what she had just witnessed was an illusion.
"Thanks, Xiangxiang, for getting rid of those ants for me. If you could give me back my little Xiangxiang, that would be even better."
Meng Qingluan let go of her hand, and Xiangxiang immediately ran to him, where he picked her up and held her in his arms to comfort her.
"Li Zhanlan, let's discuss a collaboration."
"Why?" Li Zhanlan looked at her, his eyes filled with a smile and a hint of doubt. "I dislike getting involved in my brothers' power struggles the most."
Meng Qingluan wasn't in a hurry. She took a sip of tea to moisten her dry throat. "This collaboration can help you completely eliminate this major worry."
Li Zhanlan remained motionless, leaning back in his chair with boredom. "I wonder who my biggest worry is?"
Meng Qingluan smiled enigmatically, her tone resolute, "Empress."
"..."
She sat calmly in the chair, even carefully selecting the pastries on the plate, picking up a piece of jujube paste pastry and putting it in her mouth to savor it.
"Xiangxiang," he finally looked up, "it's been a pleasure working with you."
"..."
By the time the two reached an agreement, it was already dark.
As Meng Qingluan walked out of the main hall, she ran into Eleven, who was already waiting for her.
The two exchanged a glance. Eleven stared at her in astonishment, clearly surprised by her presence.
He had already returned, but was told by others that he was meeting with important guests, so he was waiting outside the door.
Unexpectedly, the important guest turned out to be Meng Qingluan.
Meng Qingluan snapped back to reality and asked, "Is your wound feeling better?"
"Alright," Eleven said, looking at her with a deep gaze, "what are you doing here?"
Meng Qingluan innocently spread her hands, "Naturally, it's because I feel bad about hurting you, so I came here specifically to bring you medicine."
She looked him up and down, and before he could answer, her long eyelashes fluttered, "Since you're alright, I'm relieved. Goodbye."
After saying that, he left.
Eleven's face darkened, realizing that she had deliberately lured him into a trap, and that everything that had happened today was a scheme she had orchestrated.
Enter the main hall.
Li Zhanlan didn't sit in the chair; instead, he squatted on the ground, guarding Xiangxiang's little nest, with his back to the door.
"Master," Eleven said.
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