ng Qianqian’s eyes widened in disbelief, muttering to herself under her breath, "How... the price has gone up? Before, a sweet word or a bit of flattery would suffice, but now I..."
She pursed her lips, which had just been kissed by him. "At this rate, will I eventually have to ’offer myself to repay the debt’?"
Is it this costly to apologize?
Lu Yuan said casually, "If you think of it that way, it’s not impossible."
ng Qianqian froze. "Huh? That’s how I think? Wait, wait, how did it beco my idea? I was just..."
"Just what?"
Lu Yuan asked.
ng Qianqian’s heart raced, her mind cluttered, leaving her speechless under his questioning. It felt like she knew the answer but couldn’t quite articulate it.
Could a single kiss make her this way?
No, it wasn’t just a kiss.
That kiss was more passionate, domineering, and tender than the one outside the cave—it left her knees weak.
As she recalled it, her cheeks burned even hotter.
ng Qianqian clutched her chest in confusion, where her heart thudded uncontrollably. She murmured softly to herself so that only she could hear, "You weren’t like this before. Shouldn’t you be saying, ’ng Xiaojiu, don’t push your luck, stop trying to take advantage of !’?"
"Why aren’t the two of them coming up yet?"
It was Bai Yuwei’s voice. "Could they have encountered danger? I’ll go check!"
Tan’er grabbed her arm. "If only one person cos up, then there’s danger. But if neither cos up, it ans they don’t want to co up!"
"Why wouldn’t they want to co up?"
Bai Yuwei asked in confusion.
Tan’er replied slyly, "Probably because they’re doing sothing sneaky!"
"Sothing sneaky? And they didn’t invite ?!"
"Bringing N along would just cause trouble! Those two are being all lovey-dovey!"
Bai Yuwei blushed.
In the secret passage, ng Qianqian choked hard.
You kids, where do you learn all this stuff?
"Let’s... let’s go up," she said, scratching her head.
Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow. "Did you rember what I just said?"
ng Qianqian’s eyes darted slyly. "And if I didn’t rember?"
Lu Yuan’s lips curled up. "Then I’ll just remind you again."
ng Qianqian: "..."
This is unbearable, truly unbearable!
-
ng Qianqian, like a little hamster, scurried up the ladder.
What she didn’t see was Lu Yuan’s ears turning bright red.
After calming his emotions, he regained his usual cool deanor and confidently exited the secret passage.
They erged to find themselves inside a well. Below was the murky water, and above was the narrow well opening.
A dried-up well would have been one thing, but who would have thought that a functioning water well could hide an entrance?
Bai Yuwei, using both hands and feet like a nimble little frog, quickly hopped up to the well’s edge.
She then lowered the rope for drawing water and pulled the others up one by one.
"Our little sister is a hero again," ng Qianqian comnded her generously.
No matter that she hadn’t contributed earlier, the final act of effort gave her a deep sense of pride.
Bai Yuwei said proudly, "I told you, you can’t do without ! And yet at first, you didn’t want to bring along!"
Tan’er stuck out her tongue. "Bleh-bleh-bleh."
"Watch out!"
ng Qianqian suddenly sounded an alert.
As Lu Yuan was closing the entrance on the well wall after erging, a poison dart shot out, aiming straight for Bai Yuwei’s eyes!
Tan’er spun midair and delivered a sharp kick, sending the dart flying deep into the well.
Bai Yuwei broke out in a cold sweat from fright.
Tan’er hugged her little wolf cub and tilted her head with a smirk. "No-need-to-thank-!"
ng Qianqian glanced up at the crescent moon in the sky. "We entered the secret passage in the morning. Who would’ve thought so much ti would pass—it’s already night. Is this the Pri Minister’s Mansion?"
Lu Yuan looked around. "It’s the southeast corner of the mansion. The ancestral hall is in the northwest corner."
ng Qianqian remarked, "This secret passage is enormous."
Lu Yuan said, "There must be other exits. Chen Long might not leave through here. We don’t need to wait for him."
ng Qianqian nodded. "Earlier, when Xiao i, Tan’er, and I entered the mansion, Grandfather was searching the place with the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice and General Han. After searching for so long without results, Grandfather’s situation may already be difficult. We’d better hurry to find him."
With that, she turned to the two young girls. "Tan’er, Little Sister, you two leave the mansion first and wait for us in the carriage."
-
Flower Hall.
The Miao King had been reprimanded by Imperial Censor Wang for the third ti.
Imperial Censor Wang found himself truly at a loss for words.
As more and more officials gathered to watch the commotion, the flower hall had practically turned into a mini court eting.
"Your Majesty, please issue the decree," Pri Minister Xun urged.
"Your Majesty, please issue the decree!"
The officials joined the call to action.
Zong Zhengxi gripped the armrest tightly.
Was it just his imagination?
Why did Pri Minister Xun seem unusually aggressive today?
He had always been known for his magnanimity.
The Miao King’s ruckus had indeed escalated to an unmanageable level.
The Miao King glanced at the young Emperor, now caught in an increasingly difficult position.
To be fair, the young prisoner had done his utmost.
The Miao King couldn’t truly push the Emperor into losing his authority and public trust.
He rose, his expression clear and open, and smiled. "Your Majesty, please issue the decree."
A trace of hesitation and inner struggle flashed in Zong Zhengxi’s eyes.
Xun Qi, ready and waiting, stepped forward with a prepared abdication docunt. Handing it to the Miao King, he said, "His Majesty, in his benevolence, does not wish to punish the Miao King. The Miao King should voluntarily abdicate."
Zong Zhengxi’s expression changed.
The Miao King chuckled. "Ah, just like how you forced the Supre Emperor to abdicate back then?"
Xun Qi smiled lightly. "It was your own grandson who forced the Supre Emperor."
The Miao King glanced at the serene-faced Pri Minister Xun, took the abdication docunt from Xun Qi, dipped it in red clay, and was about to press his fingerprint.
Suddenly, ng Qianqian’s voice ca from outside the hall: "Grandfather—"
The Miao King’s eyes lit up, and he laughed heartily, tearing the abdication docunt to shreds instantly.
"Granddaughter-in-law! You’ve arrived!"
"Grandfather!"
ng Qianqian stepped in and cast a quick glance at the bustling flower hall. She couldn’t help but feel fortunate—it was busier than she’d expected, but at least she wasn’t too late.
"You’ve co at just the right ti."
The Miao King looked her over from head to toe and whispered, "Nothing went wrong, did it?"
ng Qianqian gave a subtle shake of her head.
Relieved, the Miao King said to her, "Pay your respects to His Majesty and greet the officials."
Following his instructions, ng Qianqian took a few steps forward and gave Zong Zhengxi a formal bow. "I greet Your Majesty."
Zong Zhengxi quickly said, "Rise at once!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty." ng Qianqian then turned to the assembled officials with a composed deanor and offered them the respectful greeting of a junior. "Greetings to you, esteed officials."
Imperial Censor Wang visibly relaxed.
Finally, the Young Madam of the Lu family had arrived. In all his years as an imperial censor, he had never found admonishing an official to be such an exhausting task!
Xun Qi frowned. "ng Qianqian, why are you here?"
This woman gave him a sense of unease no less intense than Lu Yuan did.
It wasn’t that she was necessarily more cunning than Lu Yuan, but she always carried an air of relentless determination, as if she would gamble everything she had.
ng Qianqian replied, "Seventh Young Master, what kind of question is that? Since your mansion captured my husband, how could I not co?"
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