Ten thousand taels?
This guy isn’t trying to scam him, is he?
"General Lu?"
Steward Cen gently reminded him with a smile.
Lu Lingxiao suppressed the turmoil in his heart. So, this was why Lu Yuan suddenly changed his mind—he had been waiting for this very mont.
"I don’t have that kind of money on ."
Steward Cen grinned. "No problem. General Lu can write an IOU. Our Governor Mansion is very reasonable."
Lu Lingxiao nearly spit up blood.
The most unreasonable people in the world are you lot from the Governor Mansion! And you dare say that with a straight face?
Steward Cen: "If General Lu won’t admit it, then I’m afraid we have no other choice..."
Lu Lingxiao gritted his teeth. "Bring paper and ink!"
After finishing the IOU, Lu Lingxiao followed Steward Cen to Tinglan Garden to pick soone up.
As soon as he entered the courtyard, he heard Lu Linglong quarreling with soone.
"It must have been you framing !"
"I wasn’t even in the room; how could I fra you?"
"Then it was your maid! She broke it and pinned the bla on !"
"How is that framing, huh? Clearly you broke it! You don’t sleep well, turned over, and knocked the vase over! The little one saw it too! Isn’t that right?"
Tan’er looked self-assuredly at Bao Shu in ng Qianqian’s arms.
Bao Shu nodded solemnly, twice!
"You... you... you..."
Lu Linglong trembled with rage. When she turned her head and saw Lu Lingxiao, a wave of unspeakable grievance surged within her.
But Lu Lingxiao’s gaze was focused on ng Qianqian.
She was dressed in a delicate pink-white fur-lined cloak, without even a hint of makeup, like a budding flower in early spring or morning dew—a pure and refreshing aura exuded from her. Yet her deanor was serene, her gaze fixed intently and softly on the child in her arms.
In that mont, she seed to embody the tranquility of ti itself.
"Big Brother!"
Lu Linglong stepped briskly in front of him, blocking his line of sight.
Lu Lingxiao cleared his throat and asked, "Are you all right?"
Lu Linglong tearily complained, "They’re bullying !"
Tan’er crossed her arms. "Who’s bullying, huh?"
Lu Lingxiao glanced at ng Qianqian, then said to Lu Linglong, "Stop causing a scene. Let’s go ho."
Lu Linglong wasn’t pleased at his words. Pointing at ng Qianqian, she exclaid, "I’m not causing a scene! It’s all her fault today! If she hadn’t ddled, how would I have gotten caught up in this ss? I even got knocked unconscious—it hurts so much!"
The events of the day were sothing Lu Lingxiao had already been briefed on during the journey here by Steward Cen—
The Grand Commander was recovering from injuries in a small temple courtyard. Concerned that the baby’s noise might disturb him, the wet nurse had taken the child to a ditation room nearby. Who could have foreseen that, during the wet nurse’s brief nap, the baby would crawl out and be discovered by ng Qianqian?
ng Qianqian had sent Ban Xia to search for the baby’s parents, and then spent the entire afternoon looking after the child with the matriarch and Lu Mother.
No matter how one looked at it, ng Qianqian wasn’t at fault in this situation.
If it had been him, he wouldn’t have ignored an innocent child either.
But who could’ve known that this child was actually Lu Yuan’s daughter?
"And you have the nerve to speak! Your sister-in-law was returning the child; what were you even doing there?"
Lu Linglong murmured, "I... I saw them acting suspiciously and wanted to follow and see..."
"Enough!"
Lu Lingxiao couldn’t listen anymore. "Let’s go ho!"
Lu Linglong bit her lip, stomped her foot hard, and stord off angrily.
The wet nurse carried Bao Shu away, and ng Qianqian also left the Governor Mansion with Tan’er.
The study.
Lu Yuan was fiddling with a few small weapons, following the records in an ancient book.
The wet nurse entered and placed Bao Shu down beside Lu Yuan.
Bao Shu sat cross-legged on her small cushion, her tiny face serious as she stared at Lu Yuan.
After a while, she turned her head away and let out a deep, lancholic sigh.
Since Lu Lingxiao hadn’t stood up for Lu Linglong, she began crying the mont the carriage set off, crying so much that Tan’er almost couldn’t resist hitting her.
ng Qianqian stayed quietly composed.
Lu Lingxiao cleared his throat. "Were you... frightened today?"
ng Qianqian looked out at the bustling streets. "I was frightened—terribly so."
Relief washed over Lu Lingxiao’s expression. He knew it. She wasn’t like Wan’er, the daughter of a general’s household. How could she not be scared? She must have been pretending to be calm.
"Did the Grand Commander make things difficult..."
"Sister! Candied hawthorn!"
Lu Lingxiao’s words were interrupted by Tan’er’s chirping.
ng Qianqian instructed the driver to stop and took Tan’er down to buy candied hawthorns.
"Sister! These lanterns are so beautiful!"
"Which one do you want?"
Half an hour later, the carriage arrived at the Lu Family residence.
Tan’er jumped off first, a candied hawthorn skewer in one hand and a lantern in the other, hopping happily into the estate.
Lu Lingxiao stepped off the carriage and turned to help ng Qianqian down.
Unexpectedly, just as he extended his hand, Tan’er zipped back over and set a footstool firmly on the ground.
Tan’er huffed, "Who needs your help, huh?"
Lu Lingxiao frowned.
This little girl was frighteningly quick. She had clearly gone through the gates—how had she zipped back to the carriage in the blink of an eye?
ng Qianqian took Tan’er’s wrist and stepped down from the carriage.
Tan’er then hopped off, humming a tune as she skipped back into the estate.
"You..."
Lu Lingxiao called out to ng Qianqian.
ng Qianqian asked, "Is there sothing, husband?"
Lu Lingxiao glanced at Tan’er’s fading figure in the night and said to ng Qianqian, "I heard you bought this girl from a broker. She doesn’t seem like an ordinary martial arts-trained maid. Besides, I’ve heard about her injuring servants. She’s dangerous; you’d better send her away."
ng Qianqian calmly replied, "Husband, why don’t you worry about yourself instead? Stop poking your nose where it doesn’t belong!"
Lu Lingxiao frowned. "I’m doing this for your own good! This girl’s martial arts are strange and dangerous. What if..."
ng Qianqian smiled faintly. "What if the next ti you co to my room drunk and try to cause trouble, you fail? Is that what you’re worried about, husband?"
"You—"
Lu Lingxiao’s face flushed with anger. "That was in the past! Why are you bringing it up again?"
ng Qianqian said, "If I don’t bring up old accounts, should I wait for you to add new ones, husband?"
"ng!"
Lu Lingxiao was furious. Every ti he wanted to be kinder to her, she’d pick a fight.
Just monts ago, seeing how she liked children, he even had a fleeting thought: if she truly wanted a child, having one with her wouldn’t be so bad.
But look at her—she was forever so petty.
ng Qianqian said breezily, "If husband has nothing else, I’ll be heading back to rest. And husband, do rember to return the ten thousand taels you owe the Governor Mansion soon. Otherwise, I fear the debt collectors might co knocking, which could tarnish both your and Little Sister’s reputation."
Lu Lingxiao’s headache grew.
Shen Yan walked over. "Young Master, you’re in debt again? How do you owe so much?"
Lu Lingxiao roared, "If you don’t have anything to say, no one will mistake you for a mute!"
By the next morning, everyone in the house knew about Lu Linglong breaking the antique vase. If soone else had done such a thing, they would’ve taken it to the authorities.
But since the other party was the Grand Commander, who dared accuse him of extortion? Did they have a death wish?
Lu Lingxiao had already given all his silver to ng Qianqian. His pockets were cleaner than his face—he genuinely couldn’t co up with any money.
The family matriarch was in charge now, but even she didn’t want to play the fool in such matters.
The Second Mada sowed discontent with the matriarch. "Mother, why don’t you ask Qianqian to repay it? Didn’t she just take ten thousand taels from Lingxiao? She has the money!"
The matriarch glared at her. "If you want it, go ask her yourself!"
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