Among those present, perhaps only Dugu Luoxue was aware of the relationship between Luo Wanqing and Jiang Shouzhong.
So when faced with Luo Wanqing’s teasing, the others simply thought it was casual banter.
Yet even so, the gaze Ran Qingchen cast toward her carried traces of cold hostility.
"What? Are you looking for a fight?"
Luo Wanqing’s crimson lips parted lightly as she spoke, her tone filled with provocation and disdain. "This palace truly wants to experience the true strength of the infamous Asura Queen."
Her golden gown fluttered fiercely in the swirling air, and with every movent, it seed to radiate glimrs of gold.
"Young mistress?"
Just as the tense atmosphere was on the verge of exploding, a joyful voice suddenly rang out.
Jinxiu, who had followed behind Luo Wanqing, stood panting at the doorway. When she saw Ran Qingchen, the young girl couldn’t believe her eyes and froze in place.
In that instant, Jinxiu’s face was overtaken with a surge of ecstatic joy.
Jinxiu rushed straight into Ran Qingchen’s embrace, sobbing as she cried, "Young mistress, Jinxiu has finally found you."
Ran Qingchen paused in surprise. She gazed at the maid who had accompanied her since childhood, and the icy coldness in her eyes gradually faded, replaced by a softer expression.
The woman felt a strange mont of disorientation.
It seed that the only family she had left in this world was Jinxiu.
"Young mistress, the old matron..."
Jinxiu’s face was streaked with tears.
On the way here, Luo Wanqing had already told the young maid about the state of the Ran Mansion.
This had deeply saddened Jinxiu, who had grown up in the Ran Mansion and considered it her ho. She had fainted from crying multiple tis along the journey.
If it weren’t for the fact that her young mistress still existed, the girl might not have had the will to live.
"I know, I know..."
Ran Qingchen gently patted Jinxiu’s back, as if soothing a frightened fawn. But her tone was devoid of any warmth, chillingly cold. "I will make all of Dazhou pay for grandmother’s pain. Soday... they all must die!"
Jinxiu lifted her head, gazing at her young mistress—the sa young mistress she knew so well, but who now felt distant and unfamiliar. Yet instead of fear, her heart overflowed with sorrow.
Off to the side, Dugu Luoxue’s heart was filled with helplessness.
She tightly gripped the two Yin Yang Small Swords between her fingers. The swords humd incessantly, trying to seek their master.
Dugu Luoxue dared not let go.
Given the current state of affairs, if they truly found Jiang Shouzhong, chaos would surely ensue.
The won present had all had emotional ties to Jiang Shouzhong, especially Ran Qingchen with her overwhelming fury and Luo Wanqing with her domineering temperant. Dugu Luoxue could foresee a disastrous outco.
"Apprentice, oh apprentice, would it kill you to stop flirting around?"
Dugu Luoxue thought to herself with a bitter smile.
But alas, despite her wish to save her beloved disciple, Ran Qingchen refused to give her the chance.
Ran Qingchen coldly spat out a few words: "Lead the way, to him."
Her tone left no room for negotiation, and her gaze wasn’t directed at Dugu Luoxue but instead fixed sharply on Qu Hongling.
When Luo Wanqing heard Ran Qingchen’s words, she was montarily stunned, then quickly pieced things together. An odd expression flickered across her strikingly beautiful face: "Jiang Mo is here too?"
She let out a chuckle, her lips curling upward into a teasing smile. "How amusing. It seems there’s going to be so drama to watch."
Qu Hongling wasn’t foolish; she naturally understood that eting was not an option under the current circumstances.
The young girl shook her adorable little head like a rattle-drum, her voice light and sweet as she said, "Ran, I really don’t know where Jiang is. Maybe he’s still in Dazhou."
Ran Qingchen sneered coldly: "No matter—there’s no escape."
With a flick of her long sleeve, the woman strode into the manor.
...
Inside the room, the candlelight flickered despite the absence of any wind.
For so reason, Jiang Shouzhong’s eyelid twitched fiercely, and his heartbeat grew unusually intense.
"What’s wrong?"
Xiao Lingqiu, cradled in his arms, noticed the man’s odd behavior and looked at him with puzzled concern.
Jiang Shouzhong shook his head, his brows furrowing. "I don’t know... Perhaps..."
The man didn’t continue his sentence, his gaze turning to the candlelight as he fell into contemplation. His deep eyes seed to harbor endless thoughts.
"Worried about your wife?"
Xiao Lingqiu’s face remained expressionless, but her slightly trembling lashes betrayed the tumult in her heart.
The sourness in her tone was unmistakable, prompting Jiang Shouzhong to shake his head hastily: "No, just an unexplainable anxiety."
Xiao Lingqiu pressed her lips tightly together, the vivid red of her lips appearing almost jarring in the night. Her voice was laced with jealousy:
"She’s likely the only one you genuinely care about in this world. As for , hmph, I’m just a fleeting presence in your life, like a fallen leaf in the autumn wind. After taking a glance, you toss aside, indifferent and forever aloof..."
Jiang Shouzhong sighed in exasperation.
Big sister, your emotions are starting to read like angst-filled poetry.
Still, Jiang Shouzhong knew well how to soothe a woman who was proud, emotionally delicate, and inexperienced in matters of love.
The key lay in sweet words.
After all, he was rather skilled at expressing them.
Jiang Shouzhong tightened his hold on her lush and curvaceous figure, his lips brushing against her delicate cheek in feathery caresses, leaving behind a faint, tingling sensation:
"In my heart, you’ve never been a re passerby. I believe in the magic of fate. For to encounter you in this vast world ans our eting was destined, and you are utterly unique."
Jiang Shouzhong raised his hand, softly brushing Xiao Lingqiu’s hair aside, skillfully tucking a stray strand behind her ear. His fingertips grazed her earlobe as they moved.
The gentle touch caused Xiao Lingqiu to tremble slightly, her eyes shimring like candle flas dancing in the breeze.
"I don’t believe you."
The woman nibbled her ruby-red lips, muttering.
Jiang Shouzhong chuckled lightly, his hand slipping beneath the layers of her garnts as he whispered tenderly:
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