"Young ... Young Lady!" The servant panicked but did not dare run away. He came forward tremblingly and saluted.
"What did you take from Shui Ruolan?" Qi Rongzhi coldly said as she set her sights on the servant. Coincidentally, she caught him red-handed.
"Perfume ... perfume satchel!" The servant dared not conceal the truth. He told her after stammering for a while.
"What do you need it for?" Qi Rongzhi blinked.
"To ... to trick Miss Shui into coming outside." The servant had received a hint from Qin Yuru"s old woman.
"And then?" Qi Rongzhi narrowed her eyes.
"And then... send people to take Miss Shui away. Shui ... Miss Shui is just an outsider in the General"s Mansion... She is not an important person." He said such things based on Qin Yuru"s old woman"s hint and his own guesses.
Shui Ruolan was nothing but a distant relative. Even if she had an accident and disappeared, it would not be a big deal for the General"s Mansion.
Old Grandma, the only person who had some kins.h.i.+p with Shui Ruolan, was seriously ill. Even if something really happened to Shui Ruolan, she was powerless.
Qi Rongzhi immediately understood Qin Yuru"s thoughts. "Who sent you here?"
"First ... First Young Master!" The servant lowered his head and muttered.
"This b.i.t.c.h really is a fox spirit. She obviously doesn"t intend to spare my brother at this point." With this, Qi Rongzhi gritted her teeth severely. In the truth was found out, Qin Yuru"s involvement would not be discovered, but the Qi Family would probably be exposed.
Fortunately, she stayed alert and approached to the servant. Otherwise, she and her mother would only have found out after her brother had created trouble.
"Give the perfume satchel to me!" Qi Rongzhi said coldly.
"I..." The servant put his hands behind his back.
Chunxi walked forward and stretched out her hand. She said sternly, "Take out the perfume satchel and give it to the Young Lady right now. Do you expect Miss Qin to protect you?"
Qin Yuru might protect a servant in Ningyuan Army General"s Mansion. However, in Magistrate Qi, all the servants knew that the Young Lady was the most favorite.
The servant dared not conceal it anymore. He stretched out his hand and revealed a delicate perfume satchel.
Chunxi immediately took it and gave it to Qi Rongzhi.
Qi Rongzhi received it casually with a sneer rising from the corner of her mouth. "In order to set Shui Ruolan up, Qin Yuru took advantage of my brother. So, let me be the oriole."
"Since you"re sent by my brother, you should know something, right?" Qi Rongzhi had a grim smile on her face.
"Yes ... I really do know some things..." The servant was panicking.
"Come here!" Qi Rongzhi waved her hand.
The servant did not dare to stay there. He came over and nodded as he listened. His face blanched with fear, but he had to listen...
"Young Lady, the Eldest Lady has sent someone to you with an invitation!" Qing Yue came in and reported.
Qin Wanru looked at the sky outside the window. It had not turned dark yet but it would be dark soon. Buddhist pilgrims who had not stayed overnight in the mountain should have gone downhill by now. Most of those who stayed there had come back at this time.
The people who remained were all women, and the people living around here were villagers. Even if the ladies were not from respectable families, it was inconvenient to go out at this time.
"Let"s go have a look!" Qin Wanru stood up.
"Young Lady, are you really going out at this time?" Qing Yue was very worried.
"Let"s go. We won"t be gone for too long." Qin Wanru went out as she smiled faintly. Qing Yue hurried to follow her.
Outside the door, an old woman, who was sent by Qin Yuru, immediately smiled when she saw Qin Wanru come out, then said, "Second Lady, the Eldest Lady specially invited you many times because she has some important things to tell you. If you really don"t want to know, I"ll report back to the Eldest Lady."
She pretended to leave after she spoke, but she kept her eyes on Qin Wanru as if searching for something.
The old woman was wicked. It was very useful method when dealing with an unsophisticated girl because everyone had curiosity. Moreover, the girl was not yet grown. After hearing this, she would definitely swallow the bait.
Qin Yuru was good at choosing the right person.
"Let"s go have a look!" Qin Wanru said.
"Second Lady, please follow me!" The old woman was pleased upon seeing Qin Wanru getting hooked.
"Where is my eldest sister?" Qin Wanru asked like an innocent lamb.
"She is in a pavilion nearby." The old woman led the way with a smiling face. Indeed, it was not too far.
"What does my eldest sister want to tell me?" Qin Wanru casually asked while following the old woman. She walked slowly, so the old woman needed to stop and wait for her after taking several steps.
"About this... I don"t know either. She just said it"s important. Perhaps something unknown... between you and her!" The old woman cooked up a reason.
"Something unknown between us?" Qin Wanru seemed to think it over as she stopped.
The old woman, as well as Qing Yue who was follower her, stopped spontaneously.
"Second Lady, let"s go first!" The old woman looked anxiously at the direction they were heading in. The Eldest Lady asked her to bring the Second Lady back quickly.
When Qin Wanru stepped forward again, the old woman sighed with relief. In order to make it feel realistic, the Eldest Lady had invited the Second Lady before. Now was the best time to invite the Second Lady. At this time, the Second Lady could testify for her. If the Second Lady was late, it would not work.
"Ah, I think I remember. Does she want to tell me something about Miss Qi?" Qin Wanru came to her senses and commented, then she suddenly stopped after taking several steps.
"..."
The old woman felt a headache and had to give a hollow laugh. "Second Lady, I really don"t know. How could the Eldest Lady tell such an important thing to me? I"m not a stewardess in the Eldest Lady"s yard."
"Oh, you"re not an old woman trusted by my eldest sister?" Qin Wanru came to her senses and looked the old woman up and down. "It seems that I haven"t seen you before. Are you really an old woman sent by my eldest sister?"
"I have only served the Eldest Lady for a few days. Moreover, I"m very common. Therefore, it"s normal that you haven"t seen me," the old woman said. She became more and more anxious when she thought of the Eldest Lady"s promise.
"Second Lady, please follow me if you want to know!" If she did not take the Second Lady there, she would not become a stewardess. The Eldest Lady had made a promise to her.
"Let"s go!" Qin Wanru stepped forward without obstructing the old woman this time. The old woman was relieved and hurried to lead the way again.
Qin Wanru did not ask the old woman any more questions as they walked the rest of the way. After a while, she saw Qin Yuru in a roadside pavilion off in the distance.
It was a prominent position. All the Buddhist pilgrims could see it when they came out.
Whoever pa.s.sed here could see it clearly.
"Second Lady, look, the Eldest Lady is right there!" The old woman was relieved. She pointed and smiled at Qin Wanru.
Qin Wanru stopped again her arched eyebrows wrinkled. "Why are there other people in the pavilion?"
Besides Qin Yuru and her servant girls, there was a very ordinary looking man. He wore the villager"s clothes and stood with his back to Qin Wanru. She could not see his face.
"Eh..." The old woman was also stunned. She never thought that a man would suddenly appear in the pavilion.
"Wait a minute! Don"t go over until she finishes what she is doing!" Qin Wanru took a step back and came to the gate of the Moon Cave. Qing Yue hurried to follow her.
After hesitating for a moment, the old woman also retreated to the gate. She did not know what Qin Yuru wanted to do.
However, she felt worried, so she secretly peeked from behind the gate to look outside.
After talking with the man, Qin Yuru stood up and glanced in the direction where Qin Wanru was. However, Qin Wanru knew that Qin Yuru could not see her. Although Qin Yuru had a good view from the pavilion, she could not see clearly when she turned around.
Qin Yuru seemingly said a few words to the villager. After that, she hurried off with the man.
When Qin Yuru and her servant girl left, the old woman was also dumbfounded. "That"s not the Eldest Lady"s plan. What"s going on? What shall I do with the Second Lady?"
"Why did my eldest sister go out with that man just now?" Qin Wanru came from behind the old woman"s back with a severe look. "Who"s the man?"
"I... I don"t know either. This... this is..." The old man"s mouth trembled.
"You"re my eldest sister"s servant. If you don"t even know, why should we keep you here?" Qin Wanru"s face grew darker and darker. Even at an early age, she already had such an imposing manner.
She quickly walked towards the pavilion. When she reached it, she only saw a teapot and two teacups on the stone table.
"Go find if something is wrong!" Qin Wanru ordered.
The old woman and Qing Yue immediately obeyed the order. They looked around but found nothing.
"If my eldest sister has an accident, you"re done!" Qin Wanru stared at the old woman and spoke coldly.
The old woman trembled. "Second Lady, I... I come to invite you. I... I really don"t know what"s happened to the Eldest Lady."
The old woman was panicking and had a blank stare.
"Go and report to my grandmother. Let her send people to find my eldest sister." Qin Wanru angrily rebuked her.
That reminded the old woman. She started to run to Old Madam Qin"s yard. Her panicky look startled many pilgrims who stayed overnight. From the situation, they knew there was something wrong. Some busybodies followed the old woman to Old Madam Qin"s yard.
Everyone immediately knew that there was something wrong in Ningyuan Army General"s Mansion. What was going to happen this time?
Recently, many bad things seemed to be happening over and over again in the Ningyuan Army General"s Mansion. Therefore, many people wanted to watch the fun.
Qin Wanru had not returned with the old woman. After thinking it over, both she and Qing Yue went after Qin Yuru.