Simply Trading

While the Duke of the Westlands was busy making plans with his Butler, his younger son was escorting his guest back to his guest house . To be fair, Li Changhai was more than a little stunned at his father"s reaction, and had his composure slightly shaken . Although that did not cause him to pay any less attention to Qin Feng, he was clearly not at his best, when it came to making his apologies for the earlier debacle at dinner .

Still, it seemed rather clear to the Second Ducal Prince that his father had, more or less, made known how he was merely testing the young fellow . Qin Feng"s wary expression towards the Duke, on the other hand, did not seem to waver in the slightest in spite of that . It seemed the young man was expecting a little more than an off-handed apology for the belittling of his point of view .

However, the Prince was too distracted by that to notice the cool disapproval in Qin Feng"s gaze . And for good reason: he more concerned about the "ambush" that he had walked into, within the Duke"s personal wing of the Palace . Had that been purposely set up? And his father drawn his obviously antagonistic Eldest Sister into an elaborate scheme?

But Li Changhai rejected that notion even as he thought of it . It was impossible . He knew just how irritated his father was, every time that his Eldest Sister paid a visit . Even though he had taken pains to stay away every year when she does so, he had to endure all the complaints that the Duke threw out over dinner and other gatherings with his mother . Most of which had something to do with his sister and her idiotic spending at the shops and such .

Of course, his mother was always quick to calm the old man down, and Li Sanlang would only take notes on how not to p.i.s.s his father off from all these episodes . But this was one of the handful of times that he saw his father lose his temper and yell at his Eldest Sister . So it was rather clear that there was some trouble in the father-daughter relationship there .
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Still, it was a rather strange feeling, to be protected by his own father against his own sibling . Well, half-sibling, if one wished to be precise . But Li Yuanqi was his father, as well as Li Xiuxian"s . And there was nothing in the Duke"s behavior that hinted at the possibility that he would take umbrage at their so-called "children"s quarrels" .

But this time? This time was a little different, wasn"t it?

Although, if he had to be suspicious about his father"s motives, Li Changhai would have to say that part of the "performance" earlier was meant for someone else"s eyes, rather than his own . As to why his father felt that it was necessary to pander to Qin Feng, however, the Second Prince had no idea whatsoever!

Turning to look at the younger man that he was leading back to the guest houses, Li Sanlang felt another wave of grat.i.tude wash over him . There was the faintest specks of blood at the corner of his guest"s lips that he could see . Qin Feng was obviously suffering from some injuries, after that head-on clash with his Eldest Sister"s personal guard . It was not the first time that that "Little Zhou" fellow had thrown his weight around the Ducal Palace . Even Changhai had suffered at his hands, once upon a time .

Something that he had narrowly escaped this time, thanks to the younger man at his side, the Prince reminded himself . And decided that he would have to take better care of Qin Feng, for that, if nothing else . While he wasn"t certain to what extent the younger man was injured, he certainly wasn"t going to stint offering up some medicines that he had, that would help deal with such . It was not as though he was short of medicinal herbs, after all .

Besides, it was a little impolite of him, to be so caught up in his own troubles, to have pushed his own guest to the side . So Li Sanlang took a deep breath, and focused his attention back on the young man that he had dragged all the way from his Uncle"s fief . After what Qin Feng had done for him, it was only fair that he took good care of the younger man!

*

Early the next morning, in another part of the Ducal Palace, another of the Duke"s offspring was stamping out of the guest quarters that she had always occupied when she visited the same . Behind her, a huge entourage of servants and soldiers trailed along, most of whom were laden with chests and bags of an amazing variety . Their faces, however, showed that they were more than a little shocked by their unusual eviction .

But they neither spoke nor question the reason behind the same . The look on their mistress" face made it clear that she was in a temper . And none of them were foolish enough to bother her when she was in such a mood .

Indeed, it was only after she threw herself into her personal coach, and thundered down the drive towards the main gate of the Palace itself, that the whole group breathed a sigh of relief . They may end up breathing in the dust kicked up by their mistress" coach horses, but they were hidden from her sight by the same .

And those who had experienced her ill temper knew that suffering such an inconvenience was a small price to pay, so long as she did not fix her bad mood on any of them .

Within the elaborately decorated coach, drawn by paired horses with beautiful white coats, where no one could witness her fit, the Eldest Ducal Princess was twisting at the cushion that lined her seat . So much so that the cover of the same had been torn to shreds, spilling its cotton fibers all over the interior of the coach .

Of course, none of this could be seen from the outside . The sound of her curses, on the other hand, did not miss reaching the pair who were seated further ahead, in the driver"s seat of coach . The driver naturally held his tongue, although it was rather obvious from the beads of perspiration that adorned his brow that he was not in the least calm .

Beside him was a familiar glum-faced fellow, dressed in another green robe, whose mood was similarly dark . That could be seen from the way that both his fists were clenched, so tightly that the knuckles of the same looked almost white . His face, on the other hand, was still wearing the same sour expression that he had, when he was back in the Ducal Palace .

Then all at once, the Eldest Princess seemed to have reach the pinnacle of her rage . She gave out a loud, maddened screech as she flung out her hands, sending the torn cushion covers through the curtain and flying out the front of the coach . The driver ducked instinctively, but Zhou Jinhu merely glanced behind him . From his behavior, it looked as though he was more than a little familiar with the Princess" temper tantrums .

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But within the coach, she seemed to recover after that last shout, and her hands fell into her lap once again . She seemed to have calmed down after her tirade, and was smoothing the front of her dress as she looked up once again . She even had a smile plastered on her lips again .

An evil smile .

* * *