The little girl flew towards him like a little swallow waiting in its nest, suddenly seeing a parent returning from foraging.
She was brimming with joy and showed no fear at all being in mid - air.
Sheng Jiangli looked up. Their eyes met, and he curved his thin lips into a mischievous smile.
She was betting that he would catch her, right?
Well, he just wouldn't fulfill her wish!
When he saw the little girl was not far from him, Sheng Jiangli suddenly shifted to the side and got out of the way.
Qingqing's face paled in mid - air.
There was no time to save herself!
She was surely going to fall flat on her face!
Wailing, Qingqing quickly dived down, flailing her arms and legs in the air, and shouted angrily:
"Blockhead! I hate you!"
The blurry image of the ground appeared in front of her eyes. Qingqing closed her eyes in despair, waiting to hit the ground face - first.
But then she heard a soft chuckle beside her ear.
Suddenly, her waist tightened, and her diving motion stopped instantly.
Qingqing was hanging upside - down, with someone grabbing her waist.
Her black hair hung down and just brushed the ground.
Qingqing opened her eyes in shock. Her long hair blurred her vision, and stars were twinkling in front of her eyes.
Then, she felt her waist being pulled back, and she stood up.
Sheng Jiangli's voice sounded above her head:
"Why are you still in my mansion?"
Qingqing shook her head to get rid of the stars in her eyes. She turned her head angrily and stared at him:
"I almost died just now! I trusted you so much!"
Sheng Jiangli stared back at her in surprise. "Why did you trust me?"
Qingqing: …
She sneered. "I really shouldn't have trusted you. Your heart is made of stone!"
Sheng Jiangli nodded. "You've finally recognized what kind of person I am. So why don't you leave quickly?"
Qingqing stared at him for a while, then suddenly laughed. "Although I've just recognized what kind of person you are, I've known myself for fifteen years. I just like heartless men like you. I'm sure I can warm up your stone - cold heart."
Sheng Jiangli frowned tightly. "In all my years, I've never seen such a thick - skinned girl who talks about liking men so casually."
Qingqing laughed unrestrainedly. "The world is so big. You'll always come across new people and things. Just like many commoners in Daye have never seen the yellow sand outside the pass in their lives, and the people on the border have never seen the prosperity of the capital. …"
"Big Brother Sheng has seen gentle women in the capital and bold and unruly women outside the pass. Why do you still look so inexperienced? You even find a little girl like me so rare. …"
"Could it be that you're smitten with me? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder?"
Sheng Jiangli was so speechless that he almost choked.
He stared at Qingqing for a while, then sneered. "Sorry, girl. There's no beauty here. At most, it's just 'eye - gunk in the eye of the beholder'."
"You!" Qingqing was finally offended. She stamped her feet angrily. "You're so disgusting. How can you compare a girl to gunk?"
"Hehe!" Sheng Jiangli laughed smugly. "I'm just like this. If you don't like it, get out of here!"
Qingqing gritted her teeth. "I won't. I'm not leaving!"
"If you have the guts, kick me out!"
Sheng Jiangli squinted his eyes, his voice threatening. "Do you think I dare not?"
Seeing that things were going badly, Suobude and the others had already fled in a hurry.
Qingqing shouted a few times, and her eyes turned red.
She wiped her eyes fiercely, then turned around and squatted beside the doorframe of Luoyanju. She hugged her knees silently and didn't look at the man in the yard.
Suobude had just fled outside. Seeing them quarreling like this, he couldn't help but turn back.
"General, with people coming and going, it's not good to let a little girl sit at the main entrance of our mansion, is it?"
Sheng Jiangli had a splitting headache. He couldn't figure out why this girl was so persistent in pestering him. So he said impatiently:
"Let her squat if she wants. It has nothing to do with me."
"None of you should feel sorry for her. I'd like to see how long she can squat there!"
Since the general was angry, how dare Suobude say anything else? He could only look at the outside of the door worriedly.
He sighed.
Qingqing was well - known for her stubbornness.
Back in Pengcheng, she was determined to sell herself as a slave to follow Caiyu. She didn't hesitate to stay up all night outside the inn where Song Yinghuai and the others were staying, and then followed Caiyu's carriage on foot.
But Sheng Jiangli wasn't really a gentle and considerate man.
After his outburst of anger, he went up to the second floor of the main building of Luoyanju and sat alone on the terrace, drinking strong liquor.
He was used to living in the desert all year round.
The light and delicate wines of the south of the Yangtze River seemed tasteless to him.
The tea that Song Yinghuai liked was even more despised by him.
He preferred the mellow taste of strong liquor.
Loneliness was like strong liquor, burning through his intestines and into his throat.
During the nine years outside the pass, only strong liquor could suppress his loneliness and make him temporarily forget Lan Jinshu and the Lan family.
Suddenly, it started to rain outside, and the sky darkened instantly.
Dark clouds loomed, and a bean - sized raindrop hit Qingqing's nose.
She had been huddled beside the stone lion outside the door. When the raindrop fell, she seemed to wake up suddenly and instinctively turned her head to look into Luoyanju.
As if sensing something, Sheng Jiangli's gaze happened to be projected from there.
Looking at each other from afar through the rainy weather, Qingqing couldn't help but shiver.
Since the first time she saw Sheng Jiangli, she knew that this man seemed cynical on the surface but was actually extremely cold - hearted.
It's just that he usually covered it up well, so no one could tell.
At this moment, she finally saw it. His eyes were clear and cold. Although the streets below were noisy and full of the hustle and bustle of life, he seemed to be looking into the void, his expression extremely calm.
"General, it's raining." Suobude climbed up the stairs and said to Sheng Jiangli. "Let her come in and stay. She's so pitiful!"
These people were all simple - minded rough guys who only knew how to fight.
They couldn't bear to see a little girl like Qingqing suffer.
Sheng Jiangli gently turned the teacup in his hand, his expression cold:
"She's a maid in the Prince of Yan's mansion. What would it be like if I let her stay here all the time?"
"Moreover, she's not just a maid in the Prince of Yan's mansion..." Sheng Jiangli's gaze was speculative. "She didn't return home for two nights and wasn't in a hurry to go back on the third day. She must have been ordered by the Prince of Yan to pester me on purpose."
"She's a scheming and ill - intentioned person. It's already the greatest kindness that I didn't kill her. Do you think I should keep her by my side and put myself in unknown danger?"
Every time Sheng Jiangli analyzed things with Suobude, he couldn't help but feel frustrated.
"Suobude, you're really lucky to have grown up this big."
Suobude scratched the back of his head, not caring. "But I can see that she really likes you, General. Are you overthinking it?"
Sheng Jiangli: "… You're hopeless."
The rain soon got heavier and was accompanied by strong winds.
The temperature dropped, and the wind whipped the rain across the eaves.
The corner where Qingqing was sitting soon got wet from the rain, and it was cold to the touch.
The rain was pouring down, and her clothes were also soaked. She shivered from the cold.
Although Luoyanju wasn't on the main street of the capital, it was still in a prosperous area.
As soon as it started to rain, passers - by quickly noticed the poor little girl huddled outside Luoyanju.
A kind - hearted person immediately came over with an oil - paper umbrella and asked with concern:
"Girl, are you taking shelter from the rain or looking for someone?"
Qingqing slowly raised her eyes. Perhaps because of the cold, her little face was pale, and raindrops were gathering on her pointed chin. She was shivering on the ground:
"Uncle... I was kicked out by the young master. Wuwuwu..."
A crowd soon gathered outside Luoyanju, one oil - paper umbrella after another.
People tend to sympathize with the weak.
People craned their necks and saw the man sitting on the main building in the open courtyard, still drinking heavily and ignoring the little girl outside. They immediately felt indignant.
"What's going on? How can he treat the maid in his mansion like this?"
Since Qingqing was wearing a maid's clothes, everyone's first reaction was that the servant girl had done something wrong and was being punished by her master.
"Although the master can punish the servant, this girl looks so young. She probably didn't do anything immoral. She must have made a small mistake. It's so pitiful."
"Young master! Let her into the mansion!"