"Whose family is this?"
Sheng Jiangli had just moved into the mansion not long ago. There were few people in the mansion, and he was even too lazy to buy servants. So it was only today that people realized this long - abandoned official residence was now occupied.
"With a master like this, it'll be hard to hire servants in the future!"
Qingqing secretly curled the corner of her mouth, half of her face covered by her wet hair.
Let him make her angry!
In the future, if he couldn't hire servants, he'd have to rely on her alone.
Would he still dare to drive her away?
On the upper floor, Suobude listened to the loud and soft discussions outside the door.
They were all martial artists. When they deliberately listened carefully, most of the words reached their ears.
Suobude's face was extremely grim. "General, if you don't let people in, your reputation will be ruined."
Sheng Jiangli tilted his head back and poured a cup of sorghum liquor into his mouth.
The amber - colored liquor trickled down the corner of his mouth.
Then he opened his eyes wide in surprise. "Does this general even have a reputation?"
Suobude: …
Well, he did have a reputation.
It was just a bad one.
People called him a dissolute playboy, a good - for - nothing, a lackey of the crown prince...
Now, adding the reputation of mistreating servants didn't seem to matter much.
Sheng Jiangli smiled and said to a few subordinates who were standing downstairs watching the show:
"Duoyong, those people outside are curious. Go and tell them who this general is."
Duoyong responded and ran out into the rain, shouting to the crowd:
"Who's asking about our general?"
"Our general is the newly - appointed Deputy Commander of the Capital Garrison and the Commander of the Kaiping Huqi Cavalry!"
The Deputy Commander of the Capital Garrison!
A second - rank military official from the lower grade!
The Commander of the Kaiping Huqi Cavalry!
That desert lone wolf who fought battles outside the pass every day!
It was said that he was a cold - blooded killer.
Everyone glanced at the three characters "Luoyanju" hanging high.
Who would have thought this shabby and desolate mansion belonged to that man!
They swallowed hard and ran away at once.
Although justice will prevail, when facing evil forces, a real man knows when to yield.
Qingqing stared blankly at the people scurrying away.
Just like that? They ran away?
Wouldn't they speak up for a poor girl like her?
"Hehe!" Sheng Jiangli sat on the upper floor in high spirits. "See, sometimes a bad reputation is quite useful. I don't even need to say a word. As soon as they hear my name, they run away."
Suobude: "Hehe! Watch out that Caiyu finds out about your bad reputation."
"Don't worry. I have a great impression in her heart."
It was much better than when they first reunited.
Sheng Jiangli didn't get to be complacent for long. Another carriage stopped in front of Luoyanju.
Caiyu got out of the carriage, holding an oil - paper umbrella.
As soon as she looked up, she saw Qingqing huddled beside the stone lion at the door. She was shocked at once:
"Qingqing, what are you doing?"
At this moment, Qingqing was as humble as dirt, and her whole body was soaked.
Suddenly seeing Caiyu, the little girl blinked her eyes, squeezing out a few tears from the corners. Instantly, she raised her voice and cried loudly:
"Sister Caiyu... Woohoo... Big Brother Sheng bullied me... Aaaah..."
Upstairs, Sheng Jiangli knocked over the wine cup on the tea table. He hurriedly got up and ran downstairs, kicking up a storm:
"Why is that young lady here?"
Suobude wiped the splashing rain off his face and shrugged. "I told you to be careful..."
Before he finished speaking, the man had already leaped to the mansion gate. The smile on his lips was wide, looking rather obsequious:
"Sister Caiyu!"
Caiyu held the oil - paper umbrella over Qingqing's head and was glaring angrily at Sheng Jiangli.
"General Sheng is so imposing, ordering his servants around and beating or scolding them at will. On such a rainy day, he drove a little girl out to get soaked in the rain."
Well.
Needless to say, Qingqing must have exaggerated and complained.
Sheng Jiangli quickly glanced at Qingqing again.
The little girl's bright eyes were red from crying. She looked extremely miserable, weak and frail, swaying in the rain as if she would be broken by the cold wind the next moment.
She did seem quite miserable.
"But I didn't drive her out." Sheng Jiangli shouted his innocence. "She insisted on squatting outside my door by herself!"
"I just told her to go back to the Prince Yan's Mansion quickly."
Anyway, he had to defend himself first.
"Sister Caiyu, I saw that there were no servants in Big Brother Sheng's mansion. How could those big men take care of themselves? So I kindly stayed to take care of them for a few days." Qingqing cried even louder. "The prince said that Big Brother Sheng secretly helped you at the palace banquet, so he allowed me to come here. Now he wants to drive me back..."
"He's repaying my kindness with ingratitude!"
Sheng Jiangli's mouth twitched wildly.
Allowed her to come here.
Song Yinghuai was really scheming.
It turned out that he sent Qingqing to pester him and give him a headache.
He couldn't even say no.
Sheng Jiangli forced a smile. "Well, I really should thank His Highness the Prince Yan for his concern. He even cares that there are no servants in my mansion and specially sent a servant girl. I'm really ungrateful..."
"Why didn't he send Caiyu to serve me?"
If Caiyu was sent, he'd welcome her into the mansion in a sedan chair carried by eight bearers at once.
Caiyu gave him a death stare. "You still want a servant girl to serve you?"
Sheng Jiangli straightened his face. "I wouldn't dare. I spoke too quickly."
"Two young ladies, don't stand outside the door talking. It's windy and rainy. Hurry, come into the mansion! I'll have someone make tea!"
Caiyu tilted the oil - paper umbrella towards Qingqing.
The umbrella was small.
Covering Qingqing, half of Caiyu's body was outside the umbrella.
Sheng Jiangli didn't dare to be slow. He couldn't even wait for Duoyong and the others to come out with umbrellas. He immediately took off his outer robe and held it over Caiyu's head to protect her into the courtyard.
Qingqing walked behind them. Looking at Sheng Jiangli's attentive appearance, the tips of her fingers gripping the umbrella handle gradually tightened.
A feeling of sourness welled up in her heart.
The man wasn't a blockhead.
He just paid attention to the women he cared about.
Caiyu turned her head and told Qingqing, "Qingqing, go and change your clothes. Don't worry. If he wants to drive you away, I'll make the decision for you."
Qingqing pulled herself back to reality and replied in a muffled voice.
Before leaving, she made a face at Sheng Jiangli.
Anyway, she had managed to stay.
As soon as Qingqing left, Sheng Jiangli's ear was grabbed.
The man half - seriously and half - jokingly let out a cry of pain. "Ouch! It hurts...!"
The outer robe he held over Caiyu's head remained steady, blocking the rain.
Suobude held his breath, opened the door, poured them hot tea, took the wet outer robe, and then quickly ran away.
With no one around, Caiyu became even fiercer. "You're too harsh on Qingqing!"
Sheng Jiangli bent over, covering his ear. He took the beauty's hand in his palm by the way.
It was quite hard.
He had to hold back his laughter and pretend to be in pain at the same time.
"I'll be gentler with her next time." Sheng Jiangli tightened his grip on her hand. "Your hand is so cold. You must have gotten cold when you got out of the carriage."
"Drink some tea to warm up before you continue, okay?"
It was just a sudden drop in temperature caused by the combination of cold and warm. Caiyu didn't care.
But she still let go of Sheng Jiangli's ear and took the teacup.
When the softness in his palm was taken away, Sheng Jiangli felt a little disappointed. He looked at her eagerly:
"Did you come specifically to see me?"
"Did the Prince Qi send the silver?"
Caiyu drank a few sips of hot tea. She did feel much warmer, so her mood improved a bit. "Not yet. Although he boasted that day that he would get 200,000 taels of silver, who knows if he actually has it?"
Sheng Jiangli coughed dryly and shifted his gaze. "The Prince Qi doesn't have the silver, but his fourth elder brother does!"
"Don't worry. Although that highness is a bit absurd, precisely because of his absurdity, he will definitely ask His Highness the Prince Yan for the silver."
Caiyu's mouth twitched, and she realized:
"The Prince Qi will ask the prince for the silver and then give the silver back to the prince to redeem me?"
Sheng Jiangli raised his hand to cover the smile on his lips.
This deal.
If it went through, only Song Yinghuai would end up at a loss.
He looked out of the door.
This rain was falling so chaotically!
Just like Song Yinghuai, who had just returned to the mansion. He was listening to Ji Ming's report with a headache.
"200,000 taels?" Song Yinghuai tapped his fingertips on the table. "You're saying that Shier went to the bank in the middle of the night last night to withdraw 200,000 taels of silver notes?"