Qi Jiao was led by the steward to the flower hall. Before she could even get comfortable in her seat, Mrs. Zhou arrived.
Mrs. Zhou had a round, fair face with a kind and amiable look. Qi Jiao had met her once before. Seeing her come in, she quickly stood up and bowed.
Mrs. Zhou warmly took Qi Jiao's hand and said with a smile, "When Miss Qi graces my place, even this room seems to brighten up."
Qi Jiao nodded and replied with a faint smile, "You're overpraising me, madam. How have you been lately?"
"I've been well. I must thank you for the tonic prescription you gave me. After taking it for a while, my complexion has improved a lot."
In Lingle County, Mrs. Zhou was a high - ranking official's wife second only to Fang Yunxin in status.
Since she was so polite, Qi Jiao naturally couldn't be haughty. After exchanging a few pleasantries, she detailed what had happened at Zhuoxiang Pavilion that day.
After she finished speaking, Qi Jiao said half - regretfully and half - apologetically, "It's all my fault for not managing the personnel at Zhuoxiang Pavilion well on a daily basis. As a result, the young lady of your household accidentally used expired floral water. This is the medicine prescribed for the young lady by Doctor Zou of Huichuntang. Please pass it on to her for me."
Mrs. Zhou was a smart woman. As soon as she heard this, she knew it was the stupid Mrs. Pan who had caused this mess.
Among all the children in the family, only the Fourth Young Lady was allergic to seafood. For years, she had always been prohibited from touching it.
Mrs. Pan, however, in order to make things difficult for the person in front of her, even resorted to harming the concubine - born daughter.
Mrs. Zhou was extremely angry in her heart, but her face remained calm. She asked the maid to take the things from Qi Jiao.
She took Qi Jiao's hand and said earnestly, "Miss Qi, to be honest with you, my third daughter - in - law is a muddle - headed person. I will surely give you an explanation for this matter."
Qi Jiao said, "As long as the young lady is okay. You're busy, madam. I'll take my leave now."
Mrs. Zhou thanked Qi Jiao repeatedly and then personally accompanied her to the second gate.
After Qi Jiao's figure disappeared, Mrs. Zhou's face changed. Her eyes were cold as she ordered the maid, "First, send the medicine to the Fourth Young Lady's room and take good care of her while she applies the medicine. Then go and call Mrs. Pan to me."
**
Outside, the sky was damp and cold, but inside the room, it was as warm as spring.
Qi Jiao was sitting on the couch, teasing Shuangjiang, making the little one giggle.
The little baby was changing every day. Shuangjiang had lost the redness of a newborn. She was fragrant, soft, white, and chubby all over. Her black grape - like eyes were wide open, and her little arms and legs, like lotus roots, were kicking vigorously, melting people's hearts at first sight.
Fang Yunxin was carefully applying hand cream by the incense burner. For a moment, the fragrance of jasmine filled the whole room.
She had recovered well after giving birth. Her inky hair cascaded down, making her skin look as smooth and shiny as jade. She looked a bit plumper, but it only added to her elegance.
"Have you heard? Mrs. Pan was severely punished by Mrs. Zhou. Not only was she placed under house arrest and made to copy Buddhist scriptures to cultivate her mind, but her power in the third branch was also stripped. And the concubine of the Third Master Zhou was promoted to a noble concubine. Mrs. Pan has finally become obedient."
Qi Jiao turned her eyes and smiled, "Mrs. Zhou is a smart woman. With her in charge, I'm sure Mrs. Pan won't have the leisure to cause trouble for me anymore. It's just a pity for the young lady of the Zhou family. She has such a stepmother."
"Yes. After Mrs. Zhou punished Mrs. Pan, she immediately took the young lady of the Zhou family to her own courtyard to take care of her. The young lady can be said to have turned misfortune into good fortune."
Saying this, Fang Yunxin scolded her affectionately, "You're really careless. When Mrs. Pan went to Zhuoxiang Pavilion to pick a fight, you didn't even tell me. You suffered this undeserved disaster."
Qi Jiao curved her eyebrows and said, "I actually wanted our great Miss Fang to support me, but dealing with someone like Mrs. Pan doesn't require your trouble. She's not worthy."
Fang Yunxin couldn't help but laugh, "You! Do you know why Mrs. Pan has such a strong hostility towards you?"
Qi Jiao was stunned for a moment. "Didn't she just want to be Shuangjiang's godmother? But I got the position before her."
Fang Yunxin took a sip of tea and shook her head. "No. I specially sent a maid to find out. She suddenly erupted because she was instigated by Mrs. Zhu of the Shu family. Do you have any feud with that Mrs. Zhu?"
Qi Jiao suddenly understood. "So that's it. It can't really be called a feud, but I do have some conflicts with Mrs. Zhu."
She told Fang Yunxin the key points about Mrs. Zhu. "Mrs. Zhu is really a bit insidious. Although she hasn't caused me any real harm, she's still quite disgusting."
Fang Yunxin frowned. "Do you need my help?"
Qi Jiao pulled over the blanket to cover Shuangjiang well. "It's okay. I can handle this little matter myself. You should take good care of yourself. When you're free, quickly prepare the full - moon gift for Shuangjiang. I'm waiting to do business with your family."
Fang Yunxin couldn't help but tap her forehead. "Alright, I know you're a money - grubber. You'll definitely get a good deal then."
The two laughed and chatted for a while. Seeing that it was getting late, Qi Jiao got up and took her leave.
On the way back, it was A Le who came to pick her up.
Actually, the county magistrate's mansion wasn't far from Pomegranate Alley. But on this short journey, leaning against the carriage wall, Qi Jiao couldn't help but think of Pei Xia.
As the twelfth lunar month was approaching, the patrol department was extremely busy. Counting the days, she hadn't seen Pei Xia for nearly twenty days.
This guy didn't even find time to come back and see her.
Qi Jiao was a bit annoyed. She raised her hand and stroked the silver bracelet on her wrist. The bracelet was so cold that it penetrated her bones. She subconsciously blew on her palm.
It was really cold today.
Tomorrow, she would also order a luxurious carriage. Light silver - wire charcoal at the four corners, add an incense burner and hot tea, a high couch and soft pillows. That would be really wonderful.
The next day, Pei Xia and five or six brothers returned from a sea patrol. They were about to go back to the duty room to boil some hot water to warm themselves up.
The sea wind was cold and biting. Even though his body was stronger than ordinary people, he was still frozen stiff.
Unexpectedly, as he walked inside, he received several ambiguous looks along the way. The men clicked their tongues, and their eyes were filled with indescribable envy.
Pei Xia was confused. When he reached the door of the duty room, he suddenly smelled a familiar cold fragrance.
Pei Xia's heart skipped a beat. Without hesitation, he rushed into the room.
In the small duty room, stood a beautiful woman with a painted - like face.
The beauty smiled at him from afar.
Pei Xia immediately forgot everything. The corners of his mouth turned up, and he strode forward to pick Qi Jiao up by the waist.
"Ah—"
The world seemed to turn upside down in her sight. Qi Jiao was held by Pei Xia and placed on a waist - high couch.
Pei Xia propped his two hands on either side of Qi Jiao's thighs. His obsidian - like eyes stared at her intently, and his breath was scorching.
"When did you come?"
The man's breath surrounded her. His voice was deep, and there seemed to be a bit of a nasal tone.
Qi Jiao had been angry with him for not going back to see her for so long.
But getting closer, she saw that Pei Xia's face was still as handsome as ever, but it had become a lot rougher.
Qi Jiao looked at him without saying a word. The anger in her heart was instantly quenched a lot.
Pei Xia took Qi Jiao's slightly cold hands. The heat immediately enveloped her.
Pei Xia buried his face in Qi Jiao's neck and took a deep breath. He felt that his lungs were filled with fragrance. He murmured, "Jiaojiao, my little ancestor. It's my fault that I couldn't come back to accompany you earlier."
When he first entered Yuhua Stockade, he was an outsider. Although Fang Qian appreciated him, it didn't mean that others were convinced of him.
Pei Xia disdained to do those superficial things. Only by achieving real results could he gain a foothold here.
Practical work was more important than anything else.
Therefore, he had been so busy day and night these days that he had naturally spent less time with Jiaoniang.
Pei Xia knew he was in the wrong and hugged Qi Jiao tightly without letting go.
Qi Jiao saw that he was like a big dog, nuzzling in her arms. His eyes were narrow at the corners, with a glistening soft light.
Finally, she couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, you're rubbing my face so hard that it hurts."
Pei Xia subconsciously wanted to reach out and touch her face. "Did I hurt you?"
He stretched out his hand, but then stopped in mid - air. His face was already so rough, and his hands were even rougher. He mustn't hurt Jiaoniang.