Yi Qing sneered, "If someone bullies us right at our doorstep and I just ignore it, is that still me?"
She pulled open the door, crossed her arms over her chest, and leaned against the doorframe. Looking at Xue Miao'er, she asked, "What do you want this time?"
Xue Miao'er was no pushover either. She said righteously, "I'm not here to see you. Get out of the way!"
After saying that, she reached out to push Yi Qing aside and tried to barge in.
Xiao Tian's voice was cold and stern, "Get out!"
"Brother, brother!" Xue Miao'er beamed when she saw him. "Don't be angry. I was just afraid you'd be mad."
Yi Qing raised an eyebrow and looked at her. "Xue Miao'er, did you forget to take your medicine today or take the wrong one?"
When something seems off, there must be a catch. Looking at her being so coquettish, there was no way she was up to no good.
Xue Miao'er looked at Yi Qing haughtily and said, "Tell me, what will it take for you to leave him? Name your price!"
Jushuang came out of the next room with a broom. "You girl, how can you be so shameless! Coming here to steal someone else's husband and still acting so high - and - mighty. Get out of here quickly!"
"Don't, don't, don't," Xue Miao'er darted into the room as nimbly as a silver fish. She stood on tiptoe and looked downstairs, then made a shushing gesture. "Let's talk this out like reasonable people."
Yi Qing was sharp - eyed and noticed someone downstairs looking around, seemingly searching for someone.
"Close the door, close the door," Xue Miao'er said. She came over and pulled Yi Qing in. After closing the door, she leaned against it and let out a long sigh. Then she said, "How about I make a deal with you?"
"No deal," Yi Qing refused without even thinking.
"I haven't even said what it is yet!" Xue Miao'er said angrily. "What if it's beneficial to you?"
"If I were to covet your so - called benefits, you'd be eyeing my man. Do you think I'm stupid? Whatever you have, I have it too. But there are things I have that you may not. Why on earth should I make a deal with you?"
Come on, she had given birth to a son for Xiao Tian. Although this guy was acting all mysterious now, she was almost certain that was the case.
She had a son, a man, money, and status. She lacked nothing. Would she covet the benefits of a female bandit? How ridiculous.
But Xue Miao'er obviously misinterpreted her words.
She looked down at her flat chest and then at Yi Qing's ample bosom. Angrily, she said, "I'm still young. How do you know I won't be as big as you in the future?"
Xiao Tian thought, This girl must be a fool.
Yi Qing laughed like a fool. "At least you're self - aware enough to take it to heart."
Hearing the footsteps outside, Xue Miao'er finally remembered her business. She lowered her voice and said, "Don't join the army in Henan. It's too corrupt here."
Xiao Tian's eyes showed a brief moment of solemnity, but it quickly disappeared.
Xue Miao'er was staring at Yi Qing, so she didn't notice.
"If you help me, I can prove to you that it's really not worth joining the army here. Think about it. Once you join, it'll be impossible to desert. Why not help me? I'll give you a chance to get in touch with their people. Then you can make a choice later. How about it?"
Before Xiao Tian could say anything, Yi Qing deliberately goaded her. "How can we trust what you say? You said last night that you were the prospective daughter - in - law of the provincial administration commissioner. Everyone knows that the wife of the commissioner's eldest son is the daughter of the provincial military commander. She'll be your future sister - in - law."
She paused for a moment and continued, "You're related, and now you're speaking ill of the military commander. How can I believe you?"
"Who wants to marry into their family?" Xue Miao'er said disdainfully. "In the Meng family, even the pair of stone lions in front of the gate are not clean. The Lin family is the same, or even more rotten to the core."
Yi Qing asked, "What did you do to the stone lions to make them 'unclean'?"
Xue Miao'er stamped her foot. "… I'm serious!"
She scolded the provincial administration commissioner Meng Xueyang and the provincial military commander Lin Tonghuai mercilessly.
Yi Qing quietly looked at Xiao Tian. Although he showed no expression, it was obvious that he was listening and taking notes seriously.
She continued to fish for information. "So what do you want to do? Break off the engagement?"
"Exactly!" Xue Miao'er looked at her with a look of "You finally understand." "I'll just say that I've taken a fancy to your husband."
Yi Qing said, "… Can't you choose someone else?"
"No, no!" Xue Miao'er waved her hands repeatedly.
"Why him in particular?"
"Because he's not afraid of power!" Xue Miao'er said righteously. "He knew my identity but still dared to beat my men and tell me to get out. If it were a timid person, they wouldn't even dare to say a word in front of the Meng family. How could I count on them?"
Yi Qing rolled her eyes and said, "My husband is here to join the army. Why should he offend people for you?"
"There are plenty of other places to go!" Xue Miao'er said. "If not in Henan, he can go to Hebei or many other places. Why stick to this place? Helping me will also let him see if it's really worth it. What do you think of this deal?"
"No good," Yi Qing flatly refused, putting on a confident air. "What if it turns out to be worth it, but he's already offended everyone?"
Xue Miao'er: "…"
She really hadn't thought of that.
She stamped her foot and said, "It's really not worth it. We're bandits, but they're even more corrupt than us. Anyway, if you don't listen to me, you'll definitely regret it."
"Then let us regret it."
Yi Qing unceremoniously chased Xue Miao'er out.
Xue Miao'er stood outside the door and shouted, "Brother, brother, come out. I just like you!"
It took a while before she stopped her act and left.
Jushuang asked Yi Qing puzzledly, "Madam, why didn't you agree to her? Isn't this a perfect opportunity?"
"This is called playing hard - to - get," Yi Qing said. "Let her come to us three times. Only then will she let down her guard against us. This girl may look silly, but she has her own way of doing things. We can't underestimate her."
She then looked at Xiao Tian and joked, "Who would have thought that you'd open the door to this situation with your good looks?"
Xiao Tian said helplessly, "Stop talking nonsense."
"What do you plan to do?" Yi Qing propped her chin up and looked at him.
"Whether we like it or not, Xue Miao'er has pushed us into the spotlight," Xiao Tian said.
"So you're going to agree to her?" Yi Qing raised an eyebrow. There was a hint of playfulness on her face, but inside, she was ready to fight.
If he really dared to tell her that he was going to pretend to be with Xue Miao'er, she'd kill him!
"No," Xiao Tian said. "I won't agree, but I'll find a way to keep her in check. We can still get some information from her."
It would be a waste not to take the clues that were offered on a silver platter.
"How can we keep her in check?"
"You have so many tricks up your sleeve. Come up with a way for her to break off the engagement. That way, we'll achieve our goal. And as long as we're by her side, it'll be easier to get in touch with the Meng and Lin families. It'll be easier to conduct an investigation than if I join the army."
"I can't think of a way," Yi Qing said coquettishly.
"I know you can," Xiao Tian smiled. "You're so smart and better at dealing with this kind of thing than me."