Hearing Xiao Jinghan's words, Yi Qing felt even more ashamed. She turned to the side of Xiao Jinghan, not wanting others to see her.
Hearing what Xiao Jinghan said, Mrs. Di grew nervous. She hurriedly led them to Yi Qing's room, forgetting about Jin Xiao outside.
Through the crack in the carriage curtain, Jin Xiao saw what was going on outside. He unconsciously tightened his fists. His knuckles turned pale and protruded, with the blue veins clearly visible.
Seeing how worried his adoptive mother was, Xiao Jinghan felt a bit embarrassed himself. "Duke Di asked us to bring a guest. Mother-in-law..."
"Oh, I forgot about that. You take good care of Qing'er. I'll go and check." Mrs. Di said, still looking worriedly at Yi Qing.
"Mother-in-law, there's no need to come back. Qing'er just wants to rest." Xiao Jinghan didn't want to be disturbed.
Mrs. Di immediately understood what was going on. She gave a self - deprecating smile and hurriedly went to greet the guest.
Xiao Jinghan kicked the door shut and couldn't wait to put Yi Qing on the bed.
"There are guests today." Yi Qing knew what Xiao Jinghan was about to do just by looking at him.
"You still dare to mention the guests?" Xiao Jinghan stared at Yi Qing.
Yi Qing signaled that she didn't dare anymore. Was this guy just looking for an excuse to bully her?
By the time Mrs. Di reached the door, Jin Xiao was already waiting there. He was in poor health and wearing a veil. When he saw Mrs. Di, he lifted the veil and bowed.
"I'm Jin Xiao. Greetings, auntie." Jin Xiao bowed weakly, trying his best to make the gesture standard. It was heart - wrenching to watch.
"Child, the duke has told me everything. Come in quickly." Mrs. Di led Jin Xiao into the mansion. "The duke said you were going to buy a mansion in the capital. Why do that? The duke's mansion is big enough for you to live in."
"I've been in poor health since birth. I'm afraid I'll affect others."
"You're sick and yet you want to live alone. How can others rest assured?" Mrs. Di said lovingly.
As Mrs. Di was speaking, Bai Chengyi came over. He knew that Duke Di had brought back the son of an old acquaintance.
"You're not strong enough, kid. You need to train more in the future." Bai Chengyi said, reaching out to pat Jin Xiao on the shoulder.
Jin Xiao dodged, which made Bai Chengyi a bit embarrassed.
"Sorry." Jin Xiao showed that he didn't like to be in contact with others.
Bai Chengyi retracted his hand dejectedly. "You're as shy as a girl. Come on, I'll show you where you'll be staying."
Duke Di was left by the emperor for lunch. After having lunch, Xiao Jinghan and Yi Qing waited in the backyard for Duke Di to come back. The backyard of the Di family was quite simple, with only some evergreen trees and no flowers.
"Next is my mother's marriage to Wu Min. There are so many things to deal with." Yi Qing leaned on Xiao Jinghan's shoulder. "Do you think I should go to the palace to visit the queen?"
Yi Qing didn't like to be in contact with others very much, but after several encounters with the queen, she quite liked her.
"Yeah." Xiao Jinghan nodded. "You can handle these things as you see fit."
Yi Qing wondered why Xiao Jinghan was suddenly so generous. It seemed that he also wanted her to do this. "Why do I feel that you've never been opposed to my contact with the queen?"
Xiao Jinghan smiled because he trusted the emperor.
While Yi Qing was a bit more relaxed, Deng Xiao was anything but. He was actually pestered by Mu Lixue. Wherever he went, Mu Lixue followed. Even when he went to the morgue to examine the corpses, Mu Lixue was so scared but still waited at the door. With Mu Lixue's status, he couldn't drive her away.
He regretted helping Xiao Jinghan. It had brought him a lot of trouble.
Finally, Mu Lixue didn't follow him today. He went home for lunch at noon and saw that Mu Lixue was actually having lunch with his mother. His mother's health was getting worse day by day, and she was getting more and more insistent on his marriage. He had even planned to buy a woman to appease his mother, but then Mu Lixue came.
"Xiao'er." Mrs. Deng no longer called him by his nickname now that she knew Deng Xiao was well - regarded outside. "Come and see what a nice girl this is."
Mu Lixue looked at Deng Xiao proudly. "Auntie likes me very much."
Deng Xiao watched as Mu Lixue picked up food for his mother. Such a proud young lady doing such things in his house. "Come out with me."
"Auntie, he's being mean to me." Mu Lixue leaned towards Mrs. Deng aggrievedly.
"Xiao'er." Mrs. Deng pretended to be angry. "Sit down and have lunch first."
Deng Xiao had no choice but to sit down and have lunch. Seeing Mu Lixue's smug look, he could only endure it.
"Brother Deng, eat this." Mu Lixue picked up food for Deng Xiao.
Deng Xiao wanted to lose his temper, but with a look from his mother, he had no choice but to eat it obediently.
Seeing that it worked, Mu Lixue continued to pick up food for Deng Xiao. She found that coming to the Deng family was the right decision. Maybe she shouldn't leave from now on.
Finally, after enduring the meal, Mrs. Deng didn't take a nap. Instead, she insisted on watching them chat. Deng Xiao couldn't bear it anymore.
"Mother, I'll take her for a walk around our house." Deng Xiao simply put his arm around Mu Lixue's shoulder so that his mother would be at ease.
"Good, good. Go quickly, go quickly." Mrs. Deng urged. She was so sleepy that she didn't even want to open her eyes.
Mu Lixue leaned against Deng Xiao happily. So Deng Xiao's shoulders were so broad. He was truly a reliable man.
After turning a corner where his mother couldn't see, Deng Xiao immediately let go of Mu Lixue.
"I'm sorry for the offense. Please forgive me, Miss Mu." Deng Xiao bowed.
"It's okay. Keep going." Mu Lixue hugged Deng Xiao's waist.
"Miss Mu, please behave yourself." Deng Xiao was uncomfortable as this was the second time he had been hugged.
"I'm not heavy." Mu Lixue pretended not to understand what Deng Xiao meant.
"Ouch—" Mrs. Deng followed them. When she saw the two of them like this, she immediately covered her eyes and turned around.
Deng Xiao let out a sigh of relief. His mother was starting to be sly. "What on earth do you want to do, Miss Mu?"
"Marry you." Mu Lixue said seriously. "My father just disagrees for the time being. Don't worry. They all listen to me. They'll definitely agree."
Deng Xiao really didn't expect Mu Lixue to be so stubborn. "Miss Mu, you're oversimplifying this."
"Getting married is as simple as you're willing to marry me and I'm willing to marry you. Why should we care what others think?" Mu Lixue looked up at Deng Xiao with her head held high.
Seeing her serious look, Deng Xiao didn't know how to reject her for a moment.
Actually, what the Mu family had done to Xiao Jinghan and the others before was a scheme by Duke Mu to marry his daughter into the Xiao family in a proper way. Mu Lixue wasn't very clear about it. The key was that she thought everything was reasonable and never thought she was wrong.
"So you agree?" Mu Lixue saw that Deng Xiao was silent.
"It's impossible between us." Deng Xiao forcefully pulled Mu Lixue's hands away.
Mu Lixue was pulled away but then hugged him again. "I don't care. You've treated me like this. You have to be responsible."
Deng Xiao had never been so pestered before. He didn't dare to use too tough a method. He propped his arms up, feeling extremely helpless.
Duke Di came back from the palace quite late. Yi Qing had fallen asleep in the backyard. After Duke Di came back, they exchanged a few words and were about to leave.
"Grandfather, who is that young master Jin Xiao?" Yi Qing asked cautiously.