Free Web NovelChapter 706: Chapter 706: The Princess Wants to See Her
"You’re asking the lady boss to go personally?" Qin Yao raised her voice.
Liu Fei swallowed hard and nodded heavily.
Qin Yao laughed speechlessly, and with a "bang", she slapped the table, "Trying to mess with me!"
The fragile little table wobbled, then cracked.
But it didn’t fall, just barely propped up, as if a single breath could turn it into powder.
Liu Fei took a step back, his third sister-in-law’s aura was intimidating. If he could kneel, he would have knelt down to speak.
Qin Yao took a deep breath to calm her agitated emotions, picking up another bundle wrapped in red cloth, which contained the 4,500 taels of ’toilet paper’ originally sent to the Princess Mansion.
She looked up at the slightly trembling Liu Fei, knowing he was scared, so she toned down her aura and gave what she thought was a gentle smile, "Say it again, and don’t leave out any detail."
The candlelight in the room flickered in the wind, casting a shadow that briefly flashed over Qin Yao’s smile, making her teeth appear eerily white, giving Liu Fei a jolt.
He wasn’t sure if his third sister-in-law was angry, so he tried hard to recall the process of heading to the Princess Mansion in the evening, ensuring no detail was missed.
"After settling the accounts with Fulong Trading Company yesterday, I separated the money for you, third sister-in-law, and the share for the Princess Mansion, packaged them separately... The portion sent to the Princess Mansion I always wrapped in red silk, put in a basket, and covered with a layer of yellow straw paper..."
"Knowing I had to go to the Princess Mansion today, I left the shop at noon, first informed the steward at the back door of the Princess Mansion, agreed on the time, and then headed to the Princess Mansion with the prepared straw paper..."
Having done it once before, he still used the back door this time.
But when the appointed steward appeared, he wouldn’t let him in and refused the silver he offered as a tip, insisting he wasn’t allowed to enter the mansion.
At the time, Liu Fei thought, something must be wrong. He had just made arrangements at noon, why the sudden change?
He guessed there had to be something fishy.
After some probing, the steward finally told him that the Prince Consort had returned from the other estate, and Her Highness was avoiding suspicion and wouldn’t meet with outsiders.
The hint was clear enough.
But back then, Liu Fei couldn’t grasp it. After all—why would the Princess need to avoid suspicion with the Prince Consort? It was unheard of.
In the end, after bargaining with the steward for a long time, the steward finally said, "Her Highness won’t see outsiders, so why not just have your lady boss come instead!"
Liu Fei was suddenly enlightened, so this was what they were waiting for!
These high-ranking people, why can’t they speak straight?
They insist on making people guess, delaying expressions of key words, as if everyone is expected to perfectly guess their mind?
If it didn’t come across, wouldn’t it cause big trouble!
Or is it that those in high positions prefer being enigmatic, making them appear profound?
Without a comparison, there’s no harm, Liu Fei suddenly realized his own third sister-in-law is really good-hearted, speaking directly and never making those under her guess.
However, he couldn’t comment on the Princess as a commoner, so Liu Fei could only grumble a bit in his heart.
Qin Yao silently listened to Liu Fei’s account, becoming even more silent.
She suddenly recalled the day she sent Si Niang to register at the Women’s Garden, and what Mu Ling said before leaving, "If not this time, there will always be a next time," and now understood its meaning.
It seemed since she entered the Capital, the Princess had been waiting for her to pay a visit herself.
No doubt, it was that woman Mu Ling’s idea, her malicious intent was unrelenting!
Being involved in some affairs for the Princess wasn’t an issue for Qin Yao, after all she was benefitting from it.
But going into the Princess Mansion, standing boldly beside the Princess to work for her, the risk level surged dramatically.
Liu Fei, having seen Qin Yao not respond for a long time, couldn’t help but ask, "Third sister-in-law, are you going?"
He didn’t know what the Princess intended, but he knew that for ordinary people, to receive such an invitation from the Princess would be ecstatically delightful.
After all, she was a powerful Princess, and if she took notice, what casually slipped through her fingers would be immense fortune for common folks like them!
Yet, his third sister-in-law not only didn’t show joy on her face, but seemed more sullen.
After a moment of contemplation, Qin Yao sighed, stored away the money notes, and said to Liu Fei:
"I’ll handle this, you don’t need to worry."
"By the way, since you’ve been in the Capital for so long, do you have any plans? What I told you before still stands, if you’ve found something you want to do, just say it, your sister-in-law fully supports you."
Qin Yao shifted the topic, not wanting to dwell on the vexing matter of the Princess’s mansion for now.
Mentioning this, Liu Fei was suddenly not sleepy any more.
He sat back down, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "I should open a shop, catering to women, have lots of ideas, but haven’t decided which one yet, I’m observing..."
As he spoke, he instinctively rested an arm on the edge of the small table.
For a moment, something came to Liu Fei’s mind, but his thoughts on opening a shop made the idea slip away.
Then—
With a "bang!", the table under his arm wobbled, causing him to uncontrollably sink down.
Immediately, Liu Fei, along with the chair, followed the collapsing small table and fell embarrassingly to the ground!
The commotion wasn’t small, everyone in the back courtyard rushed over.
Liu Ji wasn’t the fastest to arrive, but he was the loudest.
"Honey, what happened?"
He rushed in, and upon seeing Liu Fei on the ground, his anxious look instantly relaxed.
"It’s not my wife, so it’s all right." Liu Ji waved back the four Da Lang Brothers and Sisters who followed him, "Let’s disperse!"
Liu Fei was filled with disbelief, weren’t they from the same father, yet none of them helped him up?
Soon, only Qin Yao and Liu Fei were left in the flower room.
Qin Yao helplessly pulled the stunned Liu Fei up from the ground, telling him to rest in his room.
She then gathered up the shattered wood boards, moved them to the kitchen, to make good use of waste, as they could still burn.
Coming out of the kitchen, she was met by Liu Ji’s curious peeking head.
Qin Yao lifted a hand and flicked his forehead, asking irritably, "Didn’t you disperse?"
"I’m just concerned about you, honey." Liu Ji rubbed his forehead as he caught up, asking with wide eyes:
"Honey, how did you break the table? Who upset you?"
Without waiting for Qin Yao to answer, he confidently said, "Was it Liu Fei who upset you? I’ll go bring him here!"
As he spoke, he grabbed the pole hanging a lantern by the door, intent on heading to the guest courtyard.
"Stop!"
Qin Yao: "Get back here!"
"Yes ma’am," Liu Ji obediently put down the pole and ran back to her side.
Seeing his sincere gaze, Qin Yao’s annoyance inexplicably dissipated a lot.
She asked him to fetch her a basin of foot-soaking water, planning her move while soaking her feet, considering the repercussions of refusing the Princess’s invitation.
Then... in Liu Ji’s skilled massage, she comfortably lay down.
Before falling asleep, she didn’t forget to tell Liu Ji, "I’m going to the Princess Mansion tomorrow, if I’m not back before curfew, you should pack up and escape."
With the blanket pulled over, she fell deeply asleep.
Liu Ji lifted his head in horror: What!!!
