"Go and see if Cheng Ying is there, Zixuan. If he is, ask him to come over." Qin Miao thought that since they had found a witness, they should take good care of him.

  Zi Xuan listened to the instructions and left without any reaction. However, when she arrived at the front yard, her footsteps became hesitant. The person didn't know what was going on either, ever since he followed the young lady into the General's mansion, he had been bothering himself. Once, he even made a pass at her, thinking about it now made him angry. But what made her angriest was that she hadn't reacted strongly afterwards, only feeling awkward every time she saw him.

  She paced back and forth outside the gate for a long time, finally gathering the courage to walk inside. The servants in the courtyard were sweeping fallen leaves, and they all greeted her with "Good day, Miss".

  Cheng Ying had just returned from outside, and his clothes were all soaked with sweat. He was thinking about whether to go back to the house to change into another set of clothes when he saw Zi Xuan enter.

  His eyelid twitched with joy, and he hastily approached her. "How did you come? Are you thinking of me too?"

  Zi Xuan hastily retreated a few steps back, keeping some distance. This person always likes to get close, with frivolous words and licentious behavior.

  "No." She replied faintly. "The lady wants to see you, now, immediately." Then she turned to leave, not wanting to stay any longer.

  "Alas, why are you always so cold and distant." It's been several days since they last saw each other, and he was thinking of sneaking into her room in the middle of the night to steal a few glances at her, to alleviate his longing. Who would have thought that today she would deliver herself right to his doorstep, how could he possibly let her go so easily?

  He quickly raised a hand to block Zixuan's path, then leaned against the door, lazily staring at her. The more he looked, the more he liked her, and the more he wanted to hide her in his own room.

  "...That...the rose perfume I gave you last time, is it okay?" he asked.

  Zi Xuan thought for a moment and casually replied, "I threw it away long ago."

  Throw it away? That was something he had managed to snatch from a noblewoman's hands after much persuasion.

  "Really thrown away?" He still didn't give up. Girls from good families like those perfumes and rose waters, he thought the rose water smelled comfortable, such a precious thing, she must be too ashamed to admit it, angry with herself.

  "It's nothing." Zi Xuan turned sideways and stepped past him, then looked back to add, "Your wife is waiting for you, don't keep her waiting too long."

  She still looked calm and composed, without the shyness or even anger I had imagined. But after observing her for a long time, she was still calm. The surge of emotions that had been building up in my heart suddenly dissipated completely.

  In the backyard, Qin Miao instructed Cheng Ying to protect Tao Yao's family and arrange for a few people to keep an eye on them. Also, recently, put in more effort and dig up more of Zhang Daren's past events.

  He wants to tarnish her reputation, so let's see how she reacts. Let's take a look at Qin Miao and see what kind of person she is.

  Xie Yun is still busy with military affairs and defense matters, every time he comes back very late, Qin Miao has also gotten used to it.

  That day, Xie Lin unexpectedly returned early, and the sky was about to darken when he arrived.

  "Huh, why isn't it busy today? You're back so early." Qin Miao had just sent off the little maid Xiao Yu who came to report the news to her. Seeing Xie Feng rushing in with a dusty appearance, she quickly pulled off the clothes on his body. "Stinky, it's suffocating..."

  She handed the robe over to Zi Xuan with a look of distaste, telling her to take it to be washed.

  The person who was still wearing their undergarments heard her say that and a hint of displeasure flashed across their brow. "It smells that bad?"

  "Of course, you've been soaking in sweat all day, can't be fragrant, right?" Qin Miao responded casually, and personally added some mint dew to the wooden bucket, smiling quite complacently: "Alright, now it's fragrant."

  Just as she turned around, she was hugged tightly from the front by the man.

  "What's wrong... What are you doing? Hurry up and take a bath, dinner will be ready soon..."

  Xie Xuan half-playfully, half-seriously licked her earlobe, displaying an extremely rogue attitude, and whispered: "Like this, you're also stinky now. This is called 'stinky people attract each other', haha."

  After finishing speaking, he stripped the person naked and poured them into the thin mint bath soup. Splashing sounds, a noisy commotion.

  This military affair has been bothering him, and he's been busy in the barracks all day. Every day, he just comes back to this little warmth, which can make him slightly relieved.

  By the time he was relieved of his fatigue, Qin Miao had already gone limp in his arms, allowing him to manipulate and toss her around at will.

  After the two of them had made a big fuss, they finally sat down to eat and got down to business.

  "How's everything in Pingyang, any news coming over?" Qin Miao gave him a piece of fish meat with her chopsticks and introduced, "This is a local chef I just hired, new dish - sour flavor fish. I think it tastes great, try some?"

  Xie Xun thought for a moment before answering Qin Miao, "I was too simple-minded. Our ancestors are probably scolding me in their hearts right now."

  "How did this conversation start? If both sides really clashed, staying in the capital would definitely lead to disaster. Our ancestors wouldn't be so foolish as to not understand even this much."

  Xie Xuan furrowed her brow for a moment, and said tactfully: "Perhaps I was too simple-minded. The old lady has spent her whole life guarding the Hou Mansion, and what she values most is the legacy of the Duke of Weiyuan left behind by our ancestors. And now, as the current master of the house, I'm about to push the Hou Mansion into a precarious situation. She must have complaints."

  *sigh*...

  Qin Miao was indeed too simple. The reputation of Weiyuan Hou was earned by the old marquis through a lifetime of military campaigns, and it had been passed down to Xie Yan's generation as the second generation. Old Lady Xie loved the old marquis dearly, so naturally she wanted to preserve the Weiyuan Hou Manor for generations to come, for her children and grandchildren.

  If Xie Xu's gamble paid off, then the Weiyuan Marquis Manor might have been able to go even further, but if it went wrong, that would be a case of extinction of the entire clan.

  Qin Miao only thought about advancing and retreating with Xie Yan, without any hesitation. But the old lady was not so simple.

  The two of them silently ate their rice from their bowls without making a sound.

  "An Nuan, are you sure about this fish...do you like eating it?" Qin Miao was thinking to herself when she heard Xie Yun suddenly say this.

  She looked at the small plate in front of Xie Yun empty, and then looked at Xie Yun, puzzled and asked: "What's wrong, don't you think it's good?"

  After finishing speaking, he gave himself another piece, sour and spicy, very flavorful.

  Xie Xun saw her enjoying herself and didn't say much. But in his heart, he thought it was strange, this fish... had so much vinegar added to it that it was sour enough to make one's teeth ache.

  "Alas, how's Zhang's matter going? Don't you really need my help?" Xie Yun changed the subject.

  Qin Miao was just about to share the gossip she had just heard with him, and since he brought it up himself, she told him what Xiaoyu had discreetly inquired about regarding Tao Yao.

  "It's really hard to tell, this guy is... pretending to be serious, but actually quite romantic." Xie Lin shook his head. "A cultured scoundrel, that's exactly what he is. Ah, I almost forgot to mention it to you. Just now I received news from Yu Zhang Wang, and it turns out that our Mr. Zhang is not one of us after all."

  "What does it mean?"

  Xie Xuan pointed upwards and explained, "He is a person of the new crown prince."

  Oh my, that's really hitting the nail on the head.