“Let me take a look.”
Qiulu handed over the gold-edged card to Qin Yining, the contents of which surprised the fourth miss.
The invitation was from Lu Heng, inviting Qin Huaiyuan out for a chat.
Qin Yining closed her eyes in brief thought and suddenly smiled. She had a way of managing Madame Lu now!
Chapter 377: To Pull Up By the Roots (II)
Lu Dehan’s curiosity was piqued when he saw how self-assured Qin Yining was. “Miss, do you have a plan to handle Madame Lu?”
The Qin fourth miss nodded with a smile. “Mm. I need to go back and discuss this with my father, but don’t worry. Just go about your days as usual. The madame wants to take me down, so her plans will only target me. She’s just trying to scare you. If you sell the manor to her, that will be a blow to the Qin dignity.”
“Ai!” Lu Dehan sighed after hearing all this. “Miss, you noble people sure live tiring lives.”
The older man was a straightforward sort and spoke whatever was on his mind. His bluntness teased a smile out of Qin Yining.
After seeing him off, she instructed Qiulu, “Go to the front yard to wait for my father. Let me know immediately when he returns and tell him that I have urgent business to discuss with him.”
The maid nodded solemnly and scampered out.
When Qin Huaiyuan returned later that day, he was hastily met by his daughter. She summarized the events of the day and concluded with worry, “Father, the second master of the Lu clan isn’t a friendly sort. It looks like he wants to befriend you, but he’s actually stirring the pot. How should we respond to this?”
Li Qitian had allowed the surrendered Great Yan officials into the capital only because he wanted to balance out the tripod of native aristocracy, old Northern Ji officials, and homegrown officials wielding military power. The emperor would be intensely displeased no matter which side the Great Yan officials threw their lot in with.
But since Lu Heng’s invitation had been delivered, the emperor would probably form the wrong impression that Qin Huaiyuan was close to the Lus, no matter whether or not the invite was accepted.
If Lu Heng had bothered to think on the Qins’ behalf for even a second, he would’ve never so blatantly sent the invitation.
The Qin patriarch slowly lifted his teacup for a sip, asking in a measured pace, “How do you think we should handle this?”
Qin Yining smiled. “I’m asking you, father. Why are you asking me instead?”
Qin Huaiyuan looked at his daughter in mock anger. “Are you putting on an act in front of your old man? You already have an idea! Out with it and see if us two heroes think alike.”
The girl smiled to hear her father talk this way. “It’s actually very simple. He did this undoubtedly to worsen your relations with His Majesty. If you don’t answer the invite, you’re looking down on the Lus. But if you do, the emperor is sure to be displeased. Therefore, my idea is to play along with them.”
The minister’s eyes lit up and he merrily put his teacup onto the table to look at his daughter.
“Didn’t Madame Lu say that she would kill Lu Dehan if he didn’t sell the manor to her? She’s a daughter of a noble house at the end of the day, how can she behave in such a barbaric manner? I need to teach her a lesson so she doesn’t pop up annoyingly all the time.”
“And so, you want to use this matter to take care of Madame Lu as well?”
“That’s right.” Qin Yining nodded confidently and came close to whisper a few words to her father.
The man couldn’t resist pinching his daughter’s cheeks after hearing her plan. “How did you think of all this, young lady? We do have similar thoughts!”
Qin Yining giggled. “Because I’m father’s daughter, so we naturally think alike! Father, what do you think about my idea?”
“Of course it’s a good idea if it’s the same as mine.” Qin Huaiyuan cracked a rare joke. “Don’t worry, I’ll respond to the calling card in a bit and say that I’ve reserved the third floor of the Drunken Immortal. I’ll have him meet me tomorrow.”
“Alright, father will be observing all of the courtesies that way and won’t offend the Lus. Leave the rest to me.”
Qin Huaiyuan nodded, completely at ease.
……
Qin Yining gave instructions to rent out the second floor of the Drunken Immortal and summoned Jingzhe and the others to relay further wishes. The four respectfully received their marching orders and divvied up the missions between themselves.
Soon, it was afternoon of the next day.
Qin Yining was seated in a room next to the window, watching her father wait on the first floor.
When there was still fifteen minutes until the agreed upon time, an opulent carriage slowly stopped in front of the Drunken Immortal.
Several servants stepped forward, setting out a footstool and rolling up curtains. Everything moved like a well-oiled machine, fully displaying the flashy, luxurious air of the aristocracy.
A young gentleman wearing a sky-blue cloak with a white fur collar alighted from the carriage—Lu Heng.
When he saw Qin Huaiyuan waiting on the first floor, he quickly stepped forward to make his greetings. “You must be Master Qin? This young one is Lu Heng. Lu Heng greets Master Qin.”
“No further courtesies are necessary, Second Master Lu.”
“It was supposed to have been this kid expressing my respects to Master Qin, but the honorable lord is treating me instead! I am ashamed.” Lu Heng raised a cupped fist salute.
Qin Huaiyuan smiled in response. “This old man has long wanted to pay my respects, but have never had the time to. It’s fortunate coincidence that we can meet at the Drunken Immortal today. I’ve reserved the entire third floor. Please come with me, Sir Lu.”
“Of course. Master Qin is most thorough and conscientious.”
The two men exchanged friendly pleasantries all the way in, passing through the great hall, up the stairs, and to the second floor. Lu Heng subconsciously looked at the rooms at this point, noting that it was business as usual on this floor when he saw maids and pageboys in front of a door.
He didn’t think much of it and followed his host to the third floor.
Being seasoned and worldly, Qin Huaiyuan demonstrated his vast reserves of knowledge in his relaxed and mild manner of speech. He could get along with anyone when he cared to.
Likewise, Lu Heng was also a refined scholar of much knowledge. His every move and gesture spoke of innate nobility, and an uncommon air shaped his words. If disregarding the fact that the two stood on opposite sides, they really would’ve enjoyed an absolutely lovely conversation.
At this time, Madame Lu received certain news.
“What did you say? That bastard dares ignore my will and has gone to the Drunken Immortal to hand over the deed to that Qin girl!?”
“Yes. That Lu Dehan is a pigheaded idiot. He says that because he has an agreement with the Qins first, he’s going to honor that promise. No matter how much silver we offer him, he’s going to sell to the Qins. All of our people saw the Qin girl head to the Drunken Immortal to meet him.”
Madame Lu’s body shook from fury.
“Pah! How dare that lowly animal bear the surname Lu!? He’s not worthy in the slightest! Servants!” Her voice was exceedingly shrill.
Servants and escorts outside the door answered her call.
“Bring all of the guards and hired help, all of the pageboys too! Everyone grab a weapon and come with me to the Drunken Immortal!”
……
Currently, Qin Yining was listlessly sitting next to the window, drinking tea and whiling away time.
Given that they weren’t discussing serious business, her father and Lu Heng must be having a delightful time. I wonder if the big fish has taken the bait yet?
She’d just started wondering when a hubbub of noise drifted up from downstairs. The girl cracked the window open for a peek and saw roughly two dozen servants arriving as part of the entou
rage for a carriage with scarlet wheels.
The vehicle stopped in front of the Drunken Immortal.
Chapter 378: To Pull Up By the Roots (III)
Qin Yining’s lips curved up slightly into a meaningful smile. She turned back to look at Jingzhe.
The guard immediately grasped his mistress’ intent and took the other three hidden guards to the head of the second floor stairs.
The Qin fourth miss continued to watch matters unfold downstairs. A lavishly dressed Madame Lu in purple robes alighted from the carriage with help from her maids. Glowering, she stalked forward at the head of her group.
The manager on duty and servers were scared out of their wits. When they scrambled out to inquire about the situation, the madame’s guards harshly shoved them aside.
“Get out of the way! Can you afford to stick your nose into what the Lus want to do!?” Madame Lu’s voice hinted ominously of an impending storm. Her slender eyebrows drawn tightly together in a frown, the look in her eyes was so sharp that it seemed like she would instantly take the life of anyone who dared to block her way.
Upon hearing that it was the Lus, the manager didn’t dare stand in their way at all.
Seeing that the staff were afraid of her, the madame asked, “Has someone from the Qin family come today? Are they upstairs?”
In her fury, she couldn’t be bothered to wait for a response. She waved her men forward. “Go upstairs. When you see Qin exchanging papers with the seller, beat them to death! You’ll be richly rewarded if you do so. Don’t worry, the Lus have your back if anything happens!”
“Understood!” roared her men. All of them flourished their clubs or bats and charged menacingly up the stairs, wood creaking and groaning in protest.
The customers on the first floor had all retreated to the side of the hall. A flurry of conversations started up as they watched the show. There were also those who felt they couldn’t afford to fend the Lus and quickly settled their bill to exit this lawless place.
Madame Lu compressed her lips together and snorted coldly. What, did they all take her for a sick cat because she didn’t bare her fangs?
That Lu Dehan was courting death, but were the Qins courting death as well?
No! It’s that damn girl courting death!
I’m going to give her a thorough lesson today in whose word counts in the capital!
“Who are you!?” Jingzhe, Xiaoman, Xiaoxue, and Dahan blocked the group of servants from charging up the stairs.
The Lu hired men overflowed with a threatening manner. They didn’t care about the four ordinary-looking pageboys in their way at all. Shoving them aside brusquely, they declared, “Keep your nose out of it!”
One of them turned back to ask, “Madame, which floor do we head for?”
Madame Lu turned a cold gaze onto the manager. “The Qins are meeting with someone. Which floor?”
The manager had a quick think. The second floor was reserved by a girl, the third floor by the Qins. He really didn’t want to answer, for fear of offending the Qins. But the Drunken Immortal was only so big. The Lus would very quickly find who they wanted, and he would’ve offended an enormous clan for his troubles.
When his thoughts travelled here, the manager decided that a wise man knows when the odds are against him.
“They’re, they’re on the third floor.” He responded slowly.
“The third floor. Get up there and beat that Qin wench with everything you’ve got!”
“Understood!”
The hired help jostled past the ‘protesting’ Jingzhe crew, passing through freely to the third floor. Madame Lu followed at the rear, setting foot on the second floor when a refined and magnetic voice resonated from the third floor.
“Second Master Lu, what do you mean by this? Is your family’s hired help here to make things difficult for this old man?”
Second Master Lu?
Poleaxed, Madame Lu froze on the spot. Her expression flickered rapidly, unable to react immediately.
Meanwhile, her men heedlessly charged up to the third floor and roared, “The madame has given her orders. Come and accept your death, Qin!”
“How dare you fight my mistress over property!? Qin, you want to be run out of the city, don’t you!”
……
The servants pulled out all stops in order to please Madame Lu. Most of them didn’t even know what was going on, just that their mistress wanted to beat up a Qin surnamed girl. Throwing all concerns out the window, they joined in the jeering with gusto.
His face black as a thundercloud, Qin Huaiyuan declared, “It looks like Second Master Lu came otherwise prepared for today’s gathering.”
Livid himself, Lu Heng responded, “Please don’t misunderstand, Master Qin. I don’t know where these men came from either.”
Hearing her cousin’s voice, Madame Lu finally came back to herself. The vague feeling of falling into a trap pricked at her, and she hurried up to the third floor.
“Second elder cousin, it’s me!”
Lu Heng stood at the head of the stairs and looked down on Madame Lu, who was wreathed in awkward smiles.
“What is going on here?! I made plans today for a drink with Master Qin, but here you come charging in with this gang, yelling and screaming for the honorable minister’s head. What are you trying to do, commit murder in broad daylight??”
“Second elder cousin, I…” The madame sweated nervously. “That’s not it at all, please don’t misunderstand! How would I ever commit murder in broad daylight? I just heard… just heard…”
I’m here to wreck Qin Yining’s plans of buying a manor because I can’t stand her!
But the Master Qin that her cousin was meeting with was the father of that wench!
Just what was going on?? Wasn’t it supposed to be Qin Yining discussing the deed on the third floor? How did it turn into her own cousin sharing a meal with Master Qin?
The shoe finally dropped. I was set up!
Madame Lu stood around awkwardly, not sure what to do anymore.
Lu Heng very rarely expressed his emotions, but he was so incensed today that he wanted to break out in curses.
Qin Huaiyuan stood and placed his hands behind his back, glowering. “It looks like this old man overstepped myself in wanting to befriend the Lu clan.”
“Not at all! Please don’t be angry, Master Qin. Don’t be wrapped up in what a mere woman’s done.”
“Is this woman not part of the Lu clan? If I’m not to be wrapped up in what she’s done, she should at least set aside her hostility for my family.” Qin Huaiyuan looked at Lu Heng. “I don’t know if the second master has heard the declarations from your own family to run the Qins out of town. This Madame Lu dares barrel in with her men today—will she just outright slaughter us in the streets next time?”
With a cold snort, his sharp eyes swept across an ashen Madame Lu. “It looks like we really do need to exercise more care. Regardless, I beg to differ with the method that the Lus educate their daughters with.”
Beet red, Lu Heng was of a mind to flay his female cousin alive. He’d wanted to use the meeting today to make the emperor think that the Lus and Qins were close. That would make the emperor keep the Great Yan officials at a distance, or at the very least not trust the Qins that much. That was the most advantageous outcome for the aristocratic families.
But who would’ve thought that this farce would occur?? The Lu olive branch had turned into picking a quarrel and enacting revenge!
What would the emperor think of all this when he heard of it?!
At the very least, Lu Heng’s plans were completely ruined!
But at the same time, he didn’t think his cousin was so much of a fool that she would look to start trouble here when he was meeting with someone at the same time.
Something was afoot here!
As the atmosphere froze over, Qin Yining slowly walked up to Madame Lu with her maids and guards. The fourth miss chuckled softly. “Big sister Lu, what show are
you putting on now?”
Chapter 379: Crossing Swords
Madame Lu turned around with an exceedingly ugly expression. Qin Yining’s disgusting face was the first thing she saw.
“Why are you here!?”
The Qin fourth miss smiled faintly. “Our family bought a manor and I’m finishing the transaction today with the original owner. Why has big sister Lu barged in with so many people and is speaking so rudely to my father?”
The girl’s beautiful eyes shifted to Lu Heng at this point. “Do the Lus have a misunderstanding with my clan?”
The Qin fourth miss was blatantly accusing the Lus of playing the Qins! They were the ones who’d issued an invitation to Qin Huaiyuan. The Qin patriarch had accepted and graciously reserved an entire restaurant floor for the occasion. And in the end, Madame Lu was starting this kind of mess?
If the Lus had arranged for all of this beforehand, then they meant to grind Qin dignity into the dirt and bury it in the mud.
Such simple logic was obvious to Lu Heng, Madame Lu, and those watching downstairs.
The madame snapped back lividly, “Don’t you dare talk nonsense! What kind of misunderstanding would the Lus possibly have with the Qins!?”
“No misunderstanding?” The girl’s expression froze over. “Then that means big sister Lu’s done all this on purpose. What grudge or feud does my family possibly have with big sister Lu for you to offend my father in this way??”
A beauty to begin with, twin flames of outrage ignited in Qin Yining’s eyes. Her intensely bright eyes vanquished all those she looked upon, compelling Lu Heng to slowly walk down the stairs in spite of himself.
Previously the epitome of warm jade, her beauty had morphed into a supremely combative projection. The change stoked envy, hatred, and fury in Madame Lu.
I wouldn’t lose to her at all if I was ten years younger!
“You don’t need to clap such a large crime on me. I have no grudge or feud with Master Qin, why would I purposefully offend him?”
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