Chapter 128 - 128: Only Fragrances Don’t Change 1
There was silence in the study for a while.
Luo Qingzhou lowered his head and cupped his hands. “Second Young Miss, I ought to get back to studying. Remember to have your breakfast.’
With that, he turned around and left.
Squeak.
The door opened.
Luo Qingzhou walked out and quickly disappeared into the courtyard outside.
The house returned to silence.
Outside the window, the sun was shining brightly. A bird flew down from the roof and landed on the peach blossom tree in the courtyard. It tilted its head and chirped as if it was puzzled by the abnormally quiet place.
The door of the study room was gently pushed open.
Qiu’er walked in with a bowl of freshly heated porridge and placed it on the table. She stood at the side and looked at the weak girl on the bed with heartache. She could not help but say, “Miss, about what First Young Miss told you this morning…”
The girl shook her head slightly and looked at the seat opposite her where the youth had sat earlier. She said softly, “Impossible… I won’t agree, and Brother-in-law won’t agree either… Brother-in-law is a person, not a commodity good. How can we do things as we want without asking him? If I agree, it will be an insult to him…”
Then, she smiled bitterly and said gently, “Actually, I can tell from Brother-in-law’s eyes that he only has sympathy and respect for me. He’s not an ordinary person. Elder Sister treats him coldly, but no matter how aggrieved he feels, he doesn’t show it. That’s because he’s lying low. One day, he’ll leave this place and the Qin family, so… he won’t have any feelings for anyone here…’ After a while.
She suddenly thought of the girl who had just stood under the peach blossom tree outside the window. She also thought of the subtle expression on her brother-in-law’s face when he handed her the flower. After a long silence, she said softly, “Perhaps… there is an exception.”
In the Qin residence’s guest hall.
Qin Wenzheng was having a serious discussion with the other members of the Qin family.
The door was closed, and the surrounding windows were closed.
The members of the Qin family were all talking in low voices. They all frowned and had serious looks on their faces.
“There’s indeed something wrong with the accounts. I’ve already checked. We have caught two moles from the Song family, but there must be more of them hiding in our house. Otherwise, the Song family wouldn’t be able to seize all the opportunities this year…”
“It’s imperative that we find out who the biggest spy is. Every time we hold a meeting, we will call over the stewards and the accountants. Those are all senior and experienced staff who have been working for us for many years. But today, other than us brothers, there are no outsiders here…”
At this moment, someone suddenly knocked on the door.
Then, the butler Zhou Tong’s voice sounded from outside. “Old Master, Second Young Miss’ maidservant—Zhu’er—requests an audience.”
The voices in the living room suddenly stopped.
“Weimo?”
Qin Wenzheng frowned. He thought for a moment and said, “Let her in.” The door opened.
Zhu’er hurried into the hall. Seeing that all the masters of the Qin family were there, she was a little nervous, but she did not dare to hesitate. She quickly walked to Qin Wenzheng’s side, lowered her head, and bowed. Then, she went to his side and whispered the instructions Second Young Miss had just given her.
Qin Wenzheng widened his eyes, and his expression suddenly turned ugly.
“That’s all Miss has to say. Old Master, I’ll take my leave.” Zhu’er did not dare to stay any longer and left in a hurry.
“Big Brother, what’s wrong? You look…”
“Is Weimo’s illness acting up again? Sigh, you’d better find some time to bring that girl to the capital and find a good physician to look at her illness.”
Qin Wenzheng lowered his head and pondered for a moment. He threw a glance at the people in the room, and he suddenly said in a low voice, “Second Brother, Third Brother, come out with me. The rest of you stay here. We’ll be back soon.”
Everyone looked at each other in confusion.
Second Master Qin and Third Master Qin immediately stood up, their expressions turning solemn.
Qin Wenzheng left in a hurry with the two of them.
Not long after.
The three of them brought an old man with white hair into the hall.
Everyone was even more puzzled.
The door to the hall was kept closed. It did not open even at noon.
Butler Zhou and the guard stood in the corridor outside with solemn expressions. No one dared to approach.
There were not even maidservants serving tea.
This meeting lasted until evening.
When the door to the hall opened, the energetic old man from before looked completely different now. His legs were weak and he needed someone to help him out.
As soon as they came out of the hall, a servant came to report in a hurry. “Old Master, during the poetry gathering at MO River last night, a pleasure boat was burned. The eldest daughter of the Song family and her maidservant both went missing in the sea of fire. No one knows where they are. The Second Young
Master of the Song family—Song Zhe—was attacked in the alley of Xiangyuan Garden, which is 100 meters away from the Song residence last night. His chest and head were broken, and he died tragically.”
When the Qin family heard the news, they were all shocked.
As for the old man who was being supported by Qin Wenzheng, when he heard the second piece of news, his legs immediately went limp and he fell to the ground, unconscious.
Qin Wenzheng’s face darkened when he saw that. “Looks like the person who met him last night was the second son of the Song family. But who killed him?”
Third Master Qin said in a low voice, “Big Brother, we only found out about the meeting with this old man after interrogating him today. Could someone possibly know about it in advance and then suddenly killed Song Zhe when he was on the way back to the Song residence?”
Fourth Master Qin heaved a sigh of relief and remarked, “It’s good that he died! If that little b*stard from the Song family tells all our secrets, it’ll be too late even if we make adjustments now. I wonder who helped us. They have done us a huge favor! If we find out who is behind that, we must thank him..”