lcionline Chapter 1242 Chapter 1242
Chapter 1242 Chapter 1242
It's another day of heavy summer rain.
The courtyard was quiet and peaceful, with everyone minding their own business. Xu Lingqiao and Lianhua Xile came in the rain, holding an umbrella. Rendong hurried forward to greet them, "It's raining so hard! Why are you here, cousin? The roads are slippery, so be careful."
"Don't worry, sister. The two little girls are looking after you, holding an umbrella and supporting you. Only your shoes and socks are wet."
Rendong hurried to the main room to greet them. Xu Lingqiao looked around and asked, "Is Guanzhou still not up?"
This question made Rendong laugh.
"It rained lightly last night, so I believe you slept well. Before the Fourth Young Master went on duty, he specifically asked us to keep our voices down so as not to disturb the Young Madam's peace."
Xu Lingqiao shook his head and laughed.
"These days, I just watch the boats passing by."
After saying that, she changed into the shoes and socks that Lianhua brought and sat in the small pavilion outside. Honeysuckle was afraid that the shoes and socks would get wet from the wind and rain and hurt her body.
"It's okay. The rain has been coming in fits and starts. Now that there's light in the sky, I'm afraid it won't rain any more."
The maids were afraid of disturbing Song Guanzhou, so they simply took padded curtains and decorated the small pavilion that Song Guanzhou had never liked very much. They surrounded Xu Lingqiao and each did their needlework.
Xile was young and didn't know how to do these things, so she followed Qingfang and Qingfei to make threads and weave flower ropes.
Soon, there was a movement at the door. Everyone looked over and saw Qin Qingdong and his servant, holding yellow oil-paper umbrellas, standing at the gate of the courtyard, avoiding the moisture on their feet.
Hehua and Qingfang hurried out to greet them. Qin Qingdong brushed off the raindrops on his body and asked casually, "Is your young mistress up?"
"Still resting."
Qin Qingdong snorted, "It's time for dinner soon. She seems to be able to sleep. Who is in the pavilion upstairs? Talking and laughing——"
"Replying to the Second Young Master, she is our cousin."
Qin Qingdong stopped and looked up, but the trees blocked his view, making it hard to see clearly. "Is it just your cousin?"
Lotus was puzzled, but nodded.
"Only my cousin is here with the slaves doing needlework."
He snorted, "Never mind. It's not the right time for me to go up. Just set up a chair for me under the eaves, pour me a pot of hot tea, and wait for your young mistress to get up."
Qin Qingdong felt guilty about Xu Lingqiao.
He knew that the girl had suffered and lost her innocence, and it was most likely Jin Fuyun who sent Zhu San to do it. As for Zhu San being tempted by her beauty, that was bullshit!
Qin Qingdong didn't believe a word of it.
But what can we do?
Song Guanzhou explicitly forbade anyone from ruining their future because of Xu Lingqiao's disappearance, so he couldn't even question Jin Fuyun in front of her, why did you treat Xu Lingqiao, a woman with whom you had no grudges, like that?
Even if Jin Fuyun admits it, what can he do?
What a lie that a prince who breaks the law is subject to the same punishment as a commoner. Anyone who believes this will lose his entire family line!
Therefore, every time he saw Xu Lingqiao, he felt a little guilty and embarrassed, and would avoid her if possible.
Of course, there are times when you can't avoid it.
As soon as the hot tea was brewed, Lianhua came forward and knelt to greet him, "Second Master, my cousin invites you to come up and have a cup of hot tea."
Hot tea?
He looked at the white porcelain bluebird teacup in his hand and couldn't refuse. As soon as he nodded, the little girl came up and picked up the teapot and snacks he had just put down, and stood by waiting for him to take a step.
"...And now you are serving your cousin?"
Lotus smiled and replied, "Young Madam thinks highly of me. She said I am nimble and can speak well. She was worried that my cousin was reserved and didn't talk much, so she asked me to go over and help."
Sure enough, she is a little girl who talks a lot.
Qin Qingdong sighed slightly and went up to the pavilion. As soon as he entered, the maids put away the sewing kits in their hands, stood up, bowed and left.
For a moment, only Xu Lingqiao and he were left standing in front of him in the pavilion.
"Miss Xu, this is——"
Xu Lingqiao slowly knelt, said thank you, and then stood up and asked Qin Qingdong to sit down. "There are some things that Lingqiao is ignorant about, and I can't figure out the answer no matter how hard I try. If I ask Guanzhou, she is smart and intelligent, which would cause her some trouble. So I dare to ask Second Young Master Qin. Please forgive Lingqiao for being so presumptuous."
So——
"Just ask. As long as Qin Er knows and can speak, he will definitely not hide it."
Xu Lingqiao held the handkerchief in both hands, placed it on her knees, and solemnly asked across the small table, "Second Young Master, may I ask what is the grudge between the eldest daughter of the Jin family and Guan Zhou?"
Qin Qingdong pondered this question for a moment and then asked, "Miss Xu, have you ever seen the two of them get along? Why do you think they are incompatible?"
"Guanzhou didn't hide anything from me, and Sister Rendong also warned me to be careful of Miss Jin. I had no one to ask, but knowing that the Second Young Master and Guanzhou were close friends, I dared to ask."
"It's not a big deal, maybe it's just a misunderstanding."
Qin Qingdong picked up the words and told Xu Lingqiao, "After you got into trouble, Guan Zhou was extremely worried. I don't know where she got the gossip from, but she just thought that Miss Jin had harmed you. She didn't care and brought her subordinates to attack the Princess's Mansion--"
It turns out that there is such a thing.
"Later, when you came back, it was thanks to the help of Young Master Jin and his wife that Guan Zhou invited several young masters from the Xiao family to take you and Brother Lingbai to the Jin family to express our gratitude."
Xu Lingqiao lowered her head, and after deep thought, she asked, "Before that, Miss Jin and I went to watch the boat together—"
"There's a feud."
Qin Qingdong looked at the girl in front of him who bore a passing resemblance to Song Guanzhou, and couldn't bear to hide it. "Guanzhou's always been jealous, saying that Fuyun and Pei Si have some inexplicable feelings for each other. They've been arguing a lot, and both of them have their own opinions and personalities, so over time, a rift has indeed developed between them."
"Guan Zhou is right about this."
Xu Lingqiao said this out of the blue, and Qin Qingdong was a little surprised. "Did Guan Zhou tell you that?"
"No."
"Ok?"
Xu Lingqiao looked up and answered seriously, "On the day of the math competition, Sister Rendong, under Guanzhou's instructions, told me to stay away from Miss Jin. She was afraid that her feud with Guanzhou would affect me. So, that day, I kept an eye on Miss Jin."
"this--?"
Qin Qingdong was stunned. He had always been like Pei An, firmly believing that there was only brotherly love and friendship between them. How could there be such vulgarity between men and women...
"It's true. Second Young Master, I'm a woman, and I know what it's like for a girl to look at her beloved. That day, the eldest daughter and the Crown Prince's wife sat behind Guanzhou and his wife. Every time her cousin-in-law asked about Guanzhou's well-being, her face turned extremely grim, so much so that she simply made an excuse to leave."
Qin Qingdong was deeply shocked. "Miss Xu, this... maybe you saw it wrongly. There were many guests that day, and there were also foreigners like me sitting opposite. I'm afraid Fuyun was looking at-"
"...My maid and I saw clearly that day, she only had eyes for the Fourth Master Pei, my cousin's husband."
Qin Qingdong slumped back in his chair, as if everything was unclear. The ambiguity of the past suddenly became clear. He said, "Miss Xu, look forward to life. Guanzhou treats you like a sister. Please believe Silang. No matter how other women treat him, he only has Guanzhou in his heart."
There is only one Song Guanzhou in this world.