Chapter 157 - The Skeptical Old Maidservant.

Chapter 157 The Skeptical Old Maidservant.

“I do but, but our relationship would mean to be nothing if you, if you have an engagement to others!” Qi Tianyu said and sighed. His eyes were gentler and gentler in which there were not only struggle and pathos but also love and unwillingness.

“Then… I would wait for Brother Tianyu to propose to me!” Qin Yuru smiled with tears. As she saw the pain and struggle full of Qi Tianyu’s eyes, she finally relaxed and continued to promise solemnly, “I would be a noble aristocratic lady in the future waiting for Brother Tianyu to marry me when you pass the exam!”

“A good reputation is the most important factor. If I want this, I must not let Qi Tianyu spread any gossip which might do harm to me!”

“Okay!” Qi Tianyu nodded and patted her on her shoulder as he looked much gentler. He said, “Then it would be better for me to call you Lady Qin in front of other people and for you to call me Master Qi!”

“Yes! I only listen to you!” Qin Yuru nodded in agreement.

“Then I have to leave now!” Qi Tianyu said as he slowly pushed Qin Yuru away.

“You could come and see me as much as possible if you are free!” Qin Yuru said affectionately.

“I promise you!”

“Brother Tianyu, you go first! I want to see you off!” Qin Yuru said coquettishly.

“No, you first. Otherwise, I am, I am unable to leave!” Qi Tianyu answered a little bit embarrassedly.

“Okay, Brother Tianyu!” Qin Yuru bit her lips shyly and wiped her tears with her handkerchief. She walked out the artificial hill, waved her handkerchief to Qi Tianyu who stood behind the hill and finally turned around and left unwillingly.

Qi Tianyu checked his clothes and walked out the hill slowly when she finally left. He set his indifferent eyes on the Qin Yuru’s nearly disappeared figure and smiled ironically.

Seeing his master walking out, his servant quickly followed him and left with him.

Their figures then vanished together.

Standing on an attic by the road, Qin Wanru watched this scene very clearly. Then, confusion and doubt flickered across her mind.

In her previous life, Qi Tianyu had always been Qin Yuru’s right hand and tried his best to plot against Qin Wanru. She couldn’t figure out why Qi Tianyu, such a clever man, would be so stubborn and couldn’t know that Qin Yuru had always made use of him and put him on the bench.

Was Qin Yuru really important to him? So he could ignore the fact that Qin Yuru had an engagement to others and later married to another man because of her importance in his mind.

However, when she saw this scene, it seemed that there was something she had ignored in her previous life.

She frowned and stared at the artificial hill where they just met privately.

Although she couldn’t hear their talk clearly because of the distance, she could watch their expression and action very clearly.

“Qin Yuru is really good at acting. I supposed that she almost does believe that she is a woman who values her lover. Her emotional cry looks really real.”

However, Qi Tianyu seemed very strange, especially when he left so calmly. Something seemed to break up her conventional thinking.

“How could he act so calmly when he just said goodbye to his lover sadly? He even patted on his sleeves with a disgusted expression! It seems that the man who was gentle and affectionate when hugging Qin Yuru is not him!”

“But it is him!”

“Is there something that I still don’t know? Do I miss something in my previous life?”

“Lady, it seems that Master Qi just abandoned the Young Lady!” said Yujie. She was beside Qin Wanru and also felt confused. She thought, “Do I misunderstand? People in Jiangzhou all said that Young Lady Qin wanted to marry a much nobler man in the capital city and then broke off the engagement between Master Qi and her with a plot. She even tried to blame it on my lady!”

Something seemed to jump into her mind. Qin Wanru still stared at the hill and thought of a thing that she didn’t pay attention to in the past.

She didn’t know those dubious things until she married into Deputy Prime Minister’s Chambers. When she had been with Wen Xichi in his last days, it was Wen Xichi who told her as he was conscious.

He said that Qi Tianyu was Er Jia (the second level of the exam) but not the Yi Jia (the first level). However, when he took an exam in the palace, he was Tanhua, which meant ranking the third. Later, it was Duke Yong strongly recommended him that he could be the Tanhua of Yi Jia of this Session.

Qi Tianyu actually had nothing to do with Duke Yong’s Mansion, but only Qin Yuru.

Qin Wanru suddenly figured out those things that she didn’t understand before!

Qin Yuru must feel guilty of Qi Tianyu who was abandoned. If he pretended that he still loved her deeply, he could wager more on her.

Qin Yuru wanted Qi Tianyu to be her “back-up” voluntarily while Qi Tianyu wanted Qin Yuru to help him achieve his goal also voluntarily!

“They are meant to be a couple!”

“Lady, look! There is another person!” Yujie who still was leaning over the windows suddenly pointed at a person downstairs and shouted.

Qin Wanru saw in the direction of her fingers and found that an old maidservant walked out from a tree near the artificial hill furtively. She looked around and then left quickly.

The direction she walked toward was Yulan Pavilion where Madam Di lived.

“She is Madam Di’s servant!”

However, when this old maidservant had not gone far, she turned around and looked back confusedly. The direction was the attic!

“Lady, does she recognize us?” said Yujie in a low voice as she lowered her head spontaneously.

Qin Wanru shook her head. There was a window here covered by the curtain. The bottom of the curtain was lifted a little bit. They could look down from this gap but they would not be found by others from outside.

“No, lady, she is coming here!” said Yujie as her face turned serious slightly.

They didn’t expect that this old maidservant was so careful. She thought that the situation of this attic was very special, which meant that someone might see this scene. Thus, she came and checked if somebody was here!

“Don’t worry!” Qin Wanru smiled and said, “Qing Yue is downstairs!”

She had known that Madam Di would send people to watch Qin Yuru, fearing that Qin Yuru would fall out with Qi Tianyu.

“Great! Great!” Yujie then relaxed and greatly admired her lady. She thought, “Second Lady has thought of that before!”

The old maidservant had not gone far while she saw Qing Yue coming to her at a distance. Qing Yue stopped and her face turned serious when she saw this old maid.

“Stop! Who is your master? Don’t you know the rules here!” Qing Yue shouted coldly.

Although she had worked in this mansion for a long time, she didn’t know this person in front of her.

“Nice to meet you. I am new here,” answered the old maid with a smile. Hearing Qing Yue calling her, she knew that this person must be a long-term servant girl in this mansion and then stopped. However, she didn’t tell her who her master was.

“What are you doing here so furtively?” asked Qing Yue arrogantly as checking this old maidservant. She hid as far as possible for fear that someone would find out her lady was in the attic. She saw that old maid had left but she didn’t expect that this old maid would doubt if there was somebody in the attic and then turned back.

“Nothing. I, I just get lost and don’t know where to go!” answered the old maidservant, still smiling.

“Where?” Qing Yue continued to ask severely.

“The, the kitchen!” answered the old maid quickly. She dare not tell her that she wanted to go upstairs to the attic. Although she said so, she still tried to look up stealthily. Here was much closer and she could see more clearly. The curtain was hanging down and everything seemed to be normal.

“In that direction! There!” answered Qing Yue. She looked unhappy and pointed at a direction.

“I sure appreciate! I would leave now!” Finding that there was no special situation, the old maidservant answered Qing Yue with a bright smile and bowed and scraped to her. Then she walked in that direction Qing Yue pointed at.

The old maidservant felt nervous because Qing Yue walked with her. She was so anxious that she almost wanted to turn around and check if Qing Yue was following her but she dare not show her trail. She had to walk to the kitchen and pretended to ask for something in the kitchen. Qing Yue also got to the kitchen and took the bird’s nest porridge that she asked the cook to prepare before…

In the attic, Qin Wanru took this chance to go downstairs with Yujie and returned to her Zhifang Pavilion. As they sat down for a while, Qing Yue came in with a hamper.

When she got into the room, she took the bird’s nest porridge out of the hamper and put it on the table in front of Qin Wanru. Then she backed aside and said, “Lady, she was one of those old maidservants sent to Madam Di when Madam Shui and you were not here yesterday. Moreover, Madam Di claimed that you chose servants last time and the Young Lady and she now could take the turn to choose. However, the Young Lady wasn’t there and Madam Di then asked them to stay by herself!”

“Is still the servant trader?” After Qin Wanru sipped the porridge, she then thought for a moment and asked.

“No. The other one. It is said that she is one of the most experienced servant traders in the capital city. However, I found that she didn’t bring too many servants here this time but Madam Di asked most of them to stay. Madam Di is the most fastidious person, isn’t she? I couldn’t figure out why she would be so generous this time and would want most of them to stay without saying anything else!”

Qing Yue asked with shock. She knew that Madam Di was known as her bossy temper and rudeness. When she had been in Jiangzhou Prefecture, every servant knew that she would be very fault-finding when she was in a bad mood. However, she had become so easy-going when she just came to the capital city!

Qin Wanru smiled without saying anything. She then used a spoon and tasted the porridge carefully again. Her beautiful eyes narrowed. She knew that Madam Di had more servants loyal to her who she could use!

They should be those trusted followers chose by people of Duke Yong’s Mansion for her. Otherwise, it would be impossible for her to let the old maidservant watch Qin Yuru and Qi Tianyu since they had just arrived at the Qin’s Mansion. It wouldn’t be so easy for Madam Di to trust somebody.

“Lady, I just found out something else in the kitchen!” said Qing Yue with anger. Thinking of the event she just saw, she was in a sulk.

She didn’t know that until she followed the old maidservant to the kitchen. She felt angry when she saw the unexpected thing.

“Tell me,” Qin Wanru raised her eyes and said.