Father Cao saw the bundle and immediately scrambled over, clutching it tightly. His eyes gleamed with greed. He glanced at Cao Lingzhi again, but didn’t obediently back off as Murong Yun had expected.
Instead, he tried to bargain.
“Miss, this isn’t how business is done. I have such a grown daughter—this is far too little.”
The Marchioness of Cheng'en took the teacup that Wen Qingwan handed over with both hands and a beaming smile, and immediately brought it to her lips for a sip.
“Mm, good tea. Yunqing, bring over my name-change gift.” Lady Xiao’s voice was soft—she used “my” instead of “this madam.”
“Yes, Madam.” The maid Yunqing, standing behind her, took out a small, delicate pouch from her sleeve.
The sudden sound of submachine gunfire echoed through the skies, completely exposing the strange and shifting presence hidden beneath the forest.
Out of nowhere came a burst of wild noise, and naturally, the people in the mountains were quite frightened.
The smell of blood in the air grew heavier, and in such extreme cold, the back mountain still bordered an undeveloped area.
Aunt Zhu'er quickly said yes too.
Zeng Xiaoyan felt there was no need to pay her husband wages. “I’m already taking a share of the profit—there’s no need to pay Mingliang. That would be too distant.
Liang Mingliang benefited from his wife’s favor and often slacked off at home. Except during the busy farming season, his two older brothers turned a blind eye and didn’t say anything. He was more than happy to tag along and help out, just to avoid going up the mountains or down to the fields. He quickly added, “Yes, yes, why would I ask Xiaoyan for wages? No need for money.”
Jiang Mengyue sent a maid out to inquire, and right after, someone from the Jin family arrived—a servant of Jin Jingxiu—returning the letter.
Jiang Mengyue couldn’t believe it—the one who came wasn’t Jin Jingxiu, but a servant. He even came just to return her letter.
The servant scratched his head and said, “Second Miss, our young master hasn’t been feeling well lately. A few days ago, he was nearly trampled by a horse while out—he was badly frightened, and he’s still lying in bed…”
“Of course.”
Murong Yun patted Hua Le’s head. Though she didn’t understand why picking it was necessary, to her, it was nothing more than a lift of the hand.
With a light step and spiritual energy surging through her legs, she leapt to the top of the towering plum tree in an instant. Before plucking the blossoms, she took advantage of the height to glimpse most of Liaozhou City.
The entrance to the passage was not wide, and very dark. Murong Yun, seeing the strings of grain sacks behind A'Xuan, finally showed some conscience and lit a ball of green spiritual light for illumination.
Since A'Xuan insisted on managing the grain sacks behind, Murong Yun cast a glance at her waist and stepped inside ahead of her.
The secret passage was very long, with many forks along the way. It was A'Xuan who guided the path, and according to him, if they took the wrong turn, what awaited ahead would be deadly traps.
