The front yard of the Qin Mansion.
Everyone in the Qin family has hurried over.
The courtyard was brightly lit.
A dozen burly yamen runners with swords on their waists, led by a young official, stood in the middle of the courtyard with solemn expressions.
The young official held the Qin family's household registration book in his hand. Every time he read out a name, a person would walk out of the crowd and stand on the other side.
"Qing'er!"
"Mei'er!"
"Bai Ling!"
After reading out the names of all the people in the Qin family, he counted them carefully again, then looked at Song Ruyue who was surrounded by the Qin family and said, "Madam Qin, except for Lord Qin, are all the people in the Qin Mansion here?"
Song Ruyue frowned and nodded, saying, "It's all here."
Then he asked again: "Sir, when can my master come back?"
The young official looked at the list in his hand again and said calmly, "It could be tonight or tomorrow. At this time, no matter if it is the outer city or the inner city, anyone who is not staying at home will be arrested and interrogated. Madam Qin, don't worry."
Song Ruyue asked with a worried look on her face: "Sir, what happened?"
The young official raised his eyes, looked at her solemnly and said, "The Zhongwu Marquis's mansion was wiped out, including the emperor's favorite Jinyiwei commander, who was also killed. So tonight, whether it is the outer city or the inner city, every household will be checked one by one. Madam Qin, are you sure there is no one else in the mansion?"
When Song Ruyue heard the news, she was struck by lightning and her face turned pale. "Yes... yes. Sir, the Zhongwu Marquis' Mansion you are talking about, is it... Luo Yannian's family?"
The young official nodded, and then ordered the yamen runners behind him: "Search once, don't miss any place. But remember, don't damage Madam Qin's things."
"Yes, sir!"
The yamen runners immediately rushed to the backyard.
Everyone in the Qin family just stayed where they were, silent as a mouse.
Song Ruyue stood there stiffly, her face pale and dumbfounded.
Although she wished that Luo Yannian's family would die sooner, she was shocked and dismayed to hear that they had been wiped out and that even Luo Changtian, the most favored person by the emperor, had been killed.
How could such a horrible thing happen right under the feet of the emperor, and in the inner city
Who on earth has such courage and ability
She couldn't help but tremble all over, and asked in a trembling voice: "Sir, who is so cruel? Do you know the murderer? Will the murderer come out to kill again?"
Seeing that she was frightened, the young official consoled her, "Don't worry, Madam Qin. The whole city is under martial law and the imperial guards have been dispatched. If the villain dares to show up, he will be captured."
Song Ruyue said quickly: "Sir, how about you send a few people to guard the alley outside? In case the murderer suddenly appears, my master is not here, and you won't be able to come in time."
The young official cupped his hands and said, "Please forgive me, Madam Qin. We still have to search the next household. There will be soldiers patrolling the streets outside. Madam Qin, you don't need to worry too much."
Song Ruyue was still frightened and was about to say something when Miss Qin Er, who was standing beside her, reached out and tugged at her sleeve.
Soon, the bailiffs who had searched the mansion came back.
"Reporting to the Lord, there is no one else in the mansion!"
The yamen runners replied.
The young official nodded, said nothing more, and left in a hurry with the yamen runners.
The front yard of the Qin Mansion suddenly became quiet.
After a moment, Song Ruyue said in a trembling voice: "Wei Mo, tell me, how could such a thing happen in the inner city under the feet of the emperor? Although Luo Yannian's family deserves to die, the murderer is too scary. If he accidentally sneaks into our house and your father and second brother are not here..."
When the maids and servants heard this, they all turned pale with fright.
Miss Qin Er comforted her softly, "Mother, it's okay. Don't we still have Xia Chan at home? Butler Zhou and Qing'er also know some martial arts."
Bai Ling immediately said in a crisp voice: "Don't be afraid, Madam. Bai Ling also knows martial arts."
As she spoke, she clenched her little pink fist, let out a "ha" sound, and punched out, saying, "Little Bailing's fist is not vegetarian!"
Song Ruyue frowned and thought for a moment, then immediately decided, "We can't live separately tonight. So, Weimo, Jianjia and I will stay at your place, and the others will squeeze in and live in the small courtyard next door. Xia Chan will be watching over us, and Steward Zhou and Qing'er will be watching over the others. We'll make other plans when the master comes back tomorrow."
There were not many people in the Qin Mansion. Including the servants, there were only fifteen people in total. There were also a few working in the shops in the inner city. The two small courtyards were enough for them to live in.
After this was said, no one else had any objection.
Miss Qin wanted to speak, but seeing the fear and worry on her face, she had to give up.
The group packed up their things and went to the small courtyard at the back.
Song Ruyue held Miss Qin's left hand and Miss Qin's right hand, and brought Bailing Xiachan, Qiu'er Zhu'er and Xiaodie, as well as Luo Qingzhou, into the Meixiang Garden.
Everyone else went to another small courtyard.
Lanterns were hung everywhere in the mansion and no one dared to extinguish them. The front and back doors were not only locked but also propped against them with something.
There are only four rooms in Meixiang Garden.
After Song Ruyue led her two daughters into the house, she thought for a moment and began to allocate space: "Jianjia, Weimo, and I will sleep in one room. Xiachan, Bailing, and Zhuer will sleep in another room. The remaining room will be for Qingzhou, Xiaodie, and Qiuer. What do you think?"
Zhu Er immediately said, "Madam, the beds in our two rooms are too small, not enough for three people. How about I go to sleep with Madam and Miss? There is a beauty couch there, and I can sleep on it, so I can serve Madam and Miss at any time."
Song Ruyue looked at her and asked, "Is the bed small? Then how do Qingzhou, Qiu'er, and Xiaodie sleep together every time?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the room suddenly fell silent.
Xiaodie immediately lowered her head and blushed.
Qiu'er also lowered her head.
Seeing everyone looking at him, Luo Qingzhou quickly said, "Mother-in-law, Xiaodie and I will go to sleep in the Exiled Immortal Residence. This way, you will have more space and sleep more comfortably."
Song Ruyue rejected it immediately, "No! It's fine if someone else gets into trouble, but if something happens to you, how can I explain it to the master, Wei Mo, and the ancestors of the Qin family? You have to take the top spot in the imperial examination next year to bring honor to our Qin family, so you can't make the slightest mistake."
Luo Qingzhou said awkwardly: "Mother-in-law, I'm afraid it's a bit difficult to be the top scholar..."
Song Ruyue snorted coldly, "You haven't even taken the exam yet, and you've lost confidence? You should aim higher. With your talent, even if you don't pass the first place, the second and third place will be easy for you, right?"
Luo Qingzhou: “…”
Miss Qin Er chuckled and said, "Brother Qingzhou, mother has great confidence in you."
Luo Qingzhou lowered his head and said nothing.
Song Ruyue looked at him a few more times, then looked at the others, pondered for a moment, and said, "How about this, Xia Chan and Bai Ling sleep together, Zhu Er, Xiao Die and Qiu Er, the three of you sleep together. As for Qing Zhou, you come and sleep in our room."
When these words came out, Luo Qingzhou was startled, raised his head and looked at her.
The others were also stunned.
Miss Qin Er laughed and said, "Mother, you don't even speak clearly. Look how scared Brother Qingzhou is."
Then he smiled and said, "Brother Qingzhou, what mother meant is that she wants you to sleep on the couch in our room, so that she can feel at ease."
Song Ruyue glanced at her and said, "Isn't that what I meant? Are you overthinking it? We, mother and daughter, sleep together, how could I let him sleep on the bed? What are you thinking about all day long?"
Everyone lowered their heads and tried to hold back their laughter.
"Okay, come into the room. Wei Mo, I still have something to talk to you about."
Song Ruyue didn't say anything more and walked towards the room.
Qiu'er went over immediately, opened the door, and helped her take off her shoes.
Song Ruyue, wearing snow-white silk stockings, walked into the room, turned her head and looked at her sisters and said, "What are you standing there for? Come in."
Then he looked at Luo Qingzhou again, and seeing that his son-in-law looked serious and nervous, he immediately laughed and said, "Qingzhou, why are you shy? Come in quickly. There is a bead curtain blocking the inner room. What are you afraid of? Are you afraid that your mother-in-law and your sister-in-law will peek at you?"
After saying that, he couldn't help laughing again.
The others started laughing too.
Bai Ling was enjoying the fun, so she pushed him with a smile on her face and said, "Son-in-law, come in quickly. Madam and my young lady won't peek at you, but you can't peek at them either. If you want to peek, you can only peek at the second young lady."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone else started laughing again.
Luo Qingzhou was pushed to the door of the room.
Qiu Er squatted down, helped him take off his shoes, and replied with a smile: "Master, come in quickly, I will go get you a blanket."
Luo Qingzhou saw that Miss Qin Da and Miss Qin Er were looking at him from behind, and his mother-in-law in the room was also staring at him with a smile, so he had no choice but to lower his head and walked in and went to the couch.
"Sister, let's go in too."
At this time, Miss Qin Er also pulled Miss Qin Da, took off their shoes and entered the room.
Miss Qin Er took a look at her shoes and asked in a low voice: "Sister, don't you like those shoes? Why aren't you wearing them?"
Miss Qin was silent for a moment, then said, "It's in the cabinet."
Miss Qin Er asked again: "Does my sister like it?"
Miss Qin did not answer and walked into the inner room.
Song Ruyue pushed aside the beaded curtain, and after she entered, she pulled down the curtains on both corners of the wall, separating the outside from the inside, and then stood inside and said, "Qingzhou, take a look, can you see us?"
Luo Qingzhou took a look and could vaguely see her figure, and said, "I can't see it."
Song Ruyue smiled and said, "You can't see us, so I can't see you either. So don't worry, go to sleep, you still have to get up to study tomorrow morning. You are the hardest-working person in the entire Qin Mansion. You stay at home every day and study hard. All of us will depend on you in the future."
Luo Qingzhou got on the couch and said, "Mother-in-law has been running around every day for the store, and it's very hard."
Song Ruyue sighed, walked to the bedside, and said while undressing, "Food and drink at home all cost money. Although I brought some money from Mocheng, I can't just sit there and eat it all."
Luo Qingzhou took a look inside, then quickly looked away. Seeing Qiu'er coming in with a quilt in her arms, she immediately said, "Qiu'er, go blow out the oil lamps and candles."
The light was on in the inner room, and he could now clearly see the figure inside taking off his clothes. He could also vaguely see the color of the clothes, which was very embarrassing.
Qiu'er put down the quilt and was about to go in to blow out the lights, but Song Ruyue said quickly, "No, sleep with the lights on tonight. Qiu'er, hang lanterns on the corridor outside the house as well. Be careful tonight and don't be careless at all."
Seeing this, Qiu'er had no choice but to agree, glanced at her son-in-law, and walked out.
Naturally, she also saw the graceful figure printed on the curtain, but did not dare to speak up to remind her.
Luo Qingzhou did not take off his clothes. He lay down on the couch, covered himself with the quilt and closed his eyes.
The rustling sound of clothes being taken off could be clearly heard from the inner room again.
Luo Qingzhou covered his ears.
After a while.
The mother and her two daughters all went to bed.
Song Ruyue suddenly asked again: "Qingzhou, what is your impression of your elder brother?"
Luo Qingzhou thought for a moment and said, "Fortunately, my elder brother is mature and steady, and he is a man who can accomplish great things."
Song Ruyue sighed and said, "Your eldest brother has changed a bit from before. He seems to care less about the family and only thinks about being loyal to the country..."
Miss Qin Er said, "Mother, this is what a man should do. Didn't father teach my eldest brother since he was young that he should serve the country when he grows up?"
Song Ruyue said: "That was in the past. Now... ah, it's hard to put it into words."
There was silence in the room for a while.
Song Ruyue suddenly asked again: "Qingzhou, when are you going to have a child?"
Miss Qin Er immediately whispered: "Mother, why are you asking these questions? Wei Mo's body..."
Song Ruyue said, "Mother didn't ask you to have one. Xiaodie and Qiu'er, aren't they both fine? The house is so quiet all day long, it will definitely be lively with one more child."
Miss Qin Er said: "Then mother can urge the eldest and second brothers to ask for it."
Song Ruyue sighed again: "I can't count on them. It's good enough that they can get married. Especially your second brother, he doesn't even want a maid to serve him in the house, and he has no expression when he sees a woman. Mother even suspects him... Ahem, I won't say anymore. I get angry when I mention him."
The mother and daughter were talking, but Miss Qin said nothing.
Luo Qingzhou didn't say anything else. He quietly took out the message from under the quilt, replied to Zhu Yan, and sent a message to Linghu Qingzhu, asking her about Sister Dao's situation.
Then, he sent another message to Sister Yue: Sister Yue, what are you doing? It's very dangerous outside, don't go out. Are there any soldiers searching your house
After the message was sent, Linghu Qingzhu quickly replied: The person has been received. Your senior sister's father is seriously injured, but I can cure him. I have hidden them. By the way, your senior sister is very worried about you and wants you to come to the sect. If you come, I will pick you up.
When Luo Qingzhou was replying to the message, Song Ruyue's voice came from the inner room: "Jianjia, what are you doing? Why are you sleeping over there? Don't you like sleeping with mother and Weimo?"
Miss Qin's voice sounded faintly: "I like to sleep alone."
Song Ruyue didn't say anything else, just sighed softly.
After Luo Qingzhou replied to Linghu Qingzhu, he replied to Zhu Yan.
At this time, Sister Yue replied: I’m sleeping, how about you
Luo Qingzhou: I am sleeping too
This time, the message came back quickly.
Sister Yue: With your wife
Luo Qingzhou decided to tease her: In addition to my wife, there is also my beautiful sister-in-law, and where are the two sisters
Sister Yue did not reply.