After hearing what Zi'an said, Xiao Tuo became confused.
He had indeed thought about letting Su Qing marry Liu Liu before, because Liu Liu was always buzzing in his ears like a magpie, and he didn't like it.
But if Su Qing really married Liu Liu, then...
"I need to think about one thing clearly. I don't know." Xiao Tuo said.
Seeing that he seemed to have come to his senses, Zi'an said, "Go ahead and think about it carefully. Liu Liu is a good girl and deserves your kindness."
After Xiao Tuo left, Liu Liu came out from the inner room. She looked at Zi An gratefully, "Thank you."
Zi'an said, "Don't be anxious. He's slow to warm up, and maybe he hasn't figured out what's going on in his mind yet."
Xiao Tuo was a warrior and had always taken love affairs too seriously. No, perhaps he had never thought about it, let alone getting married. If someone suddenly told him that a girl liked him so much and wanted to marry him, he might be at a loss.
Liu Liu seemed to have made up her mind, "I will wait for him. Whether he marries me or not, I will not marry anyone else."
Zi'an patted her hands and said, "Don't worry, he will get it."
"I hope I can wait." Liu Liu smiled brightly, but there was unspeakable sadness in her eyes.
Zi'an looked at her and felt a little sad. She was such a bright girl once, but now her eyes were filled with sadness. She once thought that people with Liu Liu's personality would never be without sorrow in their whole life.
She is happy now, and she hopes that Zhuangzhuang and Liuliu can also be happy.
Two days later, good news finally came.
Chen Linglong and Xia Wan'er were found and brought back to the capital. They were temporarily placed in the prime minister's residence and were being kept by Princess Danqing.
Because the Prime Minister's Mansion was involved in a corruption case, after Xia Huaijun's death, all of his property except for the Prime Minister's mansion was confiscated, and the gold, silver and treasures that Chen Linglong took away naturally had to be returned to the court.
Murong Jie handed the person over to Princess Danqing because he didn't want the government to interfere in the matter. He hoped that Zi'an would settle the grudge between them.
Chen Linglong and Xia Wan'er were both in a very miserable state. They kept heading north and fled to Huai County, where they wanted to settle down. They also heard the news from the capital, and they thought that after Prime Minister Xia's death, no one would pursue them anymore.
However, they did not expect Murong Jie to pursue them relentlessly, and they were caught before they could settle down.
Yuan Cuiyu's wooden house by the lake has been built. She has been living in it for the past two days. The elegant room has not been demolished yet. Shuyu, like other servants in the mansion, has left.
Chen Linglong and Xia Wan'er were brought in front of Yuan Cuiyu. Yuan Cuiyu looked at this miserable woman and felt a surge of hatred in her heart.
Before her daughter died, she actually didn't hate Chen Linglong. It wasn't Chen Linglong's fault that her husband fell in love with Chen Linglong. If it wasn't Chen Linglong, it would have been someone else.
However, when her daughter died at the hands of Chen Linglong, she thought about revenge day and night.
Chen Linglong seemed very frightened, but Xia Wan'er was still very arrogant, "You are the one who brought us back? Why? You vicious woman, you killed my father."
When Dao Lao Da saw her shouting, he angrily said, "Shut up, it's not your turn to speak yet."
Yuan Cuiyu looked at Xia Wan'er and said, "Xia Huaijun is not your father. Your father is Chen Er. Your mother knows this very well."
Xia Wan'er naturally knew that this was the truth now, but she would not admit it. Even though Xia Huaijun was dead now and even though he had a bad reputation, he was still better than Chen Er, a street rogue.
"Stop talking nonsense. I don't believe you." Xia Wan'er snorted.
"Madam, are you not going to tell her the truth yet?" Yuan Cuiyu looked at Chen Linglong and called her "Madam" sarcastically.
Chen Linglong knelt down with a plop. "County Lady, I know I was wrong in the past. Please forgive me and let me go. I am willing to do anything you want me to do, even if it means being a dog by your side. I am willing to do that as long as you spare my life."
Seeing her mother being so spineless, Xia Wan'er was furious, "Mother, are you crazy? Why are you asking her? She can't do anything to us. Father didn't divorce you, and you are still a concubine in the prime minister's mansion. Father didn't confess before he died, and even if he did, it wouldn't implicate the entire clan."
"Shut up and don't talk back to the county lady!" Chen Linglong turned around and yelled at Xia Wan'er.
Xia Wan'er could hardly believe her ears, "Mother..."
Chen Linglong knelt forward and kowtowed, saying, "County Lady, the child is ignorant, please don't bother with her."
Yuan Cuiyu said calmly: "Don't worry, I won't hurt your daughter, she can go."
Every wrong has its perpetrator, every debt has its creditor, and she only looks for Chen Linglong.
Although Xia Wan'er was also involved, she wanted to save Xia Wan'er's life, not because she was soft-hearted, but because everything Xia Wan'er did was arranged by Chen Linglong behind the scenes.
Xia Wan'er's mistake was that she overestimated her own abilities and wanted to climb the social ladder. Her future life would teach her that happiness comes from being content.
Of course, she will never be content, which dooms her future life to misery.
Xia Wan'er smiled coldly after hearing Yuan Cuiyu's words, "I don't need you to let me go. I can leave if I want."
After saying that, he picked up the gold, silver and jewelry and wanted to leave.
Boss Dao stepped forward and snatched it back, "These must be returned to the court. You are not allowed to take them away."
Xia Wan'er said angrily, "Then at least give me the banknotes. Without money, where will I live? How will I eat? How will I pay my employees?"
"You still want to have servants? Dream on!" Boss Dao snorted.
Yuan Cuiyu looked at Boss Dao and said, "Give her one hundred taels!"
"What can a hundred taels of silver do? It's not even enough to buy a house." Nowadays, a good courtyard in Beijing costs thousands of taels of silver. What can a hundred taels of silver do
Yuan Cuiyu looked at Xia Wan'er and said, "This hundred taels is the money Xia Lin deposited with me before. You are Xia Lin's sister, so I give this hundred taels to you. One hundred taels is the expenses of an ordinary family for nearly three years. If you save a little, it will be enough to support you until you get married."
The monthly salary of servants in the mansion was only five cents to one tael of silver, so one hundred taels was indeed a huge sum of money.
Guiyuan whispered, "County Lady, you don't have to give her so much money."
Yuan Cuiyu smiled slightly and said, no, it is not necessary.
First of all, the one hundred taels were indeed given to her by Linlin in the past. Every time he came to see her, he would give her silver, saying that it was to buy her food.
Secondly, Xia Wan'er really needs to live a good life for the time being. After spending all the one hundred taels, she will gradually experience the warmth and fickleness of human nature.
If she had no money at all, she would quickly starve to death. Yu Zian would have a bad reputation, but if she squandered it all herself, no one would be able to say a word to Zian.
Seeing Xia Wan'er leave smoothly, Chen Linglong looked at Yuan Cuiyu with hope, "County Lady, please keep me in your house as a servant. I will definitely serve you well."
She thought Yuan Cuiyu was soft-hearted and could be bullied, and since she was willing to let Wan'er go, she naturally wouldn't make things too difficult for her.
But, obviously she was wrong.
Yuan Cuiyu leaned down with a faint smile on her lips, "No, Madam Linglong, I should find someone to serve you well."
She raised her head, her face already covered with a layer of frost, "Xiaodao, lock her up in the elegant room first."
Then, she instructed Guiyuan, "Go find a craftsman to build a wall around the elegant room and make an iron cage."
She didn't kill anyone, but she wanted Chen Linglong to live a life worse than death, worse than a dog.
(End of this chapter)