Chapter 26 Doubts Resurface

Ren, the steward who was assigned the task of escorting people, was curious but didn’t ask any questions.

He had been in the Xie Mansion for decades, whether in the capital or in Taihe County, anyone who could be personally escorted out by Nanny Zhang and treated differently by the Old Lady must have their own abilities.

So, he smiled, put the basket on the carriage, and then greeted Qin Ruo and her group to get on the carriage.

Then, Ren drove the carriage steadily towards the yamen.

As soon as Ren’s carriage left, another carriage without any markings slowly appeared in front of the Xie Mansion from the opposite direction.

The two people in the carriage happened to see Qin Ruo’s last figure as she got on the carriage.

“Master! Master! Look, isn’t that the girl we met in the mountains?”

“The one driving is Uncle Ping. What is that girl doing at our Xie Mansion?” Cang Jiu was surprised.

“Cang Jiu, are you trying to take advantage of me? I don’t have a grandson as old as you.”

The young man smiled, not answering the question, and withdrew his gaze from Qin Ruo.

Cang Jiu: “…”

Cang Jiu was annoyed for a moment, then he realized. How could he be taking advantage of the young master? He was clearly the one acting like a grandson.

“Alright! Alright! Why are you worrying about so much, maybe she’s a guest of my aunt.”

Si Heng raised his hand and tapped Cang Jiu’s head, then jumped off the carriage with a light leap and strode into the Xie Mansion.

After changing clothes in his room, Si Heng took Cang Jiu straight to the Old Lady’s Hefeng Residence.

Uncle Ping had been the steward of the Xie Mansion for decades, and he could count on one hand the number of times he had personally escorted guests.

He was also very curious.

“Aunt, did we have guests at our mansion?”

As soon as he stepped into Hefeng Residence, Si Heng’s voice came before his person.

“Heng’er?”

“Finally know to come back.”

“You’re always a ghost, taking Cang Jiu around aimlessly, what are you doing? You’re old enough to get married, why are you still like a mischievous monkey?”

The Old Lady, who had already been lying in bed, got up when she heard the voice.

Looking at the tall and handsome man standing by the stone table in the courtyard, her words seemed to be a reproach, but the joy in her eyes couldn’t be hidden.

Cang Jiu followed behind Si Heng, shrinking his neck, trying to lower his presence.

“Alright! Ah Jiu, what are you hiding for? Do you think I’m going to eat you?”

The Old Lady glared at Cang Jiu again, dissatisfied.

Cang Jiu, with a thick face, walked out from behind Si Heng and bowed to the Old Lady.

“Aunt, I’ve been missing you these past few days.” Si Heng was sweet-tongued and smooth, he stepped forward and helped the Old Lady back to the house.

He massaged her shoulders and patted her back, and in a few words, the Old Lady was already being coaxed by Si Heng.

He smoothly elicited the story of Qin Ruo’s visit to the Xie Mansion today.

After massaging the Old Lady’s shoulders for a while, Si Heng sat down at the table.

He took a few large gulps of water, then began to play with the teacup in his hand in a nonchalant manner.

He listened to the Old Lady praise Qin Ruo, calling her steady and well-behaved. But he couldn’t reconcile it with the person he had met in the mountains, the person who could summon wolves and snakes in an instant.

Si Heng silently repeated Qin Ruo’s name in his mind a few times, then yawned and left on the pretext of leaving.

As he left the Old Lady’s Hefeng Residence, the smile on his face faded.

“Cang Jiu, go and investigate that Qin again, what is her background. If she has any connection with those people in the capital… don’t hold back.”

Si Heng’s voice was indifferent, he slowly stretched out his hand and made a gesture of slitting his throat.

Someone who could have such strange abilities and kill without changing their expression couldn’t be a simple person.

They had just met in the mountains a few days ago, and now she was at the Xie Mansion, it was too coincidental.

There were many people who wanted his life, from a young age, Si Heng had avoided countless dangers based on his intuition.

He had to be suspicious.

A country girl who could hunt and had some skills, he could understand.

But she could control animals and even knew medicine, that was a bit unbelievable.

After meeting her in the mountains that day, he was really curious and sent Cang Jiu to investigate Qin Ruo.

The results were simple, this person named Qin Qiuxi was ordinary.

She was the daughter of a hunter in Changhe Village, her parents had died, and she lived with her grandmother and two younger brothers, making a living by hunting.

After the investigation results came out, he put the matter aside.

It had nothing to do with him, Si Heng didn’t take it to heart, but now that it involved the Xie Mansion, he had to take it seriously again.

He thought, how could someone who had never even been to school know all this?

So there’s only one possibility, unless this Qin Qiuxi is fake.

No matter what her purpose is in approaching the Xie Mansion.

Anything that is detrimental to the Xie Mansion, just kill it.

A cruel smile reappeared on Si Heng’s face.

Cang Jiu understood Si Heng’s words and instantly put away his smile, responding and leaving.

Inside Hefeng Residence, the Old Lady Xie looked at Si Heng’s figure, met Nanny Zhang’s worried gaze, and shook her head.

Si Heng’s thoughts couldn’t be hidden from her eyes.

Although the boy didn’t show it on his face, he must have become suspicious of Qin Ruo.

Since he asked, she would pretend not to know and cooperate with him, anyway, whether she said anything or not, he would definitely investigate later.

The Old Lady Xie had lived for decades, she might not be good at anything else, but she was good at judging people.

That little girl was poised and well-mannered, she wasn’t a bad person.

She was just afraid that her nephew, in a moment of impulsiveness, would bring misfortune to others.

During their half-hour conversation, she could tell that Qin Ruo was a principled and decisive person.

She was also afraid that this matter would cause Qin Ruo to harbor resentment, although it was only a chance encounter, the Old Lady had a very good impression of Qin Ruo.

At the same time, she also felt sorry for her nephew, who had suffered so much since he was young.

“Qionghua, this child Heng has a heavy heart. He’s a good young man, but he’s acting like an old man. He’s always on edge, I’m tired for him.”

“You let Cang Jiu keep an eye on Heng’er, don’t let him act recklessly.” The Old Lady sighed heavily.

“I think, you can rest assured. In my opinion, you’re worrying too much.”

“I’ve also watched Heng’er grow up, he’s always been a sensible person, he wouldn’t act recklessly.”

Nanny Zhang smiled and responded, stopping there.

Although the Old Lady didn’t say anything explicitly, she knew that the Old Lady was talking about Qin Ruo.

“I’ve told you how many times, don’t call yourself an old slave in front of me! It’s annoying! You’ve been emancipated, you’re already free…”

The Old Lady pulled a long face and said unhappily, turning her back.

The Old Lady was becoming more and more like a child.

Nanny Zhang was also a master at coaxing the Old Lady.

“Alright! Alright! It’s all Qionghua’s fault…”

Nanny Zhang turned to face the Old Lady, smiling and gently slapping her own mouth.

“Alright! Alright!”

Even though she knew that Nanny Zhang was just trying to cheer her up, the Old Lady didn’t want to see Nanny Zhang like this, so she quickly grabbed her wrist.