Chapter 42 : The Young Master Has Arrived!

Xue Qingyin was riding in a carriage and had not yet approached the satin shop when she felt a burst of heat.

She lifted the curtain and saw that the fire-fighting team, known as the “Wuhoupu,” had already arrived.

People were throwing water bags, while others carried water jars, running swiftly and frantically working to extinguish the flames.

The “Wuhoupu” was essentially the fire brigade of this era.

Xue Qingyin took a quick glance and thought that the fire-fighting equipment was truly inadequate compared to the future; it probably wouldn’t be very effective…

Since she couldn’t be of much help, she turned her attention elsewhere.

Over there, several workers from the satin shop were being pinned to the ground.

A tall young man, dressed in rough cloth and short attire, was sitting on top of one of the workers. He sneered, “I told you this matter had nothing to do with us. Why didn’t you listen?”

At that moment, the steward who had sent the message to the Xue family saw the situation and raised his eyebrows, his face full of anger as he shouted, “Miss Xue is here!”

Regardless of whether it was useful, she was the daughter of the minister, and her status was much higher than theirs!

This shout indeed stunned everyone.

The young man looked up at Xue Qingyin and said disdainfully, “What kind of ‘Miss Xue’ is this?”

Xue Qingyin, holding her maid’s hand, jumped out of the carriage and retorted, “Your grandmother.”

The young man’s face turned pale.

The people behind him couldn’t hold back their laughter.

“You damn…” The young man was about to curse when a servant following Xue Qingyin stepped forward.

The atmosphere immediately grew tense.

The young man froze for a moment.

Xue Qingyin couldn’t help but look back, thinking that this display was indeed impressive!

If only she had the two others she lent to Xue Qinghe yesterday—if they were here, it would be even more imposing!

Xue Qingyin took two steps forward and asked, “Are you from the Duke Zhao ’s mansion?”

The young man didn’t respond.

Someone behind him answered, “Yes, we are. Why?”

Xue Qingyin glanced at the struggling workers on the ground and coldly said, “Let them go. Tell your Steward Zhao to come speak with me in person.”

“Steward Zhao?” The young man was stunned.

Someone behind him added, “She must be talking about Master Zhao.”

The young man scoffed, “What arrogance! You should look at who you are first!”

The steward beside Xue Qingyin, feeling infuriated, shouted, “Open your eyes! This is the daughter of Minister Xue!”

The young man hesitated for a moment, but his hesitation quickly disappeared.

The young man immediately stood up, his figure imposing.

The steward from the satin shop instinctively took a step back, but Xue Qingyin raised her hand to stop him.

He looked at her, surprised.

Xue Qingyin thought to herself that although she didn’t know much, she knew that if someone took a step back in front of someone riding a horse, they’d lose the momentum. The satin shop workers were just afraid of the Duke Zhao ’s power… but she wasn’t afraid.

She stood firm, turning to command her servant, “Go immediately to the Duke Zhao ’s mansion and invite the young master for tea. Tell him I asked for him, and it would be best to bring Steward Zhao too.”

The servant hesitated, “But…”

He had just connected with the Duke Zhao ’s family, and wasn’t sure if this would make them think differently of the Xue family.

Xue Qingyin firmly said, “Go quickly.”

The servant, unable to disobey, swallowed his concerns and left in a hurry.

The people on the other side almost laughed out loud, “Invite the young master? Who can invite the young master?”

Everyone knew how childish the young master was.

He didn’t care who you were.

He wouldn’t even acknowledge you!

Moreover, the Duke’s family pampered and protected the young master so much that they wouldn’t allow anyone to just take him away.

To have that ability, you’d at least need to be a princess!

Xue Qingyin ignored their mockery, turning to the steward and asking, “Have the people trapped inside been rescued?”

The steward was somewhat awkward.

He didn’t know what Miss Xue was trying to do.

But now that things were in chaos, he had lost his bearings, not knowing what to do. But since Miss Xue gave him an order, he regained his sense of purpose and immediately headed to the fire.

The young man behind them sneered, “What a coward, leaving a girl here and running off by yourself.”

Xue Qingyin turned around and said, “Is it enough if I’m brave?”

The young man muttered under his breath, “Whoever brags about their bravery like that?”

Xue Qingyin lazily replied, “Didn’t you just see it?”

The young man shut up.

Though Xue Qingyin spoke slowly, her words were sharp, yet it was hard to stay angry. People felt the urge to advise her that there was no need to pretend so strong…

Soon, the steward returned, breathing a sigh of relief. “The Wuhoupu managed to rescue the people in time. One of them had some burns, but thankfully, their life is not in danger.”

“That’s good. As long as their lives are safe, it doesn’t matter if the goods are gone,” Xue Qingyin said.

The steward relaxed at this.

Xue Qingyin asked, “Why are the doors around here all shut? It’s broad daylight—didn’t anyone notice the fire?”

She was just speculating about their suspicions.

The steward replied awkwardly, “Many of the nearby shops are jealous of us.”

Xue Qingyin thought to herself, it seems He Songning doesn’t have the best relationships either.

The young man behind them laughed, “Jealous? Ha, it’s clear you guys are too ruthless…”

The steward was enraged, turning back and snapping, “And what about you? Are you any better?”

The young man wasn’t embarrassed, pointing at the steward, “At least we’re a little better.”

Xue Qingyin was speechless.

“Enough, all of you shut up,” she said, without even turning around.

Meanwhile, at the Duke Zhao ’s mansion, the servant who had been sent to deliver the message arrived.

The doorman passed the message to Steward Zhao.

Steward Zhao was pleased and clapped his hands, saying, “I heard from the Duke that recently, Minister Xue has been unhappy. I thought the words of Miss Xue wouldn’t mean much, but now they’ve invited us for tea—it seems things have settled down! After this, Minister Xue won’t be able to say anything!”

Steward Zhao thought for a moment, then asked his attendants to bring some gifts, both hands filled.

Then, he went to see the young master, Zhao Xufeng.

Zhao Xufeng had been sitting in the courtyard for half an hour, lost in thought. No one knew what he was thinking. Recently, he hadn’t been eating much, and after sitting for a while, he began drawing circles on the ground with two twigs.

When Steward Zhao saw him, his eyes welled up with tears.

He sighed heavily and stepped forward, saying, “Young Master, let’s go out for tea.”

Zhao Xufeng didn’t move.

Steward Zhao had no choice but to say, “Let’s go see your mother.”

Zhao Xufeng immediately stood up, looking around: “Where’s the food?”

Steward Zhao, seeing this, thought to himself, they sure owe Miss Xue an apology!

She was still a young lady, but they were already calling her “mother”…

But what could he do? For this, he would serve Miss Xue like a horse!

Zhao Xufeng fidgeted for a while in the house.

Steward Zhao, unable to wait any longer, urged, “If you don’t leave now, your mother will stop waiting for you.”

Only then did Zhao Xufeng hurry up.

Steward Zhao glanced at his bulging pockets and sighed.

…

The fire-fighting methods were too outdated, and in the end, the satin shop was burned to the ground, though Xue Qingyin wasn’t surprised.

When the exhausted Wuhoupu workers returned, Xue Qingyin had her servants bring the fruits she had just bought from the market.

They shared the fruits, quenching their thirst and cooling off.

Next time, if something happens, they would probably run even faster.

Soon, the Right Patrol and the military officers from the Jingzhao Prefecture arrived.

Xue Qingyin swallowed. She had never seen such a scene before… But it didn’t matter. After all, her father was a minister!

Just as Xue Qingyin straightened her back, she heard someone shout, “The young master of the Duke’s mansion is out—move aside, everyone!”

The spectacle, the procession.

Compared to this, Xue Qingyin seemed insignificant.

The Right Patrol and the Jingzhao officers immediately bowed.

The group led by the young man jumped in shock, staring incredulously at what was ahead.

And sure enough, the Duke’s carriage was approaching.

The curtain rolled up.

Young Master Zhao Xufeng ran out and rushed directly toward Xue Qingyin.

Xue Qingyin wondered for a moment.

Would he crash into her?

At that moment, Steward Zhao rushed after him, calling, “Young Master, slow down! Slow down!”

Zhao Xufeng stood in front of Xue Qingyin.

The whole person was as scary as a small mountain.

Manager Zhao chased after him and hugged his waist.

Just when Zhao Xufeng opened his mouth to call “Aniang”, he said: “Young Master, this is Ayin.”

“A, Ayin?” Zhao Xufeng fell into confusion.

“Yes, that’s the right way to call her.” Manager Zhao coaxed.

Trying to confuse the concepts of “Aniang” and “Ayin”.

Zhao Xufeng tilted his big head to think about it, but couldn’t figure it out, so he simply gave up thinking about it.

He carried a cloth bag woven with gold thread.

It was shining with gold, and you could tell it was precious at a glance!

Zhao Xufeng opened the cloth bag and said to Xue Qingyin, “Eat, eat.”

Xue Qingyin lowered her head and took a look.

There were jujube flower crisps, jade dew balls, and flower cakes inside… salty and sweet, hot and cold, made of fruit, made of cheese, all mixed together.

Some of the crisps fell off, and some of the cheese melted.

It was sticky.

When Manager Zhao saw it from behind, he couldn’t help but hold his forehead.

What the hell is this?

Which girl can eat it? It’s good enough that she didn’t vomit! But at that time, he really couldn’t persuade the young master, so he could only watch him hide all the things he thought were delicious in his pocket.

Manager Zhao didn’t dare to look at Xue Qingyin’s face.