Chapter 045: Baby, Why Are You Here?

Chapter 045: Baby, Why Are You Here?

Qing Huan leaned on He An's shoulder, her legs still shaky. The thrill of being out in public was both exhilarating and terrifying. Yet, He An seemed to disregard everything else, as if he wanted to meld her into his body.

After a simple wash, Qing Huan was tired and sleepy, but she hadn't forgotten about what had just happened. "Is Qi Yuan Chang trying to drag you into something?"

"He's trying to save his skin, thinking that by associating with me, I'll hold back."

"And will you?"

"What do you think, my lady?"

Qing Huan: "..."

He An wasn't someone who could be easily figured out, but Qing Huan felt he wouldn't be swayed. She shook the bag against his chest. "What if he decides to go all out and use underhanded tactics?"

If this escalated, Qi Siwei was the daughter of the Minister of Revenue, which could cause serious trouble.

"Don't worry, I've made arrangements before leaving. Qingzhou will be fine."

Qing Huan: "Did you already know that Qi Yuan Chang had ill intentions?"

**

At Mingming Tower, Qingzhou reluctantly showed up, only because his mother insisted. The idea of being judged was already off-putting, let alone having to deal with those pretentious, high-maintenance noble girls.

Mingming Tower used to belong to the Ruan family but was later given to Qing Huan as part of her dowry. Zhou Yunzhi sat in the adjacent private room, quietly sipping tea. The door opened, and Ruan Chengfu walked in with a fawning smile.

As soon as Zhou Yunzhi saw him, her expression turned frosty.

Ruan Chengfu sent Chen Po away and, after sitting down at the table, poured Zhou Yunzhi a cup of tea.

"I saw the Qi family's carriage downstairs when I arrived. They're probably on their way up now."

Although Zhou Yunzhi didn't want to engage with him, she asked, concerned about her son, "While Qi Siwei is known for her talent, rumors say she's extremely selective. Why would she be willing to marry into a merchant family like ours?"

"Qingzhou is quite the catch—any young lady would be lucky to have him. Besides, apart from not holding an official position, our Ruan family is still a wealthy clan. If she marries into our family, she won't suffer."

As he spoke, he reached for Zhou Yunzhi's hand, but she pulled away, glaring at him and signaling that their son was nearby.

The two private rooms were separated by folding screens, allowing snippets of conversation to be heard.

Ruan Chengfu looked dejected. Since that night, the room in Cui Jing Xuan had been locked every night for days now. No matter how much he tried to make amends, his wife refused to open the door.

Finally, there was some movement in the next room.

Accompanied by her maid and the matchmaker, Qi Siwei entered the guest room. At first, she seemed unimpressed, but her expression changed when she saw how handsome Qingzhou was.

Earlier, when her father mentioned wanting her to marry into the Ruan family, Qi Siwei had been a hundred percent against it. What prospects could a man from a merchant family possibly have?

Unexpectedly, Qing Huan's younger brother was quite dashing and had an air of dignity.

After sitting down, the matchmaker introduced them and then left the room with the maid, allowing them to talk privately.

For a long while, neither of them made any move to start the conversation.

Just as Qi Siwei was about to angrily question him, Qingzhou beat her to it. "Miss Qi, feel free to order anything you'd like to eat. It's on me today."

"That’s a polite way of putting it, but there’s no need. I’m not accustomed to dining in a busy restaurant like this, where I worry their bowls aren't cleaned properly."

"Well, if that’s the case, then I thank you, Miss, for saving me a meal. Goodbye." As soon as Qingzhou Ruan finished speaking, he stood up to leave.

Qi Siwei blinked in confusion. "Hey, what do you mean by that?"

"I didn’t mean anything by it," Qingzhou Ruan said innocently. "You said you’re not eating, so if I’m not eating either, why should I stay?"

"You..."

The matchmaker, seeing the situation was heading south, quickly stepped in to smooth things over. "Hold on, Young Master Ruan, since you're already here, why not sit for a while longer? Miss Qi is straightforward but has a kind heart. Please don't misunderstand her."

The matchmaker gave Qi Siwei a helpless look. She had taken this job with strict instructions from Lord Qi before he left, emphasizing that the match must succeed. She couldn’t afford to fail.

If the conversation didn’t go well, she’d have to resort to some special measures.

Qi Siwei rolled her eyes at the matchmaker and let out an impatient huff before turning her gaze to the window.

While the waiter was pouring the tea, the matchmaker subtly slipped open a small packet and shook some of its contents into the teapot. If today’s matter was successful, she would complete her task and receive a large sum of silver.

After pouring a cup for each of them, Qi Siwei took a sip, then put down her teacup and said to Qingzhou Ruan, "Young Master Ruan, there’s no need to put on airs in front of me. Our marriage, to put it bluntly, is not much different from a political alliance..."

"Wait, wait, wait," Qingzhou Ruan interrupted her. "Who said I’m going to marry you?"

This remark left Qi Siwei speechless.

What kind of response was that?

As if she was the one desperately pursuing him.

Just as Qingzhou Ruan was about to take a sip of his tea, he suddenly heard a familiar voice in the corridor. The tea that was about to reach his lips stopped in mid-air.

"Young miss, are we really not returning to the Prime Minister's residence for lunch?"

"Of course not. That awful Ruan said that as long as we mention his name, we can eat whatever we want at Mingming Tower. Today, I’m going to order the best meal and eat him out of house and home."

The familiar voices from the corridor brought back memories, especially the phrase "that awful Ruan."

Qingzhou Ruan slammed the teacup down, spilling some tea onto the table, his face showing displeasure.

Qi Siwei was startled by his action but remained silent when she saw his expression darken.

Qingzhou Ruan had always had sharp ears, and this voice belonged to none other than Wei Mingxi, who was staying at the Prime Minister's residence. He remembered how she had barged into the room while he was changing, demanding an apology.

If he didn’t comply, she threatened to scream, accusing him of dragging her into the room with ill intentions.

Under normal circumstances, Qingzhou Ruan wouldn’t have been intimidated, but this was the Prime Minister’s residence. He had to consider his sister. While he wasn’t afraid of such slanderous accusations, his sister couldn’t afford to be dragged into it.

Moreover, their parents were there, and making a scene would only upset their mother.

To keep things quiet, he reluctantly apologized, even though it went against his pride.

He really hadn’t expected to run into his nemesis today.

Wei Mingxi felt a twisted satisfaction as she plotted her revenge against Qingzhou Ruan. Since her cousin and Ruan Qinghuan left, Wei Mingxi had been in a sour mood. She had wanted to go to Lu City, but her parents had refused in their letters.

Unwilling to go back home, she decided to stay at the Prime Minister’s residence and wait for her cousin.

Now that there's no longer anything to look forward to, life has become boring and meaningless, so I'm just wandering the streets with my maid. I happened to wander in front of Mingming Tower and remembered that guy surnamed Ruan's promise from a few days ago. I didn't expect that when I mentioned it to the boss, it actually did the trick.

Since it’s on the house, I’ll go for the best and most expensive stuff, and if there’s anything left, I’ll pack it up and share it with the beggars.

"Baby, what brings you here?"

As Wei Mingxi walked past a door, she heard someone say this. Even though it wasn’t directed at her, she still got goosebumps.

But then, when she saw someone suddenly appear in front of her, she froze.

Feeling a hand on her shoulder, the voice repeated, "Baby, did you miss me?"

For a moment, Wei Mingxi was too stunned to speak.