Chapter 088: No Longer Miss Ruan?

Chapter 088: No Longer Miss Ruan?

The next day, in the imperial court, a fierce argument erupted between Jiang Jie and He An over the corruption case involving officials from the Ministry of Revenue. He An believed that the Minister of Revenue, Qi Yuanchang, bore significant responsibility for the failure to provide adequate disaster relief.

However, the Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review thought that although Qi Yuanchang was suspected of dereliction of duty, there was no solid evidence of corruption yet, and further investigation was needed.

In fact, the evidence presented by He An did not include any proof of corruption. This was simple because the two brothers of the Wu family had taken all the blame for him. The silver transferred to Lu City had all been funneled into the Wu family's accounts.

After leaving the court, Jiang Jie's anger showed no signs of abating. As he passed by He An, he deliberately avoided him.

The surrounding ministers shook their heads, thinking to themselves that Jiang Jie was being a bit too full of himself.

How could the Prime Minister, with his formidable methods, allow him to act so impulsively?

He An just raised his eyebrows, clearly annoyed but keeping his mouth shut.

**

Ruan Qinghuan had left early in the morning and only found out when she arrived at the shop that her younger brother had already gone back home. She had to rush back to the Ruan residence.

Wei Mingxi had been taken back to the Prime Minister's residence by his wife, and Qingzhou Ruan's mood instantly lifted. He had been hiding and dodging her for some time, which had been exhausting. Now, everything was finally over.

Qingzhou Ruan, who had just woken up, was lying on the chair in the study with a book over his head, already feeling drowsy again from the scent of ink. Just as he was enjoying the moment, his ear suddenly hurt, and he jumped off the recliner.

He was about to blow up, but when he saw it was his sister, he bit back his angry words, wincing in pain: "Sister, what are you doing?"

"What am I doing?" Ruan Qinghuan let go of him, angrily pouring herself a cup of cold tea to cool down. "I want to ask you, what have you been up to while I was in Lu City?"

Qingzhou Ruan was puzzled: "Following your instructions, managing the family business. You know all this, don't you?"

His sister's gaze seemed to pierce through him, making Qingzhou Ruan uneasy. He continued to explain: "I'm telling the truth. A while back, I secretly checked the accounts at your shop with the accountant, and it took almost half a month. Otherwise, how could I have found out about Auntie's embezzlement?"

Ruan Qinghuan sighed, "I'm not talking about the business."

"Huh?" Qingzhou Ruan pondered her words and suddenly realized something: "Sister, are you asking about me and Wei Mingxi?"

Ruan Qinghuan's expression changed slightly. Qingzhou Ruan said dejectedly: "Didn't I already tell you? It was just a little misunderstanding, and it's all sorted out now. I saved her three times, so it's not an overstatement to say I'm her savior."

"Savior indeed, but the problem is she's thinking of repaying you with her hand in marriage." Ruan Qinghuan didn't mince words: "Did you kiss her?"

"Pfft!" Qingzhou Ruan, who was drinking tea, spat it out and coughed several times before calming down, angrily saying: "Did she say that?"

Seeing his reaction, Ruan Qinghuan's heart sank. Regardless of the reason, it was probably true.

Qingzhou Ruan frowned with a hint of anger, complaining: "Yesterday, she came to me and told me not to talk about it, and now she's gone and told on me first?"

Listening to his muttering, Ruan Qinghuan slammed the table: "Did you really kiss her?"

"I did, but it's not what you think!"

Seeing his sister's anger, Qingzhou Ruan hurriedly explained the situation from that day when she was under the influence of an aphrodisiac. Finally, he raised his hand and solemnly said: "I swear, it wasn't me who initiated the kiss. She kissed me."

Ruan Qinghuan hadn't expected this twist. As a woman, she understood that Wei Mingxi, at the age of budding love, had been chasing him, seemingly out of anger, but perhaps even she didn't realize when she had developed genuine feelings for her brother.

Regardless of who initiated it, the fact remained that they had kissed. After a moment of consideration, Ruan Qinghuan tentatively asked: "What do you think of Wei Mingxi?"

"Not much. Isn't she going home soon?"

"She doesn't want to go back. She wants to stay."

"She wouldn't... she wouldn't be thinking of going after me, would she?"

**

On the way back, Ruan Qinghuan looked listless. She had never expected that Qingzhou and Wei Mingxi would cause so many complications. However, since Qingzhou had no romantic feelings for her, the situation became a bit complicated.

She had planned to discuss the matter with her mother-in-law, but upon returning home, she learned her mother-in-law had gone to the temple again to pray.

This trip would take at least three to five days, and she only left a message with the servant, saying that if something major really happened, it could wait until she returned. There was no need to worry excessively, as there would always be a way out when the time comes.

Ruan Qinghuan was touched, but her mother-in-law’s words only deepened her guilt.

In the original narrative, her mother-in-law had only one son, He An, and Wei Mingxi, her niece, indirectly made up for her regret of not having a daughter. Therefore, she cherished Wei Mingxi dearly.

Though the original plot had shifted unknowingly, her affection for Wei Mingxi remained unchanged.

Her mother-in-law clearly cared for Wei Mingxi and didn’t want to pressure her, so she gave her space to handle the situation.

Upon returning to Changchun Garden, Wei Mingxi glanced at the courtyard of the guest room next door. It was quiet, as if no one was there, so she had no choice but to return to her own room first.

Xia Lian noticed her troubled expression and reassured her, "Madam, the young master said it was Miss Wei who initiated what happened that day, and it was just an accident. It doesn’t mean anything."

"That’s not the way to look at it. Although no major mistake was made, such things are of great importance in a woman’s heart."

That was true, but Xia Lian couldn’t feel much sympathy, given how Miss Wei had caused trouble for Madam before.

Since the master hadn’t returned yet, Ruan Qinghuan took out some writing paper from the cabinet and began preparing for the opening of the pawnshop. She had just written a few characters when there was a knock at the door.

Xia Lian opened the door and was stunned when she saw the person outside. She couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

The laughter drew Ruan Qinghuan’s attention, and she looked up to see Wei Mingxi entering. At first glance, she frowned, "You... did you tear apart the kitchen?"

On Wei Mingxi’s tray was a bowl of sweet soup, which wasn’t surprising.

What was surprising was her face—her eyelids, cheeks, and the tip of her nose were all smeared with black stains. Combined with the sweat, her face looked shiny and greasy.

Wei Mingxi grinned, her expression clearly showing a desire to please. She thought Ruan Qinghuan was upset about her dirtying her clothes, "Sister-in-law, don’t laugh at me. I’ll change into a clean dress later. Please try the sweet soup I made myself. I added bird’s nest to it."

Sister-in-law?

Not Miss Ruan anymore?

Since returning from Lu City, this was only the second time she had seen her. Last night, she was still upset, sad, and angry, but after one night, it was as if she had become a completely different person. The drastic change was too sudden, and Ruan Qinghuan wasn’t quite used to it yet.

As Wei Mingxi brought the sweet soup to her, Ruan Qinghuan said, "Thank you."

Wei Mingxi waited eagerly for her to taste it, her eyes full of anticipation, like a child waiting for praise from an adult. Ruan Qinghuan couldn’t bear to disappoint her, so she took a spoonful and tasted it. The moment she did, an overwhelming sweetness hit her. How much sugar had she added?

"Is it good?"

Not wanting to hurt her feelings, Ruan Qinghuan praised, "It’s good. Just don’t add so much sugar next time."

Wei Mingxi nodded, "Alright. Starting tomorrow, I’ll make the sweet soup for you, sister-in-law. I promise you’ll be satisfied."

Ruan Qinghuan: "..."

Was she planning to stay and take up cooking?