Chapter 32 032 Another Man

Chapter 32: Another Man

Upon hearing that Qiao Wanyue had spent so much money, Lady Yang immediately opened her eyes, forgetting her headache. She shot a sharp glance at Nanny Liu, then picked up the ledger to look it over. Indeed, she had spent one hundred and fifty taels.

Tossing the ledger aside, Lady Yang asked, "What did she take the money for?"

It couldn't be to subsidize her family—by all accounts, the Qiao family knew their limits and wouldn't do anything disgraceful. So it must be that Qiao Wanyue had pocketed it herself. Whatever the reason, Lady Yang would not allow such a situation.

Nanny Liu shook her head and replied, "I don't know. Her maid, Hongmei, came to fetch it. She only said the lady needed it, nothing else."

After speaking, Nanny Liu's eyes flickered as she recalled a detail she had left out, so she added, "That maid said it was by the Marquis's orders. Perhaps we should ask the Marquis about this first?"

Lady Yang's stern expression shifted slightly. She leaned back and sneered, "Since it's the Marquis's orders, then follow the Marquis's. Tell the steward to be generous and not stingy with the money."

Nanny Liu was her dowry maid; as soon as Lady Yang spoke, she understood her meaning. She grinned and said, "Yes, this servant understands."

With that, Nanny Liu turned and left, taking the ledger with her. Lady Yang closed her eyes to rest, as if nothing had happened.

-

Qin Yan was in a bad mood, and Qiao Wanyue could tell. He had come back yesterday with a long face, and today it was the same. She thought it was official business and, knowing she couldn't help with that, she wanted to care for him in other ways, to ease his tension and reduce his stress.

With that in mind, when the study lights were on that night, she instructed the kitchen to cook a bowl of noodles and brought it to him herself.

Qin Yan did let her in, but he kept a stern face the whole time, showing no sign of happiness. Qiao Wanyue was puzzled. What could make him so upset?

"I cooked a bowl of noodles. Have some—you didn't eat much at dinner."

Qin Yan glanced at the steaming noodles, catching the scent of scallions. His stomach was empty, but he had no appetite. He simply replied, "Put it down."

From the moment she entered, he hadn't looked her in the eye.

Qiao Wanyue felt disheartened. She deliberately walked around to stand in front of him, blocking his view. Qin Yan finally looked up, but he glanced at her and quickly looked away.

Qiao Wanyue sighed silently. Fine. If he didn't want to see her, she would leave. If she had known he'd be like this, she wouldn't have come at all. It would have been better to rest in her room.

"I'll go back now."

"Mm."

Just as she turned, the man's gaze followed her. She stopped at the door and turned back, but Qin Yan looked down. As she turned away again, he looked up at her.

It wasn't that he dared not meet her eyes—but whenever he saw her, he remembered that dream, the passionate embrace, the lingering affection. It was his first erotic dream, and he felt both guilty and ashamed. He had dreamed such an erotic scene, so ashamed he could hardly bear it.

So he avoided Qiao Wanyue's gaze, and would deal with it when he calmed down.

She was unaware of all this. All Qiao Wanyue knew was that Qin Yan was excessively cold to her. She decided never to go to his study again, nor to seek him out at night, as if she had ulterior motives.

The next day when she saw Qin Yan, she gave a lazy greeting and then busied herself. Qin Yan felt uneasy. Why was she unhappy? Who had provoked her?

He turned to ask Chang Sheng, who shook his head in confusion. The master was sulking and giving the cold shoulder; Chang Sheng knew nothing about it. Don't ask him.

After a nap in the afternoon, Qiao Wanyue woke up feeling much better, just a little thirsty. She drank some tea.

Hongmei had just returned from the accounting office. Seeing her awake, she hurried in.

"Madam, I just went to get the money. What do you think?"

Hongmei showed her the silver. Qiao Wanyue glanced at it, then widened her eyes in shock. "Why so much?"

"Yes. I said I needed some, and the steward gave me two hundred taels."

Two hundred taels at once? So generous?

"Did he ask what it was for?"

"No."

He didn't even ask? That was odd.

Qiao Wanyue rubbed her chin thoughtfully. What did it mean? Maybe he was tired of her coming so often, so he gave her a lump sum to keep her from coming back. That was probably it.

Qiao Wanyue pocketed the silver and said to Hongmei, "We won't go there anymore. We'll use our own money."

"I understand."

Two days later, Qiao Wanyue went out to meet Lin Susu. They had arranged to meet at the teahouse. Last time Lin Susu didn't get to go to Feiyun Manor, and this time she insisted on dragging Qiao Wanyue there. Thinking of her recent troubles, Qiao Wanyue agreed.

Sometimes she needed a thrill to keep worries at bay.

After spending an hour at Feiyun Manor, it was already dark when they came out. Qiao Wanyue gave Su Su the money she had donated for the southern regions, then prepared to go back.

Su Su tugged at her arm, saying she was wonderful and asking if they could go shopping for jewelry. Qiao Wanyue wanted to as well, but thinking of Qin Yan's stern face, she had to decline. He would have returned from court by now. If I go back too late, he'll say I'm breaking the Houfu's rules. So annoying.

"Su Su, let's go another day. No rush. I have to get back now."

Lin Susu didn't want to let her go. It was rare to get out, and going back so soon was unpleasant. But she couldn't keep her—Brother-in-law either loses his temper or puts on a long face. If he got angry, it would be even more frightening.

"Alright, then I'll come to the Houfu to see you in a few days."

Qiao Wanyue nodded repeatedly. Her face was flushed from being indoors, and there was a bit of sweat on her forehead. She wiped it away and said, "Come find me in the morning; Qin Yan isn't around in the morning."

"I know."

They parted at the entrance of Feiyun Manor and went home separately.

-

After playing for half a day, Qiao Wanyue fell asleep on the way. She only woke up when the carriage arrived at the Houfu gate.

Jumping down from the carriage, her eyelids started twitching like crazy, as if something bad was about to happen. She rubbed her eyes and asked Zhu Qing as soon as she entered, "Nothing happened while I was away, right?"

"No." Zhu Qing thought for a moment and added, "The Marquis went to the Grand Lady's place."

Just as Lady Yang was mentioned, a servant came to summon her.

Qiao Wanyue sighed and said, "So that's why my eyelids were twitching. This is it." Lady Yang summoning her at this hour couldn't be good. Had she found out about Feiyun Manor?

Feeling a little guilty, Qiao Wanyue tidied up a bit and headed to Lady Yang's quarters. On the way, she suddenly realized that Qin Yan had not yet returned from the Grand Lady's, and couldn't help but overthink.

Were mother and son plotting something? She would have to be careful with her words.

At the entrance, her heart was racing. She almost tripped on her dress as she crossed the threshold.

Qiao Wanyue looked up awkwardly. Lady Yang sat expressionless, while Qin Yan leisurely sipped tea. At the sound, he raised his eyes slightly. Their eyes met briefly before looking away.

"Mother, you called for me," the girl said with a sweet smile, then turned to Qin Yan. "When did you return, Marquis?"

Qin Yan quirked a smile. She wasn't even here when I got back—how would she know he was back? He set down his cup and replied, "Not long ago."

Barely an incense stick's time before her.

Qiao Wanyue pinched her sleeves and walked over, suddenly feeling nervous. But she hadn't done anything wrong, so why was she nervous? How ridiculous.

Lady Yang’s face went cold. She jerked her chin at the person beside her, and the servant brought an account book, handing it to Qin Yan first.

“This is this month’s account book. Take a look, Marquis. Expenses are pretty much the same as last month, but there have been some extra outflows in other areas.”

After Lady Yang finished speaking, her eyelid twitched, and she caught on right away—no wonder the manager of the accounts had given her two hundred taels at once; they had been waiting for her here. It seemed Lady Yang had long known about her taking the silver and deliberately instructed the manager to do so—pretty damn sneaky.

The earlier tension faded. Qiao Wanyue sat there calm and collected, glanced at Lady Yang, then glanced at Qin Yan, smiling faintly.

Lady Yang went on, “Although the Qin estate is large and can afford to spend some silver, with a few hundred mouths to feed in the whole household, we gotta pinch pennies where we can. Besides, we must consider future generations and not let the family fortune be squandered on our watch.”

Oh, how nicely put. Qiao Wanyue pouted, sat quietly without speaking, wanting to see which side Qin Yan would take.

Qin Yan closed the account book, having pretty much got the gist of it. He glanced sideways at her, his face unreadable.

“Mother, you’re exaggerating. I've known about this all along, and it was my idea. If you feel Yueyue hurt the family's interests, then just deduct it from my private account.”

Qiao Wanyue was caught off guard—she hadn't expected Qin Yan to take her side like that, and she felt a secret little thrill.

Lady Yang’s face soured. She forced a smile and said, “Since it’s the Marquis’s intention, I’m not in a position to say more. It’s just that I remember when Ah Zhen was still here—hardworking and thrifty, she didn't spend even half this much in six months. When I compare, I can't help but notice the difference.”

Lady Yang was stirring the pot, and she could see it clearly—bringing up Sister Lin out of nowhere, trying to sow discord between her and Qin Yan.

Qiao Wanyue glanced to the side; the man’s expression was calm, and she couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

Seeing Lady Yang’s smug face, Qiao Wanyue spoke up before Qin Yan could: “Sister Lin is pitiful—working so hard and never spending a bit more on herself. Mother, you work hard managing the household—I understand all that. But Mother, rest assured, I haven't been throwing money away.

I heard there’s a severe drought in the south, and many people can’t get enough to eat, so I donated some silver. Luckily, Lord Lin is heading south for disaster relief, so I had him take it.

For this donation, many young ladies in the capital donated too—Miss Lin, Miss Fang, and others. If Mother doesn’t believe me, you can go verify.”

“Very well,” Qin Yan commented.

“Is that so? How come I didn’t know?” Lady Yang was losing face; she had wanted to suppress her, but hadn’t expected this turn of events. Qiao Wanyue said, “Mother goes out less often, so naturally she knows less.”

Lady Yang tightened the hand hidden in her sleeve. “So it was a misunderstanding. Donating is fine; it’s doing good deeds and accumulating blessings.”

Qiao Wanyue nodded repeatedly, “Yes, yes, yes.”

“Daughter-in-law understands Mother’s good intentions. Since we need to save expenses, how about this: Marquis and I will stop taking our tonic medicines from now on. We’re young and in good health. We can use that money elsewhere—wouldn’t that be killing two birds with one stone?”

Hearing this, Lady Yang’s face changed slightly. She hastily said, “The Marquis’s offspring are important. This medicine is good for you; you should keep taking it.”

“Mother…”

Just as Qiao Wanyue was about to argue, she saw Lady Yang rubbing her temples and saying, “Since it’s a misunderstanding, you two may leave now. I’m tired too.”

-

The order to leave was given; staying any longer would be ungrateful. Helpless, they had no choice but to head back first.

On the way, Qin Yan asked her, “Besides donating the silver, what else did you do?”

She knew Qin Yan would ask her; she had already thought of an answer.

“Just what you saw that day, and then I bought some snacks.”

The man walked with his hands behind his back, his face stern. “And? Where did you go today?”

As if interrogating a criminal, Qiao Wanyue said annoyed, “Strolled around a bit with Su Su.”

Qin Yan stopped in his tracks, leaned in to sniff near her ear, and said in a low voice, “You’re lying. You smell of another man. Tell the truth—where did you go?” Qiao Wanyue was greatly startled. What a bloodhound—he could actually smell that?