Chapter 102: Open Mockery and Veiled Sarcasm

Chapter 102: Veiled Insults and Sarcasm

Truth be told, Qin Jiao hadn't seen Qin Yuanshan for a while.

Earlier, he'd been tied up with Wu Xianyi over the imperial exams, and later the Mengqin delegation came to court. To receive them, everyone in the Ministry of Rites was swamped with work, and he naturally followed suit, running around like crazy. So Qin Jiao never got a chance to talk with him about the "sending the legitimate son to seek power" matter; today, he finally had the chance to hash it out.

Xiao Guan led Qin Jiao for a while. Luo Yue followed behind, looking alert. "Young Master, this doesn't go to the rest house."

The forest farm on the northern outskirts had a rest house for officials, which Luo Yue had visited before. However, this road clearly didn't lead there.

Qin Jiao glanced around and was taken aback. He was about to speak when a girl in a bright yellow dress suddenly rushed out from the side.

"Ah!"

The girl came charging straight at him, and Qin Jiao, caught off guard, stumbled backward a few steps.

"Young Master, are you alright!"

"Eldest Young Master!"

Luo Yue and Xiao Guan hurried to support Qin Jiao.

Qin Jiao steadied himself hastily. "I'm fine, miss, you..." He reached out to help the girl who had fallen, but was surprised to find that she was actually an acquaintance.

"Li Xiaohu?"

Li Xiaohu seemed dazed from the collision, her eyes were glazed over. "I didn't mean to, Young Master Qin. This servant didn't mean to."

Qin Jiao: "It's alright. What are you doing here?"

Li Xiaohu: "I came with our..."

"Who is making noise?"

Li Xiaohu's words were cut off by a shrill voice.

Everyone turned to look. An old eunuch in his fifties stormed over angrily, followed by Qin Yuanshan, who had a fawning expression.

"Mercy, Eunuch! This servant didn't mean to make noise!"

As soon as Li Xiaohu saw the eunuch, she fell to her knees in fear. Luo Yue quietly explained to Qin Jiao: "He's a close aide of Consort Dowager Ying, Eunuch Bai."

"You wretched maid, get out of here quickly! If you upset Her Grace, you'll lose your head!" Eunuch Bai pointed at Li Xiaohu and shouted arrogantly. Finally, he deliberately cast a disdainful glance at Qin Jiao.

Qin Jiao: "..."

It felt like this Eunuch Bai was deliberately flexing his authority to intimidate him.

"I wouldn't dare offend the Noble Consort Dowager's eyes. I'll be on my way now."

Eunuch Bai looked impatient. Li Xiaohu dared not stay longer and quickly turned to leave. But as she passed by Qin Jiao, she suddenly stumbled. "Miss Li, be careful!" Qin Jiao hurriedly reached out to support her.

"This servant deserves death. Please forgive me, Young Master Qin." Li Xiaohu scrambled to her feet. In the commotion, Qin Jiao felt Li Xiaohu slip something into his hand.

Qin Jiao: "?"

He gave Li Xiaohu a confused look, but she acted like nothing happened, only saying "This servant takes leave" before running away in panic.

After Li Xiaohu left, Eunuch Bai turned his gaze to Qin Jiao. "Are you Qin Jiao?"

Eunuch Bai's voice dripped with contempt. He looked Qin Jiao up and down, his gaze straightforward and rude, as if Qin Jiao were a plaything.

Subtly pocketing the item, Qin Jiao replied flatly, "Yes, I am Qin Jiao."

"Qin Jiao, why haven't you paid your respects to Eunuch Bai?" Qin Jiao's unassuming but unyielding demeanor somehow irked Qin Yuanshan, who glared at him and said displeasedly, "Day in and day out, you've got no manners whatsoever."

Eunuch Bai shot a sidelong glance at Qin Yuanshan, signaling his satisfaction with Qin Yuanshan's servility.

"Indeed, first time I've seen a young master so ill-mannered and poorly raised. How novel," Eunuch Bai said.

Qin Yuanshan first bowed obsequiously, apologizing to Eunuch Bai with a smile: "It's all my fault for not teaching him well! Don't be angry, Eunuch." Then he turned to glare at Qin Jiao: "You ungrateful son, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and kowtow to the eunuch to greet him!"

Qin Jiao watched coldly as Eunuch Bai and Qin Yuanshan played their little duet. He didn't feel like arguing with them and was about to go through the motions of a bow, but Luo Yue suddenly sneered from beside him: "Lord Qin, have you gone mad?"

Luo Yue's eyes were ice-cold. "In the Tianyuan dynasty, no matter what eunuch or guard they are, they're all servants. Although the young master is not a master, he is still the son of a court official. Forcing him to kowtow to a servant—that's novel to me too. If anyone didn't know any better, they might think Lord Qin is deliberately mocking Eunuch Bai for not knowing his place and propriety."

"I didn't! That's not true!" Qin Yuanshan was scared stiff by Luo Yue's sarcasm. He quickly looked at Eunuch Bai and said earnestly, "Eunuch, you've got to believe me. I absolutely did not mean to mock you."

"I think that's exactly what Lord Qin meant," Luo Yue said with a curl of his lips, pouring oil on the fire. "And Eunuch Bai, you can just stand there calm after being mocked like this? Are your ears busted and your eyes blind? Otherwise, why would you have no reaction at all?"

Actually, at the end of the day, Eunuch Bai was Consort Dowager Ying's close attendant, and it wouldn't have been a big deal for Qin Jiao to greet him—just a raise of the hand. But Luo Yue saw clearly that this Eunuch Bai was deliberately putting on airs and picking a fight to bully Qin Jiao.

A eunuch targeting a young master he had never met before for no reason—there must be someone else behind it. Since Luo Yue had received orders from Xie Nai to protect the young master, aside from keeping him from physical harm, he naturally also had to help him avoid "hidden arrows that were hard to guard against."

Moreover, since the Second Prince's faction and the Prince of Lingnan's household had always been at odds, Luo Yue deliberately didn't mention any other people behind the scenes, just directing his sarcastic and veiled insults at Qin Yuanshan and Eunuch Bai.

Luo Yue said in a mocking tone: "Speaking of which, Lord Qin, you are the Vice Minister of Rites. To pervert the order of rank and ceremony like this is truly unbelievable. Does your superior, the Minister of Rites, know that this is how you conduct yourself daily?"

Luo Yue added insidiously: "And Eunuch Bai, if your ears and eyes really aren't working well, remember to see a doctor quickly. Those two are a person's precious treasures. If they are damaged or lost, you'll end up a laughingstock for nothing."

Luo Yue put heavy emphasis on "precious treasures." For a eunuch, that was practically a thunderbolt of an insult.

To be honest, Qin Jiao had to stifle his laughter with all his might to keep from laughing out loud.

"You, you!" Qin Yuanshan's eyes were red with anger. "Who do you think you are! Speaking so... so madly!"

Qin Jiao nodded inwardly.

Well, it seemed his Vice Minister father was indeed quite enraged, his words were already falling apart.

But Luo Yue completely dismissed Qin Yuanshan's anger, only replying lightly: "I'm a guard from the Prince of Lingnan's estate. How come Lord Qin doesn't recognize me?"

Finally, he deliberately asked Eunuch Bai: "Eunuch Bai, don't you recognize me too?"

"Of course I recognize you!" Eunuch Bai replied through gritted teeth.

Luo Yue gave a humorless smile: "Then congratulations to Eunuch Bai. At least you've got at least enough brains to remember stuff."

Qin Jiao: "..."

Luo Yue's mouth—truly something else.

Watching from the side, Qin Jiao saw Eunuch Bai's pasty face flush red. He guessed that if not for the fact that Luo Yue was Xie Nai's close guard, Eunuch Bai would have already torn him to shreds and ground his bones into dust.

Wanting to break the tension, Qin Jiao turned his gaze to Qin Yuanshan. "Father, Xiao Guan said you were looking for me?"

Qin Yuanshan craned his neck and said stiffly, "The Noble Consort Dowager wishes to see you."

Qin Jiao was perplexed. "Why would the Noble Consort Dowager want to see me?"

"Her Highness wants to see you—that's a blessing you wouldn't have earned in eight lifetimes. Why so many questions? Really, someone from a modest household is so fussy." Eunuch Bai seemed to have finally found an outlet for his anger, ranting endlessly.

Luo Yue hadn't expected him to dare mock him again and was about to curse back: "Eunuch Bai, you..."

"Alright, enough!" Seeing Luo Yue start to speak, Eunuch Bai immediately cut him off. "Young Master Qin, hurry up and follow me. If we delay Her Highness's business, we'll all get a beating!"

With that, Eunuch Bai walked ahead. After urging Qin Jiao, "Hurry up and follow!", Qin Yuanshan ran after Eunuch Bai.

Qin Jiao stood still, exchanging a glance with Luo Yue. Luo Yue said, "Rest assured, Young Master. I will definitely protect you."

Qin Jiao steadied himself: "Mm."

As Qin Jiao followed behind Qin Yuanshan, he suddenly halted, as if remembering something, and looked at Luo Yue.

Luo Yue was puzzled: "What's wrong, Young Master?"

"Luo Yue, you are different from Eunuch Bai," Qin Jiao said earnestly, his gaze at Luo Yue sincere and firm. "You are the best guard."

Luo Yue was a bit confused: "Ah?"

Qin Jiao smiled, ignoring Luo Yue's surprise, turned around, and continued walking forward.

When he reached a corner where both Qin Yuanshan and Eunuch Bai were out of sight, Qin Jiao pulled something out from his sleeve that Li Xiaohu had secretly slipped him—a thumb-sized porcelain bottle.

Qin Jiao wondered: What is this for?

Before long, Qin Jiao's question would be answered.

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