She's being unreasonable? She's competing with Lin Wan'er? She's not obediently waiting for him in the carriage?
He really had a terrible memory, completely forgetting what he'd done himself!
She had never competed with Lin Wan'er—it was the two of them who both wanted her and then wanted even more.
Lu Lingxiao furrowed his brows and said, "Why are you looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong? Wan'er has been worried about you all along and urged me to quickly find you."
Meng Qianqian's icy eyes met his, devoid of warmth.
After he said those words, her piercing gaze felt like a sharp sword slicing into his heart.
He froze for a moment.
"My lord! Please stop talking!"
Ban Xia couldn't bear it anymore.
Her young mistress had been drenched like this, yet not only did he not blame that vixen for leading him astray, but he even thought it was the young mistress's fault.
What exactly had the young mistress done wrong?
The lord had gone too far!
Ban Xia ignored the fact that they were outside and removed her own outer coat to wrap it around the shivering Meng Qianqian.
The coachman, Brother Wu, picked up the baggage on the ground and opened an umbrella, shielding it over Meng Qianqian's head.
"Let me have it," Ban Xia said in a choked voice as she took the umbrella and helped Meng Qianqian into the mansion.
The coachman gritted his teeth and said to Lu Lingxiao, "Young Master, even if you beat me to death today, I still have words to say! The Governor Mansion hosted a banquet, and you brought another woman to ride in the carriage meant for the Eldest Young Madam. That was your fault to begin with! You left the Eldest Young Madam behind and were gone for over an hour. She stayed in the carriage waiting for you without a single word of complaint! Later, it began to rain heavily, and the umbrella you took with you... the Eldest Young Madam ended up drenched as she walked to the cloth shop to look for you. And what about you? You were nowhere to be found and didn't tell her anything."
"The Eldest Young Madam braved the rain to search for you simply because she was worried about you!"
That last sentence was entirely Brother Wu's own opinion.
Since he would likely be kicked out of the mansion anyway, he figured he might as well say everything he'd held back. Taking the plunge, the coachman poured it all out!
"When it rained so hard, her clothes must have been soaked through, and that's why she went to buy a new set. You... you truly wronged the Eldest Young Madam!"
Lu Lingxiao was rendered speechless by the coachman's words.
He watched Meng Qianqian disappear into the heavy rain, and a flicker of complexity passed through his gaze.
Meng Qianqian and Ban Xia returned to Haitang Courtyard.
"Nanny Li!"
Ban Xia nearly crashed into the door with her shoulder to push it open.
Nanny Li was startled. Seeing Meng Qianqian soaking wet and nearly frozen to the point of losing consciousness, she rushed over and took her in her arms.
"What's happened to the young mistress?"
"I don't know... sob..."
Ban Xia was heartbroken, crying uncontrollably.
Nanny Li's eyes quickly reddened as well.
The Meng Family in Qing State was considered a prominent household, even though they were merchants—but their young mistress was cherished by the elders. When had she ever endured such hardship?
"Where is the lord?"
"The lord is with that vixen... He's gone too far..."
Ban Xia sobbed so hard that she couldn't catch her breath.
Nanny Li said, "Stop crying! Quickly call for the small kitchen to heat water, make some ginger soup, and bring over a couple of warm water bottles along with coal!"
Ban Xia cried as she left to handle it.
Nanny Li helped Meng Qianqian to sit on a chair and started removing her soaked clothes. "The doctor said after the young mistress fell into the water last time that she mustn't catch cold again..."
Meng Qianqian's hands had been gripping the umbrella all the way back, and they were so frozen she couldn't straighten her fingers.
Nanny Li spent quite some time massaging before she could gently straighten her stiff fingers.
But when Nanny Li removed Meng Qianqian's shoes, soaked with blood, she could no longer hold it back and turned her head to cry.
Meng Qianqian: "Nanny."
Nanny Li wiped her tears away, lifted her head, and looked at her with reddened eyes. "Yes, young mistress!"
Meng Qianqian calmly said, "Starting tomorrow, suspend the monthly allowances for Songzhu Pavilion and Feng Courtyard."
Nanny Li asked, "Feng Courtyard is Miss Lin's residence; cutting hers won't matter. But Songzhu Pavilion is the lord's—are you really going to suspend his allowance as well, young mistress?"
Meng Qianqian didn't hesitate: "Suspend it."
Meng Qianqian took a hot bath, changed into dry clothes, and cuddled a warm water bottle as she lay down on her soft bed.
When Nanny Li brought a bowl of ginger soup over from the small kitchen, Meng Qianqian had already fallen asleep.
Ban Xia sat by her bedside, keeping watch.
Nanny Li handed the ginger soup to Ban Xia and said softly, "You should drink a bowl too, so you don't catch cold."
The young mistress didn't have many close attendants; she and Ban Xia absolutely couldn't afford to fall ill.
Ban Xia sniffled, taking the ginger soup and drinking it.
Nanny Li looked at the plate of snacks and asked, "Did the young mistress eat anything?"
Ban Xia shook her head: "The young mistress said she had no appetite."
The two didn't know what had transpired with Meng Qianqian along the way, and they also assumed she went out to look for Lu Lingxiao.
"Who could eat in such circumstances?" Nanny Li sighed, telling Ban Xia, "You're tired too. Go rest for a while; I'll watch over her."
Ban Xia refused to leave.
"Go now."
Nanny Li urged Ban Xia out of the room.
She sat for a while longer, changed the young mistress' warm bottle for a fresh one, and tucked her in snugly.
Meng Qianqian didn't sleep well that night.
She had nightmares again.
At one moment, she fell into an icy cold lake; the next, she found herself amidst raging flames, the enormous fire reaching into the sky, accompanied by horrific screams echoing outside the house.
She was hidden inside a water jar, shielded by a tall figure against the encroaching tongues of fire.
Meng Qianqian jolted awake, sitting up abruptly, only to find a figure seated on the stool by her bedside.
Dressed in purple, with a purple crown atop his head, his pale skin was as cold as bone, his elongated phoenix eyes carrying a lazy smirk, and his lips curved slightly upwards.
Meng Qianqian's eyes flickered briefly with surprise, but her demeanor quickly reverted to an unfathomable calm.
"Are you afraid of me?"
"The Grand Commander instills fear across the land, silencing even children's cries. How could a mere woman like me not be afraid? I wonder why the Grand Commander is visiting so late at night."
Lu Yuan wasn't surprised that Meng Qianqian recognized him. Just as he could find out she was part of the Meng Family, she wouldn't have been the least bit surprised.
If he lacked such abilities, he wouldn't be the Grand Commander who toyed with the court at his will.
As for barging into her chambers in the dead of night, with just the two of them alone, to someone as unconventional as the Grand Commander, it likely meant little.
Lu Yuan grinned faintly: "You clung to my sleeve all night, calling me father. I almost wanted to investigate when I gave birth to a daughter as old as you."
Meng Qianqian looked down and quickly let go of the purple sleeve she had been gripping tightly.
Lu Yuan swept his wide sleeve forward and placed a basket onto her lap from behind.
Inside the basket lay a milk-fed baby girl with large grape-like black eyes, sucking her fingers, irresistibly adorable.
Meng Qianqian blinked in dazed confusion.
Lu Yuan said, "Feed her."
Meng Qianqian replied, "I don't have milk."
Lu Yuan gave her a look that said "I'm not an idiot" and pulled out a pouch of warm goat's milk from beneath the swaddling cloth.
Meng Qianqian felt dizzy, her throat burning as if on fire.
She warned Lu Yuan, "I've caught a cold. It's contagious."
Such a small child was at great risk from the illness.
Lu Yuan dismissed her concern with indifference. "If she doesn't eat, she'll starve anyway. Starve or fall ill, either way, it's a choice."
After all, who told you to kill her wet nurse?
Meng Qianqian asked, "What if she still refuses to eat?"
Lu Yuan smiled blandly, "Then I'll kill you too."
Meng Qianqian decided quickly and said, "Hand me a spoon."
Lu Yuan sneered, "Are you ordering me?"
Meng Qianqian considered for a moment and said, "Please, Grand Commander, grant me a spoon."