At the turn of the second floor, Li Sinian abruptly stood up, his movement so great that the teacup on the table in front of him was knocked to the ground.
The waiter from the teahouse quickly came over and asked, "Sir, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, I'm leaving." Li Sinian lowered his hat and left the teahouse.
Back in the carriage, his heart could not calm down for a long time. Would others also recognize him just by hearing it?
Upon entering the palace, he felt that his colleagues who looked at him were all casting him glances of that sort.
As a result, he couldn't hear anything that was said in court anymore.
After the court session, he rushed back to his residence. As soon as he entered, he saw Rong'er, the maid of Suo Xin, standing there. Seeing him return, Rong'er hurried forward and bowed, "Sir, the concubine is..."
"I'll go later, I'm going to see the eldest young lady." Li Sinian left before Rong'er could speak and hurried to Li Yaoqin's place.
Rong'er had no choice but to take the message back. Suo Xin felt for the first time that Li Yaoqin was quite capable.
"Do you think the eldest young lady used some kind of trick? Otherwise, why would my lord go directly to her?"
Rong'er dared not say anything, but in her heart, she thought, isn't it normal for my lord to go to the eldest young lady's place? The eldest young lady is the legitimate daughter, what's wrong with my lord caring for his legitimate daughter?
However, she dared not say this to Concubine Xin. Others might not know, but for Rong'er, who spent her days with Suo Xin, she knew that this Concubine Xin was definitely not as harmless as she appeared.
It was just that my lord was infatuated with Concubine Xin. She believed that even the eldest young lady would regret it, regretting sending Concubine Xin to my lord's bed.
"What are you thinking about?" Suo Xin noticed Rong'er staring blankly into the distance.
Rong'er came back to her senses and said, "Your maid is not thinking about anything."
Suo Xin said coldly, "You may withdraw. Inform me when my lord arrives."
Rong'er did not dare to delay and withdrew after receiving the order.
Li Yaoqin had not expected Li Sinian to come looking for her so soon. She was a little surprised to see Li Sinian; it had been several days since they last met.
Suddenly, she felt a pang of sadness. She had to use some means to see her own father.
But she deeply regretted pushing Suo Xin to her father. If it weren't for Suo Xin's affair, would it be so difficult for her to see her father now?
Her mother, utterly disappointed in her, had moved into the temple within the manor and no longer managed the affairs of the household. She felt exhausted.
"Yao'er, was it you who did this?" Li Sinian looked at her and said coldly.
Li Yaoqin did not expect her father to question her right away. She smiled, a little sarcastically, mocking herself. "Father, what are you talking about? Yao'er doesn't understand."
"Don't understand? Fine, then I'll ask you, was the storyteller at the Tea Fortune Tower arranged by you?" Li Sinian said with some anger.
Li Yaoqin looked at him in surprise and asked, "What storyteller at the Tea Fortune Tower, Father? Your daughter hasn't left the manor for a long time."
"Li Yaoqin, you can deceive others, but you can't deceive me. Didn't you ask me to find the storyteller?"
Li Sinian was completely angered. How could his daughter still plot against him?
"Father, your words are incomprehensible to your daughter. How have I deceived you?" Li Yaoqin asked with a look of astonishment.
Li Sinian said in exasperation, "The storyteller at the Tea Fortune Tower is talking about matters in my manor. If it wasn't you, who else could it be?"
Li Yaoqin stood up and asked in surprise, "The storyteller is talking about matters in the manor? Where is Father? I must quickly go and spend money to resolve this, so that Father's official position is not ruined here."
Seeing Li Yaoqin's sincere words, Li Sinian's heart began to waver. At first, he was certain that Yao'er had done it, but when he saw how much Yao'er cared about his official position, at this moment, he felt that it might not have been Yao'er's doing.
If it wasn't Yao'er, then who was it? Who else in the manor could have come up with this idea?
"Father, what's wrong?" Li Yaoqin asked.
Li Sinian shook his head, "It's nothing. Perhaps Father is too nervous. Those storytellers are just making things up, Yao'er doesn't need to believe them."
Li Yaoqin nodded, "Your daughter is just afraid that Father would believe them and thus become distant from your daughter."
"How could that be? In Father's heart, Yao'er has always been the smartest daughter." Li Sinian reached out and stroked Li Yaoqin's head.
Li Yaoqin's eyes moistened slightly. "Father, you haven't spoken to your daughter like this in a long time."
Li Sinian was stunned. It was true. He seemed to have only seen his daughter with Suo Xin for a long time. It had been a very, very long time since he had spoken to his daughter alone.
"You... how is your mother?" Li Sinian suddenly asked.
Li Yaoqin choked slightly, "Mother has moved into the temple."
Li Sinian was stunned for a moment and said nothing more.
"Sir, eldest young lady, Concubine Xin's maid Rong'er is here, saying that Concubine Xin is unwell and wishes to see you," Lian Xin called out loudly from outside the door.
Li Yaoqin looked at Li Sinian, who frowned slightly, and asked, "What's wrong with Suo Xin?"
"Sir, Concubine Xin says she has a heart condition and wants to see my lord." Rong'er dared not enter, only daring to bow at the doorway.
Li Sinian was about to refuse, but Li Yaoqin said, "Concubine Xin is unwell, Father should go and see her quickly. Concubine Xin just lost her child, she must be feeling very distressed. Father must carefully consider her feelings for a day."
Li Sinian wanted to say that he was also tired after a whole day, why was no one considering his feelings?
But seeing his daughter's expectant gaze, he nodded, "Alright, I'll go and see."
As he reached the doorway, Li Yaoqin said, "Father, Mo Lian is gone. It's inconvenient for you to have no one serving you. Your daughter has chosen a few maids from the manor for you. Would you like to see them?"
Li Sinian was slightly taken aback. Looking at her, Li Yaoqin clapped her hands. Several maids walked in from outside. They were of ordinary appearance but looked honest and upright.
Li Sinian nodded, "Whatever Yao'er thinks is good."
"Qiuxin, you follow Father," Li Yaoqin said.
Qiuxin stepped forward and said, "Sir."
Li Sinian nodded, "Let's go!"
As he walked out, Li Sinian took a few steps, then looked back to see Qiuxin honestly following behind him, and couldn't help but ask, "What did the eldest young lady tell you to do?"
Qiuxin said, "Your maid knows many things."
"Are you proficient in the four arts: zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting?" Li Sinian asked.
Qiuxin nodded, "Yes, and your maid also has excellent cooking skills."
Li Sinian heard this and said, "Is that so?"
Qiuxin said, "I know the soup that my lord likes to drink."
"Good, from now on you will take Mo Lian's place," Li Sinian said.
Qiuxin nodded, "Yes, your maid understands."
Li Sinian returned to his study, where Suo Xin was waiting. She was dressed thinly, her face pale. He seemed to see Suo Xin the day she lost her child.
He sighed and walked forward, "Why don't you come inside?"
"My lord doesn't wish to see this concubine, so this concubine can leave," Suo Xin said, weeping.