Madam Pei was furious. After hearing what Xi Qingyue had done earlier, she already had a rough understanding of the girl’s temperament. How could they still be talking about shops at a time like this?
She turned angrily toward the Head of the Pei Family again. “Did you even stop to think? She’s only eight years old! An eight-year-old child who has been made a Non-Royal Commandery Princess and entrusted with managing Princess Wenqing’s fief—anyone with a brain would know better than to provoke her. You’re the only one treating her like an ordinary child. Did you grow that head of yours just for decoration?”
Madam Pei did not believe that children were easy to bully simply because they were young. On the contrary, the younger they were, the more cautious one had to be. Children that age acted entirely on impulse. If you offended one, you might not even know how you had died.
Especially a child like Xi Qingyue, who also possessed such formidable abilities. She had killed the people from the county office as soon as she arrived in Xin’an City. Even after she had made her ruthlessness so obvious, they had still dared to provoke her. They were truly asking to die.
Even a powerful aristocratic clan that held influence throughout the imperial court would have no chance against someone like her. She did not play by the rules at all—let alone a declining family like theirs.
Thinking of this, she glared at her son once more, wishing she could go over and slap him again.
The Head of the Pei Family had been scolded into looking like a quail. He hunched his head and did not dare argue.
The rest of the Pei Family also remained silent. Earlier, they had gone to the entrance hoping to eavesdrop on what was happening outside. Fortunately, the guards Nanxing had left behind had noticed them and kindly told them all about the Song Family and the Qiao Family.
At that moment, everyone in the Pei Family was filled with lingering fear.
Madam Pei struck the table with her cane and spoke sternly. “Listen carefully, all of you. Those bastards who were taken away got what they deserved. No matter what becomes of them, you are not to harbor thoughts of revenge, and you must never provoke the two young commandery princesses again. As for those shops…”
She paused and let out a sigh. “Sigh, if we lose the shops, we can always earn money again. But once we lose our lives, we lose everything. The Commandery Princess wants to make an example of someone, and unfortunately, our Pei Family happens to be one of the chickens waiting to be slaughtered. If you want the Pei Family to be wiped out just like the Song Family, then go ahead and pretend I never said anything.”
The members of the Pei Family fell silent after hearing this. Although they were rather reluctant to give up the shops, they could still let them go when compared with their lives.
After all, Xi Qingyue had not pursued them to the bitter end.
And so, under Madam Pei’s stern reprimand, and after learning of the tragic fate that had befallen the Song Family and the others, the Pei Family became deeply fearful of Xi Qingyue. No one dared object, and an unspoken agreement was reached.
Meanwhile, the Head of the Qi Family and the Head of the Ouyang Family were gathered together, their faces filled with relief.
The two men sat in a private room by the window overlooking the street in the Moonlan Teahouse. As they gazed at the bustling street below, their expressions were solemn.
“Brother Ouyang, do you think we managed to escape disaster?”
Ouyang Jin nodded in agreement. “Brother Qi, thank goodness we didn’t listen to Song Linzhi. Otherwise, our losses would have been severe.”
Qi Qian lifted his teacup and took a sip. The tea tasted particularly bitter today.
He sighed. “Sigh, we usually pride ourselves on being born into aristocratic families and think ourselves superior to others. Yet who would have thought that two children could destroy an entire clan in a single day? The world is truly unpredictable.”
Ouyang Jin was much more open-minded than he was. He pointed at the bright red watermelon that had just been brought to the table. “Brother Qi, we’ve never even heard of such a thing before, yet the Commandery Princess’s teahouse has it. Do you still think she’s an ordinary person? And the concealed weapons she possesses—even martial arts experts can’t evade them. In her eyes, aren’t so-called aristocratic families like ours no different from ants by the roadside?”
He picked up a slice of watermelon and took a bite. His eyes immediately lit up. “Wonderful! Eating something this delicious in such hot weather is incredibly refreshing.”
It was cold and crisp, sweet and juicy. No wonder so many people enjoyed it. He immediately began eating in large bites, and before long, he had devoured more than half of it.
Seeing him eat as though he had not seen food in days, Qi Qian could not help picking up a piece and taking a bite himself. Soon, he joined in.
The two family heads had eaten every kind of fruit until they were sick of it. Now that they had finally encountered something different and refreshing, they began fighting over the watermelon.
After finishing it, they picked up their handkerchiefs and wiped their mouths and hands before continuing to discuss serious matters.
A trace of worry remained on Qi Qian’s face. “Brother Ouyang, the Commandery Princess destroyed the Song Family and the Qiao Family. Wasn’t that really a warning aimed at the rest of us? Could our two families be in danger as well?”
Ouyang Jin shook his head. “What are you afraid of? Our Ouyang Family doesn’t have any of those troublesome wretches, and we never opposed the Commandery Princess. If you’re worried, take those bullies in your family who abuse their power and hand them over to the county office yourselves. Return everything they seized, and compensate the victims tenfold. Don’t wait for the Commandery Princess to come looking for you.”
Even after hearing this, Qi Qian was still uneasy. He was afraid that Xi Qingyue might use this opportunity to move against the Qi Family. The offenders were mainly the younger members of several senior clansmen, and those elders might not agree to hand them over.
Seeing his hesitation, Ouyang Jin reminded him, “Don’t assume that the Commandery Princess doesn’t know simply because she hasn’t acted yet. Hand them over as soon as possible. The reason we weren’t treated like the Song Family and the others is that we didn’t oppose the Commandery Princess. We’ve been given preferential treatment, so don’t miss this opportunity.”
Having said that, Ouyang Jin did not continue. He had offered all the advice he could. What the Qi Family chose to do was up to them.
He was simply thankful that the members of the Ouyang Family were relatively honest and had not caused any trouble.
In the private room next door, Xi Qingyue and Xi Weilan were happily eating chilled watermelon at the table.
After collecting the goods from the Qiao Family, they had come to the teahouse. They wanted to check on how the teahouse was doing and leave some more supplies there while they were at it.
When Xi Qingyue heard the conversation next door, the corners of her lips lifted slightly. They had chosen quite a place to discuss her, hadn’t they?
She opened the door of the private room and called Dazhuang over. Then she took out a portion of strawberries.
“Commandery Princess, is this a new fruit you plan to sell?” Dazhuang asked, his face filled with curiosity as he looked at the strawberries in her hands.
Xi Qingyue smiled and shook her head. “They spoil easily in hot weather, so we won’t be selling them for now. Take these to the private room next door and give them to the Head of the Qi Family and the Head of the Ouyang Family. Tell them they’re a surprise from me.”
Dazhuang did not quite understand what she meant, but he dutifully did as he was told. He walked to the door of the Qi Family head’s room and knocked.
“Who is it? We don’t need any more tea,” Qi Qian called from inside.
The two men had come out discreetly and had not brought any attendants with them. They assumed it was simply someone from the teahouse making a routine inquiry.
Dazhuang answered loudly from outside, “Head of the Qi Family, Head of the Ouyang Family, I’ve been ordered by the Commandery Princess to bring you something.”
The moment they heard this, Qi Qian and Ouyang Jin were both startled.
Ouyang Jin quickly regained his composure and said, “Come in.”
Dazhuang entered carrying a large plate of washed strawberries. He looked at the two men with a beaming smile. “Honored family heads, our Commandery Princess learned that you were here, so she sent me to bring you some fresh fruit. It’s a special surprise from the Commandery Princess for the two of you.”
When Qi Qian heard this, his face turned deathly pale, and his legs grew weak.
What kind of surprise was this?
It was a fright!
