Quick Wear: Cousin, Come to the Bowl Quickly

"presumptuous!"

An angry shout suddenly sounded, startling everyone and turning around in a hurry. They first saw Heng Zhi with an ugly face, and behind Heng Zhi was He Lanting with a frosty face. "Who gave you the courage to make up stories about the master? Heng Zhi, send all these people to Nanny Song to learn the rules again. If they can't change, they don't have to come back!"

After hearing this, the group of people who were chatting happily just now turned pale, fell to their knees and begged for mercy. Some of them looked at Heng Zhi with hope, hoping that the most capable steward of the eldest master could plead for them.

Heng Zhi was also shocked. There were three maids in the Duke's Mansion who were in charge of the rules for the servants. Nanny Song was one of them. Because she was the maid that came with Xie's dowry, she was trusted by the master and had dignity, so she was very majestic. On weekdays, she rarely intervened in the minor fights among the servants. Now He Lanting directly ordered all these people to be sent over, which showed how angry he was.

Heng Zhi has always been a tolerant person. Under normal circumstances, he would have pleaded for these people. However, when he looked up, he was frightened by He Lanting's aura and dared not say anything more. He nodded obediently, said yes, and was about to lead the group of people away.

Unexpectedly, someone suddenly raised his head, standing out among the trembling, kneeling and begging people for mercy. He shouted to Helan Ting that he was wronged, "It is true that we are talking too much, but everything we said is true and not fabricated. I hope you can see clearly."

Hengzhi thought to himself that this was not good, and quickly stepped forward to pull the ignorant maid away, but he heard Helan Ting's sneer from behind him, "There are still people who don't know how to live or die. Since you already know that you are talking too much, why are you still quibbling?"

The shrewd-looking maid regretted her words the moment they came out of her mouth, but now facing Helan Ting's captivating gaze, she could only bite the bullet and continue to defend herself, "We servants did not intend to pry into the affairs of the Chu family. In fact, this news is now known to everyone in the mansion. It is said that the wife of the Chu family likes the cousin very much. Whenever she comes to visit, she will pull the girl aside to talk for a long time. She must have taken a fancy to the cousin and wants to take her home..."

With a loud slap, she was interrupted from saying anything. Heng Zhi shook his hands and looked coldly at the maidservant who was slapped to the ground. Then he looked around at the people who were as silent as a cicada. Seeing that no one dared to speak out, he said coldly, "Can you guess what the masters are doing? This slap is to teach you a lesson. If someone does it again in the future, it will not be just this simple." After that, he bowed to He Lanting and said, "They are so bold because I have not disciplined them strictly. Please punish them, sir."

He Lanting closed his eyes, his expression softened a bit, "Go to Nanny Song to accept your punishment, and take everyone away."

Everyone left Cangfeng Courtyard in silence and trembling with fear. The huge courtyard suddenly became quiet. He Lanting no longer had the heart to go to the study, so he simply walked to the stone table in the courtyard and sat down.

Lian Hengzhi had noticed that something was not right with He Lanting during this period. As someone involved, how could he not feel it? It was just that he was the one involved and was deliberately avoiding the issue.

It seemed that ever since he had quarreled with Lin Xi on the corridor bridge that day, that feeling of boredom had been lingering in his heart. After Lin Xi came back from the banquet at the Chu family, this feeling of boredom became even worse, especially in these days, every time he saw the Chu family send something in, Lin Xi accepted it all, and that feeling of boredom became even more bitter.

He Lanting couldn't figure out what this inexplicable feeling meant. Logically speaking, since Lin Xi had ridiculed him like that last time, he should have felt disgusted with her.

Especially after seeing her saying that she was not the kind of woman who only wanted to get married, but always having close contacts with the Chu family who were interested in her, he should stay away from this hypocritical woman who said one thing and did another.

However, He Lanting was surprised to find that not only did he not want to draw a line between himself and Lin Xi, but he had been paying special attention to the news related to her these days. Especially when he heard the servants discussing the marriage between Lin Xi and the Chu family with ambiguous expressions just now, he got hot-headed and scolded them without thinking.

By the time he came to his senses, even he was surprised at his rare loss of composure. He seemed like a puppet, and the person who controlled his joys and sorrows was none other than Lin Xi, whom he was supposed to hate very much.

He Lanting has been smart since he was young. He Tongguang and Xie invited famous teachers and scholars to teach him how to study classics and argue about the meaning of the classics. When he was sixteen years old, he was praised by His Majesty as "He family Lanting, there is no other in the world". He had deliberately avoided it before, but now he finally calmed down and thought about it. His clever head quickly figured out the reason - he fell in love with Lin Xi.

This joy began with the stunning first sight they met, and gradually deepened as they worked together to overcome the snake disaster. Lin Xi Liuxu was talented, well-read, and had her own ideas in her mind. When she talked with him about the past and the present, she always had unique insights, which were different from all the women he had met.

She was like the scorching sun, attracting him to get closer, but he was afraid of being burned by her. Therefore, after the incident on the covered bridge, he retreated into himself, trying to escape. However, the word love could not be covered up.

He didn't dare to see her, but pretended to casually ask Heng Zhi about her every day. When he knew that the Chu family had given her countless rare treasures, he secretly laughed at Chu Erlang for not understanding her at all, but on the other hand he was worried that Lin Xi would really be moved by these vulgar things.

When she found out that Lin Xi actually accepted all the gifts from the Chu family, she felt even more jealous and angry. She wanted to rush to Lin Xi and question her, "Didn't you say that you are not the kind of woman who only wants to marry into a good family? Why are you acting like this now? Could it be that you really have feelings for Chu Erlang?"

When he came to his senses, he was shocked to find that he was insane. He had never told Lin Xi about his feelings, so how could he have the face to question her? She had lived such a hard life in the Wang family before, and now there was a Chu Erlang who was better than that good-for-nothing Wang Zhuo in every way and was attracted to her. This should be a perfect marriage.

As Lin Xi's cousin, he should have done his best to promote this marriage. However, a voice in his heart kept whispering, "Why should Chu Erlang do this? His cousin is such a brilliant person, she deserves the best. Even if she never gets married, he can still support her."

Therefore, when he heard his servants describing Lin Xi and Chu Erlang as a perfect match made in heaven, he spoke out in anger and severely punished all of them.

But no one in Cangfengyuan dared to say anything more. He Lanting was still very upset because he didn't know what Lin Xi was thinking. On the way back from the Chu family that day, he secretly looked at Lin Xi's face, and she didn't look very happy. But in the past few days, she accepted the gifts sent by the Chu family and let the rumors spread in the mansion without ever responding clearly.

He Lanting was puzzled and pondered for a moment. Finally, he got up, went back to the study, took the two books he had borrowed from Lin Xi, and walked towards Xunchunyuan.