Quick Transmigration: The Green Tea Mistress's Guide to Seduction - A Master's Handbook

"I can't go back to my parents' home," Xie Qingyu stated clearly.

"Then stay in your own courtyard and avoid going to the Lady of the Marquis's place as much as possible," Qin Shenzhi instructed.

Xie Qingyu looked at him, seemingly wanting to say something but ultimately refraining from asking.

Qin Shenzhi watched Xie Qingyu's carriage drive away before realizing what he had just said.

Let's just assume he meant well.

After all, she was not in control of her own destiny while living in the Marquis's mansion.

He was just trying to be kind.

Qin Shenzhi convinced himself of this, but in his mind he was calculating how to exonerate Xie Qingyu.

Because of her identity, she will be implicated even if she does nothing.

Unbeknownst to himself, Qin Shenzhi was already planning how to keep Xie Qingyu unaffected and how to keep her alive in the event of the Marquis's downfall.

When Xie Qingyu returned to the manor, the Lady of the Marquis was not there.

It wasn't until evening that someone was called Xie Qingyu over.

When Xie Qingyu arrived, Gu Qinglian was still by the side of the Lady of the Marquis, and the two of them looked exactly as exhausted.

It's clear that Gu Qinglian has been quite tired from staying by the Lady of the Marquis's side all this time.

Lady Hou went to Prime Minister Wang's place again in the afternoon, probably because she didn't get a definite answer this time, and now she looked depressed and irritable.

"How is Rong-ge'er doing in prison?" Lady Hou asked hurriedly when she saw Xie Qingyu coming over.

Xie Qingyu bowed her head in greeting, and when she raised her head again, her eyes were filled with tears. "Mother, my husband, my husband is so pitiful!"

Xie Qingyu covered her face, seemingly unable to continue speaking.

"What happened?" Madam Hou could no longer sit still. She stared intently at Xie Qingyu, waiting for her to explain in detail.

Xie Qingyu's voice was still choked with emotion as she spoke, "My husband is covered in injuries. Even though my second brother has applied medicine to his wounds, it hasn't helped much. I heard they'll use torture during the interrogation!"

"My Rong-ge'er..." Lady Hou clutched her chest, unable to bear hearing such a thing.

Xie Qingyu continued, "I don't know if it's because of the bad environment in prison, but my husband seems to be in a bad state. He's even a little delirious. When he saw me, he asked for cold food powder!"

When Lady Hou heard the words "Cold Food Powder," she froze instantly and sat down dejectedly.

Cold Food Powder, it's Cold Food Powder again.

Lady Hou thought of what her father had said today. If it weren't for the Cold Food Powder, Rong-ge'er might have already come out.

The Marquis was implicated and dared not speak. Her father was also unable to take any action because of the Cold Food Powder incident. If she hadn't begged him repeatedly today to save her only child, he really wouldn't have wanted to get involved in this matter.

Lady Hou felt as if her heart was breaking.

The Marquis didn't care about his only legitimate son, and she, a woman confined to the inner quarters, had nowhere to turn for help but to ask her father, who had already resigned from his official post and returned to his hometown, for assistance.

Hearing that her son is suffering so much in prison now, her heart is practically bleeding.

Why is God so unfair, making her suffer such a great calamity?

Gu Qinglian gently comforted her from the side.

Her maternal grandfather had spent his life navigating the ups and downs of officialdom and was a shrewd man; how could he possibly exert much effort in this matter?

If even she could see it, there was no reason why her aunt couldn't. It was just that she was the only person she could turn to for help, so she could only place all her hopes on her aunt.

Unfortunately it's of no use.

Although I didn't know that Qin Lingrong's imprisonment happened so much earlier than in my previous life, the outcome would probably be the same.

Gu Qinglian lowered her eyes. Qin Shenzhi hadn't been back lately, so there was nowhere for her to curry favor.

She had seen that Qin Shenzhi's attitude towards her had improved considerably, but after not speaking to him for so long, she felt uneasy, as if all her efforts had been in vain.

You should know that what she wanted was not just to protect herself from this disaster in the Marquis's mansion.

Instead of following the same old path, they could cling tightly to Qin Shenzhi, ensuring endless wealth and prosperity in the future.

Thinking of this, a hint of impatience flashed in her eyes.

If it weren't for the fact that Lady Hou had been insisting on having her by her side every day these past few days, she wouldn't have been so busy looking for Qin Shenzhi.

Gu Qinglian felt a little anxious.

If something happens, it's uncertain what will happen to her. Although her maternal grandfather can certainly guarantee her safety, it's hard to say whether she'll still have such convenient opportunities to contact Qin Shenzhi.

Gu Qinglian's gaze fell on the Lady Hou.

She needs to think of a solution quickly.

No one present noticed Gu Qinglian's thoughts.

Lady Hou was so engrossed in Qin Lingrong's suffering in prison that she had no time to pay attention to her.

After Xie Qingyu finished speaking, she stood there silently, wiping away her tears, as if she was also heartbroken for Qin Lingrong.

For a moment, the room was filled with an indescribable grief, even though everyone's thoughts were different.

Similarly, the atmosphere in the Marquis's residence seemed to be affected by this grief.

Some of the servants began to become restless and somewhat negligent in their duties.

Gradually, as they realized that the Lady of the Marquis had no time to attend to them, some of them became bolder.

Some clever servants with wide access to information had already noticed something amiss in the situation where the Marquis was away from home, the Marquis's wife was anxiously waiting, and the Marquis's eldest son was imprisoned. They secretly rummaged through his belongings, looking for a way out for themselves.

The same situation occurred in Xie Qingyu's courtyard. Fortunately, there weren't many people in her courtyard to begin with, and some of them were her dowry members who had nowhere else to go.

It was easy to manage. After punishing a few servants who were lazy, the atmosphere in the courtyard improved significantly, and at least people's morale was lower.

Xie Qingyu has been staying in the courtyard all this time, and has even sent someone to tell the shop that she doesn't need to come in to settle accounts this month.

The small kitchen in the yard was also put into use. When Xie Qingyu had nothing to do, she would have them cook some food. As long as they didn't tell anyone, they lived a relatively easy life.

Lady Hou goes out every day and has long since had no time to pay attention to Xie Qingyu.

Since the Marquis was unreliable and Prime Minister Wang couldn't give a definite answer, the Marquis's wife had to come up with her own solutions.

However, the obvious results were minimal.

At times like these, if the Marquis himself doesn't step forward, even those who want to help won't dare to take the lead.

Moreover, the news of Qin Lingrong's affair had already spread, and even his group of people knew which family it belonged to.

The rest were either legitimate sons or illegitimate sons, and had basically all been abandoned.

This matter could be considered a big deal or a small deal, but now that it has caught the Emperor's attention, it is no small matter.

Lady Hou's constant social outings yielded no results; instead, they made her more aware of reality.

Whether it was the stimulation or the physical strain of the continuous travel that caused Lady Hou to fall ill, she suddenly fell ill.

Now Xie Qingyu could no longer stay in her own courtyard.

When Lady Hou fell ill, she was to attend to her.