The eldest daughter's scheming, the crown prince's exclusive favor to the venomous concubi

Qiu Zhenzhou paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "That's good. Have you seen your mother yet?"

The mother in question was naturally Madam Sun. Jian Yue shook her head, a hint of disappointment on her face: "It seems that my mother still doesn't like me."

Jian Yue was wearing a long, faded white robe that was thin and appeared to be unlined. It was late autumn, and winter was fast approaching. The weather was getting colder, and she looked out of place in such clothes.

In particular, Jian Yue's face was pale and she looked extremely weak. When she came out of the gauze curtain, she seemed to be feeling unwell because of the cold wind, and her body was shivering.

If people saw this, they would realize that if this person continued like this, he would either die of illness or freeze to death.

Qiu Zhenzhou frowned slightly, already feeling dissatisfied with Madam Sun, but he didn't show it on his face. He simply said, "There's no hurdle in this world that can't be overcome. Your mother is a generous person, so naturally she won't dislike you. It's just that the household affairs are busy right now, which may have caused the delay."

You've suffered a lot over the years. Now you should stay home and wait for your father to find you a husband and live a good life.

Tomorrow, when I have some free time, your mother and I will take you to the ancestral hall. I will have the steward come over shortly, and you can tell him your name and date of birth so that we can prepare for your visit tomorrow.

Jian Yue nodded slightly, her face blushing slightly: "Daughter, daughter doesn't have a name yet, but please give her a name, Father."

Qiu Zhenzhou choked, his face turning red. He then remembered that this daughter had never appeared at home before, but had been kept in the cellar. When she finally appeared, although she amazed him, he had to comply with Sun's wishes and exile her to the estate because of his concerns.

Thinking about it, he realized he really hadn't named his daughter.

Now, however, he felt a little embarrassed. Looking at the little girl in front of him, who was eagerly waiting for her father to name her, without blaming him for being an incompetent father, he felt an indescribable pride, but also a little bit of guilt.

Naturally, this guilt vanished in an instant.

His seed gave her life, which is already a blessing. What more could she want?

He sighed and pretended to feel sorry for her, saying, "It's all because of your background. It was my oversight. It was my fault. Since you are beautiful and intelligent, we will name you Lingxiu. From now on, you will be raised under your mother's name. You will be the sixth young lady of my Qiu family."

So they really did give him the status of a legitimate son? It seems this matter is now a done deal.

Jian Yue nodded timidly, her eyes quickly filling with excitement, and she trembled as she was about to kneel down before Qiu Zhenzhou. Her appearance was even more frightening than before.

Qiu Zhenzhou's eyelids twitched as he watched, fearing she might fall and not be able to get up. Naturally, he wouldn't allow her to kneel down and quickly stopped her, saying, "I've already said that there's no need for formalities between father and daughter."

Then he scolded Xiao Cui, who was still kneeling to the side, "What are you standing there for? It's so cold outside, why don't you give your young lady another layer of clothing? How stupid and clumsy are you to be a personal maid?"

With a hint of displeasure in her voice, Jian Yue smiled slightly and leaned against Xiao Cui, who had rushed over in a panic. She said timidly, "Xiao Cui is very good. Father, please don't blame me. If it weren't for Xiao Cui, I really don't know if my body could have held on until I could see Father again."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Zhenzhou was at a loss for words. He had thought that bringing back this dispensable daughter was just for his own use, but now he suddenly felt that among all his daughters, this one was the most considerate.

Just as he was about to put on a show of concern, he saw Xiao Cui pouting, her eyes brimming with tears, and saying, "Master, please forgive me. It's not that I don't want to get clothes for Miss, it's just that most of Miss's clothes are so thin and all of them are already worn out."

"Upon entering the manor, the only thing the young lady brought today when she sent a servant was a set of clothes, but those clothes were summer attire, and certainly not suitable for this kind of weather."

Qiu Zhenzhou blushed again, his mustache bristling. He was clearly angry that Xiao Cui was being disrespectful and interrupting him. But looking at his pitiful adopted daughter, he held back and pretended to be surprised, saying, "How could this be? I have already informed the household that when you arrive, they will send over all your allowances and expenses. Do not neglect them."

He then looked at Xiao Cui and sneered, "Considering your loyalty to your young lady and your thorough protection of her, I will not punish you for your lack of manners. However, if you do this again in the future, I will not let you off easily."

Xiao Cui was very sensible and knelt down at the right time, saying, "Thank you, Master. Thank you, Master. This servant will definitely learn the rules of the manor well and not cause any trouble for Miss."

Having backed down the social ladder, Qiu Zhenzhou was no longer angry. He looked at Jian Yue and said, "You've still managed to protect your master, so let's keep you for now! Seeing that you're so weak, why don't we call a physician from the manor to take a look?"

Upon hearing this, Jian Yue quickly declined, "It's alright, Father. I've been living like this for the past few years, it's already late, and I would only be troubling the physician. Besides, the commotion just now was quite loud, I'm afraid..."

As she spoke, her timid and aggrieved appearance reappeared. Qiu Zhenzhou thought of the scene just now. If word got out, it would damage the reputation of the Qiu family. So he nodded and sighed that his daughter was really good. It seemed that the marriage between her and the young master would definitely be a natural outcome.

He then gave a few more instructions and left.

Not long after I left, the butler came and brought me a lot of things that were in season, as well as two pots of the finest charcoal.

Especially now, the butler, Qiu Bo, was no longer the arrogant person he had been when they first met. His eyes held a hint of flattery, and he spoke less haughtily and more cautiously.

"Master said that it is too late to prepare clothes today, but he will send someone over first thing tomorrow morning to make clothes for Miss."

Qiu Bo never expected that the master would be so furious about this newly arrived sixth young lady. He thought that this young lady was just a substitute who could only come back for the sake of the eldest young lady, and that the master would not care about her at all.

Unexpectedly, a lot of things happened that night, which made the sixth young lady gain face in front of the master, and also caused him to be reprimanded by the master, almost losing his job as steward.

He stood in front of Jian Yue with a smile on his face, looking at her covered with a tattered quilt, huddled on the bed, looking even more pitiful than when he had seen her before.

Perhaps it was this pitiful appearance that made the master feel sorry for her! After all, she was his own flesh and blood.

"Thank you, Uncle Qiu, please convey my gratitude to my father."

Qiu Bo nodded: "Master said that if Miss has any requests, she only needs to tell me, and as long as it is available in the manor and Miss needs it, I will definitely get it for her."

Jian Yue quickly shook her head: "No, no, no, I don't need much. I have everything I need now, including food, clothing, shelter and transportation. That's enough."

"That's good. Master said that the clothes will be delivered first thing tomorrow morning, and then he will take Miss to the ancestral hall. Miss, you should get some rest!"

After seeing the butler off, Xiao Cui lit a charcoal fire by the bed and sighed, "That man is really fickle. In such a short time, the butler has already changed his tune several times. And the master, he's so casual, just giving the young lady a name without any seriousness."

Jian Yue smiled faintly, casually tossing the tattered quilt they had been using onto the ground. She then covered herself with the embroidered quilt left by the butler and said comfortably, "Just keep looking. There are many more faces than just these few. Qiu Zhenzhou is so good to me, not so that I can be a carefree young lady in this house. Giving me a name is already a favor. Besides, your young lady doesn't really care about the name he gave me."

As Jian Yue spoke, she suddenly looked at Xiao Cui and sighed, "I didn't expect your acting skills to be so good. The way you cried made my heart tremble. If I didn't know better, I would have thought that your young lady was at her funeral."

Xiao Cui hurriedly said, "Pah, pah, pah! Miss is the one who talks nonsense. What funeral? Isn't that just to show how much suffering Miss has endured and how miserable she is? I just read a storybook in my room and learned it on the spot. Miss, how was my performance?"

Jian Yue nodded, then tapped Xiao Cui's forehead and said, "Not bad, you've got guts too. Do you know that if Qiu Zhenzhou really drew his sword and killed you, your young lady doesn't have the ability to save you right now? How did you become so bold?"

Xiao Cui cried out in pain. When Jian Yue withdrew his hand, she rubbed her temples and said aggrievedly, "That was all for Miss. Besides, I think Master definitely can't kill me now. If he really kills me, and you die of fright, who will marry in place of Master's good daughter?"

Jian Yue was taken aback, not expecting Xiao Cui to be so intelligent. Thinking of this, she blinked and then chuckled, "Look how proud you are. But you have indeed made progress. I just didn't expect that my father would really value me so much. It seems that I have no choice but to marry the heir of Qingyan Marquis."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Cui immediately said, "Miss, not only is the young master of Qingyan Marquis crooked-mouthed and crooked-eyed, but he's also a cripple. Xiao Wu told me the other day that the young master is said to be a womanizer and a pervert who likes to abuse his servants. Miss, are you really going to do as Master wishes and marry him?"

Jian Yue smiled: "Do I have a choice? However, I'm not worried about marrying such a person. I'm just worried about dragging others down for no reason. But if you say this person is a shameless scoundrel, then I'm not worried about harming him."

As Jian Yue spoke, her gaze shifted to Xiao Cui, a hint of inquiry in her eyes, "Who taught you to say these words? You pervert?"

Why does this word sound so familiar?

Upon hearing this, Xiao Cui blushed and said, "This servant naturally heard it from Sister Hua. Sister Hua said that anyone who beats and abuses people at will is a pervert."