The merchant's rebirth led to the complete downfall of the Marquis's mansion.

With Jin You gone, the case at the Marquis's residence was once again in limbo.

Jin You's family members were still alive, but they couldn't confirm the authenticity of the story, and it couldn't be said that the blood letter was written by Jin You.

But now Jin You is standing alive and well in front of everyone again, not speaking out for herself, but as a maid who took care of the Marquis, she felt indignant about his death and did not want him to die so inexplicably. She felt that her own death was not worth regretting and only hoped that the truth would come to light.

Everyone praised her for her great loyalty, and the Prefect of the Capital City therefore paid more attention to this matter.

After listening to Qingzhi's chatter, Qin Yao simply raised her hand to tidy her hair; everything was going according to her plan!

"Miss, Miss Chen has delivered an invitation." Qiu Liu walked in and handed over the invitation.

Qin Yao took the invitation and opened it to read.

"Miss, what did Miss Chen say?" Qingzhi asked curiously.

"They invited me to have tea tomorrow!" Qin Yao smiled, closed the invitation, and handed it to Qiu Liu.

Qiu Liu put it away without asking whether he was going or not.

Qingzhi and Qiuliu had already noticed that Miss and Chen Yiru got along well and that she would definitely go for tea.

Qin Yao asked Qingzhi to prepare clothes for tomorrow, glanced at Qiu Liu, and then, as if remembering something, asked:

"Have Liu Da and Xiao Wu sent any news back?"

"There's nothing from Liu Da's side for now. It will take at least three days to get to the Jiang family's place. Xiao Wu sent back news yesterday that he went to Jiangzhou with Jiang Liu, but Jiang Liu is only looking for a person named Lingna there and hasn't made any other moves."

Looking for Lingna?

He'd be a fool to find it!

Qin Yao gave a meaningful smile and instructed Qiu Liu:

"Send a message to Xiao Wu, tell him to stall Jiang Liu and not let him return for two months!"

"Yes!" Qiu Liu left cleanly and efficiently.

Two months is enough for her to prepare and make Jiang Liu's hard work go to waste.

……

The next morning, Qin Yao took Qingzhi out.

When they arrived at the private room in the teahouse, Chen Yiru had not yet arrived.

The waiter brought over tea and poured some for Qin Yao first.

"Please enjoy your meal, miss!"

After pouring the tea, the waiter tactfully excused himself and left.

Qingzhi opened the window, and Qin Yao sipped her tea, looking down at the bustling street below.

After sitting for less than fifteen minutes, we saw the Chen family's carriage.

"Coming, coming!" Qingzhi leaned against the window and turned to Qin Yao.

"You saw it, what's there to be excited about?" Qin Yao shook her head and laughed off Qingzhi's behavior.

It's not like Chen Yiru wasn't coming; they arrived a little early, and the timing was just right. Chen Yiru was very punctual.

"Huh? Who's that?" Qingzhi looked at the girl who had just stepped down from the carriage with a puzzled expression.

Qin Yao looked over and saw Chen Yiru standing beside the carriage, and a girl in a pink dress getting off with Caixia's help.

A moment later, there was a knock on the door. Qingzhi opened the door and welcomed Chen Yiru and the others in.

Qin Yao stood up to greet her, "Sister Chen."

Chen Yiru naturally took Qin Yao's arm, saying, "Sorry to keep you waiting, little sister. I left quite early, but I didn't expect to be delayed."

"No, I just arrived too. And this is?" Qin Yao looked at the girl in pink beside her.

Chen Yiru paused for a second before smiling and introducing, "I forgot to introduce you, this is my uncle's younger sister, Jiang Qianqian."

After Chen Yiru finished speaking, she gave Qin Yao a meaningful look.

Qin Yao returned a knowing look.

This is the cousin that Chen Yiru is supposed to take care of.

Qin Yao: "Hello, Sister Jiang. I've heard Sister Chen mention you before. Meeting you today, you are indeed a wonderful person."

Qin Yao's tone was very calm, revealing no emotion.

I thought everyone would have a friendly first meeting, but Jiang Qianqian acted arrogantly and just casually said "Hmm!"

Chen Yiru glanced at Jiang Qianqian, but Jiang Qianqian remained unchanged and didn't seem to notice Chen Yiru's expression, which infuriated Chen Yiru.

Qin Yao pulled Chen Yiru forward, smiling as she said:

"Come, let's sit down and have some tea first."

Chen Yiru followed along, ignoring Jiang Qianqian beside her. It was only through Caixia's prompting that Jiang Qianqian reluctantly moved forward.

As soon as the three sat down, Qingzhi and Caixia got busy. Qingzhi poured tea for Qin Yao, while Caixia poured tea for Chen Yiru and Jiang Qianqian.

However, this order caught Qin Yao's attention; Caixia had actually poured tea for Jiang Qianqian first.

Chen Yiru didn't seem to care. Caixia poured the tea and stepped back behind her. Chen Yiru naturally picked up the teacup and took a sip.

"elder sister……"

Qin Yao was about to speak when she was interrupted by a "Pah!" from the side.

Qin Yao and Chen Yiru both looked at Jiang Qianqian, who had spat out the tea.

"What does this stuff mean? It's so bitter! Ugh!" Jiang Qianqian didn't see the surprised looks on their faces and continued talking to herself.

With that spit, he spat the tea leaves directly onto the table.

This startled the two of them quite a bit, and Chen Yiru immediately stood up.

"Cousin, what are you doing!"

Jiang Qianqian wiped her mouth with her sleeve and replied bluntly:

"This stuff is so bitter! How am I supposed to drink it? Cousin, you're not deliberately messing with me, are you?!"

"You!" Chen Yiru was so angry at her counterattack that she almost fell over.

She didn't drink? She's messing with her?

And is this some kind of poison?

Qin Yao also stood up. The table, which had been filled with tea and tea leaves, was no longer suitable for use.

"Sister Chen, let's change rooms!"

Qin Yao gave Qingzhi a wink, and Qingzhi quickly went out to see which room was still empty.

Chen Yiru also came to her senses at this moment, wiped her face with a handkerchief, regained her composure, and then smiled and responded.

"Okay! Let's go!"

Qin Yao didn't want things to get too ugly, and Chen Yiru didn't want to embarrass Jiang Qianqian too much, so the two tacitly avoided mentioning what Jiang Qianqian had done and wanted to leave.

But how could Jiang Qianqian just let it go like that?

The two had barely taken a step when Jiang Qianqian stopped them.

"What do you mean? What kind of rubbish did you offer me for tea? And you dare to ignore me like this!"

Chen Yiru's anger, which she had just suppressed, flared up again. Ignoring Qin Yao's presence beside her, she retorted without any politeness:

"First of all, I invited Sister Qin today, not you! You just came along! Secondly, what are you talking about? That's a famous tea from the Southwest, the kind that's priceless and unavailable! Finally, we're trying to save face for you! We don't want to embarrass you by continuing this conversation!!!"

Chen Yiru finished speaking without taking a breath, and then she felt much more relaxed.

"You...!" Jiang Qianqian's expression was priceless after hearing what she said. "You actually treated me like this for a merchant's daughter? I'm going to tell my aunt!"

After Jiang Qianqian finished speaking, she glared at Qin Yao hatefully before running out, leaving Qin Yao to be caught in the crossfire.

Caixia stood at the door, unsure whether to go or not.

“Miss!” Caixia looked at Chen Yiru with helplessness in her eyes.

"Go with her! Take her home!"

Chen Yiru spoke first, and Caixia then followed her out.

At this moment, Qingzhi returned and led them to the next room.

As soon as the two sat down, Chen Yiru began to sigh.

Qin Yao poured her some tea and casually asked:

"What? The engagement is settled? You should be happy!"

"It's the same one from just now!" Chen Yiru gritted her teeth.

"She came the day after my birthday. I used to think she was a delicate and soft-spoken younger sister, but I never expected her to be a naive and cunning woman."

On her birthday, Chen Yiru listened to Qin Yao's words and expressed her wishes to her father. The two families quickly arranged the marriage, which would take place in the second half of the year, three months from now.

When her mother heard about it, she went to her yard and made a scene, even demanding that she break off the engagement. Chen Yiru simply couldn't believe that her mother could say such a thing.

She even expressed her own ideas, such as that it would be more convenient for her mother to take care of her, or that her mother should recognize her as her goddaughter, but her mother rejected them all.

She consistently disagreed with breaking off the engagement, and in the end, her mother even scolded her, saying that she was ungrateful and didn't want to help her maternal family.

For the first time, Chen Yiru felt that her mother was so unreasonable!

Chen Yiru's attitude was firm, so the matter of breaking off the engagement naturally came to nothing. The next day, her mother brought Jiang Qianqian into the mansion and even came to see her.

Although her mother had spoken harshly the day before, she had said many kind words today, which made Chen Yiru let go of her resentment. Today, Jiang Qianqian wanted to come along, so she brought her along as well.

I never expected that not only would she cause trouble at home, but she would also embarrass me like this in public.

"She's always been so pitiful, wanting everything she sees. Even the maids think Caixia is pleasing to the eye and want to go keep her company! Now I don't even dare to display my things?"

“As long as she takes a liking to me and I don’t offer her anything, she’ll go and stir up trouble in front of my mother, and my mother will do the same to her, giving in to her every whim.”

Jiang Qianqian's family was in a terrible state; she didn't bring a single maid with her and came alone.

For some reason, she took a liking to Caixia and insisted that Caixia go and serve her. Her mother actually agreed and found her another maid.

Even though it's only being sent there temporarily, who knows when it will be returned?

She thanked her with a wronged expression, saying that she had more than one maid, Caixia, and that she didn't have any, so giving her one was no big deal.

The thought of her two different faces in front of her mother and in front of her made Chen Yiru feel disgusted. How could her mother trust her so much?

In just a few days, she had already taken a liking to half of her jewelry.

If this continues, won't her house be emptied out?

Is it Jiang Qianqian's fault that she's pitiful? Just because she's never seen anything nice before, does that mean she has to give it away? Does not giving it away mean she's unfriendly and doesn't care about relatives?

"This is easy to handle!" Qin Yao refilled her tea. "Diancui Pavilion welcomes Auntie and Miss Jiang to come and choose anytime!"

That’s a good idea!

Chen Yiru fell into deep thought.