Senior brother is so awesome!

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Upon returning to the Prince's Mansion, Tingchan Garden, Qin Yuechan's first task was to rummage through her belongings to find her hidden "secret stash of money."

Qing'er didn't go out today and was puzzled. After dismissing all the maids serving in the room, she asked, "Master, what are you looking for?"

"Haha! I finally found it!" She pulled out a small box from under a pile of clothes. It was made of reddish-brown material with gold lacquer. She hugged the box tightly to her chest and then took out the rare jewelry that Zhong Zhichen had given her from the dressing table. It was a red gold headdress. She thought that with these, she could not only buy Zuixianlou, but also decorate it well. She would keep half of the rest for herself and use the other half as working capital.

"Master, why did you take this box out?" Qing'er asked, puzzled.

Qin Yuechan was taken aback. She had been so excited that she had forgotten that Qing'er was beside her. But it didn't matter. This matter couldn't be kept secret. Zhong Zhichen would find out sooner or later.

So he briefly explained that he had bought the restaurant on the street that day, and sent her to pawn the items.

Qing'er was even more confused. "You could have just told the prince you wanted silver. Why go through all this trouble to pawn something?"

Recalling her icy face, he scoffed, "Don't ask so many questions."

Only a few frequently used pieces of jewelry remained on the dressing table; the rest were placed together with the gold and silver jewelry in the box. Originally, those pieces of jewelry were given to her by Qin Muhan when she was in the Xuanyuan Kingdom. She had never used them before, so she had put them away. Now they could finally be put to use.

After Qing'er left with the box, her fourth senior brother, that devilishly handsome man, came over with the food box. She leaned on the corner of the table, squinting her beautiful eyes to admire him. A sentence came to mind: "If you're handsome, you'll look handsome even when you're playing shuttlecock; if you're ugly, you'll look like you're shoveling manure when you're playing golf."

Even while carrying a food box, our handsome Situ Ze is still breathtakingly beautiful.

As soon as he entered, he saw his junior sister looking at him with ill intent. He placed the food box on the octagonal table, pulled her into his arms, and said, "It's been less than an hour since we last met, and you've already missed me?"

Qin Yuechan sat comfortably on his lap, nestled against his slightly firm chest, and inhaled the faint scent of mint emanating from him. She felt refreshed and said coquettishly, "It's been more than two years since we last met. How could I not miss you?"

Upon their reunion, they hadn't even had time to be alone together before they were finally able to pour out their hearts to each other in the room.

Situ Ze was moved by her words and gently kissed her smooth forehead. His deep voice was mature and magnetic, "Senior brother misses you terribly too. Chan'er, do you know how much my heart ached since the last time in Fengchen Palace?"

Her mind was somewhat hazy, as if she had returned to the madness of the "last night," when she was pregnant and thought she would never see them again. But the very next day, Liu Tingpei arrived with devastating news: the child had also vanished...

"Sorry……"

He felt her body tense up for a moment, and quickly hugged her tightly. "Chan'er, your senior brother doesn't blame you..."

"Don't say anymore. Seeing you all again is the greatest fortune of my life." She raised her head, her eyes shimmering with tears, and her lips parted slightly: "No matter what happens in the future, let's never be apart, okay?"

His previously tense heart melted into a pool of water at the fear she revealed. He hugged her waist tightly again, as if making a vow, "Senior brother will never let you leave again!" He would let her bear their child, and from then on, she would have no more worries.

After a while of comforting, Qin Yuechan finally felt much calmer. Situ Ze neatly arranged the food from the lunchbox in front of her, "You must be hungry since you didn't eat lunch. Eat up."

Seeing that there was only one pair of chopsticks, she asked in surprise, "Aren't you going to eat?"

"I already ate when I arrived." His peach blossom eyes were full of tenderness as he used serving chopsticks to serve her food.

She was amazed by the change in her fourth senior brother. From being a roguish and unserious man all day long, he now exuded an elegant charm with every smile and frown, like a jade tree radiating the brilliance of the sun and moon. In just three years, a man could mature so much.

Because she had eaten lunch late, she didn't feel hungry in the evening, so she asked the maid to bring her some fruit and pastries instead of going to the dining hall. She searched "Six Nights Romance+" on Baidu to read the latest chapters and looked at the small box on the dressing table. Inside were tens of thousands of taels of silver notes. Although she didn't understand the monetary system of this era very well, she knew it must be a considerable sum. With silver on her side, she suddenly felt like a little rich woman, and her heart was filled with unprecedented joy.

As expected, after dinner, the five men gathered again at Tingchan Garden. Qin Yuechan felt that it was a bit cramped with six people in the house, so she had a table set up in the courtyard. The six of them were just enough to play a game of cards!

In the morning, she instructed Qing'er to make six decks of playing cards according to her requirements. Although the paper was not as smooth as that of later generations, it was at least sturdy enough. The five men were all very intelligent, and after she explained the rules of the game once, everyone began to get excited.

This novel toy was something they had never seen before. At first, Qin Yuechan had the upper hand, but as they gradually mastered the skills, she ended up dragging them down every time. Her opponent happened to be the third senior brother, who ignored Qin Yuechan's flirtatious glances and failed to win several times.

For a moment, the Tingchan Garden was filled with the complaints of a certain woman. The men laughed, some loudly and some elegantly. The maids wanted to laugh but dared not, so they could only hold back their laughter until their faces turned red, watching their masters continue to suffer.

When Zhong Zhichen entered the courtyard, he saw a lively scene. The little woman who had been frowning whenever she saw him these past few days was now smiling so happily. Her eyes, sparkling with excitement from winning the game, were like a seductive vortex—beautiful and passionate, yet full of traps. It made him involuntarily ignore the scenery around him and focus all his attention on her.

He was like someone isolated from the outside world, with a mirage right in front of him, but he couldn't find the real thing no matter what he looked for.

He coughed lightly and walked over. The six people who were playing cards were in high spirits. When they saw him, they greeted him as expected, but the distance between them was very obvious, a stark contrast to before.

With her head down, Qin Yuechan refused to look at him, pretending to pick up her cup to drink tea. Her long eyelashes cast a fan-shaped shadow under the moonlight and lamplight, trembling from time to time, making her exceptionally endearing.

The third senior brother was the most smooth-talking, and livening up the atmosphere was always his forte. He smiled and put the playing cards on the table, then stood up and said, "We're all playing a game that our junior sister invented. Senior brother, would you like to join in the fun?"

A shrewd person is not someone you can tell is scheming at first glance. They may appear harmless and well-intentioned, but they are secretly plotting something. My third senior brother is definitely one of the best among them. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to defeat the original young master, Ling Yunyi, and take control of the entire Ling family within three years.

Just as Zhong Zhichen was about to speak, he heard his junior brother say loudly, "Third senior brother, you really have a bad memory. This game can only be played by six people. How can we continue if there's one more person?"

Whether it was their words or their implied meaning, they didn't welcome him!

At this moment, Qin Yuechan, who had been pretending to be dead, realized that something was amiss. It seemed that something had happened between them, making her usually lively and kind junior brother speak so sharply.

For the first time, a crack appeared on Zhong Zhichen's usually arrogant and unruly face. She even noticed that his hands behind his back slowly clenched into fists. For a moment, she almost thought she was seeing things.

Zhong Zhichen raised his face, habitually curling one corner of his mouth into a smile, his handsome face bearing a nonchalant grin, and said in a hoarse voice, "Then you guys play, I'll watch."

"Playing games is all about enjoying yourself. With the eldest brother watching from the sidelines, I'm afraid you won't be able to perform well." The fourth brother's indifferent voice was as calm as if he were talking about the weather today, flat yet extremely cold.

Seeing that Zhong Zhichen's expression remained unchanged, only the smile on his lips was wider, and the look in his eyes, which seemed to be glancing at her unintentionally, also carried a hint of heartache.

"Enough!" Qin Yuechan stood up, clenching her little fists, and raised her face to him, saying, "Senior Brother, you've come at just the right time. It's a bit chilly at night, and I was just about to go inside to put on some more clothes. Could you please hold my place for a while?" After saying that, she gave a charming smile and turned to walk into the house before anyone could react.

She tried her best to appear less strange, but her stiffness just now was probably obvious to everyone. The thought of him, usually so proud and arrogant, suffering because of her made her feel deeply distressed. The senior brother's actions in the valley were undoubtedly true, but what was originally a good thing had been ruined by Liu Tingpei, and it had nothing to do with him.

She took a deep breath and had Qing'er find a cloak to put on. She rubbed her stiff little face, put on a sweet smile, and then walked gracefully out of the room. But when she stood in the courtyard, she was surprised by an inexplicable coldness.

The eldest senior brother was already sitting in her original seat, but the whole scene was very strange. The third and fourth senior brothers were talking to each other, the youngest senior brother was lying on the table playing cards idly, the second senior brother still had that indifferent and aloof look, sipping his tea, and the fifth senior brother sat upright with his eyes straight ahead. When he saw her come out, a warm smile bloomed on his handsome face, "Junior sister."

As soon as she spoke, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at her. The warmth in their eyes touched her heart, and her fair cheeks flushed. She walked over and asked sweetly, "Why did you stop playing?"

The junior brother was about to speak, but Zhong Zhichen spoke first. His handsome face, with its distinct features, was devoid of its usual sharpness. He smiled gently and said, "I don't know how. I'll wait for you to teach me."

Since the truth came out in the training room last time, the two of them hadn't had a proper conversation. Seeing him so gentle for the first time, she felt her heart melt in his clear, black and white eagle eyes.

His angry gaze swept over the group, annoyed by their pettiness. He then took a stool and sat down next to Zhong Zhichen, saying with a smile, "I'll only teach you once."

He, who never showed his emotions, couldn't help but reveal a feeling of ecstasy. But it was only for a moment, and he returned to normal. However, the gentle light that occasionally flashed in his eyes added a touch of tenderness to his whole being that he didn't usually have.

Somehow, what started as a playful card game gradually turned into a silent battle. Zhong Zhichen, who initially needed her to teach him step by step, had become so proficient after just one round that he was completely independent of her help, and the six of them began to compete.

The more this was the case, the more certain she became of her thoughts. Something had indeed happened that she didn't know about, and it must be something extraordinary. Otherwise, why would even her usually gentle and kind second senior brother act so distant?

As night deepened, the game remained undecided among the gamblers. These seemingly addicted players wouldn't leave the table until they had won a fortune, except their chips were playing cards.

She yawned delicately, stood up listlessly, and said, "I can't take it anymore, you guys should go back too."

As soon as she finished speaking, the third senior brother, who had been fiercely battling, threw down his cards and chased after her, putting his arm around her slender waist and saying, "I'll keep you company tonight."

"Um," she shook her head gently, "I'm tired, I want to sleep alone."

The third senior brother didn't expect her to refuse so directly. He thought he had done something to upset her, so he coaxed her gently, "I know how to massage. I'll give you a good massage on the bed later."

This statement has a somewhat lewd connotation, but upon closer examination, one can discern the kind of "massage" he is referring to!

Unexpectedly, Qin Yuechan's expression worsened. She pushed him away with her small hand and walked into the house on her own. Qing'er, with her keen senses, closed the door behind him and said coldly to Nangong Xu, who had caught up, "Young Master Ling, you'd better not upset your master."

Since recognizing his ancestors, he changed his surname to Ling, and his generation name was Chengyun. He was named Ling Yunxu. However, since everyone was used to Nangong Xu, no one made a point of changing it.

Having said that, he couldn't press the matter any further. Thinking of his junior sister, who should have been his turn tonight, but had vanished without a trace, he felt extremely frustrated. He gripped the fan handle tightly, turned around and left without saying a word.

The remaining five people couldn't play anymore and didn't want to continue, so they left one by one. The second senior brother nodded slightly to Zhong Zhichen, the fifth senior brother bowed and said goodbye with his usual expression, while the fourth senior brother and the youngest senior brother walked away as if no one was there.

Zhong Zhichen gazed at the suddenly quiet garden, his expression gradually turning cold. Under the moonlight, the golden dragon embroidered on his dark purple python robe shimmered faintly, appearing incredibly alluring…

After washing up, Qin Yuechan lay on the big bed but couldn't fall asleep. She kept thinking about what had just happened and wondering what had happened between the six people. Her indifference just now was her way of testing the waters. They were in a stalemate, and she wanted to see how long they could hold out!

Hearing a deep sigh from inside, Qing'er softly asked, "Master, can't you sleep?"

"Okay, come in and chat with me." She sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing her aching temples.

Back in that little courtyard, the two would chat when they couldn't sleep at night. Although they remained master and servant after leaving, their relationship had deepened considerably.

Qing'er wore a white undergarment, and her usual round bun hairstyle from the daytime was down, her smooth black hair falling over her shoulders and back, making her otherwise ordinary face more beautiful.

Qin Yuechan beckoned her to sit on the edge of the bed and asked, "You couldn't sleep either?"

She nodded almost imperceptibly, her eyes, neither large nor small, held an unreadable sorrow. She opened her mouth as if to speak but hesitated. Qin Yuechan asked curiously, "If you have something to say, just say it. We've been together for so long, what is there to hide?"