Since returning to the Marquis’s Mansion, Xue Ke’er had always behaved as if she were indifferent to worldly struggles. Consequently, when she suddenly switched to a mocking tone toward Xue Ning, the maid beside her was the first to let an expression of astonishment slip.
The maids of the Marquis’s Mansion were naturally well-trained.
Xue Ke’er’s maid took only a fraction of a second to adjust her expression and lowered her head, acting as if nothing had happened.
Since she was standing behind Xue Ke’er, this momentary change naturally didn’t catch Xue Ke’er’s attention, but the shift in her expression did not escape Xue Ning’s eyes.
It wasn’t just Xue Ke’er’s maid who was surprised; Xue Ning herself was also surprised.
Her memories of her previous life (or rather, the one before that) were already very blurred, but she vaguely remembered that in her previous life (the one before that), it was mainly she who caused trouble and targeted Xue Ke’er.
If nothing else, at least before Xue Ke’er gained a firm foothold in the social circle of the capital’s noble ladies, Xue Ke’er was practically like her little follower.
At this point in her previous life (the one before that), when had Xue Ke’er ever been so mocking toward her?
Could it be because she had left the Marquis’s Mansion and no longer had any utility?
If that were the case, she truly had misjudged her in her previous life (the one before that).
Fortunately, she now had a chance to start over.
Thinking of this, Xue Ning didn’t bother to bicker with a little girl.
She turned to leave without saying a word, which made Xue Ke’er feel that she was right.
Out of a sense of pity and a desire to show off, Xue Ke’er called out to Xue Ning, untying the pouch from her belt and handing it to her:
“Miss Xue, you must be penniless right now, aren’t you? It’s a kind of fate that we could swap lives in this vast sea of people. I have some silver here; take it and spend it…”
Xue Ning glanced sideways at Xue Ke’er. “Trying to do a good deed? Have you heard of ‘helping someone all the way, and escorting the Buddha to the West’?”
“If you really want to help me… why don’t you go back to the Marquis’s Mansion and send my private treasury to Xue Family Village for me?”
Xue Ke’er: “…”
After Xue Ning left the Marquis’s Mansion penniless, Xue Ke’er had naturally taken over her private treasury.
Although her parents had given her quite a few things when she returned to the mansion, all those things added together weren’t as rich as Xue Ning’s private treasury.
Now, asking her to return the treasury was as painful as taking her life.
If she refused, she would seem hypocritical.
If she didn’t refuse, she couldn’t bear to part with it.
Suddenly, Xue Ke’er was caught in a dilemma.
Seeing that her mistress didn’t know how to answer, Xue Ke’er’s maid stepped forward and said:
“Miss Xue, when you left the mansion, the Madam promised that you could take your private treasury with you, but you chose to give it up voluntarily.”
“Since you were the one who gave it up first, you shouldn’t ask the Young Lady for it. After all, the Marquis’s Mansion is not your home, and you cannot have everything your way.”
Hearing this, Xue Ke’er gave her maid an appreciative look and raised her chin slightly, putting on a superior air:
“That’s right. The Marquis’s Mansion isn’t your home, so why should things be done your way?”
Xue Ning looked at Xue Ke’er with a half-smile. “Weren’t you the one who wanted to do a good deed?”
“A daughter of a Marquis’s Mansion being so stingy will make people laugh.”
Xue Ke’er: “…”
What if she was stingy?
Everything Xue Ning possessed originally belonged to her, Xue Ke’er.
Xue Ning had already enjoyed glory and wealth in her place for so many years; how could she still be unsatisfied?
Looking at Xue Ke’er’s indignation, Xue Ning suddenly felt this little girl was incredibly dull.
With her current psychological age, she really couldn’t be bothered to argue with a little girl.
Giving the girl a bored look, Xue Ning turned and walked away.
Xue Ke’er felt she was being looked down upon. “Stop right there! You’re not allowed to leave!”
Xue Ning didn’t care to acknowledge her and continued walking forward without looking back.
Seeing this, Xue Ke’er grew angry and ordered the maid beside her to go and stop Xue Ning.
The maid advised, “Why should the Young Lady lower herself to the level of a country girl? It’s more important to go and buy the soybean milk for the Madam first.”
“If we get delayed here, it’ll be late by the time we return. If the Madam has already finished breakfast, wouldn’t the Young Lady’s efforts be wasted?”
Xue Ke’er had come out early this morning with her maid to buy the Shen’s Soybean Milk that her mother had mentioned last night, to show her filial piety.
Compared to causing trouble for Xue Ning, pleasing her biological mother was naturally more important.
Thinking of this, Xue Ke’er immediately turned back and asked the driver if they could continue.
After the driver guaranteed that he would not let the horse lose control again, Xue Ke’er and her maid boarded the carriage once more.
Xue Ning walked for a while, then looked back to find that the Marquis’s carriage had already gone far away. A row of dots couldn’t help but appear in her mind.
If she didn’t look back, Xue Ke’er really just left without bothering her further?
If all villains were like her, they would actually be quite cute.
However…
Hadn’t the Yongle Marquis’s carriage just lost control?
They got back on so quickly; what if the carriage lost control again?
Xue Ning pondered the question for a moment before tossing it to the back of her mind.
Whether or not the Yongle Marquis’s carriage lost control again had nothing to do with her.
Thus, what she didn’t know was that not long after the Yongle Marquis’s carriage set off, it indeed lost control again.
This time they weren’t lucky enough to run into anyone who could help them, so the carriage went rampaging all the way.
After crashing into numerous stalls, the driver forcibly changed the horse’s direction, steering the carriage into a small alley where it got wedged and finally stopped.
As for Xue Ke’er and the maid inside the carriage, they were already stunned with fear.
By the time they came to their senses, before Xue Ke’er could even vent her anger at the driver, the vendors whose stalls had been knocked over and the pedestrians who had been injured while trying to avoid them came looking for them in a rage.
Even after Xue Ke’er pulled out all the silver she had on her, it wasn’t enough for compensation. She had no choice but to announce the name of the Yongle Marquis’s Mansion and let everyone follow her back there to claim their compensation.
Having experienced two carriage accidents, Xue Ke’er naturally would not ride in the carriage again.
Leaving aside how she and the maid returned to the mansion and handled the aftermath, let’s speak of Qin Jue. Shortly after parting with Xue Ning, he suddenly realized something.
Wasn’t the ‘Jue’ in his name, Qin Jue, composed of two ‘Yu’ characters?
If the name Qin Yuyu actually existed, it should be a girl’s name.
Xue Ning calling him Qin Yuyu was likely because she had split the ‘Jue’ of his name into two ‘Yu’ characters.
Based on the way she initially looked at him, it didn’t seem like she had mistaken him for someone else.
So, was there someone in this world with the same name who looked just like him?
Or was it that he and she already knew each other, but he didn’t remember?
That shouldn’t be possible.
His memory had always been excellent; if someone had called him by such a peculiar name as Qin Yuyu, he would definitely have remembered it.
But why did he feel a sense of familiarity toward her?
Unable to find an answer to the doubt in his heart, Qin Jue looked at his lieutenant. “Geng Qing, go and investigate that girl we just saved.”