So, did Qi Lan buy Lin Ruqing's painting because she knew that Qi Lan had bought it before?
Then Qi Lan has been following her for quite some time.
That's terrifying!
She didn't want to talk to people who were scheming.
Wushuang clung tightly to Li Mama's leg, drooping her ears and pouting as she muttered, "Mommy, hug me. Shuangshuang is hungry and can't walk."
Hmph, she wasn't going to ask Qi Lan why she was following her; she was going to just brush it off.
Li's mother didn't think much of it. She smiled and picked up Wushuang, not forgetting to poke her chubby little face and tease her, saying, "Who was it that insisted on watching the excitement and refused to go home? Now you know you're hungry, right?"
Wushuang had been in this four-year-old's body for more than half a year, and she was already very good at acting like a child. She rubbed her little face against Li's mother's shoulder and giggled shyly with a hint of pride.
"Alright, alright, let's get in the carriage and go home." Madam Li couldn't really hold a grudge about her young master's tantrum, so she weighed Wushuang in her hand and started to leave.
Before he could even take a step out, Qi Lan blocked his way again.
"This... Miss Qi, what do you mean?" Mother Li asked, puzzled.
Strictly speaking, it was only a coincidence that Wushuang approached the scholar who had impersonated her to take the exam, so in Li's mother's mind, the claim that Qi Lan had helped was not true. They only politely said that they had received her help because she spoke up for little Wushuang.
However, she had already thanked them, and it was her own fault for refusing to accept the money. What was she doing now, blocking them from leaving?
Dissatisfied, Li's mother's expression turned sour. She even placed one arm across Xiao Wushuang's body to protect her, lest Qi Lan suddenly attack and hurt her.
This action was quite obvious, and Qi Lan could see it clearly. She gripped the scroll in her hand tightly and said resolutely, "Miss Jun, I have no relatives, nowhere to go, and no one to rely on. I only ask Miss Jun to take me in. I will do anything, whether it is washing clothes, cooking, cleaning, guarding the door, carrying water, or chopping wood. I can do it all and I am not afraid of hardship."
Isn't this ridiculous?
Madam Li replied on behalf of Wushuang, "My daughter is still young and doesn't know how to judge people, so it's not up to her to decide whether to keep you or not. Miss Qi, I think you should accept the money and find a way to make a living on your own."
How could someone who came from who-knows-where be allowed to work in the Marquis's mansion? Wouldn't that lead to chaos throughout the land?
Qi Lan refused to accept the refusal. She knelt down, behaving humbly, but then spoke with a hint of arrogance: "If Miss Jun refuses to take me in, I will tell everyone that we were all lying just now. This painting is not the one you bought at Lou Wai Lou that day. Therefore, that young master was wronged by you!"
Wu Shuang's guess was correct. Qi Lan had learned the Jun family's whereabouts from the female physician and went straight to the Governor's Mansion after disembarking from the ship. However, she also understood that it wouldn't be easy to get someone to take her in without a reason. So she waited outside the Governor's Mansion, secretly following Wu Shuang whenever she went out. She meant no harm; she just wanted to see if Wu Shuang needed any help. If she could help, and Wu Shuang owed her a favor, then asking to be taken in shouldn't be so difficult.
Unfortunately, Qi Lan came from a poor family and did not understand the rules of the imperial examination. She also did not fully realize the seriousness of Lin Ruqing's crime. She thought that he was arrested only because Wushuang pointed out the painting and used it as a blackmail in desperation.
"You beautiful girl, how can you be so ungrateful!"
Li's mother couldn't help but scold Qi Lan. Wu Shuang had grown up on her milk, and in Li's mother's heart, her affection for Wu Shuang was no different from that for her own child. Of course, she couldn't bear to see little Wu Shuang being threatened.
Wushuang was furious.
She has always hated people who take advantage of kindness to ask for something in return, which is why she had a bad impression of Chu Yao in the first place.
What makes Qi Lan think she can blackmail her?
Wushuang was too lazy to say anything coherent; instead, she mustered all her strength, kicked her little legs, and cried, "She's bullying me! Butler Grandpa! Get her out of here!"
The old servant who accompanied the carriage was not a steward at all, but merely an elderly attendant. Because of his lowly status and lack of understanding of the situation, he had not dared to act on his own initiative until he heard the young lady give the order. He immediately rushed forward, grabbed Qi Lan by the back of her collar, and tried to drag her away.
Qi Lan never expected that her many days of planning would end up like this, and she was both anxious and afraid.
While she was wandering outside the governor's mansion, a man in black came to deliver a message, telling her that her younger brother Qi Zhu was temporarily safe, but if she did not quickly find a way to get Wu Shuang to take him in, the young master might lose patience and harm him one day.
"Miss Jun, please, don't send me away! If you don't take me in, my brother will die!" Qi Lan rolled on the ground, crying and pleading.
Didn't her brother fall into the river and drown?
Wushuang remembered this incident, and frowned in puzzlement. She waved her hand to signal the old servant to stop, and asked the question that had been bothering her.
Qi Lan knelt down and, while crying, recounted the experiences of the siblings in fits and starts.
"...I don't know who that little girl is, nor do I know what she wants from me by bringing me to your side. However, I can guess that she intends to harm you. Miss Jun, I have no intention of harming you. I only want to save my younger brother; he is my only remaining family member in the world. Miss Jun, please..."
Since they know that this person might be manipulated by others and harm their daughter in the future, then they must not keep this person around.
Wushuang was still young and couldn't make big decisions, so Madam Li hardened her heart: "Miss Qi, if you wanted to save your brother, you should have reported it to the authorities when you were in Suzhou. My daughter is only a few years old, and I really can't help you with this kind of thing."
Wushuang lowered her head, staring at her index finger, lost in thought.
The man in black, the little girl in red, about six or seven years old… She knew who Qi Lan was talking about. With such obvious features, who else could it be but He Yao? And with such a sinister and ruthless nature, there was probably no other person in the world who could fit that description.
What exactly is He Yao trying to do?
"You said you told me everything, so if she orders you to do something to me or my family, will you tell me too?" Wushuang asked.
Qi Lan nodded hurriedly and said, "Of course!"
“Girl, we can’t leave this source of trouble behind,” Li’s mother advised.
“But if someone wants to harm me, they will send someone else, not Qi Lan.” Wu Shuang tilted her head and said seriously, “Now that we know about Qi Lan, we can take precautions. But if it were someone else, we would not know anything about them, and we probably wouldn’t even know how to defend against them.”
Her words made perfect sense, and even if Li's mother didn't want to keep Qi Lan, she couldn't think of any way to refute her. She could only say, "That girl must not be allowed to get close to us."
Wushuang puffed out her cheeks and said, "Anyway, she doesn't have to do any work, so let her live outside."
However, Madam Li felt this was inappropriate and objected, saying, "I think we should take her back and let the Marquis and his wife decide what to do with her."
Wushuang nodded, indicating her agreement. She had almost forgotten that now she had her parents' love and care, and she could leave all her troubles to them!
Upon returning to the Governor's Mansion, Jun Shu personally questioned Qi Lan. From her words, Jun Shu more or less guessed who was planning to make things difficult for Wu Shuang.
However, since the other party is the eldest princess's daughter, he cannot convict He Yao based on just a few words from Qi Lan, or even take action against her.