The next afternoon, Wei Changtian arrived at the Guo residence in a horse-drawn carriage.
Because someone had already sent an invitation earlier, the Guo family’s men and women, old and young, were all gathered at the door to welcome him, led by the family head, Guo Yunjin.
Although the welcoming party was grand, everyone’s face wore a worried expression.
“Old master, do you know why Sir Wei suddenly wants to see you?”
A noblewoman whispered to the stout middle-aged man beside her.
“I don’t know.”
The man shook his head, his eyes filled with worry.
From noble mtl dot come
The woman asked again: “Could it be that he’s taken an interest in our family’s business?”
“Long hair, short sight, don’t understand, then shut up.”
The man scowled and cursed, “What kind of family business does the Wei family have? Our little deal isn’t even enough to fill the gap between their teeth!”
“That’s…”
The woman’s words were cut off mid-sentence as she, along with everyone else, turned their gaze towards the horse-drawn carriage slowly approaching in the distance.
“It’s Young Master Wei.”
The man’s worried expression vanished instantly, and he hurriedly waddled towards the carriage with a flattering smile, even taking two small steps to keep up with the still-moving vehicle.
“Creak…”
Under the gaze of countless eyes, the carriage door slowly opened, and a young master stepped out.
He merely glanced at the man standing beside him before heading straight towards the Guo family gate.
“……”
Feeling ignored, Guo Yunjin didn’t show any embarrassment, but instead felt even more terrified, unsure of what to do.
As for the others, they were even more frightened, not daring to breathe.
This Young Master Wei was giving them a show of power from the moment he arrived, and it was clear that nothing good would come of it!
The crowd watched in trepidation as Wei Changtian approached, stopping in front of the gate and looking around before asking in a puzzled tone:
“Where is your master?”
“Ah, I-I’m right here!”
Guo Yunjin trembled as he ran over, while Wei Changtian turned to look at him, his expression suddenly filled with doubt.
“Hmm? Aren’t you a horse groom?”
Guo Yunjin: “……”
……
A moment later.
“Haha, please forgive me, Old Master Guo.”
Wei Changtian sat in the lavishly decorated main hall, laughing as he looked at Guo Yunjin: “I thought you were a horse groom waiting by the carriage earlier.”
“……”
Guo Yunjin felt speechless, but forced a smile and said, “It’s not your fault for misunderstanding, I do look like a horse groom.”
“You’re joking, Old Master Guo.”
Wei Changtian took a sip of tea and glanced at Zhang San.
The latter immediately raised his hand, and soon, several people carried in a large chest.
“This is my first visit, and I didn’t know what you’d like, so I thought silver would be the most practical gift. I hope you won’t refuse it.”
“Clank!”
As Wei Changtian spoke, the servants opened the chest, revealing rows of silver ingots inside.
At that moment, Guo Yunjin was stunned.
He wasn’t unfamiliar with such a large amount of money, but he never expected Wei Changtian to give him such a gift.
“Wei, Young Master Wei, this is too much, too much!”
Guo Yunjin jumped up from his seat, waving his hands in refusal.
“There’s no need to refuse, Old Master Guo.”
Wei Changtian waved his hand and said, “I’ve come to ask for something, and it wouldn’t be right to come empty-handed.”
“……”
As expected, there was no good news!
Guo Yunjin’s heart sank as he heard these words, but he could only grit his teeth and ask, “W-what is it that Young Master Wei wants?”
“Hmm……”
Wei Changtian smiled and said, “Is Old Master Guo planning to take in a new concubine recently? The girl’s family name seems to be… Yin Xiao’e?”
“Ah?”
Guo Yunjin didn’t expect Wei Changtian to bring this up and nodded hesitantly.
“Yes, it’s true.”
“Then it’s settled. I’m here for Yin Xiao’e.”
“For her?”
Guo Yunjin suddenly “understood”: “Young Master Wei! I really didn’t know Yin Xiao’e had a relationship with you!”
“I’ll have someone bring her over right away! You can…”
Guo Yunjin was misunderstood.
Wei Changtian interrupted, “It’s not that I’m interested in her, but a friend of mine has taken a liking to her.”
“His name is Chu Xianping. Have you heard of him, Old Master Guo?”
“Chu Xianping?”
Guo Yunjin shook his head doubtfully: “I don’t dare deceive you, Young Master… I really don’t know this Mr. Chu.”
“Good.”
Wei Changtian nodded, thinking to himself that it was just like the original storyline – Guo Yunjin had no idea who Chu Xianping was.
“If Old Master Guo is willing to let her go, I think my friend will be very happy when he finds out.”
“As long as you’re satisfied, or rather, your friend is satisfied.”
Guo Yunjin let out a sigh of relief and whispered, “About Yin Xiao’e……”
Wei Changtian asked, “Where is she now?”
“She’s living in my mansion.”
“Hmm, then let’s leave her there for now.”
Wei Changtian smiled lightly and said, “But tonight, I’ll have to trouble Old Master Guo to put on a show.”
……
That night, at the hour of Zi.
The entire Guo mansion was quiet, with only a few patrolling guards outside. Everyone else seemed to have gone to bed early, just like usual.
However, a window in a certain room in the backyard was quietly pushed open, and a black figure swiftly jumped in, tiptoeing towards the embroidered bed with red curtains.
As the curtains were pulled open, a young woman in her undergarments was fast asleep.
The black figure stared for a moment, then suddenly covered her mouth with his hand.
“Mm! Mm!”
The woman woke up with a start, trying to call out for help instinctively, but her body was tightly held by the black figure, unable to move at all.
“Xiao’e! It’s me!”
A hurried and familiar voice entered her ears, and the woman’s eyes widened as the black figure gradually loosened his grip.
“Xianping? How did you get here?!”
The woman had just regained her freedom and immediately asked with a terrified expression: “Do you know where this is?!”
“Of course I do!”
Chu Xianping grasped Yin Xiao’e’s small hand, excitedly saying, “I came to take you away today!”
“Take me away?”
Yin Xiao’e almost subconsciously pulled her hand away from Chu Xianping’s: “I won’t go!”
“Not… not going?”
Chu Xianping was stunned, his heart suddenly twisted in pain.
However, the next moment, he heard the woman continue to say:
“I’m not leaving!”
“Xianping, if you take me with you, the Guo family will definitely try to avenge me, and I… I can’t let you risk your life for me!”
“You, you should leave quickly, don’t worry about me…”
“You just need to know… no matter who I belong to, the person in my heart has always been you, and that’s enough…”
“Wuuu…”
Yin Xiaoe said as she burst into tears, silent and painful, making Chu Xianping almost cry along with her.
He gently patted Yin Xiaoe’s back while speaking with unwavering determination:
“Xiaoe, don’t worry!”
“I’ve arranged our escape route, and I’ve saved up a lot of money from my years of working at the Suspended Mirror Agency. We can leave for Anzhou tonight and buy a small house there, start a small business, and no one will be able to find us!”
“You’ve always said you wanted to live a life like this with me, haven’t you?”
“Let’s…”
“Xianping!”
Before Chu Xianping could finish his vision of their beautiful future, Yin Xiaoe suddenly interrupted him.
However, compared to her previous sincerity, her voice now had a hint of impatience.
“I said, I’m not leaving!”