As Song Qingchao settled in, Lin Tingwan rushed in like the wind.
She began stuffing packages into the carriage.
Song Qingchao said without hesitation, "You sit in the carriage behind."
Lin Tingwan stiffened her arm, "Why?"
"No reason."
"Don't push it," Lin Tingwan pouted.
Song Qingchao blinked, "But I will."
In the end, Lin Tingwan was driven away, shouting "Bully!"
One must bow their head when under another's roof...
After seeing Lin Tingwan off, Zhou Zhengxi thought about driving for Song Qingchao.
But Song Qingchao first pulled aside the curtain, sticking her head out, startling Zhou Zhengxi who had just gripped the reins.
He quickly composed himself, hiding the shock in his eyes, "My lady, what are your orders?"
Song Qingchao blinked, "Come in, let them drive. Tell them they don't need to run back, everyone get in the carriages."
She gestured backward with her fan, "There are three carriages, there's enough room."
Zhou Zhengxi's hidden expression was instantly revealed, "My lady?"
His voice trembled slightly, filled with disbelief, "How can we ride in carriages?"
Song Qingchao rolled her eyes, "Why not? Stop the nonsense, arrange things, and come in quickly. I have something to ask you."
Zhou Zhengxi nodded dumbly.
It wasn't until the curtain fell that he realized what Song Qingchao had said.
He hurried to find his brothers and gave them instructions.
Everyone was stunned.
The youngest, Zhou Ri, mumbled, "What is my lady planning? I feel like something is not right."
Zhou Zhengxi delivered a sharp blow, "Can we guess my lady's thoughts? Hurry up and get in the carriages to Guangji Temple."
After hitting his brother, he trotted back to the foremost carriage.
He stood before the carriage for a long time, took several deep breaths, but still lacked the courage to get in.
Song Qingchao watched him patting his chest from inside the carriage and finally called out, "Get in."
Zhou Zhengxi, outside, was startled again.
He took a breath and then climbed into the carriage.
As soon as he entered, he knelt down, "My lady."
Song Qingchao, who was snacking on pastries, almost choked, "Sit."
"Yes, my lady." Zhou Zhengxi then rose and sat respectfully at the end, not daring to be careless.
Song Qingchao glanced at him, "Don't be nervous. I just want to ask about the situation in the Lin mansion. I see that the people outside haven't been infected."
Hearing Song Qingchao ask about this, Zhou Zhengxi instantly relaxed, his tone tinged with sadness, "In the Lin mansion, only the people in the eldest miss's courtyard are sick. The reason people outside haven't been infected is because the miss insisted on isolating herself."
He looked up at Song Qingchao, "The master has gone mad because the eldest miss wouldn't let anyone near, not even letting her husband examine her."
"Does your young lady understand medicine?"
"No." Zhou Zhengxi shook his head. "I heard that the young lady was brought back to the mansion around this time last year. She lived in a temple before that. Perhaps she learned a little from the monks or Young Master Xiang during that time."
"So Lin Tingwan and Xiang Yunling knew each other long ago?" Song Qingchao's eyes lit up at this. She had wondered why Lin Tingwan wanted to run when she heard they were going to Guangji Temple.
"That's uncertain, but Young Master Xiang holds free clinics at the temple every week without fail. Perhaps they met through that."
Song Qingchao nodded knowingly, "I understand."
She put down the pastry and narrowed her eyes, pointing her finger at Zhou Zhengxi, "Do you know the relationship between General Chang and Guangji Temple?"
"I'm not sure about that."
Song Qingchao nodded, "Alright."
Her eyes fixed on Zhou Zhengxi, "Your eight brothers' martial arts are actually very strong. In the Lin mansion, my word was law. The deeds of sale are yours. If you wish to leave, I won't stop you. If you wish to return to the Lin mansion, I won't hinder you either."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhengxi immediately knelt on the ground, "My lady, you humble us! Master Lin gave us to you, so you are our master!"
He took out the deeds of sale from his embrace and held them above his head with both hands, "You are our master."
"Why are you so stubborn?" Song Qingchao could only reluctantly take the deeds of sale. She looked at them for a moment, murmuring their names, "Zhou Yi, Zhou Er, Zhou San, Zhou Si, Zhou Wu, Zhou Liu, Zhou Ri..."
She pulled out Zhou Ri's deed of sale, "Why isn't he called Zhou Qi?"
After asking, Song Qingchao immediately felt it was unimportant and tossed the deed of sale into the brazier.
"My lady!"
Zhou Zhengxi, startled, quickly reached his hand towards the brazier.
Song Qingchao grabbed him, "I gave you these, and you didn't want them, but now they're in the fire and you want to pick them up? Do you want your hand?"
"My lady..."
Zhou Zhengxi's voice trembled slightly, his fingers still retaining the warmth of the fire.
His gaze was fixed on the brazier.
He watched as the deeds of sale turned to ash in the roaring flames.
"I told you, it's up to you." Song Qingchao let go of Zhou Zhengxi's hand, frustrated. "What, you're just so willing to take orders from others?"
Zhou Zhengxi looked up at Song Qingchao, "My lady, we have nowhere else to go."
His voice deepened, "My eight brothers weren't always Master Lin's household slaves. It was due to an accident that we were chased and had nowhere else to turn, so we chose to lay low in the Lin mansion."
"I guessed as much." Song Qingchao didn't even lift her eyes.
She leaned back in her seat, her body swaying gently with the movement of the carriage.
"If you are willing to follow me, Master Lin gave me these, and I can give them to you. But with me, it's far more dangerous than with Master Lin." She rested her hand on the window, slowly pulling back the curtain to reveal a sliver of space, "Of course, what I said earlier still stands. If you wish to leave, I won't stop you."
Zhou Zhengxi knelt on both knees, "May I ask where this danger lies?"
"Danger?" Song Qingchao said the word slowly, with a light laugh.
Her eyes were filled with playful mockery and icy coldness as her gaze slowly swept from outside the window to Zhou Zhengxi. "This is a path from which there is no turning back. If I tell you, you can only stay, regardless of life or death. Do you still wish to know?"
"I do." Zhou Zhengxi kowtowed, "My lady."
His address of "My lady" had already declared his stance.
For desperate men, why would they choose a reclusive life?
Rather than live a life of quiet desperation, it was better to make a desperate attempt.
Song Qingchao helped him up, "Then you must be prepared. My ambitions are grand."
Zhou Zhengxi looked confused, "What are you aiming for?"
Song Qingchao stared at him and smiled, "For this empire."