Chapter 375: A Trip to the Western Suburbs Cottage
When I returned from the South Courtyard, lunch was already prepared in the kitchen.
Qiu Bi had a hearty meal, took a bath, changed her clothes, and fell into a comfortable sleep.
Qiu Bi slept until the hour of Xu, then woke up leisurely. She looked out the window through the bed curtains and saw that the moon was already dim and the stars were sparse.
Jing Yimo heard the noise, walked over quickly and stood respectfully beside the bed.
"Young lady, are you awake? Dinner is ready. May I ask if you would like me to order the dishes to be served?"
Qiu Bi responded softly.
"Well, I'm awake, pass it on."
Jing Yimo carefully hung the bed curtains and helped the girl up.
"Then I will serve the dishes first, and then report to Yiren Qingcheng."
At this time, the servant's voice came from outside the door: "Miss, Mr. Feng sent someone to invite you to meet at his residence in the western suburbs. I wonder if you are willing to go?"
Qiu Bi smiled helplessly to herself.
My father and mother were simple-minded. They finally went out for some fresh air, but ended up going back to their hometown. I guess they kept the money I gave them and didn't want to go shopping.
After thinking about it, she raised her voice and replied to the servant.
"Since my father has invited me, I must go. Tell him to prepare the carriage."
Just like that, Qiu Bi left Jing Yimo at home and rushed to the thatched cottage in the western suburbs, escorted by a dozen servants.
"Daddy and Mommy, here I come!"
Hearing her call, Feng Yan was overjoyed and welcomed his daughter into the house.
"Bi'er, come in quickly."
Qiu Bi also smiled happily and walked in as she was told.
"Why don't you see mother?"
Sitting with his daughter, Feng Yan looked calm and kind.
"She's cooking."
"Knowing that you were going to catch up on your sleep, we deliberately prepared dinner later, but you arrived earlier. Sigh, the simple meals are already unfair to you, and now you have to wait even longer. It's all because of Daddy's incompetence that he couldn't treat you to a delicious meal in a restaurant."
Qiu Bi felt happy, but her tone was filled with a hint of resentment.
"Daddy and Mommy are the ones who are wronged. I let you have fun for a day, but when I just left the house, I heard from the housekeeper that you returned the silver. You are always so polite. Aren't you being too polite?"
Feng Yan's eyes were steady and clear, and contained a hint of righteousness.
"Why should we be so polite? We will return all the money that Lord Wei entrusted Lord Gao to send. Dad knows that you and Lan'er are both filial, but we also have feelings of love for you."
"At noon, you left in a hurry, I didn't have time to tell you. I have found a new way to make a living recently, serving tea and water to people in a teahouse, it's very relaxing. Your mother still has the old craft, embroidering for a living, even if she stays in the room all day, she is not afraid of cutting off her livelihood."
"In short, in one sentence, you don't have to give us money."
Qiu Bi whispered sadly and buried her head in guilt.
"People say that Daddy and Mommy are enjoying a good life living in the Gao Mansion, but the truth is..."
Feng Yan interrupted her in time, smiled gently and corrected her words.
"The fact is that the living quarters of Gao's mansion are very comfortable, a thousand times better than this thatched cottage. How can this not be a blessing?"
A warm feeling surged in her heart, and Qiu Bi looked up at her father, feeling both self-blame and touched.
"You are making yourselves suffer like this, and it really worries me."
Feng Yan had a kind look and spoke in a friendly manner. He spoke from the bottom of his heart and was unwavering.
"Silly child, don't worry. We are not miserable, and having you is a blessing. When we meet Lan'er in the future, it will be the icing on the cake. Daddy and mommy, I am happy and satisfied."
Feng Wendan opened the door to the inner room and called for dinner, holding a bowl of clear soup in his hand.
"The meal is over, husband, Bi'er, come quickly."
The two of them responded and walked towards the inner room together.
The moment she entered the room, she saw Zhuang Wei placing dishes and chopsticks. Qiu Bi's smile disappeared and her whole body froze in an instant.
"you……"
As if what happened last night had never happened, Zhuang Wei naturally showed a kind face.
"Master Gao, please take a seat."
A trace of panic swept over Qiu Bi, and her throat tightened, as if she was inexplicably suffocating.
Unexpectedly, when she actually faced him, her hands in her sleeves could not help but tremble slightly. The fear in her heart quickly filled her mind like a dark cloud.
She forced herself to smile and tried to look at her parents calmly.
"Why is he here?"
Feng Wendan put down the soup bowl and immediately noticed that his daughter looked strange, and he couldn't help but feel worried.
Feng Yan seemed a little careless and didn't pay attention to the details. He was only focused on answering his daughter's questions.
"It's like this. The carriage we were riding in broke down halfway and couldn't be used anymore. Just when we were at our wits' end and were walking home, Lord Zhuang happened to pass by on his way to the western suburbs for some business. He said he was your good friend and could give us a ride."
"Since Master Zhuang has helped us a lot, we invited him to dinner when he is free. We thought Master Zhuang was too high up to give in, but we didn't expect him to come right away after finishing his work at noon."
Zhuang Wei listened carefully, cooperated politely, and smiled gently.
Qiu Bi sighed secretly.
The Gao Mansion's carriages are inspected and properly maintained every day, so how could they be damaged to the point of being unusable? It must have been done intentionally by Lord Zhuang.
Alas, how could he be so omnipresent? He even spared Feng's parents.
If I had known this, I would not have come. The princess is right. I should have said goodbye to the guests these past two days. It's my fault for having to come here for a gathering.
Thinking of this, the smile on her face seemed to fade away.
"He said he was my good friend... so you believed him?"
Seeing that his daughter seemed to have something to hide, perhaps it was related to the secrets of the Zhuang family, Feng Wendan smiled gently and told her.
"Don't worry, Bi'er. I heard the princess talk about the Zhuang Mansion before. We know that Master Zhuang is not an outsider."
The secret was not like that, so naturally it failed to resolve Qiu Bi's knot.
She wanted to tell him what happened last night and expose the man's true face; but she was afraid that Lord Zhuang would get angry, take off his disguise, and hurt her father and mother at will.
Caught in a dilemma, she began to stammer.
"Yes...um..."
In a blink of an eye, Zhuang Wei mentioned it spontaneously.
"Master Gao doesn't welcome me? Are you still upset about what happened yesterday?"
Qiu Bi was surprised.
Could it be that he wanted to confess everything?
If his parents sneered at him, would he...
Just as he was thinking about it, he heard Feng Wendan asking in confusion.
"What happened yesterday?"
Qiu Bi remained silent, her brows furrowed in anxiety.
Zhuang Wei seems to have an open mind, but he is full of lies.
"I was on official business and accidentally ignored Mr. Gao. Blame me for being careless and not considering Mr. Gao's feelings."
Hearing this, Qiu Bi felt even more depressed and aggrieved.
"you……"
Before he finished speaking, Feng Yan immediately scolded him.
"Bi'er, this is your fault."
Knowing that his father had been deceived and was not deliberately making trouble, Qiu Bi lowered his eyes and responded respectfully.
"Yes……"
Feng Yan felt sorry for his daughter, so he didn't go too far and didn't use a harsh tone.
"Master Zhuang is busy with official business, how can you not understand?"
Qiu Bi was at a loss and depressed.
"Yes……"
Feng Wendan felt sorry for his daughter when he saw this, so he quickly gave her a look and hinted with words.
"It's late at night, my husband, why don't you eat yet? Isn't that neglecting the guests?"
Realizing that he was wrong, Feng Yan immediately smiled and returned to his friendly state.
"Yes, yes, Master Zhuang, please take a seat. We will eat now."