"Break the law?"
Old Master Lin pondered for a moment, then got up and paced back and forth, appearing hesitant to speak.
Song Qingchao watched him, feeling no anxiety.
"Rest assured, if anything happens, I can get you out of it. Does Old Master Lin want to do this foolproof business or not?"
"Allow me two days to consider."
"Very well, then Old Master Lin take your time to consider. This humble daughter will return to the Xiang residence and await your good news."
Old Master Lin grunted and made a gesture of "please."
As he escorted her to the door, he suddenly recalled, "Your younger brother?"
Song Qingchao lightly tapped him twice with her fan, "I will not take him back. I trust Old Master Lin will take good care of them."
Old Master Lin looked as if he had something to say but refrained, but in the end, he agreed.
There was no choice; his daughter was waiting for the medicine, and he was waiting for the cooperation with Xiyun Pavilion.
However, after calculating everything, he felt he had lost the battle and suffered the loss.
Song Qingchao left the Lin mansion with satisfaction. She busied herself by telling Old Master Lin not to see her off, then leisurely walked down the path herself.
The young servants who had initially blocked her from entering were now staring at her with curiosity, their resentment almost palpable.
She played with her fan in one hand, pretending to toss it at them, which scared them into immediately averting their gaze and standing still, not daring to move.
"Master."
Just as she was secretly chuckling, Zhou Zhengxi approached her.
She looked up and saw that all eight of them had changed into normal servant attire.
Without even needing to look closely, they could be described as "graceful and elegant" standing in the crowd.
This was in stark contrast to the servants beside them who could fall asleep even while leaning on a stick.
It had to be said, they truly possessed spirit.
Song Qingchao was even more pleased with these eight individuals.
"Shall we go?" Zhou Zhengxi asked tentatively.
"Let's go," Song Qingchao replied with satisfaction, then took Zhou Zhengxi's outstretched arm, using his strength to board the carriage.
Outwardly, she was still that delicate young lady.
After Zhou Zhengxi helped Song Qingchao into the carriage, he prepared to drive.
But Song Qingchao first lifted the carriage curtain and poked her head out, startling Zhou Zhengxi, who had just gripped the reins, causing him to jump.
He quickly regained his composure, concealing the shock in his eyes, "Master, do you have any instructions?"
Song Qingchao blinked her eyes, "You come in, and let them drive. Then tell them they don't need to rush back, everyone get in the carriages."
She pointed backward with her fan, "There are three carriages, there's enough room."
Zhou Zhengxi's hidden expression instantly revealed itself, "Master?"
His voice trembled slightly, filled more with disbelief, "How can we ride in carriages?"
Song Qingchao rolled her eyes directly at him, "Why can't we? Stop the nonsense, get in after you've arranged everything. I have something to ask you."
Zhou Zhengxi nodded blankly.
It wasn't until the carriage curtain fell that he realized what Song Qingchao had said.
He hurried to find his brothers and after giving them instructions.
Everyone was stunned.
The youngest of them looked dumbfounded, "What is Master trying to do? I have a bad feeling about this."
Zhou Zhengxi directly landed a powerful blow, "Are the Master's thoughts something we can guess? Hurry up and get in the carriages to the Xiang residence."
After hitting his brother, he jogged back to the foremost carriage.
He stood before the carriage for a long time, finally taking several deep breaths but still lacking the courage to board.
Song Qingchao, watching him from inside the carriage patting his chest, finally called out, "Come up."
Zhou Zhengxi outside was startled again,
He took a deep breath, then slipped into the carriage.
As soon as he entered, he immediately knelt down, "Master."
Song Qingchao, who was in the process of eating a snack, almost choked, "Sit."
"Yes, Master," Zhou Zhengxi then stood up and sat down properly at the back, not daring to be the slightest bit negligent.
Song Qingchao glanced at him, "Don't be nervous. I just wanted to ask about the situation inside the Lin mansion. I noticed the people outside haven't been infected yet."
Upon hearing Song Qingchao ask about this matter, Zhou Zhengxi immediately relaxed, his tone carrying a hint of sadness, "Currently, only the people in the eldest young lady's courtyard in the Lin mansion are sick. The reason the people outside haven't been infected is that the young lady insisted on isolating herself."
He looked up at Song Qingchao, "The reason the Master went mad and invited all the doctors to the mansion was because the eldest young lady wouldn't let anyone near her; even her husband wasn't allowed into the room for a consultation."
"Your young lady understands medicine?"
"No," Zhou Zhengxi shook his head. "I heard the young lady was brought back to the mansion around this time last year. She had been living in a temple before, perhaps she learned a little from the monks or Young Master Xiang during that time."
"Then Lin Tingwan and Xiang Yunling knew each other very early on?" Song Qingchao's eyes lit up when she heard this. She had been wondering why Xiang Yunling and Old Master Lin spoke of each other with such disdain.
"This is uncertain, but Young Master Xiang goes to the temple every week to hold free clinics. That is an unchanging rule. Perhaps they met through that."
Song Qingchao nodded in understanding, "I see."
She put down the pastry in her hand, narrowed her eyes, and pointed her finger at Zhou Zhengxi, "Then why is Chang Pinghe so hostile towards Xiang Yunling? Do you know about this?"
"That's a long story," Zhou Zhengxi straightened himself up again. "The Lin family's eldest daughter, who is now Wanwan, and Chang Pinghe, the eldest son of the Chang family's main branch, were betrothed as infants. Wanwan has been weak for many years and has been looked after by Xiang Yunling, the successor to the Xiang family's medical hall. Chang Pinghe, being curious when he was young, often sneaked into Wanwan's courtyard to play. Over time, the three of them became friends, but at that time, Wanwan liked Xiang Yunling."
"Hah."
Song Qingchao understood after hearing the explanation. She had initially intended to mediate the conflict between the two. Living under the same roof, they couldn't be fighting all the time.
But after hearing this, she felt the conflict was irreconcilable.
She coughed a couple of times, "Alright, I understand."
Her eyes fixed on Zhou Zhengxi, "The martial arts of you eight brothers are actually very strong. In the Lin mansion, my word is law. The deeds of sale are yours. If you want to leave, I won't stop you. If you want to return to the Lin mansion, I won't block you either."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhengxi immediately knelt on the ground, "Master, you are underestimating us! Old Master Lin gave us to you, so you are our master!"
He took out the deeds of sale from his怀 and offered them with both hands above his head, "You are our master."
"Why are you so stubborn?" Song Qingchao could only take the deeds of sale helplessly. She glanced at them, muttering the names of the individuals, "Zhou Yi, Zhou Er, Zhou San, Zhou Si, Zhou Wu, Zhou Liu, Zhou Qi..."
She pulled out Zhou Qi's deed of sale, "Why isn't he called Zhou Qi?"
After asking, Song Qingchao immediately felt it was unimportant, then tossed the deed of sale into the brazier.
"Master!"
Zhou Zhengxi, frightened, quickly reached his hand into the brazier,
Song Qingchao grabbed him, "You don't want it when I give it to you, but you're picking it up when it's in the fire. Do you still want that hand?"