"These hateful thieves —"
Xu Pei's relatives were escorted back to the mansion by Qin Gong's soldiers. Upon entering, they saw a cold and empty courtyard.
Because they had to escape, they could only choose the small and valuable items. The larger items were left in the old mansion for the servants to guard, and they could move them in the future.
They did not expect to fail in their escape. When they returned home, they found that the house had been raided, and many of the servants were injured.
The concubines wanted to cry but had no tears to find that the larger items they had not taken away had all been taken away by the thieves.
A particular concubine's favorite shelf of many treasures had also disappeared, along with all the decorations on it.
When they asked the servants who stayed behind, they said that not long after they left, a group of masked bandits had barged in to loot.
Fortunately, these bandits did not have much foresight and only took gold and silver. The more valuable items, such as antiques, were left untouched.
Compared to the latter, the gold and silver stolen could only be considered the tip of the iceberg.
Madam Xu Pei's face was filled with anger, but at the same time, she was glad that the bandits were short-sighted and did not know what was good.
"It has been a day of fright. Everyone return to your own courtyards to rest. We will discuss the rest tomorrow."
Madam Xu Pei casually dismissed the weeping concubine. She was impatient, but at the same time, she felt a faint sense of satisfaction.
These concubines were beautiful but had no background. Their private storehouses were full of gold and silver, cloth, clothes, and rouge. At the same time, they were the most heavily raided area by the bandits. They had lost the most, but what was the point of crying in front of her? She would not be so kind as to compensate them.
Xu Yanxiao watched the show coldly, her face unperturbed.
When First Madam gave the order to let them go, she followed the other women and bowed, returning to their own courtyards.
"Go check the private storehouses and see what was missing —"
Xu Yanxiao casually found an excuse to send away the first-grade servant girl who was serving them.
She wanted to be alone.
The servant muttered, "The bandits are so greedy. How could they leave anything for us? Even if we search, it will be a waste. They will definitely be robbed clean. "
Her feet seemed to be stuck in the ground, unwilling to move.
Xu Yanxiao suppressed her anger.
"If I tell you to go, then go. Why are you looking for excuses?"
This maidservant relied on the fact that she was First Madam's servant and never took Xu Yanxiao's words to heart. Even when she ordered her to do something, she would complain.
The maid shrunk her neck, looking very timid. As soon as she turned around, a contemptuous expression appeared on her face, and the tip of her nose snorted.
"She's just an orphan girl with no parents. She doesn't even have as much money as a servant girl. Why would she want to check the private treasury?"
The maidservant grumbled, but she had no choice but to open the private storeroom.
Although Madam Xu Pei had never cared about Xu Yanxiao, in order to prevent others from criticizing her, she had prepared many good things for Xu Yanxiao.
However, although the items were good, they were all valuable items that were rarely used and had markings on them. They were large and impractical, so they could only be placed in the private storage to collect dust.
The few items that could be exchanged for silver were mostly stolen by the servants to be exchanged for money.
Xu Yanxiao's life in the Xu Residence was extremely unsatisfactory.
"Eh?"
The maidservant looked at the items in the private storehouse and exclaimed in surprise.
Everyone's private stash had been ransacked by the robbers, except for Xu Yanxiao's private stash, which was neat and tidy. There wasn't even a footprint on the ground.
Xu Yanxiao knew about this and muttered, "It's probably because the residence was too inconspicuous and the bandits didn't have time to search it. Go get some Buddhist scriptures and prepare a brush and ink. I want to recite the scriptures and copy them for my mother. Don't spread the news about the private stash, lest it attract unnecessary gossip. "
Everyone in the residence had been robbed. Only her own place was safe and sound. It was inevitable that people would be jealous.
Unexpectedly, the maidservant turned around and reported this matter and Xu Yanxiao's words to First Madam.
First Madam laughed coldly and said with disdain, "Ungrateful wretch."
What was there to hide about this matter? Could it be that the elders would covet her money?
The next day, the Xu Residence welcomed a special guest.
Qin Gong had a tender face, but his tall and sturdy figure matched with his armor. No one dared to treat him like a child. "First Madam and Duke Xin Zhao have been separated for a long time. Why don't you write a letter home to inform him that you are safe? Otherwise, Duke Xin Zhao will worry about the safety of his family at the front lines."
First Madam's expression darkened. She glared daggers at Qin Gong.
From her point of view, this was not writing a letter home to reassure Xu Bei. It was clearly using his family to threaten him and force him to submit.
She would not fall for this trick.
First Madam said harshly and straightforwardly, "I never thought that the noble Duke of Lanting would resort to such despicable methods. Is this the behavior of a man?"
Using his family to threaten others? She was a man …
Pfft, was she still a hero?
Qin Gong laughed. "Madam has misunderstood my master. I have no ill intentions."
No ill intentions?
Even a ghost would not believe it!
First Madam refused to write a letter home. Who knew what tricks the enemy would play with this letter?
Seeing that she was unwilling, Qin Gong did not force her.
Although he did not show it on his face, he was secretly lamenting that this person was not as far-sighted as First Madam.
The First Madam that Qin Gong mentioned was not Xu Bei's wife, but Xu Yanxiao's birth mother, Xu Fei's wife.
If she were to encounter such a situation, she would definitely write a letter home. In the letter, she would explain the situation at home in detail and comfort her husband who was fighting a war.
With a letter home, it would prove that his family was safe and sound.
If her husband was at the end of his rope, he would more or less care about his family and would not risk his life.
If there were no letters from home, the husband might lose his temper and fight to the death with the enemy, losing his life in the end.
Qin Gong could not be bothered to remind her, lest her good intentions be taken for granted.
He changed the topic to Xu Yanxiao and pretended not to know. "I heard that the daughter of the former master, Duke Ling Wen, is staying at your residence?"
First Madam nodded.
Qin Gong said, "Yesterday, I heard from the soldiers that a group of a thousand bandits took advantage of our army's invasion of Zhe County to rob and commit crimes everywhere. Even Duke Xinzhao's residence was attacked. Today, I have specially sent some to chew. I hope Madam will not mind. "
Lady Wang immediately sensed something fishy in his words, and she felt upset.
Qin Gong first mentioned Xu Yanxiao and said that he was worried that the residence would not have enough to chew. What did he mean by that?
Although the residence had been raided by bandits, it was not so poor that it could not even feed itself. Was Qin Gong worried that she would starve an orphan girl?
First Madam was unhappy and her expression became colder.
Qin Gong acted as if he did not see it and requested to see Xu Yanxiao.
First Madam became even angrier.
Did he want to see with his own eyes if she had mistreated the orphan girl?
Qin Gong was Xu Fei's former subordinate and Xu Yanxiao was still young. Others would not say anything if he cared about his former master's orphan girl. Xu Yanxiao blushed when she saw Qin Gong. "Why are you here?"
"This general will be leaving for the south in a few days. While the morale is still high, I will take down the remaining territory of Zhe County in one fell swoop." Qin Gong sat upright and said in a serious tone, "I will be gone for almost half a month. This general is afraid that Lady Xu will be worried, so I came to report."
"Who's worried?" Xu Yanxiao was embarrassed. Realizing that she had spoken harshly, she said with her ears red, "Remember to come back."
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