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Xiao Bojian's body tensed before immediately relaxing. He gave a seductive groan and turned towards the well-developed, mature woman, pressing her down into the bed.
It was another flight of pleasure.
Two hours later, Xiao Bojian was already fully clothed and standing by the well in the courtyard.
The woman had already left through the back door, so the only ones left were Xiao Bojian and One.
One stood behind Xiao Bojian, his gaze on Xiao Bojian's slim back.
He opened his mouth, but stopped himself from saying anything. He wanted to say that it wasn't worth it for Xiao Bojian to do this, as their forces were now incomparable to the past. To accomplish their objective, they didn't have to use that woman.
He could tell that his master didn't like that woman. In fact, he could see that he loathed and was disgusted by her.
Xiao Bojian looked up at the skies. A moment later, he turned around to glance at One. There was a mocking smile on his face.
"I know what you want to say, but you need to know that this is the route with the least losses for us. He Changdi has already gathered up his forces; we don't have enough people to go head-to-head against them."
This was the type of person Xiao Bojian was. He had wild ambitions and he took extreme actions. In order to achieve his goals, he was willing to sell even himself out.
With power and revenge laid out in front of him, he had lost all sense of self-preservation.
Xiao Bojian's eyes narrowed. Before the northern army's overwhelming victory against the Tuhun people, he had never thought that the person who would stand toe-to-toe with him would be House Jing'an's He Changdi!
It turned out that he had been severely underestimating this man all this time.
On the twentieth of March, with his personal bodyguards and the family soldiers, Count Jing'an personally escorted He Ying and her daughter to one of their rural estates in the outskirts of the capital and assigned the family soldiers to keep watch over them.
Matriarch He had argued with Count Jing'an over this matter, but since Count Jing'an had already made up his mind, nothing the matriarch said had any effect.
This matter had angered Matriarch He to the point that she became bedridden.
But despite this, all Count Jing'an did was instruct the servants in Qingxi Hall to take proper care of the matriarch.
Due to He Changdi and Count Jing'an's contributions to the public accounts, all expenditure in the estate was also now in order.
As there were only a few family members living in the estate, it wasn't as tiresome to manage the Jing'an Estate as it was for other noble estates. With the help of her close aides, Countess Jing'an was able to cope with managing the household now.
He Changdi had already discussed the matter of moving out to his own manor with his father. Count Jing'an and He Changdi then wrote letters to the Chengping Emperor to request his permission.
Countess Jing'an may have agreed to this, but she still asked He Sanlang to pick a place that wasn't too far from House Jing'an.
During their two days of free time, Chu Lian and He Changdi went to take a look at a few suitable estates. They were pretty much set on the one at Pingkang Lane. Now they were just waiting for the emperor's permission. The moment the emperor sent over the red letter of approval, the two could move out.
In a room within Qingxi Hall, Muxiang had just learned the news of the third branch moving out. She first felt overwhelmed, then disbelief. In her enraged confusion, she knocked over the table beside her chaise.
Tea and fruits were strewn over the ground, turning the room into a complete mess.
The maidservant on watch outside the door was frightened by the sounds, so she ran in. "Sister Muxiang, what happened?"
The young maidservant was shocked still by Muxiang's terrifying expression. With that sinister look on her face, Muxiang shouted at the servant, "Get out! Scram!"
The servant was extremely frightened. When she returned to her senses, she ran away in a hurry with fear written all over her face. She even forgot to close the door on her way out.
Senior Servant Liu had been instructing some servants as they laid out beddings and other items to dry in the sun. Seeing a flustered servant running towards her, she immediately criticised her.
"Watch yourself! You should know better than to run about like that!"
The servant stopped in her tracks, then nervously bowed to Senior Servant Liu.
Senior Servant Liu sized up the young servant, who looked to be around fourteen. If she recalled correctly, this servant usually stayed by Muxiang's side and worked for her. Muxiang often had this servant run errands for her.
Why did she look so scared? She had run over here from Muxiang's room.
Unable to keep her emotions under control, the servant sobbed and tears began to fall from her eyes.
"Momo, something seems to have happened to Sister Muxiang! Please take a look at her!"
Senior Servant Liu was startled by this exclamation, but she put on a serious expression and said, "Alright, alright. And here I thought something serious had actually happened. You should go take a rest and wash your face; I'll go have a look. If you act rashly like this again, be prepared for the rod!"
"Understood." The servant withheld her tears and carefully left.
Senior Servant Liu personally went over to Muxiang's room.
The doors were open, so Senior Servant Liu was immediately able to see the disheveled state of the room when she walked up to it.
Before she could even speak a word, she suddenly heard Muxiang's frigid warning. "Didn't I ask you to get the hell out?! Scram!"
Senior Servant Liu frowned and fiercely rebuked her. "What's wrong?! Am I not allowed to check on you?!"
As she hadn't been expecting Senior Servant Liu at the door, the expression on Muxiang's face was priceless. She immediately became flustered, but she managed to calm down very quickly.
Muxiang readjusted her facial expression before turning to walk towards Senior Servant Liu. She appeared apologetic and fearful as if she had committed some wrong and said, "Momo, why are you here? I didn't know that it was you who came; I thought it was that careless girl!"
Senior Servant Liu let Muxiang help her over to a chair before surveying the messy sofa and floor. "What's going on? Why is the room in such a mess?"
Muxiang pursed her lips in embarrassment.
"Momo, it's all my fault. I was lost in my thoughts while sitting on the chaise and I knocked over the teapot and fruit platter on the table by accident. The young maidservant keeping watch outside thought something had happened and rushed in. I was in a bad mood, so I gave her a little scolding. That girl only came to the estate a short while ago and is a little too sensitive, so she ran away just from that."