Spring Rises in the Phoenix Pool Chapter 7

Qi Zhen was the Commandant of the Shenji Battalion, one of the Three Great Camps, and also served as the Left Shilang of the Ministry of War.

He normally had to report to the Ministry for his duties.

With how busy he was, no one in the household dared to bother him lightly. Who would have the nerve to go to the yamen?

Madam Wang glanced at Zhang Mama.

Zhang Mama’s face showed the same shock and confusion. Before leaving, she had already instructed Yunque and the others to take good care of the young lady and not to recklessly offend anyone.

Could it be they didn’t listen at all?

But that didn’t make sense either!

She herself had come back by carriage, and Xu Yinyin had no carriage, no attendants—how could she have gotten any word to the capital?

Besides, Xu Yinyin was just a country girl. She probably couldn’t even tell Baodi from Daxing. How could she have possibly found her way to the Ministry of War?

Even Qi Yunting looked astonished. He lifted his eyes and snuck a glance at Qi Zhen.

Qi Zhen’s face was cold as he let out a snort. “How do I know? Lord Lu— Lu Shangshu—came and questioned me personally!”

Lu Shangshu, head of the Ministry of War, was effectively Qi Zhen’s direct superior.

Madam Wang was stunned. “What? How could Lu Shangshu know about something going on in our household?”

She was truly shocked. Even she hadn’t taken the matter of receiving Xu Yinyin very seriously. Sure, something had gone wrong along the way, and Zhang Mama had rushed back to report it, but there hadn’t even been time to figure out what happened yet.

How could Lu Shangshu already know?

Qi Zhen furrowed his brows and countered with a question: “So you’re saying it did happen?”

As a man who had been on the battlefield and led troops, Qi Zhen carried a natural authority far different from that of ordinary people. The moment he furrowed his brow, everyone in the room grew tense and fearful.

Madam Wang glanced at Zhang Mama, then cautiously replied, “We’re still not sure what exactly happened. Supposedly Hua Momo invited her to the lake, and that’s when something went wrong…”

She turned to ask Qi Zhen, “Lord Marquis, what exactly did you hear? I only just learned of this myself—how did word of it reach you at the yamen?”

Qi Zhen suddenly slammed his cup down beside him, the loud thud startling Zhang Mama so much she nearly jumped off the floor. He sneered, “What’s the matter? Lu Shangshu’s son-in-law is the magistrate of Daxing County! The incident has already been reported to the authorities! And you’re asking me how I found out? Idiots!”

Reported to the authorities?!

Madam Wang paled with fright.

She instinctively turned and lashed out at Zhang Mama, “What happened?!”

Zhang Mama was just as flustered. She shook her head in terror, “Marquis, Madam, I don’t know what happened either! Before I left, I told the servants to take good care of the young lady! Who would’ve thought—who would’ve thought it would get reported to the authorities…”

Who reported it? Were they insane?!

At this very moment, the one who had reported it—Xu Yinyin—was sitting at the entrance of the Daxing County yamen.

She looked thin and frail, her clothes still soaking wet. She sat on the steps, shivering and sneezing pitifully.

Beside her was a corpse, making for an eerily strange scene.

People are naturally curious. Someone asked what happened.

The villagers who had accompanied Xu Yinyin began recounting everything vividly and with outrage.

“What? They sent just a bunch of servants to pick up the real young lady?!”

“That marquis household is outrageous! Isn’t she their biological daughter? Why treat her like she’s just some orphan off the street?”

Hearing these whispers, Xu Yinyin felt like laughing, but her expression remained one of extreme grievance.

Yes, anyone with eyes could see—if Yongping Marquis’s household truly cared about the long-lost daughter they had finally recovered, how could they have just sent a few servants to handle it?

She cast a cold glance at the corpse of Hua Momo lying on the ground, her eyes void of emotion.

Meanwhile, Yunque and the others were nearly driven mad with frustration.

Especially Yunque, who nearly shrieked at Xu Yinyin: “Young Lady, are you insane?! This is a private family disgrace! How could you go and publicize it?!”

What a peasant bumpkin—no sense of decorum or propriety at all!

In any reputable household, something like this would be buried and never spoken of!

Even a lowly servant like her, who had been steeped in aristocratic culture for years, knew full well that this was no small matter.

If the Marquis’s political rivals got wind of it, they’d immediately slap him with charges of “failing to discipline his household” or “allowing wicked servants to harm their masters”!

Xu Yinyin was truly a magnet for disaster!

Xu Yinyin hugged herself tighter. When Yunque finally lost her patience and reached out to drag her away, she let out a piercing scream as though driven mad, crying and begging for mercy.

“I won’t dare again, Sister Yunque, please don’t kill me!”

“I won’t go back! I’ll go raise pigs in the countryside, I’ll farm the land—I won’t go back! Please don’t kill me…”

Yunque was stunned speechless!

Who on earth had reported to the marquis’s household that this young lady was a timid, ignorant country girl?

She wanted to curse—this girl was probably a trained opera singer, the way she could change faces faster than flipping a page!

The world never lacks curious onlookers.

Seeing a frail girl driven to breakdown before their eyes, someone stood up and shouted at Yunque: “Enough! Your marquis household is going too far! Look what you’ve done to this poor girl!”

Yunque’s face turned red, then pale.

Heavens—who exactly was frightening whom here?

She had tried to stop Xu Yinyin from going to the authorities, but Xu Yinyin had insisted, even persuaded the village chief to come with her. She wouldn’t even change her clothes before heading to the yamen.

Xu Yinyin, timid? She was fearless!

The outside of the yamen was in chaos—people asking questions, others cursing the servants once they heard what happened.

Some even brought up Qi Jin.

“Didn’t they say there was a baby mix-up? So where’s the fake young lady?”

“What servant would dare kill their master? Maybe the imposter didn’t want the real daughter to return and struck first!”

The flood of speculation was overwhelming.

Xu Yinyin’s tears fell faster and faster, but her heart remained completely calm.

She had already known—the magistrate of Daxing County was Lu Shangshu’s son-in-law.

And in the world of officials, favors and connections mattered more than truth.

She hadn’t come to the county office expecting a fair investigation.

She had come so that word would reach Qi Zhen.

Lu Shangshu was Qi Zhen’s direct superior, and also his teacher.

Once the magistrate realized this involved a family scandal from Qi Zhen’s household, he would undoubtedly report it to Lu Shangshu first in hopes of currying favor with the Qi family.

In this way, whether for the sake of his teacher or his family’s reputation, Qi Zhen would have no choice but to personally come to the county office and bring her—his daughter—home.

Otherwise, the whole officialdom would gossip about Qi Zhen being cold, unkind, and unfilial.

She had said it before—she would return to the Qi family with honor and glory.

And sure enough, the sound of hooves rang in the distance.

Xu Yinyin slowly pulled up the corners of her mouth.

Look, they’re coming now.