TSWPF -Chapter 288 Insult

Liu Zhimou had no idea that the Seventh Princess had taken a liking to him. The moment he returned home, he told Li Qingling that the Emperor had agreed to let him be assigned elsewhere. The exact location, however, hadn’t been confirmed yet; they would have to wait for the Emperor to decide.

Li Qingling smiled and said, “Then let’s make the most of our time in the capital! Who knows, by tomorrow, everything might be decided, and then we won’t have time to play around.”

Liu Zhimou tapped her nose gently. “We’re leaving the capital soon—what about your roast duck shop? Do you think it’ll be affected?”

There would definitely be some impact, but Li Qingling hadn’t planned to tell him. “The shop is already running smoothly. Uncle Zeng can look after it, so it should be fine.” She needed to think of a way to ensure the quality of the roast ducks.

She really didn’t want to ruin the shop’s reputation.

She knew that once she left, if the roast ducks’ quality dropped, the shop might have to close.

She had worked so hard to get the shop running—it would be unbearable to watch it fail.

How could she use her spirit water to raise the ducks?

Previously, she would occasionally go to the estate and put the spirit water directly into the ducks’ drinking water.

Should she send the spirit water every time?

Wouldn’t that be essentially revealing her secret technique for raising ducks?

That was absolutely not an option. Besides, if someone with ill intentions found out, they might even treat her like a demon and burn her—she absolutely couldn’t take that risk.

So what could she do?

“Ling’er, what’s wrong?” Liu Zhimou waved his hand in front of her. Why did she suddenly zone out mid-conversation?

Snapping back, Li Qingling smiled sheepishly. “What were you saying?”

She had been lost in her own little world and hadn’t heard him.

Liu Zhimou gently touched her forehead, concerned. “Have you been overworked lately?”

“No, I was just thinking about how to properly manage the roast duck shop, that’s all…” Li Qingling added quickly to prevent any misunderstanding, “Uncle Zeng is taking care of the shop, so there’s no problem there. I was just thinking about who should take care of raising the ducks.”

If she were to entrust the spirit water to someone, it would have to be her most trusted person. Only then could she relax.

But who could she send?

“Who’s taking care of the ducks now?”

Li Qingling glanced at Liu Zhimou. “Mostly me. When I’m not around, the estate staff handle it.”

Liu Zhimou thought for a moment. “After you leave, you can assign someone you trust. There shouldn’t be any problem.”

“I thought so too, but I just don’t know who to send,” she admitted. Her two maids were definitely out of the question. How could two young girls manage this responsibility?

After thinking it through, she realized there was really no one around her capable of handling such a task.

She simply hadn’t prepared anyone for this, since she hadn’t anticipated Liu Zhimou being assigned elsewhere.

Liu Zhimou reached out and smoothed her furrowed brows. “If there really isn’t anyone, you could ask Grandpa Xue or Mr. Luo. Perhaps they have someone you can rely on.” He hadn’t yet considered asking his own grandfather, since matters in the Liu family were complicated. He didn’t want to accidentally drag someone else into their tangled affairs—it was just unsettling to think about.

Li Qingling considered his suggestion and nodded. It seemed workable.

She stood up, smiling, and pulled Liu Zhimou with her. “Let’s go explore the Liu estate. We’ve been here a few days, but we haven’t had a proper look around yet!”

“All right…”

Liu Zhimou had no objections. After all, this was the home he had grown up in; he ought to take a look.

They walked out of the courtyard, one after the other, and saw a Liu family maid. They asked her to guide them around.

The maid respectfully agreed and began introducing things to Liu Zhimou and Li Qingling as they walked.

By the lotus pond, they ran into Liu Zhishan.

Liu Zhimou glanced at him and greeted him directly.

Li Qingling also greeted him politely. This was the Liu estate; she couldn’t ignore its rules.

Seeing the two of them, Liu Zhishan’s expression soured. He snorted coldly.

He hadn’t expected that Liu Zhimou was his fourth uncle’s son, and Li Qingling was his cousin-in-law.

What an unlucky coincidence for him.

No wonder his grandfather had been so angry, sending him off to the military camp.

His days in the camp had been a living nightmare—poor food, little rest, and exhausting labor.

He had begged his mother to see if she could help him return from the camp.

He didn’t have the courage to ask his grandfather, so he relied on his mother to plead on his behalf.

He hoped his grandfather would notice his change over this time and let him off—he truly couldn’t take it anymore.

Liu Zhimou and Li Qingling were not the type to meekly accept rudeness. Seeing Liu Zhishan’s hostile attitude, they immediately ceased smiling and walked past him.

Seeing their indifferent demeanor, Liu Zhishan became even more infuriated.

“So this is how you treat your brother?”

Liu Zhimou and Li Qingling exchanged a glance, stopped, and turned to look at Liu Zhishan.

“Excuse me, what attitude are we showing?” Liu Zhimou asked, amused. How could their supposed ‘bad attitude’ be blamed on them?

The maid shrank back, wishing she hadn’t witnessed this scene. She wondered if the three masters would punish her.

Seeing the young maid trembling, Li Qingling whispered reassuringly, “It’s nothing, you don’t need to be afraid.”

They were not unreasonable people who would drag innocent bystanders into their quarrels.

Hearing her assurance, the maid’s tension eased slightly.

Even though she had only been with them for a few days, she knew that Li Qingling and Liu Zhimou were gentle and wouldn’t arbitrarily punish servants.

Serving such masters was the greatest blessing for a servant.

She secretly hoped the Third Young Master would leave soon and stop causing trouble for the Fourth Young Master.

But would Liu Zhishan really be so mild-mannered? He cast a cold glance at Liu Zhimou and said after a moment, “I really don’t know what kind of spell you put on Grandfather to make him protect you so much.” Then he glanced contemptuously at Li Qingling. “A country bumpkin is still a country bumpkin. No matter how fine the clothes, they only make you look rustic.”

Instead of being angered, Liu Zhimou chuckled lightly. “Third Brother, are you jealous that Grandfather favors us? If so, I can tell him to pay more attention to you.” In his eyes, Liu Zhishan was just an immature child—petty, impulsive, and unreasonable.

This was a common flaw among children of noble families—they relied on their good heritage to act as they pleased, unafraid of consequences.

Before Liu Zhishan could respond, Li Qingling seamlessly added, “Some people, even if they wear…” She paused just in time, knowing she couldn’t explicitly mention the crown prince in this era. “…look proper on the outside, but inside…”

Anyone daring to insult them had better be ready to be insulted back.

They were not dough to be kneaded and submissively bullied.

“You…say that again?” Liu Zhishan’s face flushed red with anger. Did she just call him a dog?

Li Qingling smiled faintly. “I didn’t expect Third Brother’s hearing to fail so quickly at such a young age.” She tugged Liu Zhimou’s hand. “Husband, let’s go. No need to block Third Brother from seeing the doctor.” Being on the Liu estate, they still needed to moderate their behavior to avoid making the old master uncomfortable.

A smile flashed in Liu Zhimou’s eyes as he nodded and led her forward.

After being insulted like that, how could Liu Zhishan take it lightly?

“Stop right there!”

Liu Zhimou and Li Qingling ignored him, continuing forward.

Liu Zhishan gritted his teeth, rushing forward to grab Liu Zhimou’s hand. “I said stop! Didn’t you hear me?” These two country bumpkins clearly didn’t respect him—they were acting like they hadn’t heard.

As the dignified Third Young Master, how could he tolerate such humiliation?

Angrily, Liu Zhimou pushed Liu Zhishan’s hand away, face cold, and asked what exactly he wanted.

“Apologize…”

“You’re welcome,” Li Qingling said immediately. “See? Third Brother is reasonable. He knows he’s wrong and came forward to apologize.”

If it weren’t for the fact that the people before her were masters, the little maid would have laughed out loud. She found it hilarious—clearly, the Third Young Master wanted Liu Zhimou and Li Qingling to apologize to him, yet Li Qingling twisted it humorously.

The maid increasingly felt she had chosen the right masters.

“You…” Liu Zhishan pointed shakily at Li Qingling. “Are you pretending not to understand? I’m telling you to apologize to me!”

With a loud smack, Liu Zhimou forcefully slapped his hand down, his face colder. “Third Brother, have you no manners at all? Don’t point your finger at people.” If it weren’t for their grandfather, his words would have been harsher.

Indeed, the Liu family was full of disputes. Liu Zhimou now hoped the Emperor would quickly finalize his reassignment so he could take Li Qingling and leave this place of trouble.

He truly didn’t have time to play petty games here; he had better things to do.