Rebirth of the Duke's Daughter and the Little Imperial Uncle

Chapter 29 Horseback Riding in the Suburbs of Beijing (1)

After strolling around the city with Qin Yaoyao, He Yanxi safely escorted her back to her residence. Before parting, they agreed to go horseback riding together in the outskirts of the capital three days later, with He Yanxi personally picking her up and dropping her off. Qin Yaoyao happily replied, "Okay, I'll be waiting for you." Then, with a touch of lingering affection, she slowly turned and left. Watching Qin Yaoyao's figure recede into the distance, He Yanxi couldn't help but smile faintly, yet an indescribable sense of unreality welled up within him. However, the vivid sensation of their embrace just moments before was so clearly etched in his mind that he shook his head, trying to shake off this conflicting emotion, before turning away.

Back at his residence, He Yanxi's thoughts were gradually filled with Qin Yaoyao's words to him at the Duke's mansion. According to her, there was an incomparably valuable gold mine hidden in the southern city, which must not fall into He Mingwen's hands. As soon as he stepped into the mansion gate, Lan Feng and Lan Yu quickly came forward to greet him. He Yanxi went straight to the study, and after taking his seat, he instructed, "Lan Feng, immediately dispatch Chu Yi with a group of men to the southern city to thoroughly investigate whether there really is a gold mine there. He Mingwen's men have already begun their operation, so we must find the gold mine before they do. Even if we ultimately cannot control the mine, we must not let it fall into He Mingwen's hands. This matter is of utmost importance, do you understand?" Lan Feng respectfully replied, "Yes, Your Highness! I will do as you say immediately." After speaking, he quickly left to arrange the relevant matters. Just as Lan Feng was about to leave, He Yanxi suddenly called out to stop him and instructed, "Remember that this operation must be carried out in secrecy. You must not alert them and make them aware of it. If they find the treasure first, you must do everything you can to ensure that they cannot succeed!" Lan Feng respectfully bowed, indicating that he would obey the king's orders, before turning to leave.

At this moment, Lan Yu looked at He Mingwen with disgust and couldn't help but ask his master how he planned to deal with him. He Yanxi thought for a moment and then replied, "I want you to arrange for people to closely monitor He Mingwen's every move. Although my brother has ordered him to stay away from the residence, given his personality, he will not give up easily and wait to die. He will definitely rack his brains to find a way to escape. Therefore, you must pay close attention to his whereabouts and who he associates with. It can be said that nothing concerning him can be ignored!"

Upon hearing that the mission was to monitor He Mingwen, Lan Yu immediately became excited and invigorated, patting his chest and confidently declaring, "Your Highness, please rest assured, I will do my utmost to ensure every detail is covered!" He Yanxi couldn't help but find this amusing, teasing Lan Yu, "So you truly despise him, that's why you're so excited." Lan Yu didn't hide his true feelings, replying bluntly, "Of course! That man is utterly hypocritical and pretentious; last time he even tried to harm Miss Qin!" He Yanxi gazed at him, saying softly, "Alright, go about your business." Lan Yu quickly replied, "Yes, Your Highness!" and then swiftly turned and left. He Yanxi slowly stood up, walked to the window, gazed at the scenery outside, and murmured to himself, "I just hope it's not too late..."

After returning home, Qin Yaoyao went straight to her mother's courtyard to report that she was safe, and then walked towards her own courtyard. As soon as she stepped through the gate, her four personal maids greeted her with smiles. The most lively of them all was Yingchun, while the other three each had their own strengths—Qiuye was skilled in medicine and had an introverted nature; Dongmei was adept at martial arts and had a cold personality; Banxia was skilled in cooking and had a steady character. Yingchun, on the other hand, was known for her sociability, lively and active nature, and was also a master at gathering information.

At this moment, Qin Yaoyao stared at the maids in front of her, lost in thought. Yingchun called out several times, and when Qin Yaoyao finally came back to her senses, she said with a teasing smile, "Oh dear, our young lady is back so early today. I was thinking that I would not see you until dinner time."

It took Qin Yaoyao a great deal of effort to recover from the heartbreaking memories of her past life. Regardless, since heaven had given her a second chance at life, she would absolutely not let the tragedy of her past life repeat itself! She secretly vowed to do everything in her power to protect everyone around her, especially her sisters who had weathered storms with her.

At this moment, seeing Yingchun teasing her with a playful expression, Qin Yaoyao deliberately put on a stern face and pretended to be angry, scolding, "Well, you dare to make fun of me? See how I deal with you today!" Before she finished speaking, she pounced on Yingchun like a little tiger with its claws outstretched. She stretched out her hands, pretending to tickle Yingchun, who dodged in fright, repeatedly begging for mercy, "This servant knows her mistake! Miss, you are so magnanimous, please forgive this servant! Hahahaha... Miss, I really know I was wrong, hahahaha..."

In an instant, the entire courtyard was filled with laughter and joy, creating a happy and warm atmosphere.

Just then, Qin Yunping, the second brother, stepped into the courtyard. The harmonious scene before him filled him with immense joy. At the same time, he resolved to work even harder in the future to protect his sister's happy life and never allow anyone or anything to harm her in the slightest.

Qin Yaoyao turned her head and saw Qin Yunping standing quietly at the courtyard gate, a gentle smile on his face as he looked at her. Overjoyed, she ran to Qin Yunping like a happy little bird, excitedly shouting, "Second Brother, why are you back so early today?" Her words were full of affection and dependence on her brother. Qin Yunping smiled and said, "I wasn't busy today, so I came back early. How was it? Did you enjoy your outing with Yanxi? Was it fun? Was it interesting?" Qin Yaoyao replied happily, "Yes, it was really fun! We even made plans to go horseback riding at the suburbs of Beijing in three days. Brother Yanxi will pick me up then, hehe."

Seeing his younger sister so happy, Qin Yunping couldn't help but laugh, "You little rascal, you're getting better and better at being charming." With that, he turned and went inside. Banxia and the other maids, seeing Qin Yunping enter, hurriedly bowed and greeted him, "Greetings, Second Young Master." Qin Yunping smiled and nodded, "Yes, you may all leave." Then, he followed Qin Yaoyao into the room.

As soon as she entered the house, Qin Yaoyao couldn't wait to say to Qin Yunping, "Second brother, I went shopping with Brother Yanxi today! Brother Yanxi bought me lots of delicious food and fun things. Look, and this..." Qin Yaoyao excitedly showed off the gifts He Yanxi had given her one by one, as if she were showing off her treasures to her brother.

Qin Yunping joked with a smile, "You silly girl, what kind of good things haven't you seen! How could you be won over by these little trinkets?" Qin Yaoyao quickly replied, "They're not little trinkets at all! These are all my favorite treasures! As long as it's something I like, whether it's rare or common, Brother Yanxi will give it to me! Look, this is the Snow Forest Mist Tea you've been nagging about for so long! Didn't you always say that this kind of tea is especially expensive and hard to buy? But Brother Yanxi gave me a lot! This pack is specially for you!"

Qin Yunping exclaimed with delight, "Wow, it really is Snow Forest Mist!" Qin Yaoyao said proudly, "Of course it's real! Do you want it or not? If you don't want it, give it back to me." Before she finished speaking, Qin Yaoyao made a move to snatch it. Seeing this, Qin Yunping quickly raised his hand and said eagerly, "Yes, yes, yes! I definitely want what my little sister gives me!" So the two sat down, and Qin Yunping looked at Qin Yaoyao, saying earnestly, "Little sister, Yanxi is so good to you. If you want to be with him, you must cherish him and not betray his sincerity, and you must not hurt him. But if you don't have feelings for him, don't bother him, lest you hurt him. Do you understand what I mean?"

Looking at her worried second brother, Qin Yaoyao replied very seriously, "Second brother, don't worry! I will only marry Brother Yanxi in this life. I will definitely treat him well and never let him get hurt or sad."

Qin Yunping smiled with relief upon hearing his sister's words and said, "That's good. As long as you are happy, your second brother is at ease. Alright, if there's nothing else, I'll head back now."

Qin Yaoyao nodded, watching her second brother leave. As she gazed at his receding figure, she sighed inwardly: "So everyone could see Yanxi's deep affection for me, only I was a fool completely oblivious. But thankfully, it's not too late to realize it now."

Not long after, Banxia brought in a delicious meal and said with a smile, "Miss, this is a dish I recently developed. Please try it and give me your valuable feedback!" Qin Yaoyao replied excitedly, "Then I'll definitely have to try it! Our Banxia's cooking skills are outstanding. Everyone, please come and have a taste!"

After speaking, Qin Yaoyao warmly invited the maids to enjoy the food together. She picked up a pastry, carefully examining the crystal-clear, mouthwatering dessert, her heart filled with joy. Qin Yaoyao took a small bite, her eyes immediately lighting up as she exclaimed, "Wow, this is so delicious!" The others also picked up pastries, put them in their mouths to savor, and all praised in unison, "The taste is indeed wonderful!"

Seeing how much everyone loved her pastries, Banxia was overjoyed. She said to Qin Yaoyao with anticipation, "Miss, could you give this pastry a nice name?" The others nodded in agreement.

After thinking for a moment, Qin Yaoyao smiled and said, "This pastry has a thin crust and a generous filling, and it's crystal clear, as beautiful as crystal. How about we call it 'Crystal Cake'?" This name was unanimously approved by everyone, and they all clapped and cheered. Thus, this carefully crafted pastry had a beautiful name—Crystal Cake.

As He Yanxi had predicted, the next day, people came one after another to offer gifts and apologize to Qin Yaoyao. However, Qin Yaoyao was fast asleep when these people arrived. She didn't learn of this until noon. At lunchtime, Yingchun told Qin Yaoyao, "Miss, you don't know this, but Steward Qin was busy this morning and didn't stop until lunchtime. According to him, three families came this morning alone, each bringing extremely generous gifts. Just checking the lists took almost an hour, and moving all these things into our courtyard will naturally take even longer."

Immediately afterward, Banxia interjected, "They deserve to be criticized! Who told them to gossip and speak ill of Miss! They should be made to spend more money. If we weren't worried about them spreading rumors, they should be made to stand in the courtyard as punishment, so they'd learn their lesson!" Dongxue chimed in, "Yes, and they were even allowed to come inside and sit and drink tea! That's too lenient on them!" Qiuye added, "Don't worry! There's no reason to let them off so easily!" Hearing this, everyone gathered around, eagerly waiting for Qiuye to continue her story.

Qiu Ye took a leisurely sip of tea to moisten her throat before continuing, "When they arrived, it just so happened that the Fourth Young Master and the Fifth Young Master were both at the manor. The Fourth Young Master came up with a plan and pretended that he needed help with something, so he summoned all the servants in the manor away."

At this point, Qiu Ye paused slightly, then continued, "The Fifth Young Master took the opportunity to tell them that no one was home to move things and asked for their help. Hearing this, those people were naturally embarrassed to sit and drink tea any longer. One of the ladies took the lead in directing her people to start moving things, and the other two families were not to be outdone, so they all got to work. So, you see, they didn't get any benefit this time."

Upon hearing this, Yingchun said with a sigh of relief, "That's good. It's only because Fifth Young Master is so clever that he could come up with such a brilliant plan." Everyone nodded in agreement, expressing their admiration for Fifth Young Master.

"And now? Is everything all packed away?" Qin Yaoyao asked, puzzled. Qiu Ye smiled and replied, "Everything's packed."

In the afternoon, Cheng Ying rushed over in a flurry, and Qin Yaoyao's heart tightened, thinking something had happened. It turned out that Cheng Ying was simply curious about her relationship with He Yanxi.

Qin Yaoyao sighed softly and then told Cheng Ying about her feelings for He Yanxi and how she had confessed her love to him and received a response. Cheng Ying was overjoyed and clapped her hands, saying, "I knew it! How come someone like He Yanxi, who doesn't respect anyone, always bullies you every time he sees you? So that's what he was up to! What did you two do yesterday? Tell us the truth!"

Qin Yaoyao smiled shyly, then described in detail the scene of shopping with He Yanxi yesterday, mentioning that He Yanxi bought her a lot of things, and even did not hide the precious gift he gave her.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Ying's mouth dropped open in surprise: "Wow! This guy is so good to you, so generous! But this also fully demonstrates that she genuinely cares about you." As she spoke, Cheng Ying playfully nudged Qin Yaoyao with her elbow and teased, "Aren't you secretly overjoyed?"

Qin Yaoyao's face beamed with happiness as she answered without hesitation, "Of course! We've already made plans to go horseback riding in the outskirts of Beijing in two days. Do you want to come along?" Cheng Ying's eyes lit up immediately upon hearing about horseback riding, but then she remembered that her best friend was going on a date with her sweetheart, and it seemed inappropriate for her to go along. So she hesitated and said, "Would it be inappropriate for me to come along when you guys go out to have fun?"

Seeing this, Qin Yaoyao smiled and comforted her, "What's wrong with that? Just stay a little further away from us." Cheng Ying thought about it carefully and felt that it made sense, so she happily nodded in agreement. After all, being able to enjoy horseback riding with her best friend was something she looked forward to! Although she couldn't ride a horse, that didn't stop her from wanting to learn.