“You think she deliberately sought out Qin Fei so that Qin Fei would pass the news along to Ninth Master?”
Qiaoqiao tilted her head and thought it over — it did seem like a real possibility.
“What I’m thinking about is something else.”
Zhen Jiu’er pressed her lips together before speaking. “If Ninth Master knew her background and record, he wouldn’t need her to say anything — he’d promote her on his own initiative. There’d be no need for her to go seek out Qin Fei to leak the news at all.”
“You mean, you think Ninth Master doesn’t know?”
But then Qiaoqiao thought about it further, and her brow furrowed. “Wait, that’s odd. You and Ninth Master are so close — you should know about this sort of thing better than I do. Why is it me bringing you news instead?”
Qiaoqiao glared at her, pouting. “You sly thing, you’ve got news and you’re not telling me?”
“How would I know any news?” Jiu’er nearly rolled her eyes at her. “Have you seen me interacting with Ninth Master these past few days?”
Qiaoqiao tilted her head again, sizing her up. “Now that you mention it, it really does seem like you haven’t. Didn’t things seem to be going quite well at first? Ninth Master even said you were his girlfriend…”
Although, after hearing Jiu’er’s explanation, Qiaoqiao had come to accept that Ninth Master hadn’t wanted Lu Feifan pursuing her, and had deliberately deceived Lu Feifan about it.
Qiaoqiao had accepted that explanation.
After all, in a wealthy, prominent family, even romance had to be managed by the elders.
Ninth Master was Lu Feifan’s uncle, and it wasn’t strange at all for him to forbid his own nephew from being with someone like Jiu’er, who had neither status nor background.
But before this, whenever Lu Beicheng came and went, he’d always had Jiu’er with him. Whatever he knew, Jiu’er should have been able to pick up on most of it too.
“These past two days, you really don’t seem to have been with Ninth Master at all. What happened? Did you two fight?”
But Qiaoqiao immediately shook her head, overturning her own theory. “What kind of person is Ninth Master — why would he bother fighting with a small fry like you? If he found you annoying, he’d probably just send you away outright.”
“So you’re saying it’s not that you and Ninth Master fought, but that Ninth Master finds you a nuisance and won’t let you stay by his side anymore?”
“So will Ninth Master fire you, then? What’ll happen to your salary? How much compensation would you get?”
“Jiu’er, you should ask for more compensation! Ninth Master has so much money, asking for a bit extra won’t hurt. Jiu’er? Why aren’t you saying anything?”
Zhen Jiu’er couldn’t help rolling her eyes at her. “You’re talking a mile a minute — I can’t get a word in.”
“Was I?” Qiaoqiao scratched her head, then couldn’t help leaning in and asking quietly, “So, did Ninth Master say how much compensation he’d give you?”
“You’re that eager for me to be sent away?” Jiu’er really wanted to kick this girl right out.
“If it were any other job, of course I wouldn’t want that, but, he’s Ninth Master! Ever heard the saying that serving a ruler is like serving a tiger? Who knows when he might get displeased and just do you in?”
“He’s not that kind of person.” His temper might be a bit rough, and he wasn’t very patient, but, he wasn’t a bad person at all.
She wouldn’t allow anyone to slander her Ninth Imperial Uncle like that!
“How would you know… what? What’s with that look? Are you blaming me for badmouthing Ninth Master? Wait a minute, Zhen Jiu’er, don’t tell me you’ve fallen for Ninth Master? You’re just like all those other girls, all infatuated with him too, aren’t you?”
“You little lovesick fool! A man like that isn’t someone you can handle — don’t do this! Reel your heart back in quick, or you’re going to get hurt!”
Lu Beicheng was, after all, Jiangzhou’s number one golden bachelor.
Especially now, with his leg fully healed, that ranking as number one was truly beyond dispute.
Countless women eyed him hungrily day and night.
If Jiu’er were to fall for a man like that, it definitely wouldn’t end well.