Back to the residence?

Xu Xi was momentarily confused: What did “back to the residence” mean?

Shi Yan did understand “back to the residence,” but was equally confused: What did “pick up and carry” mean?

At this moment, the two couldn’t help but look at each other in bewilderment.

But Hong Dou was different—she understood it all.

The little maidservant rubbed her hands together and said eagerly: “Let this servant do it!”

Seeing that Luo Sheng didn’t object, Hong Dou crouched down and hoisted Xu Xi onto her shoulder in one swift motion.

“Let’s go.” Hong Dou flashed Shi Yan a triumphant smile.

She knew she was the young lady’s most devoted chief maidservant. Others who wanted to steal her duties should take a good look at themselves and see if they had the qualifications.

Shi Yan looked at Luo Sheng in disbelief.

He didn’t believe this was really what she meant!

Luo Sheng nodded calmly: “Back to the residence.”

Seeing Shi Yan still standing there dazed, Hong Dou, lightly carrying Xu Xi on her shoulder, spat: “Why are you still standing there like an idiot? You’re not this slow at mealtimes—when it comes to work you play dumb.”

The little guard who’d finally come to his senses nearly cried.

How could these be the same? Being eager at meals was because the food was good—even an idiot would rush toward the delicious aroma of Miss Luo’s cooking. But to suddenly say they were carrying off a youth and just do it—was this something normal people did?

Walking ahead, Luo Sheng sighed softly.

After all, she wasn’t the original Miss Luo, and kept forgetting that Hong Dou’s strength was no less than an adult man’s, and she was very useful.

Xu Xi was actually the last to react.

There was no helping it—he’d never dreamed that one day he’d be hoisted onto a little maidservant’s shoulder and carried through the streets in broad daylight.

“Let me go!” Xu Xi shouted angrily.

Passersby who hadn’t yet noticed the commotion heard this shout and rushed over in a swarm.

Luo Sheng slowed her pace to walk beside him, smiling as she said: “Shout a bit louder, and there’ll be even more people coming to watch.”

Xu Xi’s face flushed red with suppressed anger, nearly fainting from rage. He really didn’t dare shout anymore.

“Do you know what to do in this situation?” Luo Sheng asked gently.

Xu Xi glared at her hatefully and said nothing.

Shi Yan quickly pricked up his ears to listen.

He wanted to know what to do too—this was way too curious.

Hong Dou pursed her lips: “Do you even need to think? At times like this you should just be quiet and not make a fuss.”

Shi Yan couldn’t help asking: “That way you can get free?”

Miss Luo didn’t seem like someone so easy to talk to.

Hong Dou rolled her eyes at him: “No, that way you can maintain some dignity. Maybe people will think you’ve fainted and can’t control yourself, so it won’t be as embarrassing.”

Shi Yan gave a thumbs up.

That made fucking good sense.

He looked at the youth being carried on the shoulder with sympathetic eyes.

The youth’s eyes were tightly shut—it seemed he’d taken Hong Dou’s words to heart and was pretending to have fainted.

With Luo Sheng walking in front and a little maidservant carrying a youth on her shoulder following behind, this scene immediately drew countless people’s attention.

People in the small buildings on both sides of the street pushed open their windows to look, not to mention the people on the street itself.

People followed behind, pointing at this group and discussing animatedly.

“See that? Miss Luo is snatching people again. Who’s the unlucky one this time?”

“Looking at the clothes, it’s a young master, not like last time when it was clearly a boy from an ordinary family.”

Someone immediately made a comparison: “Speaking of which, the one last time was more handsome. That one was truly good-looking.”

Hong Dou wasn’t happy hearing this.

These onlookers really didn’t know better. Young Master Si’s death had left the young lady unable to smile for several days. They really knew how to pick the wrong topic.

Just then, several Jinlin Guards in regular clothes happened to pass by on the street. The leader was Grand Commander Luo’s adopted son, Pingli.

“Lord Ping, that seems to be Third Miss.” A Jinlin Guard reminded him in a low voice.

Pingli’s steps halted. His gaze swept over Luo Sheng and landed on Xu Xi, who was being carried on Hong Dou’s shoulder.

Xu Xi had his eyes closed, trying hard to keep his expression unchanged.

This was too much. How could these people be so bad? It was one thing not to help rescue him when they saw him like this, but they were actually discussing with relish which was better looking—him or the male consorts Miss Luo had snatched before.

Most embarrassing of all, he apparently hadn’t even measured up!

At this moment, the youth completely forgot his earlier declaration that he didn’t need people to rescue him when he encountered trouble.

“Lord Ping, the one Third Miss snatched seems to be the Marquis of Changchun’s eldest young master.”

The Marquis of Changchun’s household had three young masters in this generation, but the heir apparent position hadn’t been decided.

It was said that years ago, when the Prince of Zhennan’s household was exterminated for treason, Princess Imperial Huayang died of melancholy. The Marquis of Changchun was still only the heir apparent at that time. Later, when the old Marquis of Changchun passed away and he inherited the title, because of the eldest son’s awkward maternal family situation, he’d delayed requesting the heir apparent designation and had dragged it out until now.

But regardless, this was the Marquis of Changchun’s eldest son, not Si Nan from a few years ago who’d been dressed as a commoner. If he was snatched back to the Grand Commander’s residence, there would be quite a commotion.

Pingli’s lips were pressed tight, his expression cold and grim.

Since he’d run into this, he couldn’t pretend not to know, or his adoptive father would rebuke him when he heard about it later.

Luo Sheng seemed to sense something and glanced in this direction. After her eyes met Pingli’s, she indifferently withdrew her gaze.

Pingli had wanted to approach, but noticing Shi Yan silently walking at the very back, his pupils contracted.

If he wasn’t mistaken, this should be Prince Kaiyang’s personal guard.

Why was Prince Kaiyang’s personal guard following Third Miss?

Shi Yan noticed Pingli’s gaze and slowed his pace again, silently chanting: I’m not with Miss Luo and them, I don’t know them…

The little maidservant’s crisp voice rang out: “Shi San Huo, hurry up. I’m carrying someone and still walking faster than you.”

Shi Yan: “…” Was it too late to pretend to be Shi Yi now?

Having confirmed that Shi Yan and Luo Sheng were together, Pingli turned and rushed toward the Jinlin Guard office.

Whether it was Third Miss snatching the Marquis of Changchun’s eldest son or Prince Kaiyang’s personal guard, this matter needed to be reported to his adoptive father as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, the people following Luo Sheng’s group to watch the excitement were intensely speculating about Xu Xi’s identity.

Mixed among them were several youths, each with complex expressions.

“Xu Xi was snatched by Miss Luo. What do we do?”

One youth didn’t react immediately and asked in confusion: “Didn’t we already get beaten up?”

Surely getting beaten wasn’t enough—did they have to offer themselves to be snatched by Miss Luo? But that wretched servant said they were ugly.

Another youth hit him: “Idiot, such a good opportunity to make Xu Xi lose face—how can we pass it up? Watch me!”

The other companions all looked at him.

The youth took a deep breath and shouted loudly: “Oh no! Miss Luo has snatched the Marquis of Changchun’s eldest young master—”

Having finished shouting, he crouched down low and said quietly: “Run!”

The other youths saw him take off running and instinctively followed.

After running to a deserted corner, the youth who’d been slow to react earlier said fearfully: “What if Miss Luo discovers it was us who shouted?”

“Did you get your courage scared out of you in that alley? There are mountains and seas of onlookers—how could she possibly discover it was us who shouted?”

“That’s right.” The other youths agreed, also reassuring themselves.

The youth who’d done the shouting looked toward where the crowd was surging and revealed a cold smile: “Now everyone knows Xu Xi’s identity. Let’s see how he can hold his head up in front of us in the future!”

Meanwhile, hearing the youth’s shout, Luo Sheng’s lips curved upward.

Very good—the onlookers finally knew her nephew’s identity.