Chapter 144: Chapter 144: Your Xiao (Part 2)
Feng Mei’er was finally invited to the flower hall to talk, and when she arrived, she immediately showed disappointment in her eyes upon seeing that there was only Qu Fulan there.
Qu Fulan was sitting and drinking tea. Seeing her eyes darting around, she instantly mocked, "Weren’t you here to see me? Your eyes keep wandering, what are you looking for? There’s no one here except me."
Upon hearing this, although Feng Mei’er felt disappointed, she was more angry, "Fulan, what has become of you? To speak to me like that earlier was one thing, but now you don’t even stand to welcome me when I come over, is this how you treat a guest?"
It’s said that when a person becomes shameless, they are invincible. Feng Mei’er had quite a thick skin; anyone else hearing those words in the morning would’ve fallen out entirely, yet she just carried on as if it didn’t matter.
"You’ve got it backward, haven’t you? I’m the guest here at the Jin Family, you’re half a host coming over to inquire, how could you come empty-handed?" Qu Fulan said with a smiling demeanor.
Feng Mei’er was caught off guard, feeling a bit embarrassed, but she had thick skin and ignored the taunt, getting straight to the point, "I know you’re investigating the fire in the study, and you’re looking for evidence."
She threw out the bait, waiting for Qu Fulan to bite.
Qu Fulan raised an eyebrow and put down her teacup, "Oh? How do you know that?"
She didn’t ask her what she knew, but how she knew.
Feng Mei’er proudly lifted her chin, "You needn’t worry about that, I have my own methods."
Her method was that she always kept tabs on matters related to the Jin Family’s second branch since the First Madam was in charge when she first arrived at the Jin Family and was quite kind to her back then.
Later, it turned into Second Madam Jin managing things, who would often skimp on this or that, and even cut down the clothes tailored for her every season, claiming thrift was a virtue, yet her spending on her children hadn’t lessened, it had increased.
And wasn’t this extra spending deducted from people like her? Naturally, this made Feng Mei’er resentful, but ultimately, she was just a relative, so she dared not complain.
Feng Mei’er could tolerate these things, but what really crossed the line was Second Madam Jin trying to meddle in her marriage arrangements, wanting her to marry older men as a concubine to pave the way for her children.
This Feng Mei’er couldn’t stand; if this Second Madam remained in charge, what future could she have? She had no choice but to try to catch her mistakes and drag her down.
Thus, she used her private money to bribe many people to work for her and indeed found many sordid things about Second Madam Jin, but those were minor pranks, not worth bringing to light on a large scale.
But this time was different, it was a major issue, yet as a mere cousin, it wasn’t appropriate for her to speak out openly, but if someone took the lead, she could provide some clues.
However, her clues weren’t offered for free, she had to gain some benefits in return.
Feng Mei’er knew Qu Fulan needed her clues, so she put on a high posture, waiting for her to beg.
Qu Fulan poured herself a cup of tea, casually saying, "Since you know, you might as well tell us all you know, saving us the effort of investigating ourselves."
Feng Mei’er: "..." Is this the attitude of asking for help? It’s more like she’s chasing her down to listen.
Although she knew for a long time that Li Jirou had changed a lot, she still found it hard to accept.
Such an obedient person had changed so easily, becoming difficult to control, which was troubling.
"What is this attitude of yours? If you continue talking to me like this, I won’t say anything and will leave directly." Feng Mei’er said unhappily.
Qu Fulan took a sip of tea, still speaking unhurriedly, "You can choose to say or not, anyway, we’ll be leaving in a few days. This matter fundamentally has nothing to do with us; helping to investigate is kindness, not investigating is obligation, don’t you think?"
Feng Mei’er was stunned, recalling that it was indeed the case; they weren’t of the Jin Family, so how the Jin Family fared was irrelevant to them.
Yet she was still in the Jin Family; if this issue wasn’t resolved, her future would be even tougher.
Indeed, Qu Fulan was unbothered, while Feng Mei’er was anxious, but she didn’t want to relinquish her proud self-esteem by actively revealing the clues, hoping Qu Fulan would ask her.
"Though that’s true, isn’t Heir Pei a good friend of my cousin? In times of trouble, how can friends stand idly by? If my cousin knew, he’d definitely be sad, realizing he made the wrong friends, misjudged people, thought them true in sentiment and righteousness, only to find them false in affection."
Saying this much couldn’t help but stir the listening Prince An and the others.
They were always loyal to their brothers, when had they been false in sentiment? This woman was talking outrageously, but she seemed to make some sense, forcing them not to ignore it.
If it weren’t for the other three restraining him, he would’ve rushed out to refute Miss Feng.
But then they heard Qu Fulan speak leisurely, "And you’re his cousin, although a distant one, still a relative, and moreover, living in their house, eating and drinking their food. You didn’t tell Mr. Jin the clues you found firsthand, and yet you dare criticize us outsiders who want to do good deeds?"
Well said!
Prince An shouted silently in his heart.
Seeing that the hard approach didn’t work, Feng Mei’er softened her tone, "We’ve been sworn sisters since childhood, and despite the upheavals happening now, I sympathize with your ordeal and wish to help. Though my abilities are limited, I don’t mind you blaming me, but is it necessary to be so confrontational in your speech?"
"Am I not stating the facts? Which part is confrontational? You clearly know we’re looking for clues, but choose not to reveal them and blame me? Isn’t this just like the thief crying ’stop thief’? If you choose not to speak, we have our ways to investigate, and even if we don’t find anything, at least we tried, which is better than you hiding things, don’t you think?" Qu Fulan tugged at the corner of her mouth.
Indeed, Feng Mei’er was silenced, feeling as if all her patience was running out; this Li Jirou was truly impervious to persuasion.
She paused for a moment then said, "Jirou, I never noticed before how sharp-tongued you are. If Xiao knew, would he be surprised? I remember you used to follow him around, calling him Xiao, thinking simply like a rabbit, saying you would only marry him. If he knew what you’ve become, would he still marry you? After all, he always thought of you as a pure, kind girl."
As the words "Xiao" fell from Feng Mei’er’s lips, the atmosphere in the other room instantly grew oppressive.
Even someone as dense as Prince An could sense a chill.
What’s going on in this blazing summer? Is it because the ice was too close?
Out in the main room, Qu Fulan couldn’t feel anything special, only recognizing that Feng Mei’er was indeed a "good" friend, knowing exactly where to inflict the most pain.
If it had been the original character sitting here, she probably would have lost her composure.
But it was Qu Fulan sitting here now.