Unlimited estates for rural beauty-Chapter 458 Greed is Not Enough (1)
"Cousin, don’t speak with such people; just by looking, you can tell they’re no good," Fo Conghui turned her head and glanced disdainfully at Lou Qianyu, advising her cousin impatiently.
Xiao Jiazhen gave Lou Qianyu an awkward smile, then turned to her younger cousin, slightly annoyed, "Cousin, please hold your tongue. It was my fault for bumping into someone earlier." She stepped forward, took Fo Conghui’s hand with her cheeks flushed, lips tightly pressed, and her bright, large eyes focused on her cousin.
Seeing her cousin like this, Fo Conghui decided not to say anything else, but she still looked at Lou Qianyu and Lan Jianbin with disapproval.
The house servants guarding the entrance of the Prime Minister Residence noticed from a distance; it seemed just like their young mistress. After greeting another person, they gathered around, growing more certain, "Miss?" They called out softly, unsure.
Xiao Jiazhen turned her head and saw it was Old Lu, the husband of Nanny Xu from her courtyard, and she smiled joyfully, "Uncle Lu."
"Miss, you’ve finally returned. The master and madam have been waiting every day! I must hurry back to report this," Old Lu said cheerfully, his eyes squinting as he trotted toward the inner courtyard of the Prime Minister Residence.
Lou Qianyu had been silently observing Xiao Jiazhen. After hearing what the house servant said, he understood a bit more. As he glanced aside, he saw a grand residence and, looking up, saw the three powerful characters for ’Prime Minister Residence’ hanging high on the red-painted wooden gate.
Lou Qianyu smiled faintly, and in the blink of an eye, he had vanished into the crowd. By the time Xiao Jiazhen turned to look back, their figures had already disappeared. She sighed softly and led her cousin back to the Prime Minister Residence.
On another street, as Lou Qianyu walked, he kept gazing at the scenery along the street, his mind still occupied with the beauty he had just seen, realizing she was no down-and-out noble daughter.
"Ah Lan, go and investigate the Prime Minister Residence, but be careful," he said.
"Yes, Crown Prince, I understand," Lan Jianbin replied, having not expected that those two who looked like country women would actually be the young mistresses of the Prime Minister Residence. Indeed, the world is vast and full of wonders.
As soon as Xiao Jiazhen and Fo Conghui entered the second gate, they saw their anxious mother rushing toward them. The second she saw her daughter, tears fell like pearls off a string.
"Zhenzhen, you’ve finally come back. Mother has been so worried. Where did you run off to, you silly girl? You didn’t even send a message," Xiao’s mother Zheng cried as she held Xiao Jiazhen, her nose running and tears streaming down her face.
Seeing her mother thinner than before and not as spirited, with a now haggard appearance, Xiao Jiazhen felt a surge of guilt, and tears followed suit. Mother and daughter embraced in the courtyard, weeping, while the nannies and maids around them also had tears in their eyes.
Upon learning of the return of his precious daughter, Xiao Yiran felt anxious inside, but showed no sign of it on his face. He walked to the back courtyard and, seeing the two of them hugging and crying, his brows slightly furrowed, and he coughed lightly, "Madam, it’s good that our daughter has returned. Why the tears?
Xiao’s mother Zheng pushed her daughter from her embrace, hurriedly wiped the tears from her face with a handkerchief, and Xiao Jiazhen with a sniffle laughed and called out, "Father, your daughter has been unfilial. I have returned." She walked up to Xiao Yiran, her eyes brimming with tears, and knelt before him, crying.
Xiao Yiran, seeing his daughter dressed like a village woman, her face grimed with dirt, and thinner than before, looked at his daughter with compassion and softened his tone, "Zhenzhen, stand up."
"Thank you, Father."
Xiao Jiazhen’s maid Suqiang, with her eyes red, came forward to help her mistress up from the ground, Xiao Jiazhen turned to look at her and gave her hand a comforting pat with a faint smile.
