The Frantic Duchess

Feeling bored, Xia Linyuan originally wanted to tease that hot-tempered, brainless little kitten Dai Huabin, but remembering the instructions Xia Yanqing and Zou Yihan gave him before leaving—not to cause trouble at the White Tiger Duke Mansion—he had to behave himself and stay put.

In any case, there was no rush; he would have plenty of time to tease that little kitten Dai Huabin later.

Aside from Xia Linyuan, who was idly fiddling with the tea set on the table, everyone else was staring at each other with wide eyes, not even daring to breathe loudly for fear of offending this young master and becoming the target of his whims.

It was truly too boring, but out of respect for his elders, he couldn't wander around the White Tiger Duke Mansion, so he spread his spiritual sense to cover the entire estate, thinking he would first locate Huo Yuhao.

After searching carefully several times, he found Huo Yuhao's mother, Huo Yun'er, but he simply could not find Huo Yuhao.

Is he not here?

Xia Linyuan raised an eyebrow.

Seeing Xia Linyuan raise his brow, all the servants present tensed up, but seeing that he didn't lash out at them, they breathed a sigh of relief.

He expanded the range of his spiritual sense once more. This time, he discovered several young boys who matched the descriptions of Huo Yuhao from the original story, but because he had never seen Huo Yuhao's actual appearance, Xia Linyuan couldn't be sure which one was the real one.

As for searching based on Martial Soul characteristics, the Martial Soul awakening day at the White Tiger Duke Mansion hadn't arrived yet, so that method wouldn't work.

Forget it; it wasn't a matter of great urgency, and the current Huo Yuhao was of no use to him anyway.

After waiting for about an hour, Xia Yanqing finally arrived, fashionably late, accompanied by his two trusted aides.

With Xia Yanqing in charge, Xia Linyuan was finally permitted to wander around the White Tiger Duke Mansion, though he wasn't allowed to go too far, as he still had to meet his future concubine later.

As he strolled through the courtyard of the White Tiger Duke Mansion, he heard someone say, "Miss Yunjin, this way."

"Oh?" Xia Linyuan raised his eyebrows with interest and followed the direction of the voice.

He saw a woman who looked like a housekeeper leading Dai Yunjin, who had changed into a more ornate dress, toward him.

Dai Yunjin naturally saw Xia Linyuan as well. For some reason, she couldn't help but think of the words Xia Linyuan had just said to her: "Why don't you just marry me?" Her face turned bright red, and her petite body shrank behind the housekeeper.

When the woman saw Xia Linyuan, she immediately recognized him as the son of the Molong Duke and bowed respectfully, "Young Master Linyuan."

Xia Linyuan didn't even glance at her, his gaze seemingly glued to Dai Yunjin. "Is this skinny little girl, who looks like she hasn't had a full meal in days and has bones as wretched as a beggar's, the candidate the Duchess wants to marry into my Molong Duke Mansion as a concubine?"

Skinny, looks like she hasn't had a full meal in days, bones as wretched as a beggar's...

The guards following Xia Linyuan couldn't help but feel embarrassed hearing their young master describe a little girl that way.

Their young master really didn't leave anyone a shred of dignity with his words.

Concubine? What is a concubine?

Although Dai Yunjin was very angry at being described this way by Xia Linyuan, she was even more bewildered by his words and stared blankly at the woman.

The woman responded awkwardly, "Yes, Young Master Linyuan, Miss Yunjin is indeed the one the Duchess..."

Before she could finish, Xia Linyuan sneered and said, "Is this the sincerity of your White Tiger Duke Mansion? Although you all call this little girl 'Miss' now, don't tell me that all the heirs of the White Tiger Duke are like her—other than wearing slightly better clothes than you, they eat even worse."

"Don't tell me your White Tiger Duke Mansion thinks that by simply letting a little girl change her surname to Dai, she can become a true heir of the White Tiger lineage and then fool my Molong Duke Mansion? What a clever 'civet cat for a prince' scheme."

Hearing Xia Linyuan say this, the guards were filled with indignation. Their eyes widened like copper bells, and an oppressive, murderous aura radiated from them, scaring the servants of the White Tiger Duke Mansion into a state of panic.

"It's not like that, Young Master Linyuan, we didn't intend to fool your noble mansion." The woman waved her hands hurriedly. "Miss Yunjin is indeed an heir of the White Tiger Duke, it's just that she..."

At this point, the woman hesitated, seemingly debating whether to tell the truth.

Although the woman didn't explain clearly, Xia Linyuan already knew what was going on. Just as he had guessed, Dai Yunjin and her mother were being oppressed by the Duchess, though they were slightly better off than Huo Yuhao and his mother.

After a brief thought, an interesting little idea popped into Xia Linyuan's mind.

In the reception hall, the Duchess was saying something with a fawning expression when suddenly, two small figures entered her peripheral vision. The Duchess turned her head subconsciously, and the fawning look on her face stiffened slightly.

Xia Linyuan was walking over, holding the hand of a thin, sallow-faced little girl.

This little girl was none other than the candidate the Duchess wanted to use for the marriage alliance with the Molong Duke Mansion: Dai Yunjin!

Xia Linyuan holding Dai Yunjin's hand meant that the outcome of this marriage alliance was essentially set in stone. This should have been a happy occasion, but for some reason, the Duchess couldn't feel happy at all.

She had a feeling—a feeling that she had accidentally planted a willow that grew into a shade tree.

She had deliberately lowered her status, even offering Dai Yunjin as a concubine to marry Xia Linyuan—what was her purpose? Wasn't it just to humiliate that shameless mother and daughter?

But seeing Xia Linyuan walking toward her with a faint smile, holding Dai Yunjin's hand, the Duchess felt as if she had swallowed ten pounds of green-headed flies and almost vomited.

Why! Why did it turn out like this!

The Duchess was so hateful she was almost going mad, and the look in her eyes as she stared at Dai Yunjin seemed capable of spitting fire.

Why did the heavens favor this shameless mother and daughter so much! First, that bitch climbed into her husband's bed while he was drunk and gave birth to this bastard!

Now, just when she had finally managed to send that bitch's bastard away with the lowest status, why did it turn into this!

I hate this! I hate it!

Seeing the Duchess on the verge of losing her mind, the corners of Xia Linyuan's mouth curled slightly in a mocking smile, but no one present, except for Dai Yunjin, noticed his strange expression.

Don't think I don't know what you're planning. In that case, I'll grant your wish and keep this little girl by my side for a while, just to give you a little entertainment.

Seeing Dai Yunjin's thin and sallow appearance, Xia Yanqing couldn't help but frown; he didn't seem very satisfied with his future daughter-in-law.

As expected, he had underestimated the viciousness of Zhu Yu, that jealous woman; she could be so cruel even to a child.