I relied on a system to prolong my life in ancient times.

Chapter 351 Stealing Flowers

Xu Rong bit her lip and looked up at Xiao Siqi.

"Young Master, are your injuries any better? I've been so worried these past few days that I haven't been able to sleep."

"It's nothing." Thinking of his injuries, Xiao Siqi looked at Qu Yin with a guilty conscience.

Qu Yin glared at him fiercely.

"But this injury is ultimately my fault. I want to see it with my own eyes to put my mind at ease. Young Master, would you mind coming to my courtyard?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Siqi immediately tightened his clothes. What did this woman want to do? Was she still coveting his body? His body belonged to his wife, Qu Yin; how could another woman look at it?

Xiao Siqi's actions were so dramatic that both women present were stunned.

Qu Yin looked at Xiao Siqi speechlessly. Why was a grown man acting like this? But she was secretly pleased. Did it mean that Xiao Siqi was very virtuous? This was something Xiao Siyue had told her before, and she thought it made a lot of sense. Why should only women be allowed to uphold female virtues?

Xu Rong was furious. What kind of man was this? How could she have been so foolish as to cling to him? Not only was he not attracted to such a weak woman like her, but he also acted as if he was afraid she would take advantage of him.

Xu Rong took a deep breath, suppressing her urge to lash out. She couldn't get angry; this was the Xiao family mansion, and she was destined to become the eldest young mistress of the Xiao family.

Xiao Siqi noticed their expressions and awkwardly lowered his hand; it had just been a reflex.

"Xu Rong, go back to your courtyard immediately and don't disturb the young mistress." He didn't want unimportant people to disturb him and his wife's relationship.

"Young Master, then...then I'll go back to my room and wait for you." Xu Rong glanced shyly at Xiao Siqi, then turned and left.

Xiao Siqi stared blankly at Qu Yin. Wait, what did Xu Rong mean by that? When did he say he was going to her yard?

"Yin'er, I..."

"What? Aren't you going to Aunt Xu's place? Hurry up and go." Qu Yin looked at Xiao Siqi with annoyance.

"Yin'er, what are you saying? Why would I go to Xu Rong's place? I'm avoiding her like the plague. You know I don't like her at all." Xiao Siqi quickly explained. She had finally made up with Qu Yin, and she couldn't let Qu Yin misunderstand her.

"Hmph." Qu Yin snorted coldly, got up and went to the inner room. That Aunt Xu was incredibly audacious, daring to seduce Xiao Siqi right in front of her. Did she think she was dead?

"Yin'er, don't be angry. I really didn't mean it that way," Xiao Siqi quickly followed.

Qu Yin knew, of course, that Xiao Siqi didn't mean it that way; otherwise, she wouldn't have let him follow behind her.

She was just throwing a little tantrum. After all, it was Xiao Siqi who brought all of this back. She just couldn't understand why Aunt Xu, a girl in her early teens, couldn't find a man who truly cared for her to be her wife, but instead had to find Xiao Siqi, a man who was almost thirty, to be her concubine.

Xiao Siqi spent a long time coaxing Qu Yin before she finally calmed down. He was even more convinced that he had to deal with Xu Rong's matter as soon as possible, otherwise he would be in danger if she caused trouble again.

Xu Rong, who had happily returned to her room, immediately instructed her maid, "Quickly bring out my moon-white dress, and then bring my jewelry box as well."

"Yes, Miss." The maid was still a little confused by her mistress's appearance. She knew that ever since her mistress came to the Xiao residence, she had always had a gloomy face in private.

"Miss, is there some good news?" The maid, named Qiu Kui, was brought from the Xu family by Xu Rong. She had served Xu Rong for many years and knew her mistress very well.

"Yes, that's good news. Qi Lang will be coming to my room tonight. I'm determined to make it happen this time. You'd better dress me up nicely. Once I win Qi Lang over, you'll definitely get your share of the rewards." Xu Rong was very confident. In her opinion, as long as Xiao Siqi came, she would definitely be able to win him over.

"That's wonderful, Miss! I will definitely dress you up properly." Qiu Kui was also very happy. She hoped that her young lady could win Xiao Siqi's favor, so that she could also have a chance.

After Qiu Kui finished speaking, she immediately took out a well-packaged dress from Xu Rong's trunk. This was her young lady's best dress, prepared by the matriarch of the Xu family for her during this visit to the Xiao residence. Xu Rong had been reluctant to wear it.

Okra carefully opened the package, revealing an exquisite moon-white dress inside, which was clearly made of extremely precious material.

Xu Rong lovingly touched the clothes, thinking that when she wore them later, Xiao Siqi would definitely be captivated by her.

"Go and fetch me another bucket of hot water; I want to take a bath."

"Yes." Such clothes naturally require a bath before wearing.

"Oh, by the way, I think the flowers in the garden are blooming quite nicely. Go pick some and put them in the bathtub," Xu Rong suddenly remembered and gave another instruction.

“Miss, this…” Okra hesitated. She had heard that the flowers in the garden were all transplanted from various places and were very precious. It wouldn’t be good to pick them.

"But what? It's just a little flower, can't I even use it?" Xu Rong frowned.

"No, Miss, I just heard that the flowers in the garden are all rare varieties collected by the Minister, and the masters in the mansion cherish them very much. What if we pick them and get held accountable?"

Xu Rong thought about it and realized it was true. She knew that the person in charge of this mansion was actually Xiao Qinian from the third branch of the family. She couldn't afford to offend someone like that. She had only glanced at him before and was already terrified.

However, thinking about the important matter tonight, Xu Rong gritted her teeth and said, "It's okay, go and secretly pick some. Don't stick to one spot. There are so many flowers, no one will notice."

Okra glanced at her young mistress and had no choice but to agree.

"Yes, Miss, I'll go right away."

"Okay, go ahead, but remember to be careful," Xu Rong instructed. She wasn't worried about the maid's safety, but rather about the possibility of being discovered and implicating herself.

Okra sneaked into the back garden with a basket, quickly picked some flowers without even looking at what kind of flowers she was picking.

Once the basket was full, they hurried back, afraid of being discovered.

"Miss, I'm back." Okra said with a smile, panting and holding her waist with one hand as she stood at the door.

"I picked them all! Give them to me quickly, no one will notice, right?" Xu Rong took the basket and looked at the bright flowers inside, feeling happy.

"No, I picked them secretly, and no one noticed."

"Hmm, not bad. I'll reward you handsomely once it's done."

"Thank you, Miss." Okra was unsure whether to accept or not. She knew her young mistress's temperament very well, but she still had to say what needed to be said. As for what would happen in the future, that would depend on herself.