Chapter 315: Chasing a Butterfly Out of the Courtyard

"Judging by the sky, it’s getting late. The young lady is probably asleep by now. Let’s postpone the blood-paternity test until tomorrow morning."

Dean Chen stood up, only then realizing his legs had gone numb from sitting for so long.

"Alright." Zhan Yi helped Mrs. Zhan up, then lifted his foot and kicked Zhan Chi. "You brat, what are you waiting for? Get up and have the kitchen prepare a meal and send it to Half Moon Garden. Your mother hasn’t eaten all day."

"Oh." Zhan Chi stood up.

Old Master Gu also rose to his feet. "Grandson, let’s go."

Gu Shuo helped the old master to his feet.

"We’ll be taking our leave now," Qian Fu said, getting up.

The group walked out of the hall, and the butler came forward to greet them.

Qian Fu started walking toward the main gate alone. He glanced back and saw the other two families splitting off, one heading left and the other right, going their own ways.

"Aren’t they returning to their manors?" Qian Fu asked in confusion.

"Old Master Zhan and Mrs. Zhan stayed here at the manor for a few days before. I suppose they’ve grown accustomed to it."

A thought struck Qian Fu. "Old Master Gu isn’t going back either?"

"And don’t even get me started on Old Master Gu. He practically treats our General’s Mansion as his own home."

"..."

Qian Fu’s chest tightened. The Zhan and Gu families had already taken up residence in the General’s Mansion. As the saying goes, proximity grants the first advantage. ’No matter what,’ he thought, ’we’re not leaving today.’

"Butler, please arrange for two guest rooms," Qian Fanji said.

"Well... I’ll have to ask the General for permission."

"No need. We’ll stay in the same courtyard as Old Master Gu." Qian Fanji knew about Xiang Minghou’s foul temper; it was better not to ask.

"Right! Let’s go, son. We’ll go find Old Master Gu."

The butler could only watch helplessly as the two of them walked away. He let out a sigh. ’The General’s Mansion has certainly been lively lately.’

「Yuehua Small Building」

Ye Qianning had spent the entire afternoon preparing the detoxification serum for Sang Zhi, all while occasionally listening in on the happenings in the main hall. ’A blood-paternity test, is it? Fine, let them do it.’

Even though she already knew the answer, dealing with one family was still better than dealing with three.

’I’m not going to Minister Qian’s Mansion. I feel safest staying here at the General’s Mansion.’

"Young Miss, White Spirit is gone!" Ying Ge said, knocking suddenly on the door.

"That thing loves to eat. Go check the kitchens." Ever since she brought White Spirit back, Ye Qianning hadn’t kept it caged.

"Ying Yuan and I have already searched the entire manor, but there’s no sign of it."

"If you can’t find it, then let it be. It’ll show up on its own when it gets hungry." Ye Qianning wasn’t too concerned.

’That thing is as nimble as a cat and loves to sleep. It probably just dozed off in some nook or cranny.’

"Should we search outside the manor?"

"No need. Just focus on your duties. Don’t let anyone near the General’s Mansion." Ye Qianning capped the porcelain vial in her hand, placed it inside a red sandalwood box, and added, "Give this to Du Ying. Tell him to pass it to Du Yi, and have Du Yi find a way to deliver it to the Eighth Prince."

"Yes, ma’am." Ying Ge took the box and vanished on the spot. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Ye Qianning stood up and stretched, her gaze falling upon the cushion beside the soft couch. For the past two days, White Spirit had stayed in her room, and even when it went out, it only wandered around Yuehua Small Building for a short while.

’It wouldn’t have run away.’

After all, the phrase she had heard most from a pouting White Spirit over the past two days was, "I’m never leaving!"

’To say I wasn’t worried would be a lie. I was a little concerned.’

She walked to the window and looked up at the Honey Sucking Nest.

Just then, the little foul-mouthed honeybird was tidying its nest, its rear end stuck in the air. When it turned to grab a feather, it saw Ye Qianning watching it and excitedly flapped its wings, flying right to the window.

’Little doll, were you looking for me?’

"Mhm. Have you seen White Spirit in the courtyard?"

’A glutton is certainly easy to train,’ she thought. ’It only took half a month to break its swearing habit.’

’I saw it chase a butterfly out of the courtyard this afternoon.’

"Go search the manor for it. If it’s here, don’t disturb it. If it’s not, have your flock search for it." Ye Qianning was also worried that if it had gone outside, someone might skin it and dig out its heart.