Chapter 309
Chapter 309
"What are you doing?" Qing Chuan's angry shout rang out.
Qing Chuan had not expected that upon arriving at the Zhou residence, the first thing he would see was the lady of the Zhou family having Moyu and Ru Feng beaten with boards.
"Madam Zhou, even if the servants of our Prince An's Estate have done something wrong, any punishment should be meted out by our estate!" Qing Chuan stepped forward, quickly kicking aside the servants who were administering the beating.
He then glared with an imposing aura at Lady Qin, who was sitting there.
"And who are you? You even dare to interfere in the affairs of the Zhou family?" Lady Qin was a bit annoyed. When she saw Xu Qingshi arrive, he had only brought three servants. Why was it that one kept popping out after another?
Could it be that Xu Qingshi wanted to move all the servants of Prince An's Estate into the Zhou family?
The Zhou family could not afford to feed so many mouths.
At this thought, Lady Qin shot him a cold glare.
"Qing Chuan, this wicked woman wants to bully the Heir, refusing to give him any food," Moyu said through gritted teeth.
"They also made the Heir live in a dilapidated courtyard and gave him nothing," Ru Feng also said, gritting his teeth.
"Madam Zhou, is this the Zhou family's way of treating guests?" Hearing this, Qing Chuan looked at Lady Qin with dissatisfaction and asked.
"I do not know what you are talking about. Prince An personally agreed that from now on, Qingshi is a child of our Zhou family, and even his surname can be changed to Zhou. Why should Prince An interfere when I discipline my own disobedient child?" Lady Qin was taken aback at first, but then she realized that this servant must be trying to bluff her.
If Xu Heming really cared about Xu Qingshi, how could he have told her husband to change that little brat's surname to Zhou?
Hearing this, Qing Chuan's expression turned grim. He did not understand what Prince An was planning, but he knew very well that his prince definitely did not genuinely want to send the Heir to the Zhou family.
Perhaps there was something in the Zhou family that the prince wanted to resolve.
However, they had only been here for half a day, and this Madam Zhou had already beaten and injured Moyu and Ru Feng.
If the Heir really stayed in the Zhou family for a few more days, Qing Chuan had reason to suspect that the next one to be injured would definitely be Xu Qingshi.
"Wasn't it because Eldest Master Zhou kept saying how much he missed the child that my prince allowed the Heir to come over and keep you company for a few days?" Qing Chuan actually did not know exactly what Xu Heming had said at the time.
But he felt that it was impossible for the prince to truly abandon the Heir and give him away to the Zhou family.
Hearing this, Lady Qin's expression soured. She inwardly cursed Zhou Changfeng. Their own son was by his side every day, yet he never seemed to care much. But he missed this child left behind by his early-deceased elder sister so dearly.
"Qing Chuan, do not worry about us. Qingyuan has already gone to take the Heir away. Go and check, whatever you do, do not let the Heir fall into the hands of this venomous woman," Moyu said weakly, tugging at the hem of Qing Chuan's clothes.
"You guys keep watch here," Qing Chuan ordered, and several guards immediately stood by Moyu's side.
Qing Chuan often ran errands for Xu Heming and was accustomed to bringing a few men with him when going out.
Today, he had conveniently brought some men along. Otherwise, encountering this situation, he would not have been able to handle everything at once.
"Qing Chuan, the Heir is in the Tingyun Courtyard." After saying this, Moyu completely passed out.
Qing Chuan could not bother with anything else; after all, he was ordered to come and check on the Heir.
Absolutely nothing could be allowed to happen to the Heir.
By the time Qing Chuan rushed to the Tingyun Courtyard, he was stunned. The area was overgrown with weeds. Even though it had been somewhat cleared up over the past few days, one could still imagine what it looked like before the cleanup.
The house itself was even more dilapidated, with the roof beams looking as if they might collapse at any moment.
The wind blew against the broken windows, making them creak loudly.
The Zhou family actually made the Heir live in a courtyard like this?
If Moyu had not said it, Qing Chuan would not have dared to believe that the Zhou family's way of treating guests was like this.
"Heir?" Worried that something had happened to Xu Qingshi, Qing Chuan quickly shouted toward the house.
But at this moment, the house was completely empty.
Xu Qingshi was gone?
Did Qingyuan take him away?
Or had he been hidden away by the Zhou family?
"Heir?" Qing Chuan was still uneasy and searched through every room again. Unfortunately, the courtyard was simply too ruined; it was impossible for anyone to be there.
In the end, Qing Chuan had no choice but to return to the front hall where Moyu was earlier.
"Where is my Heir?" Qing Chuan looked at Lady Qin and asked coldly.
"How should I know where your Heir is? You dumped him at our Zhou family without a word, and you never said we had to babysit him for you." Lady Qin was extremely displeased at this moment. It was bad enough that these people had trespassed.
And now they were throwing their weight around in front of her, making it seem as if she, the First Madam, had no prestige at all.
How was she supposed to establish her footing in the Zhou family from now on?
"You better hand over my Heir, or else I would not mind turning your entire Zhou family upside down!" Qing Chuan angrily drew the sword at his waist, pressed it against Lady Qin's neck, and threatened.
"I do not know!" Only then did Lady Qin feel some fear that Qing Chuan's sword might actually slit her throat.
"You better think carefully before answering my question," Qing Chuan said with a warning tone.
"Sister-in-law, what are you making a fuss about now?" Zhou Yuying, who had just returned from outside, saw a crowd gathered from afar and guessed that it must be Lady Qin trying to assert her dominance again.
She really could not understand why this woman endlessly needed to assert her authority all day long.
And to make matters worse, she did it as if she was afraid others would not notice.
Zhou Changfeng had not yet had the chance to tell Zhou Yuying to get closer to Xu Qingshi. At this time, Zhou Yuying had just come back from an outing with her close friends.
"Who are you to dare run wild in our Zhou family?" When Zhou Yuying drew closer and saw a sword pressed against Lady Qin's neck, she was startled and quickly scolded.
"I should be the one asking, on what grounds does your Zhou family make our Heir live in a dilapidated place like the Tingyun Courtyard? Is your Zhou family so poor that you cannot even spare a slightly decent guest courtyard?" Qing Chuan said sarcastically.
"Qingshi is here?" Zhou Yuying had not expected that Xu Qingshi would still be willing to come to the Zhou family.
It should be known that she had previously thought of many ways to enter Prince An's Estate but was always denied entry.
She also had no way to orchestrate any chance encounters with Prince An anymore.
But today, Xu Qingshi had actually come from Prince An's Estate; how could this not surprise her?
"First Madam Zhou, where did you hide my Heir? You had better tell the truth," Qing Chuan asked again, looking coldly at Lady Qin.
"If he is not in the Tingyun Courtyard, how would I know where he went?" Lady Qin was in a foul mood at the moment. Although she had just sent people to look for Xu Qingshi, had they not reported back that they could not find him?
Xu Qingshi must have left with that person from earlier.
Thinking of this, Lady Qin simply turned her face away, no longer looking at Qing Chuan or Zhou Yuying beside him.
"Sister-in-law, where did you hide Qingshi? Hurry up and let him out," Zhou Yuying said directly to Lady Qin upon hearing this.