Shang Yu caressed the crystal glass, his eyes deep and unfathomable, "What do you think?"
Li Qiao curled the corner of her mouth, lazily giving her answer, "Covering up the truth, a thief’s guilty conscience."
Beyond that, she did not think anything else.
The vast estate’s overnight change in servants was no different from the dynastic changes of ancient empires.
If something major had not occurred, there wouldn’t have been such drastic actions.
Li Qiao slowly relaxed her brows and breathed a sigh of relief, her eyes brimming with mischief as she teased the man, "If you want to know the truth, you’ll need the Archbishop’s help even more."
After all, she still needed to check out the House of Lords to see what clues Jing Yilan had left behind.
"No rush," Shang Yu stroked her head, stood up, and pulled her towards the master bedroom on the third floor.
The next morning, early on, Song Liao and Shen Qingye prepared to head back home.
Shen Qingye came to Li Qiao with hesitation, his head hanging like a giant baby that had made a mistake, "Qi Zai..."
"What do you want to say?" Li Qiao raised her eyebrows, amused in her heart.
Shen Qingye looked up at her, and a second later, shuffled his feet on the lawn with embarrassment, "Well, nothing much, just that I’ve troubled you, and I feel quite bad about it."
Li Qiao really wanted to say that it was good he knew that, but when the words reached her lips, she couldn’t bear to say them.
The incident with Yun Lih entering the estate couldn’t be entirely blamed on him, a small punishment was enough.
Seeing that Li Qiao remained silent, Shen Qingye felt even more uneasy.
His face tense with anxiety, he stepped forward, "I really didn’t expect the client that time to be Brother Lih, and also..."
Before he could finish, Li Qiao lifted her hand to interrupt him, a delicate smile appearing in her eyes, "Alright, it’s all in the past."
Shen Qingye’s voice hitched, and he pursed his lips, turning his face away.
Before long, he and Song Lao Liu left the courtyard in succession.
Li Qiao watched their retreating figures, shook her head and sighed, then turned around to see Xi Luo striding energetically from the main hall.
"Yo, Archbishop’s Wife, you’re up pretty early."
Li Qiao met her gaze, smiling nonchalantly, "You knew his identity all along?"
It wasn’t until last night, when she learned that Shang Yu was the British Imperial Archbishop, that Li Qiao suddenly realized why Xi Luo was so ’obedient’ in front of him.
Everything had a reason.
Xi Luo tugged at the hem of her T-shirt, then innocently spread her hands, "Not that early, I saw him once two or three years ago. But... at that time, I didn’t know he was Shang Shaoyan, the South Sea merchant."
Li Qiao gave her a cool look, devoid of emotion, and turned to enter the house.
Seeing this, Xi Luo stretched out her hand to block Li Qiao’s path, teasing with a smile, "Your Archbishop is my direct superior; he hasn’t spoken, how dare I reveal his identity without permission? Besides, sister, my heart is still with you. Go put on a coat; I’ll take you out shopping."
"I’m not going," Li Qiao refused bluntly. What was there to browse on this broken street?
Xi Luo narrowed her eyes and gently patted her on the forehead, "You can’t refuse; after all, she’s a princess, shouldn’t you show a little courtesy?"
Li Qiao paused in her step, "Margaret?"
About twenty minutes later, behind the screen on the second floor of the private tea room, Princess Margaret was sipping tea elegantly and gracefully.
Li Qiao’s pace was unhurried as she gave a cursory glance around. Xi Luo nudged her and said, "Come on, let me show you what double-dealing looks like."
Are they really best friends? Are you sure they’re not enemies?
Xi Luo grabbed her wrist and walked over; the golden-haired, blue-eyed Princess Margaret also saw the two approaching.
The next second, perfectly accented Mandarin came out of her mouth, "I’ve been waiting for you girls for five minutes!"