Entrusted by Others

"You can't even handle such a simple task!" Evan Xiao frowned.

"The Zhu Estate isn't like our place," Quentin Chin explained. "Those who serve close to the master are almost always born into the family. It's tough for outsiders to get near! He probably acted too hastily—he tried to intercept Prime Minister Zhu at night, but after barely exchanging a few words, Prime Minister Zhu caught him and exposed his identity."

Evan Xiao fell silent, deep in thought.

"Now it's going to be even harder for us to secretly send things to the Zhu Estate!" Steward Qin said.

"If it really doesn't work, I'll go myself tonight!" Evan Xiao said.

"No way! The Zhu Estate is protected by a formation. If you break in, you'll definitely alert them! Then your relationship with the Zhu family will get even more tense."

"Huh? The Zhu Estate actually has a formation?" This was said by Qingluan.

She blurted it out without thinking.

She'd lived in the Zhu Estate for so many years—how did she not know about a protective formation?

Luckily, Evan Xiao and Quentin Chin didn't suspect anything. Quentin Chin replied, "That's right! It's a defensive formation that's been passed down for generations. I only found out by accident."

Qingluan blinked her big eyes, thinking, No wonder nothing ever gets stolen from this place...

"General, Steward Qin, from what you're saying, are you trying to secretly send something to Prime Minister Zhu?" Qingluan asked.

Evan Xiao nodded.

"What are you sending?"

Evan Xiao said, "It's a favor for someone else."

"You and Prime Minister Zhu both serve in court, so you must meet often, right?" Qingluan asked. "Wouldn't it be easy for you to hand him something?"

Evan Xiao shook his head. "Handing him something is easy—the hard part is making sure no one sees! We each have our own duties, and he sees me as an enemy. Honestly, there hasn't been a good opportunity."

Steward Qin sighed, "Exactly! It took a lot of effort to get a guard into the Zhu Estate, but because he acted too rashly, Prime Minister Zhu broke his leg and threw him out."

"That's a lot of trouble..." Qingluan rubbed her chin, her eyes spinning. "How about... I deliver it for you!"

"You?" Evan Xiao and Steward Qin both looked at her.

"That's right! I can sneak into the Zhu Estate!" Qingluan said. "The broker at the Human Tooth Agency already had his eye on me and wanted to recommend me to the Zhu Estate as a maid for the Zhu family's eldest daughter. If I go and plead with the boss now, it shouldn't be a problem."

"No way!" Evan Xiao refused immediately. "It's too dangerous."

"It's just delivering something—how dangerous can it be? Once I'm the maid for the Zhu family's eldest daughter, it'll be easy to get close to Prime Minister Zhu or the old madam."

"I said no, and that's final!"

"General!" Steward Qin perked up. "If Xiaoyu really can become the maid for the Zhu family's eldest daughter... it might be worth a try! As long as she can deliver the item to Prime Minister Zhu or the old madam, she'll actually be safe. Even if her identity is exposed, it doesn't matter."

Evan Xiao frowned.

"General, let me go!" Qingluan said. "Don't you remember I told you my sister Xi'er has a good friend who's also a maid in the Zhu Estate? She can look out for me!"

"You really want to go?" Evan Xiao hesitated.

"Of course! For you, General, Xiaoyu would risk anything!" Qingluan's eyes sparkled with excitement.

Evan Xiao sensed a vibrant, uplifting energy from her.

Maybe she really wanted to do something for him?