With Multiple Babies, Who Still Wants to Be the Marquess’s Wife? - Chapter 45

Chapter 45 — Has He Really Liked Her for So Long?

The reason was simple — Lan Qingxi knew the woman standing before her.

To be precise, she didn’t just know her — they had once depended on each other for a long time.

In her previous life, after Li Qiu died, Madam Zheng had assigned a few servant girls to her. At that time, Lan Qingxi had already been drowning in grief, and those maids would constantly praise Yu Junshu and Madam Zheng. In her despair, she ended up devoting everything she had to Yu Junshu.

By the time she realized something was wrong, it was already too late.

It was during that period that she met Fei Shuang. With Fei Shuang protecting her, she had managed to fight against Yu Junshu for a while.

But then trouble struck the Lan family. She was powerless on her own, and despite exhausting every effort, she failed to save the Lan household. In desperation, she sent Fei Shuang away to rescue her young brother.

After Fei Shuang left, Lan Qingxi fell gravely ill and eventually died miserably within the Marquis’s manor.

So now, her strong reaction upon seeing Fei Shuang was because — back then, it was she who had saved Fei Shuang by sheer chance.

Because of that life-debt, the two shared a bond forged through danger and survival. Lan Qingxi had trusted her completely, and Fei Shuang had never let her down — loyal to the very end.

Lan Qingxi had never once doubted Fei Shuang’s identity… yet now, she discovered that Fei Shuang was actually Song Linyuan’s person!

Thinking of that strange, indecent dream again, a swirl of emotions rose within her chest.

Song Linyuan noticed her expression and asked, “What kind of face is that supposed to be?”

Lan Qingxi’s mind was a mess. She forced herself to suppress her emotions and squeezed out a smile. “It’s… the face of being moved.”

Song Linyuan gave her a sidelong glance.

She continued quickly, “I truly didn’t expect the Prime Minister to treat me so well — to act so thoughtfully on my behalf, offering help in my hour of need. I’m deeply grateful.”

Song Linyuan let out a quiet, skeptical hum — clearly not believing a word she said.

He then turned to Fei Shuang. “From now on, you’ll follow her. Protect her well. If anything happens to her, you’ll answer to me.”

Fei Shuang bowed her head. “Please rest assured, my lord. I will protect Miss Lan with my life.”

Song Linyuan crooked a finger at Feng Shuying, who obediently walked over and stood beside him. “Does my lord have any other instructions?” she asked sweetly.

Song Linyuan’s tone carried a faint smile. “Fei Shuang is the person I placed by your side to keep watch over you. Don’t even think about playing tricks.”

Lan Qingxi chuckled lightly. “The Prime Minister really loves to joke. How could you possibly send someone to spy on me? Clearly, you’ve sent Miss Fei Shuang to protect me.”

Song Linyuan replied evenly, “As long as you understand.”

With that, he turned and walked away — hands clasped behind his back, his long sleeves swaying together. His tall, slender figure was as graceful as bamboo, his entire presence warm and refined like polished jade.

Lan Qingxi didn’t know why, but from his retreating back, she somehow felt he was silently saying four words: ‘You’re ungrateful.’

Her lips curved faintly, and for the first time, a genuine smile reached her eyes.

After spending the day dealing with him, she realized — he wasn’t quite as terrifying as she had imagined.

She turned to Fei Shuang and said, “Let’s go.”

Fei Shuang obeyed, but on the way out of the manor, she kept sneaking curious glances at Lan Qingxi.

Lan Qingxi didn’t stop her. Outwardly she was calm, but inside, waves churned.

Fei Shuang’s reappearance had stirred up many details from her past life that she’d never paid attention to before.

Once they got into the carriage, Lan Qingxi asked, “How long have you been serving by the Prime Minister’s side?”

Fei Shuang answered, “I don’t know. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been with him.”

Lan Qingxi continued, “If the Prime Minister hadn’t ordered it, would you ever follow someone else and protect them instead?”

Fei Shuang gave her a look as if she were an idiot. “My life belongs to the Prime Minister. I will only ever obey his orders.”

“If he hadn’t given me permission, how could I possibly be here to protect you?”

Lan Qingxi stared at her, listening to her words, and for a long moment, her heart filled with a mix of emotions she couldn’t name.

So, the Fei Shuang from her previous life must have been sent by Song Linyuan as well.

In order to gain her trust, he even created an entirely new identity for Fei Shuang and found a perfect way for them to get close to each other.

But no matter how hard she tried, Lan Qingxi just couldn’t remember what kind of connection she had with Song Linyuan in her past life that would make him go to such lengths for her.

Her mind was a little tangled.

Seeing her expression, Fei Shuang said, “You don’t have to be so uneasy. Although I was sent by the Prime Minister, I was sent to protect you.”

“As long as you don’t do anything that harms the Prime Minister, I won’t take action against you.”

Fei Shuang could feel Lan Qingxi’s emotions. She thought Lan Qingxi’s reaction was a bit too intense — after all, when it came to something arranged by Song Linyuan, Lan Qingxi had no other choice but to accept it.

Moreover, this time, Song Linyuan’s order was only to protect Lan Qingxi, with no ill intent.

Lan Qingxi spoke softly, “I know. How could you ever harm me?”

Fei Shuang glanced at her curiously but didn’t say anything.

Lan Qingxi smiled faintly. Just then, the carriage passed by a marketplace, and she heard a peddler calling out, “Flower cakes! Fragrant and sweet flower cakes!”

Lan Qingxi immediately asked the coachman to stop the carriage. She hopped down and bought two packs of flower cakes.

When she got back on the carriage, she handed one pack to Fei Shuang.

In a gentle tone, she said, “I haven’t had lunch yet, so I’m a bit hungry. One for each of us.”

Fei Shuang glanced at her, didn’t bother being polite, picked up a flower cake, and took a bite — her eyes lit up instantly.

Lan Qingxi’s lips curved slightly when she saw her expression.

At that moment, she became certain — the Fei Shuang before her was still the same Fei Shuang who had once relied on her and lived by her side in their past life.

Although this time, Fei Shuang had appeared earlier and under different circumstances, that didn’t matter. What mattered was that Fei Shuang was still Fei Shuang.

She knew Fei Shuang well — despite her cold exterior, she had a kind heart.

By the time they arrived at the Marquis’s residence, Lan Qingxi’s packet of flower cakes was still half full, but Fei Shuang had already finished hers.

Because of this small sharing of flower cakes, Fei Shuang found that this beautiful yet emotionally unstable woman didn’t seem so difficult to get along with after all.

As soon as they entered the Marquis’s estate, Madam Zhang came up and said, “Young Madam, the Madam requests your presence.”

Lan Qingxi was already used to this — every time she went out, Madam Zheng would summon her upon her return.

So she took Fei Shuang along to see Madam Zheng.

After being enraged by Concubine Qin and the Marquis last time,Madam Zheng had been bedridden for several days before finally feeling better.

When she saw the unfamiliar face beside Lan Qingxi, she didn’t think much of it.

She said coldly, “Out again all day? Running around outside all the time — what kind of proper behavior is that?”

Lan Qingxi replied calmly, “It wasn’t that I wanted to go out. The Prime Minister summoned me.”

“If Mother doesn’t wish for me to see him, you may voice your objection to the Prime Minister yourself.”

Madam Zheng: “…”

Even if she had ten times her courage, she wouldn’t dare provoke Song Linyuan.

However, ever since Yu Junshu had sent Lan Qingxi to Song Linyuan, the Prime Minister had indeed been seeing her rather frequently.

On one hand, this meant Song Linyuan was very satisfied with Lan Qingxi — which was a good thing.

But on the other hand, Lan Qingxi’s frequent visits to the Prime Minister’s residence were bound to be noticed by others… and if rumors spread, it would be Yu Junshu’s reputation that suffered.