Xie Zhaofan looked up.
“A month?”
“What, you have a problem with that?”
“No, no.”
She shook her head hurriedly, agreeing quite readily.
“Your daughter will certainly reflect on her actions properly.”
Xie Chongshan was actually taken aback. She agreed that easily?
During her last confinement, this girl had caused so much unrest that the entire Prime Minister’s residence knew no peace. One day she complained the food was bad, the next she complained the flowers in the courtyard were ugly, and he had even heard she gave a mammy in the kitchen a beating. She had tossed the entire residence into a headache.
How could she be so well-behaved this time?
Xie Chongshan stared at her suspiciously, sensing that something wasn't quite right.
“Are you truly willing to be confined?”
“Father is right, so your daughter will naturally be obedient.”
Xie Zhaofan nodded demurely, but in her heart, she was already calculating another account.
It was just confinement, not being locked in the Imperial Prison.
With her current physical attributes, let alone the walls of the Prime Minister’s residence, she could easily scale them even if they were two or three zhang higher.
Furthermore, she had already basically figured out the skill level of the estate guards. There were only a few patrol shifts during the day.
At night, it was even more full of holes. If they wanted to defend against ordinary petty thieves, they might be sufficient, but wanting to stop someone like her, who possessed Strength and Agility far exceeding ordinary people, was essentially a pipe dream.
Things were different now. The old Xie Zhaofan might have been afraid of confinement, but the current her didn't take those two words to heart at all.
On the surface, she just had to be obedient; as for whether they could actually keep her trapped, that was another story.
Madam Shen, seeing the father and daughter finish their conversation, also took Xie Zhaofan’s hand and began to instruct her carefully.
“Zhaozhao, you must never be so impulsive again. It’s fine to go out and play, but don’t always get into conflicts with others, and especially don’t use your status to stir up trouble. People in the jianghu have all sorts of temperaments. If you truly run into someone fierce, you’re the one who will suffer.”
Madam Shen’s face was full of worry as she spoke. What she and Xie Chongshan worried about were actually completely different things.
Xie Chongshan considered the reputation of the Prime Minister’s residence and the impact on the imperial court more, while Madam Shen was most worried about the safety of her two daughters, especially regarding Prince Qin.
She had never had a good impression of Prince Qin and instinctively didn't want her daughters to have too much contact with him.
Whether it was Jinyi or Zhaozhao, they were the same in her eyes.
No matter how noble Prince Qin’s status or how overwhelming his power, he was a figure standing at the eye of the storm. If one stayed too close to such a person, no one knew what kind of disaster would be invited in the future.
“Mother, don’t worry, your daughter will definitely be careful in the future.”
Xie Zhaofan blinked, making a serious guarantee.
Seeing her agree so obediently, Madam Shen’s heart softened even more. She couldn't help but reach out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind the girl’s ear.
“You, you’re just quick to agree with your mouth.”
Xie Zhaofan immediately flashed a sweet smile.
“Your daughter truly knows she was wrong.”
Seeing this well-behaved appearance, how could Madam Shen bring herself to continue scolding her? She could only sigh helplessly.
When Xie Zhaofan finally returned from the front courtyard, the well-behaved look on her face vanished completely without a trace.
So what if she got a scolding from her parents?
She was an adult who had survived the multiple refinements of modern society—the 996 grind, client revisions, and the boss’s empty promises. She had at least that much psychological fortitude.
If it truly came down to the thickness of one’s skin, she felt she could even rank in the top three in the Prime Minister’s residence.
Returning to her small courtyard, she leaned directly back into a lounge chair. She reached out to pick up some sliced seasonal fruit and basked in the sun while eating leisurely.
“Miss, I told you not to go around smashing things. Now look what happened—you’ve been confined by the Prime Minister again.”
Chunxing stood by her side, sighing with a look of disappointment.
Although she and Xiahe had experienced many scares while following their young miss lately, she had to admit that their lives were indeed becoming more comfortable.
In the past, when the young miss was unhappy in the residence, they, as maids, also had to be cautious, fearing that a single wrong word would make her upset.
But since the young miss’s personality changed, the food they ate got better and better, they could follow her out to shop and eat, and occasionally buy some fresh novelties.
Now that she was suddenly confined for a month, the first thing Chunxing thought of was whether her good days were about to end again.
“Confinement is just confinement.”
Xie Zhaofan took a bite of the crisp, sweet fruit, her expression as relaxed as if she were talking about the nice weather.
“Why would I be afraid of that old geezer?”
Chunxing and Xiahe were both stunned at the same time.
Old geezer?
The two looked at each other, neither understanding what the term meant. But for some reason, they felt that it didn't sound like a good word.
Especially with the nonchalant way the young miss said it, she looked like she was secretly cursing the Prime Minister.
Neither of them dared to pick up that conversation and could only silently bow their heads, pretending they hadn't heard a thing.
Xie Zhaofan didn't bother to explain either, continuing to eat her fruit comfortably.
She was now a woman with twenty-four points of Strength. Let alone being confined for a month, even if she were locked up here for a year, she had plenty of ways to make her life comfortable.
However, thoughts were one thing, but some preparations still had to be made in advance.
“Chunxing.”
“Miss?”
Xie Zhaofan beckoned her over.
“Come here, I want you to do something for me.”
Chunxing approached in confusion. Xie Zhaofan glanced around to confirm no one else was nearby before leaning close to her ear and whispering a few instructions.
As Chunxing listened, her eyes grew wider and wider, until finally, her face was full of disbelief.
“Miss, you're...”
“Shh.”
Xie Zhaofan raised a hand to signal for silence, then looked at her with a beaming smile.
“Don’t worry about so much, just do as I say. Remember to be sharp and don’t let anyone notice.”
“But...”
Chunxing still felt it was inappropriate.
“Miss, maybe we should just stay honestly in the residence. You were just confined by the Prime Minister; if you're caught sneaking out again, I feel it won't be as simple as just one month this time.”
Xie Zhaofan glanced at her.
“Chunxing, you’ve grown quite bold now, haven’t you? You even dare to ignore my words?”
That one glance immediately made Chunxing wither.
How could she dare?
Her young miss still looked delicate, but when it came to strength, she tossed that hundred-jin stone lock in the courtyard around like a toy. If she truly angered the young miss, her small frame wouldn't be able to handle the tossing.
Left with no choice, Chunxing could only take the silver with a bitter face and sneak out of the residence.
Fortunately, although the Prime Minister’s residence had confined the young miss, it hadn't restricted the movements of the servants. As long as she was careful, it wasn't hard to manage.
After going out, she bought the items according to the young miss’s instructions. On her way back, she ran into several familiar servants. Seeing her carrying a small cloth bundle, one of them asked with a smile.
“Chunxing, what did you buy?”
Chunxing’s heart tightened, but she forced a calm expression onto her face.
“Nothing much, just some miscellaneous items.”
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