"No available rooms? The servants' quarters?!" Feng Lan repeated in genuine surprise, her brow furrowing deeply as she processed the absurd situation.
"Yes, Madam. All of the functional guest rooms in the main house were already occupied or being used for other specific purposes." Butler Jun explained calmly, keeping his professional composure intact.
"The servants' quarters? Good. Honestly, it suits her country bumpkin status perfectly." Jiang Chinan cut in with a harsh, mocking laugh before continuing thoughtlessly. "Why don't we just let her stay over there permanently? It would be much better for everyone involved in the household. That way, Butler Jun would not have to waste any of his precious time preparing a proper luxury room for her here in the main house."
A troubled, incredibly uncomfortable expression immediately appeared on Butler Jun's face upon hearing the young master's blatant disrespect toward his own flesh and blood.
"Chinan, you absolutely cannot do something like that. If word ever gets out in high society that the Jiang family's real biological daughter returned home only to be placed in the servants' quarters, people will definitely start spreading awful, malicious rumours. We cannot allow a petty scandal like that to damage our family's pristine reputation." Jiang Yanna chimed in right on cue after hearing the conversation, her tone filled with apparent concern and sisterly love.
"Anyway, let's just go over and check on her condition first." Feng Lan stated, waving her hand dismissively to cut off the discussion before it escalated any further.
Butler Jun hesitated slightly, remaining completely rooted to the spot, looking visibly anxious.
"Butler Jun, what are you doing just standing there? Lead the way." Feng Lan instructed, noticing his sudden and unusual reluctance to move.
"Madam... Miss Qiao is actually not in her assigned room right now." Butler Jun said, letting out a quiet, defeated sigh.
"What do you mean by that? She still has not come back from her morning exercise yet?" Feng Lan asked, her voice tinged with irritation as she naturally assumed that Qiao Meixia had simply gone out for a run just as she had done the previous day.
"No, Madam. Miss Qiao actually left the estate entirely early this morning. I do not know where she went. She did not bother to inform me or anyone else of her destination before leaving." Butler Jun answered honestly, bracing himself for the reaction.
The very moment those words left his mouth, a sudden, suffocating silence fell over the dining room, and everyone present froze completely in place.
"Who exactly came to pick her up?" Feng Lan asked immediately, her maternal suspicion flaring up.
"I believe Miss Qiao called a standard taxi to pick her up from the front gates." Butler Jun replied, recalling the plain vehicle that had whisked her away.
"Just where on earth did this wretched girl go without permission?" Feng Lan muttered under her breath, her irritation mounting by the second.
Jiang Yanna overheard those harsh words and could not help but smirk triumphantly inwardly. 'Qiao Meixia, your own biological mother even refers to you as a wretched girl. How incredibly pitiful. Too bad you were not standing right here to hear it for yourself.'
"Mom, I really don't think we need to worry ourselves so much over this." Jiang Yanna said sweetly, stepping closer and gently patting Feng Lan's hand to soothe her nerves.
"If she is gone, then..." Feng Lan began to voice her rising panic, but Jiang Yanna smoothly interrupted before she could finish the sentence.
"Mom, think about it. She has absolutely nowhere else to go in this massive city. She is definitely going to come back to us sooner or later. Not to mention, she does not have a single penny to her name." Jiang Yanna said reassuringly, her voice dripping with confidence.
"Yes, you are entirely right, Yanna. If she actually had any money of her own, she would not have desperately asked for the consequences of her old laptop and those few personal belongings yesterday." Feng Lan agreed, nodding along eagerly with Jiang Yanna's seemingly logical reasoning.
***This novel is a work with w e b n o v e l. c o m. If it is not read this novel on w e b n o v e l. c o m, then it has been stolen. Thank you, from your shameless author, ZerahNeko***