Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Leaving the Waterside Pavilion Corridor, I hurried toward the small courtyard where Yuan Heng resided.

Rather than letting Cheng Wei embellish the story to him, it was better for me to take the initiative and confess.

In any case, Yuan Heng still needed my face; he wouldn’t do anything to me yet.

I paced outside the courtyard, waiting. As soon as Cheng Wei showed his face, I would head inside first.

I waited for an hour in a state of anxious agitation, but to my surprise, Cheng Wei never appeared. Instead, I ended up alerting Yuan Heng.

Left with no choice, I could only put on a tearful, coquettish act, saying that because of this illness, I hadn’t seen him in so long and missed him dearly.

Yuan Heng put on a show of coaxing me for a long while before sending me back to my bedroom, promising that he would move back in as soon as my rash improved.

After Yuan Heng left, I still couldn’t set my mind at ease.

Cuinong had returned to her own home tonight, so I sent Ying’er to the second gate to ask the servants there for news.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

In truth, I had been a bit reckless during my conversation with Cheng Wei tonight; I had taken a gamble.

That man was ruthless and cold-blooded, a blade that only answered to Yuan Heng.

But I remembered back in the Dungeon in my previous life, when Yuan Heng had turned on him, forcing him to kneel and prove his loyalty.

I had clearly seen the flash of hatred in Cheng Wei’s eyes.

So I guessed that Cheng Wei had long been dissatisfied with Yuan Heng. But even if he was disgruntled, he had offended so many people on his way up that he still had to rely on Yuan Heng’s power.

Now I was truly in a mess. Would he tell Yuan Heng about the matter with Hongyu after all?

The more I thought about it, the more anxious and irritable I became. I couldn’t sleep all night.

The next morning, after breakfast, Cuinong returned.

“Old Li went to the Han Family last night. No matter how much silver he offered, they refused to sell.”

Cuinong helped me sit down in a chair and shook her head. “By the end of it, Han Sicheng’s temper flared up too. He said he was going to find Master Ye at your family home to demand an explanation-how could a daughter marry into a high-ranking household and then turn around to bully her neighbors?”

I waved my hand. “Forget it, forget it. This is indeed asking too much of people. Let’s look for another house.”

Just as I spoke, Ying’er came in to report that Meng Huaiqing had arrived to check my pulse.

…

White sandalwood burned in the Boshan Incense Burner, its fragrance mild and warm.

With one hand propping up my chin, I extended the other for Meng Huaiqing to take my pulse, staring blankly at the greyish-white smoke curling above the burner.

Meng Huaiqing looked at me with concern. “Your pulse is somewhat erratic. Your liver qi is stagnant, and you are overthinking.”

I pulled my hand back and said flatly, “I didn’t sleep well last night.”

Meng Huaiqing fell silent for a moment, looking as if he wanted to say something several times.

Irritated, I asked, “What is it you want to say?”

Meng Huaiqing lowered his eyes. “I know I shouldn’t trouble you further at a time like this, but something is very strange. In our previous life, Cheng Wei didn’t like you very much; one might even say he was hostile. Likely to avoid suspicion, he never mentioned a single word about you. But last night, he sought me out for a drink and suddenly brought you up.”

My scalp instantly tightened. “What did he say?”

Meng Huaiqing frowned. “He only said one thing: ‘This Ye Qingqiu is quite interesting.’ He is an extremely suspicious man. I was afraid he’d noticed something, so I didn’t dare ask more. Qing Qiu, what exactly did he mean by that? Your unstable pulse-does it have something to do with him?”

I hummed in affirmation. “He found out that Cuinong and I killed Hongyu.”

“What?”

Meng Huaiqing stood up abruptly, clearly very tense. He paced back and forth with his head down. “We have to flee immediately! If he tells the Marquis about this, knowing the Marquis as I do, he will certainly think you are being unruly and will imprison you at once!”

I rolled my eyes at him. “If you want to leave, then leave. I’m not going.”

Meng Huaiqing was so anxious that the veins on his forehead were bulging. “You’ve experienced the ruthlessness of Cheng Wei and the Marquis yourself. I understand you have hatred in your heart and want to stay for revenge, but you are simply no match for them!”

He took a deep breath and crouched by my legs, trying to persuade me. “The rash on your face is already showing signs of recovery. In another two months, my hand will also recover. At that time, you will surely die. Why throw your life away here? It’s too foolish!”

I glanced at him. “Aren’t you a Divine Physician? Didn’t you keep saying you wanted to save me? Fine. Go and poison those two beasts to death. Then I won’t have to leave, and I won’t have to die.”

Meng Huaiqing was choked into silence for a long while.

I sneered. “You don’t dare? Then stop talking that useless bullshit!”

The man’s handsome face flushed red. Just as he was about to say something else, a sound came from outside.

It seemed Cuinong had opened the door and was speaking with Ying’er.

A moment later, Cuinong lifted the curtain and entered the inner room.

Meng Huaiqing stood up, cleared his throat behind his hand, and silently packed his medicine box.

I asked with a smile, “What is it?”

Cuinong handed me a wax-sealed envelope with both hands. “Old Li just sent word. He said Han Sicheng suddenly agreed to sell the house after all.”

I smiled. “Now that is surprising.”

With that, I tore open the letter to read. Unbeknownst to me, Meng Huaiqing had moved to stand behind me.

Steward Li wrote that Cheng Wei had visited the Han Family last night and persuaded Han Sicheng.

Three years ago, the Prince Zhao rebellion case had far-reaching consequences. Han Sicheng’s elderly father had taught the Rebel Prince for a few months over a decade ago and had been arrested and imprisoned.

Seeing that the old man was aged, Cheng Wei had released him after an investigation showed he had no real involvement.

To Cheng Wei, it might have been a minor gesture, but to the Han Family, it was an immense favor.

Therefore, as soon as Cheng Wei spoke, Han Sicheng immediately agreed to sell the house.

At the same time, Steward Li wrote that he would go to the Han Family this morning to discuss the price and would help Han Sicheng find another good place to live as quickly as possible.

After reading it, I suddenly felt like there were thorns in my back.

Looking back, I saw Meng Huaiqing’s expression was grim. He asked frostily, “Why would a man like him suddenly help you?”

I smiled. “Oh, he probably thinks I’m ‘quite interesting.'”

Meng Huaiqing was momentarily speechless. He asked with a mix of interrogation and confusion, “Between the two of you… could it be that something happened that I don’t know about?”

I crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it into the charcoal brazier. “What does it have to do with you?”