Chapter 26: Interrogation 2

  Yingying was overjoyed, almost to the point of dancing with joy. These days, she had been very dissatisfied with Hu Zhongren's opinions, of course, because she doted on Xiaolian and neglected her own daughter. The Hu family was wealthy and influential, and it was common for men to have multiple wives and concubines. However, shouldn't the husband also care about his wife? Especially when the wife was the legitimate daughter, where was her status? How could he only focus on having fun with his concubine and ignore his wife who was still ill? Especially now that his wife had lost her memory and was living in her own fantasy world, it was truly pitiful. Miss Hu had traveled far and wide, humbly marrying this iron club Li, especially after hearing many negative comments about Hu Zhongren in the Hu household, which deepened her disdain for him in her heart. Now, Hu Zhongren was furious because his wife had almost drowned, showing that he still cared about her. Women considered their husbands to be heaven, and Miss Hu was often bullied by Madame Liu at home. If she encountered more misfortune, wouldn't it be too tragic? As for herself, following Miss Hu would not bring her any glory either. Now, everything was fine as long as the big flag of "husband" was waving above their heads, who would dare to act arrogant and domineering in front of them?

  Thinking this way, the dissatisfaction and resentment towards Hu Zhongren disappeared instantly, replaced by a heart full of gratitude. She was even willing to work hard for her master's sake. She wasn't afraid of Hu Zhongren being strict with her, but she was afraid he wouldn't be good to Miss. Now seeing Hu Zhongren care about Liu Qingqing so much, she was overjoyed and smiled happily as she nodded in agreement and said "yes". As she walked away, Hu Zhongren was left a bit confused, but after some thought, he quickly understood and couldn't help but secretly laugh: "This little girl is indeed loyal to her master."

  Before long, Xiaolian brought a bowl of hot ginger soup to the Yangsheng Hall and saw Hu Shao sitting in the east house reading "Xie Du". His face was normal, but he still showed a hint of joy. Knowing that the storm had passed, just like the heavy rain outside, it would soon dissipate, so she also put down her heart and became bolder, walking forward and saying: "I made ginger soup for Madame Jiuxi, do you want to have a bowl, Hu Shao?"

  He glanced at her with a few points of approval, "Go and serve the Ninth Lady, take good care of her, it's more important than anything else." The words seemed to have an implied meaning in Xiaolian's ears, reminding herself to be respectful to the Ninth Lady and not forget her own identity. This glance made Xiaolian feel both proud and terrified, she hastily said "Xiaolian understands, Xiaolian will remember Master Hu's instructions." Master Hu waved his hand and continued reading his book, his ears perked up unintentionally, listening to the movements in the study.

  Xiao Lian carefully carried the ginger soup and came to Liu Qingqing's front: "Madam, you've had a shock, drink it while it's hot!" As she spoke, her eyes blinked at Liu Qingqing, hinting that Hu Shao was outside. Liu Qingqing understood and quickly picked up the bowl, taking a few sips. She had indeed been in the lake for half a day, getting chilled and tired, not just pretending to put on a show. The water monster was skilled and vicious; if Liu Qingqing hadn't also been an expert at handling water from her time in rivers and seas, she wouldn't have been able to outdo it. If Yang Liuqing hadn't arrived in time today, Liu Qingqing might have really lost her life at the bottom of the lake.

  Liu Qingqing first said it was delicious, and after drinking the soup, she repeatedly praised how good it tasted. Xiao Lian said: "Do you want me to go get another bowl for you?"

  "I'm full, I just drank a lot and will take a good nap soon. Rainy days are for sleeping, this is the best life." These words were what Liu Qingqing would say in modern times when she was lazy and didn't want to go to school, using it as a good excuse. Although she doesn't remember modern times now, her behavior has become completely modernized.

  "Alright, you rest for a while, Hu Shao is also very tired today because of you. Hu Zhong rushed to deliver the message on horseback and scared Hu Shao half to death. He galloped his horse and whipped it to hurry to the mountain villa, and all the herbs in the carriage were thrown away halfway."

  "That's it? How can I bear the shame? Let's go get it back." Liu Qingqing heard this and stood up, ready to head out.

  "It's no use, with such a heavy rain, the herbs have been washed away and are now useless. What a pity for these herbs, they were extremely precious, it took us five years to collect them, and this time, for the sake of Ninth Lady, we can only give up on them. These were what we obtained after exhausting ourselves in South Mountain."

  Liu Qingqing asked after hearing: "Nan Shan, is it far? Can we go get some more?"

  Xiao Lian said: "Don't joke around, even if we go to the South Mountain, they won't be able to convince them, and they won't give us anything."

  "Who are they?" Qingqing thought, indeed some medicinal materials were very precious, but Red Cui Mountain Villa was a famous medicinal field, did they still need to go to Nan Shan to fetch them? "Our mountain has many medicinal herbs, why do we still need to go outside to get them?" Qingqing wondered. The mountain range was not small, the height was not low, where else would they need to go to get medicinal herbs?

  Xiao Lian was just about to respond when he heard someone outside say, "Xiao Lian, tell Ninth Madame not to worry, Hu Zhong has already brought the medicinal herbs back. Tell her to rest well, and you come with me to Feng Qi Lou."

  Xiao Lian responded with a "yes" and asked Liu Qingqing, "Madam Ninth, are you sleeping in this study or going to the east wing to sleep? I saw you and Yingying sharing a bed in the east wing yesterday."

  Liu Qingqing smiled and said: "It's hard to sleep alone, you have Hu Shao accompanying you by your side, the mandarin duck quilt is warm, of course it's a good length, I can only sleep with Yingying, longing for plum blossoms."

  Xiao Lian listened to Liu Qingqing's words and knelt down with a thud: "If Ninth Madame says so, Xiao Lian is ashamed. Xiao Lian will never dare to betray Ninth Madame's kindness in saving her life, and begs Madame to persuade Hu Shao not to let Xiao Lian attend to him at night again."

  "Come on, stop it! I was just joking. I don't even remember that Hu Shao is my husband, you guys say so and I'm also helpless, haha, can't you just take him away? Although Yingying told me everything, but I really don't remember, okay? Just pretend I'm begging you, please take care of Hu Shao, my dear husband, okay? Let's talk about everything after I recover from my illness, okay?"

  Xiao Lian said, "Then you rest well. If there's anything, call Yingying to call me." Liu Qingqing waved her hand to show she understood and very consciously climbed onto the bed. Through these days of interaction, she had some understanding of Xiao Lian. She wouldn't dare not serve herself well; otherwise, she wouldn't be willing to part with Hu Shao. Here, Xiao Lian couldn't help but sigh inwardly: "The ninth lady is ill like this, as the official wife, not jealous or angry, and even encourages me to be intimate with Hu Shao. I don't know if she's really ill to the bone, disregarding love, or if there was never a place for Hu Shao in her heart from the start. But looking at how she treats Hu Shao, it's like she's a courtesan with a frivolous intention. I don't understand the ninth lady's heart, so I can only serve her and let her sleep."

  Hu Zhongren took a look at Xiaolian's hand and saw that the big ocean bowl was already empty, secretly sighing that Liu Qingqing had eaten well, truly comparable to Zhu Bajie.

  Xiao Lian quietly made a sleeping gesture, and Hu Zhongren understood, put down the book, tiptoed behind Xiao Lian, and also closed the door. He thought to himself that this girl had gone through such an event and should be quiet for a few days. Looking at the rain outside, it wouldn't stop for a while, so he instructed Yingying in the outer corridor to take good care of Miss, then followed Xiao Lian along the corridor to Feng Qi Lou.

  Liu Qingqing lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. She used to be a sleep master, but today's events had left her shocked. In her heart, she wondered what kind of god or devil she was, or which powerful family she had offended, that she would first be ambushed and then killed by the water monster? Recalling the situation in the water earlier, she and the water monster had fought to a stalemate, but just as she was about to capture it with her silk ribbon, Yang Liuqing suddenly let it go. Why did he do that? Was it really like Xiao Lian said, that he had intended to harm her? But judging from his anxious expression when he saved her, he seemed genuinely concerned for her safety. Later, when Hu Zhong asked her about the situation in the water, she lied and said it was just a leg cramp, not wanting to alarm everyone. But why did Yang Liuqing lie too? What secret purpose did he have that he couldn't reveal? The more she thought about it, the more confused she became. She decided that the only way to get to the bottom of things was to ask Yang Liuqing himself, but since he had hidden the truth, he probably wouldn't tell her anything. So what could she do to uncover the truth? As she pondered, she drifted off to sleep, being a carefree person who didn't worry too much about things, especially during her afternoon nap. She was content to let others handle big matters and continued to dream of Zhou Gong.

  The heavy rain lasted until evening. Liu Qingqing also slept soundly.

  The wind stopped and the rain subsided. A rainbow hung in the eastern sky, while red clouds floated across the western horizon. The air was exceptionally fresh after the storm. In the evening, a full moon rose above the treetops in the east. Someone sent over delicious food, making life as a parasite truly enjoyable beyond words. After dinner, Liu Qingqing and Yingying chatted idly at Yang Liuchun's residence, actually trying to find an opportunity to pry out the truth. However, only Yan Yan was present under the corridor, cooling off. When asked, she replied that they had gone out. It was unclear what they were doing or when they would return. Liu Qingqing pretended not to care and chatted with Yan Yan and Yingying until midnight, but Yang Liuchun still hadn't returned. Seeing that Yingying and Yan Yan were getting sleepy, he bid them farewell and headed back to the Nourishing Life Hall. His doubts grew even more: "Did Yang Liuchun go find that water monster? If so, would he try to harm me again?"

  Thinking like this, she felt even more wide awake. Originally, Liu Qingqing had slept the entire afternoon, and now she was more spirited than an owl at night. She could only stare at the beams above her head, counting each rafter one by one. And it wasn't just her who couldn't sleep tonight, hehe.

  Starting tomorrow, it's going all out here. Baby can only leave a suspense and loudly ask: "Tongxie, who knows who it is?"