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Liu Anzhi and Liu An Ting, the two brothers, went to school today and were not at home. Liu Anfeng, due to an injury, asked his two older brothers to inform the teacher on his behalf.
He was aware that Qing Wu had gone out. He had also heard from the maid nearby about when the young lady might return. However, as time passed and he still did not see her, Liu Anfeng felt that waiting idly was not a solution, so he decided to go out and take a look.
Fortunately, there were many matters to attend to today, so his mother could not focus all her attention on him. Liu Anfeng seized the opportunity to slip out.
When the doorman saw him coming, he quickly called one of them to report to the He Family. The others hurried over to persuade Liu Anfeng.
"Young Master, it's windy here. Why don't you go inside and wait?"
"Young Master, the young lady is very fortunate; she will definitely be back soon, so there's no need to worry. Would you like to come in for a cup of hot tea?"
Liu Anfeng was quite annoyed by their fussing. He was anxiously thinking about what he would do if his mother came over later to question him when, just after a brief moment of waiting, he spotted Qing Wu's carriage.
Qing Wu did not expect to see Liu Anfeng, who should have been resting in bed, outside the main gate. Seeing his pale face slightly reddened by the cold wind, she hurriedly called him to get into the carriage with her.
Liu Anfeng was already feeling a bit cold and did not hesitate at her invitation. He lifted the curtain and climbed in.
The carriage was spacious. Qing Wu and Dou Mama sat inside while Liu Anfeng sat a bit further out; there was still enough space between the siblings for two more people to sit closely together.
Seeing Liu Anfeng raising his hand to blow warm air onto it, Qing Wu realized he was indeed cold and quickly offered him the warm hand warmer she was holding.
Liu Anfeng immediately refused.
He angrily pushed the item back into the girl's arms. "With all those peach blossoms and plum blossoms on it, it's obvious that it's something you would use. It's too feminine; I don't want it!"
After finishing her words, she turned her face away with a look of disdain.
Qing Wu was left speechless by his actions and looked helplessly at Dou Mama.
Dou Mama gave her a reassuring glance, smiling as she picked up a folded thin blanket from the nearby cabinet. She unfolded it and covered Liu Anfeng with it.
This time, the young man did not refuse.
Qing Wu let out a quiet sigh of relief and carefully held the hand warmer. She then noticed the bruise on Liu Anfeng's face and felt a bit worried. "Your injury..."
At that moment, Liu Anfeng suddenly remembered how his sister had called him "Brother San" with such concern in the woods of the Wu Family.
Unfortunately, last time he had been too focused on the conflict with the children from the Third Branch to pay attention. Later, while lying in bed, he tried to recall it several times, but since he hadn't taken it seriously at the time, he couldn't remember it clearly.
Suddenly, for some reason, he found himself missing that feeling.
Liu Anfeng felt annoyed with himself for having this thought. But since it had come to mind, he decided he should act on it.
He refused to show his feelings, keeping a cold expression on his face as he raised his chin and said, "Hey, what did you call me last time?"
Qing Wu was initially worried about his injury, fearing that coming out like this would worsen his condition. She didn't understand what he was referring to and took a moment to ponder.
As she hesitated in thought, Liu Anfeng assumed she was unwilling to call him again.
The young man, who had just managed to muster some courage, suddenly felt uneasy inside. It felt as if something had collapsed all at once.
Liu Anfeng clenched his fists, grimaced, and pulled at the wound on his cheek, causing him to cry out in pain. Covering his face, the pain lessened somewhat, and he huffed, "Let me tell you, don't think I came here to wait for you because I'm worried about you. I just don't like owing favors. I saw you specifically came to find me last time, so this time I came to look for you."
He finished quickly and let out a heavy huff. Lifting the curtain of the carriage, regardless of the fact that the vehicle was still moving, he immediately stepped out. However, due to the injury on his leg not having healed yet, he fell to his knees with a thud.
The curtain blocked everything outside.
By the time Qing Wu and Dou Mama had the driver stop the carriage and moved to the side to take a look, Liu Anfeng had already gotten up and was limping into the nearest house.
Qing Wu was anxious and called out "Brother San." Unfortunately, by then the Door had already closed, and her soft call was blown away by the cold wind.
Dou Mama was also very worried about Liu Anfeng. However, leaving Qing Wu behind to check on the young man's condition was absolutely out of the question.
Fortunately, they were not far from where they had stopped. Dou Mama hurriedly instructed the driver to go check on Liu Anfeng. Upon reaching the sedan chair, she spoke with two other women and asked them to summon those attending Third Young Master.
Just as the women had taken a few steps away, those who were supposed to report on Liu Anfeng’s situation returned.
The He Family was currently in the hall discussing matters with the master and Matriarch, so they could not disturb them recklessly. Thus, they informed the mothers attending Liu Anfeng, who brought him over.
Seeing that Liu Anfeng's situation had been settled, Qing Wu finally felt relieved. She wrapped herself tightly in a cloak provided by Dou Mama and got into the sedan chair waiting nearby.
Knowing she had returned late and fearing her parents would worry, Qing Wu's first thought upon returning was to see them.
Earlier, the doorman had already informed her of where the He Family and Liu Fangyi were currently located. Without delay, she instructed the bearers of her sedan chair to head that way.
Upon arriving next to the hall and getting out of the sedan chair, Qing Wu intended to wait in a side room for a moment until her parents were free before going in. However, just as she reached the door of the side room, Red Peony, a senior maid from the He Family, happened to come out of the hall. Upon seeing her, she called out cheerfully, "Miss is back? The lady was just worried; now she can finally rest easy."
She blurted it out in her joy. Little did she know that someone with ulterior motives inside the house overheard her.
Third Madam Shen lifted the curtain and peeked out from the door. Upon seeing Qing Wu, she forced a smile and said, "Oh, Mistress Wu, where are you off to? It doesn't seem like you're coming to our room."
The He Family hurried over. They exchanged a glance with Qing Wu, signaling her to continue on to the side room and not to come over.
However, Shen noticed this gesture.
Since her twin sons were beaten by Liu Fangyi, Shen's tone towards the Second House had been quite unfriendly.
Now that she had "caught" the mother and daughter in their "trick," how could she let it go?
Immediately waving her handkerchief, she laughed and said, "Mistress Wu really... The children in this house have returned, yet they don't even know to greet their elders first? Matriarch is still inside. It's just a few steps away, and the girl didn't even glance over as she walked by. I wonder how the adults usually teach them; the child clearly has no understanding of respecting her elders!"
This was a veiled mockery of the He Family and Liu Fangyi for not raising their children properly, thus making Qing Wu appear "disrespectful" now.
With such a large accusation thrown at her, even though Qing Wu hadn't intended to go over before, at this moment, for Liu Fangyi and the He Family's sake, she had no choice but to go. Otherwise, Matriarch might use this incident to make things difficult for Liu Fangyi and her husband.
Dou Mama noticed Qing Wu's decision and agreed.
"Miss need not worry; I will stay by your side. Surely they won't be able to turn things around!" Dou Mama said firmly as she accompanied Qing Wu toward that direction.
The charcoal fire in the room wasn't very strong. After staying inside for a while, it felt merely lukewarm.
Matriarch sat at the head of the table, with Shen standing beside her after just entering and settling down.
Seeing Qing Wu enter, the Matriarch seemed oblivious to Shen's earlier words and approached, saying "poor child," wanting to give Qing Wu a hug.
However, it did not happen. Dou Mama gently sidestepped and avoided it.
"The young lady just came in from outside and is still a bit cold," Dou Mama said apologetically. "If this chill were to affect the Matriarch and cause you to catch a cold, that would not be good. Please do not take offense, Matriarch."
The Matriarch was somewhat annoyed and coldly sat back down in her chair. "What? Is it not permissible to give a hug before leaving? No wonder you all refuse to extend the time by a few days. It turns out you have already regarded me as an outsider!"
"Isn't that already the case? I worry that you might catch a cold, so why insist on this?" Liu Fangyi said irritably, pacing a couple of steps. "It was fine this morning; we were moving in three days. Now, just a few hours later, you've changed your mind. How can I agree to that?"
"Why can't you agree? Second Brother, that's quite amusing. We are all family; what difference does it make if it's a few days later?"
At this point, Shen glanced at the Matriarch and then at Qing Wu.
The Matriarch understood and suppressed her earlier anger, forcing a smile at Qing Wu. "Mistress Wu must also like having her grandmother stay here for a few more days, right? Previously, grandmother gave you a pair of bracelets; didn't you like them very much?"
Qing Wu's heart sank.
She had never thought that the Matriarch would truly care for her, but she did not expect the Matriarch to change her demeanor so easily to achieve her goals.
"Is this what the Matriarch meant?" Dou Mama said as she pulled out a cloth from her pocket, revealing the pair of bracelets that the Matriarch had casually given to Qing Wu.
Shen did not expect Dou Mama to immediately produce the jewelry. With a twinkle in his eye, he smiled at the Matriarch and said, "Mistress Wu initially wanted to distance herself from the Matriarch because she listened to the adults. However, she knows in her heart how well the Matriarch treats her. Look, she has been wearing the gift you gave her all along."
The Matriarch also agreed.
This is really just nonsense.
Dou Mama listened to Shen's words and was immediately amused with anger. Just as she was about to speak up loudly to refute the girl, she suddenly heard a soft and delicate voice beside her.
"That's not it. It's not like that."
Everyone was surprised that Qing Wu spoke up at that moment and turned to look at her in unison.
However, Qing Wu did not notice this.
Her eyes were slightly lowered, and she gently shook her head. The faint smile that usually graced her lips had completely vanished, replaced by an emotionless calm.
"Because I was afraid of being taken away at any moment, so I brought it with me."
She took a deep breath, slowly raised her head, and finally revealed a relieved smile. "Fortunately, I did this, didn't I?"
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