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“Zihan, I heard your father arranged for you to marry a young Concubine. Is that true?” Shao Zihan held his wine glass, seemingly unfazed, while Jiang Qingli pushed him playfully and said, “I’m asking you a question! Why are you ignoring me?”
Shao Zihan glanced at the beautiful girl beside him. Jiang Qingli was a classmate from their studies abroad, who had come up with an excuse to join in on the excitement of his family matters.
“It’s true. Are you satisfied now?”
Shao Zihan lazily finished his drink, but Jiang Qingli was not ready to let it go. “Zihan, can you let me meet your Concubine? I’m really curious. I heard she’s even younger than you; I want to see what that little sister looks like with your father.”
Jiang Qingli fluttered her thickly mascaraed eyelashes in front of Shao Zihan, and he suddenly found himself reminiscing about Chen Luoting's unadorned face. He took Jiang Qingli's hand and said, “Alright, I’ll take you to meet her.”
When Shao Zihan saw Chen Luoting, she was busy making syrup. Jiang Qingli curiously leaned closer to watch her and said, “Zihan, is this your new servant? She looks so delicate that a gust of wind could knock her over. How could you hire such a fragile girl as a servant? Oh my, she’s like a crystal figure! A beautiful girl like this should be cherished in the palm of your hand; how can you let her do housework?”
Shao Zihan snapped back to reality, realizing he was still holding Jiang Qingli's hand. However, it was too late to let go; Chen Luoting had already turned around at Jiang Qingli's loud voice and was now looking at their clasped hands.
Shao Zihan felt a bit anxious about her reaction, but Chen Luoting merely paused for a moment before smiling and saying, “Where did such a beautiful girl come from? Zihan, why didn’t you introduce us?”
Shao Zihan’s face flushed with embarrassment while Jiang Qingli grew increasingly curious and couldn’t help but speak up. “I’m Jiang Qingli, Zihan’s classmate. Who are you to meddle in his affairs?”
Chen Luoting untied her apron and wiped her hands with a nearby towel. “Didn’t Zihan mention me? I’m his Concubine; my name is Chen Luoting.”
“What? You’re his Concubine?”
Jiang Qingli exclaimed in shock. At that moment, Mother Feng had just returned from delivering a bowl of ginseng soup to Wen Zhanxia and hurriedly pushed the door open upon hearing the commotion. “Second Madam, is there something you need?”
Chen Luoting smiled as she took Jiang Qingli's hand and said, "Mother Feng, this is Miss Jiang, whom you must already know. She is the young master's classmate. Please take her to the living room and make her comfortable."
Turning back to Jiang Qingli, she added, "I’ll be right back after I finish making the sweet soup. I’m quite curious about your life since we’re around the same age, so I hope you don’t mind chatting with me."
Jiang Qingli was already in a daze, while Shao Zihan’s expression darkened. He reached out and pulled Jiang Qingli out, with Mother Feng hurriedly following to attend to them.
Chen Luoting turned around and stared at the pot of sweet soup for a moment before taking two bowls of it in delicate blue-and-white porcelain and heading out.
"Apologies for not greeting you properly. This is the pear blossom sweet soup I just made; please give it a try. Zihan, really, it’s a good thing to have friends over. Why didn’t you give me a heads-up? It’s quite rude not to."
"N-no need to be so polite, um, Aunty," Jiang Qingli wiped away a cold sweat, feeling awkward no matter how she thought about it, so she sipped the sweet soup and tried to make small talk.
Jiang Qingli chatted away happily but suddenly doubled over, clutching her abdomen. Despite trying to hold it in, she couldn't manage it and ended up vomiting all over Chen Luoting.
"Qing Li, what’s wrong? Why did you throw up?" Chen Luoting was startled, and Shao Zihan quickly stood up, calling for help while lifting Jiang Qingli into his arms and taking her upstairs.
Chen Luoting followed closely behind, watching as Shao Zihan carefully laid Jiang Qingli on his own bed. Mother Feng had already called for a doctor, and while waiting for the doctor to arrive, Shao Zihan held Jiang Qingli's hand tightly.
"I... I’ll go get a basin of water," Chen Luoting said but received no reply. Feeling awkward, she left and returned with water and a towel.
Jiang Qingli had stopped vomiting but was unconscious. Chen Luoting dampened the towel and gently wiped Jiang Qingli's face. Her complexion was extremely pale; her eyes were tightly shut, her jaw clenched, and her body still trembled.
"Miss Jiang, are you alright?" Chen Luoting stole a glance at Shao Zihan, whose face looked terrifying. Suddenly, he turned to Chen Luoting and asked, "What did you put in the syrup?"
"What?" Chen Luoting was taken aback by his blunt question, her eyes widening in confusion. Shao Zihan stared coldly at her and demanded, "What exactly did you put in the syrup? She only acted this way after drinking what you made. Don't tell me you have no idea!"
Chen Luoting was completely bewildered. What was he talking about?
Did he really suspect her of poisoning the syrup? Did he think of her as that kind of person?
"After all Qing Li has done for you, even giving you clothes, how could you harm her like this? What kind of scheme do you have?"
At that moment, there was not a trace of tenderness in Shao Zihan's eyes. Chen Luoting gritted her teeth, feeling as if her heart were being torn apart. She managed to squeeze out a few words, "The doctor hasn't arrived yet. Shouldn't we wait for the doctor to examine her before jumping to conclusions? Don't you think it's unfair to sentence me so quickly?"
Shao Zihan glared at Chen Luoting, his teeth clenched in anger. "Fine, I'll make sure you die with a clear conscience!"
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