"Little girl, come out here." Qiao Lian'er heard Shi Murou calling her from outside after she finished breakfast.

Qiao Xi'er was drawing water from the well. She glanced at Shi Murou outside, her gaze indifferent, before returning to her work.

Shi Murou was also watching her. If Qiao Xier still cared about Shen Liang, she would feel some resentment and jealousy towards her.

But Qiao Xi'er's behavior was completely as if she were looking at an unrelated person, showing no emotion whatsoever.

Shi Murou was puzzled. She stared at Qiao Xier, as if trying to find a flaw, but Qiao Xier's movements were natural, as if she had completely let go of something.

As a woman herself, Shi Murou was particularly sensitive to this, and she felt that she must not have misjudged the situation.

But Shen Liang said that Qiao Xi'er still misses him—

Qiao Lian'er came out. She knew Shi Murou had come because she was confused.

“Shen Liang was bitten by a snake yesterday evening,” Shi Murou said.

Qiao Lian'er feigned surprise: "Wasn't it for making soup? How did it get bitten? Was it because you were careless when handling the snake?"

Shi Murou did not answer her directly: "Shen Liang insists that the snake crawled in from outside, but you tell me that he bought it from a snake catcher. Who is telling the truth and who is lying? One of you is definitely lying to me."

“Chen Liang told Miss Shi that the snake came in from outside? That’s impossible. I saw him come out of the alley where the predator was, carrying a snake in his hand. I thought he was going to make soup for Miss Shi.”

"Did you really see it with your own eyes? Could you be mistaken?" Shi Murou asked nervously.

"If Miss Shi doesn't believe me, just ask the snake catcher. There's only one snake catcher in Xicheng Alley. Ask him if a young man in a blue robe, around sixteen or seventeen years old, came to buy a snake yesterday, and what kind of snake he bought. That'll tell you."

Seeing Qiao Lian'er's confident demeanor, Shi Murou felt even more panicked. Deep down, she hoped that Qiao Lian'er was lying, because she and Shen Liang had a deep affection for each other and were going to spend their lives together. How could she accept that Shen Liang was deceiving her?

Her breathing became a little rapid as she stared at Qiao Lian'er.

"If Shen Liang is lying to me, why would he lie to me?"

Qiao Lian'er thought for a moment: "After Shen Liang was poisoned, did he ask Miss Shi to do anything?"

Shi Murou hesitated for a moment before telling her, "He asked me to take this opportunity to bring up our marriage with my grandfather. He hopes to finalize it as soon as possible."

“No wonder.” Qiao Lian’er stroked her chin. “This is probably Shen Liang’s purpose, if he did it on purpose.”

"Purpose?" Shi Murou felt that this was a very bad word. It shouldn't be used to describe Shen Liang.

"Old Master Shi hasn't always given his approval to your marriage. Shen Liang hopes that by doing this, he can gain Old Master Shi's favor, and perhaps things will fall into place naturally."

"But he doesn't need to hurt himself."

“What’s wrong with being ruthless to achieve your heart’s desire? But Miss Shi should be careful. A person who is ruthless to himself—” Qiao Lian’er looked into Shi Murou’s eyes: “may be even more ruthless to others. This is an irrefutable truth since ancient times.”

Seeing the calmness in her eyes, Shi Murou couldn't help but shudder.