Yu Jiao tilted her head and stared at his hand, her cheeks pink, her watery almond eyes full of innocence. She shook her head and said tenderly, "No."

Yu Qizhe half-knelt down and coaxed her in a soft voice without any bottom line, "Then can I carry you back?"

Yu Jiao blinked, her feather-like eyelashes trembled slightly. She lowered her head and thought for a while before stretching out her arms towards Yu Qizhe.

Yu Qizhe held her hand and turned his back. Yu Jiao slowly stood up and lay on his back, folding her hands and hugging Yu Qizhe's neck tightly.

Yu Qizhe folded his hands behind his back, holding Yu Jiao steadily. He stood up, carried her on his back, and walked towards Luofuyuan with extremely steady steps.

Yu Jiao lay on his back and was so obedient that she didn't say a word.

After getting drunk, Yu Jiao was much softer than when she was sober. Normally, she didn't like to rely on others, but now she was a little clingy. She was so well-behaved and cute that Yu Qizhe wanted to take good care of her.

Just when Yu Qizhe thought that Yu Jiao had fallen asleep on his back, her neck suddenly became wet and drops of warm liquid fell on the back of his neck.

Yu Qizhe realized belatedly that those were Yu Jiao's tears. He froze, stopped, and turned his head to look at Yu Jiao, but he had his back to her and could not see her at all.

"Jiaojiao?" Yu Qizhe called her softly.

Hearing him shout like that, Yu Jiao hugged his neck even tighter and laid on Yu Qizhe's back, sobbing incoherently, "Brother, I'm sorry... I'm sorry... It's all Jiaojiao's fault..."

The gentleness on Yu Qizhe's face slowly disappeared, and his hand holding Yu Jiao tightened uncontrollably. Perhaps it was because the night wind was too cold, making his heart feel empty and a little cold.

Yu Jiao was still immersed in her own world, crying like a child on his back, repeating the words "senior brother" and "I'm sorry" over and over again in suppressed sobs.

Yu Qizhe was silent for a long time. He took a deep breath in the darkness, and the air he inhaled into his lungs was also cool.

He controlled his tone and asked stiffly, "Is your senior brother... Fu Chuan?"

But there was no response. There was no more sobbing sound behind him. It was extremely quiet. It seemed as if the little girl had cried herself to sleep.

Yu Qizhe sighed lightly, then slowly walked towards Luofuyuan with Yu Jiao on his back.

Yu Fuling stood at the door of the room. Seeing Yu Qizhe carrying Yu Jiao back, she was not too surprised and said, "The hangover soup is ready."

Yu Qizhe said softly, "She fell asleep."

He carried Yu Jiao on his back, passed through the screen, and went straight to the inner room. Yu Fuling followed him in.

Yu Qizhe gently placed Yu Jiao on the bed, and Yu Fuling helped cover her with the quilt.

"Should we wake her up and let her drink the sobering soup before going back to sleep?" Yu Fuling asked in a low voice.

Yu Qizhe shook his head and lowered his eyes to look at Yu Jiao. There were still undried tears hanging on her long eyelashes and wet tear marks on her fair little face.

Yu Qizhe whispered to Yu Fuling, "Sister, is there any hot water?"

Yu Fuling turned around and went behind the screen. Soon the maid brought her a basin of hot water.

Yu Fuling wet the towel and wanted to wipe Yu Jiao's face. Yu Qizhe reached out and took it, "Sister, let me do it."

He wiped Yu Jiao's face with a gentle handkerchief, rinsed the handkerchief in a basin and wrung it out, then pulled Yu Jiao's hand out from under the quilt and wiped her ten fingers one by one. He then stood up and whispered to Yu Fuling, "Sister, help her take off her clothes. I'll go home first."

Yu Fuling nodded and walked Yu Qizhe out of the room.

After such a long delay, the banquet in the front hall seemed to have ended. Yu Qizhe did not go back to the front hall, but went straight back to Yinfeng Courtyard.

The servant in the courtyard saw him coming back and came forward and said, "The Second Master just asked me to look for you, saying that you didn't eat much during the banquet. The kitchen has prepared some snacks. Would you like some more, Fifth Master?"

Yu Qizhe shook his head, "No need."

Seeing that the lights in the other rooms in the courtyard were on, he asked, "Are my brothers back?"

The servant said, "The young masters have all returned. The second young master drank too much and just asked for some sobering soup. Can I serve you a bowl of sobering soup as well?"

"No need, bring some hot water." Yu Qizhe walked back to his room.

Leaning back in the bathtub, the hot water soaked his entire body, his body gradually warmed up, but Yu Qizhe still felt uncomfortable.

The chill in his chest took a long time to go away. Whenever he thought of Yu Jiao lying on his back and crying for another man, the nameless fire in his heart rose up, making him anxious.

That usually calm and handsome face was filled with a gloomy and cold face that he had never shown in front of others.

Yu Qizhe lowered his eyes to look at his own reflection on the water, closed his eyes, and used his hands to roughly disturb the calm water surface.

He desperately wanted to know who the senior brother Yu Jiao was talking about was, and who Fu Chuan was.

There was something about her that he didn't know.

The next day, Yu Jiao was awakened by Yu Fuling. When she opened her eyes, she found that it was already noon.

My head was aching. Yu Fuling handed me a bowl of hot hangover soup. "You drank too much rice wine yesterday. You're drunk."

Yu Jiao sat up, took the sobering soup from Yu Fuling, scooped it into her mouth with a spoon, and she vaguely remembered that she had a dream last night.

In the dream, her senior brother Fu Chuan carried her on his back like when they were children, and she... seemed to be crying.

Yu Jiao finished drinking the hangover soup with a dazed look on her face. Yu Fuling took the empty bowl and said, "Hurry up and get up. We have an appointment with Miss Yang to go to Bi Bo Lake today."

Yu Jiao rubbed her swollen temples, lifted the quilt, got out of bed, changed clothes and washed up.

Sitting in front of her dressing table, Yu Jiao saw in the blurry bronze mirror that her eyes were slightly swollen. She wet a towel in hot water and placed it on her eyes for a while.

The maids brought in breakfast. Yu Jiao had no appetite and only drank half a bowl of rice porridge.

Before the maid could clear the dishes away, Madam Mu came in from outside the courtyard with Yang Jiyan.

"Sister Fuling, you haven't had breakfast yet? It's because I came too early and disturbed your meal." Yang Jiyan said with a smile after entering the room.

Seeing that Mrs. Mu was also there, Yu Fuling said rather embarrassedly, "I slept a little late yesterday, and got up late today."

Mrs. Mu was willing to help explain, "Yesterday, Miss Yu's brothers finished their provincial examinations, and the family prepared a banquet. We were very happy and had a few drinks at the banquet. I also overslept today."

Yang Jiyan smiled and said sympathetically, "I often oversleep too, it's okay, Sister Fuling, you guys continue to eat, I'll just wait."

"We have already eaten." Yu Fuling said.

Madam Mu smiled and said, "I heard from Madam San that you are going to the Bi Bo Lake in the south of the city. There are students holding a poetry gathering there today. You brothers should also be going there. You can go with us."