Chapter 42 Why is Qin Jin running a fever?

These days, Xue Rongyue has been relying on the inspiration she received from the original book, but unfortunately, she doesn't have many excuses to ask Qin Jin out. She tried several times but was rejected each time. Just when she was about to give up, Qin Jin suddenly agreed last night.

Unexpectedly, she tossed and turned all night and got up late this morning. In addition, the interrogation of Bu Hui took up a lot of time, and she missed noon.

More importantly, she had long put the matter out of her mind, and when she saw Qin Jin for the first time, she was almost unable to react.

Under the blazing sun, a warm glow shimmered on the willow branches. Qin Jin narrowed his eyes, looking at her expressionlessly, his cold face like an iceberg that had never melted.

Xue Rongyue shivered inexplicably. The past pain that Bu Hui had stirred up earlier vanished, replaced by an undeniable sense of guilt.

She asked Jingnu in a low voice, "What time is it now?"

Glancing at Qin Jin's expression, Jingnu murmured, lowering her voice even further: "It's already the last quarter of the hour of Wei (1-3 PM)."

The two agreed to meet at noon.

Xue Rongyue's eyelids twitched, and she looked at Qin Jin in astonishment: "Young Master, you've been waiting for me for an hour, why didn't you send anyone to look for me?"

With his arms crossed, Qin Jin's cold gaze fell on Xue Rongyue's guilty expression. After a few moments, he suddenly sneered, "Madam Xue's whereabouts are uncertain. Where should I send people to look for you?"

Xue Rongyue then remembered that when she left the manor this morning, she had deliberately concealed her whereabouts from the people of the Princess's residence. Feeling a little weak, she muttered softly, "But didn't you know to come here to look for me?"

Qin Jin twitched the corners of her mouth, letting out a short, soft sneer, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. Her narrow eyes glanced at her coldly before she turned and left.

"Hey, hey!"

Xue Rongyue lifted her skirt and chased after her: "Don't go! That restaurant won't close after noon, we can go and eat now!"

Qin Jin took even bigger steps.

Xue Rongyue's long skirt made walking difficult, and even jogging couldn't keep up with Qin Jin's vigorous stride. She was panting heavily. Finally, she had to stop, stomping her foot angrily: "Qin Jin, stop right there!"

Qin Jin paused slightly, but still did not stop walking.

"Ah! A snake!"

Xue Rongyue's eyes darted around, and she pointed to the emerald green willow branches swaying in the wind beside her, exclaiming in a pretentious manner.

Qin Jin remained unmoved.

Seeing that he was about to leave the courtyard, Xue Rongyue gritted her teeth and had no choice but to raise her voice and use her trump card: "Qin Jin, don't forget, you've wronged me twice!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Jin's forehead twitched involuntarily, and his strides gradually came to a halt.

Seeing this, Xue Rongyue lifted her skirt and chased after her, saying arrogantly, "Yes, I didn't arrive as promised at noon today, but you're still accusing me without even knowing the facts!"

Jingnu shook her head and sighed softly.

Her wife completely disregarded the principle of "using good steel on the blade." Whenever the Prince Qin's behavior displeased her, she would bring up this phrase in an attempt to evoke his sense of guilt.

Ironically, this trick worked wonders; Prince Qin fell for it every time, and his wife never failed to get it right.

Seeing Qin Jin's cold face and silence, Xue Rongyue knew she was in the wrong, so she didn't continue to argue. Instead, she approached with a smile and asked, "Young Master, are you angry?"

She still found it unbelievable, tilting her head and asking curiously, "You really sat in the restaurant waiting for me for an hour?"

Qin Jin lowered his eyes and looked at Xue Rongyue, who was leaning closer.

Her hair was tied up in a cloud-like bun, and the silk ribbon embroidered with two lifelike butterflies fluttered in the spring breeze, slowly drifting down his chin. Xue Rongyue's bright, star-like almond eyes stared at him without blinking; her face was like a lotus flower, and her superior features revealed her unparalleled beauty.

Xue Rongyue was close by, and Qin Jin could clearly smell the faint scent of blood on her body, mixed with the delicate fragrance of pear blossoms, and even take in the details of her smooth and delicate skin.

With a slight thud of his Adam's apple, Qin Jin pursed his thin lips and pondered casually: "How come Xue Rongyue is so fair-skinned? Her skin is as white as a cluster of fresh snow on a branch."

Seeing that he remained silent, Xue Rongyue assumed that he had tacitly agreed and was greatly surprised: "This is not like the way the young master does things."

Xue Rongyue secretly hissed at Qin Jin's patience in making him wait for her for an hour, and couldn't help but fall into deep thought: It seems that the food at that restaurant really suits Qin Jin's taste. She can invite Qin Jin to dine at that restaurant more often in the future, and he probably won't refuse again.

Upon hearing this, Qin Jin suddenly snapped out of his daze, subtly taking a half-step back and lazily scoffing, "Dream on."

Xue Rongyue asked, "What is that?"

Qin Jin looked down at the fallen leaves at his feet, his tone casual and lazy: "I was hungover last night, and by the time I got to the restaurant it was already three-quarters past noon."

Xue Rongyue: "...Okay."

"Then what's there to be angry about? It wasn't like you waited that long." Xue Rongyue scoffed, abandoning her intention to apologize to Qin Jin.

But she was in the wrong after all, so she only muttered these words to herself. After a moment of hesitation, she leaned closer and said, "Then I suppose the young master hasn't had lunch yet. This place isn't far from that restaurant, so we can go and have a taste along the way."

Qin Jin refused without hesitation: "I have other things to do..."

"You're the one who's fine!" Xue Rongyue interrupted Qin Jin's unfinished refusal, grabbing his arm. "If you were fine, you wouldn't have been drinking and hungover the night before."

Caught off guard, Qin Jin's arm was suddenly grabbed by Xue Rongyue. His thin spring robe offered no protection against the warmth of her palm. His eyelids twitched, and he was pulled a couple of steps before regaining his senses. He pulled his hand away, frowning, and said, "I really have something to say..."

Xue Rongyue grabbed his arm again, refusing to let it go: "What do you want?"

Qin Jin opened his mouth, but was speechless for a moment. The lies that he could tell so easily on the spot were now impossible to utter a single word of.

Xue Rongyue curled her lips, grabbed his arm and continued walking forward, scoffing, "I knew you were lying to me!"

Qin Jin was reluctant to admit it: "...It's just that it's inconvenient to tell you."

Xue Rongyue nodded, with an expression that said, "Alright, alright, I believe you," but she didn't loosen her grip: "This restaurant is run under my name, and the chefs inside have all been trained by me for a long time. Each of them has a specialty dish that Prince Qin likes. Is Prince really unwilling to do me the honor of tasting it? It's just a meal, it won't take Prince Qin too long."

Qin Jin suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He stared blankly at Xue Rongyue: "You...you specially trained a chef to learn how to cook the dishes I like?"

If you've made a contribution, you should speak up about it.

Xue Rongyue lowered her head in a pretentious manner: "I spent a lot of money and effort on this, and even hired chefs from the restaurants that the young master frequents. If the young master doesn't go, all my efforts will be in vain."

If she weren't worried that it was too exaggerated and bizarre and would arouse Qin Jin's suspicion, Xue Rongyue would have loved to say that she had also learned a few tricks from that chef.

His breath hitched for a moment, and Qin Jin's fingertips involuntarily curled up. His expression was complicated. He suddenly raised his hand and restrained Xue Rongyue's wrist, his knuckles tightening so that the veins on the back of his hand bulged: "Why...why did you do this?"

His gaze was fixed on Xue Rongyue's eyes and brows. His voice was hoarse as he asked in a deep voice, "Don't forget, not long ago we were like oil and water. You even went up the mountain in the snow with your sword to kill me. Why have you suddenly changed your mind?"

Even though Guang Sheng's remarks came first and were indeed reasonable, Qin Jin still harbored a lot of doubts.

He couldn't believe it.

Why would you do that?

Glancing at Qin Jin's expression, Xue Rongyue felt the grip on her wrist tighten. Instead of trying to break free, she immediately realized that this was a very critical problem.

She couldn't be careless or try to get by, otherwise she would face a sharp drop in Qin Jin's favorability at any time, and the relationship that had been eased by the alliance might break down again.

But how should I answer that?

The system and strategy guide are absolutely not to be mentioned aloud. Are you suggesting I play the emotional card with my brother?

However, her brother's death was not a recent event, nor was their rivalry recent; this card is clearly not the optimal solution to this question.

What other cards can we use?

Could it be that I feel like you're my older brother now, so I can't help but want to get close to you?

After saying that, Qin Jin's suspicions were probably dispelled, but the strategy would never be completed in this lifetime.

Xue Rongyue racked her brains and finally decided to exclude the system part and tell the truth: "Because I don't think you are that annoying to me now. I don't... hate you anymore."

She lowered her head, fiddling with the embroidery on her dress: "Actually, I know that in the past, you always held back when you clashed with me because of your brother."

This answer was both expected and unexpected for Qin Jin.

—I don't hate you anymore.

What does this mean?!

For some reason, Qin Jin suddenly felt the weather getting hot, and his face felt like it was on fire, burning with an unbearable heat. It was so hot that he couldn't even immediately understand the meaning of those five words. He could only keep savoring those five words in his mind and chewing on them over and over again.

After uttering those words through her throat, Xue Rongyue kept her head down, unsure whether Qin Jin was satisfied with her answer. She could only ask in a muffled voice, "Young Master, shall we go for lunch together?"

Looking away, Qin Jin hesitated for a moment before saying, "...Go."

Xue Rongyue subconsciously reached out to pull him again: "Then let's go."

Qin Jin covered his mouth and coughed lightly, dodging Xue Rongyue's outstretched hand, and turned around first: "You, you go get in the carriage, I came on horseback."

Having said that, he hurried forward, leaving as if fleeing.

Xue Rongyue said "Oh" and got into the carriage with her head down.

Guang Sheng, leading his horse, saw Qin Jin approaching from afar and assumed that his young master had quarreled with Lady Xue again. He had just straightened up from his casual posture when he saw his young master's face turn as red as if it were burning. He was immediately taken aback and ran forward, asking, "Young master, what's wrong?"

He asked worriedly, "Does she have a fever?"

Qin Jin awkwardly mounted his horse, remaining silent the entire time.

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Author's Note: Guang Sheng slammed his fist on the table in excitement: "You don't dislike it? That means you like it!!"

I've been coughing and have a sore throat these past couple of days. I was just thinking how I always seem to get sick in the summer, but then I realized I'm not much better in spring, autumn, or winter either, haha. [smiling emoji]