This girl is acting strangely. She hasn't looked up at all from the beginning, as if she's a little scared. Could it be that Murong Wan'er bullies her in the past?

Qiao Qiu's heart tightened, and she felt a pang of heartache. She really wanted to take the girl from Murong Wan'er right now, but the timing wasn't right. If she rashly took the girl, wouldn't she be seen as someone who stole a man and bullied a woman? Not to mention what the girl would think, Wen Feng had helped her so much, how could she not give him any face at all?

Murong Wan'er clearly has feelings for her. If she makes it obvious that she likes her maid, and ends up going back with her instead of getting the girl, wouldn't she be bullied to death?

Qiao Qiu was extremely anxious, but she couldn't show it on her face at all. "Miss Murong, there is a difference between men and women. I am not familiar with you. Please call me Young Master Meng."

Murong Wan'er's smile froze slightly, but the next moment she laughed, looked up at Qiao Qiu, and said gracefully, "Young Master Meng is right, it was Wan'er who was presumptuous."

"He's not stupid," Qiao Qiu thought to herself.

Seeing that she had been teased enough, Murong Wenfeng finally spoke up, "Yuanqing, let's go. I have something to tell you. Cousin, go back to your room first. If you're hungry, send someone to the kitchen and tell the cook to prepare some food for you."

Murong Wan'er curtsied and said, "Wan'er will go back now, but since my cousin and Young Master Meng haven't eaten yet, I dare not eat first. It's alright to wait."

"Let's go back." Murong Wenfeng didn't want to say anything more to Murong Wan'er.

"Wan'er takes her leave."

Murong Wenfeng led Qiao Qiu toward the study. Unbeknownst to them, as they turned around, the maid looked up at Qiao Qiu's back and a meaningful smile appeared on her lips.

After dinner, Qiao Qiu returned to his room late at night. The servant had already prepared hot water for him and placed it on the shelf.

Qiao Qiu took off her mask, walked over, and was about to splash some water on her face, planning to wash it properly after removing her makeup when she returned to her own territory the next day. Suddenly, she smelled a strange odor in the water.

It's a sleeping potion, mixed with a little bone-softening powder.

A glint of light flashed in her deep eyes. Very well, let her see who is plotting against her.

Qiao Qiu washed his face, then suddenly swayed and became unsteady on his feet. He shook his head, but it had no effect whatsoever and did nothing to lessen his dizziness. He struggled to the table, forcefully put on the mask, and then collapsed onto the table.

A moment later, Qiao Qiu's door was opened, and she clearly heard a voice, "This man insists on wearing a mask even when he's unconscious. He cares so much about his image. Could it be that there's really an ugly monster under that mask?"

Qiao Qiu initially thought it was some kind of thief, but when the person came in, she realized it was her lover. Her nerves immediately relaxed; she knew that her lover would never hurt her.

She could now take a good look at what she was up to. Judging from her words, she didn't seem to be as simple as Murong Wan'er's maid.

"Let me tear off your mask and see your true face!"

Qiao Qiu really wanted to see what expression her lover would have when he saw her true face, but unfortunately she couldn't open her eyes. If she did, she wouldn't know what Qiao Qiu was trying to do by drugging her.

Just as Qiao Qiu felt a pair of hands touching her face, she suddenly heard footsteps.

"Boss, what are you dawdling for? Take Meng Yuanqing and leave quickly. The Murong residence is not a place we can stay for long."

"Alright, alright, stop nagging and come help."

"Yes, boss!"

"Boss? That's an interesting title. Her tone is so bandit-like... Could it be that she's Yu Honghua, the leader of Fei Hong Village?" Qiao Qiu felt she was pretty much right, and her heart began to leap with excitement.

If you had just said you were Yu Honghua, you could have easily robbed her and she would have come to you.

Ring: Master, aren't you offering yourself up here now?

Yu Honghua was quite capable; she managed to evade the patrolling servants several times without being discovered.

Qiao Qiu was carried on someone's back and rushed to a certain place overnight. Because she was no longer worried about her life, she slowly fell asleep.

Several hours passed, and as dawn broke, Qiao Qiu woke up when she was thrown to the ground.

Before his mind had fully cleared, his body reacted first. He spun around in mid-air, shifted his position, and retreated to a safe place. His hair ribbon fluttered to his face and landed in front of him. A cold light flashed in his deep eyes.

Qiao Qiu had just steadied herself when she suddenly felt weak all over. She reached out and grabbed the wall for support, barely managing to stay upright.

Snap snap snap—

Yu Honghua clapped her hands and walked over. "Not bad, not bad. You were hit by my unique Hundred Flowers Soft Bone Powder and you can still stand. Meng Yuanqing, you are indeed highly skilled in martial arts."

Qiao Qiu turned her head and saw a girl dressed as a female knight-errant appear before her. She wore a rose-red riding outfit, her hair was braided with a strand hanging down in front of her. Her appearance was not stunning, but rather pretty and pleasing to the eye. Her brows revealed a heroic spirit and she was full of vigor.

Qiao Qiu smiled slightly, "It seems you've noticed something wrong with me."

"Yes, I felt something was wrong in the middle of the night. You were dressed so thinly, so why were you still warm? This can only prove one thing: your martial arts skills are exceptionally high. To prevent you from cheating, I specially administered this medicine while you were asleep. You won't be able to use your martial arts for at least three hours."

Qiao Qiu didn't want to discourage her; hadn't she just used it herself? But she couldn't bear to, so she remained silent. This Hundred Flowers Softening Bone Powder was indeed very powerful; she was now entirely relying on her internal energy and willpower to sustain herself. If this continued, she wouldn't be able to hold on.

"You kidnapped me, but you won't kill me. What do you want?"

Yu Honghua was surprised that Meng Yuanqing was still standing, and she looked at him with new respect once again. However, she did not hesitate at all when it came to what she wanted to say, "Do you know what our Feihong Village does?"

"Then do you know who to ask for the money?" Qiao Qiu laughed. Everyone knew that Meng Yuanqing had a clean background, with no elders or children, and loved to wander around. There was no place that was truly his home.

“This…” Yu Honghua hadn’t thought of that.

"Go get it from Murong Wenfeng." Qiao Qiu said before collapsing.

Yu Honghua instinctively lunged forward and hugged Qiao Qiu. Qiao Qiu had no strength left and collapsed onto her, her head resting on Yu Honghua's shoulder, her warm breath spraying onto Yu Honghua's neck.

Yu Honghua felt an itch on her neck, and her face flushed red. She quickly moved Qiao Qiu to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and threw her onto the kang.

Qiao Qiu had no strength, and when she slammed down, the kang (a heated brick bed) wasn't soft, causing her to cough violently twice.

Yu Honghua was about to reach out to help him up, but she missed. Seeing that Meng Yuanqing's slam was so hard on the ground, she couldn't help but laugh.

Qiao Qiu felt a slight pain in the back of her head. Luckily, her mask was held up by the iron ring, otherwise she would definitely have a nosebleed. She should change to a soft mask next time.