Chapter 210 Liu Yue's Choice

Shen Qingtan sat on the short couch in the inner room, casually flipping through Meng An's book while listening to Tingxue's report.

"Second Madam, Second Madam, and Third Madam accepted the dried flowers." Tingxue said softly, "Second Madam used jasmine flowers to make tea, and Third Madam used them to take a bath."

Shen Qingtan frowned. There was nothing wrong with the flowers, or was it that the mastermind behind this was not the Second Madam and Shen Mingzhu?

The dried flowers sent to each room were left in the warehouse and there was no problem with them.

Specially used to test the second wife.

"Second Madam, the court physician is from the palace, so his skills should be impeccable." Tingxue asked in confusion, "Could it really be that Liu Yue's father and mother are giving this as a gift to you? Are they deliberately claiming they dried it themselves to take credit?"

Shen Qingtan thought thoughtfully: "Maybe."

Tingxue heard a noise behind her and turned around to see Zhao Yi walking in.

She quickly stood up and stepped aside: "Second Master."

Zhao Yi nodded slightly and placed the small bamboo basket in his hand on the small table on the short couch.

He asked gently, "It's so late, are you still talking?"

Tingxue's heart skipped a beat, and she said hurriedly, "I heard that the Second Madam was having chest pains, and she asked the palace physician to see her. He said it was a heart attack. I came to ask Second Madam if you could pick up one or two supplements to send to her."

"No food can be sent to the Second House through my hands." Shen Qingtan ordered: "First, check if the other houses have any gifts and what they are, and then decide what to send."

Tingxue responded: "Yes."

Then, exit the inner room.

Shen Qingtan glanced at the bamboo basket on the small table, which was covered with a blue cloth. Curiously, he reached out and opened it: "What is this?"

There was a porcelain white fruit plate in the basket, filled with a few bunches of green grapes.

She was surprised and asked, "Where did you bring it from? The steward of the farm said it's still very sour now and will not be sweet for another half a month."

"I saw some grapes in the palace, so I brought some for you." Zhao Yi brought out a fruit plate and placed it in front of Shen Qingtan. "I've tasted them, they're sweet."

Shen Qingtan likes to eat grapes, but she usually doesn't eat at this time... A peeled grape was handed to her lips, and the sweet juice covered her lips.

Shen Qingtan opened her mouth and ate without hesitation, and said coquettishly: "I have already washed up, and now I am eating again. I have to wash up again later."

Zhao Yi peeled another one and fed it into her mouth. He wiped the juice from the corner of her lips with a handkerchief and said, "I haven't washed up yet, so it's a good opportunity to do it together."

Shen Qingtan held the sweet and sour grape in his mouth, bit it gently with his teeth, and the juice filled his mouth.

"Hmm." She blinked. "I don't need to brush my teeth anymore. Just rinse your mouth."

Hearing this, Zhao Yi's eyes involuntarily fell on her lips, which were so beautiful and tempting.

Softer than he had imagined.

Shen Qingtan's face felt hot when he looked at her. She lowered her head uncomfortably and turned a page of the book.

Although Zhao Jue has some issues with his character, he loves books very much.

When I looked through it, I found that it was not damaged at all and there were no random annotations on it.

Clean and tidy, like new.

Zhao Yi looked at the book in her hand and asked, "Do you like Meng An's books?"

Shen Qingtan nodded and asked casually, "Do you like it too?"

Zhao Yi hummed, "Meng Lao's books are rare copies, and even copied copies are extremely difficult to buy. The fact that you were able to find this original copy shows that you really love it."

Shen Qingtan was silent.

Zhao Yi noticed her abnormality and suddenly remembered that she had brought back a box of things from Zhao Jue, which included many books.

There was a time when he was in very poor health and basically stayed in bed.

Only when the situation improved a little could I get out of bed and walk around the room.

It was at this time that Zhao Jue came to visit him, and every time he brought a few books with him. Before leaving, he would ask him what books he liked. The next time, he would definitely bring the books he mentioned and ask him about his opinions on the books.

Perhaps he was suffering from the pain of illness, and having someone to talk to him diverted his attention a little and relieved some of the pain. He then patiently answered Zhao Jue's questions.

Zhao Jue also seemed to have changed his temperament and listened very attentively.

Zhao Yi asked, "Do you have books like the Guidebook, Water Classic, and Records of Various Nations?"

When Shen Qingtan heard Zhao Yi mention five or six book titles, all of which were books she gave to Zhao Jue, her expression became even more strange.

An absurd idea popped up in her mind, and she tentatively asked, "Do you want to read these books... or have you seen these books somewhere?"

"I've seen it." Zhao Yi said softly, "Third brother, give it to me to cheer me up."

Shen Qingtan pursed his lips, picking at the red bean bookmark with his fingers, and said in a muffled voice: "He gave me a gift at the beginning, and Shen Liu asked me to return the gift to him. I didn't know what he liked, so I asked a few questions. I learned that he liked these books, so I asked someone to find them and give them to him."

Having said that, Shen Qingtan knew that the topic was sensitive and would most likely make Zhao Yi unhappy, but it was necessary to explain it clearly to Zhao Yi.

"He's a military commander." Zhao Yi wiped his fingers with a handkerchief and said with a smile, "He said he likes reading, but he's just trying to please you."

Shen Qingtan understood that Zhao Jue was a military general and did not like reading.

He lent all these books to Zhao Yi.

So, were all the opinions he expressed in the past learned from Zhao Yi?

It's no wonder she made such speculations. The last time she asked Zhao Jue about an anecdote, his answer was different from what he had given when he was young.

At that time, she suspected that Zhao Jue was deliberately catering to her in order to please her.

Looking back now, Zhao Jue’s answer when he was young was most likely not his opinion.

Thinking of this, Shen Qingtan felt complicated and looked at Zhao Yi with some uneasiness, fearing that he would feel uncomfortable.

"you……"

"Without my knowledge, you took great pains to find books for me." Zhao Yi saw through her thoughts and said gently, "I haven't thanked my wife yet."

Shen Qingtan was stunned.

Zhao Yi raised his hand and ruffled her soft hair: "Our fate was destined from the beginning."

Shen Qingtan felt warm in his heart. He always had a way of comforting people.

Thinking carefully, she realized that Zhao Jue had not read any of the books she had collected, and they were all for Zhao Yi to read. Her mood became much better.

The next moment, she frowned, not knowing what she was thinking of.

Zhao Yi asked, "What's wrong?"

Shen Qingtan said: "You didn't wash your hands and touched my hair."

Zhao Yi: “…”

Seeing Zhao Yi speechless, Shen Qingtan smiled brightly: "I don't dislike you."

Zhao Yi knew that she was just joking and teasing him on purpose.

He smiled helplessly, fed her a few more grapes, put on her shoes, and took her hand to wash up together.

-

On the eve of the end of the month, Shen Qingtan became increasingly aware that the atmosphere in the room had changed.

She stood in front of the window of the inner room and clearly saw Liu Yue lingering at the door, as if he had something to say to her.

After Liu Yue came back from her mother's house, she was worried. The closer it got to the end of the month, the more unstable she became. She was distracted and did wrong things several times.

Shen Qingtan values Liu Yue and Ting Xue very much. They are her right-hand men and the last thing she wants to see is the master and servant becoming enemies.

She did not call Liu Yue to question him, but waited for him to make a choice...whether he would betray her.