Chapter 24 Private Meeting

Shen Qingtan was half asleep and didn't hear clearly: "Who?"

"Master Zhao San asked you to meet him at Bicheng Pavilion and will wait for you until the end of the You hour. Do you want to go?" Liu Yue asked while carefully observing Shen Qingtan's expression, fearing that Shen Qingtan would not forget his old feelings for Zhao Jue.

Shen Qingtan sat up straight and rubbed his dizzy head: "It's time to go meet him. Some things need to be returned."

Liu Yue remembered the gift Shen Qingtan had given Zhao Jue and muttered, "I forgot about that. Your things are in the hands of Master Zhao San. If he has any bad intentions and uses them to do something bad, you will be in trouble."

Shen Qingtan frowned slightly, covered his mouth with a handkerchief and coughed a few times.

Liu Yue poured a cup of warm water and handed it to Shen Qingtan, then took out a property deed from her sleeve and said, "Miss, I have registered it with the government and changed the name."

Shen Qingtan drank two sips of water, and his throat felt much better: "Take it and put it away."

"I'll go find Mama Liu now." Liu Yue left in a hurry.

Shen Qingtan leaned against the big pillow to wake up. After two quarters of an hour, he called Qiuchan in to dress up and took her to his room.

Qiu Chan stood there in shock, as if she had not expected Shen Qingtan to be willing to take her.

"What are you standing there for?" Shen Qingtan touched the delicate lilac on her earlobe and urged, "Hurry up and catch up."

Qiu Chan followed stupidly, wanting to say something but stopping himself.

Shen Qingtan didn't care what Qiu Chan was thinking and went straight to a small and exquisite house in a secluded corner of Lanxue Garden.

Jiang Mu was standing guard at the door. Seeing the master and servant, he bowed respectfully and said, "Second Madam, the Second Master is in there handling official business."

"I have something to ask Second Master. Please tell him if he is free to see me."

"Second Master said you're here, no need to announce it."

Jiang Mu opened the door.

Shen Qingtan was stunned for a moment, but quickly came to his senses. He left Qiuchan standing at the door and went into the room alone.

The room was filled with the elegant scent of sandalwood, and her slightly restless heart calmed down.

Zhao Yi was in poor health and particularly afraid of cold, so this room was specially built for him. It had plenty of light and was not cold even in winter.

She looked around the master's room. The furniture in the room was very Zen-like. There was a window on the wall opposite the door, and a couch under the window. On the couch were calligraphy and paintings for the master to read at any time.

There was a large desk under the window on the side of the door, with pens, ink, paper and inkstone neatly placed on it. There were two armchairs, and Zhao Yi was sitting in the sun reading official documents.

"You're here." Zhao Yi put down the documents, came to the couch, and opened the window: "Sit down."

Shen Qingtan sat gracefully on the couch, glancing out the window casually and was instantly attracted by the scenery outside.

The pink and white courtyard wall is covered with lush vines. There are several crabapple trees planted in the courtyard. The flower buds are bright red, like dots of rouge, and very beautiful.

Zhao Yi watched her unconsciously leaning against the window, her dark, watery eyes gazing at the scenery in the yard. The setting sun outside the window shone on her fair and charming face, which was even brighter and more beautiful than the delicate crabapple flowers in the yard.

He picked up the teapot and poured tea for her: "If you like, you can come here to read when you have nothing to do on weekdays."

"No need." Shen Qingtan knew Zhao Yi didn't like to get close to others, but since she liked the view of the room, she was considerate enough to open it to her. However, she couldn't help but understand and say, "Second Master, are you free now?"

"What do you want?"

"The sun is shining brightly today. I'd like to invite you to visit the garden together."

Zhao Yi looked at Shen Qingtan in surprise, unable to understand her thoughts for a moment.

"Master Zhao invited me to meet him at Bicheng Pavilion. After much deliberation, I've decided to go." Shen Qingtan carefully considered and decided to ask Zhao Yi to go too, to avoid any accusations of her "secretly meeting" with Zhao Jue. "He and I were previously engaged, and we exchanged some gifts. I need to take them back. However, we used to have a special relationship, so it's inconvenient for us to meet privately."

Zhao Yi's expression was subtle: "You're inviting me?"

His cold eyes were dark, and Shen Qingtan couldn't see through his emotions. Later, she realized that she felt guilty and held the teacup in both hands: "You are my husband."

Perhaps only she would invite her husband to send her to meet her ex-fiancé to ask for the personal belongings they had given each other before.

However, Zhao Yi had a strange idea. It was better than meeting Zhao Jue in private. At least she trusted him.

In the silence of the room, Shen Qingtan felt a little regretful about his hasty decision, which seemed a bit abrupt.

She was about to find an excuse to refuse when she heard his helpless sigh: "Go now?"

Seeing that he agreed, Shen Qingtan was a little surprised: "He waited until the end of the evening hour. It's still early now. If you still have official business to attend to, he will wait until you finish your business before going."

There is still one and a half hours left until the end of the You hour.

Zhao Yi: “…”

He picked up a few letters and dealt with them.

——

Zhao Jue sat in the Bicheng Pavilion and waited for two hours. There were still two quarters of an hour before the end of the You hour. He guessed that Shen Qingtan would not come to the appointment and did not plan to wait any longer.

He had just stood up when he saw Shen Qingtan coming.

She had a plain face without any makeup, and was wearing a short-sleeved blouse made of silver-red ice gauze and a honey-silk skirt. She walked among the flowers and willows, more beautiful and charming than the peach blossoms in full bloom in the garden.

Zhao Jue couldn't help but take a step forward, and just then she noticed that Zhao Yi beside her had a gloomy expression.

Shen Qingtan and Zhao Yi entered the pavilion side by side. She seemed not to notice Zhao Jue's displeased expression. She took out a handkerchief and wiped the stone bench. Then she asked Qiu Chan to put the cushion she brought on the stone bench before letting Zhao Yi sit down.

Zhao Yi sat down and called out calmly, "Third brother."

"Second brother." Zhao Jue looked at Shen Qingtan standing beside Zhao Yi and called out with a tense face, "Second sister-in-law."

He didn't know whether Zhao Yi was crazy or Shen Qingtan was crazy.

One is sending his wife to meet her ex-fiancé, and the other is taking her husband to meet his ex-lover.

Shen Qingtan smiled and said, "Brother-in-law, your second brother is not feeling well. Please vacate the pavilion for him to rest." She pointed to a willow tree not far away and said, "Shall we go over there to talk?"

Zhao Jue looked at Shen Qingtan deeply, then strode towards the willow tree.

Shen Qingtan told Qiu Chan to take good care of Zhao Yi, then he left the pavilion and came to the willow tree. Standing a few steps away from Zhao Jue, he looked back at the man in the pavilion.

Seeing that she was obsessed with Zhao Yi and feeling depressed, Zhao Jue blurted out, "Tan'er, you don't have to put on an act in front of me. We've been together for over a decade, and you and Second Brother have only known each other for three days. I don't believe you've let me go and fallen for Second Brother instead."

"Brother-in-law, it's not because I admire you that I've made an engagement with you. It's because of the engagement that I treat you as a family member and feel closer to you." Shen Qingtan's expression was cold as she corrected him, "A woman should obey her father at home and her husband after marriage. Naturally, my heart should be filled with my husband."

Zhao Jue didn't believe a word of it: "If that's the case, why don't you tell Boss Qin that you're not marrying me, and let him refuse to cooperate with me?"