Chapter 126 Ask Liu

Xue Mei moved her feet and picked up the dirty bun on the ground with a handkerchief with disgust.

"I really can't understand why Ziming liked you in the past."

Zhu Qingyan looked at her former good sister, or now the wife of the second young master of the Chen family, expressionlessly.

The Zhu family returned the betrothal gift intact to the Chen family, which made Mrs. Chen feel ashamed. In addition, Xue Mei took the opportunity to show her goodwill to Chen Ziming, so Mrs. Chen simply arranged for Chen Ziming to marry Xue Mei in a low-key manner.

Xue Mei's family had long been in decline, and being able to marry into the Chen family was considered a dream come true. She simply dropped out of Longchang Academy and prepared to take care of her husband and children from then on.

However, every time she thought of how Chen Ziming had been nice to Zhu Qingyan, she felt extremely unhappy. But with Madam Chen keeping an eye on her at home, she dared not show anything and could only hold her anger in her heart.

"Like me?" Zhu Qingyan thought of Chen Ziming's face and felt sick. "Then I really can't afford him."

She didn't want to waste time talking to Xue Mei, so she walked around her and left.

Xue Mei gave a wink to the maid behind her, and the two maids immediately stood in front of Zhu Qingyan.

Zhu Qingyan recognized that these two maids were the ones who had served him in the Chen Mansion. The looks in their eyes now seemed as if they shared the same hatred for the enemy as Xue Mei.

The dirty bun was handed to Zhu Qingyan.

"Eat this and I'll let you go."

Zhu Qingyan was shocked and angry, and stared at Xue Mei.

Xue Mei's eyes showed a hint of satisfaction. She had been cautious in her words and actions and had been servile and fawning in the Chen residence for so long, and today she finally found someone to vent her anger on.

A strong hand was placed on Zhu Qingyan's shoulder, and Murong Jing's voice came from behind.

"Isn't it too cheap to eat the buns before leaving?"

Murong Jing stood in front of Zhu Qingyan and looked at Xue Mei arrogantly.

Xue Mei had never seen Murong Jing before, but judging from her wheat-colored skin and her lack of makeup and grooming, she was definitely not a spoiled young lady from a wealthy family.

"Which wild girl from which village dares to show off here?"

Murong Jing didn't get angry but laughed instead. The last Mr. Hu who spoke to her like this is now hiding at home and dare not go out.

"Mu'er, haven't we given each other rewards for a long time?"

Mu'er lowered her eyes: "Yes."

"Since she likes buns so much, let's give it to her as a reward." Murong Jing said with a smile.

Mu'er snatched the bun from Xue Mei's hand without saying a word and stuffed it into her mouth.

The two maids were horrified and wanted to come forward to stop them, but how could they be a match for Mu'er?

She grabbed one of the maids' arms with one hand and twisted it backwards. The two maids immediately fell to the ground, unable to make a sound due to the pain.

Xue Mei was so frightened that her face turned pale, and she wanted to run, but Mu'er grabbed her neck and forced the bun that she had stepped on into her body.

Murong Jing frowned slightly, "I told her that she can leave after eating the buns. It's too easy for her."

Mu'er nodded and kicked Xue Mei on the calf, and Xue Mei knelt directly in front of Murong Jing and Zhu Qingyan.

She still had a bun stuffed in her mouth, her face was filled with fear, and tears were coming out. I don't know if it was because of choking or fear.

Murong Jing shook her head and sighed, "I treated you to steamed buns, but you didn't even know how to say thank you. You should go find that nephew of Minister Hu and learn some manners.

Since you are ignorant, you should kneel for a while longer."

Mu'er's kick just now was neither light nor heavy, and it hit her meridian, enough to make her unable to walk for an hour.

There were some people around who were curious about this and they ran to the Chen residence to tell them about this matter. Only then did the Chen residence send someone to take Xue Mei back.

Xue Mei didn't expect that after she returned home, she would be scolded by Madam Chen, who said that she deserved to be punished for causing trouble outside and also brought shame to the Chen family.

Xue Mei didn't dare to say anything more. After rubbing her sore legs and returning to her room, she became angrier the more she thought about it.

She could see that the two people around Zhu Qingyan were not easy to deal with, but Zhu Qingyan was a concubine's daughter. Couldn't she, the young lady of the Chen family, deal with her?

Previously, the news that Zhu Qingyan was a concubine's daughter had only spread within the academy and was suppressed by Ouyang Ye.

Zhu Qingyan can’t move for the time being, but isn’t her mother still living alone outside?

If the fact that her mother was having an affair became known to all the neighbors, then as a woman, she would either commit suicide out of shame or be severely punished.

Xue Mei only wanted to take revenge on Zhu Qingyan, but she certainly couldn't ask the servants in the Chen residence to do this, so she asked Xiaoman, her own maid who came with the dowry, to do it.

"Xiao Man, go to the west of the city and ask where Zhu Qingyan's mother lives."

Xiaoman was a pretty girl of fourteen, and she was a little confused when she heard this.

"The west of the city is quite large..."

Xue Mei was a little impatient, "It's that messy place in the southwest, don't all the poor people in Jiangzhou City live there?

Go find it for me. If you can't find it, go door to door and ask. Do you hear me?"

Xiaoman nodded obediently and went out to do some work.

She looked up and saw that the weather was a bit gloomy, but it hadn't rained in Jiangzhou City for a long time. She estimated that it would not rain today, and it would just get dark earlier.

…

Zhu Qingyan, Murong Jing and Mu'er walked towards the academy together.

"Thank you for what you did just now." Zhu Qingyan said to Murong Jing. If Murong Jing hadn't taken action, he would have been humiliated.

But she couldn't help but wonder about the background of her new roommate, who didn't even give face to the Chen family.

And the way she and Mu'er act... they are truly two ruthless people.

Murong Jing waved her hand to tell her not to worry, and then jokingly looked up and down at Zhu Qingyan's frail body, and said teasingly:

"You scholars are weak and incompetent, unable to carry anything on your shoulders or lift anything with your hands. If you really meet someone unreasonable, you will only be bullied."

Zhu Qingyan lowered her head and admitted that what Murong Jing said was true.

"Here, this is for you." Murong Jing patted her.

A three-finger-wide black belt appeared in front of Zhu Qingyan.

"What is this?" Zhu Qingyan was stunned. Why did she give him a belt as a gift?

Besides, which woman would use this kind of belt?

“This is a soft sword.”

As Murong Jing spoke, she pressed her finger and the belt buckle gently popped open, revealing the extremely hidden hilt inside.

Murong Jing grasped the hilt of the sword and pulled it out, and a soft sword shining with silver light slid out from the belt like flowing water.

The sword was processed with special technology, the blade was soft and thin as a cicada's wing, and the hilt was carefully designed and hidden in the exquisite belt buckle, so as not to arouse the suspicion of others.

"The owner of the weapons shop just now was so ignorant that he didn't even recognize that this sword was the famous sword 'Wen Liu' and sold it to me for twenty taels of silver. Haha!"

“Twenty taels!?” Zhu Qingyan gasped.

Murong Jing looked at her reaction and said, "You are an outsider. You should know that this sword was once found by someone who paid five thousand taels of silver."

Zhu Qingyan became even more nervous when she heard this and quickly declined, saying that she could not accept it.

Murong Jing didn't say anything anymore. She put her arms around Zhu Qingyan's waist and tied the black belt around him.

"Don't be polite, I'm going back to the army... I'm counting on you for next year's college entrance examination!"