Chapter 14: Ridiculous She Slipped into Xiao Yunqi's Courtyard

The aroma of tea wafted through the private room, and the slight sound of footsteps did not cause the quietly sitting girl to move or look back.

It wasn't until a beautiful woman with mature temperament knelt down and sat in front of Xue Zhiying that she blinked blankly: "Yun Niang."

Yunniang is nearly forty years old, but she is well maintained. Her face is delicately made up, her skin is as smooth as a baby's, her figure is graceful and charming, and her every move is full of charm. She is an absolute beauty.

She is the owner of this embroidery workshop. She is single, unmarried and does not see other members of her family.

Xue Zhiying didn't know much about her. Yunniang was not someone who liked to talk about her past, but from the outside, the life Yunniang was living now was exactly what she envied and longed for.

If she had not met a woman like Yunniang, her limited knowledge would not have given her the idea of ​​completely leaving the Xiao family.

But she is far inferior to Yunniang in courage and experience. She still has a long way to go if she wants to live the life she wants.

Seeing her dazed look, Yunniang smiled indulgently, "Are you still thinking about that? Who on earth is that person that you're so concerned about?"

"...Huh?" Xue Zhiying opened her mouth and then realized, "No, I just told you to pass on his instructions. I'm not thinking about that anymore. I'm thinking about something else."

She was talking about exactly what Xiao Yunqi had instructed her to do. She talked to Yunniang about buying the embroidery in the way he had instructed. Yunniang did not agree, so she did not say anything more.

Yunniang teased her, "He was the one who told you not to reveal your identity. Are you so obedient?"

If Xiao Yunqi heard this, he would probably sneer.

There was no such thing as obedience for Xue Zhiying in his place.

However, Xue Zhiying herself felt that she should be obedient.

She doesn't have a strong personality, nor does she have a strong and intimidating appearance.

Others think she is easy to bully, and she herself feels that it is difficult for her to fight against evil forces.

Yunniang was clearly trying to tease her by bringing it up again, but Xue Zhiying blushed slightly and answered seriously again, "Yes, I cannot reveal his identity."

Yunniang's smile deepened. She stretched out her hand and pushed the cakes she had just brought in front of Xue Zhiying: "Try my new cakes."

Xue Zhiying nodded, took a small bite, and asked in a low voice: "Why didn't Yunniang ask me what I was thinking?"

"I know what you're thinking, so I won't ask."

As she spoke, Yunniang lowered her head and groped for something in front of her.

After saying this, she looked up and took out a neatly folded piece of paper from her waist and spread it out on the table.

"Yunniang, what is this?"

"A customer wants an embroidery design."

Xue Zhiying's heartbeat suddenly quickened, and she had a premonition of Yunniang's move.

Yunniang didn't keep the secret and said bluntly, "The commission for this business is quite good. I know you are capable enough, and the embroidery is also your specialty. The delivery will be at the end of the month. If you are willing, you can take this order. I won't charge you any extra fees."

Xue Zhiying couldn't help but pause when she reached out to take the blueprint.

"...end of the month." That means there are still about ten days left.

Yunniang saw the problem from her gradually declining expression: "Can't you ask someone to deliver it for you?"

Xue Zhiying remained silent and could not give an answer.

Of course, she couldn't do it on her own. Chuntao was the only one by her side. Not only could Chuntao not travel to such a far place as the western suburbs alone, she couldn't leave the house without the old lady's permission.

She is not from the Xiao Mansion, so she cannot make decisions about anything in the Xiao Mansion.

In ten days, she could complete the embroidery perfectly, but she had no way of sending it out of the austere mansion.

Yunniang asked, "How did you get here today? Is there anyone in the mansion who can help you?"

Xue Zhiying's heart trembled, and hope suddenly arose, but it quickly extinguished.

She shook her head slightly: "I'm not sure. If I still can't leave the house in the end, the embroidery can't be delivered to the embroidery workshop, which will delay your business."

Xiao Yunqi might not necessarily help with this. Even if he was willing to help, she might not be able to see him within ten days.

Apart from Xiao Yunqi, she couldn't think of anyone else in the Xiao family who could help her with such an insignificant matter.

This seems a bit sad. She has been in the Xiao Mansion for nearly ten years, but she is still an awkward and isolated outsider with no one to rely on.

Yunniang comforted her: "It's just a small business, it's not that serious. Even if it's late, it won't matter."

"But I don't know if it's three or five days late, or..."

"I'll leave this order with you for now. I'll wait for you for ten days. When you return home today, you should think of a way to deal with it. If you can deliver the embroidery within ten days, I'll use your embroidery to trade with the customer. If not, I'll have the embroiderer in the embroidery workshop rush out another one so as not to delay my business."

Xue Zhiying choked up, "Yunniang."

"I've been thinking about you selling a lot of loose pieces to me, but loose pieces are cheap and don't make you famous. If you can get some custom orders and let the powerful people in Beijing know about you, maybe your embroidery will gradually sell for a higher price. You'll also have a regular buyer, and you won't have to worry about the source of money."

Xue Zhiying's eyes were red. Yunniang's kindness was precious to her. She was very touched, but sad that she could not hold on to this kindness.

Yunniang considerately waited for her to calm down for a moment before continuing, "Don't be too stressed. Even if you don't make it this time, you'll still have a chance next time."

These words failed to comfort Xue Zhiying, but instead made her more stressed.

She didn't have this sense of urgency before, but now every day felt like her last moment before execution.

Yunniang's suggestion was not enough to change her situation, but it seemed to be a warning to her that she must do something, otherwise she would not get any chance.

In desperation, Xue Zhiying tried every possible means and many absurd and unfeasible ideas came to his mind.

On the way back home, Xue Zhiying sat alone in the carriage, with a dull expression and trembling fingertips.

The occasional bumps in the carriage caused the copper coins that were not firmly placed on her waist to make slight noises.

This was the money she earned today from the embroidery she had made in the embroidery workshop, but it wasn't just this much at the beginning. A large part of it was spent after she left the embroidery workshop just now.

Plop, plop, plop——

Her heart was beating irregularly, and her trembling fingertips were tightly grasped in her palm.

This is ridiculous.

She actually planned to do such a thing.

…

After returning home, Xue Zhiying sat in the courtyard for a long time.

She hoped that God would bestow some grace upon her so that she could appear in front of Xiao Yunqi openly.

For example, send someone to ask about her situation in the embroidery workshop today, or discuss if there is anything else that needs her help.

Until dusk fell, no one came to Jingshuiyuan and nothing happened.

The last ray of light disappeared from the sky.

There is no moon tonight and the sky is pitch black.

Xue Zhiying stood in front of the candlelit door and felt that she might be crazy.

She slipped into Xiao Yunqi's courtyard.

Yes, she came in secretly, taking advantage of the gap when the servants guarding the gate were taking turns, and ran in.

This was thanks to Xiao Yunqi's quiet nature. There weren't many servants in the entire Yingfeng Courtyard during the day, and even fewer people at night.

But this is not of much use.

If she knocks on the door or walks into the house directly, and the people in the house don't want to see her, she will also be driven away.

Xue Zhiying's mind was full of random thoughts and fear, but her body did the exact opposite. She reached out towards the door, not even bothering to knock. She pushed the door open with force.

The room was completely silent. The wind from the door made the candlelight flicker, and the light and shadow on the wall swayed a few times as if startled.

Xue Zhiying took several steps into the house before she was sure that Xiao Yunqi was not there.

My vigilance relaxed, and turned into a state of confusion that was different from what I had expected.

If he's not here, then she...

Xue Zhiying looked around the room nervously.

The last time she entered Xiao Yunqi's house, she didn't dare to take a closer look. Only now was she able to see it clearly. The furnishings in the house were just like Xiao Yunqi himself, neat, orderly and meticulous, without too many complicated and luxurious decorations. Even the color tone gave a cold and abstinent feeling, silently expressing that she, the uninvited guest, was not welcome.

But she kept moving forward until she stopped in front of the table.

She looked at the teapot on the table, reached out her hand, and felt something warm.

When the action stopped here, she thought she would be overwhelmed with thoughts and hesitate.

In fact, her mind was blank and even her expression seemed dull.

She didn't know what had moved her back to action.

Xue Zhiying opened the lid of the pot with one hand, and took out a palm-sized paper bag from her waist with the other hand, and tilted one corner of the paper bag towards the mouth of the pot.

Suddenly, there was a noise at the door, and the door was pushed open from the outside without any warning.

Xue Zhiying turned around in shock, and instinctively clenched her fists behind her back, hiding the packet of medicine between her five fingers.

The atmosphere was stagnant, just like the last time the two of them looked into each other's eyes in this room.

Xiao Yunqi moved the corner of his lips, as if he was laughing out of anger.

The idea I had during the day was actually confirmed at night.

He didn't know whether to say that he was very foresighted or that the girl in front of him was too ridiculous.

He strode into the room, his eyes slowly shifting to the uncovered teapot: "Miss Xue, what are you doing?"

Xue Zhiying felt that her heart had stopped beating. Otherwise, why couldn't she hear any sound in her chest when she was so nervous and guilty?

Even her blood froze, all kinds of emotions surged up, and in the end, only despair weighed heavily on her.

Xue Zhiying found her voice in her throat and answered almost numbly, "I wanted to talk to my cousin about something, but there was no one in the house, so I thought of going in and waiting."

Xiao Yunqi remained silent, silently oppressing her.

So, under pressure, he heard her barely audible apology: "...I'm sorry, I was abrupt."

But Xiao Yunqi didn't let her go.

"I'm asking what you're doing."

Where his eyes were pointing, the pot of hot tea was still steaming.

The tension reached its limit and Xue Zhiying thought she would be crushed by the pressure, but unexpectedly, she remained surprisingly calm.

She explained again, "I wanted to drink some tea to quench my thirst, but the tea was too hot to drink, so I had to open the lid and let it air dry."

The face that was bright and beautiful in the sunlight became softer in the candlelight at night, and seemed more obedient and easy to bully, without any scheming, and pure and clear. The dark and round watery eyes were filled with the helplessness of being wronged, intentionally or unintentionally making those who wrongly accused her feel guilty.

Xiao Yunqi stared at her, feeling curious for a moment.

Did she know that her explanations were full of loopholes, or did she think that he was bewitched by her and would protect and indulge her without any bottom line?

If it was the latter, then she really ignored his words.

He poked her out expressionlessly, "Instead of pouring the tea into the cup to cool, you opened the lid. Do you think cooling the whole pot of tea will quench your thirst faster?"

The atmosphere froze again, and now it was Xue Zhiying's turn to be silent.

Because she couldn't find any explanation.

Maybe she should apologize again.

Apologize for lifting the lid on the pot.

But before she could hesitate to speak, Xiao Yunqi said, "Stretch out your hand."

His tone was calm and cold, and even the oppressive feeling from before was gone, but Xue Zhiying's whole body froze.

The heartbeat finally regained its rhythm, pounding against the chest, making the scalp numb.

Xiao Yunqi looked at her quietly, no longer asking questions or forcing her, and waited patiently for her to make a move.

Until she finally took out her hands reluctantly from behind, stretched both hands in front of her, and opened her palms to show him.

Xiao Yunqi glanced at her white and delicate palm, took a half step forward, casually put on the lid of the teapot, picked up the teapot and filled the cup with tea.

He looked up at her and placed the teacup on her open palm: "Aren't you thirsty? Drink it."

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