Chapter 41 Not Knowing When to Avoid Suspicion in the Dead of Night

Why would Chen Ci'an come over so late at night?

We can't let him in, and we absolutely can't let him see Xie Qi in his room.

Jiang Zhi gestured to Xie Qi with her eyes to keep quiet, then got up, opened the door, and went out.

Xie Qi was left alone in the room, his lips pressed tightly together, his eyes dark and unfathomable.

Young Master Cousin?

What kind of young master would stay up all night to talk to a woman in her boudoir?

He doesn't even respect the most basic etiquette between men and women; he must be a shameless person who doesn't know anything about propriety, righteousness, or shame!

"What brings you here so late, Master?"

When Shen Ci'an saw Jiang Zhi come out of the house, he closed the door. Her hair ornaments had all been removed, and she looked like she was about to go to sleep, as if the events of the day had completely passed and left no trace in her heart.

"It is truly inappropriate to disturb you so late at night, but I have a question I would like to ask you, Miss," he said, bowing slightly.

There was another person hiding in the room. Jiang Zhi didn't dare let Shen Ci'an stay there for long, so she pretended to be sleepy and lazily yawned, "Please speak, Master."

"During the day at Zhizhi Pavilion, you said you were drunk, but actually you were drugged by Madam Jiang, right?" Shen Ci'an's deep brown pupils were hazy in the moonlight, making it impossible to see the emotions in his eyes.

Jiang Zhi tried to explain, "At the time, I only thought it was because I had drunk too much, but later I found out it was because of the medication..."

Shen Ci'an's disappointed gaze fell on her. "Are you going to continue deceiving me?"

“Master…” Jiang Zhi was surprised, the drowsiness in her eyes dissipated. Did he know something?

Shen Ci'an sighed, "You were drugged but didn't want to tell me. Instead, you chose to believe that Lord Lu, who had no relatives or friends, and took his antidote so that he could take you away from Zhizhixuan."

Shen Ci'an lowered her eyelashes, concealing a shadow of sadness. "Am I really such an untrustworthy person in your eyes?"

Jiang Zhi was startled and decided to tell the truth, "Master, I never thought of you that way. It's just that at that time, you and Lord Lu were at loggerheads. If you had known that I was drugged, how could you have so easily allowed me to leave with him?"

"This is utterly absurd," Shen Ci'an said coldly. "As a man, he should avoid suspicion. If he has ill intentions and does something to you while you're on your way to take your medicine, how can I live with myself?"

Jiang Zhi couldn't help but whisper in defense, "Lord Lu is not that kind of person."

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard are henchmen and lackeys. They fabricate charges against anyone they don't like, and confiscating property and exterminating families is commonplace for them. How many loyal officials in the court have had their families destroyed by the Embroidered Uniform Guard? How dare you trust such people and associate with them?" Shen Ci'an frowned, his expression cold and stern.

Moreover, he saw that man behaving intimately with the young lady today, and the way he looked at her was different from how he looked at others, clearly indicating that he had ulterior motives and ill intentions.

Jiang Zhi knew that Shen Ci'an had a prejudice against the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Before she met Lu Yuan, she did indeed share the same thoughts as Shen Ci'an.

But changing Shen Ci'an's mind won't be something that can be done overnight, especially since there's another person in her room.

“Master, I have remembered your words. I will think more carefully in the future and will not dare to be so rash again.”

Seeing how readily she admitted her mistake, Shen Ci'an's tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly. "Is that really what you think?"

"It was my oversight that led you into such a predicament during the day, and now I have caused you worry. I should not have done that."

She was sincere and even reached out to tug at his sleeve, looking like she was obediently admitting her mistake.

Shen Ci'an's heart softened inexplicably. Thinking of the repeated frights she had suffered today, she must be exhausted both physically and mentally. She could only sigh helplessly, "Well, I just hope that in the future, no matter what you do, Miss will always put your own safety first."

He took out a small porcelain bottle from his sleeve. “Miss was frightened at the Northern Garrison. This medicine is a prescription that my mother specially obtained so that I could study in peace. It is the best for calming the mind and soothing the body and mind. If Miss does not mind, please accept it.”

“I can’t accept this,” Jiang Zhi waved her hands repeatedly. “The teacher’s examination is imminent and the most important thing is that I have nothing to do now.”

"It's alright. I don't need this medicine anymore, so giving it to you, Miss, is a good use of it. Please don't be so polite."

Seeing his stubborn expression, Jiang Zhi thanked him and accepted the gift.

A smile finally appeared on Shen Ci'an's face. "Then I won't disturb Miss's rest any longer. Farewell."

Jiang Zhi watched Shen Ci'an leave the courtyard, finally letting out a sigh of relief and clutching the porcelain bottle in her hand.

Back in the room, Xie Qi was sitting at the table, pouring himself a cup of tea and drinking it.

Seeing her come in, his gaze fell on the porcelain bottle in her hand, and he scoffed, "You can give away this kind of folk remedy that you don't even know where you got it from?"

Jiang Zhi knew he must have overheard her conversation with Shen Ci'an. She slowly put the porcelain bottle into her box and dismissed him, saying, "If Prince Xie has nothing else to say, I'm going to sleep."

Xie Qi was just about to leave when he ran into Shen Ci'an, who had come uninvited.

He had long known that there was a young master from the Jiang family living under someone else's roof.

I had only heard that he was aloof and arrogant, only knew how to bury himself in his books, had little contact with the people of the Jiang family, and had little presence, so I didn't take him seriously.

But now it seems that this young master is not at all aloof or unapproachable.

He didn't mean to eavesdrop on their conversation; it's just that his hearing has always been excellent, and even without consciously listening, he could still hear every single word they said.

What he feared most was that Miss Jiang's attitude towards him seemed quite intimate and familiar, and their relationship was definitely not ordinary.

He tentatively asked, "Miss Jiang and this young master have a very good relationship?"

Jiang Zhi hadn't intended to hide it from him anyway. "It's alright, the teacher is teaching me calligraphy. Why does Prince Xie ask about this?"

Xie Qi choked.

Whenever he thought of the intimate scene of them practicing calligraphy together, an overwhelming feeling of jealousy welled up inside him.

Ah, so he's a scholar after all.

To come to a woman's boudoir in the dead of night without any regard for propriety—you've wasted all your education!