Shen Qing sat on the sofa, watching Cheng Zhiwen bustling around and instructing Ziyan to take care of her daily life, her emotions complicated.
She would have been very grateful to Cheng Zhiwen for everything he had done for her, but the thought that after he broke off his engagement with the original owner, Cheng Zhiwu actually wanted to marry her made her shudder.
Such a thing would be difficult for people to accept even in modern times, let alone in the conservative Qing Dynasty.
Recalling what Cheng Zhiwu did when he entered the room twice, Shen Qing felt increasingly strange and frightened.
With these feelings in mind, she silently ate dinner with Cheng Zhiwen.
Seeing that she was preoccupied and silent, Cheng Zhiwen assumed that she was angry because he had not allowed her to see Qi Zhenheng, and comforted her, "I will send someone to send a telegram to Qi Zhenheng tomorrow, asking him to return to Yongzhou as soon as possible."
Shen Qing said "Oh," without even lifting her eyelids, "Thank you."
Seeing that she still didn't seem to be in a good mood, Cheng Zhiwen put down her chopsticks and looked at her with concern: "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Shen Qing shook her head, biting her chopsticks: "No."
Cheng Zhiwen picked up a piece of mutton for her, said nothing more, and left the room after the meal.
Shen Qing didn't know where he went, but since he wasn't there, she didn't dare take a shower, afraid that what happened that day would happen again. She waited until he came back before taking her pajamas into the bathroom.
On the clothes rack in the bathroom, there were still the dirty clothes that she and Cheng Zhiwen had changed out of after showering last night.
Shen Qing took the clothes one by one, planning to wash them herself after taking a shower.
Cheng Zhiwen's trousers and shirt were taken away one by one and hung on his wrist.
Seeing his boxer shorts hanging under his shirt, Shen Qing felt a little embarrassed, but she still took them down and put them inside his shirt to wrap them up.
Next, Shen Qing tidied up her dirty clothes.
A long skirt, with a sweater underneath...
The bra and panties that should have been hanging under the long skirt had mysteriously disappeared!
Shen Qing searched inside and out again, but still couldn't find it.
Hurriedly carrying the dirty clothes, he walked into the living room and greeted Ziyan, who was standing at the door: "Ziyan, did you come into the bathroom to collect my dirty clothes today?"
Ziyan shook her head: "No, didn't you say that you would take care of the dirty clothes yourself before handing them to me? So I didn't dare to touch them."
Shen Qing's expression changed.
Cheng Zhiwen came over upon hearing the sound: "What is it?"
Shen Qing looked at him with lingering fear: "My underwear that I took off is gone!"
Cheng Zhiwen's expression also changed. She took the dirty clothes from her arms and comforted her, "It's okay, I'll buy you new ones. Go take a bath and change first."
"oh."
Shen Qing returned to the bathroom and took a bath with a restless mind.
A strong intuition told her that the loss of her underwear today was related to the noise outside when she was taking a shower that day!
After Shen finished bathing, the maids changed the hot water, and Cheng Zhiwen also went in to bathe.
Shen Qing lay on the bed, listening to the pattering water coming from the bathroom. Although she knew Cheng Zhiwen was there, she still felt uneasy.
This courtyard seems to be under someone's surveillance...
The sound of water in the bathroom stopped, the door opened, and Cheng Zhiwen came out.
I sat on the other side of the bed and dried my hair.
He was wearing the same silk pajamas as Shen Qing, with his elbows resting on his thighs, sitting there with his back bent. Although he was thin, his back still had the silhouette of broad shoulders and a narrow waist.
Shen Qing hesitated for a long time before saying, "After you went out this morning, your older brother came and walked around the house."
Cheng Zhiwen paused in drying her hair: "I know. Jiang Shen told me."
Shen Qing didn't continue.
She didn't believe that Cheng Zhiwen would turn against her brother for the sake of her temporary stay here.
So she stopped there.
Cheng Zhiwen got up, put the towel back in the bathroom, turned off the light, returned to the bed, and lay down under the covers.
In the darkness, Shen Qing heard him say, "I'll go see him tomorrow and tell him not to come into my yard unless it's absolutely necessary."
“Okay.” Shen Qing paused, then reminded him, “You also need to investigate my underwear matter…”
After saying that, he turned his back and closed his eyes.
Behind him, Cheng Zhiwen said gently, "Okay, I will investigate."
Shen Qing didn't sleep well that night, and was listless the next day. After taking Chinese medicine, he slept in a semi-conscious state all day.
Cheng Zhiwen was nowhere to be seen all day, only returning around dinner time.
He didn't say anything when he came back, his face was very pale and dark. After eating, he went out again, and Shen Qing didn't see him return until she fell asleep.
I spent the day in this state of unease.
Shen Qing slept better that night and got up very early the next morning.
Cheng Zhiwen was still asleep, so she didn't disturb him. She quietly finished her breakfast and then took Ziyan to the garden.
She was getting moldy from staying in that room all the time and wanted to come out and be in contact with living plants and breathe fresh air.
Just as they arrived in the garden, a light rain began to fall.
In the misty rain, the edges of this world seemed to be softened by the moisture.
Shen Qing also felt her mood soften a lot. Holding an oil-paper umbrella, she squatted down and picked a Phalaenopsis orchid.
"Qing'er..." A familiar voice came from not far away.
Shen Qing looked up and saw Qi Zhenheng running towards her in the rain.
A light drizzle fell on his black melon-shaped hat, condensing into tiny water droplets.
Shen Qing's eyes reddened, and she immediately opened her oil-paper umbrella to go out and greet them.
She lifted her skirt and hurried along, the garden ground wet and muddy, yellow mud splashing onto her shoes.
As the oil-paper umbrella shielded Qi Zhenheng, he embraced Shen Qing.
Her clear, large eyes were red as she hugged Shen Qing tightly, saying, "Qing'er... Qing'er... I'm late, you've suffered so much..."
Shen Qing also cried and hugged him tightly: "Big brother... what should I do now?"
Qi Zhenheng released her, reached for the umbrella handle, and grabbed her wrist with his other hand: "Qing'er, come with me!"
Shen Qing shook her head: "No, if I go with you now, it will hurt..."
Before they could finish speaking, Cheng Zhiwen, who had rushed over, forcibly separated them.
The oil-paper umbrella fell to the ground, and Shen Qing also fell to the ground.
Cheng Zhiwen and Qi Zhenheng faced off, while Jiang Shen held up another umbrella to shield Shen Qing and helped her up: "Miss Zhu, let me take you back to your room first."
Shen Qing stood up, pressing her aching chest, and looked at Cheng Zhiwen and Qi Zhenheng with concern, refusing to leave first.
Cheng Zhiwen said fiercely to Qi Zhenheng, "She is my fiancée now. If the people in the manor see you holding her like this, how will she live in the Cheng family in the future?"
Qi Zhenheng angrily said, "I'm taking Qing'er away today! She doesn't need to live in the Cheng family anymore!"
Cheng Zhiwen growled, "Why didn't you take her with you when she was imprisoned in the provincial prison? Now that I've rescued her, you're jumping out to take her away? You certainly know how to pick your timing!"
Qi Zhenheng roared, veins bulging on his forehead: "I was busy going to the capital to see the Empress Dowager! After saving more than a dozen lives of the Gao family, I was originally going to the Provincial Judicial Office to pick her up!"
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