She wondered which audacious scoundrel was acting so suspiciously, trying to drag her into an even darker corner. Su Xiaoning panicked and struggled desperately.
The man behind her was very strong, and Su Xiaoning had no way to break free from his grasp. In an instant, all sorts of horrible thoughts about flower thieves ravaging innocent women flashed through her mind, so she simply closed her eyes and bit the man's hand hard.
"ah!"
A soft cry rang out, and the person who came out cried out in pain, instinctively releasing Su Xiaoning.
Su Xiaoning panicked and staggered as she tried to escape, but the cry of pain sounded strangely familiar. She turned around quickly and froze on the spot.
"It's you?!"
"I was planning to give you a surprise, but I never expected you to be so fierce." Su Qingcai, dressed as a servant, stood in front of Su Xiaoning. He gave a wry smile, reached out to take Su Xiaoning's hand, and there was a clear tooth mark on his palm, which was even bleeding.
Su Xiaoning gently touched the wound with a touch of heartache, and said with a wry smile, "What kind of surprise is this? Dragging someone away out of nowhere is clearly a fright!"
Su Qingcai shrugged innocently. "This is, after all, an outer residence, and there are too many women living here. What if we get discovered if I don't take you somewhere else?"
"Then you'd better remember to speak properly next time." Su Xiaoning sighed and obediently walked with Su Qingcai to a darker corner. "We can't see you before the selection of concubines, so why did you suddenly come here?"
"I miss you so much," Su Qingcai said softly. As soon as he reached the corner, he couldn't wait to hug Su Xiaoning tightly, as if he wanted to melt her into his own bones.
"You heartless bastard! I wrote you so many letters, and you didn't reply to a single one. I thought you had something to say, so I disguised myself as a servant to come and see you, only to cause such a scene as soon as we met."
He missed Su Xiaoning terribly. He had never felt time pass so slowly. In the days without Su Xiaoning, he lost his appetite and felt as if he were being tortured.
He poured all his longing into the letters, but they disappeared without a trace, receiving no reply whatsoever. He felt he must be crazy to be so bold as to want to come directly to her.
Su Qingcai's expression of emotion was direct and passionate, which startled Su Xiaoning, who then blushed.
"I'm sorry, I wanted to reply to you, but I couldn't..."
"You're not incapable of writing, so since you saw it, why can't you reply?"
"I..." Su Xiaoning was on the verge of tears, but in this situation, there was really no way to hide it anymore.
She hung her head dejectedly and said softly, "Please don't laugh at me when I tell you, but I couldn't understand any of what you wrote. I was afraid you'd think I was uncultured, so I simply didn't reply..."
"Just because of this?" Su Qingcai was both amused and exasperated. He wanted to laugh out loud, but he held it back out of consideration for Su Xiaoning. "It's nothing. If you don't understand, I won't write it anymore. I'll send you something else next time. Don't ignore me because of this again."
"Actually, it's not that you can't keep writing to me..." Su Xiaoning was a little shy. She was actually very conflicted. Although she couldn't understand or write classical Chinese, she knew that those letters were sent by her sweetheart, and that alone filled her heart with happiness.
She thought for a moment and tentatively asked, "If you don't mind, I can reply to your letters with drawings in the future?"
"You can draw?" Su Qingcai asked with a mocking expression. He didn't believe that Su Xiaoning, who couldn't even write, could draw.
Su Xiaoning is indeed not a professional; all she can do is draw stick figures. But as long as the reply is understandable, isn't that enough?
She gently punched Su Qingcai's chest and whispered, "It's just a formality. I wanted to give you some response, but since you don't care, I'll do it..."
She also wanted to tell Su Qingcai that he was all she could think about.
Su Qingcai's heart softened, and he hugged Su Xiaoning even tighter, his heart filled with joy.
The two snuggled together in the corner, looking very sweet, and neither of them noticed that a figure was slowly approaching them from not far away.
Ah Lian hid behind the corner of the wall, watching Su Xiaoning and Su Qingcai embrace tightly. She covered her mouth to prevent herself from crying out.
She only went out to get up in the middle of the night, little did she know she would witness such a shocking scene!
The young lady secretly met with the prince before the selection of concubines; this was a serious crime and would definitely disqualify her. Ah Lian's mind raced, and she immediately ran to the vicinity of the head maid and shouted loudly.
"Help! Thief! Get up and catch the thief!"
Almost half the people in the courtyard were awakened. The head maid was quick; she immediately got up and led a team of guards to search the outer courtyard.
Su Xiaoning and Su Qingcai were naturally alarmed. They exchanged a glance, and Su Xiaoning pushed Su Qingcai away.
"You go first, and make sure they don't find out! I'll handle things here!"
Su Qingcai understood the importance and urgency of the matter. He didn't say much, just nodded silently, left with the words "Be careful" and then left.
Meanwhile, the head maid sealed off the entire house, and the girls in the courtyard searched frantically. Under A-Lian's deliberate guidance, they quickly arrived at a corner and found Su Xiaoning standing alone outside.
The head maid sized up Su Xiaoning and asked sternly, "What are you doing out here alone so late?"
"I..." Su Xiaoning hadn't expected them to arrive so quickly, and hadn't even thought of what to say.
She stood there, stunned, as if time had stood still.
Standing outside so thinly dressed late at night, and with Ah Lian saying that the "thief" seemed to have had contact with Su Xiaoning, the more I think about it, the more suspicious it seems...
The head maid's eyes grew increasingly suspicious. Just as she was about to order someone to take Su Xiaoning away, Meng Ruqiao suddenly stepped out from the line. She walked up to Su Xiaoning and tightly grasped her hand.
"Granny, please don't ask her anymore. I was the one who invited her out tonight, but neither of us dared to tell her."
"You?" The head maid was taken aback, completely unable to figure out what Meng Ruqiao was up to.
Meng Ruqiao nodded and said, "Actually, I wanted to learn medicine from Su Xiaoning, but I didn't want others to know, so I arranged to meet her here tonight. But this happened just before we were about to meet. Xiaoning, it's really kind of you to wait so long."
She looked at Su Xiaoning apologetically, as if the two of them really had this agreement.
Su Xiaoning remained silent, which was considered an admission.
When the Prime Minister's daughter came forward to offer an excuse for Su Xiaoning, the head maid had nothing to say and could only choose to believe her explanation, leaving dejectedly with her entourage. Although A-Lian was angry, she dared not show it on her face and could only pretend that she knew nothing, leaving as well. This farce finally came to an end.
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