Qiu Boyan and Qiu Mingyan exchanged a glance. Of the two sisters, it was always the younger sister, Mingyan, who made the decisions, so it was only natural that she would speak today. She organized her thoughts for a moment, then looked at Qiu Lingyan and asked gently, "Second sister, I heard that you are taking cousin Jiayu to pick up your two brothers from home again today?"
Qiu Lingyan exclaimed "Ah!" and nodded: "So that's what it is. Yes, I'm going to take her with me. What, do you want to come with us too?"
Qiu Boyan shook her head and said, "Last time, when Second Sister took Cousin Jiayu to the Wei residence, she almost offended all the noble ladies and gentlemen of Heling City. Are you sure you want to take her out again today?"
She spoke with a rather earnest tone: "Why don't we just let Cousin Jiayu stay in the manor and not let her go out and cause trouble? She's just visiting the Qiu family and will be going back in three to five months at most. But our Qiu family needs to stay in Heling City for the rest of our lives. The people she's offended now will hold us accountable later."
Upon hearing this, Qiu Lingyan's smile gradually faded, and her expression turned slightly cold as she looked at Qiu Boyan, her usually quiet but always intelligent younger sister.
She still remembers when she was a child, the three sisters studied together in school, and Bo Yan was the teacher's favorite because she was diligent and inquisitive and had good talent.
The sisters didn't interact much, not because the third branch of the family was born out of wedlock and therefore had a strained relationship with the first and second branches, but because she knew that her younger sister had never really liked her. She had also heard Bo Yan say more than once behind her back that she was wasting her studies because of her good family background.
She thought Bo Yan was just a bit harsh in her words, but she never imagined that she was such a cold-hearted person.
"What do you mean by 'causing trouble'?" Qiu Lingyan stared at her for a long time. "Xue Baoshan provoked her, and she retaliated passively. Is that causing trouble? Fang Hui and the others went too far, and she spoke up for them. Is that causing trouble? Qiu Boyan, in your heart, are these all things causing trouble?"
"Does that mean if someone bullies her, she has to endure it, and if someone says something unpleasant, she can't speak up for the sake of justice, and can only pretend not to hear it, and that's considered being law-abiding? I don't know why you have such a thought."
Qiu Lingyan withdrew her gaze from her and turned to look at the shimmering pond in the courtyard, saying earnestly:
"But I understand one thing: she's our cousin. She didn't come to the Qiu family or to Heling to be wronged. Even if someone causes trouble and she puts up with it, I will help her get revenge. Do you understand?"
“I don’t want to hear those kinds of words again. If you have any complaints, go tell your mother, or go find my mother.”
After she finished speaking, the maid beside her understood and stepped in front of her mistress, gesturing for the two young ladies to enter.
Qiu Boyan didn't expect her to have such an attitude. She wanted to say something more, but her sister pulled her away by her sleeve.
Once outside Qiu Lingyan's courtyard, Qiu Boyan pulled her sleeve away from her sister's hand: "Why are you stopping me? Is there anything wrong with what I said? Just because Zhu Jiayu is young, does that mean we have to cover for her if she gets into trouble? I just don't want anything to happen to the Qiu family. What does Qiu Lingyan mean by that?"
Qiu Mingyan looked at her almost with a sigh: "Stop making a fuss, I'm begging you. If Mother finds out, we'll be punished. Have you forgotten what Mother said?"
Qiu Boyan frowned.
Of course she hadn't forgotten. She just couldn't understand why her mother always told them to act cautiously and prudently. In the past, it was one thing not to offend the Qiu Feiyan and Qiu Lingyan sisters, but now they couldn't even offend Zhu Jiayu. Was the status of the third branch of the family really that low?
...
Qiu Lingyan naturally didn't listen to Qiu Boyan's words. She calculated the time and felt it was about time, so she went to Chunshan Residence to find Zhu Jiayu, dragged her out of the mansion together, and boarded a carriage to Bailu Mountain.
Just as the two arrived, the mountain bell rang. Amidst the faint sound of the bell, the setting sun receded into the distance. About fifteen minutes later, the figures of students dressed in moon-white academic robes appeared one after another on the mountain path.
Song Jiangmei sat in the carriage, casually lifted the curtain, and saw the carriage next to her with the Qiu family crest engraved on it. She called out to Fuyao, gave her a few instructions, and then got off the carriage and walked towards Suiyue Lake at the foot of the mountain.
Zhu Jiayu was resting with her eyes closed in the carriage when she heard a soft female voice outside the carriage: "Miss Zhu, are you in the carriage? My mistress invites you to have a chat by the lake."
Upon hearing this, Qiu Lingyan instinctively grabbed Zhu Jiayu's hand. She recalled a past incident and said with lingering fear:
"You may not know, but Song Jiangmei is a ruthless person. Last time, she invited Xue Baoshan to the pavilion for tea in the same way. No one knows what happened, but afterwards, Song Jiangmei's hand was cut by a broken porcelain cup, and Xue Baoshan's reputation plummeted."
"The last time we were at the Wei family's house was the first time she went out since that incident. It's probably because Song Jiangmei was traumatized. Even though she knew she was being used as a pawn, she still stood up to make things difficult for you. It's not that I want to speak up for her, but she's not usually the kind of person who likes to show off or meddle in other people's business."
Zhu Jiayu nodded and grasped her hand in return: "I understand. Don't worry, I won't give her any opportunity."
After she finished speaking, she got off the carriage and went to the shore of Suiyue Lake with Fuyao.
Song Jiangmei is still wearing a red dress today.
Having lived two lives, Zhu Jiayu had seen many women in red, some beautiful, some elegant, some radiant, but none as delicate and pitiful as Song Jiangmei.
She was perhaps truly ill; the apricot-red dress made her eyebrows and eyes appear excessively pale, and even her pupils seemed a little light in color.
But after listening to Qiu Lingyan's words, she knew that her frail health was just a facade, or rather, a disguise.
Zhu Jiayu thought of experienced hunters. They occasionally saw lions lurking in the grass on the grassland, but no one would let their guard down, because they knew that if they thought the lion was weak, they would likely be the ones who lost their lives in the end.
Song Jiangmei is like that lion.
She is the hunter.
She walked over and stood next to Song Jiangmei.
Song Jiangmei noticed the person who came beside her and her eyebrows twitched slightly: "I have been in Heling for a long time, but I have never been to Suiyue Lake. I have always heard people say that the scenery here is beautiful. Today I finally see it for myself."
Zhu Jiayu nodded: "It is indeed beautiful, but Miss Song sent someone to invite me here, surely it's not just to enjoy the scenery with me?"
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