Qi Xiuyuan curled his lips: "What do you want?"
Zhu Jiayu clutched the hem of her skirt, shook her head, and asked him innocently, "Cousin, what do you mean? I don't understand. What do you mean by 'I want to do something'?"
Qi Xiuyuan pulled her aside and calmly analyzed, "You could have avoided it just now, but you didn't let it go. Instead, you waited until he crashed into you and then cleanly slit his throat. Zhu Jiayu, cousin, are you trying to make an example of him? Who are you trying to impress?"
He was no good-for-nothing; the fact that the old lady of the Marquis of Kaiping's mansion took a liking to him and carefully taught him was not enough, as the title of relative was not enough.
Ability is the most important thing.
After witnessing Zhu Jiayu's swift and decisive action, Qi Xiuyuan, though initially frightened, quickly calmed down and began to reflect on the events of the day. From Zhu Jiayu finding him and saying she was coming to the Ghost Market, to her killing just now, the two events were connected, making it hard for Qi Xiuyuan not to wonder: was Zhu Jiayu's action unintentional or deliberate? If it was deliberate, what was her purpose?
Zhu Jiayu pursed her lips and laughed, "It's no fun that my cousin found out so quickly."
She drew the dagger from her waist, wiped away the still-damp blood, and said in a light tone, "But my cousin is right, I am making an example of him."
She raised her eyes, a sharp glint in her beautiful eyes: "I know far more than my cousin, or even my grandmother, could possibly imagine. But I also understand that my grandmother has her own plans, and as for the old lady of the Kaiping Marquis's mansion far away in Yujing, she has no time to listen to a powerless young girl like me. So I can only ask my cousin to convey my message in this way—"
She held the gleaming dagger to her eyes, almost mesmerized by the cold light gleaming on the blade in the lamplight. She breathed softly into Qi Xiuyuan's ear and said, "Regardless of what my maternal grandmother or Madam Fan thinks, I have no intention of marrying into the Kaiping Marquis's family. If you're not worried that my marriage will turn a joyous occasion into a tragedy, please speak well of me to Madam Fan, shall we?"
She turned her head and blew a light breath into Qi Xiuyuan's ear: "Also, cousin, you are of noble status. If you stay in Heling any longer and something happens, I'm afraid the Qiu family won't be able to bear the consequences. I think it would be better for you to return to Yujing as soon as possible. What do you think, cousin?"
Qi Xiuyuan looked at her, unsure of what to say, so he simply remained silent and gazed at her.
He didn't know when she found out his identity and purpose, nor did he expect her to avoid the Marquis's mansion like the plague, let alone that she would act so recklessly, killing someone in front of him just to intimidate him.
...No matter how you look at it, she was definitely not a good choice to marry her cousin to bring him good luck.
He had no doubt that Zhu Jiayu truly possessed the ability to turn a joyous occasion into a funeral at the Marquis's residence.
He nodded coldly: "I understand. You should put the dagger away now, in case you accidentally hurt someone."
Zhu Jiayu readily accepted the offer and put away the dagger, then smiled and said, "When does Cousin plan to set off back to Yujing? How about tomorrow? But I have another matter I would like to ask Cousin for help with."
Qi Xiuyuan's temples began to throb wildly again.
He stated his position: "After I return to Yujing, I will only tell my great-aunt that you are not a suitable candidate. I will pretend that today's events never happened, and I will not speak ill of you or the Qiu family." He smiled and asked, "Is there anything else, cousin?"
Zhu Jiayu was clearly very satisfied with his pragmatism, and her attitude softened as a result, although in Qi Xiuyuan's eyes, this seemed more like a wolf in sheep's clothing offering New Year's greetings to a chicken, with ill intentions.
He had even begun to ponder how he should respond if Zhu Jiayu insisted on forcing him to do something against his will—it was obvious that Zhu Jiayu was an autocratic person who could not tolerate others disobeying her.
However, Zhu Jiayu did not make any excessive demands. She simply said, "I made a bet with my cousin Bo Yan, saying that you must have a good marriage in Yujing. I said it with great conviction, and she seems to have been deceived by me. So I was thinking, if she asks you to confirm this, or tries to find out about it indirectly, could you stand on my side and cover up this lie for me?"
Qi Xiuyuan breathed a sigh of relief.
He thought it was nothing serious.
He nodded and said, "It's nothing, Miss Zhu. I promise."
Zhu Jiayu nodded in satisfaction: "Shall we go back then, or does Cousin want to continue strolling around here?"
Qi Xiuyuan naturally wanted to leave as soon as possible, but he still remembered Zhu Jiayu's matter and asked her, "Weren't you going to buy a zither?"
Zhu Jiayu laughed heartily: "Cousin, how can you be so naive? I don't know how someone like you managed to live to be this old in Yujing. I can't play the zither. Anyone in the Qiu family can find out that. I've been in Heling for two months, and not a single note of the zither has been heard from Chunshanju. The idea of buying a zither is utter nonsense. My only purpose was to invite you to come to this ghost market with me to watch me put on a show."
Qi Xiuyuan: ...
Damn it, she tricked me again!
Zhu Jiayu smiled and said, "But it was indeed my fault. Otherwise, next time my cousin needs to buy something, you can just ask me to run errands for you, okay?"
As soon as she finished speaking, she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of her eye. The smile on her face froze instantly. Before she could even say anything more to Qi Xiuyuan, she instinctively took off and chased after that figure.
But when she arrived at the brightly lit stage, she suddenly couldn't find him and could only stand there looking around.
Suddenly, a man's calm voice sounded behind her: "Are you looking for someone, young lady?"
Upon hearing his voice, Zhu Jiayu couldn't help but clench her hands, which were hidden in her sleeves, and tears quickly welled up in her eyes.
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