Qiao Zhiyi's smile was tinged with bitterness.
“I have made up my mind. I am not worthy of the Duan family, not worthy of Brother Duan Qi, and I cannot continue this relationship that is constantly hindered. I do not want to be a concubine.”
An Le's smile vanished, replaced by a serious expression as she stared at Qiao Zhiyi. "Cousin Zhiyi, I won't allow you to belittle yourself like this, to be so humble as to be reduced to dust."
"If the Duan family can't marry you, it's their loss. Sooner or later—" An Le stopped speaking, her lips curving upwards into a cold smile.
The Duan family will regret missing out on this wonderful marriage opportunity with her cousin Zhiyi.
After agreeing on a return date with Qiao Zhiyi, Anle left feeling refreshed and returned two days later.
On the way, she would have a proper talk with her cousin Zhiyi about the embroidered clothes.
Right now is the time when she is most disappointed and sad, and Anle does not intend to bring it up.
In this atmosphere, she couldn't bring herself to say such a thing, but she finally felt more at ease knowing the day she would return to the city. With that, the matter of embroidering the clothes would be much easier to discuss.
Qiao Zhiyi had planned to leave in two days, but unexpected troubles suddenly came crashing down on her.
Zhang took action.
Having done all the foreplay, all that's left is to catch them in the act.
"Mother, these are things I found in my brother's study. They are all letters that Qiao Zhiyi wrote to my brother. Imitating the handwriting is definitely not a problem."
Zhang adjusted the hairpin behind her ear, a glint of demonic light flashing in her eyes, and chuckled softly.
"Then go and make the arrangements. It just so happens that your brother is off today and will be home all day. Let's get this done today so that it won't be a problem if he gets back to the Cui family later." After thinking for a moment, Zhang added with concern, "Make sure the old women down there are efficient and quick. If they do a good job, they'll get their share of the benefits."
"Don't worry, Mother. The incense that Granny Wang got from outside is really effective. It'll be done so perfectly that my brother won't be able to tell the difference." Duan Meili's smile was gloomy, but she looked completely confident.
Qiao Zhiyi, don't blame me. You insisted on coming here yourself, so don't blame me.
Granny Wang, a lowly servant working for the Duan family, had entered and exited the courtyard more than once since Qiao Zhiyi and Yang Shi moved in.
Before Qiao Zhiyi and Yang Shi moved in, the back courtyard was originally used to store miscellaneous items. When the mother and daughter came to visit, Zhang Shi had no choice but to make do and had two rooms vacated for Yang Shi and her daughter to live in.
When they moved in that day, it was Granny Wang who came to clean out the two main rooms and make room for them.
So the Yang mother and daughter still remembered Wang Pozi, and knew that she often carried firewood around here.
They had no suspicion of her appearing in the yard, assuming she was there to do chores.
At that moment, Madam Yang was in the inner room giving her daughter a hard time.
Since Qiao Zhiyi said she wanted to leave, Madam Yang was naturally unwilling to hear such words.
"You told Lewa about this without telling me? You set a date with her on your own? I haven't even said I was leaving yet."
"Mother, my mind is made up. I don't plan to stay here any longer. What you say is useless. The day after tomorrow, we will leave with her and go to say goodbye to Madam Duan." Qiao Zhiyi pursed her lips, showing a rare moment of firmness.
With a stern face, Madam Yang slammed her hand on the table and stood up. "No, no matter what you say, I'm going to the inn right now to explain to Lewa that I'm not going back."
Qiao Zhiyi's lips curled into a bitter smile, "Mother—"
Yang turned and left, completely ignoring Qiao Zhiyi.
Granny Wang, who was pushing a wooden cart into the yard to unload firewood into the next room, glanced at Yang, who was storming out and heading towards the outside of the yard, and her eyes darkened.
This is a great opportunity.
Glancing into the room, Granny Wang deftly took out an incense stick, lit it, and inserted it into the paper window frame of the outer room. The slowly burning incense stick drifted into the room from the outside.
Even the most chaste and virtuous woman couldn't withstand this.
Moreover, the effects of the drug on the body are very short-lived, lasting less than half an hour. Once you are affected, you will definitely have to pay for it.
After the effects of the drug wore off, the person regained consciousness, only to find that they had already been forcibly raped.
Even if the young master were to have a doctor examine him, they wouldn't be able to find anything unusual in his body, because the effects of the medicine would have already worn off.
Granny Wang finished her task quickly and then continued to move firewood to the next room with a blank expression, while keeping an eye on the sounds coming from the main room.
Qiao Zhiyi was packing her things. Even though her mother had gone to find her little cousin, she didn't plan to stay here. If her mother felt unwilling and wanted to stay, then she could stay herself.
Qiao Zhiyi's eyes were dull and lifeless. Ever since she decided to leave, she seemed to have lost all her color, and the smile that used to grace her lips was gone.
She felt somewhat listless, and as the incense smoke wafted over, she felt dizzy and lightheaded. She didn't feel anything unusual, just that her body couldn't take it.
He quickly put down the bundle in his hand, held onto the edge of the bed, and sat down. He immediately felt a surge of heat in his body, a burning discomfort, as if his whole body was on fire from the inside out.
Qiao Zhiyi was breathing heavily. "Ugh...ugh...what's wrong?" Why did her body suddenly feel so uncomfortable? Her chest felt so tight, like it was about to explode.
However, within the short time it took to sit down, his forehead was already covered in sweat.
Qiao Zhiyi, parched, rushed to the tea table to pour herself a cup of tea, but suddenly lost all her strength. The teacup slipped from her fingers and rolled down the table to the ground, shattering into pieces.
Just as she was feeling unwell, there was a knock on the door. "Miss Qiao, I'm here to check the roof." Before Qiao Zhiyi could respond, the servant pushed open the door and came in.
After entering, he walked into the inner room without any hesitation, staring at Qiao Zhiyi with lustful eyes and a lewd smile on his lips, slowly moving closer.
The servant glanced at the broken teacup on the ground and a smile appeared on his face.
"Oh, what's wrong, Miss Qiao? Are you thirsty? Here, let me pour you a cup."
With her back to the servant, Qiao Zhiyi didn't see the evil look on his face. She simply reached out and took the cup of water the servant poured for her, letting out a weak, breathless gasp.
"Th-thank you."
The servant casually grasped the delicate hands that caught the teacup, his voice surprisingly frivolous, "Oh dear, Miss Qiao, you'd better hold it steady. Are you out of your mind or what? How come you can't even hold a teacup? Come, let me help you to bed to rest."
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