Chapter 21 (Revised)
My dear husband, your auntie is coming home soon!
It hurts so much.
Lu Qin felt as if her brain had turned into paste, and it took a long time for it to solidify and regain consciousness.
It seems the signboard was just smashed, and then...
Lu Qin dazedly tried to raise her hand to touch the back of her head, only to find herself lying on the cold ground once again.
She opened her eyes and looked around blankly.
It was still night, the bright moon hung high, and the room was bathed in its pure moonlight, with spotless surroundings.
A sweet fragrance of flowers and fruits lingered around her nose. Although the view was dim and she couldn't see clearly, Lu Qin could tell with her bare feet that this was the Lu residence, her boudoir.
Are we about to unlock new clues?
Let's see what kind of trouble they're up to this time.
Without a second thought, Lu Qin got up and headed straight for the door, relying on muscle memory.
Just like the previous two times, she peeked through the crack in the door and saw two figures whispering in the darkness.
"Mother, I sent someone to the Hao residence to check on her. Eldest sister remains unconscious, her fate unknown." It was Lu Ping's voice. "This is a rare opportunity. We must think of a way to keep her from ever waking up again."
After hearing this, Lu Qin rolled her eyes, put her arms around the wall, and leaned against it.
It's the same old routine again. I hear it over and over again. It's so unoriginal. I'm sick of hearing it.
“Good daughter, don’t worry. It would be good if she died, but if she doesn’t die, there won’t be any good days to come.”
Aunt Zhao covered her mouth, smiling smugly. Seeing that Lu Ping didn't understand, she explained again.
"The Hao family is a prestigious clan that values reputation and offspring above all else. Lu Qin has no children, and the clothing shop has caused such a commotion. Do you think they can still accept her as their daughter-in-law?"
“These past few days, Mother has been asking around. Lu Qin has angered the young master, and the two are giving each other the cold shoulder every day. The young master hasn’t returned home for almost half a month.”
"The Hao family didn't divorce his wife because they were concerned about your father's reputation. Now that this has happened, I think I'm determined to take her as a concubine. I've already proposed to the Hao family, and Old Madam Hao didn't object. This shows that she's been dissatisfied with Lu Qin for a long time."
"Once you're married into the family, will we still worry about Lu Qin living a long life?"
As Lu Ping listened to Aunt Zhao's logical analysis, she couldn't help but smile.
She often went to restaurants to chat with high-ranking officials and nobles, but these people all had wives. Even if she managed to get close to them, she could only be a concubine, fighting for favor with others. It would be better for her to climb up to the Hao family and deal with Lu Qin, that sickly man.
Once Lu Qin is tortured to death by her, she might even become the legal wife, hehe...
“Mother, don’t worry,” Lu Ping said. “When that time comes, I will definitely find a way to hand over the clothing shop business to Lu Qin and bring my elder brother back from out of town.”
Aunt Zhao said, "Good child, I know you and your elder brother are very close. Seeing you like this, I am truly gratified."
“Mother, I know you’ve worked tirelessly to give my brother and me a better life, and it wasn’t easy for you to get rid of the First Madam… Father has been good to you, but he still can’t forget the First Madam who died, and you’ve suffered a lot too… Daughter, if I ever rise above my circumstances, I will never forget you…”
As they talked, they became emotional, reminiscing about their childhood and growing up. They wiped away each other's tears and finally nestled together happily, their smiles radiating hope for the future.
Lu Qin, who was secretly observing, was stunned. She never expected that Aunt Zhao had not only harmed her, but was also the culprit who harmed her mother.
She thought of a phrase: "a den of snakes and rats."
Lu Ping is so young, yet she has such a mind-blowing idea that her mother is right to harm others.
It's true what they say: if the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will be crooked too; a rat's offspring will know how to dig holes...
The three of them are so loving and affectionate, but have they ever thought about the lives of others?
Are they taking advantage of her because she doesn't have a mother?
If her mother were still alive, she would be her precious little darling, getting her head patted and pampered. Seeing her being bullied, her mother must be extremely worried in heaven.
Looking at the inexplicably heartwarming scene before her, Lu Qin secretly clenched her fist.
She was determined to find a chance to avenge this.
But with no clue what to do and her life in complete disarray, she could only endure it for now and wait for an opportunity to make a more thorough plan.
Lu Qin paced around the room for a while, feeling both angry and depressed.
The person most worried about her after her accident should be Master Lu, and perhaps Ling'er would be a little worried too. As for her parents-in-law and Hao Jingshi...
Lu Qin was uncertain, after all, her true form was still unconscious at the Hao residence, and she didn't know what the situation was like there.
However, as she wandered around, a sudden idea struck her.
If she hadn't hit the wall and hadn't let her soul return to its place, and had simply returned to the Hao family mansion, wouldn't that have been equivalent to having a god's-eye view?
Without further ado, there's no better time than a try. Lu Qin immediately peered out the window, and taking advantage of the absence of Lu Ping and Aunt Zhao, she slipped out of the Lu residence unnoticed.
...
Hao Mansion.
Silence.
A nearly full moon hangs in the thick darkness of night, with wisps of light clouds drifting by, like thin gauze gradually wrapping around it.
The branches of a tree planted in the courtyard have already grown over the wall. Its once lush and verdant leaves have withered, and many gaps have been revealed between the leaves. At first glance, it looks as sparse as the hair of an old man.
A fallen, withered leaf twirled before settling down. The servant on night duty sat leaning against the door, casually brushing the leaf off his head before continuing to doze off with his eyes half open and half closed.
Diagonally opposite the door, between two shops, Lu Qin peeked out from behind the wall.
This is a good opportunity. It's the middle of the night, and the servants are tired and have let their guard down.
To be absolutely sure, Lu Qin circled the mansion and quietly climbed over the wall from the backyard.
She seemed much lighter and stronger than when she woke up. She picked up a few stones and placed them under her feet, then easily climbed over the wall and entered the mansion.
She then discovered something even more surprising: she landed without making a sound.
Lu Qin guessed that she was in a state of being unable to be chosen as a ghost, so she became bolder and started to walk around swaggeringly.
Seeing several servants passing by with lanterns, she quickly hid in the bushes for a while. However, as she expected, no one heard her making any noise as she hid in the bushes, and the group left without paying any attention.
Deer Qin thought to herself, "Great!" and carefully crawled out of the grass.
Seeing the cracked corner of the wall, she planned that after she woke up, she would smash a hole in the corner so that if she fainted again, she could use the secret passage to get in and out.
After a series of maneuvers, including looking left and right and dodging here and there, Lu Qin finally managed to avoid the sight of all the wandering servants and arrived near the dormitory.
Following Xuan Lan's example, Lu Qin used all her strength to climb the tree closest to the window and sat on a sturdy trunk.
Her heart was pounding. She clung tightly to the tree trunk while glancing towards the dormitory. Feeling uneasy, she climbed up the nearby wall.
From this angle, one can see the window of the main room, but the window is tightly closed. A candle flickers on the side, and Lu Qin can only see the shadow cast by the light on the window paper.
Without needing to look closely, she could tell at a glance who the shadow belonged to—Hao Jingshi sitting down, and her lying in his arms.
Hao Jingshi's profile was striking, with the curves of his brow bone and nose bridge being exceptionally beautiful, like a handsome young man in a painting.
He wrapped his arms around her from behind, her body leaning against him. Her long hair was hidden by his shadow. Her lips were small and delicate, her nose was upturned, and a few stray strands of hair on her forehead were messy, like a hair sticking out from the tip of a pen, leaving a faint trace of ink.
Wow, so handsome and beautiful, they're a perfect couple, a match made in heaven.
Lu Qin was mesmerized by the shadows of these two top-tier models and sighed in admiration.
She then looked at the window that resembled a shadow puppet show, where Hao Jingshi held a small medicine bowl in one hand and used a spoon in the other to scoop up the medicine, bringing it to her lips and feeding it to her little by little.
Sometimes her head would slip down a little, and he would patiently straighten it and continue to feed her medicine until the bowl was empty. Then he would put the bowl down and take a silk handkerchief to wipe the corners of her mouth.
These actions, as seen by Lu Qin, were extremely gentle, unlike his usual self.
It seems that Hao Jingshi is no longer angry with her.
It's not like we can't keep going like this.
As the night deepened, Lu Qin's heart trembled, and she vaguely imagined their faces reflected in those two dark shadows.
Hao Jingshi helped her lie back on the bed, tucked the blanket around her, and then sat up and gazed at her for a long time.
The shadow seemed to freeze for a moment before Hao Jingshi suddenly raised his hand and then lowered it again.
His sleeves fell to her neck, and the shadow of his hand disappeared, overlapping with her cheek.
After watching for a while, Lu Qin finally understood that he was probably stroking her cheek. For no reason, Lu Qin felt her face flush, as if she had really been teased by him, and couldn't help but cover her cheeks with her hands.
She cupped her face in her hands and gazed intently at the other end, refusing to look away for even a moment.
After a long while, Hao Jingshi began to lean down, hesitantly, slowly, and approached her face.
Lu Qin's heart tightened, and she instinctively realized what he was about to do. She tightened her grip on her face, squeezing her cheeks into a ball.
Sure enough, Hao Jingshi's nose got closer and closer to hers, until it touched her nose.
When there was still a tiny gap between their lips, he turned his head slightly and pressed his lips against hers, his high ponytail swaying behind him.
The two beautiful profiles were pressed together, carefully blending into one.
It's like polishing two pieces of jade together, yet without a single flaw, a perfect masterpiece.
Lu Qin froze, suddenly feeling herself lose her breath, and her body began to tremble. She almost lost her balance and fell backward off the wall.
That stubborn man, who kept saying he wouldn't forgive her and kept pushing her out of the clinic every day, secretly kissed her in the dead of night in their own room.
She almost wanted to scream.
Hao Jingshi! He secretly kissed her!
Hao Jingshi secretly kissed her!
Hao, Jing, Shi, kissed, her!
In the blink of an eye, Lu Qin felt as if a ton of honey had been poured into her heart, so sweet it was almost cloying. It not only overflowed but also soaked her in it, making her thoroughly flavorful.
Luckily she came today, otherwise she would have missed this scene and suffered a huge loss!
She hadn't dared to be certain before, but at this moment, she was absolutely certain that Hao Jingshi had feelings for her.
That gentle kiss was like a shot of strong liquor, leaving her drunk and disoriented, unable to tell what year it was.
Lu Qin frantically rubbed her burning cheeks, looking at the shadows that had separated again on the window paper. A warm current rushed to her head, and she immediately decided to bang her head against the wall and go back.
A stolen kiss won't do, a stolen kiss isn't enough. How can this be!
It has to be done openly and honestly, and it has to be a really good kiss!
Forgetting that she was still on the wall, she looked around, randomly picked the nearest tree trunk, and lunged at it.
My dear husband, wait for me, your auntie is coming back soon!
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