No one knows where Erfu got the candles from, but he took out a tinderbox and lit them, instantly brightening the room. Chen Siqing was stunned when she saw who it was.
"Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you. I just came to see you," Zhou Erfu explained, scratching his head helplessly.
Chen Siqing blinked and asked curiously, "How did you get in?"
This girl's reactions are naturally slower than most people's, so when a grown man barged into her room late at night, she didn't feel scared at all, and even had the mind to ask him how he got in.
"I climbed over the wall to get in. I just wanted to see you." Zhou Erfu was sweating profusely. Before seeing you, he had a lot to say, but now that he saw you, he could only repeat one sentence. His mind was blank, and he didn't know what to say.
"Why did you come to see me?" Chen Siqing asked, her mind simple and innocent.
"I miss you." Zhou Erfu answered blankly, then paused, stunned.
Zhou Sifu, who was listening outside, was worried for his second brother. He was usually a cheerful and easygoing person, so why was he acting so silly? It was almost time for him to come out; Miss Chen's maid was about to return.
"Second Brother, come out quickly! Someone's here. Be careful you don't get mistaken for a thief and get beaten up," Sifu whispered.
The second brother was startled, belatedly realizing that his fourth brother had also come along. He nervously looked at Chen Siqing, who seemed to finally realize that it was extremely inappropriate for a man and a woman to be alone in a room late at night. Her face flushed red, and she quickly lowered her head, not daring to look at Zhou Erfu again.
"...I'm leaving right away, don't worry. This, this is for you, please don't mind. I'm leaving now." Zhou Erfu stuffed all the things he bought on the street that day into Chen Siqing's hands, then turned and ran to the window and quickly darted out.
"Help! Thieves have broken in! Catch them!" Soon after, the maid outside shouted for help to catch the thieves. Chen Siqing, who was still in a daze, suddenly came to her senses. She ran to the window to look, but only saw two blurry figures leaping off the wall.
The guards of the Chen residence chased after them out through the side gate, while the maids and servants chattered noisily in the courtyard.
The personal maids who had gone out quickly came back in with candles. As soon as they entered the room, the maids were stunned. After a long while, they said in unison, "Miss, have you lit the candles?"
Chen Siqing looked at the dim yellow flame, nodded slightly, and a hint of guilt flashed in her big, round eyes. She said in a soft voice, "Yes, yes, you are so careless. You didn't even know the tinderbox was in the house."
"Then where is the tinderbox?" one of the maids asked in a moment of urgency.
Chen Siqing, who was not good at lying, immediately lost her composure when faced with the maid's questioning, and her face showed even more guilt. "Yes, yes, where did the tinderbox go?"
Seeing her young mistress's flustered expression and flushed face, the maidservant didn't ask any more questions. Her young mistress was always absent-minded, and when she got anxious, she couldn't speak. Perhaps the room was too dark just now, which frightened her.
"Oh dear, why is Cuizhu lying on the ground? What just happened?" Cuiliu exclaimed in surprise when she discovered the unconscious maid.
Chen Siqing's mind went blank for a moment before she stammered, "It was too dark in the room just now. Cuizhu wanted to come over to me, but she accidentally bumped into the wall and passed out halfway there."
Cui Liu never expected her daughter to lie, as she was usually a very honest person. She quickly believed her.
Chen Siqing breathed a sigh of relief when she realized she had gotten away with it, but she didn't think about how she would explain it when Cuizhu woke up and said that someone had knocked her unconscious.
However, there's no need to worry too much. Everyone in the Chen family agrees that Chen Siqing is slow-witted. If she can't explain herself, no one will suspect anything. They'll just assume it's too dark for her to see and that she's just making wild guesses.
In the end, everyone in the Chen family felt that since the maid had fainted but nothing serious had happened and Chen Siqing was also fine, there was no need to make a big deal out of it. However, they decided to send more guards to watch over the place in the future, since there really had been thieves who had broken in. For the sake of Chen Siqing's reputation, they should take this matter seriously.
Back to the present, the maid was afraid of scaring her mistress by saying too much, so she didn't dare to ask any more questions. She thought it best to report to the master and mistress later. With that in mind, Cui Liu surrounded Chen Siqing with concern, comforting and coaxing her.
However, "Miss, where did you get this bread? What's inside?" Cui Zhu wondered if the young lady was planning to pack her valuables and elope with someone.
After opening the cloth bag and looking inside, Cui Liu immediately became puzzled. "Something's not right. This doesn't look like the jewelry in the box. We've never seen it before. Miss, this doesn't seem to be yours?"
Chen Siqing didn't seem to hear her, as she looked down at the contents of the cloth bag. There were silver hairpins, earrings, hair ornaments, some small toys, handkerchiefs, and sketchbooks—all little things that girls like.
Staring at the contents of the cloth bag, Chen Siqing's big eyes grew brighter and brighter. She really liked these things; the gifts from her brother Erfu were exactly what she wanted.
"Of course what I have in my hands is mine. How could it belong to someone else?" Chen Siqing hugged the cloth bag tightly, then got up and ran into the inner room.
Cui Liu was puzzled. Something seemed amiss about tonight's events. She wondered if she should report it to the master and mistress.
Just as Cuizhu was hesitating, Miss Chen's soft, sweet voice came from inside, "You must be obedient and not tell on me. These things are mine. If they're gone, I won't like you anymore."
Who says the girl is stupid? This little girl is shrewd; she even knows how to subtly threaten people.
At this moment, Cuizhu slowly woke up. She was stunned for a moment before exclaiming, "Something terrible has happened! A thief has broken in! Someone, come quick!"
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