Xiao Youzhi's gaze burned her lips like a branding iron, his voice terribly hoarse: "Yes, I'm insane! How many people can remain rational when they see the woman they love being so affectionate with someone else? Tell me, Meng Zhao, how am I supposed to stay rational?"
Meng Zhao's heart skipped a beat: "What...did you see?"
Xiao Youzhi sneered, each word like poison, "I saw you two embracing and whispering, I saw him pinning you against the pillar and kissing you." He then took a step closer and grabbed her wrist, "I've known you for so long, and I've never seen you so submissive before."
Today, Meng Zhao and Shen Qinghe maintained their distance in front of everyone, only showing a brief intimacy in the room before parting. Now, being exposed by Xiao Youzhi, her face burned like fire, both from the humiliation of him forcibly wiping her mouth and from the shame and anger of being caught in their private affair. She abruptly shook off his hand: "Xiao Youzhi! How dare you peek!"
A cold smile played on his lips, but his eyes were twisted with pain: "Peeping? Wasn't it your good brother who deliberately led me there?"
Meng Zhao was struck dumb, her pupils suddenly contracting: "What do you mean by that?"
"Don't you know?" Xiao Youzhi suddenly raised his voice, "He provoked me when he left, lured me over, and deliberately left a crack in the door so he could be intimate with you right in front of me. Wasn't that all to let me see clearly and drive me crazy?"
Meng Zhao's mind was in a mess. Just now inside the house, Shen Qinghe was indeed unusually enthusiastic. When he was about to leave, he lingered and begged her to let him go. She had to drag him out before he agreed. When she opened the door, she did see that the door was not closed properly. However, she thought that Shen Qinghe was always careful and that the wind had probably blown it open later.
Xiao Youzhi, standing to the side, persisted, "He left in such a hurry that I didn't have time to ask him if showing off like this made him satisfied?"
Meng Zhao's chest heaved violently, her mind a jumble of thoughts. But then she remembered that she had just told Shen Qinghe to give her some trust. How could she doubt him now because of what others said? She forced herself to remain calm and said, "What evidence do you have to prove that he did it on purpose? Just your conjecture?"
"Does this matter even need evidence?" Xiao Youzhi shook his head and smiled bitterly. "You trust him! But what about him? What does he take you for? A trophy of victory, or a tool to show off to me? If you really want to know the truth, you can ask him to his face."
Yes, she could just ask, but Shen Qinghe had already left. Even if she wanted to ask, she would have to wait until she returned to the capital. But the more Meng Zhao thought about it, the angrier she became. If what Xiao Youzhi said was true, then Shen Qinghe had clearly ignored her words.
Seeing the uncertain expression on Meng Zhao's face, Xiao Youzhi knew that he had achieved his goal. Whether Shen Qinghe admitted it or not, the thorn had been planted. Thinking of this, a hint of joy flashed in his eyes.
Meng Zhao naturally saw through it as well, and said coldly, "I will confront him about this matter myself, but you knew what was going on inside the room and still stood there spying. Are you not at fault?"
She gripped her sleeves tightly and decided to be blunt: "But since you've already seen it, I don't need to hide it anymore. I know how you feel about me, and I'm very grateful that you came to Huai'an to find me. But I advise you to let go of those feelings as soon as possible."
These words were like a blunt knife, piercing Xiao Youzhi's heart. His usually composed mask cracked, but he could only whisper, "Okay, I understand."
Meng Zhao was slightly taken aback, not expecting him to be so decisive, which saved her from having to worry.
Xiao Youzhi frowned as he looked at the still-fading red marks on her face. He reached out to touch them, but she turned away. Remembering her intimacy with Shen Qinghe in the room, he felt another pang of pain in his heart, but he still whispered, "I'm sorry. I was just in a moment of panic and lost my temper. I didn't mean to hurt you. Can you forgive me?"
Meng Zhao rubbed her burning cheeks. Although she was annoyed, she couldn't be too bothered by the business between them. "Anyway, I slapped you back, so let's call it even." She glanced up and saw the bright red handprint on his face. If he went back like this, anyone would notice something was wrong.
Meng Zhao turned around, her tone leaving no room for argument: "Come with me."
The two arrived at a nearby clear stream. Meng Zhao took out a handkerchief from her bosom, soaked it, and handed it to Xiao Youzhi: "Put this on your face. If you go back looking like this, people will just laugh at you."
After saying that, she leaned down to look at the river. The water reflected two bright red finger marks on her face, and her anger flared up again. She turned her head and glared fiercely at Xiao Youzhi.
Xiao Youzhi hadn't intended to hurt her, and had already eased his grip, but her fair skin still left marks. Seeing her like this, he coughed lightly, feeling guilty: "How about this, I'll give you an 80% discount on the money you owe me last time?"
Meng Zhao's eyes lit up, but she pretended to be reserved: "This is not a good idea. You didn't charge me any interest in the first place, so how could I ask you to give me a discount?"
Seeing her insincere expression, Xiao Youzhi couldn't help but chuckle: "Oh? Then forget it."
Seeing that he had no perseverance and simply gave up, Meng Zhao was filled with shame and anger. If she had known this would happen, she should have agreed immediately. She had lost several hundred taels of silver for nothing, and the thought of it made her heart ache.
On the way back, Meng Zhao would steal glances at him from time to time, waiting for him to speak again. This time she was determined that as long as he spoke, she would never pretend to refuse again. However, he pretended not to see her and did not react at all.
Xiao Youzhi did not mention the matter again until everyone was packing their things to leave the courtyard.
Meng Zhao sat in the carriage, and Lu Yusheng rode up to Xiao Youzhi's side, lowering his voice to say, "What tricks did you use? Madam Meng has lifted the curtain to look at you several times along the way."
Xiao Youzhi smiled but remained silent, a smug smile unconsciously curving his lips. Seeing this, Lu Yusheng shook his head in annoyance: "Look at you, so quiet, who knew you were so capable? I wasted my time worrying about you." He then sighed softly; his brother was probably really in trouble.
Meng Zhao's initial reluctance to part with Xiao Youzhi gradually faded under the influence of Xiao Youzhi's words. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more agitated she became. So she simply put Shen Qinghe's matter out of her mind and focused all her attention on dealing with the affairs of Huainan.
She continued to use the same business model in Huainan, managing multiple franchise stores in the surrounding area with one directly operated store. So the group left the courtyard and headed straight for Mengji Braised Pork's directly operated store.
As for Lu Yusheng, he had other things to do, so he left with his entourage the next day. Before leaving, Meng Zhao made an agreement with him that after inspecting the shop, he would visit the Lu family's tea plantation, and Meng Zhao would accompany him.
Xiao Youzhi stayed with Meng Zhao the whole time. Along the way, people would come to him from time to time to discuss matters. Seeing how busy he was, Meng Zhao would advise him to go and deal with his own affairs first, but he would pretend not to hear. So Meng Zhao would not say anything more.
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