Wei Dongchen first escorted her to the side gate of the General's Mansion before changing to a carriage and leaving.
Qingying returned to her courtyard without any trouble, just as Yu Yue had prepared dinner. She hadn't taken any maids with her today, and the two maids, who had been eagerly awaiting her return, both breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing her safe and sound.
"Miss, it's time for your meal."
"Hmm." Qingying changed back into her own clothes, sat down at the table, glanced at the fish, and smiled, "Where did you buy such plump fish?"
Yu Yue said, "It was sent by the eldest young master."
She paused, then asked, "Liu Chengfeng?"
“Miss, I can tell that the young master used to truly love you. He probably feels guilty for wronging you recently.”
"He feels indebted to me, so he should accept it?" Qingying scoffed and said, "Take this fish and feed it to the white deer. I won't eat it."
Yu Yue looked at her suspiciously, but still did as she was told.
Qingying was eating red bean porridge when she suddenly heard Yu Yue's greeting from outside: "This servant greets the eldest young master."
Liu Chengfeng saw that his fish had been deboned and put into the cat's food bowl. He frowned, but didn't say anything and walked into the house.
Qingying had already put down her chopsticks and stepped forward to greet them.
Liu Chengfeng immediately stopped him, "When did we, brother and sister, become so polite?"
Qingying didn't answer, but said calmly, "Has big brother eaten yet? Would you like to eat some together?"
"No need, I came because someone asked me to deliver something to you." With that, Liu Chengfeng handed over an indigo-blue purse.
Qingying's pupils contracted as she looked at the familiar purse in his palm.
On his palm lay a purse embroidered with a locust flower, and beneath the tree stood two mandarin ducks gazing at each other, one of which was only half-embroidered.
This was embroidered by her own hands when Wei Huaixu went to war. Because it was in a hurry, it was not finished yet, but he still took it to the northern border.
The purse is now quite old, its color is not as vibrant as it used to be, and the edges are even a bit whitish, but she still recognized it at a glance.
He said, "Return it to its rightful owner."
Qingying's fingertips trembled uncontrollably. Despite being hurt so many times, each incident still pierced her heart. She reached for the purse, clutched it tightly in her hand, and whispered a thank you with her head bowed.
Liu Chengfeng looked at her, frowned slightly, and said softly, "His Highness the Crown Prince has long forgotten the past and all his promises to you. He has let go, so why should you persist?"
"Is that so..." she murmured softly, then looked up at Liu Chengfeng and gave him a faint smile. "Don't worry, brother, I don't intend to compete with Liu Shushu."
Liu Chengfeng paused for a moment, met her clear eyes, and guiltily looked away, "That's not what I meant..."
"I don't care what you mean anymore. If there's nothing else, I'd like to have my meal now." She directly dismissed him.
Liu Chengfeng stood still, watching her sit down at the table and continue eating. Thinking she was sulking, he sighed and said, "Dongchen is sincere towards you. Why can't you turn around and look at him?"
Qingying didn't even look up. She scooped up two spoonfuls of soup and put them in her mouth. After a while, she slowly said, "Brother loves peaches the most and doesn't like persimmons. But when all the peaches in a basket are taken away and only a few persimmons are left, you would rather not eat them than touch them. So why are you now urging me to eat persimmons?"
Liu Chengfeng was speechless. He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal.
He couldn't understand when his once obedient and well-behaved sister had become so sharp-tongued and aggressive.
He didn't say a word, turned around and was about to leave when he suddenly heard Qingying's voice behind him again. She said, "Brother, don't worry, I know I'm not worthy of being picky. Even if I don't like the persimmon, I will force myself to eat it."
“I didn’t…” He turned around to retort, but only saw Qingying’s indifferent profile, and for a moment the words were stuck in his throat.
Liu Chengfeng clenched his fist, but ultimately said nothing more.
On his way back from leaving Qingying's courtyard, he encountered Liu Shushu.
"Big brother, what's wrong? Your face is so dark. Did someone make you angry?" Unlike Qingying, Liu Shushu was not weak. She always spoke with great energy.
When Liu Chengfeng saw her, his expression softened. "It's nothing. Where have you been coming from?"
"I just went to Mother's courtyard to have dinner with her. Brother, have you had dinner yet?"
"Not yet, we'll eat when we get back."
"It's so late, why don't you come to my place? I've prepared dinner in my little kitchen, but my mother called me over at the last minute. The food in the yard is probably still warming up on the fire right now."
Looking at her smiling face, Liu Chengfeng felt a warmth in his heart and did not refuse.
The brother and sister walked towards the other courtyard, chatting and laughing. The gloom in Liu Chengfeng's heart caused by Qingying was instantly swept away.
He felt that blood ties were truly a magical thing. Although Shushu had only returned to the manor a few months ago, it was as if they had grown up together since childhood, and their interactions were so natural that there was no sense of unfamiliarity between them.
On the contrary, it was Qingying...
Thinking about it, he couldn't help but sigh again.
In the stillness of the night, Qingying lay on her side on the chaise longue, holding a purse in her hand and looking at it for a long time.
In the end, I couldn't bear to throw it away and carefully kept it.
Although Wei Huaixu had wronged her, she would not deny the beauty of their past. At least at that time, she genuinely wanted to be with him. Now that they had separated, they should do so with some dignity.
She turned off the light, went to bed, and slept soundly through the night.
The next day, Qingying was sitting in the yard playing with the cat when Tongxia returned from outside, her face full of disgust.
"Oh~ What's wrong with our little Tongxia?" Qingying teased her.
"Miss, that relative of Madam who's always trying to freeload is here again. When she saw me just now, she deliberately made things difficult for me, and her words were incredibly sarcastic and mean," Tongxia said angrily.
Upon hearing this, Yu Yue wiped her hands and came over. "What did she say?"
"They were just saying things that were like kicking someone when they're down, saying that our young lady is now a sparrow that has fallen to the ground, and that she is still a legitimate daughter, openly and subtly mocking our young lady's status."
Qingying had heard this so many times that she no longer felt any pain or itch, only a sense of strangeness. The "relatives who beg for favors" that Tongxia mentioned referred to Pan's own sister, who was ten years younger than Pan. Earlier, seeing how well Pan had fared after marrying into a wealthy family, she had become envious and also married a minor official. She thought her husband would rise rapidly in rank, but unexpectedly, after being promoted to the fifth rank, his career stagnated, and he was even transferred away from the capital.
A few years ago, when she was still in the capital, she often visited the General's Mansion under the guise of visiting her sister. She would bring her two children and stay for several days at a time, eating and drinking for free, and then collecting a sum of money before leaving. Madam Pan was fully aware of her younger sister's behavior, but she indulged her greatly, so they could only turn a blind eye.
"Didn't she go to Ruzhou with her husband? Why is she back?" Qingying asked.
Tongxia said, "This servant does not know, but this time I saw that she did not bring her children with her, but brought a girl who looked about fifteen or sixteen years old."
Qingying understood after a moment's thought, "The Feng family has a daughter who is about my age. She has brought her sister-in-law here to find a husband."
He really is a freeloader.
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