The two men quietly followed the girl out of the alley, across a street, through twists and turns, until they finally saw her meeting with a man.
She handed a package to the man, who gave her some loose silver coins, and then she turned and headed home. The two did not exchange a single word throughout the entire process.
Qingying and Wei Dongchen hid not far away and watched the girl return the way she came. They then stopped following her and turned their attention to the man they were meeting.
The man was seen carrying the bag and walking in one direction, and the two quickly followed.
After walking for a while, the man came to a door, knocked, and someone came out to open it.
When Qingying looked at the plaque above, she saw the three characters "Jishetang" written on it.
"Liu Chenglin..."
Wei Dongchen said, "Isn't this Jishetang owned by your fourth son?"
"Yes, he is close to Liu Shushu, and Liu Shushu often visits the Liu family. If that girl just now was Liu Yan, does that mean she is the girl Liu Chengfeng admires?"
"Huh? Chengfeng likes this kind of girl?" Wei Dongchen said, then realized it was inappropriate and quickly explained, "I didn't mean to discriminate. It's just that I'm superficial. It doesn't mean that the girl is bad."
Qingying glanced at him and smiled, "Is it just my appearance that the young master is after?"
"At first it was a bit... but I promise I'm definitely not now." He held up three fingers as if he were about to swear an oath.
Qingying stopped him, saying, "It's alright. I know my strengths very well and don't mind others admiring my looks. However, a woman's excellence is never superficial; everyone has a side that deserves to be loved."
“Yes, yes.” Wei Dongchen nodded in agreement.
Looking at his somewhat simple-minded appearance, Qingying couldn't immediately equate him with the notorious playboy.
By the dim light of the streetlights, Qingying saw the bloodstains on his face. She took out her handkerchief, tiptoed closer, and gently wiped his face.
Wei Dongchen subconsciously held his breath.
The blood, frozen solid, was difficult to wipe away. Qingying took a handkerchief, wrapped some snow in it, rubbed it until it melted, and then wiped it off for him. This time, it was finally clean.
"The young master has such a handsome face, we must protect it well."
He stared intently at Qingying, hesitated for a moment, and then asked cautiously, "Who do you think is more handsome, me or my brother, the Crown Prince?"
Qingying was taken aback by his question.
Before he could answer, Wei Dongchen quickly added, "I was just asking casually, don't worry about it..."
He was silenced before he could finish speaking, because Qingying uttered a single word softly.
Looking into Qingying's smiling eyes, he almost thought he had just imagined it.
"No doubt about it, I'm talking about you. I think you're better looking than Wei Huaixu. Not only that, you can't find a more handsome young man in the whole capital."
“This…” Wei Dongchen’s face turned red visibly, and he looked around shyly. “No, Jin Heng is much more handsome than me.”
"That's what other people think; I don't think so."
He felt even more embarrassed and awkwardly turned to the side, saying, "A man should be judged by his talent; appearance is merely an embellishment."
Seeing his smug expression, with the corners of his lips turned up while he pretended to be serious, Qingying couldn't help but chuckle: "Then why does Your Highness need to ask such a question?"
"It's because..." He glanced at Qingying, then slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, "Never mind, it's not important anymore."
Qingying understood that he was just jealous of Wei Huaixu. Since he didn't say it himself, she simply didn't bring it up and changed the subject back, "However, I am now fairly certain that the woman just now is not the same person as the girl Ayan that Liu Chengfeng likes."
"Huh? How do you know?"
“I followed Ayan a few days ago and found that she had injured her leg, so she doesn’t go out often. But just now, that girl’s legs were very nimble.”
"It seems that this Ayan does indeed have some problems."
However, the information found so far is limited and disorganized, and Qingying is unable to unravel its mysteries for the time being.
Wei Dongchen looked up at the gloomy sky and said, "It's freezing cold outside tonight. You're not well, so let's go back early."
Qingying didn't expect to find out the truth overnight, so she nodded.
Wei Dongchen escorted her back to the General's Mansion before leaving.
...
In the dead of night, Qingying tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep. Her mind was a jumbled mess, and that absurd idea grew stronger and stronger.
Finally, she suddenly thought of a method and planned to test it after dawn the next day.
So she got up very early, had Yu Yue make some food, packed it in a food box, and took it to Liu Chengfeng's courtyard.
Upon entering, I saw Liu Chengfeng sitting at the table having breakfast.
"What a coincidence, brother has already started eating?"
Upon seeing her, Liu Chengfeng immediately stopped eating and stood up, suddenly appearing somewhat at a loss. "You... how did you get here?"
Ever since Liu Shushu returned to the mansion, Qingying has never set foot in his courtyard again.
"Yu Yue made lotus root and osmanthus soup. I remember when the lotus root starch was first dried in July, my brother kept saying he wanted to try her cooking, so he sent it over. I hope it didn't bother you?"
Her words carried a sense of distance, making Liu Chengfeng feel somewhat uncomfortable. However, he merely frowned and then smiled, saying, "I won't bother you. It's rare that you still remember this. Since you've come, let's sit down and have a meal together."
"Um."
Liu Chengfeng instructed, "Huixiang, bring another set of bowls and chopsticks."
The brother and sister hadn't sat down to eat together alone like this in a long time. Although they ate in silence as usual, the atmosphere was somewhat strange.
"Yu Yue's cooking skills are getting better and better." Liu Chengfeng took a bite of the lotus root and osmanthus soup and exclaimed sincerely.
Qingying smiled and said, "This girl spends all her free time tinkering with cooking in the small kitchen, so her skills have naturally improved by leaps and bounds."
Just then, Liu Chengfeng remembered something and asked, "You only have two maids, Yu Yue and Tong Xia, to serve you in your courtyard. Isn't that enough?"
She used to have more than a dozen maids and servants serving her in her courtyard, but now these two maids are certainly not enough. She bribed the steward to deceive Madam Pan, and every few days a group of cleaning maids would come to help her tidy up the courtyard.
Of course, she wouldn't tell Liu Chengfeng any of this. If he really cared about her, why hadn't he done it earlier? All he did all day was chase after his sweetheart and be indifferent to the affairs of the household. She really couldn't count on this love-struck fool.
"Whether it's enough or not, I'm used to it."
He was at a loss for words and took a somewhat awkward sip of tea.
Qingying glanced at him and asked, "Is Brother going to see Sister Ayan today?"
"How did you know?" He looked at him suspiciously.
"Ever since Sister Ayan returned to the capital, hasn't Brother been going to see her every few days? Could this still be a secret?"
Liu Chengfeng coughed, covering his mouth, and said, "It's not every few days... Ayan is actually quite busy. Sometimes I don't see her for more than half a month."
"Oh, I see... It's been over a year since I last saw her. She promised to cook for me during the autumn hunt, but I never thought I'd be able to taste her cooking." There was a hint of regret in her voice.
"It's alright. Once Ayan becomes your sister-in-law, there will be plenty of opportunities."
These words startled Qingying.
Liu Chengfeng is actually planning to marry her. If her idea comes true today, this matter will become extremely interesting...
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