"Sister," Qingyin called out.
A woman's cough came from inside the red gauze curtain. Soon after, a pair of fair hands emerged, revealing the woman's pale face tinged with an unnatural red.
"Ayin, come here and help me up."
Qingyin walked over and gently helped Hongniang sit down in a chair.
She looked down at the haggard woman in her arms.
"You need to see a doctor."
The matchmaker chuckled, "It's just a cold. The doctor we called yesterday had the same problem."
Qingyin stared at her without saying a word.
The matchmaker sighed, "Well, this younger sister's skills are getting better and better, and her aura is intimidating."
"Alright, now that you've finished speaking, I'll call the doctor. Is everything alright?"
Qingyin nodded, as long as she agreed.
The matchmaker looked at the girl standing ramrod straight beside her and asked, "Are you confident about the imperial examination?"
Qingyin: "It won't fail."
With just four words, the matchmaker smiled, and her face flushed even more.
"very nice."
—
Their departure was silent.
No one knew that one night, the Red Mansion lost a courtesan's personal maid, and in her place stood a slender and handsome young man on a boat.
The autumn imperial examination was held in Huailin, a city near the Huai River.
Qingyin could cross the river between the two cities while sitting on the boat.
At this time, it was probably the bustling time of the autumn imperial examinations, with large boats filled with students heading to Huailin for the exams.
Qingyin was inconspicuous on this large ship.
Aside from mealtimes, when she might occasionally appear at a table to use something, Qingyin would usually quietly lie back in her little bed and flip through the books in her hands.
Chen Wang had been observing this boy for a long time. At first, he only noticed that the boy ate very cleanly and had pretty eyes, but he was too quiet and dull, like the bookworm he disliked. However, he did not dislike the boy in front of him.
The young master of the Chen family, who had deliberately shunned his servants and sneaked onto the boat early to attend the autumn imperial examination, finally couldn't help but strike up a conversation with Qingyin.
Chen Wang, who deliberately timed his visit to Qingyin's usual mealtime, casually brought a plate of braised fish and rice that he had bought from someone else to Qingyin.
"Hi, how are you, young master?" A face with red lips and white teeth squeezed in front of Qingyin.
Qingyin slightly raised her face, her gaze falling on the face that had appeared in front of her four or five times. The fabric of his clothes was of excellent quality, his hands were free of calluses, and his eyes were innocent. He was a rich, naive young master raised by his parents.
Having confirmed that the boy in front of her posed no threat, Qingyin gave him a curt reply: "Hello."
Chen Wang blushed. If it were anyone else who dared to speak to him like that, he would definitely think that someone was deliberately provoking and looking down on him. But the boy in front of him... he inexplicably had the illusion that it was an honor for him that the other person was even greeting him.
The screen fell silent again, and the atmosphere became somewhat awkward.
Qingyin ignored the silly boy opposite her who suddenly blushed, and continued to soak the dry food she had brought in the hot water she had bought, swallowing it whole. She didn't care about the food in her mouth, and besides, the dry food was prepared by her sister, so she would eat it to avoid wasting it.
Qingyin carefully ate the biscuit that had been softened by hot water, leaving it clean. Her fair and slender fingers held the golden biscuit, which made her hands look even more beautiful. Especially as the boy carefully ate it, her pink lips pressed against her fingers, nibbling away bit by bit, and her red lips accidentally got a little bit of crumbly biscuit powder on them.
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