Chapter Sixteen: Offering Unsolicited Favors
Chen Jiao was kicked unconscious by Chen Qing and collapsed to the ground like a broken sack. The crying and shouting in the yard stopped abruptly and fell into a deathly silence.
Just as Zhang was jerked awake, she saw her daughter lying motionless on the ground and let out an even more piercing scream. Chen Zhenyan was also stunned, pointing at Chen Qing, his lips trembling with anger.
"You wretched child! You, do you want to rebel? I am your father!"
Chen Qing smiled nonchalantly, "Father, what did I do wrong? It was clearly my sister who suddenly went crazy, and I kicked her in self-defense. So many servants saw it."
Her sharp eyes were filled with nonchalance as she glanced at the many servants in the courtyard.
"Granny Zheng, you're closest to the Third Miss, so tell me, whose fault is it?"
Granny Zheng dared not look her in the eye, and lowered her head like a quail. She glanced at the master, and then looked at the Zhang mother and daughter who were lying on the ground.
Swallowing hard, he whispered, "Yes, it was the Third Miss who made the first move."
"Zhuyue, you are the Third Miss's personal maid. Is what Granny Zheng said true?"
Zhu Yue didn't dare to look at Chen Qing at all; her aura was too overwhelming to ignore.
Zhu Yue stammered and dared not utter a sound. Urged by Zheng Mama, she finally whispered, "This servant...this servant did not see clearly."
Chen Qing chuckled softly.
The Zhang mother and daughter always had two faces. They were extremely soft and obsequious to Chen Zhenyan, but arrogant and exploitative to the maids and servants in the mansion.
Although servants have a lowly status, they are still human beings, and human beings are capable of having divided loyalties.
If Zhang and her daughter were still conscious, they might not have dared to stand on Chen Qing's side and say anything ambiguous.
But at this moment, both Zhang and her daughter were unconscious, and Chen Qing looked even more imposing than Chen Zhenyan, so the servants dared not speak out of turn.
"Such a simple matter, even the servants could see it clearly, why does Father only blame his daughter? Of course I am your daughter, but Father, do you ever trust me as you would a daughter?"
Chen Qing looked hurt.
Immediately, she cheered up again, "Alright, I won't force you, Father. You should consider marrying my sister to Commander Liu as soon as possible. You'll know how good I am in the future."
After saying that, she turned and walked away gracefully. The hem of her skirt cascaded down her feet like a blooming flower.
Chen Zhenyan was so angry with her that he was speechless. He felt a darkness before his eyes and almost collapsed.
Fortunately, Wang Zhong was standing right next to him and helped him up.
"Master, Master!"
"Butler Wang, tell me, did I commit some terrible sin in my past life to have such a good-for-nothing daughter?"
“Master…” Wang Zhong hesitated for a moment before saying, “To be frank, Master is indeed too biased towards the Third Miss. The servants all praise the Eldest Miss for being clever and resourceful. If it weren’t for her, we would still be suffering outside the city.”
Wang Zhong was just a servant, so he couldn't say much more. But this was indeed what he was thinking.
After spending a few days with her, he felt that the eldest young lady was much better than the third young lady.
Just as Chen Zhenyan was about to scold Wang Zhong, Chen Jiao let out a soft moan and woke up.
"Master, what will happen to our precious child!" Madam Zhang began to wail again.
Chen Qing didn't take these things to heart at all. The things she asked Li Yi to do were clearly to guard against Liu Wei, to stir up trouble and cause problems while things were in disarray.
She knew that chaos was imminent. She never wanted to experience what happened outside Qibao Town again.
In times of chaos, one must have the ability to protect oneself.
Chen Qing lowered her eyes. She was going to devise a 100-day weight loss plan for herself, and strive to gain her own power and capital in the shortest possible time.
Instead of spending time arguing with a few stupid women in the inner quarters.
Chen Qing didn't want anyone to disturb her, so she locked herself in her room and did warm-up exercises, followed by stretching, doing aerobic exercises first and then anaerobic exercises, until she exhausted her last bit of energy.
Late at night, the garrison's mansion was brightly lit, and the buildings were carefully decorated with red silk cloth.
Liu Wei sent someone to deliver the festive bride's dress, which was quietly placed on the table.
Chen Jiao's eyes were filled with resentment. After being kicked by Chen Qing, she was weak and her face was as pale as paper.
"Mother, I don't want to get married, please think of something!"
Zhang stroked her daughter's soft hair, her eyes full of calculation.
Zhang Rulan had never suffered such humiliation in her life, being so thoroughly insulted by a stepdaughter.
Moreover, she had been a concubine her whole life, and her greatest wish was for her daughter to become a legitimate wife, not a concubine like herself. To this end, she spared no effort in scheming to raise Chen Qing into a fat man weighing over 300 pounds.
They wanted Jiao'er to replace Chen Qing and marry into the Zhao family as their legal wife.
Only the Zhao family is a good home for her daughter!
Why is Chen Qing so lucky?
A sinister smile curled at the corner of Zhang's lips. Her eyes peered through the void as she comforted Chen Jiao, saying, "My dear Jiao'er, don't worry. As long as your mother is here, I will never let Chen Qing surpass you!"
After exercising, Chen Qing had hot water brought to her, took a bath, and went to bed early, completely unaware that Zhang and her daughter were plotting revenge against her.
Even if Chen Qing knew, he wouldn't care.
The next day, Chen Qing, who woke up feeling refreshed, was served a low-calorie breakfast by Pei Xuan and Xiao Wu.
Just then, Granny Zheng, who was standing next to Zhang, suddenly came to see her.
"Greetings to the young lady," Zheng Mama said, not daring to look up at Chen Qing. "Young lady, I have come because Madam said she wants to apologize to you properly and specially asked me to invite you to lunch before noon."
"Aunt Zhang wants to invite me to dinner?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Qing became interested, raising his eyebrows slightly and smiling, "A weasel paying New Year's greetings to a chicken."
"Pfft," Pei Xuan laughed as well.
Xiao Wu, puzzled by Chen Qing's words, asked curiously, "What does it mean for a weasel to wish a chicken a Happy New Year?"
"He has ill intentions."
Pei Xuan glared at Zheng Mama, "Don't think we don't know who Aunt Zhang is. She invited Sister Qing to dinner, it's definitely not for anything good!"
"This..." Granny Zheng was also in a dilemma. She was just a servant who was in charge of relaying messages. How could she dare to disobey her master's orders?
When Pei Xuan pointed it out on the spot, Granny Zheng was quite embarrassed.
She practically pleaded, "Miss, Madam said that if I can't get you here, she'll beat me to death. If you still refuse to go, she... she'll have no choice but to come to your door to apologize."
Zhang had anticipated that Chen Qing would refuse, so she resorted to these despicable means to try and force Chen Qing to comply.
As expected, Chen Qing frowned upon hearing this.
The Zhang mother and daughter caused a huge scene at her door yesterday, crying and arguing, which not only disturbed her diet but also greatly affected her mood.
If they had another match, would Chen Qing still be thin?
Well, although she didn't care whether Granny Zheng lived or died, she still had to see what tricks these two women were up to. If they wanted to be tormented again, she wouldn't mind teaching them a lesson.
"Okay, I understand. I'll be there. You just wait."
Chen Qing said listlessly.
"Young Miss is kind-hearted! This old servant will report to Madam immediately!"
Granny Zheng was overjoyed, thinking that Chen Qing had gone there for her sake. She turned and left to go back and report the news.
Watching her departing figure, Pei Xuan said worriedly, "Sister Qing, they don't have good intentions. I'm worried about you."
Chen Qing chuckled and said, "No problem, we'll deal with whatever comes our way. Let's wait and see."
She slowly finished the last bite of egg white, then looked at the two people beside her, her brows furrowing slightly: "You don't have to eat the same things as me. Eat more. I'm on a diet, but you still need to grow. It's different from me."
Chen Qing made no secret of telling others that she was trying to lose weight.
On the contrary, Xiao Wu looked up and loudly told Chen Qing, "Miss, you are very beautiful! You don't need to lose weight!"
In Xiao Wu's heart, Chen Qing's beauty was second only to her mother's!
Thinking of Chen Jiao, she pouted and said, "That crying woman is the ugliest! She's as skinny as a monkey, with hardly any flesh on her bones. If she were to starve for a few days, she would definitely starve to death!"
Xiao Wu thought it was Chen Jiao who had said something about the young lady that made her want to lose weight, so she pretended to comfort her.
Pei Xuan quickly agreed, saying that Xiao Wu was right.
"Sister Qing, you're very beautiful!"
"I know," Chen Qing accepted the compliment gracefully. She never thought she was ugly. After all, this body was hers now, and she would accept everything about herself, good or bad.
Whether others can accept it is their problem.
Chen Qing never engages in internal strife.
However, she can't exactly claim to have a weight loss system that uses all sorts of tempting things to help her lose weight every day, can she?
"Don't ask too many questions. I have to do what I've decided. If you want to grow taller and bigger, you have to eat well."
Chen Qing gave the order without room for argument.
"I'm going back to my room to rest. I'll eat when I'm rested enough."
Because of her words, Pei Xuan and Xiao Wu have been waiting outside the door. Zhang Shi has prepared the food and wine, and despite repeated invitations, Chen Qing still hasn't come.
Pei Xuan stood outside the door, not allowing anyone to disturb Chen Qing.
Only after Chen Qing finished exercising and rested did he go to the banquet feeling refreshed.
As soon as she entered Zhang's courtyard, she heard Chen Jiao complaining.
"Mother! That slut is so rude! How dare she make you wait for her like this!"
Zhang helplessly comforted her daughter: "Alright, alright, sit down quickly. When she comes, don't let her notice anything wrong."
"Mother, she kicked me yesterday, and my chest still hurts. You must teach her a lesson and avenge me!" Chen Jiao nestled in Zhang's arms and said coquettishly.
"Okay, Mother will definitely avenge you. You're just too thin. Next time, whatever you do, don't fight with her. She's as fat as a pig, and you can't beat her."
"Hmph! It's not that I'm too thin, it's that I look good like this. Who wants to be as fat as her, eating like a pig? If I looked like her, I'd rather hang myself!"
This scene of a loving mother and filial daughter is truly hilarious.
Chen Qing lifted his foot and coughed twice on purpose.
Then they heard Zhang and her daughter hurriedly stop talking, "Stop talking, she's here."
Chen Qing told Pei Xuan and Xiao Wu to wait outside the courtyard, because she wouldn't be able to help them if a fight broke out later.
Pei Xuan was a little worried, but Chen Qing stopped him.
"Madam, the eldest young lady has arrived!"
Granny Zheng announced the news loudly.
"Oh dear, Qing'er, you've finally arrived," Zhang Shi said, pretending to get up to greet you. "I thought you were still angry with your sister and that you were deliberately not coming."
Chen Qing gave a half-smile, playing along with her act.
"How could that be? My aunt wants to apologize to me, so I definitely have to come and see."
Upon hearing this, Zhang's face stiffened, and she almost couldn't laugh anymore.
She said with a forced smile, "Yes, Auntie has to apologize to Qing'er. The other day, Auntie was just being unreasonable. But if you think about it carefully, it's not so bad that Jiao'er can marry the young master of the Liu garrison commander's family."
Chen Jiao sat to the side with her head down, not saying a word, but secretly clenching her teeth, almost tearing the handkerchief in her hand to shreds!
Endure! She had to listen to her mother and be patient. Once today was over, she would see what Chen Qing had to offer in comparison!
"Qing'er, sit down quickly. Look what your aunt has prepared for you. These are all your favorite dishes. Please sit down."
Zhang warmly pulled Chen Qing to sit down, touched Chen Qing's wrist, and felt that she seemed to have lost some weight.
They immediately started shouting and yelling.
"Oh dear, you've lost weight! You must have been working too hard lately! No, your auntie must make sure you get back in shape!"
Chen Qing has lost seventeen or eighteen pounds in the past few days. If it were anyone else, you would have noticed that they have lost weight.
Unfortunately, she was already quite overweight, so if you looked at her every day, it would be hard to tell that she had lost weight.
However, Zhang had no good intentions.
Chen Qing remained silent and sat down following her lead.
A quick glance revealed that the table was laden with large pieces of meat and fish, with a whole basin of greasy braised pork knuckle placed in front of Chen Qing.
To make this braised pork knuckle, Zhang spent a considerable amount of money, managing to create such a delicious dish in this chaotic world where food was scarce.
Zhang felt nauseous at just one glance at the braised pork knuckle, but she still frantically piled meat into Chen Qing's bowl, saying, "Qing'er, eat up! This is all your favorite food!"
A mocking smile appeared in Chen Qing's eyes. Zhang Shi was really funny. Did she invite her to dinner today just to fatten her up a bit?
It's a pity to waste such good food; I wonder how much it would be worth if sold to the system.
"System, scan the calories in my food."
Chen Qing silently recited in his mind, activating the system.
[Scanning in progress, scan successful. Braised pork knuckle, 800 calories per 500g. Aphrodisiac detected in the food. The host has taken an antidote and is immune to all poisons; safe for use. Selling price: 30 points/500g]
Oh? There's an aphrodisiac in the food?
No wonder I invited her to dinner; that's what I was planning.
Chen Qing never expected that there would be such an unexpected gain.
Fortunately, she had already taken the antidote, so she no longer needs to worry about being poisoned.
"Qing'er, hurry up and eat! Isn't pork knuckle your favorite food?"
Zhang looked at Chen Qing expectantly, wishing she could stuff the braised pork knuckle into her mouth. As she spoke, she winked at Granny Zheng.
Zheng Mama understood immediately and quickly stepped forward to serve Chen Qing.
"Young Miss, let this old servant feed you!"
Chen Qing stopped Zheng Mama, "No need, I can eat by myself. I was just craving this dish, and it's really kind of Aunt Zhang to think of everything."
Without the slightest hesitation, she calmly reached out with her chopsticks, picked up a small piece of pork knuckle, and put it in her mouth.
Then, with a look of disgust, he said, "It tastes awful, how can it taste so bad?"
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