Qi Mo felt a cold sweat creep up his back as he was stared at by his stern gaze.
He clutched his throbbing wrist and instinctively stepped back.
“Miss Shen…” He turned his head, his lips trembling as he looked at Shen Zhiyi, “I didn’t mean anything by it… please don’t misunderstand…”
He glared at Qingyuan.
"Miss Shen and I are friends. What's wrong with feeding her a piece of pastry?"
"Did you really have to twist my hand?!"
He put on a pitiful expression, turned to look at Shen Zhiyi, and said in a pitiful tone, "Miss Shen, my hand hurts so much... it must be broken."
"You have to stand up for me..."
Shen Zhiyi was even more astonished than he was.
My heart is pounding, and I still haven't come to my senses.
She turned her head, looking at Qingyuan with disbelief, "He..."
“He’s lying,” Qingyuan replied.
He stared intently at her. "Qingqing, do you want to be friends with someone who's a complete liar?"
"He's lying to you. I just twisted his hand."
"This punishment is nothing."
There was still a lingering gloom in his eyes. "Qingqing, are you going to side with a stranger who deceived you?"
"You're blaming me because of him?"
Shen Zhiyi's heart sank suddenly.
She subconsciously avoided Qingyuan's gaze, glancing at Qi Mo's pale face and his twisted arm.
A chill ran down my spine.
Is this the consequence of deceiving him?
"This punishment is nothing."
His cold words buzzed in her ears, echoing incessantly.
A broken bone is nothing to him.
How terrifying must the most horrible punishment from the deep sea that he mentioned earlier be?
Shen Zhiyi dared not think about it further.
A chill ran down my spine instantly.
"You...you've misunderstood," she stammered, "I didn't mean to side with outsiders."
She said to Qi Mo, "Mr. Qi, I will send someone to deliver the medical expenses to your residence."
"I am truly sorry for what happened today."
“From now on, I don’t want any of your shop’s profits, and we don’t need to have any dealings anymore.”
"Please leave."
Qi Mo's face drained of color.
He never imagined that sending a snack would destroy all possibilities between him and her!
He immediately exclaimed anxiously, "Miss Chen! I..."
Qingyuan flicked his sleeve.
A tremendous force propelled the airflow, causing Qi Mo to stagger back several meters and nearly fall to the ground.
"Get out of here now," he said coldly.
Qi Mo felt a wave of fear wash over him.
With the help of a maid, he steadied himself, glanced at Shen Zhiyi, feeling both unwilling and helpless.
They could only leave disappointed.
Shen Zhiyi looked at the pastries in front of her.
"Qingqing, do you want some?" Qingyuan picked up a piece of osmanthus cake and held it to her lips. "I'll feed you."
Shen Zhiyi had no appetite.
She shook her head. "Let the shopkeeper take it and throw it away later."
Qingyuan raised an eyebrow, said nothing, tossed the pastries in his hand into the food box, closed the lid, and clapped his hands.
Why go through all that trouble?
He turned his palm.
The pastries, along with their food box, instantly crumbled into dust and vanished without a trace.
Shen Zhiyi's heart skipped a beat again.
After checking the accounts, she returned to the manor, and the first thing she did was push Qingyuan into the cold spring.
"Hurry up and soak in the water."
"I was away for a day and didn't even have time to rest properly."
Qingyuan pinched her chin, kissed her lips, and then used his thumb to rub her lips.
"good."
"I'll make it right away, so you won't worry."
He entered the cold spring.
Shen Zhiyi turned and went to the study, summoned Dui'er, and dismissed everyone else.
"Dui'er, go quickly and prepare a merchant ship for me to go to the capital."
"Prepare another carriage."
She needs to get her business matters sorted out as soon as possible in the next few days.
Entrust tasks to people you can trust.
Then, prepare some gold, silver and valuables, and hurry up and run away!
Dui'er asked in surprise, "Miss is going to the capital?"
"Are you preparing to go with Lord Li to the palace to meet the Imperial Concubine?"
Shen Zhiyi shook her head.
“I cannot trust Li Zhiyin, so I will not travel with him.”
"As for the imperial palace, it is an even greater den of dragons and tigers."
but……
Her eyes flickered.
Li Zhiyin is someone who can be used to hide her whereabouts.
Dui'er asked in confusion, "Then what is this, Miss...?"
Qingyuan didn't soak in the cold spring for long, and Shen Zhiyi didn't explain much, only saying, "You'll know when the time comes."
"By the way, any news from Li Zhiyin today?"
Dui'er nodded.
"Lord Li sent someone to deliver an invitation, saying that he wanted to invite Miss to the magistrate's mansion to admire the flowers."
"This servant has already refused him as Miss instructed."
"But in the afternoon, he didn't give up and sent someone to invite Miss to have tea at the restaurant the next day."
"He also said that regardless of whether Miss agrees to go to the capital with him, he admires Miss's talent and ability and wants to do business with Miss."
Shen Zhiyi thought of the unsold mermaid pearls in the room, pondered for a moment, and said, "Go and give them a reply."
"Just tell him I've agreed and I'll wait for him at the restaurant tomorrow."
"Okay." Dui'er immediately went back.
Shen Zhiyi returned to the house and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Qingyuan still immersed in the cold spring.
"Why did it take you so long to get back, Qingqing?" he asked softly, looking at her.
Shen Zhiyi chuckled awkwardly.
"I'll go get you some wine." She lifted the wine jug in her hand. "The moonlight is lovely tonight. How about we go to the courtyard for a drink together?"
"This is a fine wine that I've treasured for many years."
Qingyuan's probing gaze fell upon her.
His dark eyes paused for a moment.
Suddenly, she smiled.
"good."
“It’s rare that you’re in such a good mood, so I’ll drink with you.” He reached out his hand to her. “However, I’m not a good drinker, so please don’t blame me if I fail to make you enjoy yourself.”
Shen Zhiyi put down the wine pot, walked up to him, and took his hand.
How could this be?
She was overjoyed.
It would be best if he slept soundly tomorrow and didn't find out that she went out to eat with Li Zhiyin.
She squeezed his hand and laughed, "My alcohol tolerance is only so-so."
"Tonight, let's drink until we drop."
She lied to him again.
How could someone who has been in business for many years have a low alcohol tolerance?
Saying she can drink a thousand cups without getting drunk is an underestimation of her.
However, there's not much difference between lying once and lying twice.
In his eyes, these were all the greatest sins.
Qingyuan pulled her into the cold spring, held her in his arms, stroked her hair, and said gently, "Perfect timing, tonight, I also have something for you."
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