At noon, Lu Qing Shui brought a pot of fragrant chicken soup, skimmed off the oil, and added fine noodles and a few green leaves, making it look very appetizing.
"Madam hasn't come out of her room yet. Miss, you've just recovered from a serious illness, so eat something light first. I've already prepared meals for everyone. They can eat when they return. I don't know if the Young Master and Brother Zhang will be back. Should we keep their food warm?" Lu Qing Shui asked softly.
"Keep some aside. It's our duty. He is the Young Master, and it wouldn't be good to neglect him," Qi Zhen Zhen thought for a moment and said, "Keep my mother's meal warm too. When she wakes up, tell her to eat. If she doesn't come out of her room, don't call her. Let her sleep until she's had enough."
Lu Qing Shui nodded and turned to leave. When the workers returned later, she would have to attend to them.
In the afternoon, Madam Yun woke up and came to Qi Zhen Zhen's room. Seeing that her complexion had improved considerably and she no longer had a fever, she finally felt relieved.
"Zhen Zhen, Mother wants to ask you, is that Young Master interested in you?"
This question troubled Madam Yun greatly. Gu Si Nian's reaction when Zhen Zhen fell ill was overly anxious, which was too abnormal.
"Mother, don't say that I'm just a country girl now. Even if I were a young lady of the Marquis's mansion, I would still have nothing to do with the Young Master. Mother, please rest assured," Qi Zhen Zhen said calmly. "As for the Young Master, I will find an opportunity to make things clear."
Madam Yun suddenly felt melancholic. In another two years, her daughter would reach her coming-of-age ceremony. Could the marriage with the Lu family still be fulfilled? Should she take the initiative to bring them back? Would the Marquis's mansion still allow them to enter? If they were not allowed in, what should she do?
"Zhen Zhen, let's go back," Madam Yun said suddenly after a period of silence, her expression resolute.
Qi Zhen Zhen knew where Madam Yun was referring to when she said "go back," but now was not the best time.
"Mother, let's take our time with this matter. The Marquis is already sending people to look for us. It won't be too late to go back when they find us," Qi Zhen Zhen said. "You don't need to worry too much. I will protect you and Yi Ge'er."
Her daughter was capable, but no matter how capable she was, she couldn't contend with the Marquis's mansion. Madam Yun was truly worried about the future of her children.
There were some things that Qi Zhen Zhen didn't know how to say to Madam Yun, so she could only try her best to appease her and tell her not to overthink.
In the afternoon, Gu Si Nian returned. He found it inconvenient to ask Madam Yun about Qi Zhen Zhen's condition, so he sent Zhang Xiao Niu to inquire. Madam Yun had no defenses against Zhang Xiao Niu, and soon, Gu Si Nian knew about Qi Zhen Zhen's situation.
She had woken up, could eat, and hadn't missed a dose of her medicine.
However, Gu Si Nian was still worried. He wanted to see Qi Zhen Zhen in person to calm his inner anxiety. Da Feng Novel Network.
But Madam Yun wouldn't let Qi Zhen Zhen go out, and it was inconvenient for him, an outsider, to openly enter a young lady's room.
During dinner, Qi Zhen Zhen's meal was brought in by Lu Qing Shui. The idea of seeing Qi Zhen Zhen during mealtime was dashed.
Gu Si Nian felt inexplicably restless. After returning to his room, he tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
He listened carefully to the sounds from each room in the Qi family. Once he confirmed that everyone had rested, he quietly left his room.
A faint knock sounded on the door. Qi Zhen Zhen heard it immediately. After dinner, her mother had come to sit for a while, so it definitely wouldn't be her mother. Lu Qing Shui had already returned to her room to rest, and there was nothing else. She wouldn't come at this hour. As for the other people living in the house, they knew to keep their distance from the young lady's room.
So, without even thinking, the person knocking must be Gu Si Nian.
Shouldn't the scions of noble families pay more attention to etiquette? Why was he knocking on her door now?
Qi Zhen Zhen rolled over and lay facing inward, pretending not to hear.
The knocking was always light, stopping for a while and then knocking again, but it never completely ceased.
Qi Zhen Zhen knew that Gu Si Nian was determined to have his way. As long as she didn't open the door, he would keep knocking.
She slowly put on her clothes and tidied her hair before going to open the door.
As she expected, Gu Si Nian was standing outside.
Gu Si Nian hadn't expected Qi Zhen Zhen to finally open the door. He stood there dumbfounded.
"If you have something to say, come in. It's not good to stand here," Qi Zhen Zhen called out calmly.
Gu Si Nian hesitated for a moment and then stepped into the room.
Qi Zhen Zhen invited him to sit down and brought a pot of boiling water from the stove in the side room. "I won't make tea for the Young Master at night."
Gu Si Nian cupped his hands around the teacup, and his ice-cold hands gradually warmed up.
"Are you feeling better?" Gu Si Nian couldn't help but ask. In fact, he knew she was almost recovered, but he still wanted to hear her say it herself.
"Except for feeling weak, there's nothing else," Qi Zhen Zhen's tone was calm, without any fluctuation.
"It's all my fault. If I hadn't dragged you out late at night, you definitely wouldn't have fallen ill. I feel very guilty," Gu Si Nian said somewhat eagerly. "Did what I said cause you any trouble? Believe me, I am sincere. I don't know how to clearly and explicitly show you what's in my heart, but it's definitely not a whim. I want to marry you as my wife and face the future together."
The urgent confession caught Qi Zhen Zhen off guard. Her well-thought-out retorts were disrupted.
"I admit that, at first, I was curious about you. I've met many young ladies from respectable families, and you are different from them. I've also met some country women, and you are different from them too. Although they are different people, in my eyes, they are all the same. Only you are vibrant and interesting, and my gaze can't help but stick to you."
Gu Si Nian's speaking speed increased, and Qi Zhen Zhen didn't interrupt him, only listened quietly.
After speaking for about fifteen minutes, Gu Si Nian finally stopped.
"You are the esteemed Young Master, and your future is immeasurable. I am just a country girl for now. Even if I return to the Marquis's mansion in the near future, I will only be a concubine's daughter living under the mistress's authority, with no say and no decision-making power. Matters of marriage are also in the mistress's hands. Whether I marry into a decent family, a fallen family, or someone notorious and disgraced, it all depends on the mistress's preference. With someone like me, which noble family would even glance at me?" Qi Zhen Zhen said unhurriedly. "Therefore, I never harbored any expectations. It's not that I am submissive, but I know I cannot resist. The only thing I can do is to try my best to live a better life after the fact."
"The Duke's mansion is not a good choice for me. The Marquis of Changping's mansion has a lower title than the Duke's mansion, and the scandals in the inner court are unspeakable, let alone the Duke's mansion?"