Xie Yuheng frowned slightly, feeling a vague sense of loss in his heart.
In the past, whenever he had even a minor headache or fever, Shen Zhaoli would always be the first to come to his side.
To care for him, she often stayed by his bedside without even changing her clothes.
Even if it was just a small ailment, she treated it as if it were the most serious matter, bustling about and refusing to listen to any advice to rest.
Her presence seemed to fill every corner of this room.
Recalling the past, Xie Yuheng couldn’t help but smile wryly.
“Qinggui Brother, have some water.”
Su Qingxi helped Xie Yuheng sit up and handed the teacup to him, her delicate face showing a hint of grievance.
Xie Yuheng felt somewhat awkward and comforted her in a hoarse voice.
“Xier, thank you for taking such good care of me.”
Su Qingxi shook her head and brought the water to Xie Yuheng’s lips.
As the cold tea entered his mouth, Xie Yuheng frowned. “Isn’t there any hot water?”
Shen Zhaoli knew he had a weak stomach and never let him drink cold tea.
The tea she brewed for him was always stomach-nourishing pu’er, and she took great care to keep it warm, so whenever he wanted to drink, it was always at the perfect temperature.
Seeing Xie Yuheng’s displeased expression, Su Qingxi grew slightly flustered, her sense of grievance deepening.
“It was my oversight.”
With the household short on staff, she had been taking care of Qinggui Brother all night and hadn’t had the chance to boil hot water.
Xie Yuheng sighed and only took two sips before refusing to drink more.
Well, Xier had been delicate and frail since childhood—how could she be expected to know how to serve others?
Su Qingxi set down the teacup with disappointment, but her eyes suddenly brightened.
“Qinggui Brother, are you hungry? I made some porridge. Shall I bring it for you to eat?”
Xie Yuheng had been unconscious all night and hadn’t eaten a thing, so he was indeed feeling quite hungry. “Alright.”
A smile appeared on Su Qingxi’s delicate face as she turned and left the room, but she forgot to close the door properly. The cold wind howled in, making Xie Yuheng uncomfortable.
Not long after, Su Qingxi returned with a bowl of steaming white porridge.
Sitting by the bed, she scooped a spoonful of porridge and brought it to Xie Yuheng’s lips, her delicate face filled with self-reproach.
“If I hadn’t tried to earn some face for the Prime Minister’s residence and offended Princess Changle at the Spring Radiance Banquet, I wouldn’t have dragged Qinggui Brother into this punishment.”
Seeing the faint mist in Su Qingxi’s eyes, Xie Yuheng comforted her gently.
“It’s not your fault. I know you meant well. And don’t blame Princess Changle either—she’s been pampered since childhood and is bound to have a temper.”
In the end, if it weren’t for him, Shen Zhaoli might not have troubled Xier.
Su Qingxi lowered her eyelids, disappointment flickering in her eyes.
“Xier understands. I won’t blame Princess Changle.”
She scooped another spoonful of porridge and brought it to Xie Yuheng’s lips. As the silver spoon touched his lips, a sharp, burning pain shot through him.
Xie Yuheng instinctively leaned back, his brow furrowing tightly.
Su Qingxi’s hand trembled, and the thick white porridge spilled from the spoon, staining Xie Yuheng’s white robe.
Panic filled Su Qingxi’s eyes as she quickly set down the bowl and picked up a handkerchief to clean Xie Yuheng, forgetting that he was covered in wounds. Her movements were clumsy and rough, causing Xie Yuheng to gasp in pain, his face turning as pale as paper.
“Xier, stop. I’ll do it myself.”
Seeing this, Su Qingxi stood frozen by the bed, not daring to move, her expression flustered and tears welling in her eyes.
His robe was now smeared with porridge from Su Qingxi’s earlier actions.
Xie Yuheng had always been fastidious, and the sight of the sticky, messy robe made him extremely uncomfortable.
“Forget it. Let’s just call someone to help me change into a fresh set of clothes.”
Su Qingxi wiped her tears and walked out, “I’ll go call someone right now.”
Xie Yuheng frowned deeply but ultimately did not call her back.
Both had been raised with delicate hands that never touched rough work since childhood, yet if it were Shen Zhaoli, she would never have handled things so poorly.
She always considered every detail thoroughly, never causing him any extra worry.
With a sigh, Xie Yuheng grew even more nostalgic for Shen Zhaoli’s virtues.
Well, after all, it was he who had stood her up at the engagement banquet first. It was only natural for Shen Zhaoli to be angry.
Once his injuries healed, he would make sure to properly coax her.
As night fell, dozens of people gathered in front of the Princess’s Mansion, startling the gatekeeper.
Thinking it was the servant from the afternoon causing trouble with a crowd, he immediately called for the mansion’s guards.
But upon closer inspection, he saw it was Nanny Cui and the others, and was somewhat surprised.
“Nanny Cui, Steward Wu, weren’t you all working at the Prime Minister’s Mansion? Why have you all come here?”
Nanny Cui looked somewhat embarrassed, “Please, young gatekeeper, inform Her Highness the Princess for us. We have a matter to request an audience.”
Nanny Cui had originally been assigned from Shen Zhaoli’s side and had been highly valued in the Princess’s Mansion before, so the gatekeeper dared not delay and immediately went to report.
Not long after, someone came to lead Nanny Cui and her group into Qinghuan Hall.
Seeing the large crowd in the courtyard, Shen Zhaoli couldn’t help but frown deeply.
Weren’t these all the servants she had sent to the Prime Minister’s Mansion back then?
“Nanny Cui, what has happened?”
As soon as Nanny Cui saw Shen Zhaoli, she couldn’t help but wipe away her old tears and kneel down.
“Your Highness, it is this old servant’s incompetence, failing to please Old Madam Xie. At this age, I still have to return and beg Your Highness to take me in.”
How could Shen Zhaoli not know the temperament of the Xie family’s old madam?
In the past, to avoid putting Xie Yuheng in a difficult position, she had often endured and suffered no small number of grievances in front of Old Madam Xie.
Nanny Cui and the others were all first-rate experts—how could they possibly serve unsatisfactorily?
It was likely the Xie family deliberately making things difficult for them.
With a stern face, Shen Zhaoli helped Nanny Cui up, “Nanny, rest assured. It is the Xie family who are blind and do not know their place.”
“All of you have suffered these years. Just settle down peacefully in the Princess’s Mansion. I will certainly not treat you poorly.”
Everyone was moved to tears of gratitude, kneeling one after another to express their thanks.
The next day, Shen Zhaoli sent a visiting card to the Taifu Mansion early in the morning.
She then ordered Mi Ning to prepare generous gifts and took a carriage to Yujing’s largest jewelry shop, Yu Linglong.
As soon as she arrived, the shopkeeper led Shen Zhaoli to a private room on the second floor.
Seeing Shen Zhaoli enter, Zhou Qingyun hurried forward to greet her, wearing a slightly apologetic expression.
“It was my fault for standing you up yesterday. It was only because the Lu family sent the betrothal gifts yesterday, and my mother said that now that I am engaged, it is not appropriate for me to appear in public.”
“To make it up to you, whatever you fancy in Linglong Pavilion today, I’ll cover it all.”
Although the Taifu Zhou family were scholarly officials of pure reputation, they were also a great clan with a century-old heritage, and their underlying strength should not be underestimated.
But Shen Zhaoli had been raised in luxury since childhood and lacked none of these things.
“Never mind that. When is the wedding date set?”
A faint blush appeared on Zhou Qingyun’s face, revealing a rare girlish shyness.
“It’s set for the second day of the seventh month. They say it’s an extremely auspicious day. There are still nearly four months to prepare, so the wedding arrangements won’t be too rushed.”