“Is this… tasty?”
Luo Li was eating seriously when a hesitant voice suddenly sounded beside her ear.
Looking up, she saw a little girl with a flushed face. Hmm, she looked familiar—it was the one who had praised her for looking like a little fairy.
“It’s tasty.” After a moment’s thought, she curved her eyes and nodded with a smile.
The beauty’s smile—oh my—almost dazzled Xu Tutu.
Xu Tutu glanced at Taozi, who was watching her warily from the side, then looked back at Luo Li, feeling a bit nervous.
“Can I sit here?” She pointed to the empty seat next to Luo Li.
“Mm.” Luo Li nodded naturally and even shifted slightly to make room for her.
After sitting down, seeing how seriously Luo Li was eating, Xu Tutu couldn’t resist and took one herself to try.
Hmm… it wasn’t that delicious, but for some reason, watching Luo Li eat made her feel quite hungry.
“My name is Xu Tutu. What’s yours?”
“Luo Li.”
“Why are you sitting here alone? Aren’t you going to walk around?”
Thinking they were already friends who had shared the same pastry and exchanged names, Xu Tutu felt a bit closer and asked.
“It’s my first time here. I’m not familiar with the place, so I don’t dare run around.” Luo Li shook her head honestly.
She still remembered this was Li Zhaohua’s home. Recalling how Li Zhaohua had looked that day, she felt that person was probably a troublemaker and didn’t want to cause any issues by wandering around.
It wasn’t that she was afraid of trouble—she just couldn’t be bothered.
Unexpectedly, Xu Tutu patted her chest repeatedly upon hearing this. “No worries, I’m familiar with this place. This is my uncle’s home; I come here often.
I remember there’s a swing in the front courtyard. You can swing really high on it—it’s so much fun. Do you want to go?”
Seeing how enthusiastic and eager Xu Tutu was to share, Luo Li hesitated for a moment but still shook her head with a smile.
“I’m not in good health.”
“Oh, sorry, I forgot.” Hearing this, Xu Tutu paused, as if just remembering she had heard about this before, and looked a bit regretful.
Luo Li maintained her standard smile and gently shook her head.
“It’s fine.”
She remained obediently seated, quietly watching the other young ladies play poetry games.
As if completely unaware, she allowed Xu Tutu and Li Zhaohua to exchange meaningful glances in a direction she couldn’t see.
Taozi kept a close watch around Luo Li, her eyes filled with vigilance.
“Shall we go feed the little fish?”
Suddenly, Xu Tutu stood up and suggested to Luo Li. Without waiting for Luo Li’s reply, she had already fetched some fish food from a nearby maid of the Li household.
She pulled Luo Li and ran to the fish pond in front. This pond was carefully built by City Lord Li, with flowing water inside, so it wouldn’t freeze in this weather.
The water was neither too deep nor too shallow, roughly reaching a person’s waist. A small koi fish swam happily inside, and the aquatic plants in the water were also carefully selected by City Lord Li.
It looked quite pleasing to the eye, but Xu Tutu’s slightly trembling hands were a bit of a giveaway.
“Why is it water again? Do I look that compatible with water?”
Luo Li complained to Little Cabbage, feeling that these young ladies’ schemes to harm others were truly lacking in creativity.
“Hmm… maybe because it’s cold, and icy water does the most damage?” Little Cabbage tilted her head and said.After all, the original host’s physical condition was well known—even a minor illness or mishap could lead to trouble.
Luo Li remained silent, observing Xu Tutu’s seemingly guileless demeanor, while Taozi had yet to notice anything amiss.
Meanwhile, Gu Xuanjing, who had noticed Luo Li was no longer in her original spot, had already begun searching for her.
“Meow!”
Just then, a sharp cat’s cry suddenly rang out. A plump, large cat darted out from nowhere.
“Ah—!”
As if frightened by something, it scurried wildly around the garden, startling several young ladies among the female guests.
Watching Xu Tutu, whose gaze was fixed intently on the large cat, Luo Li quietly stepped aside. Taozi snapped back to attention and shielded her, only for Gu Xuanjing to quickly take over.
However, the moment Luo Li retreated, the large cat charged straight toward the pond.
“Ah! Ah!” Xu Tutu stumbled back several steps in fright, reaching out to grab Luo Li’s position beside her, only to find nothing but empty air.
Looking up, she realized Luo Li had already moved away from the pond’s edge at some point.
Her plan to feign fright and pull Luo Li into the water instantly fell apart.
But before she could react further, the large cat pounced on her.
Caught off guard and unprepared, Xu Tutu stumbled backward from the force, tumbling straight into the fishpond.
The plump cat stepped on her once before snatching a fish from the pond.
Hmm, it looked just like an accident caused by a cat trying to catch a fish.
But why would a cat be let loose during a banquet for no reason?
Whether she slipped or not, Xu Tutu flailed in the water several times but couldn’t manage to stand up.
“Quick, quick, save her!”
By then, the others outside had regained their composure. Seeing the situation, City Lord Li’s Madam hurriedly called for help.
Li Zhaohua, meanwhile, shot a resentful glare at Luo Li and felt nothing but disdain for Xu Tutu’s incompetence.
Useless and only causing trouble.
“Are you alright?” Uncle Gu had rushed over by then, looking at Luo Li, who was protected by Gu Xuanjing, with lingering fear.
He had seen from a distance that Luo Li had also been standing by the water’s edge. The beast had seemed to charge toward the pond with purpose, and he had been truly frightened.
Fortunately, his dear niece had reacted quickly and dodged in time.
“I’m fine, Uncle,” Luo Li replied with a smile, shaking her head.
Xu Tutu, who had been rescued from the pond, glanced over, opening her mouth as if to say something but holding back.
Everyone had clearly seen that Luo Li had moved away early on. Her fall had nothing to do with Luo Li.
The Li family wanted to treat the incident as a mere accident and quickly move on.
The cat belonged to City Lord Li’s favored concubine, and because of her status, even the cat remained untouched.
Throughout the entire ordeal, only Xu Tutu had needlessly endured the cold water.
“Hmph!” Uncle Gu was still deeply dissatisfied.
“City Lord Li should keep a tighter rein on the animals in his household. Fortunately, nothing serious happened this time. If something worse occurs next time, City Lord Li may find himself in trouble!”
Others also expressed their displeasure, as their own wives and daughters among the female guests had been frightened as well.
Though they dared not speak up too much due to City Lord Li’s status, their silent stance behind Uncle Gu clearly indicated their shared dissatisfaction.
“Yes, yes, it was my oversight that disturbed everyone. I sincerely apologize and will send compensation to each of you shortly. Please accept it.”City Lord Li was also a shrewd man, knowing he was indeed responsible for this matter, so he straightforwardly admitted it and immediately apologized.
But he never mentioned the cat from start to finish. However, as the city lord and the highest-ranking official present in the city, what could anyone do about it?
Since he had personally apologized and made amends in public, the matter could only be let go.
“Hmph,” Uncle Gu snorted.
Gu Xuanjing glanced down at Luo Li, then looked at Li Zhaohua not far away, narrowing his eyes slightly.
Earlier, from a distance over there, he seemed to have seen Xu Tutu exchanging glances with Li Zhaohua.
And just now, it appeared that Xu Tutu had intentionally led Luo Li toward the pondside.
Thinking this through, he quickly realized what had happened, his eyes turning cold.