The next morning.
Qu Jinshu left the inn without wearing a veil. To her surprise, she ran into some familiar faces.
“Qu Jinshu, I knew you’d be here! Our He family servants were right after all.”
He Yuexin and Madam He stepped down from their carriage. The moment they saw Qu Jinshu, their eyes lit up.
But soon, they put on their usual haughty expressions and looked at her with disdain. “Qu Jinshu, stop right there!”
When Qu Jinshu ignored them, both He Yuexin and Madam He grew furious. How dare a mere illegitimate daughter treat them like this?
“We happened to have some free time today, so we’ve graciously decided to talk to you about my brother.”
He Yuexin strode forward and even reached out to block Qu Jinshu’s path.
Not far away, a carriage had quietly come to a stop.
Shen Lanzhou cautiously lifted a small corner of the curtain and peeked outside.
“If I’m not mistaken, that should be Qu Jinshu, right?”
Yesterday, at the teahouse, he had also watched her secretly through a narrow gap in the upstairs window.
He was extremely curious about what kind of woman could earn such high praise from Jingxing.
He hadn’t expected her to notice him after just one glance. What remarkable observation skills!
He was even more surprised that she had refused the compensation offered by Full Moon Restaurant.
Of course, that so called compensation hadn’t actually come from Jingxing. He had taken the initiative and instructed someone to arrange it.
She was just a delicate young woman who had helped Jingxing. As his friend, what was wrong with him compensating her on Jingxing’s behalf?
“Jingxing, I don’t think your plan to have absolutely nothing to do with her is going to work. Look, you’ve run into her again today.”
Shen Lanzhou turned around and teased Zhao Jingxing.
Zhao Jingxing was sitting quietly at the other end of the spacious carriage, reading a book and drinking tea. He completely ignored Shen Lanzhou’s teasing and merely reminded him, “Watch the commotion if you want, but don’t delay our journey.”
What a boring fellow!
He had always been like this, ever since childhood. Apart from pretending to be an idiot, he followed the rules in every other situation. It was as if there was nothing and no one in this world that could ever interest him.
Shen Lanzhou shook his head and stopped bothering him. He continued peeking through the gap in the curtain.
But what he heard next nearly made him choke on his own saliva.
He actually heard He Yuexin say smugly, “Qu Jinshu, I know you admire my brother.”
Cough! Cough!
No way! Qu Jinshu admired He Xiujun?
Shen Lanzhou had seen He Yuexin once at a banquet, so he recognized her.
She only had one older brother. Surely she meant He Xiujun?
“Qu Jinshu likes He Xiujun?” he muttered to himself.
At those words, Zhao Jingxing’s hand paused slightly as he turned a page.
Shen Lanzhou was still trying to make sense of it. “Wait, that doesn’t make sense. If she really liked He Xiujun, she wouldn’t have stood by and watched him nearly get beaten to death yesterday.”
“Or is this some special way of expressing her affection?”
“After all, she’s an unusual young woman. Perhaps she expresses her feelings differently from everyone else. For example, once He Xiujun becomes crippled, she can claim him for herself?”
“Does Young Master Shen think you could come up with a more reasonable explanation?” Even Jingfeng couldn’t stand listening anymore. He spoke helplessly.
Shen Lanzhou gave an awkward smile. “Never mind, never mind. Let’s see how our Miss Qu responds.”
Meanwhile, after hearing He Yuexin’s words, Qu Jinshu fell silent for a long time.
She was thinking about one thing.
Just how blind had she been in her previous life to think He Xiujun was such a treasure? It had allowed everyone to use her feelings for him as an excuse to humiliate her.
Seeing Qu Jinshu remain silent, He Yuexin assumed she was embarrassed because she had been exposed.
She raised her chin haughtily and continued, “Although you’re not worthy of liking my brother, who can control matters of the heart? Especially when my brother is such an outstanding man. There are countless young women in the capital who admire him.”
“All right, Yuexin. Stop wasting time with her. Get to the point.” Madam He frowned impatiently.
“My brother is injured and needs medicine right now. If you truly admire him, then you should do something for him,” He Yuexin continued.
“Oh? And what do you think I should do?” Qu Jinshu asked with interest.
There was hope!
He Yuexin exchanged a knowing glance with Madam He. She knew it! Given how much Qu Jinshu liked her brother, the woman would surely come running to please them like a dog.
She cleared her throat and continued, “To recover from his injuries, my brother needs the best medicine and the best physician. All of that costs money. It’s not that our General’s household is short of money. I simply wanted to test you.”
“Since you admire my brother, it’s only right that you spend some money on him. Otherwise, how sincere can your feelings possibly be?”
“I know the Emperor rewarded you, so you should have quite a bit of money. Why not take out some of it?”
He Yuexin spoke as though her demands were perfectly reasonable. Madam He said nothing, but her expression clearly showed that she agreed.
“Good heavens! I’ve never seen anyone so shameless!”
Hidden inside the carriage, Shen Lanzhou was utterly stunned.
Even Jingfeng, who hadn’t intended to eavesdrop, couldn’t help commenting, “Liking someone like that would be humiliating. Miss Qu won’t agree to this, will she?”
Meanwhile, after hearing He Yuexin’s demands, Qu Jinshu, who had been cold-faced just moments ago, suddenly smiled.
“Just tell me how much money you need.”
As expected, an illegitimate daughter who had grown up lacking affection was desperate for love. Look at her, eagerly trying to please them again!
“It’s not much. Just ten thousand coins,” He Yuexin said, lifting her chin slightly.
Ten thousand coins? Why didn’t they just rob someone?
Although He Xiujun’s injuries were serious, there was no way he needed that much money.
Could it be that the mother and daughter intended to spend the money on themselves?
‘Miss, please don’t agree!’ Yunshui watched Qu Jinshu nervously.
‘Don’t be foolish! Don’t agree! There are plenty of good men in this world! He Xiujun is nothing but a hypocrite. What’s so good about him? And the He family’s conduct is simply appalling!’
Shen Lanzhou clasped his hands together and prayed silently.
Although he and Qu Jinshu weren’t acquainted, he couldn’t bear to see a young woman walk straight into a trap.
“Ten thousand coins, right? I’ll take you to withdraw it.”
Qu Jinshu finally agreed.
The mother and daughter from the He family immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
A smug look flashed across their faces. Getting this money had been surprisingly easy!
“Fine, we’ll go with you.”
“Are you going to withdraw the money from a money house? There’s one nearby, but you’d better hurry. My mother needs to return home to look after my brother, and I’ve made plans to go shopping for cosmetics with the daughter of Lord Wang.”
He Yuexin even began making demands of Qu Jinshu.
Qu Jinshu, however, agreed pleasantly to everything. “All right.”