Chapter Thirty-Three: Marrying You

  Qin Dai Xin didn't know how long she had slept again, but she felt hungry in a daze. Before long, she smelled the aroma of food floating around her. When she woke up, she saw Chun Li, the maid, who was so sleepy that she couldn't even lift her head.

  He fell asleep on a table at one side, and at the head of the table there was still a tray with several bowls and plates.

  She moved her body slightly and indeed felt a bit weak. Although this injury looked frightening, Qin Dai Xin knew that she would be back to normal in less than ten days or half a month, but for the time being, she still had to pretend to need rest.

  "Chun Li." Qin Dai's voice was still a bit hoarse due to her weak body.

  The little girl lying on the table suddenly sat up, quickly lifted her head and looked towards the bedside, as soon as she saw Qin Dai Xin wake up, she immediately showed a happy smile, walked quickly to the bedside: "Miss, are you hungry?"

  Qin Dai's weak smile smiled and nodded: "I was woken up by the fragrance of food."

  Chunli smiled and said, "Today is the fifteenth day of the month. The whole family will accompany the old lady to eat vegetarian food. Ruyi sister also wants to make some porridge for the young lady, it's better to have light food. I had someone prepare it early, now I'm afraid it has cooled down. Miss, I'll order someone to heat up the porridge and bring it over to you in a moment, is that okay?"

  Qin Dai Xin nodded and said, "Look at you, what a state you're in? Let someone heat up the porridge for you to eat, then go rest. I'll have Ai Lian bring it over, and she can keep watch tonight. Tomorrow morning, you don't need to get up early either, sleep in a bit more. I might as well give you a day off!" After all, at only twelve years old, in later generations, he would still be considered just a child who didn't understand anything!

  Chun Li's head shook as vigorously as a rattle drum, and she said in one breath: "I'm not tired, I'm afraid they won't serve well, so let me come instead. This way, I can be at ease."

  "It's not your fault, don't blame yourself, are you satisfied?"

  Chun Li nodded, knowing that her master was doing it for her own good. She hastily said: "Don't worry, Miss. I'll go and instruct immediately, and have Ailian come to attend to you. Ruyi Jie has been called by the mistress to her room for questioning."

  Is that not Qin Fengge? Returned to the manor for many days, yet never heard any news about this lady, she really forgot about it.

  "What did Auntie call Ruyi for?" Qin Dai's heart was filled with fear that Ruyi would suffer some injustice, she still remembered the time when Qin Feng hit Ruyi in the ear at the front yard of the Qin's house!

  "The slave girl didn't know, she just let Qiūi pass on the message and didn't say what it was about. Rúyì has been gone for a while now, and shouldn't be long before she comes back." Chunli also knew that Rúyì had been beaten, but since they were masters and she was a slave girl, there were some things that she couldn't take charge of. At this time, even if Rúyì had suffered at the hands of her aunt, who could say anything about it?"

  As soon as the words fell, Yu saw that Ruyi had lifted the curtain and walked in, and Qin Dai's heart was also extremely delighted to see her awake.

  "Miss, you're awake. I've had someone heat up the dishes. If they don't taste good, we can remake them, okay?" Her expression didn't seem displeased, and there was nothing out of place on her body; she didn't look like someone who had been wronged.

  "This will be fine for Chunli, you come over and I have something to ask you." She was still a bit dizzy and couldn't get up, so she just lay there and asked questions.

  Chunli hastily took down the plate and went downstairs, leaving only two people in the house talking.

  "What did your aunt call you over for? Has she been giving you a hard time?" The last time Qin Fengsong hit someone was still fresh in Qin Dai's mind, and she was afraid that this time would be another instance of her being bullied.

  "Miss, I'm fine." A grateful look flashed across Ruyi's eyes, and Qin Daiyu caught a glimpse of it.

  "Miss, don't worry, I'm fine. The old lady called me over and only asked about your injury, she carefully asked about the whole process, then didn't say anything else and let me come back."

  "Oh? Is that so?" Qin Dai's heart believed that her aunt would not do anything in vain, although she didn't know what she had planned for the time being, but she would eventually find out one day, and it wasn't urgent at the moment. Seeing that Ruyi was really unscathed, she said: "Go down and rest, I'm fine after the danger, but you've all been worried thin."

  "This is what slaves should do, why should you care, miss?"

  "Go! You and Chunli take a good rest too, just call Ailian to serve you."

  As Qin Dai Xin insisted, it's not good to say anything more. Besides, Miss can let Ai Lian enter the house to serve her, she is also delighted from the heart, maybe Miss has long forgotten the past and doesn't care about it anymore! Thinking of this, she was overjoyed, hastily bowed and retreated, turned around and left Qin Dai Xin's room, instructing Ai Lian to go.

  After a while, the door was pushed open. Qin Dai Xin listened to the unfamiliar footsteps coming from outside, passing through the small hall, walking over the partition, and only then did she lift the curtain and enter the bedroom.

  "Miss, I've brought you some porridge." Ailian carefully placed the porridge in front of the bed.

  Ai Lian carefully placed the spoon to her mouth, blew warm air on it, and then fed Qin Dai Xin one spoonful at a time, occasionally adding some small dishes, and using a handkerchief to wipe the corners of her mouth. Although this was her first time serving Qin Dai Xin, her movements were not awkward, clearly she had received very good training.

  After finishing the porridge, Ailian waited on her master to wipe his face and feet. Only then did she put things away and retreat outside. Tonight, she took Spring Orchid's place standing guard in the outer room. She thought that although her own mistress had returned to Changxiao Garden for some days now, this was still the first time she'd been asked to stand watch at night, and her heart felt a few parts happy about it.

  The night is deep and people are quiet, with only the sound of the street vendor's calls echoing through the air.

  Qin Dai's heart secretly counted, knowing that it was already the hour of Hai. She didn't know if it was because she had slept too much during the day, but now she couldn't sleep even though she was lying in bed. Just as her mind was a complete blank, she suddenly felt a commotion outside the window. Qin Dai's subconscious wanted to get up, but because her injuries hadn't healed yet, she ended up stirring up her wounds instead. Just as she was hesitating about whether or not to call out for someone, a familiar scent wafted through the room, danger without killing intent...

  "You're really addicted to climbing windows." Qin Dai's heart already knew who the visitor was, none other than that persistent ghost, Duanyan Rui.

  The black shadow pulled down the face towel, revealing a clear-cut face with sharp eyes that shone exceptionally in the dark night. The newcomer sat at the table without courtesy, poured himself a glass of water and drank it all in one gulp.

  "You're not at a dead end again, are you?" It's sarcastic, with a hint of self-mockery.

  "Not me, I'll take a look at you." Unlike the usual playful tone, it sounded very sincere, which made Qin Dai, who was lying in bed, feel a little uncomfortable.

  "You really have the nerve to come empty-handed to see your lifesaver." She hadn't forgotten what she said last time about the 50% commission, now it seems that it wasn't a bad deal after all. The fact that they came shows their attitude!

  "What a joke! The third daughter of the Qin family, yet so short on cash. Who would believe it if I told them?" In the blink of an eye, he put on a rascal's face again, but there was no hint of pampering about him.

  "It's fine as long as you remember." Qin Dai didn't mind either, after all, the other person was there to give her money, no reason to chase them away!

  The man helplessly shook his head, pulled out a few banknotes from his pocket, folded them several times, and with a wave of his large hand, the neatly stacked paper flew into the mosquito net as if it had come to life.

  Qin Dai Xin stared at the stack of paper on the bed, her heart racing. This guy's hidden weapon skills were quite a match for hers, or maybe even stronger, and this sheet of paper was as light as a feather, yet it could fly so accurately, absolutely not something that could be achieved by just folding a paper airplane. Was it really the legendary internal energy?

  Opening the crumpled paper, Qin Dai's heart was shocked by a string of numbers on it. Adding up front and back, there were roughly five thousand taels. Are silver tickets still available this year? Could it be fake? What kind of task can get a reward of five thousand taels? Or is it half the task reward?

  "It seems you've really offended someone you shouldn't have! Is this fake?" Qin Dai raised the silver ticket in her hand, narrowing her eyes as she asked.

  "If one is counterfeit, ten will be compensated. Any ticket from the Great Yong Empire can be exchanged." She seemed to have a habit of narrowing her eyes when questioning or encountering danger, but it was unclear if she herself had noticed this.

  "You're still a trustworthy person." Qin Dai generously put the silver ticket under her pillow, this was what she had exchanged with her life, it was what she deserved. As long as she had the pension money, she could live happily and carefreely in this beautiful place, without having to worry about getting married again.

  "I didn't think you'd do something like this, if I had known, I would never have let you take the risk. It seems that I need to reevaluate Qin's third daughter." The man's words were profound and carried a deeper meaning.

  "Do you have a better way? That Gao Liren doesn't know what's going on either, he's not easy to fool. But you're also quite clever, running away when sending Dr. Li, this is absolutely the right choice." Qin Dai didn't mind being praised for being smart, just like he said, they were of the same kind, some things even if not explicitly stated, would still be guessed seven or eight out of ten.

  "But although I was injured, I got what I deserved. It's just that the transaction between you and me has ended, would you mind not coming again in the future? Next time you come, I might be dead." Also don't know if they had a bit of a conflict, anyway every time seeing him, oneself will definitely have no good luck.

  The man smiled and some rascals said, "For those of us in this line of work, if we want to come, we'll come; if we want to leave, we'll leave." The implication is that as long as I'm interested, I can always come back.

  "Would you mind taking care of the patient, I need to rest now. Can you go back?" Qin Dai lifted one side of the silk curtain and made a "please" gesture towards the man.

  Although her wound had not healed, her face was a bit pale. Her entire body was covered with a thin blanket, and no curves could be seen. However, Mu Rong Jing felt that the woman in front of him was radiant, not just because of her beauty, but also because she had an aura about her that made people feel that beneath her lively and vivacious exterior, there was a hidden calmness and wisdom that was unknown to others.

  "Let me tell you a message, maybe you'll be interested." Murong Jing smiled, but his eyes had no warmth, and the chill was frightening.

  "What's up?" The man gossiped, not losing to the woman at all. Looking at his expression as if there was a show to watch, he believed it must be something worth listening to.

  "I just made a round at your house and heard someone named Gong Sunjin discussing you with your family's elderly lady. The man's eyes were tightly fixed on Qindai Xin, seemingly very concerned about her reaction: "I heard that he wants to marry you as his wife."