High-class Spring Joy

Upon hearing this, Qingyuan paused, her expression faltering: "Is it that obvious?"

"My hearing is very good."

As Chu Jingxian spoke, one could discern a joyful and relaxed tone in her voice.

The fire was extinguished yesterday, and the Buddha statue was burned. If something serious hadn't happened, why would this little girl be so happy?

Qingyuan was indeed overjoyed and happy at this moment, and she had no intention of hiding it from the man in front of her: "It's just that I've discovered that sometimes Heaven does have eyes. As the saying goes, there are gods three feet above your head. Some people do things that can't be seen in public, but they still get punished. Young Master doesn't know that yet, does he?"

Hearing Qingyuan's words, Chu Jingxian could somewhat guess what she was talking about. Besides, it was Chu Jingxian who ordered his subordinates to do it, so how could they not know? But recalling the expectation in the little girl's words, he smiled and asked, "What is it?"

"I heard that last night, a bolt of lightning struck Lord Jiang's residence, burning down most of it. How satisfying!"

After Qingyuan finished speaking, she realized that she had said something wrong in front of Chu Jingxian. How could she say such a thing in front of him?

What's wrong with her now?

Mango sensed something had changed but couldn't quite put her finger on it. She hurriedly explained to Chu Jingxian, "What I mean is, perhaps it's because I'm narrow-minded that I think the person who caused the fire in the manor yesterday is somewhat related to Miss Jiang. Of course, this is just my personal conjecture, and just my own foolish shortsightedness. I shouldn't have said such inappropriate things in front of you, young master. I know I was wrong."

Even when facing Chu Jingyu before, Mango could never be so relaxed and blurt out these unspeakable thoughts.

She herself didn't know why she said those words. She had lived in the backyard of the Marquis's mansion for so many years. Although she wasn't particularly clever, she was still cautious and measured in her actions.

How could you... say something like that just now?

If it were Chu Jingyu in front of her, who knows how he would punish her and elevate Jiang Qingge to a high position.

No matter how good Chu Jingxian is... he's still his master.

Qingyuan obediently apologized and waited for Chu Jingxian to punish her.

But the next moment, only a low, hoarse laugh came from the man in front of her: "It's not that Qingyuan is narrow-minded, it's that Qingyuan is intelligent and has not been blinded by the fire at Baiyun Courtyard."

What?

Qingyuan looked up in surprise at Chu Jingxian, somewhat unable to believe what she had just heard.

This wasn't the first time he'd praised her intelligence, yet he hadn't punished her.

Qingyuan's silence was enough for Chu Jingxian to sense something. "What, do you think I'll punish you?"

Qingyuan nodded, then, remembering that he couldn't see, added, "This servant...this servant shouldn't have said that it was Miss Jiang's doing without any real evidence. If the young master wants to punish me, that's only right."

Qingyuan didn't think it was right, but... Chu Jingyu's masters would definitely think it was only natural to punish him.

"Even with solid evidence, would Fifth Brother offend Jiang Qingge?"

Chu Jingxian countered calmly, "If you're determined to protect someone, even if you witnessed them setting a fire, you can still find reasons to exonerate them. Sometimes right and wrong in this world aren't absolute, nor are they fair. As for you, Qingyuan, you almost lost your life and also lost the Buddha statue. It's understandable that you hate her. It would be strange if you didn't."

Qingyuan was surprised that Chu Jingxian would say such a thing, and she clenched the Xuan paper in her hand.

Shouldn't he have said, "She is the mistress, and you are the servant. How can a servant speak ill of and falsely accuse his mistress?"

Qingyuan's silence prompted Chu Jingxian to speak again: "What's wrong?"

Qingyuan couldn't understand why Chu Jingxian didn't punish, belittle, or scold her like Chu Jingyu and the others.

Just as she couldn't understand why she seemed to blurt out anything in front of Chu Jingxian, all her caution and composure were wasted.

I couldn't understand why my heart was racing.

She wasn't one to make things difficult for herself; if she couldn't figure something out, she'd think about it later. Looking down at the paper inside, she said, "This servant...this servant was thinking about the Buddha statue."

"Just focus on your embroidery. Remember, don't mention to anyone that you're embroidering Buddha images again. That way, they might do something desperate. As for how to present it to Princess Jing'an, don't worry about it. Just give it to me as soon as you're done, and I'll pass it on to her."

Chu Jingxian explained.

Qingyuan quickly agreed, not daring to waste any time. She took the portrait and grapes, thanked them, and then returned to her temporary residence.

With time being of the essence, double-sided embroidery requires a level of skill and time that is incomparable to ordinary embroidery.

This time, she must seize the opportunity.

After Qingyuan left, Zheji came in: "Young Master, the Buddha statue has been handed over to Miss Qingyuan. You should rest now. If the cold poison flares up, then..."

"Um."

Zheji pushed Chu Jingxian back to the inner courtyard to rest, and couldn't help but say, "Miss Qingyuan really thinks there are gods watching over us. If there were gods in this world, there wouldn't be so much suffering among the people. Instead of praying to the gods, Miss Qingyuan should pray to you, young master."

"Too talkative."

Chu Jingxian covered his mouth and coughed lightly; his internal energy was indeed somewhat disordered.

-

Three days later.

Chu Jingyu said that he had found out the truth: two servants had set the fire in the dead of night. As for who the mastermind behind it was, the two servants had already bitten their tongues and committed suicide before he could even question them, so there was no way to investigate further.

This matter could only be left unresolved.

Qingyuan had already anticipated this outcome. She no longer expected Chu Jingyu to uphold justice for her; all she wanted to do was embroider the Buddha statue properly.

Fortunately, Jiang Qingge's health had been poor for a long time, and Chu Jingyu was anxious and concerned. He wished he could stay by her side every hour of the day and couldn't get away from her at all, so he naturally had no time to care about Qingyuan.

Qingyuan put in all her effort and focused all her energy on embroidering the new Buddha image. Perhaps because she was working too hard and only sleeping two or three hours a day, her face grew paler day by day.

Hongdou was extremely anxious, feeling helpless as she couldn't help at all. Although she knew how to embroider, she was far inferior to Qingyuan.

"Sister, please rest today. I really can't help but worry about your complexion," Hongdou said helplessly. "Buddha statues are important, but if your health is compromised, no amount of Buddha statues will help."

"It's alright, I'm still a little short, I'll finish embroidering it soon," Qingyuan said.

Hongdou couldn't persuade her otherwise: "No, I'll go out of the manor to get you some medicine."

Qingyuan had instructed that this matter must not be revealed to anyone, so Hongdou could not go to the prefectural doctor's office.

When Hongdou left the mansion and returned with food and medicine, she saw Qingyuan lying unconscious on the ground!