Steward Ding didn’t want his Madam to worry, but he couldn’t say it directly, as it concerned Miss Wu’s reputation. “Madam, you should go and see!”

Zhulan became even more anxious upon hearing this, pulling Zhou Shuren along. “Let’s go and see.”

The two quickly went to the front yard through the garden gate. Zhulan really wanted to know why Wu Ning was climbing a tree, especially in the front yard.

When Zhulan arrived, Xuehan and Wu Ning were standing there, dumbfounded. Zhulan’s gaze fell on the tree. It was quite tall and easy to climb. Zhulan pursed her lips. Xuehan and Wu Ning were well-behaved; the front yard was where Zhou Shuren entertained guests. Why were these two girls climbing a tree there?

Zhulan shifted her gaze to Shi Qing, standing to the side. Shi Qing’s clothes were a bit disheveled. It had rained yesterday, and the front yard wasn’t entirely paved with stone bricks. Shi Qing’s light-colored clothes were dirty, and she could even see a girl’s shoe prints.

Zhulan frowned and said to Steward Ding, “The sewing room just finished making new clothes but hasn’t distributed them to the households yet. Take Shi Gōngzǐ and change into the Third Master’s clothes. Take Shi Gōngzǐ’s clothes to be washed.”

Shi Qing’s face showed no extra expression, but he was very annoyed. His personality was definitely not the type to save people, but he was in the Zhou residence and didn’t have a servant with him. He couldn’t just watch a guest of the Zhou residence fall, especially since he hadn’t even become an apprentice yet.

He really didn’t have any dirty thoughts. He wasn’t married, and of course, no one would want to marry their daughter to him, but he wouldn’t scheme against a guest of the Zhou residence before becoming an apprentice.

That’s right, a guest. His memory was excellent; even though he hadn’t seen Miss Zhou for several years, he still recognized her.

Shi Qing composed himself. “I’ll go now.”

Zhou Shuren looked at Shi Qing. “Once you’ve changed your clothes, Steward Ding, bring Shi Gōngzǐ to the study.”

Steward Ding glanced at Shi Gōngzǐ out of the corner of his eye. The first time, Shi Gōngzǐ was turned away, but this time he entered smoothly, thanks to the master’s prior instructions. Now that he could enter the master’s study, he had to be even more polite. “Yes.”

Shi Qing’s heart skipped a beat. He had been traveling around Lizhou for seven days, and he didn’t know what Zhou Daren would test him on. He felt increasingly uncertain.

After Zhou Shuren went to the study, Zhulan pressed her temples. “You two come back with me.”

Xuehan lowered her head. Today’s events were all her fault, and her eyes were red.

Wu Ning had recovered. Holding a handkerchief, she took Xuehan’s hand and whispered, “It’s not your fault; I’m fine.”

Xuehan shook her head. “It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have brought you to the front yard without thinking.”

Wu Ning lowered her voice. “You were trying to help me.”

She and Xuehan lived and ate together. Xuehan noticed her inner turmoil and only wanted to help her break free from her inner constraints. That’s why she instructed the servants to bring her to climb the tree. Xuehan wanted her to overcome her fear, but she never expected someone to come today.

Xuehan lowered her head, cursing Shi Gōngzǐ in her heart. Today was her father’s day off, and no one would come to the house. Cough, cough, people used to come, but whenever it was a day off, her father never saw anyone. Gradually, everyone learned that they shouldn’t expect to see Zhou Daren on his rest day.

It was precisely because she knew no one would come that she dared to bring Sister Wu Ning to the front yard. Who would have thought it would be such a coincidence, with guests who didn’t even need to be announced? She was truly annoyed. Xuehan secretly glanced at her mother walking ahead, her face flushed. In recent years, she had been exceptionally well-behaved, never making a mistake in the young ladies’ circles of Lizhou City. Today, she had truly embarrassed herself, especially in front of outsiders in the front yard.

Back in the main courtyard, Xuehan panicked. “Mother, you can punish me however you want, but please tell Father that we absolutely cannot let Shi Gōngzǐ spread rumors.”

Sister Wu Ning’s reputation was already bad enough; if word got out that she had been saved by a man, what would become of her? Xuehan was truly distressed and burst into tears.

Wu Ning pursed her lips, secretly relieved that this was Lizhou City, not home, and she hadn’t caused her brothers any trouble. She wiped Xuehan’s tears, saying, “Auntie, it’s all my fault today. It has nothing to do with Xuehan. I shouldn’t have encouraged her to go to the front yard; I wanted to climb the tree.”

Xuehan was stunned for a moment, then quickly retorted, “Mother, it’s all my fault! Sister Wu Ning was a guest. I told the servants to leave. It was all my fault; I encouraged her to climb the tree.”

Wu Ning wanted to cover Xuehan’s mouth. She could take the blame herself; at least it wouldn’t affect Xuehan. Why was this girl so stubborn? She wasn’t from Lizhou City, and the Gōngzǐ didn’t even know who she was. She was afraid the Gōngzǐ had plotted against Xuehan. What if he claimed to have saved her? Ever since witnessing the wickedness of people’s hearts, she was truly afraid of men.

Even if the Gōngzǐ had saved her, she didn’t trust him.

Zhulan listened to the two sisters taking responsibility for each other, and a smile appeared on her serious face. She wasn’t afraid of Shi Qing spreading rumors, because Shi Qing wouldn’t dare, nor would he. On the contrary, Shi Qing would only keep his mouth shut tighter. Shi Qing was even more afraid that the matter would get out and the Zhou family would misunderstand that he was the one who told the story.

Now that Xuehan and Wu Ning were both thinking of each other, Zhulan was gratified. “Alright, stop taking responsibility. Tell me, why did you climb the tree?”

There are trees in the garden; why go to the front yard? Oh right, the trees in the garden are too short; climbing them wouldn’t be fun.

Wu Ning spoke first, telling the story. This time, Wu Ning didn’t hide anything. Although she hadn’t been there long, she knew that nothing could be hidden from her aunt, and today’s matter still depended on her aunt to solve.

After hearing what had happened, Zhulan realized that Xuehan meant well, and Wu Ning had climbed up because she wanted to break free from her inner constraints. Zhulan looked at Wu Ning; although she had gained weight these days, she was still very thin. It was just that with the arrival of autumn and thicker clothes, she didn’t look so frail. In reality, Wu Ning still didn’t have much flesh to her touch. As long as the knot in her heart remained untied, Wu Ning’s health would never improve.

(End of Chapter)

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