Chapter 41 Palm: Miss Xue Bragging?

Xue Qingyin had everyone listening in a daze.

“Really related to me?”

He Songning turned around and looked at Xue Qingyin, then asked, “Did you see clearly who asked?”

“No… but if I hear it again, I could recognize the voice.”

He Songning didn’t say anything.

His abilities weren’t yet great enough to gather all the noble ladies in the capital to catch the culprit.

Xue Qingyin furrowed her brow thoughtfully and asked, “You didn’t see who pushed, did you?”

Qiu Xin weakly replied, “Yes.”

Xue Qingyin rubbed her temples, feeling annoyed.

Just then, they heard a maid outside say, “Madam is here.”

Qiu Xin turned pale in fright, instinctively curling up, wishing she could hide in a hole.

He Songning’s eyelids twitched, sensing trouble.

With a “bang,” Madam Xue slammed open the door, making a noise that far surpassed when He Songning opened it.

Madam Xue glared angrily at He Songning. “I knew you’d be here with Qingyin!”

Before He Songning could say anything in defense, Madam Xue walked up to Qiu Xin’s side and sneered, “Second Miss had an accident? What are you doing here?”

Qiu Xin stammered, “I… I came to find the eldest son.”

“Not going to watch over your own young lady?”

“I… I’ll go back to watch her now.”

Qiu Xin quickly bowed and ran off.

Madam Xue cursed, “What kind of servant are you? No manners, always causing trouble in the middle of things! One day, I’ll send you out of the house!”

He Songning also found Qiu Xin’s behavior annoying, and for once, he agreed with Madam Xue.

Madam Xue then turned to him and said, “I thought you were going to speak up for her.”

He Songning replied, “She’s just a servant, and she’s annoying with how foolish she behaves. Don’t be angry, or you’ll harm your own health.”

Madam Xue snorted coldly, “You… why did you come to see your sister? To seek justice for Xue Qinghe?”

He Songning, now fully calm, softly said, “What justice? Qingyin didn’t push her.”

“Good that you know that! So, why are you here?”

“Heard that Qingyin wasn’t feeling well and left early, so I came to check on her.”

Xue Qingyin thought, You’re really good at pretending!

Madam Xue looked at He Songning with a skeptical glance, then at Xue Qingyin. “Why is your hair still wet?”

Xue Qingyin secretly glared at He Songning.

Of course, it was because of him.

But she still obediently said, “I was talking and didn’t pay attention to other things.”

Madam Xue gave her a sharp look. “Alright, rest early.”

Seeing that the siblings weren’t fighting, she felt relieved.

As she turned to leave, Madam Xue paused halfway and turned back to add, “I had someone send over some ginseng soup. I may not like her, but I won’t purposely harm her.”

Madam Xue pressed her lips together, her expression turning slightly sharp. “Our family would never be so venomous, to hate someone so much that we’d want to kill them!”

He Songning’s eyes flickered with a complex emotion.

Madam Xue was indeed at fault.

Everything started because of her…

She harmed both Madam Xue and Xue Qingyin, and she also harmed her own daughter.

“Mother’s gone, and you should leave too, big brother,” Xue Qingyin urged.

He Songning turned back, picked up a soft cloth from a rack nearby, walked behind Xue Qingyin, and began wiping her long hair.

Xue Qingyin felt a chill run down her spine.

What’s wrong with you?

What kind of illness are you having now?

He Songning remained silent, continuing to wipe her hair.

Xue Qingyin sat stiffly for a moment, unable to bear it any longer. After some thought, she realized she couldn’t make He Songning leave, so she decided to go with the flow. “Wait.”

He Songning looked at her.

Xue Qingyin kicked off her shoes, leaned back onto a nearby soft couch, and rested her head on its edge.

“Alright, keep wiping.”

He Songning was speechless.

So you were just tired of sitting?

But seeing her like this, Xue Qingyin wasn’t as petty as before.

He Songning wiped her hair for what seemed like a long time.

Xue Qingyin felt drowsy and unconsciously closed her eyes.

With no one speaking, He Songning naturally lowered his gaze.

He caught a glimpse of Xue Qingyin’s soft neck, her beautiful collarbones, and the purple bruise marks on her shoulder.

He Songning paused, then looked away.

By the time He Songning left the room, Xue Qingyin was already deep in sleep.

The maids quietly returned to the room and dried her hair until all the dampness was gone.

He Songning stood at the door, looking for a moment, and softly asked, “Is it always like this?”

One maid replied, “Yes, but we have to be meticulous. The young lady is prone to getting sick. When she does, it takes a few days to recover. A while ago, when the eldest son went out of town, the whole room smelled of medicine.”

He Songning nodded. “I see.”

After leaving, He Songning went to visit Xue Qinghe.

Qiu Xin was applying a cloth to her head.

A medicinal bowl sat beside her, emitting an unpleasant smell.

Xue Qinghe sat up and saw He Songning staring at the bowl. She couldn’t help but speak, “It’s not that bitter.”

Normally, He Songning would have said, “How could it not be bitter?”

But today, he simply replied, “Mm.”

He Songning didn’t know what to say… he had just realized that Xue Qingyin was taking far more medicine than Xue Qinghe.

The atmosphere grew quiet after his response.

Xue Qinghe suddenly felt like… the distance between her and him had grown overnight.

“Rest well. After a few days, when there’s a banquet, if Qiu Xin identifies the person who did it, I will avenge you,” He Songning said.

Xue Qinghe smiled.

It was just a misunderstanding… her big brother still cared about her.

Meanwhile, Xue Qingyin’s maid was also sighing. “The eldest son is still good to the young lady, see? He was patient enough to sit there and dry her hair.”

Luckily, Xue Qingyin was asleep; otherwise, she would have stood up to refute them.

Xue Qinghe’s injury, aside from making He Songning angry in front of Xue Qingyin, didn’t cause much of a stir in the household.

Xue Qingyin wasn’t happy about it. I’m the only one who got hurt, right?

The next day, she decided to go to the estate to clear her mind.

But just as she stepped out, she ran into someone rushing to deliver urgent news.

“The silk store… it’s on fire… and the Liu family’s people are inside! We also fought with the Zhao Duke’s household!”

The messenger was out of breath and asked to see He Songning.

Xue Qingyin’s scalp tingled.

A fire?

Could it be that the Zhao Duke’s household had a hand in this? Is this revenge for He Songning’s harsh actions?

Lives are at stake!

“Take me there!” Xue Qingyin quickly said.

The messenger hesitated but then asked, “Miss, are you going alone?”

Xue Qingyin quickly put on a headscarf and nodded, “Yes, I’ll go alone!”

“And the Zhao Duke’s people…”

“They’ll kneel and kowtow to me when they see me!”

The messenger dared not delay further, worried about missing the chance to save people. He hurriedly led the way, taking Xue Qingyin with him.

He silently sighed.

Hoping the young lady wasn’t just bragging!