Moju, beaming with delight, hurriedly pulled Sixing away: "Sister is really kind. I only have a few types of materials, she can just take a look and have a cup of tea, we shouldn’t delay Sixth Miss’s affairs."
Sixing felt relieved, and the two of them carried lanterns, ascending the corridor and gradually went afar.
In the courtyard, it was very quiet when Chunyu poked her head out from a side room, quickly went out, turned the corner, and crossed Tongji Bridge, while Qiuyun entered the main room carrying a tea tray.
Holding the tea tray, Qiuyun stood at the door of the side room: "Brother Yishan, First Young Master has had a busy day, and hasn’t rested yet; I’ve specially brewed some ginseng tea for him to nourish his spirits!"
Yishan was full of smiles, but unceremoniously reached out to stop her: "Sister Qiuyun, please wait, let me go in and ask." He pushed the door open and entered, then turned around and closed the door, leaving Qiuyun outside.
Inside the room, Tong Shenzhi and Xu Tianqing’s conversation was interrupted. Yishan said something in a low voice and then Tong Shenzhi’s displeased voice was heard: "Send her back!"
Qiuyun, unwilling to accept this, bit her lip determinedly and pushed the door open to enter, turning her face to smile: "First Young Master, this tea is freshly brewed. If it gets cold, it will lose its aroma. You should drink it while it’s hot."
Yishan secretly thought ’uh-oh,’ sneaking a glance at Tong Shenzhi, and sure enough, saw his face completely change. Qiuyun, seemingly oblivious, placed the tea on the table, and as if just noticing Xu Tianqing said: "Oh, cousin is here... I heard that Sixth Miss was looking for you just now, seems like there is something."
Sixth Sister was looking for him? Xu Tianqing’s face lit up with pleasure.
Tong Shenzhi glanced at him sideways, frowning slightly.
"I’ll go see what Sixth Sister needs." Xu Tianqing stood up and walked out, fearing Tong Shenzhi might be suspicious, he explained: "If there’s nothing, I’ll come back and chat with big brother." With that, he walked out.
Qiuyun’s lips curved into a smug smile.
"Seventh Brother!" The head resting on the arm slightly moved, Xiqiu was startled to see Tong Minzhi waking up, looking at her with wide, bewildered eyes. She excitedly asked: "Do you want some water? Are you hungry?"
"Sister..." Tong Minzhi weakly shook his head, his fever leaving his once rosy lips a bit cracked, and his voice a bit hoarse: "I’m fine, sister no need to rush!"
Xiqiu laid him down, still poured a cup of water and fed him: "...Drink some water first."
Tong Minzhi drank half a cup of water, Xiqiu put a Qiuxiang-colored pillow behind him, smiling at him: "Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere? Would you like to eat something?"
Instead of answering, Tong Minzhi grasped Xiqiu’s hand, showing a guilty expression: "Sister... Are you angry with me?"
"How could I be!" Xiqiu looked at him, smiling with raised eyebrows: "As long as you’re fine, sister is more than happy."
Tong Minzhi did not show the usual relieved expression, instead he lowered his eyelids, his face looking pained: "I... I also know it’s wrong to drink, but... but I wanted to learn from the adults, they say wine can ease worries, so I wanted to try, stole Third Brother’s wine, hid in the garden and drank half a jug, and fell asleep drowsily. When Third Brother found me, I was somewhat awake yet stubbornly insisted on finding you, and accidentally fell into the river when crossing the bridge."
Even though Xiqiu had many questions in her heart, she didn’t dare to dig deeper, afraid it would distress him: "Let’s not talk about this now; don’t overthink things, just sleep well. When you recover, we can talk about it in detail, okay?"
This time, Tong Minzhi was not as obedient as usual, stubbornly shaking his head, tightly clutching Xiqiu’s hand: "No... I want to tell you, sister, I feel very sad. They say... say I’m not father’s child, say concubine..."
Xiqiu covered his mouth, her face turning stern: "Who said that?"
Tong Minzhi broke free desperately, tears streaming: "Don’t bother asking who said it, just tell me, is it true? Am I father’s child?"
"Nonsense!" Xiqiu stared into his eyes, word by word: "Think about it, if things were really as they say, why would father keep us at the mansion? Such a secret matter, how could others know? Minzhi, though you are young, you should know what words to heed and which to disregard. In the future, if anyone tells you such baseless things, you should dismiss them right away. Even Lady wouldn’t tolerate such people."
Tong Minzhi being young, tentatively asked: "Really?"
"Really!" Xiqiu hugged him, softly saying: "Think about it, though First Master neglected your concubine, he didn’t charge her with any crime. He seems to not like us on the surface, but consider this, if he really didn’t care, why did he consent Lady to initiate your enlightenment, why did he agree to let you have a separate courtyard, and Liufu, she is the maid that First Master specially sent back from Shandong for you. Focus on recuperating, and stop worrying about these shadowless things!"
Tong Minzhi’s eyes gradually brightened, the gloom that had been weighing on his heart for days was swept away, he showed a sweet dimple: "Sister is right! Father cares about me."
Xiqiu nodded with a smile, yet her heart felt as if she had swallowed a cup of bitter-bracken. That distant memory of a father, seemed finally to play a fatherly role.
But such a role is laughably absurd.
Relieved of a burden, Tong Minzhi leaned against the pillow, nodding off like a chick pecking at rice, Xiqiu sighed and laid him flat again, tucking the quilt around him.
Her face turned solemn...
Lady would not allow persons to say such things in front of Tong Minzhi; first, she has no reason to do so, secondly, this concerns the reputation of Tong Mansion, even if she used means, she wouldn’t use this way, Tong Minzhi normally does not have much contact with people, the person who said this must be close to him.
She thought of Qiuyun, Chunyu!
But these two maids, though arrogant and ignorant, haven’t heard such things spread by the servants in the mansion. How would they know? Who told them?
And what was the purpose of the person who said these words?...
At this time, the door was gently pushed open, without turning her head, she said: "Sixing, get me a cup of tea!"
A cup of hot tea soon fell into her hands.
"Thank you!" Xiqiu received the tea, then was taken aback, looking up at the visitor surprised: "Cousin?!"
Xu Tianqing smiled warmly, his smile as pure as a ray of sunshine, his voice carrying the unique brightness of youth: "Is Seventh Brother feeling better?" Yet seeing her red eyes, his brows furrowed subtly.
Xiqiu’s gaze swept past the open door, then felt she was being too suspicious, embarrassingly coughed: "The fever has gone down, should be okay now."
Seemingly understanding her concerns, Xu Tianqing considerately stepped back a few steps, stopping by the table looking at her: "Let the maids watch over him, you should go rest a while." After saying this, he saw the cup in Xiqiu’s hand was empty, and wanted to go fetch it, but hesitantly stopped moving his feet after taking a step.