Hibiscus as a Painting

Chapter 78

west Le's beautiful face twisted instantly, and she said angrily, "I won't buy it for you!"

"Then... I'll buy it myself, okay?" Zi Jin said, shrinking back, seemingly unafraid of death.

west Lemei's eyes darted around, her expression turning unfriendly: "You? Do you have money?"

Zi Jin habitually touched her purse and patted her clothes, only to find that she was penniless. Her eyes darted around anxiously.

west Le looked at Zi Jin with a smug smile, her expression clearly saying: Let's see what you do now.

Zi Jin glanced at Xi Le timidly, her eyes landing on the hairpin. She obediently moved closer to west Le's face, offering a flattering smile.

west Le glanced at Zi Jin with disdain, but the anger in her eyes had subsided considerably.

Zi Jin reached out and tucked Xi Le's slightly disheveled hair behind her ear, then instantly pulled out the hairpin and clutched it tightly in her hand: "This... I bought it. I'll exchange it for him... Is that alright?" Zi Jin finally managed to finish her sentence, her eyes filled with murderous intent as she faced west Le.

"Give it back to me!" Under the watchful eyes of everyone, west Le could only grit her teeth in hatred, but her eyes were full of anger, wishing she could devour Zi Jin alive.

Zi Jin shrank back and put her hands behind her back: "I...I bought it."

No matter how fiery Ren Xile was, she was still a member of the royal family and had a certain amount of decorum. She would never do something like robbing someone in the street. She glared fiercely at the person on the ground, her eyes clearly wanting to skin him alive: "He! This...Miss bought him!" she said through gritted teeth.

"Um... Miss, are you sure you want to... buy him?" The burly man stammered as he looked at west Le's murderous expression.

west Le crouched down, lifted the boy's chin with her fingers, and examined him closely for a while. The boy had delicate features, clear eyes streaked with tears, and lips tightly pursed, giving him a stubborn look. Unfortunately, there was a thumb-sized birthmark above his left eye.

west Le gritted her teeth and said softly, "I'll buy this person." After saying that, she stretched out her hand, waiting for Zi Jin to return the hairpin to her.

Zi Jin, being very pragmatic, handed over the hairpin with her most sincere smile.

Three days later, after buying the servant boy, Xi Le returned to the mansion in a huff and refused to come to the backyard to see Zi Jin again. The man in black did come a few times, and although he spoke vaguely, his meaning was very direct: he wanted Zi Jin to apologize to his master.

Zi Jin, however, absolutely refused. Don't think Zi Jin has backbone. Zi Jin secretly calculated that since she was in a fit of anger, if she went to apologize now, wouldn't that be tantamount to suicide? Once everything in the front yard was smashed, her anger should have subsided considerably, and it wouldn't be too late to go and apologize then.

Three days have passed, three days have passed, and the sound of shattering vases can still be heard in the front yard. Zi Jin felt both heartbroken and puzzled as to why the vase hadn't stopped breaking after three days. In the end, she could only continue to wait.

"Bang!" Judging from the sound, it seemed to be a large piece of furniture. Zi Jin clutched her chest and felt another pang of heartache.

"What a temper! He's still going on and on." It was Xuanping, the servant he had bought that day. He was sitting casually in a chair, taking small bites of a peach, and said this.

Zi Jin lowered her head dejectedly, trembling with fear, afraid that the person in the front yard might get agitated and take it out on her in the back yard.

“You’re quite capable, managing to anger a perfectly normal person like this. If you added fuel to the fire and killed her, we’d be much less troubled,” Xuanping continued when Zi Jin didn’t answer.

Zi Jin raised her eyes and gave Xuan Ping a resentful look. "Wasn't it all for you? Of all the things you could have done, you had to dress up like this. If you hadn't written on my leg, how would I have recognized you?"

"I'm not talking about you! You're really stupid! I had to write 'little mute' three times before you finally understood." Xuanping seemed to have seen through Zi Jin's thoughts and said indignantly.

Zi Jin dared not refute this. Now that the old lady had condescended to disguise herself as a servant and risk her life to save her, she had already done a great favor.

“Little mute, guess who she is?” Xuanping threw down the peach in his hand and said with shining eyes.

Zi Jin lowered her eyes, lay on the table, and looked uninterested.

"The Crown Prince of Yue Kingdom is seriously ill and hasn't attended court for over a month. The imperial physicians are all at a loss. Emperor Xuanlong is furious about this and has already killed several imperial physicians. The Second Prince Jun has married Zi Yingfeng's two daughters and is plotting to seize the Crown Prince's position, but Emperor Xuanlong is one step ahead and has secretly placed Zi Yingfeng under house arrest. Now, the military tally has become Zi Yingfeng's lifeline, so it can't be used to help Jun An seize the throne. Right now, Yue Kingdom is fiercely fighting for the Crown Prince's position." Xuanping wiped his mouth with his sleeve and said with schadenfreude.

Zi Jin frowned, lowered her eyes, pursed her lips tightly, and fidgeted with the teacup on the table without answering.

Seeing that Zi Jin remained silent, Xuan Ping raised an eyebrow, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes: "The Crown Prince is seriously ill and certainly won't have time to arrange this person. The Second Prince is currently preoccupied with vying for power and will have no time to pay attention to you. As for Jun Xiaosan... he's been suppressed by the Second Prince and the Crown Prince's forces and has kept a low profile. Someone as intelligent as him wouldn't use such a scheme for you at this time. Zi Yingfeng has been under house arrest in the palace by Emperor Xuanlong since that day. The little mute said, who... could she be?"

Zi Jin lowered her head, seemingly lost in thought: "If they want me, wouldn't it be easier to just capture me and take me back? Why go through all this trouble?"

Xuanping's eyes sharpened. Although he was wearing a human skin mask, the gloom in his eyes could not be concealed: "Do you think they are doing this for you..." Before Xuanping could finish speaking, he turned his gaze to the door.

“Miss, my master invites you to dine with him,” a man in black said from outside the door.

Mealtime? Zi Jin looked at the sky outside the window. She had just had breakfast, so it wasn't time to eat yet...

"Miss?" The man in black called out cautiously when he saw that Zi Jin did not move.

Zi Jin dejectedly tugged at her clothes and slowly made her way towards the door. Xuan Ping's eyes gleamed with schadenfreude. He quickly stood up and followed behind Zi Jin.

"The master has ordered that no unauthorized persons are allowed to follow," the man in black said sternly when he saw Xuan Ping behind Zi Jin.

Xuanping lowered his eyes and quietly withdrew, a hint of annoyance flashing in his eyes.

Seeing Xuanping also step back, Zi Jin thought to herself: This time, the odds are against us!

The closer Zi Jin got to the front yard, the slower her pace became, as if she wanted to stop three steps before taking one.

The man in black stepped forward, blocking Zi Jin's path, and said, "Miss, don't panic. Although Master is angry with you, he would never harm you. Some time ago... Master used up almost all his internal energy to save you, and now he's not taking good care of himself, making him even weaker. Please, for the sake of Master saving your life, persuade him to eat something."

Zi Jin looked at the person in front of her, a feeling of familiarity welling up inside her: "Have we... met somewhere before?"

The man in black quickly lowered his eyes, took a step back, and followed behind Zi Jin: "Miss, you seem to have mistaken me for someone else."

Zi Jin turned her head in confusion, and met the panicked eyes of the man in black. She felt a sense of familiarity, but after thinking hard for a long time, she still couldn't remember where she had seen him before, so she had to give up.

The servants in the front yard were busy coming and going, but there was no noise or smashing coming from Celeste's bedroom.

He forced himself to enter and saw west Le lying on her side on the soft couch, eyes closed and fully clothed. Apart from the large dining table in the center and a lavish meal, almost nothing in the room was intact. Although it had been cleaned, it was still a scene of devastation, a shocking sight. Even the soft couch beneath west Le showed signs of being smashed.

Zi Jin walked shakily to the dining table, only to be blocked by the man in black. She glanced at him sullenly, sighed silently, and turned to walk towards the soft couch.

west Le's lips were unusually pale, perhaps because her eyes were closed, and she looked unusually weak.

"Get up...get up and eat something," Zi Jin said timidly.

west Le slowly opened her eyes, her gaze calm and devoid of its usual sparkle and vitality. She glanced indifferently at the food on the table: "You had them prepare this?"