The waiter, wiping his sweat, said, "Damn it, I had no idea there was such a thing..."
"What is it?" Qiu Su's face was unusually stern, and the waiter dared not say another word.
Pink Lantern had clearly never seen anything like this before. Qiu Su still had a stern face with a murderous look on her face, and her lips were pale with fright.
Qiu Su stared at her for a moment, then smiled and said, "Little sister really didn't mean it. We're going home now, come over and play another day."
Qiu Su turned and helped Lingling walk out. As they passed Pink Lantern, she saw Lingling take several steps back in fright, and Qiu Su smiled reassuringly at her. The smile was so radiant it was rarely seen before.
*************************************
Qingfeng Theater:
Qiu Su tells a story: Once upon a time, there was a mountain, and on the mountain was a temple, and in the temple lived a young monk and an old monk. One day, the old monk said to the young monk, "Patience is the best policy."
Once upon a time, there was a mountain, and on the mountain was a temple, and in the temple lived a young monk and an old monk. One day, the old monk said to the young monk, "Enough is enough; there's no need to endure any longer."
Once upon a time, there was a mountain, and on the mountain was a stronghold, and in the stronghold were a group of henchmen and a group of big henchmen. One day, the big henchman said to the little henchmen, "We don't need to harm anyone; if someone bites us, we'll retaliate with a knife."
Author's Note: With a cry of revenge, I declare my intention to avenge myself!
25
25. A grudge must be avenged...
They made a huge mistake.
She went out and didn't see anything, but she even managed to hurt the Prime Minister's precious daughter. Although Lingling repeatedly assured her that she was fine, Qiusu, who had taken her to the clinic for treatment, was still very uneasy.
When the carriage arrived at Prime Minister Pei's residence, Qiu Su got off instead, letting Huang Tao accompany Lingling inside, while she secretly ran back to her own courtyard and then sneaked out again. Pink Lantern was still there, standing angrily in the clothing shop, pointing and gesturing at a spot on the floor. Beside her stood a middle-aged man in brocade robes, bowing and scraping, presumably the shopkeeper.
Qiu Su watched from afar for a while, then saw the servant use an axe to drive the slightly protruding nail back in. The shopkeeper then had several bolts of cloth delivered to a carriage not far away before finally carrying the pink lanterns onto the carriage. Only after the carriage had driven away did he wipe his sweat, turn around, and go back into the shop, dramatically closing it behind him. Qiu Su shrugged. If she wasn't mistaken, the shopkeeper would probably have to go to Prime Minister Pei's residence to apologize. Being an official is good; if it were a poor family, they wouldn't even be able to afford medical expenses.
Qiu Su glanced at the carriage, a slight smile playing on her lips. With a whoosh, she swung her folding fan and followed.
The carriage turned onto another street, where a dirty, unrecognizable child stopped it.
"Is that Miss Lu in the car?"
The coachman, seeing that it was a little beggar, brandished his whip and said, "Get out of the way, don't block the road."
The little girl shrank to the side. "A brother invited me to a teahouse. Oh, he's a handsome brother with long eyes and long eyelashes."
"Isn't it beautiful?" Pink Lantern asked, rolling up the car window.
"Yes, he seems to be the young master of some wealthy family. His clothes are very nice."
Pink Lantern asked happily, "Is your surname Pei?"
"I don't know about that. He asked me to invite a Miss Lu to a teahouse for a get-together, saying he wanted to meet Miss Lu to discuss some private matters."
Pink Lantern patted its chest happily, "Lead the way quickly!"
"It's that big bowl teahouse up ahead. My brother told Miss Lu to go in alone, saying he had something to deliver and it wouldn't look good if others saw her. I delivered the message, and I'm in a hurry to get home." The child finished speaking and turned to run away.
Pink Lantern frowned as she glanced at the unrefined teahouse not far away. This was a place for the lower classes; only laborers would sit in that greasy place, shirtless, drinking tea. They called it drinking tea, but it was really just guzzling it down. A bowl of plain water, a pinch of broken tea leaves, a quick slurp, and that was it—the bowl was even chipped. She knew this because once during the summer, she'd been startled by a shirtless man and threatened to have him arrested, which made her linger a little longer. She happened to see someone at the other end drinking tea from a chipped, broken cat-shaped bowl.
Tsk tsk, how could her Pei Yuan-ge choose a place like this to meet her?
Pink Lantern pouted as she got off the carriage. Luckily, it was late afternoon, and there weren't many people in the teahouse, only one or two long-bearded old men sitting there. Pink Lantern fanned herself in disgust, and the uncle in the shop quickly came forward to greet her, "Please come in, young lady."
The maidservant beside her followed, and Pink Lantern thought for a moment before turning her head and saying, "Caiyue, you wait outside, and don't disturb us unless necessary."
Caiyue reluctantly agreed and found a reasonably clean stool outside to sit down. Seeing the greasy, unpainted table, she turned around and sat facing outwards.
Speaking of pink lanterns, after entering the inner room, she looked at the white-clad figure from behind and said with a smile, "Brother Pei Yuan, why did you arrange to meet Qing'er here? It's so dirty!"
The man in white, with his back to her, beckoned her to come to his side. Pink Lantern took two steps forward, then hesitated, asking in confusion, "Brother Pei Yuan, why do you seem a little shorter today?"
"Tch, isn't she short?" Qiu Su took a few steps back, then suddenly turned around and covered Pink Lantern's mouth before she could shout.
"Dare to call for help? I'll slash your face! Tsk tsk, this tender little thing, poor thing."
Pink Lantern turned pale with fright at the sight of the person wearing the white jade mask, and tears instantly streamed down her face.
Qiu Su licked her fingers, which were wet with her tears, and clicked her tongue, saying, "It's salty. Don't cry! If you cry again, I'll gouge your eyes out!"
The pink lantern quickly closed its eyes and spontaneously covered itself, remaining motionless.
Qiu Su tried to loosen her grip, walked behind her, and used her fan to press against her lower back, saying, "If you're not afraid of becoming an ugly monster in the future, feel free to call for help. If you want things to be peaceful, let's sit down and have a proper talk."
"Mmm, say something."
Pink Lantern covered its eyes, groped for a stool, and sat down obediently without moving.
"Good girl." Qiu Su patted her head, and as she left, she tapped her head lightly with her knuckles, which startled Pink Lantern into letting out a suppressed, strange sound that sounded like both crying and roaring.
Qiu Su sat down on the chair opposite her, crossed her legs, and said while swinging her arms, "Do you know why I came to find you?"
The pink lantern shook its head.
"Um?"
No, I don't know.
"Hmph, have you done anything wrong lately?"
"No."
"Um?"
"Yes! Yes! The day before yesterday, I tricked Pei Yuan's maid into marrying that ugly hag..."
"Hmm?" Ah, that feels so good. Qiu Su crossed her legs and thought, no wonder Pei Yuan likes to squint his eyes and say "hmm" so much. He can use it in any situation, whether it's to threaten, praise, seduce, or repel.