Wei Dongling had just returned to the Tingfeng Tower and dried her hair. Cui Huan helped her change her clothes when Ruan Niang came over with a bowl of cold fermented glutinous rice balls. Pointing at her nose, she scolded, "You little girl, are you itchy for a beating?"
Wei Dongling obediently lowered her head and said, "Ruan Niang, I was wrong."
Ruan Niang put down the bowl, rolled up her sleeves, and started to tickle Wei Dongling's slender waist.
Wei Dongling was ticklish. She laughed and dodged while crying out, "Hahaha... Ruan Niang, I'm really wrong..."
Ruan Niang caught sight of the jade pendant on the table at a glance. She let go of Wei Dongling, stroked the jade pendant, and raised her eyebrows as she asked, "So you sneaked out to meet your lover behind our backs?"
Wei Dongling blushed from laughing. Embarrassed, she glanced at Ruan Niang and kept backing away.
Ruan Niang took out the Nine Needles for Reviving the Yang from her bosom and waved her hand at Cui Huan, saying, "Cui Huan, you go out for a while. I'll give this girl a good acupuncture treatment tonight."
Cui Huan nodded with a smile and went out.
Inside the room came Wei Dongling's panicked cries, "Ruan Niang, be gentle—ah—"
Cui Huan went downstairs to the kitchen to boil hot water. Just as she groped in the dark to light the dry hay for starting a fire, a person suddenly sprang out of the kitchen, scaring her.
Before she could react, the person grabbed her hand and stuffed something into it, then turned around and ran away like a streak of lightning.
Cui Huan stared blankly at the direction where the person disappeared at the door, not even having time to see who it was.
She silently took out the fire starter and lit the firewood. Then she spread out her palm to look. In her hand was a small and delicate flowing - cloud wooden hairpin. The craftsmanship was quite good. Cui Huan smiled and casually inserted the hairpin into her hair bun.
When she went to deliver the hot water, Ruan Niang was still giving Wei Dongling acupuncture.
At a glance, Ruan Niang saw the hairpin on Cui Huan's head. She quickly dragged her out, stared at the hairpin on her head, and angrily whispered, "Is this all he gave you?"
Cui Huan asked in surprise, "I haven't even seen who that person is. Do you know, Ruan Niang?"
Ruan Niang's face looked rather unpleasant. She slightly squinted her eyes and shook her head, saying, "I don't know. I thought it was that stupid son of the Yang family!"
Cui Huan thought of the fat son of the Changyun Cloth Store opposite and said in horror, "It can't be him, right?"
Ruan Niang patted her on the shoulder and instructed, "I'm going to the toilet. You pull out the needles for the girl later."
Cui Huan nodded and watched as Ruan Niang rushed downstairs.
By the well in the backyard, Luo Xunlong was about to draw water to go back to his room to take a bath when Ruan Niang rushed over like a gust of wind and grabbed his neck. She roared, "Luo Xunlong, I'll beat you to death today, you fool!"
Luo Xunlong was so startled that the wooden bucket in his hand fell back into the well. He grabbed Ruan Niang's wrist and cried out softly, "Ruan Niang, let's talk things over. Don't choke me!"
Ruan Niang showed no sign of stopping. Instead, she tightened her grip, making Luo Xunlong roll his eyes. Ruan Niang angrily asked, "Are you so stingy? You give a girl a wooden hairpin? Are you even a man? I've been secretly helping you all this time! You're just good - for - nothing, aren't you?"
Luo Xunlong cried out, "Ruan Niang, let go quickly!" Then he coughed violently.
Ruan Niang let go of his neck and kicked him hard on the butt, roaring, "I get angry just looking at you stupid thing! How could you be so stingy? Do you still have any shame?"
Luo Xunlong dodged while whining, "I don't want to either. I really don't have any silver."
Ruan Niang angrily said, "What about the gold ingot that the Yu family boy gave you last time? Did you use it to gamble?"
Luo Xunlong shook his head in horror and said, "I haven't gambled since I came to the capital. I've spent most of that money on buying things!"
Ruan Niang was speechless.
Luo Xunlong hurriedly explained, "I bought a precious sword. I didn't have enough money, so I even borrowed from Yu Haiming! The money of the two of us together was barely enough to buy it."
Hearing this, Ruan Niang got even angrier. She knew that many years ago, Luo Xunlong had pawned his family - heirloom precious sword at a low price because of gambling, which made his mother seriously ill and unable to survive the winter in the north. But he couldn't spend so much silver on buying a sword!
Ruan Niang scolded painfully, "You prodigal thing! I might as well beat you to death!"
Luo Xunlong shivered, and cold sweat dripped down his forehead.
After about an incense - stick's time, Luo Xunlong knocked on Wei Dongling's door.
Wei Dongling had just turned off the light and was about to go to bed. She looked up and asked, "Who is it?"
Luo Xunlong stammered, "Is Miss Cui Huan asleep? I want to ask her for a favor."
Cui Huan put on her clothes, picked up the oil lamp, and went out.
As soon as she stepped out of the room, she saw Luo Xunlong standing sideways at the door, holding a knife with both hands and offering it.
Cui Huan looked up and was startled by his bruised eye sockets. She asked in surprise, "Brother Long, what happened to your face?"
Luo Xunlong said in a muffled voice, "I bumped into something while taking a bath in the dark just now."
Cui Huan twitched the corner of her mouth and couldn't help laughing and crying. "Your bump is quite funny. Let me cook an egg for you to apply hot compress?"
Luo Xunlong blushed and gritted his teeth, saying, "No need. I have something to say to you."
Cui Huan nodded and looked at him.
Luo Xunlong looked at the delicate - featured woman in front of him. After hesitating for a long time, he finally gritted his teeth and said, "Miss Cui Huan... Today is the Qixi Festival. I want to give this knife to you... I hope you'll like it." Then he stuffed the knife into Cui Huan's hand and turned around to run away.
When going downstairs, he was so flustered that he almost fell.
Cui Huan looked at Luo Xunlong scurrying away like a rat, then looked down at the shining precious sword in her hand, completely dumbfounded.
After being in a daze for a long time, she went back to the room. By the dim light, she saw Wei Dongling trying hard not to laugh on the bed. Cui Huan asked, "Brother Long gave me this knife. What does it mean?"
Wei Dongling coughed repeatedly and laughed, "I don't know. Maybe it means he has feelings for you."
Cui Huan was stunned for a moment, and her face flushed red.
Ruan Niang slowly walked past the door of the room and added, "Hey, Xunlong gave you his family heirloom, right?"
Cui Huan stared blankly at the knife in her hand and hurriedly exclaimed, "I'll go and return it to him!"
Ruan Niang waved her hand and said, "It's so late and everyone is asleep. We'll talk about it tomorrow."
Cui Huan was at a loss for words. She had no choice but to put away the precious sword, blow out the lamp, and slowly climb onto the bed.
Wei Dongling beamed and hugged Cui Huan, saying, "I think he's a nice guy. Anyway, your relationship with Yu Zixi is just a pretense."
Cui Huan quickly shook her head, "No, no, no..."
Wei Dongling laughed, "If you marry Yu Zixi with me, it would be nice for us to be sisters!"
Cui Huan said anxiously, "I don't want that! My senior brother is always so irresponsible. Only you can take a fancy to him!"
Wei Dongling clicked her tongue and said, "It sounds like I have such bad taste!"
Cui Huan thought for a while and then said, "It's not that. Senior brother is gentle to others, but not very enthusiastic. He treats you specially."
Wei Dongling pouted and said, "I'm talking about you and Luo Xunlong. Why are you bringing me into this? If you two get together, how should I address you? Should I call you little aunt? Then my seniority will be all messed up!"
Cui Huan blushed shyly and said, "I..."