"Wait."
"Wait? Wait for what?" Liu Yun asked in surprise.
Shen Linyi returned to the bed and began to close her eyes to rest. "It's the perfect time for murder and arson on a dark and windy night. Now, we should conserve our energy."
Liu Yun reluctantly followed Shen Linyi onto the small bed beside and began to close her eyes to rest. But although her eyes were closed, she still harbored resentment in her mind about Qing He's scheme against them. She hadn't forgotten the disdain in those nuns' words just now. And! Her young mistress was by no means Wen Heyu's mistress!!
Muttering in her mind, Liu Yun gradually fell asleep. The small courtyard became quiet except for the sound of the wind. All the intrigues seemed to have nowhere to hide in the sunlight.
It was getting dark when the mistress and maid slowly woke up.
Shen Linyi rummaged through her bag and took out a small box. Inside were two small hidden swords. She gave one to Liu Yun and put the other on her hand. After thinking for a while, she also hid some antidote pills on her body.
No one brought them dinner, so they ate some fruits they had taken from the kitchen to fill their stomachs.
The night gradually enveloped the earth. The moon climbed up to the sky, and the stars twinkled, making the black sky seem much clearer.
"Here they come..." Shen Linyi whispered. Immediately after, the door of the small courtyard was knocked.
Shen Linyi and Liu Yun exchanged a look. Then Liu Yun went to open the door. It was an unfamiliar nun. She was holding a tray with several plates of stir - fried dishes and two bowls of white congee on it.
The nun showed a flattering smile and walked in. She put the tray on the table and said, "Ladies, this is Qing He's apology to you. We were wrong these days. We will make up for the food we deducted in the future. Please be magnanimous and don't take it to heart."
To show their sincere apology, these dishes were delicious and fragrant. If Shen Linyi didn't know there was something wrong with the food, she really wouldn't have wanted to waste it.
Shen Linyi hooked the corner of her lips, but deliberately said in a dissatisfied tone, "I don't know why Little Master Qing He targeted us like this. But since she has the intention to apologize, we are not unreasonable people. Let's just let this matter go."
Hearing this, the nun nodded repeatedly but didn't leave in a hurry. Seeing that Shen Linyi didn't pick up her chopsticks, a strange look flashed in her eyes, and she urged, "Lady, eat quickly. It won't taste good when it gets cold."
Shen Linyi knew that the nun wouldn't leave until she saw her eat, so she first took an antidote pill under the cover of her wide sleeve, then lifted a corner of her veil and ate a chopstick - full of green vegetables.
"Lady, you eat too." Seeing Shen Linyi eat, the nun showed a happy look on her face and urged Liu Yun.
Liu Yun had been warned by Shen Linyi in advance. She took an antidote pill when she turned around and then ate the food.
After her task was completed, the nun didn't stay any longer and turned to leave.
"Wait."
"Since Little Master Qing He has apologized first, please tell her to come here later. I have a gift for her. If she doesn't come, I'll have to go find her."
The nun's face froze. She wanted to refuse at first, but after hearing that Shen Linyi might leave the courtyard, she quickly agreed. Finally, she gritted her teeth and left quickly.
Liu Yun said rather regretfully, "The cook in this Jingxin Nunnery has good cooking skills. If there weren't enough sleeping drugs in it, I really would have liked to finish it all."
Shen Linyi couldn't help smiling. "Okay. I'll find a chance to take you into the city for a good meal. Now, quickly dispose of these things."
"Yes, Mistress."
Liu Yun found a pair of scissors, cut up the green vegetables and mixed them into the white congee to make a bowl of vegetable congee, so that it no longer looked like it did before. Then this bowl of vegetable congee was poured into a stove and warmed up.
Not long after, Qing He's figure appeared at the door. She walked in with a stiff smile on her face and disgust in her eyes, but she couldn't hide it well.
"Lady Shen... What do you want to see me for?"
Shen Linyi gracefully raised her hand and made a gesture to invite her to sit down.
"Since Little Master Qing He is willing to let bygones be bygones with us, I naturally can't be a stingy person. I made a bowl of vegetable congee with wild vegetables picked from the back mountain. Let's use the congee instead of wine and bury the hatchet. How about it?"
After saying that, Liu Yun cooperatively brought the stove over, poured the steaming congee into a small bowl and placed it in front of Qing He.
"This..." Qing He looked puzzled. She looked at the vegetable congee in front of her and then at the empty plates.
For what was going to happen tonight, she had put enough sleeping drugs in the food she sent to Shen Linyi. And this congee in front of her... It looked very much like the food she had sent.
Qing He was about to refuse when Liu Yun beside her quickly stuffed a spoonful of congee into her mouth.
Qing He opened her mouth because of the hot congee. She wanted to spit it out, but Liu Yun covered her mouth.
Liu Yun used a clever force to lift Qing He's chin, and the hot congee was swallowed by Qing He.
Shen Linyi took another spoonful of congee, blew the steam away, and then slowly approached Qing He.
There was coldness in her eyes as she said, "What? Is this congee not to your taste? This is the good stuff you sent."
"You! You!" Qing He's mouth was burning, and her throat felt as if it was torn.
When she saw Shen Linyi approaching step by step with the congee, she stared in horror with wide - open eyes. But she was controlled by Liu Yun and could only watch as Shen Linyi spooned congee into her mouth one after another.
Before Qing He fainted, she only saw Shen Linyi calmly stand up and take off her robe.
"Liu Yun, hurry. Carry her to the bed."
After taking off Qing He's clothes, Shen Linyi put her own clothes on Qing He and placed her on her own bed. The candle was extinguished, and only a vague figure could be seen on the bed. One couldn't make out the face clearly.
After doing all this, Shen Linyi and Liu Yun hid under the bed and in the wardrobe respectively.
Although Shen Linyi felt sorry for the woman's experiences, if someone plotted against her, it would be too saintly of her not to fight back. So she used Qing He as bait to see what would really happen tonight.
After the watchman struck the gong at the third watch, the faint sound of clothes rubbing against each other came, immediately waking up Shen Linyi, who was already drowsy.
Then, heavy footsteps approached their room. Shen Linyi was lying under the bed, holding her breath.
And the voices of several men came from outside.
"This is the first one. She's the mistress of the top - three scholar. You three go in and steal her bellyband. After leaving a mark, don't do anything else to her. Someone broke the rules last time. You all know what happened to them. Understand?" The voice of the leading man was obviously deliberately disguised and extremely strange.
Then, three other voices came. "Yes, Boss!"
"Creak..." The door was pushed open. Shen Linyi saw several pairs of boots slowly approaching and then stop in front of the bed...