Cui Jintang was afraid of scalding herself, so she took a small bite of the steamed stuffed bun with soup inside.
The maid beside her quickly said upon seeing this, "The prince heard that the young lady loves the stuffed buns from the Lu family on West Street the most. He went there early this morning specially to buy them for the young lady."
Hearing this, Cui Jintang put down her jade chopsticks without saying a word. She never took another bite of the stuffed buns.
The maid was stunned for a moment.
Rong Yu, who had witnessed the whole process, couldn't help but frown, and a flash of dissatisfaction quickly crossed her eyes.
She coughed lightly and said loudly, "In the five years I've known Brother Pei, I've seen with my own eyes how hard Brother Pei has worked to suppress the rebels in the northern border and pacify the western frontier, and how harsh he is on himself. Every time I see it, I, as his sworn brother, feel so heart - ache."
"Even if Miss Cui is angry with Brother Pei, she should be more understanding of him!"
After Rong Yu finished speaking, it was so quiet in the room that you could hear a pin drop.
The others pretended to be deaf and dumb, obviously siding with Rong Yu.
Cui Jintang put down her soup spoon. The porcelain spoon hit the edge of the bowl, making a clear sound.
Seeing this, Rong Yu frowned and reached out her hand to pat her on the shoulder. "Is Miss Cui mute?"
Just as her fingertips were about to touch, Cui Jintang flipped her wrist and waved her sleeve.
A puff of crimson powder flew straight towards Rong Yu's face!
Rong Yu staggered back. A sweet and fishy taste welled up in her throat, and she immediately spat out a mouthful of blood.
The room was in an instant chaos. The maid let out a scream and stepped forward to support the tottering Rong Yu.
Rong Yu wiped the blood from the corner of her lips with her sleeve and glared angrily at Cui Jintang, who looked calm. "You dare to poison me?! Do you know who I am?!"
But Cui Jintang picked up a handkerchief and slowly wiped the residual powder from her fingertips.
Hearing this, she finally looked up at Rong Yu.
Her eyes were as calm as an ancient well. "Why should I know who you are?"
The corner of her lips curled up in a faint arc, full of irony. "Do you love Pei Zhaolin? Knowing that I'm here, you rushed here specially to show off in front of me?"
Cui Jintang's voice was not loud, but every word was clear.
Whether it was because of Cui Jintang's poison or because her thoughts had been seen through, Rong Yu's face became even paler.
She spat out another mouthful of blood and said angrily, "What are you talking nonsense about? Brother Pei and I are sworn brothers. How can you defame our relationship like this?!"
Cui Jintang looked down on her with contempt and let out a scoff.
Obviously, she disdained Rong Yu's few words of defense.
But in Rong Yu's eyes, her appearance was no different from provocation.
"What's your attitude—"
Suddenly, there came a rush of footsteps outside the corridor.
An angry shout came from afar.
"Su Rongyu! Who allowed you to come?!"
The angry shout shook the hearts of everyone in the room.
The guards who hadn't stopped her just now immediately rolled on the ground in fear and pleaded for mercy repeatedly. "It's the subordinates' dereliction of duty. Please forgive us, Your Highness!"
The person who came was Pei Zhaolin. He was still wearing a black cloak with the coldness from outside. His black hair was slightly disheveled, obviously coming in a great hurry.
His eyebrows were tightly furrowed, and his eyes were full of undisguised anger.
His eyes swept across the mess in the room like a sharp blade and finally fixed on Rong Yu, whose face was as pale as paper and whose lips were still stained with blood.
Hearing the voice, Rong Yu trembled violently. Her arrogance just now disappeared instantly. A look of panic and disbelief flashed across her eyes.
She propped up her tottering body and tried to defend herself. "Brother Pei! I... I just wanted to persuade Miss Cui not to be angry with you. Who would have thought that she was so vicious and attacked me so brutally..."
She pointed at the pool of glaring blood on the ground, and her voice trembled with weakness and fear.
"Persuade?" Pei Zhaolin's voice was as cold as ice, and every word was tinged with coldness.
"Do you think I don't know what's on your mind? If it weren't for your father, for disturbing her peace today, I could have killed you directly!"
He strode forward, with undisguised killing intent in his eyes.
The maids had already knelt down in fear, not daring to raise their heads.
Rong Yu was stabbed back a step by his cold eyes and words. The color drained from her face, and she was filled with shame and anger.
But more than that was the embarrassment of having her thoughts exposed.
She opened her mouth but couldn't make a sound. She only felt a sweet and fishy taste surging in her throat. Another heart - rending cough came, and blood overflowed from the corner of her mouth again.
But Pei Zhaolin no longer paid attention to her.
He walked to the table and looked at Cui Jintang, who was still having her meal as if nothing had happened.
Her movements of having the meal didn't stop at all.
She picked up the jade chopsticks and was just about to pick up a spring roll when her wrist was grabbed by a big hand.
Cui Jintang lowered her eyelashes and trembled imperceptibly.
She pursed her lips, and there was a bit more irony in her calm tone. "What, Your Highness Pei is here to seek justice for your sworn brother?"
Pei Zhaolin paused slightly and didn't pay attention to the irony in her words.
Instead, he picked up a clean handkerchief from the side and carefully wiped the crimson powder from her fingertips.
Pei Zhaolin said slowly, "When I first entered the army and was eager to make contributions, I fell into someone else's evil scheme. When I was on the verge of death, it was Su Rongyu's father who saved my life."
"Before her father died, he wanted me to take her as a concubine, but I refused. Later, she became my nominal sworn brother."
Pei Zhaolin wiped very carefully with the handkerchief.
He was afraid that the slightest bit of powder would be left on her fingertips and hurt her hand.
Cui Jintang lowered her eyes and looked at Pei Zhaolin who was wiping her hands.
She said straightforwardly, "She provoked me."
Pei Zhaolin was stunned. "What?"
Cui Jintang looked directly into his eyes and said word by word, "Even if you tell me these things, I won't give her the antidote."
Pei Zhaolin was so angry that he laughed.
He threw down the handkerchief and also looked directly at her and retorted, "Do you think I'm explaining these things to you to plead for her?"
Cui Jintang pretended not to know. "Otherwise?"
Pei Zhaolin looked at her for a long time, as if extremely helpless. He lowered his head and let out a short laugh.
Then he slowly got up. When he looked at Su Rongyu, his face immediately became cold.
"From now on, without my permission, you are not allowed to leave the Su Mansion for a single step."
"Get out."
Su Rongyu was supported by the maid and barely stood up on her own.
There was grievance in her eyes.
But she still refused the maid's support, raised her hand and saluted Pei Zhaolin in the way a man did.
"I offended today. Please don't be angry with me, Brother. In the future, without Brother's permission, I will never leave the mansion for a single step."
Pei Zhaolin watched coldly and turned a deaf ear.
Su Rongyu pursed her lips, turned to Cui Jintang, and saluted again. "I'll set off back to the capital soon and will no longer appear in front of Miss Cui."
Cui Jintang got up and said calmly, "Why does Your Highness Pei need to do this?"
"People who don't know might think I've bullied her."
Cui Jintang's eyes swept over one by one, and the maids lowered their heads even more.
"Your Highness Pei always values kindness, doesn't he? If you're not willing to take her as a concubine, then marry her."
Pei Zhaolin's expression suddenly changed. Remembering Luo Xiang, he said anxiously, "Back then, Luo Xiang was following Qi Xuan's orders and deliberately set up a scheme to show kindness to me."
Cui Jintang immediately retorted, "Since you know it's a scheme, Your Highness Pei, why are you still so loyal to Qi Xuan now?"