Chapter 1533: Chapter 1513: Lin Jiayou Injured (Part 2)

"He’s not going to get more and more hollowed out the more he’s... raised, right?" Luo Yanhai’s face was full of worry too. He kept feeling that the next time he saw Lin Jiayou, the man would be skinny beyond recognition, with exhaustion written all over his face, completely different from before.

"Bro!" Luo Shufan looked at Luo Yanhai speechlessly. He Wenyu was still right here, why say stuff like that? Was he really not afraid of corrupting a kid?

Luo Yanhai shut his mouth with an awkward cough, but his expression clearly said that was exactly what he was thinking.

Meanwhile, over at the Du Residence.

"Greetings, Old Madam. I’m a runner from the Forget Worries Tea House trading hall. This time I’m under orders from Miss Shiliu, bringing some new pastries for you, the Du Family, and Fifth Miss to have a taste. These here are specially instructed by Miss Shiliu to be prepared for you—soft and easy to digest—I hope they’re to your liking." The young runner had been personally trained by the Shopkeeper; he was sweet-tongued and diligent, even Luo Xihan quite approved of him.

"Many thanks to Miss Shiliu for thinking of me." The Old Madam’s face also wore a kindly smile. After asking a few questions she dismissed him, yet still did not forget to give the young runner some reward silver.

"I imagine in a bit Fifth Miss will come bringing the pastries Miss Shiliu made with her own hands to pay her respects to you, Old Madam. I’ll go to Madam’s courtyard first."

On his way out, he didn’t forget to mention these pastries that He Wenyu had personally made, giving the Old Madam a deeper impression.

The Old Madam nodded with narrowed, smiling eyes.

After giving Madam almost the same speech, he finally took the last portion, and under a maid’s guidance, entered Rose Garden.

Facing Du Yuwei, he then recounted how Du Yulan had come back earlier carrying those things.

Since Du Yuwei hadn’t received anything, suspicion naturally rose in her heart, and she openly led the young runner to Du Yulan’s courtyard.

Sure enough, Du Yulan and a few young ladies were still eating chocolate popcorn and chatting away, looking every bit like intimate boudoir friends. The moment Du Yuwei saw those snacks she knew they were what Miss Shiliu had asked Mr. Shiyi to bring her. Yet although she was fuming inside, she didn’t show a trace of it on her face.

"What brings Fifth Sister here?" Seeing Du Yuwei, Du Yulan was stunned for a moment, then collected herself, suppressing the fluster from just now, her face full of smiles.

"Fifth Miss must also be craving the pastries Mr. Shiyi sent to Yulan. I must say, this flavor really is quite tempting." Miss Fu spoke up at once. Yesterday Du Yuwei had made her lose face at the gate; today she finally got her own back. Even if she hadn’t won Mr. Shiyi’s favor, at least Du Yuwei hadn’t either. Thinking that way, she felt a lot more balanced: "I imagine Yulan wouldn’t be stingy with Fifth Miss."

Du Yulan’s face stiffened, but she still smiled as she pulled Du Yuwei down: "Sister, sit and try some. I was just thinking of sending you a portion later, but it’s just right that you’ve come."

Du Yuwei only shook her head slightly and looked at Du Yulan with a smile: "I didn’t come here to snatch a bite. If Mother found out she’d scold me for coming to trouble Elder Sister again, wouldn’t she?" With that she glanced around left and right, then asked, "The runner from the Forget Worries Tea House trading hall was entrusted by Miss Shiliu to deliver pastries to me. He said they were a make-up gift, because it was a bit discourteous that last time they only sent one bag. Mr. Shiyi said he’d asked Elder Sister to bring them to me. I don’t know where those pastries are now. I was just about to take them to Old Madam for a taste—they say they were specially made by Miss Shiliu for Miss Shiqi."

Miss Fu, who had just been about to pop a popcorn kernel into her mouth, froze dumbly. Why did it sound like what they were eating was exactly what Du Yuwei had come looking for?

Du Yulan’s face changed on the spot. She truly hadn’t expected Miss Shiliu would still worry about propriety and send another gift over. If not for that, this bag of treats would never have aroused anyone’s suspicion.

Now, faced with the strange looks of the young ladies in the courtyard, the corner of her mouth twitched as she instinctively refuted, "Sister, you can eat whatever you like, but you can’t speak nonsense. I received nothing entrusted by Miss Shiliu here, only what Mr. Shiyi sent me. If Sister wants to eat, I can share some with you; if Sister doesn’t want any, I won’t force myself on you either."

"So you really haven’t seen anything, Elder Sister?" Du Yuwei asked unhurriedly.

"Naturally." Du Yulan’s expression did not change.

Du Yuwei smiled faintly: "Whether Miss Shiliu sent one bag or two, I imagine the runner from the Forget Worries Tea House trading hall knows best. Take a look—are these the pastries Miss Shiliu meant for me to taste?"

The young runner stepped out from behind Du Yuwei, glanced at the plates on the table, and nodded: "Miss Shiliu also gave us a plate to taste. This is exactly what it looked like, no mistake." He nodded firmly. "Besides, Miss Shiliu isn’t acquainted with this young lady here. If this young lady hadn’t insisted she was injured, how would Mr. Shiyi have had the time to personally escort her back to the residence?"

The expressions of everyone in the courtyard instantly turned different.

"Since they’ve already been eaten, then let’s just drop it. I’ll go explain to Old Madam." Du Yuwei let out a faint sigh, then turned to leave.

Who would have thought Du Yulan would stare at her back, face filled with viciousness, and burst out angrily: "Du Yuwei, is tattling the only thing you know how to do?! You and Cong Ying, neither of you is anything good! So what if I snatched your food? You guys relied on your exalted status to snatch my title of ’number one talented lady,’ snatched Father’s favor, snatched the marriage I wanted—why should you?!"

"No one wanted to snatch anything from you. Your poem really was decent back then, but in that setting you actually dared offend the Empress’s taboo name, and would have implicated our Du Family!" Du Yuwei said coldly, "I don’t blame you for hating me. Between legitimate and concubine-born daughters, where is true peace ever possible? Even if nothing happened back then, faces would turn later anyway. Du Yulan, if something isn’t yours, you shouldn’t desire it. If you must blame someone, blame that your mother is not the principal wife. Our statuses were different to begin with."

Finished, Du Yuwei turned and left without the slightest hesitation. Whatever sisterly affection she’d had for Du Yulan had already vanished when Du Yulan drugged her. If not for the Du Residence’s reputation, how could Du Yulan have gotten away unscathed?

All punishments were postponed until after the Sect Conference. After all, if during this period they could win the favor of some big shot, it would count as some sort of compensation for the consequences she had caused.

"Sorry to trouble you." Du Yuwei slipped a Pouch into the young runner’s hand, then went to the Old Madam’s Pine and Cypress Garden, while the runner also took his leave. Those young ladies who had been gossiping in Du Yulan’s courtyard left together with him as well. They had originally thought they’d latched onto some Cultivator’s Thousand-Miles Horse carriage; never had they thought it would all turn out to be an illusion, a mere dream.

More importantly, they’d even let Du Yuwei and the runner from the Forget Worries Tea House trading hall see their behavior. Even if their hearts yearned for Mr. Shiyi from now on, it would all be to no avail.

Only after receiving the young runner’s report did He Wenyu’s mood improve a little, no longer stuck in constant awkwardness.

"What a pity. If I’d known, I’d have just given them to Shiqi to eat." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Luo Qianqian, under Yue Tingyu’s watchful eye, could only eat a little of that kind of unhealthy food. Now that it had all gone into Du Yulan’s stomach, He Wenyu felt really reluctant about it.