CH 22.3
Chapter 22.3 – Cat, Fish and a Bowl of Soup (3)
Lu Qipei was in a rare state of panic. Before she could leave the courtyard, she bumped into Ah Yu. She was carrying hot water for washing in her hand, and seemed surprised to see Lu Qipei. A lot of water splashed out of the copper basin when she stopped, “Young, Young Master, why are you here?”
Ah Yu tried to remain calm and speak normally, but anyone could see her panic at that moment.
Seeing Ah Yu who was even more flustered than her, Lu Qipei somehow regained her calm.
She stared at her with cold eyes, and Ah Yu’s hands trembled more and more until she couldn’t hold on to the basin.
The copper basin hit the ground with a ‘clang’ and hot water splashed everywhere, soaking the two’s clothes and shoes. But this sound was like a thunderclap amidst the cold and quiet morning, shocking people’s hearts heavily.
Ah Yu was so frightened that she started trembling. The people who had been looking at the dead cat heard the commotion and quickly ran over; more servants and guards also came from outside the courtyard. Finally, even Qi Bo who had gotten up early was alerted and hurried to the courtyard.
A Yu was so frightened that he shivered. Several people who had been watching the dead cat heard the news and quickly ran over. More servants came to the courtyard to protect him. Finally, even Qi Bo, who got up early, was alarmed and hurried to the courtyard.
But when everyone looked at the scene in front of them, they weren’t sure what was happening.
Lu Qipei’s deep gaze swept over everyone’s faces one by one before she finally said, “It’s nothing serious, just that a dead cat was found in my courtyard this morning.” Seeing that everyone still didn’t seem to understand, she added, “I woke up last night and just happened to put my soup in the courtyard to feed the cats.”
What else was left not to understand at this point? Especially the ones who saw the cat’s corpse earlier and noticed that it was poisoned, those people could not help but suck in a cold breath.
Qi Bo was the first one to react; he quickly dismissed all these people who had nothing to do with this and told them to shut their mouth.
Lu Qipei was observing his words and actions. She was gambling, betting that Qi Bo didn’t know about this matter. This was not strange – after she calmed down, she thought things through and found that Qi Bo had no reason to kill her right now. After all, even if she was just a body double, they still cultivated her after spending countless effort. Even if they were to give her up, she would still have to give enough value in return.
In her previous life, she repaid them with the reputation of the number one scholar and the identity of Princess Qi Yang’s Prince Consort. But now, even though she had entered Hanlin Academy, with Lu Qicheng’s disfigured face, did he still want to replace her?
Qi Bo had his own calculations in his heart and wouldn’t do such an unprofitable business, so only Lu Qicheng, who was mad with jealousy, would attack her.
This didn’t give her any consolation, and only made her despise him more!
After her rebirth, Lu Qipei found that she could see more of Lu Qicheng’s darkest and ugliest side with every contact she had with him. All her previous feelings had been wiped away, and it was even impossible to look at him normally again. Gradually, it had turned into complete disgust.
After she thought about it, Lu Qipei did not say anything else. She looked on coldly as Qi Bo took care of everything and returned to her courtyard. Everyone seemed to be ignoring Ah Yu, who was still standing in the same place, but her body kept shaking and trembling uncontrollably.
Lu Qipei ignored her, not afraid that she would run away. She looked down at her wet clothes and followed Qi Bo back.
The cat’s body was still in the corner of the courtyard. The calico’s color was actually quite pretty, but it was a pity that its beautiful fur had lost its original luster. It was lying quietly on the ground, not far from the tea cup. In front of it was a small pool of dark red blood, with dry bloodstains on its small mouth and nose. You could see that the poison had spread very quickly, not even giving it any time to struggle or escape.
This reminded Lu Qipei of her previous life. Back when she poisoned by that bowl of soup, the poison also acted very quickly, and did not leave her any time to struggle. It was only at the last moment that she understood who wanted her life, and how sorry she felt towards Qi Yang.
Looking at the poisoned cat, Lu Qipei somehow felt pity as someone who had been in the same situation before, and felt a little sad for a moment.
There was no one else in the courtyard other than Qi Bo. Lu Qipei suddenly said, “It died in my place.”
Qi Bo’s complexion was ugly, but he didn’t answer Lu Qipei. He had obviously guessed who did it, but he couldn’t tell her. He stared at Lu Qipei and carefully observed her expression, but she was just absent-mindedly looking at the calico cat.
After a long time, he couldn’t find anything other than a little sadness. Qi Bo sneered inside that Lu Qipei was too emotional, but at the same time he was also relieved. After thinking for a while, in the end he still decided to point at the tea cup and asked, “Young Master, what’s wrong with this soup?”
Lu Qipei didn’t hide anything and lightly told him what happened last night, “Ah Yu brought me this soup last night. I was too tired yesterday and had not appetite, and I felt sorry throwing away the soup. Since cats have been meowing at night recently and disturbing people’s sleep, I wanted to shut their mouth with this soup. Unexpectedly, when I woke up this morning, the servants sweeping the courtyard found that this stray cat had been poisoned to death.”
She frowned as she spoke, obviously still feeling some fear. But at the same time, she also felt that she was quite lucky.
Qi Bo also felt lucky. Now the situation had turned for the better, so he just breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn’t imagine how suffocating it would feel if Lu Qipei was gone and all his previous efforts were wasted. He also couldn’t imagine what kind of outcome he would face afterwards!
Thankfully, by some luck this bowl of poisonous soup was given to a cat instead, and there was still room to turn things around.
With that in mind, Qi Bo looked up at the sky again and said to Lu Qipei, “Young Master, it’s getting late. You still have to go to Hanlin academy before seven, so you can’t afford any delay. Leave this matter of Ah Yu and the poisonous soup to me1, I will definitely handle it properly.”
Lu Qipei didn’t argue with him when she heard what he said. She just nodded and agreed, “Then I’ll have to trouble you, Qi Bo.” After thinking for a bit, she added, “If you can’t find anything, you can also report it to the officials. After all, there’s a life at stake.”
Qi Bo listened to this with an austere expression and nodded, “Rest assured, Young Master.”
Seeing this, Lu Qipei didn’t say anything else and returned to her room with a solemn face. As soon as the door was closed, she felt her legs go soft as she held onto the door panel. The chill enveloping her body never subsided, constantly reminding her to escape quickly!
Translator notes:
Lu Qipei was in a rare state of panic. Before she could leave the courtyard, she bumped into Ah Yu. She was carrying hot water for washing in her hand, and seemed surprised to see Lu Qipei. A lot of water splashed out of the copper basin when she stopped, “Young, Young Master, why are you here?”
Ah Yu tried to remain calm and speak normally, but anyone could see her panic at that moment.
Seeing Ah Yu who was even more flustered than her, Lu Qipei somehow regained her calm.
She stared at her with cold eyes, and Ah Yu’s hands trembled more and more until she couldn’t hold on to the basin.
The copper basin hit the ground with a ‘clang’ and hot water splashed everywhere, soaking the two’s clothes and shoes. But this sound was like a thunderclap amidst the cold and quiet morning, shocking people’s hearts heavily.
Ah Yu was so frightened that she started trembling. The people who had been looking at the dead cat heard the commotion and quickly ran over; more servants and guards also came from outside the courtyard. Finally, even Qi Bo who had gotten up early was alerted and hurried to the courtyard.
A Yu was so frightened that he shivered. Several people who had been watching the dead cat heard the news and quickly ran over. More servants came to the courtyard to protect him. Finally, even Qi Bo, who got up early, was alarmed and hurried to the courtyard.
But when everyone looked at the scene in front of them, they weren’t sure what was happening.
Lu Qipei’s deep gaze swept over everyone’s faces one by one before she finally said, “It’s nothing serious, just that a dead cat was found in my courtyard this morning.” Seeing that everyone still didn’t seem to understand, she added, “I woke up last night and just happened to put my soup in the courtyard to feed the cats.”
What else was left not to understand at this point? Especially the ones who saw the cat’s corpse earlier and noticed that it was poisoned, those people could not help but suck in a cold breath.
Qi Bo was the first one to react; he quickly dismissed all these people who had nothing to do with this and told them to shut their mouth.
Lu Qipei was observing his words and actions. She was gambling, betting that Qi Bo didn’t know about this matter. This was not strange – after she calmed down, she thought things through and found that Qi Bo had no reason to kill her right now. After all, even if she was just a body double, they still cultivated her after spending countless effort. Even if they were to give her up, she would still have to give enough value in return.
In her previous life, she repaid them with the reputation of the number one scholar and the identity of Princess Qi Yang’s Prince Consort. But now, even though she had entered Hanlin Academy, with Lu Qicheng’s disfigured face, did he still want to replace her?
Qi Bo had his own calculations in his heart and wouldn’t do such an unprofitable business, so only Lu Qicheng, who was mad with jealousy, would attack her.
This didn’t give her any consolation, and only made her despise him more!
After her rebirth, Lu Qipei found that she could see more of Lu Qicheng’s darkest and ugliest side with every contact she had with him. All her previous feelings had been wiped away, and it was even impossible to look at him normally again. Gradually, it had turned into complete disgust.
After she thought about it, Lu Qipei did not say anything else. She looked on coldly as Qi Bo took care of everything and returned to her courtyard. Everyone seemed to be ignoring Ah Yu, who was still standing in the same place, but her body kept shaking and trembling uncontrollably.
Lu Qipei ignored her, not afraid that she would run away. She looked down at her wet clothes and followed Qi Bo back.
The cat’s body was still in the corner of the courtyard. The calico’s color was actually quite pretty, but it was a pity that its beautiful fur had lost its original luster. It was lying quietly on the ground, not far from the tea cup. In front of it was a small pool of dark red blood, with dry bloodstains on its small mouth and nose. You could see that the poison had spread very quickly, not even giving it any time to struggle or escape.
This reminded Lu Qipei of her previous life. Back when she poisoned by that bowl of soup, the poison also acted very quickly, and did not leave her any time to struggle. It was only at the last moment that she understood who wanted her life, and how sorry she felt towards Qi Yang.
Looking at the poisoned cat, Lu Qipei somehow felt pity as someone who had been in the same situation before, and felt a little sad for a moment.
There was no one else in the courtyard other than Qi Bo. Lu Qipei suddenly said, “It died in my place.”
Qi Bo’s complexion was ugly, but he didn’t answer Lu Qipei. He had obviously guessed who did it, but he couldn’t tell her. He stared at Lu Qipei and carefully observed her expression, but she was just absent-mindedly looking at the calico cat.
After a long time, he couldn’t find anything other than a little sadness. Qi Bo sneered inside that Lu Qipei was too emotional, but at the same time he was also relieved. After thinking for a while, in the end he still decided to point at the tea cup and asked, “Young Master, what’s wrong with this soup?”
Lu Qipei didn’t hide anything and lightly told him what happened last night, “Ah Yu brought me this soup last night. I was too tired yesterday and had not appetite, and I felt sorry throwing away the soup. Since cats have been meowing at night recently and disturbing people’s sleep, I wanted to shut their mouth with this soup. Unexpectedly, when I woke up this morning, the servants sweeping the courtyard found that this stray cat had been poisoned to death.”
She frowned as she spoke, obviously still feeling some fear. But at the same time, she also felt that she was quite lucky.
Qi Bo also felt lucky. Now the situation had turned for the better, so he just breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn’t imagine how suffocating it would feel if Lu Qipei was gone and all his previous efforts were wasted. He also couldn’t imagine what kind of outcome he would face afterwards!
Thankfully, by some luck this bowl of poisonous soup was given to a cat instead, and there was still room to turn things around.
With that in mind, Qi Bo looked up at the sky again and said to Lu Qipei, “Young Master, it’s getting late. You still have to go to Hanlin academy before seven, so you can’t afford any delay. Leave this matter of Ah Yu and the poisonous soup to me1, I will definitely handle it properly.”
Lu Qipei didn’t argue with him when she heard what he said. She just nodded and agreed, “Then I’ll have to trouble you, Qi Bo.” After thinking for a bit, she added, “If you can’t find anything, you can also report it to the officials. After all, there’s a life at stake.”
Qi Bo listened to this with an austere expression and nodded, “Rest assured, Young Master.”
Seeing this, Lu Qipei didn’t say anything else and returned to her room with a solemn face. As soon as the door was closed, she felt her legs go soft as she held onto the door panel. The chill enveloping her body never subsided, constantly reminding her to escape quickly!
Translator notes:
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