Chapter 9: Meeting Ye Liuyun Again

“No one is bullying me. It’s just that when Lian'er and I went to the kitchen to fetch Miss's dinner, the kitchen staff actually said that Madam instructed them to prepare medicinal meals for Concubine Song tonight, and that everyone should dine in the small kitchens within their respective courtyards. But for Miss, this...”

But Qiu Liyue's Tingyu Pavilion had no small kitchen at all. This meant that tonight, not only would Qiu Liyue go hungry, but all the maidservants in Tingyu Pavilion would also go hungry. As for the remaining four maidservants, they were likely regretting their actions right now, and the four newcomers who had followed her, including Qingqing, would inevitably harbor some contempt for her.

Yun Ruo's calculations were truly clever, Qiu Liyue thought, when she suddenly heard a sound coming from upstairs.

Qingqing glanced at Qiu Liyue, then with a flash of movement, she tiptoed up to the second floor. While Qiu Liyue was focusing all her attention on Qingqing, she suddenly heard a sound behind her. Turning around, she saw a man who had somehow already been standing behind her.

His face was as beautiful as the mid-autumn moon, his complexion like a flower at spring dawn, and the obsidian-like pupils of his eyes shimmered with a glazed brilliance. Clad in a moon-white robe, he truly embodied the phrase, "A man like jade upon the path, a gentleman unparalleled in the world!" Wasn't this the gentleman who had blocked her path in the Imperial Palace today? Why was he appearing here?

Ye Liuyun looked at the woman before him. Her brows were like ink paintings, her eyes like crescent moons, and her skin, as fair as ice and snow, exuded a sense of cold elegance. He saw her brow furrow slightly, yet she did not cry out in panic. Furthermore, he showed no awareness of being an uninvited guest; he simply placed the food box he was carrying onto the table and proceeded to take out the dishes one by one.

Then, he sat down by the table, picked up his chopsticks, and began to eat slowly.

Qiu Liyue's mind raced, yet she still couldn't figure out why this jade-like gentleman in white, whom she had only met once, would appear in her Tingyu Pavilion. She only instinctively felt that he harbored no ill will.

The faint aroma wafting from the food on the table further enticed her thoughts toward a very practical problem: she was hungry! Very hungry! She had only eaten a symbolic amount in the palace at noon, and the pastries on the carriage had been completely monopolized by Qiu Lixing. By her count, she had barely eaten anything all day.

Qiu Liyue finally yielded to her stomach. Without asking why this man was here, she also sat at the table, picked up her chopsticks, and began to eat.

The gentleman in white before her only took a single bite of each dish. His meaning was clear: the food was fine, and she could eat with peace of mind!

After a few bites, she suddenly remembered something. Qiu Liyue stood up and gathered all the dishes and pastries she hadn't touched back into the food box.

Ye Liuyun merely sat quietly. Just as Qiu Liyue had not asked why he was here, he did not ask why she was packing the food away again.

Only two dishes remained on the table. Qiu Liyue ate in silence, and as Ye Liuyun watched the food in the plates gradually diminish, the corners of his mouth curled slightly. Neither of them spoke.

Qingqing had carefully checked all three guest rooms upstairs and found nothing unusual before coming downstairs. But could someone tell her what kind of situation this was?

How could it be that in the time it took to drink half a cup of tea, not only had food appeared in this room, but a person had appeared as well?

And a gentleman whose features were as beautiful as a painting and as gentle as jade?

Qingqing's gaze swept over the gentleman in white once more, and she inadvertently caught sight of the faint, almost imperceptible pattern of a flying horse embroidered on the hem of his robe. She froze in shock.

Flying Horse Villa! Young Master Ye! The finest horses in the world come from the Northern Desert, and who in the Northern Desert does not know Young Master Ye? This "Young Master Ye" was none other than Ye Liuyun, the Young Villa Master of Flying Horse Villa.

Seeing that Qingqing was merely stunned and had not cried out in panic, Qiu Liyue was satisfied with her composure. She pointed to the food box on the table. "Qingqing, take this. You all share it! Give some to those four little maids as well!"

"Yes, Miss!" Following her instructions, Qingqing picked up the food box and exited the room.

Even after finishing her meal, Qiu Liyue did not look up again. She knew he was watching her, but she truly did not know what she should say to him. Should she interrogate him as to why he was here? Or thank him for bringing her food? She didn't know!

"Ye Liuyun!"

Qiu Liyue heard a soft sigh. When she lifted her head, the person opposite her was gone, leaving only the name "Ye Liuyun" drifting in the room.

Ye Liuyun? Ye Liuyun! Qiu Liyue silently repeated the name, as if wanting to engrave it into her heart.

"Miss! Madam requests your presence at the Rain Courtyard," Zijing's voice sounded from outside the door, followed by another sentence, "Master has also just gone to the Rain Courtyard."

Qiu Liyue pondered for a moment and said, "Alright! You and Xin'er come with me!"

The Rain Courtyard.

"Master! You scared me to death! Yuer almost couldn't protect our child!" Concubine Song recounted her fright and grievance to Qiu Jinshan, her face like a pear blossom drenched in rain.

"It won't happen! Don't overthink it. Everything is fine now! Don't overthink it!" Qiu Jinshan comforted her, stroking Concubine Song's hand.

"Ahem!" Yun Ruo gave a light cough, though in her heart, she sneered at Concubine Song's mention of "our child."

"Father, you said it's not even the dry season. How could the Moon Courtyard suddenly catch fire? Today in the palace, just as Sister said she didn't like red, the Moon Courtyard broke out in a great fire..."

"Ahem!" Qiu Lixing's subsequent words were interrupted by Yun Ruo's cough.

"Father! Mother! Is Concubine Song feeling any better?" Without waiting for Qiu Mei to announce her, Qiu Liyue stepped through the door and spoke.

"Liyue, how could your Moon Courtyard catch fire out of nowhere?" Qiu Jinshan asked with a dark expression.

Qiu Liyue glanced indifferently at Qiu Lixing. "Daughter returned together with Sister and Mother! By the time we returned, the Moon Courtyard had already been on fire for quite some time."

"Oh, my dear sister, so you mean to say Heaven is helping you? This is just too coincidental," Qiu Lixing said, her phoenix eyes wide as she glared at Qiu Liyue.

"Heh," Qiu Liyue let out a soft sneer. "Burning down the place where I live is helping me? Then I would rather it had helped Sister instead."

"You! Hmph!" Qiu Lixing snorted coldly, her anger rising. "You just said in the palace that you didn't like red, and then the Moon Courtyard caught fire and burned all the red in your room. Is that not helping you?" Thinking of how Qiu Liyue had stolen the spotlight in the palace today, and the protection provided by the Emperor and Empress—which should have all belonged to her—Qiu Lixing felt a sharp, throbbing pain in her heart.

"I never said I didn't like red. I have always thought red was wonderful. If that weren't the case, then why are all the decorations in my room red?" Qiu Liyue did not back down.

"You're lying! When Her Majesty the Empress asked you in the palace if you liked red, what did you say?" Qiu Lixing walked up to Qiu Liyue to demand an answer.

"I said that Mother said red suits me very well."

"Wasn't that just your way of saying you didn't like it?"

"How could that be? Why would Sister think that? If Mother said the color was good, then it is naturally good! If it weren't, why would Mother go to such lengths to decorate it for me? Could Mother be intentionally trying to harm me? Sister, if you speak like this, Mother will be heartbroken." Qiu Liyue deliberately put on an air of being aggrieved on behalf of Yun Ruo.

"You! You!" Qiu Lixing was instantly choked by Qiu Liyue's words. She turned to look at Yun Ruo and said, "Mother, I didn't mean it like that, I..."