Entanglements, Part One

The second update would be around midnight.

The "Clear Path" Qingwen spoke of was the strategy of Substituting the Plum for the Peach—in other words, having Cai Xia take her place and volunteer to serve Sun Shaozong.

So long as Second Master Bao was willing to accept her, what were a mere thirty or fifty taels of silver worth?

Of course, Qingwen had not put it so bluntly. Not only had she beaten around the bush, but she had also left herself some room to retreat.

Yet even those veiled words made Cai Xia's face flush crimson. She sprang up from the ground, her teeth grinding audibly. "You... you know how I feel about Third Master, so how dare you say something like that?!"

In just those few words, her full chest heaved like a bellows, and the collar that crossed right over left had nearly been stretched into a Y-shape.

This was also one of the most noticeable changes in her appearance over the past two years.

But under Cai Xia's resentful glare, Qingwen merely silently took the copper basin into her hands, walked around Cai Xia, and headed straight out of the Small Kitchen.

That wordless action seemed to pour another bucket of hot oil straight into Cai Xia's heart!

Over the past two years, she had suffered countless grievances and mockeries because of Jia Huan.

The sneers and ridicule from others were one thing, but she had thought Qingwen, who was likewise hopelessly in love with Jia Baoyu, would at least understand the sincerity of her feelings.

Who could have imagined...

The more she thought about it, the more stifled and furious she became. A trace of malice gradually surfaced on Cai Xia's flushed face.

Suddenly, she reached out, flipped open the door curtain, and strode after