Couldn't Think of a Name

Senior Sister Yuan Xi had heard the commotion long ago. The moment she stepped out the gate, Lin Qi crashed headlong into her arms.

Yuan Xi thought Lin Qi had truly been scared out of her wits. She stroked the back of Lin Qi's head and sheltered her in her embrace.

A trace of chill colored her jade-white face as she questioned the maid, "What exactly happened?"

After all that shouting, everyone nearby had already been awakened.

The little maid's reason had recovered somewhat as well.

Her voice trembled. "This morning, I was drawing water in the neighboring courtyard to prepare breakfast when I suddenly found a swollen corpse in the well... From the looks of it, it seemed, seemed to be Wei Chongfu."

"Wei Chongfu?" Yuan Xi asked instinctively.

Lin Qi helplessly pressed a hand to her forehead.

The next moment, she heard the maid say, "He is the male attendant the Household Head has favored most recently... His, his face was still black, as if he had been poisoned."

The maid was recalling things very seriously. After hearing her out, Yuan Xi also realized that this matter might involve secrets of the Luo Family. It truly was not something an outsider like her should hear.

Now that they had heard everything they should not have heard, there was no way to pretend to be deaf and dumb anymore.

"Let's go take a look next door."

Yuan Xi lowered her head and exchanged a glance with Lin Qi. Lin Qi gave two soft hmphs and continued shouting, "Senior Sister, can we not go? It sounds so scary."

Senior Sister Yuan Xi held her forehead with one hand. She truly had no resistance against Lin Qi acting cute and coquettish.

The two of them could be considered kindred spirits. Yuan Xi gave Lin Qi a meaningful pat.

"I'm afraid that won't be possible. The Luo Family Head will probably send someone to invite us over any moment now."

Sure enough, just as Senior Sister Yuan Xi had predicted, Luo Zhou arrived with a polite expression the instant her words fell, inviting them over and taking the little maid away as well.

Lin Qi and Yuan Xi sat in the reception room, sipping tea and enjoying the fragrance. Their leisure carried a touch of helplessness.

A quarter of an hour earlier, someone from the Luo Family had gently asked about what had happened that morning, recording the statements of Lin Qi and Yuan Xi.

After the questioning, they had left, leaving only the two of them here to rest.

Before long, the Luo Family Head arrived with several people.

The smile on her face was as warm and kind as ever. The first thing she did was apologize. "I have given you two young friends a fright. What happened today was truly an accident."

Senior Sister Yuan Xi rose and returned the courtesy, her expression slightly embarrassed. "We were not exactly frightened. It is simply that we had originally intended to bid farewell to Aunt Luo, but now it feels awkward to bring it up."

Mentioning their departure at a time like this made it seem as though they were doing so deliberately.

Yet if they continued staying here, Yuan Xi feared they would truly become entangled in someone else's family affairs. Thus, she advanced by retreating and spoke those words.

The Luo Family Head looked surprised. "Why are you leaving so soon? Could it be that today's incident truly frightened you?"

As she spoke, a sorrowful, helpless look appeared on the Luo Family Head's face. "There was a male attendant I favored in my inner courtyard. He was proud and arrogant. I said a few words to him yesterday, and he could not bear it, so he threw himself into a well. I never expected this to alarm you two young friends."

The truth did not matter. It was enough that Lin Qi and Yuan Xi believed it.

Yuan Xi said, "It is not because of this matter."

"We came to Ming City after accepting a mission. We need to go to the Ming City Affairs Hall to get it stamped within the stipulated time, or we will be punished. Yesterday, my junior sister and I had already discussed coming to bid farewell today. We simply did not expect to run into this matter."

Lin Qi tugged Yuan Xi's clothes and asked "timidly," "Aunt Luo, if Junior Brother wishes to stay home for another two days, Senior Sister and I can leave first. He can catch up with us a couple days later."

The Luo Family Head did not insist on keeping them. She gave a magnanimous laugh and waved her hand.

"The mission takes priority. I cannot force you to stay. Since Luo Ci is undertaking this mission with you, he naturally should go with you. I will have them prepare a carriage today and send you safely to Ming City."

The Luo Family Head was highly efficient. She agreed in the morning and had everything arranged by noon.

When Luo Ci was stuffed into the carriage compartment, he was still utterly bewildered.

After a long while, he finally belatedly asked, "We're leaving so soon?"

Lin Qi spoke in a gloomy voice. "Otherwise? Did you want to stay at your home for a year and a half?"

"Third Junior Brother, the moment you got home, you forgot all about Senior Sister and me. Aren't you having a little too much fun?!"

Lin Qi's strange, barbed tone made Luo Ci's hairs stand on end. He had completely lost his former vigor. "S-Second Senior Sister, how can you be like this?"

As he spoke, he edged closer to Senior Sister Yuan Xi.

"How am I like this?" Lin Qi asked faintly.

Just as she was about to continue complaining about Luo Ci, someone suddenly knocked on the carriage door.

The door opened, revealing a young man with refined and gentle features. He looked to be around thirty, and his entire body carried the air of a scholar.

Luo Ci's eyes lit up. He excitedly lunged forward. "Dad! You finally came back!"

Feng Jun gently stroked Luo Ci's head, his face full of paternal affection. "I heard you had returned, so I had people travel through the night. I finally managed to catch you."

Luo Ci first grinned foolishly, but before long, the smile gradually faded from his face.

"Dad, I'm about to leave for Ming City. Mom insisted that I go now. I could clearly have stayed another two days!"

His face drooped. "With my cultivation, I might even hold Senior Sisters back if I go with them. Why is Mom in such a hurry to drive me away? Does she not like me anymore?!"

"How could that be?!" Feng Jun chuckled. "It is precisely because your mother likes you so much that she is making you leave now. She does not want you wasting your days away at home."

Feng Jun coaxed him for quite some time before finally soothing Luo Ci.

He smiled and greeted Lin Qi and Yuan Xi. His manner was cultured and elegant, his attitude warm and approachable.

Before leaving, he secretly handed Luo Ci two bundles that smelled faintly fragrant.

"Do not let your mother see them, or she will certainly punish you again. Eat them after you leave Luo City, and remember to share them with your two Senior Sisters."

Luo Ci nodded obediently, then suddenly said, "Dad, Uncle Wei died. They found him this morning. Mom said she scolded him a little, and in a fit of anger, he threw himself into a well. What about Third Brother, then?"

Feng Jun did not even twitch an eyebrow. He looked at Luo Ci with indulgent eyes. "Your Third Brother is your mother's biological child. Naturally, nothing will happen to him."

Luo Ci was about to ask more, but Feng Jun spoke first.

"Do not involve yourself in Household matters. Focus on cultivating. Dad is waiting for you to grow strong and return to inherit the Luo Family."

Luo Ci seemed to listen to Feng Jun exceptionally well. He immediately shut his mouth and asked no more questions.

Once the carriage rose into the air, Luo Ci opened the bundles. Inside were packets of exquisite, sweet pastries.

He picked up one for Senior Sister Yuan Xi, then another for Lin Qi, and took one for himself. After only two bites, tears as large as beans began rolling down his face.

Yuan Xi held the pastry and gently stroked his head.

Lin Qi took a light bite of the pastry. Its sweet, soft, glutinous texture spread through her mouth, yet her mind could not help drifting to the Luo Family's affairs.

Thrown himself into a well?

She clearly remembered the little maid saying that Wei Chongfu's face had been black, as though he had been poisoned.

Moreover, the row of courtyards where Lin Qi and the others stayed was the guest quarters.

For one of the Luo Family's inner household members to run to the guest quarters in the middle of the night and throw himself into a well—wasn't that far too deliberate?

This chapter was two thousand words. I'll work harder in a while and try to post another thousand, then I'll have paid off all my debts.