Chapter 20: Untidy clothes, secret meetings...

If he was not from a noble family, he would not be in her eyes. Thinking of this, the young man sneered disdainfully.

Qi Youan was really looking forward to Ye Wanwan's emotions when she knew his true identity. He would probably be as eager to flatter her as he is now.

But why would Jiang Lingzhou write such a letter to her?

Is Jiang Lingzhou interested in her?

If we only talk about family background and appearance, Ye Wanwan and he are indeed a perfect match.

Qi Youan thought so, his eyes were dim, he folded the letter paper, put it back into the envelope, and gave it to the postman.

Jiang Lingzhou sat in the study, holding two reply letters in his hands, he sighed weakly.

Let's talk about it after I get well, he thought.

...

In order to pretend to be sick, Ye Wanwan stayed in bed all day, never seeing the sun. She also had to pretend to have no appetite, and occasionally wanted to eat more, but was stopped by the maid, saying that the doctor had advised not to eat too much.

As time went by, she did lose a lot of weight. Lying on the bed, she was as thin as a piece of paper, as if a gust of wind could blow her away.

In the middle of the night, her stomach began to growl again, and the feeling of hunger surged like a tide.

I can't stand it anymore! Ye Wanwan shouted in her heart. Anyway, there were only guards in the corridor watching at night. After hesitating again and again, she finally decided to leave the warm bed. She grabbed the cloak, wrapped it around herself, and opened the door carefully.

Through the crack in the door, a probing look appeared, and her eyes swept across the silent courtyard. The moonlight was like water, sprinkling on the bluestone slabs. There was only the sound of the wind around, and even the shadows of the guards were gone.

She breathed a sigh of relief, gently pushed open the door, and like a nimble jumping mouse, she quickly shuttled through the night. Her figure was as light as the wind, and even the moonlight could not capture her trace.

Finally coming to the kitchen, the greedy girl couldn't wait to open the food box.

A familiar aroma came to her face, and Ye Wanwan's eyes lit up instantly, "There are my favorite pork and sauerkraut buns!" She grabbed a bun and stuffed it into her mouth, her cheeks bulging.

Just as she was eating with relish and wanted to find a sip of water, she suddenly heard a slight sound of footsteps coming from outside the door. Then, the kitchen door was pushed open, and a dim candlelight poured in.

Ye Wanwan's heart tightened, and she squatted down hurriedly and hid behind the stove. She held her breath, her heart beating like a drum, for fear of being discovered.

If people knew that the noble and elegant young lady on weekdays was eating here in a disheveled and embarrassed state, it would be really embarrassing.

The man didn't seem to notice her presence, and opened the food box like her, as if he was also here to steal a midnight snack. Ye Wanwan secretly guessed that this man was probably a greedy servant.

She originally planned to wait until the man left before getting up, but the man was not in a hurry at all. He sat down at the small dining table slowly and confidently, and began to taste it carefully. Ye Wanwan squatted so hard that her waist and feet ached. She couldn't help but want to move, but accidentally kicked the iron spoon next to her.

Who put this spoon in a mess! She secretly complained in her heart. The man heard the movement, stopped his movements, stood up and walked towards this side.

The footsteps were getting closer and closer, and Ye Wanwan's heartbeat was getting faster and faster. She gritted her teeth and simply went all out. While the man was still not close, she suddenly rushed out from behind the stove and rushed to the door like a gust of wind.

"Swoosh--" Her figure quickly disappeared outside the door, as if there was a ghost behind her to take

her life, and she ran wildly with her head down. However, just as she was desperately running away, her feet were suddenly tripped by something. She stumbled, lost her balance, and was about to fall to the ground.

"Miss, be careful!" A low and familiar voice sounded in her ears. Then, a warm and strong hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her back steadily.

Ye Wanwan was still in shock. When she looked up, she met Qi Youan's deep eyes.

Ye Wanwan turned around and saw Qi Youan. Before she could wonder, the candlelight gradually approaching in the distance made her heart tighten. She subconsciously grabbed Qi Youan's wrist and quickly hid in the bushes beside him.

The bushes were densely covered with branches and leaves, and the moonlight cast mottled light and shadows through the gaps. Qi Youan lowered his head and saw the silhouette of the girl in the faint moonlight.

Her hair was a little messy, her cheeks were slightly flushed due to her rapid breathing, and she was still holding half of the uneaten bun tightly in her hand.

At that moment, Qi Youan seemed to see a little white rabbit escaping from a cage, flustered but a little cute.

Ye Wanwan looked up at him, and Qi Youan subconsciously avoided his gaze, suppressed his inexplicable panic and met the young lady's eyes again.

Ye Wanwan made a "hush" gesture and turned her head to look outside again.

She saw a pair of brocade shoes coming into view. The man was holding a candle, walking steadily and gradually going away. Ye Wanwan's tense nerves relaxed a little, and just as she was about to speak, a strong light suddenly pierced directly into the hiding place of the two.

"Come out!" A majestic and familiar voice sounded in the night, with an unquestionable order.

Ye Wanwan's heart sank, and before she could react, the bushes had been pushed aside.

Ye Heng held the lamp and looked at them with a sharp gaze. When he saw his embarrassed sister and the servant beside him in the bushes, the shock on his face was hard to hide.

Ye Heng had been busy with social activities these days because he won the top prize. He went out early and came back late every day to deal with the celebration banquets of various people. Although he drank a lot of wine with others tonight, he didn't eat much food. He wanted to fill his stomach in the small kitchen after returning home, but he ran into the "thief" in the mansion.

He had intended to catch this daring little thief, but he never expected that this "little thief" was actually his own sister.

"Wanwan?" Ye Heng looked at the scene in disbelief, and couldn't help wondering if he had drunk too much and was still not sober. He opened his eyes and found that it was just as he saw.

Ye Wanwan didn't expect that the "servant" was actually his brother.

She was embarrassed and at a loss, and forced a smile: "Brother, what a coincidence..." Her voice became smaller and smaller, with a guilty conscience. Even Qi Youan, who was standing aside, seemed a little embarrassed, his eyes wandering, not knowing where to look.

Why do I feel like I'm being caught cheating?

Ye Heng changed his image of a gentle brother in the past, with a gloomy face, and took them to his bedroom without saying a word. He sat on the chair, his eyes like a knife examining the two people standing in front of him uneasy.

Ye Wanwan explained guiltily, "I've been sick these past few days and have been eating only watery meals. I've been too hungry so..."

"You still know you're sick!" Ye Heng's voice suddenly rose, with suppressed anger in his tone, "It's a cold winter night, and you're running around the house in thin clothes. Do you think you're not sick enough?"

Ye Wanwan shrank her neck in fear of her brother's anger, but couldn't help but retorted in a low voice, "Aren't you cheating on me like me..."

Ye Heng was so angry at these words that he sobered up, slammed the table, pointed at Qi Youan and said to his sister, "At least I didn't have a secret meeting with others in my untidy clothes in the middle of the night, right?"

"Secret meeting?" Qi Youan raised his head in shock. Secret meeting? Me? Her?

When Ye Wanwan heard the word "secret meeting", her cheeks instantly turned red and she quickly waved her hands to explain: "No! How could I have a secret meeting with him? I was just afraid that he would talk nonsense when I was escaping just now, so I pulled him to hide with me!"

"Really?" Ye Heng looked doubtful, how could he meet this servant by chance?

"Really!" Ye Wanwan straightened her back, her tone was firm, and there was a hint of anger in her eyes, as if she was blaming her brother for his suspicion.

Seeing that his sister was so confident, Ye Heng stopped asking questions and turned his gaze to Qi Youan and asked, "You are not a guard, so why are you so mysterious in the mansion in the middle of the night?"

Qi Youan lowered his head, and said the answer he had prepared in a low voice with a bit of sadness: "Master, when I was helping the third lady move things a few days ago, I accidentally dropped the sachet that my mother had sewed by hand somewhere in the mansion. This sachet is very important to me. I dare not alarm the adults, so I had to secretly look for it in the middle of the night."

His voice trembled slightly, as if he was really telling a heartbreaking past.

Act, continue acting, I don't know what you are going to do yet. Ye Wanwan glanced at him and secretly rolled her eyes.

"Since you are looking for the sachet, why don't you carry a lantern?"

"Master, we are looking for it secretly and we are afraid of alarming the guards in the mansion, so we dare not carry a lantern."

Ye Heng is most susceptible to the family card. As the eldest son of the Prime Minister, he knows how difficult it is for a family to be reunited and harmonious, and he can't help but feel a little sympathy in his heart.

He nodded and softened his tone: "In this case, you can look for it tomorrow. If anyone asks, just say that I asked you to find it."

"Thank you, Master!" Qi Youan

's eyes were slightly red, and he was grateful. "But if you say a word about what happened tonight..." His eyes became sharp

again. "I didn't see anything tonight." Qi Youan replied with a look.

Ye Heng waved his hand, motioning him to leave Ye Wanwan alone for questioning.

"Wanwan has been bedridden these days, which makes me very worried. Why is your face suddenly rosy and brisk tonight? Huh?" He raised his eyebrows and asked.

Ye Wanwan knew that she couldn't hide it from her brother, so she simply said bluntly: "I was pretending to be sick."

"I can see that." Ye Heng crossed his arms and waited quietly for her explanation.

Ye Wanwan lowered her head, with grievance in her voice: "My father wants me to marry the son of the Duwei Mansion, but I don't want to, so I pretended to be sick to escape."

Hearing this, Ye Heng chuckled helplessly: "So you plan to pretend to be sick and marry the Duwei son? Pretend to be an old girl who can't get married?"

Ye Wanwan was choked by his words and didn't know how to refute for a while. What he said made sense, and what was coming had to come.

"And no matter what, my father would never let you marry a servant." Ye Heng advised earnestly.

Ye Wanwan gritted her teeth and explained: "I'll say it again, I have no interest in that servant."

"Okay, okay." Ye Heng agreed with her words with a bit of perfunctory, and then sent her back to the boudoir.