Chapter 28: Chapter Twenty‑Eight

Before Lu Bao'er went to the Zhao Family, she ordered the kitchen maid to simmer a pot of pilose asiabell chicken soup, to be taken to Xie Junling when he returns to the residence to restore his health.

The kitchen maid had just poured the chicken soup into a celadon flower‑patterned soup cup when a maidservant Qingyao, who was working in the outer courtyard, poked her head in and called, "Ye Daniang, is the chicken soup ready?"

The kitchen maid was considered one of the elders in the mansion, so the servants who came and went all addressed her as Ye Daniang out of respect.

Ye Daniang nodded and said, "What's up? Did the old matron send you to deliver chicken soup to the master?"

Qingyao thought for a moment, then nodded slowly. She mustered courage and said, "It was the madam who ordered it, sending someone to bring soup to the master. The route to the study is just a place I know together with Sister Liu Xiang, so delivering it now is quite easy."

It's just a bowl of chicken soup; what more could there be? Ye Daniang, fearing the soup would cool and lose its flavor, urged Qingyao: "Since you have to deliver it, hurry and place it in a serving box for the master. The weather is chilly; if the soup cools, a layer of congealed chicken fat will form on the surface and the taste will be gone!"

"Yes, I'm going right now!" Qingyao, overjoyed, hurriedly selected a hollowed‑out, carved‑pattern red‑wood serving box, placed the chicken soup inside, and carefully carried it toward the study.

In fact, Qingyao's soup delivery was uninvited. She knew Lu Bao'er was not in the mansion, and Xie Junling's study disliked visitors, with few servants nearby, making it perfect for her to act. Qingyao had entered the mansion through a connection; she was not a household child, her family owned a residence in the distant suburbs of Jingdu. She matured early, and whenever she received her monthly allowance and returned home, she would exchange flirtatious glances with her own cousin, and that sordid business was known to more people than ordinary.

One day, while she and Sister Qiuju were tidying the inner chambers, she glanced at the bedding and guessed a thing or two. Could it be that Lu Bao'er and Xie Junling did not consummate their relationship at night? Thinking that way, her thoughts fluttered open.

Surely Xie Junling despised Lu Bao'er for her thin, frail figure, finding her unappealing. If so, why not replace her with someone else to taste?

She considered herself fairly pretty, with a delicate nose, upright, teeth as white as shells; aside from others, she was a graceful beauty within the mansion. With her peach‑full figure, tempting Xie Junling posed no problem, right?

If it succeeded, wouldn't she be elevated to a concubine? Xie Junling, such a handsome man, was the one of her dreams. Even a fleeting romance, she would gladly accept.

There are always a few fearless ones who try to read the lord's mind, dreaming of a day when a sparrow becomes a phoenix.

Qingyao knocked on the study's door and, in a coquettish voice, called, "Master, the kitchen sent me to bring you chicken soup."

Xie Junling was reading; upon hearing it, he said, "Leave the chicken soup by the door; I'll fetch it later myself. You may step back."

Qingyao still hoped for a favorable turn; how could she be dismissed before even seeing his face?

She boldly defied the master's order, anxiously saying, "Master, it's chilly; if left by the door, it will surely develop a crust of oil, and the taste will become greasy."

Xie Junling turned another page, only hearing the noisy chatter of the maid outside. He suppressed his irritation and said calmly, "No need to worry; just place it on the floor as instructed. You may step back."

Qingyao resorted to her trump card: she untwisted the collar's toggle, revealing the under‑garment and her snow‑white skin, still holding the chicken soup, and continued, "Master, this is the soup the madam specially simmered for you, hoping you'll drink it while hot. May I carry it in for you?"

Xie Junling, upon hearing that, finally gave a glance. He thought of Lu Bao'er's boisterous temperament, and wondered how she could still know how to care for him, asking after his health?

Thinking it over, he couldn't help but suppress a smile and said, "Bring it in."

"Yes!" Qingyao, overjoyed, swayed her serpentine waist and gracefully entered the study.

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