Wine-scented Beauty

Chapter 75: A Slip of the Tongue

As darkness fell, the dinner table remained as calm as ever. Ji Meiqing, however, seemed somewhat distracted; the food on the table was noticeably better than before.

Ji Meiqing picked out the food and looked at Lu Yu beside her. She wanted to speak, but he stopped her.

"Eat your food properly and don't think about anything else."

Her newly mustered courage was instantly crushed by those words. Eating plain rice was unbearable…

Ji Meiqing raised her head, biting her chopsticks for a long time before saying, "Could you ask the clan leader? I think if he intervenes, this matter can be resolved quickly."

"Hmm." He didn't change his posture, casually ate a few bites, and finished the food in his bowl. He got up directly and went back to his room without saying a word.

Ji Meiqing watched his departing figure, feeling a little disappointed.

The meal was utterly unappetizing.

Following Ji Meiqing's instructions, Lu Yu invited the clan chief. After the group recounted the whole story, Lu Yu looked at the clan chief and asked, "Do you think this matter should be put to rest?"

"Hmm..." He closed his eyes, and it was unclear whether he was admitting or denying it.

Ji Meiqing looked at him with great confusion. None of the three of them spoke much. She tugged at Lu Yu's sleeve again, and he finally stepped forward to speak up, saying, "This matter should be settled. Clan leader, what do you think of this?"

"Yes," he finally answered.

Ji Meiqing immediately became excited, "Okay, let's go find them now and explain this matter clearly."

“Wait a minute…” Lu Yu stopped her. “We need the clan leader to make the decision on this matter. If it drags on for too long, it may not be good for them.”

"Okay." She obediently returned to Lu Yu's back, lowering her head and looking like a good girl.

The clan chief pondered for a moment, then sighed meaningfully and had him carried away. Lu Yu followed with Ji Meiqing.

The Qiu family probably didn't expect Lu Yu to bring the clan leader, and they were so shocked that they couldn't come to their senses for a moment.

"I heard you have a conflict with the Li family. They are an orphan and a widow, and you don't even let them go. What exactly do you want?"

The aged, slow voice drifted through the crowd, a refreshing sound. Ji Meiqing, however, was quite surprised... she hadn't expected the clan leader to know martial arts, and seemingly quite well at that.

"We know our guilt." Qiu quickly knelt down, and after reflecting on her actions, she wanted to argue a few more words, but the clan chief stopped her.

"They're just a widow and her child, they can't cause any trouble. But you lot are willing to fight over such a small amount of profit... I heard you injured Ming'er a few days ago, have you gone to check on him?"

Ms. Qiu lowered her head in shame, unsure of what to say.

The people around watched the whole thing, which made Qiu so embarrassed that she wanted to cry. When had she ever made such a fool of herself? If it were that little bitch Ji Meiqing, she wouldn't have done this!

The more he thought about it, the more he hated it. The resentment in his eyes and the murderous intent in his body were directed at Ji Meiqing without mercy.

"You bastards!" The clan chief pounded the floor with his cane. "You injured people and then tried to kill them in public."

"I...I dare not." She hurriedly knelt down to apologize and admit her mistake. "I will never dare to do it again, please don't arrest me."

So, Qiu gave in. With the rest of the work easily completed, she returned home, ready to relax and enjoy a proper meal.

Lu Yu went straight back to his room without saying what he wanted to eat. Ji Meiqing noticed that his expression was off and hesitated, unsure of what to do.

They could only cook a few of Lu Yu's favorite dishes and then deliver them to his room.

"Brother Lu?" She walked over quietly, looking at the bulge on his bed. Thinking it was Lu Yu, she wanted to give him a surprise, but she was stunned in an instant.

The person on the bed wasn't anyone else—no one, no animals, nothing. Looking at the empty bed and the deserted room, Ji Meiqing felt a surge of anger.

She left her room directly, leaving the prepared food behind.

She finished all the food by herself, then washed the dishes and took a nap.

When she woke up, he still hadn't returned. The disappointment in her heart lessened, replaced by fear.

To escape these feelings, Ji Meiqing went back to sleep. He didn't return until midnight, carrying a lot of things, the contents of which were unknown.

Seeing that her door was closed and everything in the room was almost exactly the same as yesterday, I glanced at it a few times, then tossed it aside with little interest and went outside to take a look.

There was a wine gourd hanging on the wall, filled with the best-tasting wine in the world; its flavor was probably the taste of silver.

He drank until he was completely drunk before heading back to his room. Getting some sleep while he was still lucid was the most important thing.

Lu Yu closed the door and went back to rest.

He's been cooped up for so many days, he deserves to relax.

As soon as she stepped outside, she saw Ji Meiqing. She glanced at her briefly before quickly lowering her head to continue with her own tasks.

"Brother Lu!" she called out hurriedly. Lu Yu, who was about to leave, turned around. "Is there anything else?"

"It's nothing, I just wanted to know what's been wrong with you lately," she said, looking at Lu Yu with concern. "These days I feel like something's wrong with you."

"I'm fine," Lu Yu said with a smile, his hand unconsciously ruffling her hair as he gently added, "You go ahead and do your own thing. I'll check on things again."

"Ah, okay." She suddenly felt so weak, but she still managed to make up for it seriously when facing Lu Yu.

What to have for breakfast? Lu Yu thought for a long time. The sun was shining brightly. It would be a shame not to go for a walk.

"I didn't mean to." She finally brought up the previous incident and bowed sincerely.

Lu Yu had a headache. "This has nothing to do with you."

“You’re not that kind of person, Brother Lu. You’re family to me.”

The world seemed to freeze at a certain point for a moment. Ji Meiqing looked at Lu Yu, and Lu Yu shook his head.

“This has nothing to do with you. Don’t blame yourself anymore.” He paused, then added, “Go ahead and finish your video as you see fit. I… won’t say any more.”

After giving a wry laugh, he left the room. Once he was completely gone, Ji Meiqing immediately chased after him.

He didn't know what he was doing, only that the road away from home was very far. Ji Meiqing stared for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, but there was no one in the doorway anymore. She followed him out, eager to find out what had been wrong with Lu Yu lately.

There were quite a few people outside, and it was too noisy for Ji Meiqing. She stood there for a while, and then many people came over, so Ji Meiqing quickly moved aside.