Wine-scented Beauty

Chapter 85: What Did It Bring?

Qiu Jiaming remained unconcerned and continued, "Isn't that right? Look, since you came here, the village chief has died because of you, and Lu Yu has been plagued by misfortune every few days because of you. Tell me, what have you brought us?"

"What have I brought you?" Ji Meiqing's face turned red with anger. "The wealth I brought you has allowed you to eat and drink your fill and sleep peacefully. Tell me, what have I brought you?"

"But in the short few days you've been here, some families have been destroyed, and others have gone insane." Qiu Jiaming continued to refute her words, his face contorted with rage. "I've always known your mother wasn't a good person. What has she brought to the Ji family since becoming their mistress? You're just like your shameless mother!"

"You!" She was furious, her face flushed red with anger, yet her heart ached with pain. Before she could utter a complete sentence, she collapsed to the ground. Qiu Jiaming stared in horror at the unconscious Ji Meiqing, utterly shocked that she had become like this, and for a moment, he lost the ability to think.

Someone came out of the house and screamed upon seeing the scene. A short while later, Lu Yu was notified and rushed over upon seeing the unconscious Ji Meiqing.

"What's wrong?" He looked down and pinched her philtrum, but she didn't wake up.

The people around him were chattering, making his head ache.

"Either stay quiet or get treatment. If you can't, get out of here."

With just those words, everyone around fell silent. After checking on her for a while, he carefully carried her to the bed.

Ji Meiqing was fine, but his mental illness had flared up again. He really needed to rest. He turned around and looked at the people around him.

"what is going on."

Qiu Jiaming kept his head down, and Lu Yu focused his gaze directly on him. No one expected that he would suddenly rush up to him and grab his clothes, his cold and intimidating gaze seeming to melt him.

"If Ji Meiqing is alright, then you're alright. But if she's even slightly injured, all you have won't be enough to repay her."

Qiu Jiaming kept his head down, not saying a word; he didn't know what to say. The person lying on the bed was pale, looking as if they weren't alive.

"Get out." He released her and returned to the bedside to wait for her to wake up. The people around him urged him to leave first, but Qiu Jiaming hesitated, glanced at the person on the bed, and then left.

After most of the people had left, Lu Yu went to the kitchen and brought over some porridge, intending to feed her.

But she kept her mouth closed and her jaw clenched, so the porridge couldn't be stuffed in. The porridge dripped down her lips, and Lu Yu hurriedly grabbed a handkerchief to wipe it dry for her, but the porridge had already soaked into her clothes.

Thinking that she wouldn't wake up for a while, he took a handkerchief and carefully wiped her down.

The warm porridge woke Ji Meiqing up. She opened her eyes and saw Lu Yu intently doing something near her neck. Then, looking at her slightly open collar, she subconsciously sat up and moved to the side.

"What are you going to do?" she asked nervously, her hands clenching her clothes. She immediately adopted a fighting stance.

Lu Yu knew she had misunderstood, so he quickly explained, "I wanted to wipe the porridge dry for you so you wouldn't feel uncomfortable."

“What’s so painful about this?” she retorted, dismissing a whole host of reasons.

Lu Yu grew a little anxious, holding up the bowl of porridge and saying, "It's true. If you don't believe me, you can touch it; there really is porridge on you."

Ji Meiqing touched it with some skepticism and indeed found a grain of rice and some dampness inside her clothes.

"you do not believe me."

He lowered his head, looking aggrieved. Ji Meiqing panicked immediately, hurriedly waving her hands a few times, "I didn't, I just..."

"Just what?" Lu Yu looked at her, his aggrieved expression mixed with a hint of mockery. "After all, I've lived with you for so long, and you still don't believe me."

"I really didn't." Ji Meiqing was completely unaware that she had been tricked. She spoke pitifully for a long time, but Lu Yu kept denying it.

“Although we’re not exactly close relatives, we’re still family, relying on each other for survival. But in your heart, I’m not even a stranger.” Lu Yu continued to embellish the story, then secretly rejoiced.

Ji Meiqing felt somewhat helpless. She regretted that she had momentarily thought he was doing something bad to her, and was also angry at her own unfounded suspicions. But it didn't matter anymore; she had already completely hurt Lu Yu's heart.

"Although I saved you back then, and I know you've always regarded me as your benefactor and lived with me, I still think you'll eventually go back to your own home."

Ji Meiqing was taken aback, wondering how he had come up with this idea. She also couldn't understand his leaps of thought; was there a connection between them?

“You have an extraordinary air about you, and last time… Xiao Cui told me you were from the Ji family. At that time, I was thinking, what would happen if you returned to the Ji family one day, and then I couldn’t think about it anymore.”

Ji Meiqing remained silent.

Lu Yu slowly continued, "After spending time together these past few days, I've realized that whether you return to the Ji family or not shouldn't be my concern. After all, it's your decision, and I have no right to interfere. It's only later, when you became frail and sickly, that I started to worry. Birth, aging, sickness, and death are things that no one can decide."

"I..." she hesitated, unsure of what else to say.

Lu Yu smiled and didn't let her continue. He just smiled faintly and said things that had nothing to do with him, his tone so calm and indifferent.

"I don't know what you'll think, but I won't pry into your background. After all, it's your privacy, and I respect that. But can you tell me anything else that's unrelated to your background?"

Ji Meiqing calmed down completely. "I know how much Brother Lu has taken care of me." She paused, then continued, "Brother Lu is like an older brother to me, like family. If it weren't for Brother Lu, I'm afraid I would have become a pile of rotten bones somewhere in these mountains long ago. I can no longer repay Brother Lu's kindness to me, but if Brother Lu has any problems or needs, we can solve them together."

Lu Yu smiled and didn't say anything more.

But Ji Meiqing harbored a certain expectation in her heart, an expectation she didn't know the reason for, especially after leaving Lu Yu, her expectation grew even stronger.

A moment of silence fell over the room, and no one broke it. Ji Meiqing felt a little uneasy, so she looked towards the door and suddenly remembered that she still needed to buy household supplies today. She jumped up from her chair.