cold clothes

Qingchun has started smashing teacups and vases again.

All the items she used were exquisite gifts from her guests, but Qingchun didn't care. She had plenty; if she smashed one, another would come along. Even if she smashed them all today, someone would send her new ones tomorrow. That was the courtesan—invincible in the face of money and jewels. But recently, she had been feeling stifled for a long time.

Another blue-and-white porcelain teacup shattered into pieces with a sharp sound, sending fragments flying everywhere. Only then did Qingchun feel a sense of satisfaction. Recently, Wang Yiqing had only visited her twice, and even then, his attitude was perfunctory. He was definitely not like this before! Before, they would contact each other almost every day, and if they couldn't meet, he would send gifts as compensation. He had always been a gentle, considerate, and elegant young nobleman, but he changed after she was disfigured.

Why? Her face has clearly recovered completely!

With her ten fingers bent into the shape of bird claws and her veins bulging like gnarled branches, Qingchun simply smashed the entire tea set to pieces, causing a series of crisp cracking sounds.

The maids stood outside the door, heads bowed and breathless; the combined breathing of more than a dozen of them couldn't match the furious panting of Qingchun. Qingchun, in a gruff voice, ordered them to tidy up the messy room. The maids responded in unison and entered in an orderly fashion.

After venting her emotions, Qingchun felt a wave of weariness wash over her. She slumped onto the soft couch and called for Xiaolü to come over: "How is Ningbi doing lately?"

Little Green answered cautiously, "Every night I have to go to the front yard to be punished, doing chores like washing feet and rubbing backs."

Qingchun smiled smugly: "She must feel like she's living a life worse than death every night."

No, Miss Ningbi isn't that haggard; she's much better than you, who's acting crazy every day. Xiao Lü thought to herself.

Just then, someone outside announced, "Miss, Miss Warm Winter has arrived."

-

Snow was falling softly outside. As the mild winter arrived, people put away their umbrellas under the eaves, and the snow that fell from the umbrellas was enough to fill a handful.

As soon as she stepped into the warm room, beads of water welled up on the tip of Nuandong's reddened nose. The delicate, red tip of her nose, glistening with dew, made her entire face as incomparably beautiful as a lotus flower after the rain—a beauty that deeply stung Qingchun's eyes. Nuandong was such a gentle and elegant beauty. Qingchun glanced at Nuandong from head to toe, then lay on her side on the couch and said, "Nuandong, what brings you here in this snow?"

Nuandong was initially surprised by the messy tables and chairs in the room and the maids cleaning everywhere, but someone still came to serve her. Xiao Lü took off Nuandong's cloak and handed her a hand warmer, which Nuandong thanked her politely.

Upon reading Nuandong's astonishment, Qingchun suddenly flew into a rage and kicked the maid who was cleaning up the broken porcelain pieces beside her: "Don't you have any sense?! Didn't you see that the courtesan Nuandong has arrived? Why don't you set up the table and chairs properly and serve tea to the courtesan Nuandong!"

The little maid who was kicked fell to the ground. The other maids responded in horror, and the little maid quickly got up and responded as well. Then she ran out, her hands were cut and bloodied by the shards.

Two maids immediately stepped forward to straighten the table and chairs, but Nuandong stopped them, saying, "No need, I just came to say a few words to Qingchun. Qingchun, let them all leave." Then she looked at Qingchun.

Qingchun raised an eyebrow and waved for the maids to leave.

"Alright, just tell me already." Qingchun's attitude was undeniably rude.

Nuandong lowered her eyes, seemingly pondering how to bring it up with Qingchun, a look that only added to Qingchun's irritation. Yes, she was always like this; her eyes, when looking at you, seemed to convey the gentle breeze of spring across mountains and rivers, but when lowered, they seemed to conceal the melancholy of early autumn or the snow of early winter. In short, those eyes possessed an infinite allure, an allure that Qingchun lacked.

The vines of jealousy climbed up Qingchun's heart once more.

"Stop hesitating! Just say what you have to say, or did you come here specifically to laugh at me? My mother hasn't arranged for me to entertain any guests since my appearance recovered. All these days, have all my guests ended up with you guys? Ha. Come to think of it, I've never been as pretty as you. The only reason I have more guests is because you put on airs while I laugh so shamelessly!" Qingchun's words became increasingly fierce, venting all her pent-up resentment towards Nuandong.

Unexpectedly, seeing her looking even more upset, Qingchun became anxious: "What are you doing? Speak up if you have something to say!"

With a tired look in her eyes, Nuandong said, "Actually, it was Yunqiu who ruined your appearance."

"Huh? Hahahaha..." Qingchun couldn't hold back her laughter, laughing so hard she clutched her stomach. When she couldn't laugh anymore, she said, "You really...aren't you crying wolf? Mom's investigation found that you're the most suspicious among us. I didn't believe it at first, but now that you've said it, I'm starting to believe it."

“Ningbi was instigated by Yunqiu. Yunqiu threatened Ningbi in some way, causing her to have a conflict with you and disfigure you.”

Qingchun's smile gradually stiffened and closed, her expression as pitiful as a clay doll with a cracked face. "Do you have any evidence for what you're saying? Are you referring to the theft of my jade hairpin, and that little brat's provocation and poisoning of me all part of a pre-planned scheme? I fell into Yunqiu and that little brat's trap? And I was completely oblivious?"

Qingchun tried to laugh as she spoke, but she couldn't. Her beautiful eyes, which usually seemed to bulge out like a galaxy when she laughed, were now wide open and looked quite frightening.

"You've always favored Ningbi, are you here to excuse her? And you're using such a lame excuse."

"You can ask Yunqiu." Nuandong closed her eyes slightly, a weariness like withered leaves enveloping her, and she didn't want to say anything more.

"Why should I ask her? She'd just laugh at something so ridiculous," Qingchun said urgently.

Nuandong turned to leave, but Qingchun called out to her sharply, "Stop! You came all this way just to say this?"

Nuandong turned to look at her, pondered for a moment, and said, "Also, we didn't steal your guests. Nobles will give gold and silver jewelry to anyone they meet, just like throwing bones to dogs. Whether we steal them or not is irrelevant; it all depends on whether the nobles are in the mood to give. However, the second son of the Duke's mansion has recently shown a great fondness for Yunqiu. Almost everyone knows about this, except... you. You should go and ask Yunqiu."

Yunqiu Yunqiu... Okay, then I'll go ask!

Qingchun went to Yujiexuan with a belly full of resentment. To be honest, she never suspected that any of the other three would harm her. After all, they had lived together for nearly ten years and had come together through fierce competition. The pain that one person experienced was experienced by all of them. Therefore, they cherished each other the most, although they had never expressed it to each other.

What reason would Yunqiu have to harm her? They were the people who understood each other best, the people who could empathize with each other the most. Before becoming the top courtesan, they had to be at each other's throats because of the assessment, but all that was in the past. As Qingchun passed by Zhuoyu Pavilion, she suddenly recalled the past when the four of them lived there.