Returning the courtesy?

What did that mean?

Many confused gazes fixed on Ji Yunshu. Could she be planning to torment them the same way they had just tormented Zhu Yao?

While they were still wondering, they saw Ji Yunshu had already picked up her chopsticks and placed a piece of meat in Qiu Shu’s bowl. In that instant, her palm suddenly loosened, and the thing in her hand fell into the bowl along with the meat, though no one seemed to notice.

“Miss, this meat looks fatty but not greasy. It should taste good,” she said.

Everyone seemed to have miscalculated, thinking she was going to retaliate, never expecting she would actually serve someone food.

The corner of Qiu Shu’s mouth curved in an awkward smile. Of course she had to maintain face, so she raised her brow and said, “Good. I’m hungry anyway, so let’s all eat quickly.”

With that, she picked up her chopsticks to take the piece of meat that had been “offered” to her. But the moment her chopsticks touched it, her eyes suddenly widened enormously, her eyeballs seeming about to pop out, her face instantly turning pale.

This was accompanied by a piercing shriek: “Ah!”

Qiu Shu reacted as if something had viciously stabbed her. She flung down her chopsticks, her whole body going soft and powerless as she fell backward, collapsing on the ground, trembling all over. When she threw down the chopsticks, that unknown object was flung into another girl’s bowl. That girl looked closely and was also terrified, reacting exactly like Qiu Shu as she fell backward.

“A worm… a worm… such a huge worm!”

It was a writhing white worm, not too large nor too small, but indeed rather disgusting to look at.

These young ladies from noble families were pampered to begin with. Where would they have seen such a disgusting worm up close? Each one was frightened pale, repeatedly rising and retreating backward. The maids quickly helped up Qiu Shu and the other girl from the ground, everyone huddling together in a heap.

“Why is there such a huge worm? How disgusting.”

The worm had already been flung to the ground, blocking the doorway. The young ladies didn’t dare approach and thus couldn’t leave.

Ji Yunshu and Zhu Yao sat calmly, watching those girls frightened to tears.

After a moment, Ji Yunshu stood up and walked calmly to the worm’s side, bent down to pick it up, and held it in her hand without feeling the slightest disgust. After all, what hadn’t she touched? Dead bodies, rotting corpses, white bones… there were far more disgusting things. A small worm was naturally nothing.

When the young ladies saw this, their faces turned ghastly. “You… quickly take that worm away.”

Each one felt as nauseated and uncomfortable as if they had eaten filth.

Ji Yunshu said, “It’s just a worm, not some poisonous creature. I’ll throw it away. Everyone needn’t mind it too much—please sit down and continue eating.”

“With something so disgusting, who can still eat! Hurry up and throw it away.”

“I’m truly sorry. As one young lady said earlier, my room is not only cramped but also smells bad. Perhaps it’s because of the smell that this kind of worm crawled in. I wonder… besides this one, are there others?” Ji Yunshu deliberately said this.

Qiu Shu, terrified yet glaring fiercely at her, said: “Stop talking, stop talking! Just take it… away!”

“Alright!”

Ji Yunshu then walked to the side holding the worm. The young ladies fled at the fastest speed, scattering in defeat, not daring to linger a moment longer lest they encounter more disgusting worms.

Afterward, Ji Yunshu couldn’t help but laugh. She placed the worm in a nearby potted plant, wiped her hands and asked Zhu Yao: “You’re not afraid?”

Zhu Yao’s heart was also racing. She said, “Naturally I’m afraid too, but I’m more afraid of them.”

“Rest assured, after this once, they won’t dare cause trouble again.”

“Thank you, Miss Ji. You’ve rescued me from difficulty once again.”

Ji Yunshu sat beside her. “Actually, I don’t like them either, and I don’t like sharing a table with them, so you don’t need to thank me.”

Cai’er stood nearby with reddened eyes, saying distressedly: “They’re always thinking of ways to bully you, Miss. Whenever they catch an opportunity, they won’t let it go. When we return, this servant will definitely tell the master and have him intervene.”

“Nonsense! How can I let Father know about such matters?” Zhu Yao said. “Father is already troubled enough with court affairs. If I trouble him further with my matters, I’d rather endure the grievance.”

Two years ago when she fell into the water, she also endured it without speaking out for fear of worrying her parents.

Cai’er knew her young lady’s temperament and could only close her mouth aggrievedly without further discussion.

Afterward, Zhu Yao asked Ji Yunshu curiously: “By the way, how did that worm suddenly end up in Qiu Shu’s bowl?”

Ji Yunshu explained: “When I moved in today and opened the window, I saw that toad worm. Finding it quite cute, I brought it inside and kept it in the potted plant. I didn’t expect it to be useful so quickly—truly a fortunate coincidence.”

The two smiled at each other.

Their relationship had also grown closer.

…

After the evening banquet at the estate ended, many people were quite drunk and returned to their rooms to rest. The Wen brothers also went to bed early.

But Luo Yang couldn’t fall asleep no matter what—probably because he had eaten too much and was too full at the banquet. He tossed and turned for a long time, then simply left his room and sat on the steps outside the courtyard. He broke off a dead tree branch from nearby and held it in his hand, sweeping it against the ground intermittently.

It was already late at night, and the estate appeared especially quiet and serene.

With nothing to do, he wandered around the estate. As he wandered, he lamented the world’s injustice—why was the gap between people so great? His fate, Luo Yang’s, was simply bad; he didn’t know how to be reborn properly. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be in such a miserable state.

“Unfair, truly unfair!”

Just as he was complaining, a figure suddenly emerged from behind the artificial rock formation and collided with him.

Luo Yang’s shoulder hurt from the impact, and he was knocked back two steps.

“Who is it, so blind?” he shouted in rebuke.

The person was none other than Li Shiyan, whose face was now deathly pale, his eyes flickering uncertainly.

When Luo Yang looked up, he saw the person before him was actually Li Shiyan.

That heir of the Kangding Marquis Manor who had caused a scene drinking at the banquet earlier!

This person was an important figure he couldn’t afford to offend.

“Aren’t you the heir? What are you doing here?”

Luo Yang thought to himself—wasn’t this person drunk? Why was he here in the middle of the night looking so panicked? He looked and actually discovered that Li Shiyan’s hands and clothes were… stained with blood.

The blood and alcohol smell mixed together, pungent and unpleasant.

Li Shiyan seemed somewhat abnormal, as if he hadn’t heard his words. Discovering that Luo Yang had seen his blood-covered hands, he quickly hid them behind his back, his eyes flickering again. Without saying anything, he hurriedly left.

Luo Yang felt puzzled, his brow tightly furrowed as he watched that figure for a long time, unable to recover…

Blood?

Why would there be blood?

“Could he be killing chickens in the middle of the night?”