Shao Mingyuan sat by a window in the teahouse, waiting, his eyes fixed on the direction of the Li Residence. From afar, he saw two women gradually approaching.

Both women wore veiled hats. From her figure and gait, one should be Miss Li, while the other woman was tall and walked with a very free and easy manner that also seemed somewhat familiar.

Shao Mingyuan stared at the tall woman for a moment, then suddenly slammed his teacup down on the table, left a few copper coins, and strode out.

Chi Can, walking beside Qiao Zhao, paused mid-step and stopped.

How could Shao Mingyuan appear here?

He forcibly suppressed the urge to turn and run, secretly comforting himself: He couldn’t run—running would completely expose him. He was wearing a veiled hat now, and with Shao Mingyuan’s rigid personality, he wouldn’t stare at a strange young lady, so it would be impossible for him to recognize him.

Right, impossible to recognize.

Chi Can repeatedly comforted himself, but Shao Mingyuan had already approached and expressionlessly reached out to remove the veiled hat Chi Can was wearing.

Chi Can’s face went blank.

This shouldn’t be right—what happened to being proper and serious? This guy who was pulling off a young lady’s hat in the street was the Marquis Guanjun?

“Does Miss Li have other matters to attend to?”

Qiao Zhao smiled lightly: “No more.”

Shao Mingyuan nodded: “Then I’ll take this troublemaker away. My apologies.”

“Alright.”

Shao Mingyuan put the veiled hat back on Chi Can’s head, grabbed him, and turned to leave.

Chi Can struggled: “Shao Mingyuan, let go! You bastard, aren’t you afraid of gaining a bad reputation for forcibly abducting women in broad daylight?”

Shao Mingyuan replied expressionlessly: “It’s just a false reputation. I don’t care about it.”

“Really, won’t let go? I’ll cry out about impropriety.”

“You can try whether you can shout faster or my hands are faster. I wasn’t planning to knock you unconscious originally.” Shao Mingyuan warned coolly.

Chi Can completely deflated. Only when they were almost at Chunfeng Tavern did he react: “I understand now—I was sold out by that girl, wasn’t I?”

“I’m quite surprised you could figure that out.”

Chi Can flew into a rage: “This is repaying kindness with enmity! Next time, I’ll definitely—”

“If there’s a next time, I’ll beat you until no one can recognize you!” Shao Mingyuan said coldly.

“On what grounds? Shao Mingyuan, whose friend are you exactly?”

“Yours. But if you keep babbling, I’ll knock you out.”

Chi Can was furious: “Surname Shao, are you being reasonable or not?”

“I can’t reason with someone who likes cross-dressing!”

Watching the two walk farther and farther away, Qiao Zhao shook her head with amusement, entered the teahouse to buy two boxes of green tea cookies, and returned to the residence.

“Miss, this is an invitation sent by the eldest miss of Minister Kou’s residence. She says if you’re free, she’d like to visit tomorrow.”

Qiao Zhao took the invitation from A’Zhu’s hands, read it, pondered for a moment, then wrote a reply and handed it to her: “Send the response to Minister Kou’s residence.”

The next day.

Kou Zimo came to visit early in the morning and was led directly to the West Side Courtyard by A’Zhu.

Qiao Zhao walked down the steps to greet her: “Miss Kou, you’ve come.”

The weather was fine, with sunlight falling like scattered gold on the young lady’s translucent white face. Kou Zimo couldn’t help but look at the young lady’s right cheek.

The wound on her right cheek had already formed a dark scab that was painful to look at.

Kou Zimo looked away and smiled gently: “Third Miss Li, you look much better.”

As Qiao Zhao accompanied Kou Zimo into the house, she smiled: “Yes, these past few days I’ve eaten and drunk well without worrying about anything, so it would be hard not to look better. It’s just that the scabbed area keeps itching—it’s probably about to fall off.”

“You mustn’t scratch it. You must let it fall off naturally.”

“I know. Thank you, Miss Kou.”

The two entered the room and sat down.

A’Zhu served tea and withdrew to one side.

Kou Zimo took out an exquisite jewelry box from her sleeve and pushed it over: “Third Miss Li, Weiyu’s family left the capital yesterday. I went to see her off, and she gave this to me to pass on to you, saying it’s a keepsake.”

Speaking of this, Kou Zimo’s eyes reddened as she sighed: “With Weiyu’s departure, we probably won’t have a chance to see each other again.”

“Beiding isn’t far from the capital. There might be opportunities to meet again in the future.”

“That’s true. It’s just that I’ve never left the capital in my entire life—I don’t know what the outside world is like.”

Qiao Zhao smiled: “I’ve traveled around the Southern Region. If Miss Kou would like to hear about it, I’ll tell you.”

Kou Zimo was somewhat surprised.

The upper circle of the capital was just so large, and Third Miss Li’s abduction was known to everyone. For any young lady, this would be an untouchable pain, yet Third Miss Li was so open about it.

Seeing Kou Zimo’s silence, Qiao Zhao began to speak eloquently.

Having lived in the south for a long time and traveled through mountains and waters with her grandfather, she could speak effortlessly, making her listeners feel as if they were there themselves.

Kou Zimo gradually became absorbed in listening.

“Miss, it’s time to apply the medicine,” A’Zhu reminded.

Qiao Zhao stopped and smiled apologetically at Kou Zimo: “Miss Kou, please sit for a moment while I go apply the medicine.”

She got up and went into the inner room. Soon, A’Zhu’s exclamation could be heard: “Miss, your wound—”

Kou Zimo in the outer room couldn’t help but stand up, asking through the bead curtain: “Third Miss Li, are you alright?”

There was no sound from inside for a moment.

Kou Zimo felt something was wrong and raised her voice with some urgency: “Third Miss Li, what exactly happened to you?”

After a while, Qiao Zhao’s voice came: “The scab on the wound fell off. I was a bit startled.”

The scab fell off?

Kou Zimo’s heart tightened, and she couldn’t help but take two steps inward: “That’s not serious, is it?”

The bead curtain lifted as Qiao Zhao walked out. Kou Zimo’s eyes immediately fell on her right cheek, and she couldn’t help but cry out in surprise.

At this moment, the scab on Qiao Zhao’s right cheek had already fallen off, revealing light pink skin that looked even more tender than the surrounding area.

Kou Zimo was so shocked she couldn’t speak. Qiao Zhao smiled: “I probably need to apply the medicine a few more times, and then it should be completely restored.”

“It didn’t leave a scar.” Kou Zimo unconsciously reached out her hand, wanting to touch Qiao Zhao’s right cheek. Just as her fingertips were about to make contact, she suddenly snapped back to awareness and said with a flushed face: “Sorry, I lost my composure.”

How could she not lose her composure? That day, she had personally seen how severe Third Miss Li’s facial injury was. Even using the best cloud frost cream would leave scars, yet after only seven or eight days, it had healed?

Was there such miraculous scar-removing medicine in this world?

If so, could her cousin’s burn scars also possibly improve?

No, burns were different from ordinary cuts and bruises. She couldn’t have too high hopes.

But even if it could improve just a little, that would be good.

Thinking of Qiao Mo, Kou Zimo felt a sharp pain in her heart. After secretly calming her emotions, she said to Qiao Zhao, “Third Miss Li, would the scar-removing medicine you used also be effective on burn injuries?”

“Yes.”

Kou Zimo’s eyes lit up as she nervously clutched her clothes: “I wonder how much of this scar-removing medicine Third Miss Li has left?”

“Not much left.”

Kou Zimo’s eyes filled with disappointment as she murmured: “I see.”