Chapter 630: All of Them Are Crooked Trees
The entire afternoon, Liu Muqiu didn’t dare to leave her room.
It wasn’t until dinner time that she reluctantly left the inner courtyard. Taking advantage of the moment when no one was paying attention, she pulled Aunt Hong aside and whispered in her ear.
“Aunt Hong, did that family return the money yet?”
Aunt Hong’s mouth showed a noticeable twitch. “They did. Why are you so obsessed with money?”
“This isn’t an obsession; it’s our family’s money to begin with.” Brother Zhiqiu owes money to the family, so should outsiders take our money and not pay it back?
The Little White Lotus left lightly.
Aunt Hong rolled her eyes behind her.
In the kitchen, the family had already seated themselves.
Liu Zhiqiu was speaking with the family elders when the woman entered, only briefly glancing at her.
“The money has all been returned. Although the whole situation was rather disgusting, considering their elderly and children needing care, I’ve decided not to report them. Let’s just consider this matter closed.”
These words seemed to be specifically meant for Liu Muqiu, though she didn’t dare to look up.
Grandpa Liu sighed. “Let’s leave it at that. I hope this serves as a warning to the other wineries so this kind of thing doesn’t happen again.”
“Most of the workers are decent people. We pay good wages, and if they lose this job, it would be hard to find a similar one. If you think about the consequences, most people wouldn’t do something like this.”
“The matter is over, let’s not bring it up again. Let’s eat,” Grandma Liu said.
During the meal, no one mentioned the incident again.
Liu Muqiu still felt uneasy, glancing frequently at the faces of the elders as she ate, trying to discern something from their expressions.
Her outburst earlier in the afternoon had exposed her, yet her family seemed to act as though nothing had happened.
Did they really not feel awkward or suspicious at all?
Or was she just being too sensitive?
Could it be that a person’s temperament could change dramatically after a shock, and it could be excused?
Actually… maybe it wasn’t that big of a deal?
“Muqiu, what are you daydreaming about? Why are you eating just the rice and not the vegetables?” Grandma Liu frowned.
“Cough-cough! Liu Muqiu choked slightly. “I’m eating, Grandma! The white rice tastes good!”
“Pfft!” The family couldn’t help but laugh.
Normally, she looked so calculating, but when she acted foolishly, she was really quite clueless.
Grandma Liu chuckled. “This girl, hurry up and eat.”
Seeing the smiles on everyone’s faces, Liu Muqiu slowly relaxed, and the food began to taste better and better.
There was a warm, comforting feeling in her heart.
After dinner, everyone returned to their rooms, and Liu Zhiqiu also went back to his own.
Along the way, he could hear footsteps following behind him, but he didn’t turn around.
Now sitting in his room, he rested his chin on one hand and gazed outside. Sure enough, a little head peeked out from the gate, constantly sneaking glances in.
It would pop out, then retract, then pop out again.
Wasn’t this just waiting for him to notice?
“What do you want now?”
The girl had both hands on the door frame, her whole head sticking out. “Brother Zhiqiu, why hasn’t your hand been treated with medicine?”
She had specifically observed during dinner. The scratch marks on the back of his hand hadn’t been attended to at all. Seeing the scabbed-over claw marks, she regretted not scratching that old woman a few more times earlier.
Liu Zhiqiu rolled his eyes. “It’s just a small scratch. Why would I need to put medicine on it? It’s nothing.”
A few claw marks needed medicine? That was so petty. Ridiculous.
“Zhiqiu-gege, that woman’s nails were dirty, and there was black stuff under her nails. I don’t know what it was, maybe some chicken manure or cow dung… and it all got on your hand when she scratched you…”
“Go back to your room and rest!” Liu Zhiqiu groaned, rubbing his forehead. He reluctantly stood up and walked toward Xue Qinglian’s room.
He was disgusted by what she had said.
Chicken manure, cow dung… she probably hadn’t even seen those things, and yet she could talk about them so casually!
Satisfied with herself, the Little White Lotus retreated, unaware of the aftermath.
As usual, Liu Zhiqiu casually yanked the sign from in front of the poison lotus room and kicked the door open.
He had barely taken two steps into the room when he dramatically collapsed.
Someone was sitting by the window, messing with his pills. Upon hearing the muffled sound from behind, he didn’t even look back.
“Damn it, Xue Qinglian, hurry up and get me up!”
“Take your time lying down. Otherwise, you’ll always think I’m just joking when you take down the sign.”
“Damn it, at least move me back into the room!”
“I’ve no time.”
“…” Lying on the cold floor and staring at the ceiling beams, Liu Zhiqiu gritted his teeth, “Liu, Mu, Qiu!”
“Achoo!” In the inner courtyard, the girl rubbed her suddenly itchy nose, lit up the lanterns nearby, and began stitching flowers with her needle.
The workers in Duanqiao Village had been caught embezzling, and after the matter was dealt with, the Liu family didn’t spread the news outward. However, the workers couldn’t help but gossip, and word spread among the people.
As for how the Liu family handled it, no one felt anything was wrong.
The money they had taken had to be returned. It was, after all, rightfully theirs.
Moreover, the Liu family had shown mercy. They had let those who came to cause trouble off the hook without reporting them to the authorities or having them arrested.
It was also said that during the incident in the Liu family’s courtyard, Yujia’s wife had scratched Liu Zhiqiu a few times.
Of course, Yujia’s wife hadn’t gained any advantage, as Miss Liu had scratched her back.
When the family finally slinked back to Duanqiao Village, many people saw them on the way. Their faces were a mess, looking utterly unrecognizable, with wounds all over.
Ouch, they really didn’t hold back.
By the time Liu Yusheng, Qian Wanjin, and Shi Xianrou returned from Xuzhou, the matter had already been resolved, and the gossip among the workers had started to die down.
In the inner courtyard, after hearing about Little White Lotus’ heroic deeds, Liu Yusheng and Shi Xianrou couldn’t stop laughing.
“Little White Lotus, that scratch of yours really made a name for you.”
“Our Liu family has always carried the reputation of kindness and benevolence, but now we’ve finally produced our first fierce woman, pfft!” Liu Yusheng laughed so hard that he couldn’t straighten his back.
“I’m a little confused. The elders of the Liu family are all upright and kind-hearted, but how come the generation after them has produced such a bunch of oddballs? A Little Divine Doctor, a Dead No Treatment Doctor, a miser, Black-hearted Lotus, a Sesame Tangyuan, the pig playing the tiger, and even a crazy person, and even the shadow guards at home are two-faced… They’re all crooked neck trees!” Shi Xianrou counted on her fingers, and by the end, her face was twitching.
“You missed one,” Liu Yusheng said.
“Who?”
“The real man, Shi Xianrou!”
“…”
“Hahahahaha!”
The three of them laughed together.
From afar, the laughter echoed through the inner courtyard. In the second courtyard, behind a closed door, Xue Qinglian looked at the secret letter in her hand with a neutral expression.
He crumpled the letter into a ball, then tossed it into the medicine stove, where it burned to ashes.
“It seems like carefree days are over.” His words were as light as the breeze, drifting into the air and vanishing before they could even be heard clearly.
The next day, when the Liu family came to call for breakfast, they knocked on the door with no response. When they pushed open the door to Xue Qinglian’s room, they found it empty, except for a large sheet of white paper on the desk, with bold, sweeping characters written on it.
‘Ran away from home, not hungry, not coming back!’
And the plot thickens… Have a lovely day everyone!!! <(￣︶￣)>
Peek-Aboo 
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