Hua Xue'er looked at the food box in the little maid's hand and couldn't help sneering. "What does he, Ning Yunqing, take me for? A heartless glutton? I haven't forgotten how he defended Gao Quan that day. This traitor! Tell him to take this away. I don't even want to look at it for a second."
As she spoke, Hua Xue'er's small face flushed red. Her eyes were red-rimmed. She turned her head away and really didn't even glance at the crab dumplings.
"Yes." The little maid nodded immediately upon hearing her order and carried the food box away.
Ning Yunqing was waiting outside. When he saw the little maid bringing the things back untouched, a bitter smile played on his lips. Then he sighed and said, "What's wrong? Does she still refuse to accept me?"
"This..." The little maid lowered her eyes and said with her head down, "Maybe the princess doesn't like crab dumplings. You'd better take them back."
"I see." Ning Yunqing lowered his head, and there was a strange glint in his eyes. Then he squinted and stared fixedly at the young girl in front of him and said, "It doesn't matter. This is just a token of my affection. If the princess doesn't accept it, there's nothing I can do. However, once I've given something away, I won't take it back."
After saying that, he gave the maid across a cold look and turned away resolutely.
When Ning Yunqing said this, he raised his voice a bit. Hua Xue'er inside heard it clearly. She was so angry that her body trembled. Then she angrily slapped the table. "This guy is really annoying. He's clearly trying to threaten me!"
As she spoke, Hua Xue'er snorted coldly. Her gaze at the food box seemed to be spitting fire. "Someone, throw this food box out for me. I don't believe Ning Yunqing has the nerve!"
"I'm afraid that's not a good idea." The little maid looked at her worriedly and asked with a pale face.
"What's wrong with it? I'm a princess. What can't I do?" Hua Xue'er raised her eyebrows and said sharply.
Seeing this, the little maid didn't dare to go against her will anymore. She could only carry the things away timidly.
As night fell, Hua Xue'er felt annoyed when she thought about what had happened that day. She pursed her lips and planned to go to bed.
Unexpectedly, there suddenly came a sound of footsteps outside. Could it be an assassin at this late hour?
Hua Xue'er was startled. She immediately rushed out quickly to find out.
But when she opened the door, there was nothing outside.
"Who's there?" Hua Xue'er cleared her throat, poked her head out, and looked around for a long time. But she saw nothing. She could only turn back unhappily.
Suddenly, she noticed a small note on the table. The cold wind blew in from the window, and Hua Xue'er couldn't help shivering. It seemed that the person had escaped through the window. Hua Xue'er rushed to the table in three steps and picked up the note to read it carefully.
"Quickly send the crab dumplings to Concubine Xian."
There was only this short sentence on the note. Hua Xue'er opened her eyes in surprise and then clenched her fists. What a mess this was!
This must have been sent by Ning Yunqing.
Hua Xue'er instinctively found a piece of clothing and went out to fetch the crab dumplings. She didn't close her eyes all night. These crab dumplings were really too strange. Maybe there was poison in them. If she really sent them to Su Qingwen and poisoned someone, she would be in big trouble.
"No, I can't let this harmful thing stay here." Hua Xue'er made a prompt decision. She immediately slapped the table and planned to throw the crab dumplings far away.
This time, she decided to go herself to avoid any more problems.
The sun was just rising. Hua Xue'er was dressed in a pink palace dress. She walked forward nervously, wondering where to throw this thing.
Unexpectedly, she happened to meet Su Qingwen who was out for morning exercise.
Seeing her solemn expression, something must have happened. Su Qingwen was stunned for a moment. She looked at Hua Xue'er curiously, blocked her way, and asked, "What's wrong? Has something happened?"
Hua Xue'er was in a daze. Suddenly seeing Su Qingwen appear, her face turned pale with fright. Then she patted her chest. "Sister-in-law, why did you suddenly appear? You scared me to death!"
"I didn't suddenly appear." Su Qingwen twitched the corner of her mouth. She was clearly exercising openly. Hua Xue'er's description of her was really hurtful.
"Okay, I have something important to do. I'll talk to you after I've dealt with it." Hua Xue'er sighed and looked down at the food box in her hand.
Following her gaze, Su Qingwen also noticed the small food box. She rubbed her chin in confusion. "Xue'er, who are you going to send food to so early in the morning?"
"I'm not going to send this to anyone. I'm going to throw it away." Speaking of this, Hua Xue'er got angry. She sighed deeply and explained, "You don't know. That annoying Ning Yunqing sent me some crab dumplings. It seems that he wants me to give them to you."
"For me?" Su Qingwen blinked her eyes and immediately became interested. She hooked the corner of her mouth. "He's quite thoughtful. But why did he suddenly send this to me?"
"I also find it very strange, sister-in-law. You mustn't forget that Ning Yunqing is a despicable traitor. He once spoke for Gao Quan. What if he has a bad intention and poisoned the dumplings? You've just come back to life. You can't die again, right?" Hua Xue'er sighed and said righteously.
"Uh..." The words were a bit crude, but there was some truth in them. Su Qingwen helplessly twitched the corner of her mouth. "It seems so. So you were going to throw it away?"
"Right." Hua Xue'er nodded slightly. "Sister-in-law, see, I'm so good to you."
Su Qingwen stared intently at the food box. She always felt that things were not as simple as Hua Xue'er said. She knew that Ning Yunqing had pretended to defect to Gao Quan. So Ning Yunqing definitely wouldn't really poison her. Moreover, this matter was too big. Ning Yunqing wasn't a fool and definitely wouldn't be so obvious.
So there must be something else behind these crab dumplings. Su Qingwen put her arm around Hua Xue'er's shoulder and whispered in her ear, "Xue'er, I completely understand your concern for me. But could you give this food box to me and don't throw it away for now?"
"Why?" Hua Xue'er asked in shock.