Qu Yunli instinctively couldn't utter anything else. Just seeing the steaming soup in the bowl made her heart ache. In the end, under the gaze of the maid, she could only smile gently and say, "Leave it there. I'll drink it after I read for a while." "Just in time," she retracted her gaze and placed it on the book in front of her, smiling. "It'll cool down a bit."
"Miss, you'd better drink it quickly."
The little maid couldn't hide her emotions well. She was really nervous. In the end, she just smiled at Qu Yunli and said, "This soup has already cooled. It's cold these days. If it gets any cooler, you won't be able to drink it."
Saying so, she took a step forward and handed the medicine soup to Qu Yunli, saying, "Miss, drink it. After you finish, you can rest earlier. Isn't Madam going to take you to a banquet tomorrow?"
Qu Yunli instinctively frowned but finally took the soup and said with a smile, "Okay, then you can go out. I'll put the bowl away after I finish. Remember to tell my sister that I'm grateful for her concern. It's cold these days. Be careful not to catch a cold when you sleep at night."
The little maid was not very relieved. She wanted to stand by and wait for Qu Yunli to finish the soup. So, after hearing this, she just nodded slightly and stood there staring at her.
Qu Yunli gritted her teeth secretly. She knew she couldn't escape this time. So, instinctively, she wanted to run away. She picked up the bowl of soup and pretended to blow on it to stall for time. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a figure through the crack of the door.
There were still people guarding the door!
Her heart suddenly went cold. For a moment, she felt her hands and feet go stiff, and even her mind stopped working.
If she didn't drink the soup, when those people outside came in later, they might force her to drink it directly and even guard her to prevent her from leaving.
What should she do?
If she drank it now, maybe there would still be some chances?
She took a slight breath and drank the soup in one gulp under the maid's gaze. Then she said with a smile, "Okay, you can go out. Remember not to forget to tell my sister."
Seeing that Qu Yunli had finished the soup, the little maid heaved a sigh of relief and said to her with a smile, "Okay, Miss, don't worry. I'll go and tell her right away."
After watching the little maid leave and close the door, Qu Yunli immediately got up, put away a small booklet, and rushed to the window to check. After the people in the small courtyard had left, she took a deep breath, put on her shoes and socks, and quietly slipped out through the back door.
Thank goodness! Thank goodness!
For the first time, Qu Yunli was glad that she had started looking for an escape route last time. So, she bit her lip hard, thinking of the small path she had found last time, and tried to sneak out.
A few days ago, someone had come to her and said that if she was willing to send out the ledger, they would be willing to take her away and give her some money for her livelihood.
Qu Yunli hesitated because at least she was still by her sister's side. If she were alone, she didn't know how difficult life would be.
However...
Thinking of her sister's schemes, Qu Yunli felt cold all over. She quickened her pace and rushed towards the back yard. Taking advantage of the fact that those people seemed to be in the middle of a handover, she quickly left.
They probably didn't expect that she had already noticed something was wrong. So, they only guarded the courtyard gate and didn't watch her in front of the room door.
But there was a dog hole behind this small courtyard.
Qu Yunli quickened her pace. She felt a strange heat gradually rising from her body. Then she bit her lower lip hard. When she tasted the blood, she came to her senses, and her mind became a little clearer.
She squatted down and was about to crawl through the dog hole. The next moment, she suddenly felt footsteps behind her. So, she gritted her teeth and didn't even turn around to look. She just crawled through.
"Don't run!"
Qu Yunli heard the footsteps getting closer and closer behind her. She felt the heat gradually rising from her body. For a moment, she felt that maybe it was all over for her. So, she felt desperate, but still instinctively quickened her pace.
Run! Run! Run!
She gasped. Her chest ached with each breath. Her lips and teeth were full of the taste of blood.
The next moment, she was grabbed tightly by the cloth at the back of her neck by a big hand and was yanked backward.
She closed her eyes in despair. But the next moment, she heard a muffled groan. Before she fell to the ground, she was grabbed by the collar and pulled up by a big hand.
She opened her eyes wide.
...
When Xie Lang got up, he saw his guard standing at the door waiting for him. When the guard saw him, his face showed excitement, and he said, "My lord, the Qu sisters we've been watching for several days have finally fallen into our trap."
"Hmm?"
Xie Lang showed a bit of surprise. He didn't expect to see the results so soon. So, there was a bit of relaxation in his eyes. He asked, "What's the situation?"
"Report to my lord."
The guard said, "The Qu sisters made quite a stir yesterday. I felt something was wrong and went in directly. So, I happened to save Qu Yunli."
"Qu Yunli was almost sent to her husband's bed by Qu Yunhua. In the end, I don't know how it happened, but she was drugged. However, she managed to escape with the ledger."
Hearing this, Xie Lang slightly raised his eyebrows and said, "Send someone to check on her. Make sure she doesn't die."
"Yes."
It seemed that today was really a day when someone would offer a pillow just when he was sleepy.
Xie Lang didn't expect that they would get results from the Qu sisters so soon. So, when he turned around and walked into the room, he couldn't help but let out a soft laugh. He saw Shen Mingzhu frowning at him and asking, "What's going on?"
"Good news."
He smiled, stepped forward to help Shen Mingzhu put on her outer robe, and said, "Guess what it is?"
Shen Mingzhu was still a bit sleepy. But the moment she heard Xie Lang speak, she became a bit more awake.
【Hahaha, Shen Mingzhu definitely won't guess that I've found the ledger!】
【Tsk tsk tsk, let her guess.】
Hearing these thoughts, Shen Mingzhu couldn't help but be surprised. But because she couldn't show it, she could only suppress the joy on her face. She randomly guessed to Xie Lang, "Are you going to give me something?"
"In a way, you're right."
Xie Lang smiled and said, "Come on. After breakfast, I'll take you to meet someone."
Shen Mingzhu slightly raised her eyebrows, and there was a bit of excitement in her eyes.
How did Xie Lang get the ledger? It was so fast, and he didn't alert the enemy. Could it be that the ledger just fell into his hands?
It turned out that it really did!
Shen Mingzhu stared blankly at the dying Qu Yunli. She felt that the woman in front of her was really familiar. Finally, she was stunned for a moment and then remembered that the person in front of her was the woman who was rumored in the capital recently to be "the woman Xie Lang fancied." She was also the younger sister of the sisters she had met in the temple last time.
"My lord."
Qu Yunli gave a bitter smile and said, "I really didn't expect that in the end, it would still be you who saved me."
If she still couldn't tell that Xie Lang was completely on Shen Mingzhu's side, then she would really be a fool.
Thinking of this, her heart tightened instantly. She thought about how she should continue. In the end, she instinctively squeezed out a few tears first and looked at Shen Mingzhu and said, "Thank you, my lord, for saving me. If it weren't for... if it weren't for you, I don't know where I would be now."
Saying so, her tears immediately flowed down. She pretended to be delicate and said, "I have something to tell you. Can... can you please ask the consort to leave?"