Ziyue expected Muchen to let her go, but she was surprised his grip remained tight around her arm.
"Why are you…" Ziyue's patience was running low, but when she saw the stubborn look in his eyes, she felt the words on her lips melt away.
Sighing, she explained her request. "I need to get Zixi's water bottle from the room."
She did not have Zixi's bottle with her when she left the resting room earlier. The child's inexperienced caretakers, Xia and Jingshu, had also forgotten to take Zixi's water bottle. Zixi did not like drinking from cups or bottles that were not his own.
She was returning to the room to get Zixi's water bottle when she came across Muchen and Shichu's brawl.
Muchen's eyes sparkled when he heard her explanation. "I'll get Chuan to retrieve the bottle for you!"
Ziyue shook her head. "I can get it myself. You guys are pretty busy today."
Muchen's face fell when he heard her rejection.
When Ziyue felt Muchen loosen his grasp, she quickly pulled away and went to the room.
I hope my adamant refusal dissuaded him from wanting to look at the spot where he hit me. Ziyue thought as she hunted for Zixi's bottle.
As she picked up the bottle, she heard the doorknob turn.
She looked up in surprise, only to see Enxue enter the room before locking the room door.
"Miss Ling? Why are you here?"
Enxue should be with Shichu. However, she was not with the doctor during the brawl, which meant that she was in the banquet hall. She could not have overheard me mentioning that I was going to the resting room. Or… Could she?
She must've followed me to the resting room after the brawl to catch me alone.
Enxue remained silent as she crossed the room slowly toward Ziyue.
Ziyue could almost feel Enxue's unusually cold and judgmental gaze sweep from her face down to her body, then to her eyes.
Immediately, Ziyue's guard went up. Enxue left a neutral impression upon Ziyue as she had always appeared happy and kind.
However, Ziyue had always been slightly on alert when Enxue was around merely because she was Enyang's sister.
Finally, Enxue stopped a few feet away from Ziyue. "Mrs. Qin, there's something we have to talk about."
Ziyue raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Speak your mind, Miss Enxue."
Enxue rolled her eyes as she snickered at Ziyue's remark as if she found it preposterous that Ziyue would agree to a chat so easily.
"You're married. Stay away from other men. You should respect your husband and leave some dignity for your child. Would you want people to tell Zixi that his mom was sneaking around behind his daddy's back?"
Enxue's voice climbed when she reached the final part of her monologue, her emotions erupting.
Ziyue chuckled when she realized the reason for this confrontation.
She found it ludicrous that Enxue thought she could tell Ziyue how to live her life. She was even more astounded that Enxue would use Zixi to threaten her.
"Miss Ling, would you kindly enlighten me – which man would you like me to stay away from?"
"I witnessed Mr. Qin and Shichu fighting in the corridor. Don't you find it disgusting that two men would brawl over you? And why did you have to defend Dr. Lu? Are you trying to get on his good side and make him fall for you even more?"
Enxue's usually pale pallor had a dash of red anger as she gave Ziyue the tongue-lashing she thought Ziyue deserved.
After learning what had happened to Enxue, Ziyue was slightly in awe of the young woman and thought she was a persistent and optimistic lady. However, Ziyue no longer felt the same now.
She was not a doormat – she would not back down after being wrongly accused of something she did not do.
"I have three things to inform you. First things first, I never thought that I was a disgusting person. Secondly, Muchen and Shichu had a disagreement – I have nothing to do with it. Finally, I have my reasons for defending Shichu. On the other hand, kindly explain yourself. Who do you think you are to question me like that? Shichu and I grew up together. We are like siblings and nothing else. I don't have to explain myself. What about you? You should be sincere toward him if you truly love him. If not, I'll tell him about your brother."
Ziyue had never discriminated against Enxue because she was Enyang's sister. However, Enxue had wrongly accused her of cheating on her husband with a childhood friend and used her child to threaten her!
Enxue gasped in horror. "How could you do that? That's despicable!"
"If I was a despicable person, I would've asked him not to be with you from the first day you met!"
Ziyue felt that if she told Shichu not to associate with Enxue, he would agree with her.
However, she thought that it would be a childish thing to do. Shichu should be able to see for himself and judge Enxue's character.
Enxue bit her trembling lips and tried to blink her tears away. The red anger on her face disappeared, leaving behind a nervous paleness.
She knew she had not played her cards right, but jealousy had nearly driven her mad.
Ziyue stared at Enxue. "Miss Ling, this might be the last time we meet. I hope you'll have fun today at his birthday party."
Enxue's eyes nearly popped out of her head.
"What do you mean? My brother asked Muchen to protect me!"
Ziyue realized that Enxue was not as optimistic as she appeared to be. She put on a persistent and positive appearance to attract and retain people around her, including servants, doctors, and bodyguards. After all, she had never had many friends before this.
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