Relieving the State of Zhao by Besieging the State of Wei

At that moment, Su Cheng had no idea what to do. His restless eyes darted around before finally landing on the food box atop the tea table. Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind.

He recalled what Liu Qingyue had once told him—that her young mistress was easy to placate. A few sweet words, a bit of coquetry, or an adorable gesture could solve any problem.

With this in mind, he immediately stood up, walked to the tea table, poured a cup of tea, and handed it to Ji Qingyi with an apologetic smile. "President, please have some tea to calm your anger."

Ji Qingyi lifted her gaze to glance at him. Though a trace of displeasure still lingered in her eyes, she accepted the teacup and took a sip.

Seeing this, Su Cheng heaved a sigh of relief. He opened the food box, took out a rice dumpling, and began rambling in self-defense. "President, I really did think of sending these to you first, but my senior was so insistent—she even lied and claimed you don’t like red bean filling." He sighed dramatically, his expression one of righteous indignation, as if he were the victim of some great injustice.

Ji Qingyi listened, her expression still stern, then nodded thoughtfully. "I understand. That’s why I’m not blaming you. But in the future, I hope you’ll be more cautious and not take others’ words at face value."

Su Cheng nodded gratefully. "You’re absolutely right, President. I’ll be more careful from now on."

As he spoke, he picked up a dumpling and held it to Ji Qingyi’s lips, offering it with exaggerated deference. "If you don’t mind, let me feed you this dumpling as my apology."

The fawning gesture, paired with his ingratiating smile, inexplicably sent a fleeting sense of déjà vu through Ji Qingyi. But the moment passed as quickly as it came.

She lowered her eyes, her gaze meeting the dumpling. After giving him a cool sidelong glance, she didn’t refuse. Instead, she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, leaned forward slightly, and parted her lips to take a delicate bite, covering her mouth with her hand as she chewed.

The motion was elegant and captivating, made even more mesmerizing by her striking beauty.

Su Cheng froze for a second, then quickly averted his eyes and retreated to his seat, not daring to look at her again.

Once she finished eating, Ji Qingyi reached for the teapot, poured him a cup of tea, and slid it slowly across the table toward him.

"Thank you, President."

Su Cheng accepted the cup gratefully and took a sip. His gaze lingered on the teacup for a solid three seconds before he finally looked up at Ji Qingyi and ventured, "These dumplings are from yesterday, so they probably don’t taste very fresh anymore, right?"

Ji Qingyi lowered her head and took a sip of tea before replying indifferently, "They’re passable."

"Really?" Su Cheng didn’t know how to respond, and an awkward silence fell between them.

Until—

Footsteps sounded from the back door.

It was likely Liu Qingyue arriving. Sure enough, she soon bustled in, escorted by someone. But instead of looking confused or nervous, she wore an expression of utter nonchalance, as if this outcome had been inevitable.

"Young Mistress, what did you summon me for?" Liu Qingyue bowed respectfully to Ji Qingyi, her demeanor humble and obedient.

Ji Qingyi set down her teacup and regarded her impassively. "Why did you tell him I dislike red bean filling?"

"Please forgive my impertinence, Young Mistress!"

Liu Qingyue immediately bent at the waist, her voice full of remorse. "I acted on my own initiative. I could see that neither you nor Young Master Su were being forthright with each other, so I came up with this plan to bring you two closer."

As she spoke, she glanced sideways at Su Cheng, silently urging him to intercede on her behalf.

Since he owed her a favor, Su Cheng quickly chimed in. "President, Senior Liu was just concerned about us. That’s why she came up with such an absurd idea. Please forgive her this once—I’m sure she’ll make up for it in the future!"

Though this was technically a matter between master and servant, as the "young master," Su Cheng was now part of the family. It wasn’t inappropriate for him to speak up in Liu Qingyue’s defense—after all, she was practically his maid too.

But to his surprise, his words only reignited Ji Qingyi’s anger. She turned to him, her voice low and dangerous. "And what about you? Didn’t you also act on your own today, making decisions without consulting me?"

This was bad—she was bringing up old grievances.

Su Cheng inwardly cursed his luck and shot Liu Qingyue a pleading look, hoping she’d smooth things over. He had assumed they could cover for each other and end this amicably.

But Liu Qingyue, seizing the opportunity, immediately sided with her mistress.

"Young Mistress rushed here in such a hurry after hearing you were upset that she didn’t even change her clothes. And yet, you had the audacity to turn her away? Such disgraceful behavior is truly appalling..." She paused, took a deep breath, and launched into a full indictment of Su Cheng’s crimes. "Not only were you disrespectful to the Young Mistress, but you also showed no gratitude or consideration for her feelings. You acted selfishly, without a shred of conscience."

Su Cheng was dumbfounded. One moment, he was defending Liu Qingyue, and the next, he was being painted as some irredeemable villain?

"Enough!" Ji Qingyi slammed her hand on the table. "Who gave you the right to reprimand him?"

"My apologies, Young Mistress. I overstepped."

Liu Qingyue bowed her head in submission.

Su Cheng decided it was time to take responsibility.

"President, please don’t be angry. I wasn’t thinking clearly. Senior Liu isn’t wrong—I was inconsiderate and didn’t take your feelings into account." His apology was earnest.

"Then what was your intention today?" Ji Qingyi sat back down, her expression unreadable as she watched him.

Su Cheng hesitated before realizing she was asking about his earlier actions. "I just didn’t want our relationship exposed to everyone, lest it affect your reputation."

Ji Qingyi scoffed, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair. Her sharp gaze bore into him as she murmured, "I’ve never cared about that. Why are you so worried?"

"I..."

Su Cheng faltered. After a long pause, he finally mustered the courage to be honest. "President, the truth is... it’s not just that I’m worried about."

"Oh?" Ji Qingyi arched a brow, her tone lazy, as if waiting for an explanation.

Liu Qingyue also looked up at him curiously.

Su Cheng swallowed hard before forcing out the words. "Because of what happened before... I..."

"Before?" Ji Qingyi cut him off. "You mean Cornelia?"

"Yes."

Su Cheng nodded, carefully choosing his next words. "That’s why I didn’t want to reveal our relationship. I didn’t want you to suffer under family pressure... and I didn’t want to go through the pain of separation again. I’m afraid."

At this point, his expression and tone were filled with sorrow, as if recalling something that pained him deeply. He lowered his gaze slightly, concealing the intense grief in his eyes.

Ji Qingyi watched him quietly, saying nothing, though the faint trembling of her lashes betrayed the turmoil in her heart.

After a moment of silence, she suddenly sighed. "You don’t know the full story yet. Why not hear it out before drawing conclusions?"

"Of course, I’m all ears."

Ji Qingyi glanced at Liu Qingyue, signaling her to explain the details. Without hesitation, Liu Qingyue recounted the matter of the marriage contract, the temperament of the Ji family head, and the family’s stance—all laid out plainly for Su Cheng.

At the end, she added, "There’s no need for you to worry about this, young master. The young lady’s attitude represents the entire Ji family’s position."

Hearing this, Su Cheng looked at Ji Qingyi in disbelief.

Ji Qingyi gave him a slight nod, tacitly confirming it.

Su Cheng still found it hard to believe. After all, no sane person would choose a terminally ill orphan, let alone for a marriage into the Ji family. It seemed like pure delusion.

Could this just be a way to reassure him?

Su Cheng couldn’t find a plausible explanation for himself.

Yet, as if reading his thoughts, Ji Qingyi spoke calmly beside him, "You may accompany me to the main family and ask my father yourself. Then you’ll see that my words are true."