Chapter 22 Scholar Zhou Ding

Chapter 22 Scholar Zhou Ding

Chang Suining shook her head directly: "I don't remember anything at all."

After all, her mind was damaged, and this was quite reasonable.

"Which maidservant accompanied Suining on that day?" Chang Kuo asked with a frown.

Chang Sui An: "It was Xi'er!"

Chang Suining: "Is she still alive?"

Chang Sui An was taken aback by her question before hurriedly nodding: "She's alive! Since the night of the Lantern Festival, she has been confined to her room for questioning... Uncle Bai, bring her here!"

Soon, a maidservant around Chang Suining's age was brought in. Her eyes were swollen like rotten peaches, and her clothes were not clean, indicating that she had not washed or tidied herself for at least three to five days, looking rather pitiful and disheveled—

As soon as she entered the hall, her swollen eyes immediately found Chang Suining, and she rushed to kneel before her, crying: "Lady... You're safe! That's wonderful!"

To be honest, Chang Suining felt a small sense of warmth.

So far, she was the first one to recognize her at first sight.

"...Xi'er has been holding on just to wait for Lady's return!" Xi'er looked up at Chang Suining, revealing a smile that seemed to say "duty fulfilled, no regrets": "Now that I've seen Lady, Xi'er can rest easy!"

With that, she bit her lip and suddenly turned, slamming her head against the corner of a nearby table.

Chang Suining: "?"

No wonder the Chang family, governed by military law, had everyone so eager to take responsibility and die bravely. They were truly too excellent.

She quickly grabbed Xi'er's arm: "Don't rush. I have some questions to ask you."

Xi'er sniffled, confused but nodded, temporarily postponing her suicide plan: "Ask away, Lady."

"First, tell me what happened before and after my incident on the night of the Lantern Festival."

As Chang Suining spoke, Chang Sui An moved a wide chair behind her and whispered: "Ningning, sit down while you ask."

Chang Kuo glanced approvingly at his son before sitting down as well.

Of course, Chang Sui An remained standing.

Xi'er recounted: "...On the night of the Lantern Festival, this servant accompanied Lady outside to enjoy the lanterns. This servant suggested that Lady try guessing lantern riddles, but Lady said she didn't want to go where there were many people. So we crossed the Moon Bridge and went to the other side of the lantern fair. Lady told me to wait at the bridgehead, saying she wanted to walk alone by the river. As Lady walked further away, I couldn't see her anymore. Worried, I followed, but it was too late. When I reached the reeds, Lady was gone!"

No wonder she recited it so fluently; she had repeated this story countless times to Uncle Bai and Chang Sui An over the past few days.

Chang Suining frowned slightly: "...Have I ever shown any signs of wanting to end my life?"

Xi'er was taken aback, shaking her head: "Lady may be somewhat melancholic, but recently there haven't been any significant worries... Besides, Lady is always afraid of pain..."

But isn't Lady more aware of that than anyone else?

She continued: "This servant searched along the riverbank for a long time but couldn't find Lady. So I quickly sent the coachman back to inform Master. Master claimed he had dropped something valuable into the river and hired local boatmen to search the river all night, but they found nothing."

Chang Suining pondered—by then, Ali must have been carried far away by the current and bumped into the kidnappers.

Was it really just an accidental fall into the water?

Chang Suining did not want to jump to conclusions easily: "Before leaving, did I say anything? Did I carry anything? Or... did I have an appointment to meet someone?"

Seeing Xi'er's increasingly puzzled expression, Chang Suining said: "I can't remember many things right now. The doctor said I need to rest for half a month to recover slowly. Just answer honestly."

These words from Xi'er were true—had Ali encountered trouble earlier, the other party could have used fabricated stories to deceive Chang Sui An and Uncle Bai. But now that "Ali" had returned, the other party would not dare to confront her face-to-face.

In other words, this maidservant was telling the truth up until now.

And her claim about needing half a month to recover was also a bluff.

Xi'er was startled, then showed guilt and self-reproach: "Lady suffered... It's all because Xi'er failed to protect Lady, leading to this..."

"Following orders is not a mistake," Chang Suining interrupted her self-blame: "Answering questions is more important. Think carefully."

"Yes..." Xi'er concentrated for a moment and said: "Lady didn't say anything noteworthy... Lady doesn't usually socialize and doesn't have close friends..."

Chang Suining: "What about male friends?"

Chang Kuo: "?"

Chang Sui An: "?"

Xi'er opened her mouth: "Male friends... also... no..."

Then she suddenly remembered something: "But there is a not-so-young man..."

Chang Sui An frowned suddenly: "You can't mean Zhou Ding, can you?"

Xi'er hurriedly nodded.

Seeing Chang Sui An's disgust, Chang Suining couldn't help but ask: "Who is Zhou Ding?"

Even Chang Kuo heard this name for the first time.

"That's a fake..." Chang Sui An was about to curse but remembered his sister's admiration for this person and held back, saying tactfully: "He's just a poor scholar who thinks a few lines of poetry can deceive my sister with his pretentiousness!"

Chang Suining didn't rush to respond, only asking Xi'er: "Since I rarely socialize, if he is one of the few I do interact with, might I have met him on the night of the Lantern Festival?"

Xi'er shook her head: "But Lady didn't mention meeting him that day, so there shouldn't have been an appointment..."

"Or perhaps... knowing that my elder brother disapproves of my association with him, I didn't tell anyone and made an excuse to go for a walk by the river alone, but in reality, it was to meet him?" Chang Suining speculated: "The lantern festival is meant to be lively with many people. Since I went, yet claimed I don't like crowded places and ventured off alone, wouldn't that be contradictory if there wasn't another reason?"

Xie'er hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back.

Chang Sui An scratched his head and said softly, "Ningning... it's not contradictory, since you've always been like this."

Saying one moment you want to be alone, and then shedding tears moments later about feeling immensely lonely in the world... these are common occurrences.

Perhaps due to losing our parents at a young age, my sister has always had a fragile and changeable temperament.

Or perhaps because she needs to express her emotions, she has always been deeply interested in poetry and literature, while I, as her elder brother, am naturally not suited for such things. Although my sister doesn't say it outright, I feel that my behavior is rough and clumsy, so I gradually avoid being around her, fearing I might upset or annoy her.

In short, my sister likes talented individuals—Zhou Ding happens to have some talent.

Chang Suining fell silent for a moment before asking, "How did I meet this person?"

Although Ah Li's incident may not be directly related to this person, given that he holds a significant place in Ah Li's relatively sheltered life, it's worth paying more attention to him.

"It was half a year ago, at a poetry gathering..." Xie'er explained the circumstances.

Since meeting at the poetry gathering, the lady has frequently corresponded with him and secretly helped him financially—

"...I even gave him money?" Chang Suining found it unbelievable.

Xie'er: "Master Zhou often lamented to the lady about his family's poverty. Despite having the title of a scholar, his path to success through the imperial examinations is long and arduous..."

"So, I decided to support him in his studies and exams?" Chang Suining frowned. "...And he promised to propose to me grandly once he succeeds?"

"No, no, no!" Xie'er hurriedly waved her hands in denial.