Chapter 46: Great, He Blew It

Chapter 46: Great, He Blew It

Both Qi Siwei and the matchmaker were stunned by the scene unfolding before them.

Seeing Ruan Qingzhou being so close with another woman right in front of her, Qi Siwei felt a surge of anger. Why bother sticking around to see what he's like? With a huff, she downed the tea in her cup, threw the cup to the floor, and said, "Hmph, just as I thought, all the Ruans are scum."

The matchmaker went pale when she saw Qi Siwei drink the tea and blocked the door, not letting her leave. "Miss Qi, Young Master Ruan is not the kind of person who sees someone new and forgets the old. Please, just give him a chance."

But Qi Siwei was beyond persuasion.

Her anger flaring, she shoved past the matchmaker and stormed downstairs with her maid. The matchmaker, desperate to keep her there, chased after her in a frantic attempt to stop her from leaving.

Wei Mingxi finally snapped out of it and pushed Ruan Qingzhou away. "You're shameless."

"Same as you."

"You..." Remembering how he had been hugging and holding her, Wei Mingxi quickly patted her shoulder.

"Are you sure you want to stand here?"

Only then did Wei Mingxi realize that almost all the doors to the private rooms on the second floor had opened, with people peeking out or standing in the corridors watching the scene unfold.

Everyone had come out because of that "baby" comment.

Someone even clapped for Ruan Qingzhou and called out, "Young master, you're bold! When's the big day?"

"I'm not close with her..." Wei Mingxi's attempt to explain only caused more laughter.

Ruan Qingzhou, however, added, "We’ll see how things go."

Wei Mingxi gritted her teeth, and before she could retort, he pulled her into the room.

In the next room, Zhou Yunzhi was going mad with anxiety, but Ruan Chengfu held her back, advising, "My dear, if we go out now while things are this chaotic, it'll be hard to step down from the situation."

Zhou Yunzhi glared at him. "Like father, like son. It's all your fault for being so irresponsible."

"Yes, yes, my dear is always right, but right now..." Ruan Chengfu was nervous. "Leaving aside Miss Qi, who has already left, this Miss Wei... is He An's cousin."

Zhou Yunzhi sighed. Were the two of them becoming friends through conflict? They had been arguing non-stop just a few days ago, and now they were calling each other "baby"?

They decided to wait for their son to return and let her deal with him.

Back at Mingming Tower, Wei Mingxi, still angry, had ordered sixteen dishes. But seeing how unbothered Ruan Qingzhou appeared, her anger only grew instead of subsiding.

While waiting for the food, she poured herself a cup of tea and took a sip. The tea had a strange taste—fragrant but with a bitter undertone that wasn't the refreshing bitterness of good tea.

Curious, she drank a couple more sips and remarked, "For a place as fancy as Mingming Tower, you’d think they’d have better tea."

Even though she said that, Wei Mingxi finished all the tea in her cup.

Knowing that she was here to cause trouble, Ruan Qingzhou called the waiter over and had a new pot of tea brought for her.

Having chased Qi Siwei away, Wei Mingxi deserved some credit. Ruan Qingzhou didn’t mind her little tantrums. After all, out of respect for his sister, they were still somewhat family.

Once the dishes were all served, Ruan Qingzhou poured her a cup of wine. "Thanks for that."

Wei Mingxi gave him a side-eye and pretended not to hear.

As they ate and chatted, the earlier tension between them slowly melted away. Of course, it helped that after a few drinks, the bonds of brotherhood and camaraderie doubled.

After a short while, Wei Mingxi’s face grew increasingly red. The maid standing next to her, thinking she had drunk too much, advised, "Miss Wei, you should stop. You’ll be in trouble when we get back to the Prime Minister’s residence."

Wei Mingxi, seeing multiple versions of Ruan Qingzhou before her, reached out and grabbed his face. "You, don’t move. I’m dizzy."

Ruan Qingzhou stared at her, speechless.

She really had too much to drink.

Just as he was about to get up and send them back, Wei Mingxi started pulling at her collar. "It’s so hot. Did they light a charcoal stove in this room?"

"Miss Wei, you’ve had too much to drink. It’s almost June; how could they light a charcoal stove?"

The maid helped her up, but Wei Mingxi lunged toward Ruan Qingzhou. "Hey, you… you can’t leave..."

Ruan Qinghuan raised his hands in surrender and quickly called the maid. "Quickly, take your miss downstairs."

By now, Wei Mingxi was so drunk she was barely coherent. The maid couldn’t handle her alone.

Ruan Qinghuan frowned. "Where’s the Prime Minister’s carriage?"

"We parked the carriage on West Street because Miss Wei wanted to go shopping."

"West Street? That’s quite far. Alright, quickly take a few servants and urge the coachman to come fast."

"But… I can’t leave her here!" The maid hesitated, not daring to leave her miss behind.

"Go quickly."

With no better option, the maid ran out helplessly.

Ruan Qinghuan tried to guide Wei Mingxi to the window for some fresh air, but as soon as he let her go, she lunged at him again, this time wrapping her arms around his neck. "Ruan Qingzhou... I like my cousin, Ruan Qingzhou. What’s wrong with that?"

"Alright, alright, just rest." Ruan Qingzhou was filled with regret. This girl’s drinking behavior was terrible. She had only drunk a little and was already acting out.

At this rate, she was going to drive him crazy.

Pressing her back into the chair, Ruan Qinghuan went to the window and looked out. Where was the Prime Minister’s carriage?

Shopping was fine, but parking the carriage so far away… women really…

Suddenly, the sound of fabric tearing echoed behind him. Ruan Qingzhou turned sharply to see Wei Mingxi sitting on the chair, pulling at her buttons. Unable to undo them after a while, she simply yanked her collar open.

Oh no.

If anyone saw this, he’d never be able to clear his name.

Ruan Qingzhou rushed forward and grabbed her hand. "I’m sorry, okay? Please stop. If you keep this up, both of us are done for."

Wei Mingxi suddenly burst into tears. "I feel terrible, it’s so hot. Ruan Qingzhou... I feel like I’m burning up."

In the struggle, Ruan Qingzhou accidentally saw a patch of deep red on her neck. His expression immediately darkened. He pulled her collar down a bit more. It wasn’t just her neck but also her body.

This wasn’t just drunkenness—she had been drugged.

Ruan Qingzhou panicked. Without an antidote, this could seriously harm her heart.

He rushed to the window, but there was still no sign of the carriage from the Prime Minister’s residence.

Qingzhou Ruan forced himself to calm down and checked Wei Mingxi's pulse. Her condition was serious; he needed to think of a solution immediately.

There was no time to waste. Qingzhou Ruan took off his outer garment and covered her head with it, then picked her up and quickly carried her down the stairs. He ran all the way back to the residence his sister had bought for him a few days ago.

With years of martial arts training and experience in the jianghu, he had some knowledge of medical texts.

As soon as he entered, he dunked Wei Mingxi into the water tank in the yard and rushed into the room to find medicine. He wasn't sure which type of aphrodisiac she had taken, so he could only focus on clearing the heat and soothing her heart for now and deal with the danger first.

He quickly grabbed a few medicinal pills from several porcelain bottles and grabbed a cup of water. Qingzhou Ruan rushed back outside and gently fed her the medicine.

Wei Mingxi kept crying. The moment she saw Qingzhou Ruan, it was as if she had found a lifeline and grabbed him, planting a kiss on him.

Qingzhou Ruan was speechless.

Well, his first kiss was gone.

Wei Mingxi was now lost in a haze, desperate and out of control. She clung to his neck, trying to force her way into his mouth.

Qingzhou Ruan held her shoulders and leaned her against the edge of the tank. "Wei Mingxi, calm down. Just hold on, it'll pass."

As he struggled to keep his composure, every second counted, and he had to act fast. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to him, both the Prime Minister's residence and the Ruan residence were in chaos.