Chapter 192 Friends

Chapter 192: Friends

Cheng Susu walked in with a bright smile and asked, "Father, what business do you have with me?"

Vice Minister Cheng was a doting father, but he didn't approve of her insisting on buying Fang Rui. Now that Xue Quan came looking for him, he was even more annoyed.

"Is Fang Rui doing okay?"

Cheng Susu was caught off guard and managed a weak smile. "She's okay."

"Take her to the teahouse later—someone wants to meet her."

Cheng Susu grew even more puzzled. "Who wants to see her?"

"Don't ask. The less you know, the better," Vice Minister Cheng said sternly.

If he'd known there'd be more trouble, he never would've let her have her way.

Curious, Cheng Susu headed back to her room and called out, "Fang Rui."

Fang Rui, who was tending the stove in the next room, came in with a tea tray, bowed, and said, "Miss, please have some tea."

Cheng Susu glanced at her coldly. "I didn't ask for tea. You've been here this long and still can't serve properly?"

Fang Rui bit her lip, her hands shaking as she held the tray.

Humiliation washed over her in endless, suffocating waves.

But suffocating as it was, she had to endure it, as long as she wanted to live.

Fang Rui had thought about taking her own life, but when the opportunity truly came, she backed out.

She was just a teenager—her life had barely started. To die like this—she couldn't accept that!

She didn't believe in gods or reincarnation. Death was just nothing. As long as she was alive, no matter how hard things got, there was still hope.

Compared to falling into the brothels, being Cheng Susu's maidservant was already a step up.

Cheng Susu—Fang Rui repeated the name in her mind, hiding deep hatred in her eyes.

At first, when she learned the Cheng family bought her during those desperate days, she felt grateful. She thought Cheng Susu remembered their years of friendship, but it turned out to be just to humiliate and mock her.

"Can't handle being a maid?" Cheng Susu looked at Fang Rui's face and felt a wave of satisfaction. "Fang Rui, you still think you're the prime minister's daughter?"

Seeing Fang Rui silent, eyes down, Cheng Susu remembered how Fang Rui, when she first came, actually asked her, "Aren't we friends?"

Ridiculous. They'd been friends, sure, but Miss Fang treated her like a servant.

Cheng Susu was a noble lady from a powerful family—her aunt was a Second-Rank Imperial Consort. For years, she'd been bossed around by Fang Rui—did she think Cheng Susu liked it?

That's why she insisted her family buy Fang Rui—to see with her own eyes what it was like for Fang Rui to be a maid. After all, she couldn't go to the brothels herself.

"Alright, come with me. We're going out." Cheng Susu smirked and went to change.

It was freezing outside. Wearing a light but warm fox-fur coat and carrying a hand warmer, Cheng Susu got into the carriage.

Fang Rui sat quietly by the door, wondering why Cheng Susu had brought her out.

Ever since entering the Cheng household, she wasn't allowed to leave Cheng Susu's courtyard. She was there purely for Cheng Susu's entertainment. It couldn't just be for shopping.

So why? Maybe to meet someone? At the thought, Fang Rui's heart skipped, and a faint hope stirred in her.

She was already this miserable; a change might be for the better.

The carriage stopped. Cheng Susu led Fang Rui into the teahouse, where a waiter showed them to a reserved private room upstairs.

"No need to serve," Cheng Susu said to the waiter. After drinking half a cup of tea, she told Fang Rui, "Go to the room next door."

Fang Rui hesitated, but seeing Cheng Susu's impatience, she left and went to the next door.

A servant standing at the door asked, "Miss Fang?"

Fang Rui's eyes instantly welled up.

She hadn't been called that in a long time.

"Yes... that's me..."

The servant opened the door.

Fang Rui walked in and was startled to see who was sitting there. "Eunuch Xue?"

Xue Quan recognized Fang Rui. Sure it was her, he said gently, "Come, sit down."

Fang Rui sat down nervously, her heart pounding.

Why would the person who wanted to see her be Eunuch Xue?

It was said her grandfather had been close to Eunuch Xue—no wait, it was Xue Quan's adopted son, Xue Han, who had stormed the prime minister's mansion and ruined their family!

Fang Rui's face went pale, her mind a mess.

"It's cold out. Have some tea to warm up." Seeing Fang Rui's anxiety, Xue Quan slid the teacup toward her.

Fang Rui instinctively touched the cup. The warmth startled her, and she couldn't help looking at Xue Quan.

This eunuch, known as the Hidden Prime Minister, had a pale, smooth face with long, narrow eyes. Though a smile lingered on his lips, Fang Rui felt only fear.

So without her family's protection, she had become this cowardly—the thought flashed through her mind, and her eyes grew hot again, almost making her cry.

But she knew she couldn't cry. Given Xue Quan's status, he would only meet with her if she was useful. Crying would only make her seem useless.

"Don't be nervous. I just want to ask you a few questions."

"Please, Eunuch Xue, go ahead."

"What do you know about Qiu Heng?"

Fang Rui's pupils contracted, and her breathing quickened uncontrollably.

Qiu Heng. They were asking her about Qiu Heng!

She remembered that day when Cheng Susu kicked over a stool, grinding her teeth as she told Fang Rui that Qiu Heng had been granted the title of County Mistress.

Cheng Susu was angry, but Fang Rui was filled with hatred.

Qiu Heng's title of County Mistress was won over the dead bodies of Fang Rui's family. She wished she could tear Qiu Heng to pieces!

"She's trouble!" Fang Rui blurted out in excitement, immediately regretting it.

Xue Quan's adopted son Xue Han and Qiu Heng are a pair of scumbags—they're in league with each other!

Xue Quan's expression turned even gentler upon hearing this: "What trouble does she cause?"

Fang Rui looked at Xue Quan with surprise and suspicion.

Seeing her like this, Xue Quan put on a troubled look: "To be honest, Miss Fang, this humble servant has always worried that Qiu Heng's closeness to Xue Han has ulterior motives. This humble servant just wants to know more—being a parent means never-ending concerns."

Fang Rui understood: Xue Quan didn't like Qiu Heng.

She and Qiu Heng were now as different as heaven and earth, and she couldn't do anything to her, but this was an opportunity nonetheless.

Steadying her racing heart, Fang Rui spoke: "Eunuch Xue, Qiu Heng is definitely suspicious. My mother has always doted on me and dislikes people who behave eccentrically, especially women. Yet toward Qiu Heng, she went so far as to defend her in everything, even more than her own daughter. That can't be explained by Qiu Heng simply being likable."

"Irrational fondness?" Xue Quan frowned.

"The way my mother looks at Qiu Heng isn't that kind of affection," Fang Rui shook her head. "After my brother passed away from illness, my mother was devastated. But ever since Qiu Heng arrived, she somehow improved a lot... Eunuch Xue, I think Qiu Heng uses sorcery—she's cast a spell on my mother!"

Xue Quan's heart jolted. He didn't find her words absurd at all.

Sorcery?

Was that what happened to Yuan Chenghai and the others?

And Han'er—his unusual concern for a country girl—was that also because of a spell?

"Is this your guess?" Xue Quan quickly calmed down and asked sternly.

"Not a guess—it's an inference, an intuition!" Fang Rui grew anxious, raising a hand: "Eunuch Xue, in the days before my family's downfall, aside from my mother and nanny Su, I spent the most time with Qiu Heng. If I'm lying, may I die without a burial place!"