Chapter 172 - Return Kindness (1/2)

“Return good for evil? Then what would return for kindness?” Shi Qingxue asked with a sneer and looked into Baoning’s eyes. “It turns out that in your heart, I am the same as any of our cousins in this mansion, right?”

“I…”

Shi Baoning couldn’t say anything.

She always thought herself just. As the eldest lady in the mansion, she wanted to be impartial so that she could deserve the title given by Mo Shujun. When facing anybody else at any time, she could boldly say that she was never partial.

But…

Shi Baoning didn’t even dare to meet Shi Qingxue’s bright eyes and avoided talking about the sensitive problem. She merely said, “I just think we are cousins and should help each other…”

Shi Qingxue interrupted her, “Did Shi Baojin think that we were cousins and should show mercy when she did that to me? Sister, don’t you always talk about being impartial? I treated Shi Baojin the same way she treated me. Isn’t that fair?”

At the moment, Shi Baoning was really speechless.

Dong Hui didn’t want them to argue because of an outsider. She held Qingxue’s shoulder and advised her, “Baoning doesn’t want you to have too many enemies. After all, you can offend a gentleman but can’t irritate a mean man. Sometimes you don’t do anything wrong, but you would be hurt. We can do nothing about it.”

Shi Baoning nodded and grabbed Qingxue’s hand again, saying sincerely, “That’s what I want to say. You are my younger sister, and I just hope that you are safe and sound, without being injured again.”

“Right. I hope most that both of you live in peace and good health. If you argue about something irrelevant and ruin your kinship, wouldn’t you make the third master’s family mock at you?”

While speaking, Dong Hui pushed Shi Junhe and hoped that he could help her persuade Shi Qingxue.

But Shi Junhe looked at Shi Baoning seriously and asked, “When we were in King Rui’s mansion, His Excellency had mentioned what happened in the Peace Temple. What was he talking about?”

Shi Baoning stiffened with an unfathomable expression. She was sad because Shi Junhe asked her this question, and meanwhile she was scared as what had happened in the past would be revealed.

Her expression changed several times, but she couldn’t speak a word at last.

Shi Junhe then looked at Dong Hui and asked the same question. Under her embarrassed expression, he stated calmly, “Although His Excellency is not a good person in many aspects, he wouldn’t lie about this matter. So, I need to know what on earth happened then to make him condemn us.”

Shi Qingxue didn’t know that her family had been to King Rui’s mansion to ask for the ladies, so she didn’t say anything but listened silently.

However, Shi Junhe didn’t get any information he wanted from the two, so he turned to Shi Qingxue and stated unhurriedly, “Qingxue, you tell me.”

“I…”

“No!” Shi Baoning interrupted in haste as soon as Shi Qingxue started.

With tears in her eyes, Shi Baoning looked in pain and humiliated. Tears fell along her cheeks. “Father, I know you are always partial to Qingxue, but I am your daughter, too. You should be clear about my character. How can you question me because of an outsider’s ungrounded suspicion?”

Shi Junhe still looked serious and asked, “If you didn’t do anything to hurt your sister, why are you afraid of my question?”

Shi Baoning argued anxiously, “I am not afraid. I… I just… I just don’t think you trust me.”

Afterward, she lowered her head in low spirits and looked like she was hurt.

Shi Junhe was still unmoved and expressed impassively, “In that case, I am going to find out the truth now, and then you can avoid suspicion. If His Excellency comes next time, I won’t be speechless after he asks, like I was last time.”

“I…” Shi Baoning had nothing to say.

She felt depressed again and shed more tears, shouting at Shi Junhe in embarrassment and rage, “You have gone too far.”

Shi Baoning covered her face and ran out of the study, and Dong Hui looked sullen, but she was guilty and didn’t argue with Shi Junhe. She merely explained in a low voice, “Baoning is just a child. I’m afraid that she will do something stupid as she can’t get over it. I’m going to check on her.”

There were only Shi Junhe and Qingxue left in the study.

Shi Qingxue was clear that Shi Junhe said that because he loved her, so she didn’t say anything unpleasant to make him unhappy. She just sat next to him and kept him company.

After a while, Shi Junhe came to his senses after Shi Baoning reproached him, but he still asked Shi Qingxue, “Qingxue, tell me what happened in the Peace Temple.”

“Ah…” Shi Qingxue was dumbfounded and stuttered for quite a while but just uttered some pointless words.

Shi Junhe waited for a while and got impatient. He stared at Shi Qingxue and asked in a deep voice, “What? When did you become so generous? Or do you want to hide such a matter from your father?”

“No, I didn’t mean that!” Shi Qingxue denied in a hurry.