Anning’s pov

I really didn’t want to follow Yufang out of the receiving room. In fact, I didn’t want to follow her anywhere.

The last time we met, I almost sliced her head off her body. Forgive me if I wasn’t exactly thrilled at the idea of spending the day with her.

I mean, what if this was her time to finally get revenge? What would happen to me?

I glanced at the back of her head as she walked ahead. She looked perfectly normal, which somehow made her even more suspicious.

Crazy people in novels always look normal right before they stab someone. I slowed down, hoping to increase the distance between us.

But then, Yufang suddenly stopped walking. I nearly walked right into her.

"Why are you walking so far behind me?" She asked, turning around with a raised brow.

"No reason," I responded in a low voice.

She narrowed her eyes at me, but to my surprise, she simply continued walking. Strange.

She didn’t last out at me, she didn’t even glare at me like she wanted me dead or something. I should feel relieved by this, but no. It left me feeling greatly unsettled.

I would have lied and told Gu Ruiqing Wanqing needed me, but after what happened last night using her name felt too risky. I had no idea if she’d back me up or just leave me hanging. The thought made me sigh.

I really need to stop thinking about her.

We walked through the residence in silence until we finally stepped out into the courtyard. A carriage was already waiting there, two brown horses shifted restlessly.

The guard standing beside the carriage bowed the moment he saw us. "Lady Yufang."

Yufang nodded at him, but when the guard turned to me. He winked.

I almost gagged at the sight. What was the meaning of that?

When his eyes met mine, the smile he had on his face only grew wider. This residence was truly full of weird people. (We’ve already figured that out, tiger!)

The guard hurried forward and pulled open the carriage door, but then he froze. Yufang looked into the carriage and frowned. I decided to take a step closer but what I saw inside had me gasping.

Gu Wanqing was seated inside the carriage, staring back at us with a bored expression on her face. "What took you both so long? I was tired of waiting."

’What is she doing here?’ I screamed at myself inwardly.

Yufang recovered first and allowed her lips to stretch into a smile. A very forced smile.

"Oh my, what a pleasant surprise." She glanced between us. "Since you’re here, I’ll simply take another carriage." Then she turned to me. "Come along, Anning."

She had barely spun around when Wanqing finally spoke, "No."

Yufang didn’t turn to look at her, but I found myself staring right at Wanqing.

"Anning is coming with me. Pick another maid to help you out." Wanqing said, her gaze fixed on me.

Yufang laughed softly, pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear, "You make it sound like she has something else to do."

I watched Wanqing go from being bored to angry in a few seconds.

"She does."

I nearly choked on my saliva. Excuse me?

"Sister, even if she is your personal maid. You can’t be coddling her, she needs to work for her pay." Yufang replied, sounding oddly amused.

"I never said she wasn’t going to be working." Wanqing said, shrugging.

"Then allow her to accompany me for a few hours? Why are you so hesitant?" Yufang asked, raising a brow.

Wanqing looked at me briefly before turning her attention back to Yufang and saying, "Because she’s mine and no one else’s."

The courtyard went completely silent at her words. I didn’t know what to say. Should I say something to ease the awkward atmosphere? Pretend I didn’t hear her?

Before I could decide, my stomach let out a loud, embarrassing growl. I slapped a hand over my face at the sound, of all freaking times.

I could feel their gazes on me but I couldn’t bring myself to look into their eyes. I pressed my hand to my stomach and muttered weakly.

"Good morning, Young miss."

The courtyard suddenly became so quiet that I could hear the horses breathing. Considering the fact Wanqing hadn’t said a single word, maybe if i pretended nothing had happened, everyone would do the same.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

Yufang raised a hand and hid half of her face behind the sleeve. The guard turned away so quickly I thought his neck might snap.

I narrowed my eyes at both Yufang and the guard. Were they trying not to laugh?

"You may laugh if you want," I muttered with an eye roll.

The guard immediately let out a cough, that cough turned into full blown laughter.

That bastard.

Yufang let out a soft chuckle and then said, "I didn’t realize you were hungry."

"I’m not." I said firmly.

Right on cue, my stomach growled again. I pressed my eyes close, hoping the floor would just open up and swallow me.

The silence that followed wasn’t even helping me at the moment.

"My stomach has such terrible timing," I said, letting out a sigh.

Yufang had the lower half of her face covered, but with the way her shoulders were trembling, she was definitely laughing.

I glared at her and didn’t hesitate to ask, "Lady Yufang, do you find this funny?"

"Maybe. Maybe not." The noblewoman responded, shrugging.

I sighed dramatically, this was truly not my day. Then, I turned my attention back to the only person that was yet to say something about this whole situation.

Wanqing was already staring at me when I raised my head. She didn’t look amused or annoyed at what had just happened.

Thank goodness.

But she did look... concerned? Wait, why would Wanqing be concerned about whether I had eaten or not?

I was probably seeing things.

"Did you have something to eat this morning?" Wanqing suddenly asked.

I tilted my head to the side, but still responded. "Yes, I did."

"When?" She asked again, making me frown.

"Before heading to the receiving room? I don’t know." I muttered, deliberately looking away for a second.

"You are lying."