Upon seeing the patches of blue and purple marks on Feng Jin's neck, Chu Qing was startled and immediately asked with concern.
Feng Jin shuddered at Chu Qing's exclamation, her dazed drowsiness vanishing completely.
"What's wrong?" she asked reflexively, looking at Chu Qing behind her with a bewildered expression.
"Young Madam, what happened to your neck? It's all bruised and purple."
Feng Jin's brow furrowed slightly, and she quickly looked at herself in the mirror. Indeed, as Chu Qing had said, her fair neck was covered in prominent blue and purple marks that were impossible to ignore.
As the person involved, Feng Jin naturally knew how these marks came about. Her face instantly flushed red, and she coughed lightly to hide her embarrassment.
That scoundrel Ling Mohan, what was he thinking, biting her neck like that? How was she supposed to go out and face people?
Feeling utterly mortified, Feng Jin awkwardly pulled up her collar, attempting to conceal the marks on her neck. However, it was all in vain, as the entire neck was covered and couldn't be hidden.
"Young Madam, how did you get these? Should I help you apply some medicine?"
Chu Qing couldn't fathom what had happened or under what circumstances the Young Madam's neck had ended up in such a state.
"No need, it's nothing... nothing, it will fade in a few days."
Such marks would take several days to disappear even with medicine. Whether or not to use medicine wasn't the immediate concern; the pressing matter was to find a way to cover the marks on her neck.
"Chu Qing, go and get me that Ruyi brocade padded jacket with the fur collar."
She hoped the fur collar on that garment would be enough to cover them. She had no choice but to make do, as she had to go out and see people.
"Yes, Young Madam, I'll go right away."
Chu Qing wanted to ask further questions, but after a moment of hesitation, she went to get the clothes.
"Young Madam, isn't this jacket a bit too thick?"
Ever since this jacket was made, the Young Madam had always found it too thick and kept it stored away, never wearing it. The weather today wasn't particularly cold, so why had the Young Madam suddenly decided to wear this jacket?
At Chu Qing's innocent question, Feng Jin's face grew even redder.
She felt utterly embarrassed today. How could she explain this? Every time she met Chu Qing's pure, truth-seeking gaze, she felt immensely guilty about lying.
"I felt a bit cold today, so wearing something thicker is warmer."
Feng Jin's clumsy explanation was hard to believe, even for herself.
"Cold? I actually felt that it was warmer today than yesterday, and I didn't feel particularly cold. Young Madam, you don't happen to have a cold, do you, and that's why you feel cold?"
Chu Qing asked with a look of pure innocence, her eyes full of concern for Feng Jin. The Young Madam was too strange today, her behavior so different from usual.
If she weren't certain that the person before her was the genuine Young Madam, she would have suspected she was an imposter.
"It's nothing, I'm fine..." Feng Jin tried to explain calmly, her embarrassment now impossible to hide. She wished she could find a hole to crawl into and never come out.
"Um... Chu Qing, go to the small kitchen and make some pea cakes. I feel like eating them."
She found an excuse to send Chu Qing away, genuinely worried that Chu Qing might ask something more embarrassing in the next moment. It was better to get her out of there first.
"Yes, Young Madam, I'll go right away."
Chu Qing reluctantly agreed. As she reached the door, she couldn't help but glance at Feng Jin a few more times. Seeing nothing particularly unusual, she closed the door and left.
"Chu Qing, weren't you supposed to be helping the Young Madam get ready? Why are you out so soon?"
Cai Qing saw Chu Qing and asked with slight confusion. She had come out remarkably quickly. The Young Madam hadn't emerged yet, so why was Chu Qing already out?
"Sister Cai Qing, I think the Young Madam is very strange today. The way she speaks is also odd, as if she's hiding something, and she deliberately sent me out. Also... also, I saw that the Young Madam's neck was covered in large patches of blue and purple, all over her neck, densely packed..."
Upon seeing Cai Qing, Chu Qing couldn't wait to grab her hand and pour out everything that had just happened in the room.
After speaking in one breath, and taking a brief pause, Chu Qing seemed to recall something else and continued, "Sister Cai Qing, do you think the Young Madam is acting so unusually because she's sick?"
She felt that the Young Madam today was strange from every angle, an indescribable oddity.
Moreover, if she were to say it, the Young General also seemed very strange today. When had she ever seen the Young General smile? Yet today, she saw him emerge from his room looking cheerful, and he even smiled at her...
The most important thing was that the Young General had actually smiled at her. She had been serving in the manor for almost a year, and it was the first time she had seen the Young General smile. It was simply incredible.
"Alright, stop overthinking. The Young Madam has her own plans. You just do your job."
From Chu Qing's description, Cai Qing could roughly guess what was happening. After all, she had been serving the Young Madam since she entered the manor and had seen more of the world.
This wasn't the first time she had encountered what Chu Qing described today, so she knew what was going on.
However, Chu Qing was still too young, and it was better for her not to know certain things too early. It was best not to explain clearly to her; when she grew older, she would naturally understand.
"Cai Qing..."
"Alright, hurry up and get busy."
Fearing that Chu Qing might become stubborn if they continued talking, Cai Qing quickly sent her away and then swiftly left the area.
Only Chu Qing, still looking confused, remained standing there. Her brow furrowed slightly. What was going on? It seemed like everyone was hiding something from her.
Without dwelling on it further, Chu Qing hesitated for a moment before hurrying to the small kitchen.
...
"Mother... you're wearing such thick clothes..."
"Mother, aren't you hot at all?"