The poetry was simple and easy to understand. After Xia Zhiqing finished reading it, she felt her face slightly flushed.

In the white snow, there was a beauty, her charming and exquisite appearance was unparalleled in the mundane world, her expression like the lake in spring, her eyebrows shaped like the spring mountains dyed green.

She walked gracefully as if lotus flowers bloomed with each step, and a gust of wind might blow her over, evoking a feeling of pity at first sight.

Missing the beauty has caused the lovesickness, yet the beauty remains unaware.

Xia Zhiqing only felt her heart soften like a melted fondant, indicating that the beauty mentioned on the embroidery was her.

And that person misses her so much, he has become lovesick.

Especially the first line, a beauty in the snow, an unrivaled charm that transcends the mundane world, filled her eyes with a mix of embarrassment and annoyance.

She never expected to hold such a high regard in that person's heart.

The crucial point was that the poetry on this handkerchief wasn't written but embroidered. Seeing the crookedly sewn words, Xia Zhiqing even imagined the amusing sight of a young man awkwardly doing embroidery.

This shows how much effort went into this gift for her.

"But there's already nothing between us, so why send this love poem now?" Xia Zhiqing twisted the handkerchief, her thoughts wandering, as a strange feeling she had suppressed and hidden began to resurface.

She spoke coquettishly in her heart, "What do you mean by lovesickness, you haven't come to see me after all these days. Besides, I can't see you, so how would I know..."

Xia Zhiqing pursed her rosy lips, her beautiful cheeks turning crimson with embarrassment, even though she knew this was not right, she couldn't bring herself to let go of the handkerchief and bangle in her hands.

She stared at the bracelet for a long time, then murmured, "Even if Zhi Ning was bullied like that, she still wore the things he gave her, why shouldn't I?"

While muttering to herself, she put on the bracelet that Chen Mo had given her.

The size was a perfect fit.

And this only increased Xia Zhiqing's shyness.

At that moment, she heard the door open, and Xia Zhining walked in.

Xia Zhiqing turned around in a panic, hid the handkerchief in her sleeve, and was about to take off the bracelet when she suddenly wondered why she had to hide it, so she left it on.

"Sister, what are you doing?"

Xia Zhining walked over, circled around to face Xia Zhiqing, looked intently, then noticed the white jade bracelet on her wrist, exclaimed, "Wow, such a beautiful bracelet! Sister, where did you get this bracelet?"

She naturally knew that the bracelet was given by that scoundrel, but seeing her sister wearing what the scoundrel gave her made her feel a twinge of jealousy.

Bear in mind, the bracelet wasn't something that scoundrel forced onto her sister.

"Ah... oh, Zhi Ning, I bought it on the street when you were not around. It's an ordinary jade material, just looks nice but isn't worth much." Xia Zhiqing explained.

If Chen Mo hadn't told her about the gift, Xia Zhining might almost have believed her.

Seeing how effortlessly her sister could make up a lie, Xia Zhining didn't know whether to be amused or saddened. She held her sister's hand with the bracelet, stroking it while saying, "Sister, the bracelet is so pretty. Since it's not worth much, can you give it to me?"

Xia Zhiqing: "..."

Just taking her jade hairpin and pearl necklace wasn't enough?

Now even the bracelet is being targeted.

If it were before, she might have given it.

But now, for some reason, she didn't have any intention of giving it. Instead, there was a thought of wanting to take back the jade hairpin and pearl necklace.

"You already have so many pieces of jewelry, why do you want this bracelet?"

"Oh, sister, I just like it. Please, sister, give it to me." Xia Zhining intentionally acted coquettishly.

"No, I... I like this bracelet too, I can't give it to you." Xia Zhiqing rarely said no to her sister, but this time she did. To avoid suspicion, she quickly changed the subject:

"Zhi Ning, where did you go just now?"

Seeing her sister this way, Xia Zhining quietly clenched her right hand, knowing her intention wasn't really to take her sister's bracelet, but just to test her.

Realizing how cherished it was by her sister, Xia Zhining understood that perhaps that scoundrel's method might actually succeed.

Xia Zhining chuckled softly, "Nowhere in particular, just went out for a walk to clear my mind."

"Oh."

...

December 17th.

Intentionally when Xia Zhining wasn't around, Chunhong knocked on the door of the room again and gave Xia Zhiqing a pair of gloves.

"My lady, these are from the master for you. He said they are called gloves, to be worn on the hands, and instructed the servant to tell you to keep warm as the weather is getting cold."

...

December 18th.

This time Xia Zhining was also in the room when Chunhong brought a food box, saying, "These are dumplings the master brought from home. Master already had them heated up for the two ladies to enjoy."

"Who's going to eat his food, take it away, take it away." Xia Zhining deliberately said.

"Wait." Xia Zhiqing spoke up, stroking the jade bracelet on her wrist, "After all, it's his thoughtfulness, and... it's been a while since I've had dumplings. It'd be a shame not to."

With that, she had Chunhong leave it there.

Seeing this, Xia Zhining didn't insist.

Xia Zhiqing opened the food box, inside were dumplings, along with chopsticks and seasonings prepared.

Xia Zhiqing picked up the chopsticks, lifted a dumpling, dipped it in sauce, took a small bite lightly, and then narrowed her eyes slightly. It was actually her favorite mushroom and shrimp filling.

This filled her with intense surprise.

Beside her, Xia Zhining pretended to be puzzled, "It's actually mushroom and shrimp filling. I remember this is your favorite, sister. How could that bastard know? He must have ulterior motives."

"Maybe it's just a coincidence." Xia Zhiqing said.

"How can it be such a coincidence? Mushroom is one thing; it's dried and available in winter. But shrimp, it's rare in winter. It's so cold that the lakes are frozen; the only way to get shrimp is to break the ice and fish them out of the rivers and lakes. Clearly, this is not a coincidence but a deliberate act.

I knew it, the so-called clean break is just talk. Sis, that bastard definitely still has bad intentions towards you." Xia Zhining analyzed, "As for how he knew you like mushroom and shrimp, he must have deduced it from the things you usually eat."

Initially, Xia Zhiqing didn't think much, but after hearing her sister's words, she suddenly understood that this dumpling was also a gift from that person.

To deduce her favorite food from her usual dishes shows how attentive he was.

With her head slightly lowered, Xia Zhiqing's jade-like cheeks turned crimson like the sunset. Her heart was beating particularly fast, and as she savored the delicious shrimp in her mouth, she felt a bit sweet inside, but she said, "Zhining, you're exaggerating. It's just a coincidence."

"What coincidence? It's him still harboring ulterior motives. Sister, you should be careful," Xia Zhining said.

Xia Zhiqing nodded, but somewhat dismissively, and picked up another dumpling, dipping it in sauce, eating it.

In the following two days, Chen Mo sent small gifts every day, passing them to Xia Zhiqing through Chunhong when Xia Zhining wasn't around.

This made Xia Zhiqing's desire to see Chen Mo grow increasingly urgent.

But after December 20th, for three consecutive days, Xia Zhiqing didn't receive any gifts from Chen Mo, nor did she hear any words from him through Chunhong.

...

In the study, at this moment, the silence was palpable.

Sun Meng, Li Yunzhang, Geng Songfu, Zhang River and several other middle and senior members were present.

"This Yang Minggui is insatiably greedy. Ever since Marshal Chen took over Pingting County, he has come several times to demand money and grain, but the returns given are scant," Zhang River, who had enrolled in the County School and been influenced by the scholarly atmosphere, spoke differently now.

"Desire is endless. You give once, there's a second and a third time. This time he's asking for 50,000 stones of grain and fifty thousand coins. If we give, he'll only think we're easy to bully," Zhao Daoxian said.

"Right, we can't give," Sun Meng and others agreed, except Geng Songfu who didn't speak up.

Chen Mo lightly tapped his fingers on the table, glanced at Geng Songfu, and said, "County Magistrate Geng, what do you think about this matter?"

Geng Songfu smiled and said, "Marshal Chen has your own ideas in mind. Why ask an old fool like me?"

Chen Mo glanced once more at the system panel.

[Name: Chen Mo.]

[Cultivation Technique: Purple Sun Transformation Skill (Proficient 9341.9/10000).]

[Realm: Qi Absorption (Fifth Grade).]

[Power: 712.]

[Skills: Great Sun Qi Slash (Basic 2536590/5000000), Cloud-Chasing Arrow (Advanced 113580/200000).]

"Give, but we can't give the amount he asks for, cut the money and grain in half, send someone to deliver it," Chen Mo said.

"But..." Zhang River wanted to say more, but seeing Chen Mo's decided expression, he could only stop and respectfully say, "Yes."

After everyone left one by one, Chen Mo looked at the letter from Xia Lin on the table, with a cold gleam in his eyes, "The day when you yield everything is not far away."

At noon, Chunhong's voice sounded outside the study, "Master, it's time for lunch."

Chen Mo put down his brush and said, "Bring it in."

"Yes."

Soon Chunhong came in carrying a basin of warm water, leading two maids inside.

Each of the two maids carried a food box, placing them on Chen Mo's table.

The basin of warm water Chunhong brought was naturally for Chen Mo to wash his hands before eating.

After Chen Mo finished washing his hands, Chunhong handed him a dry towel to wipe his hands, then pointed to one of the food boxes and said, "The dishes inside were made by Lady Xia personally."

Hearing this, Chen Mo put down the towel, the corners of his mouth slightly curled up, seeing that his plan was going smoothly.

Before eating, he took up the pen again and wrote a note, asking Chunhong to pass it to Xia Zhiqing.

...

Elsewhere.

In the side chamber, Xia Zhiqing did not know why she foolishly started making meals for Chen Mo.

But what she didn't realize was that it was precisely because of Chen Mo's sudden indifference that it left her feeling a bit anxious, hoping to get his attention by cooking.

"Sister, what's wrong with you?" Xia Zhining looked at her sister's distracted look and deliberately asked.

"Ah… nothing, let's eat," Xia Zhiqing said.

After eating, Xia Zhiqing called Chunhong and, under the pretext of helping her, left the side chamber with dishes.

Then, Chunhong handed a note to Xia Zhiqing.

Xia Zhiqing opened it and looked.

Chen Mo: "When will you send me a gift?"

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