Chapter 23: They Were Not Killed by You

"Young Master, the Madam has given orders that this meal must be finished no later than tomorrow morning." Seeing that Qi Huan did not respond, the servant raised his voice and repeated the instruction.

"I am aware," Qi Huan finally spoke, sitting upon the arhat chair. Yet, within his narrow, elongated eyes, there flickered a trace of helplessness and sorrow.

Chu Xi found herself completely unable to fathom him.

The servant, whose tone had carried the weight of a command, seemed satisfied only after hearing Qi Huan’s acknowledgment; he frowned and turned to leave.

Chu Xi let out a couple of incredulous, dry laughs, then shook her head and walked toward the food box the servant had just delivered. Thinking that she would not be leaving this Prime Minister’s estate alive anyway, she lifted the lid.

Inside sat an array of pastries and dishes that were as fragrant as they were colorful. Chu Xi reached out, picked up a piece of pastry, and was about to put it into her mouth.

"Put that down!" Qi Huan suddenly roared at her in a fit of rage.

He lunged forward with long strides, snatched the pastry from her hand, and overturned the food box onto the floor. In an instant, all the food spilled out, creating a chaotic mess of soup and solids.

Chu Xi stood frozen, stunned into silence. It was only when Qi Huan, still fueled by fury, began to stomp ruthlessly on the food that she finally lost her composure.

"Qi Huan, what are you doing? I endured starvation and lived on scraps for three years at the Duke of Zhen’s estate. I had only just escaped that prison and enjoyed two days of full meals before being tricked into this Marquis’s estate to face death. Can you not have some pity and let me be a well-fed ghost on my way to the afterlife?"

The more Chu Xi spoke, the angrier she became, her rage churning within her, unable to be quelled. "If you have the strength to waste food right now, why didn't you use it on that servant who was so disrespectful to you? Instead, you choose to bully a weak woman. What kind of bloodthirsty demon are you? You are nothing but a coward who only knows how to pick on the helpless."

Facing her own imminent death, she couldn't understand why this freak wouldn't even allow her to die with a full stomach. Chu Xi vented all the emotions in her heart onto Qi Huan, and once she finished, she felt a sense of relief she had never known before.

Qi Huan stared in surprise at the furious Chu Xi. She had actually seen through him.

A coward—this seemingly fragile woman dared to insult him as a coward. Qi Huan’s heart was suddenly filled with a tumult of emotions, and even his habitually gloomy gaze dimmed.

"Fine. Since you are so eager to be a well-fed ghost, then when he comes to deliver the meal tomorrow, I shall certainly not stop you."

Just then, a mouse scurried out and began to nibble happily on the scraps of food on the floor. Chu Xi merely glanced at the mouse without a hint of alarm; during those three years at the Duke’s estate, she had long since become accustomed to such things, even becoming "neighbors" with the rodents.

But then, to her horror, the mouse suddenly began to convulse, collapsed, and died within moments.

Chu Xi looked at Qi Huan, trembling as she asked, "Th-this... what is happening?"

Qi Huan only let out a deep, heavy sigh.

Chu Xi suddenly realized, and she gasped, "Qi Huan, the food in that box was poisoned. Was your action just now... to save me?"

Qi Huan remained silent, returning to the arhat chair to sit down.

Feeling a lingering fear, Chu Xi clutched her chest and followed him, asking, "Qi Huan, can you tell me why those women who married you ended up dying?"

Qi Huan snapped his gaze toward her, warning, "You came to the Prime Minister’s estate only to meet your death. Do not seek to know so much."

But Chu Xi pressed on aggressively, "That deathly pale face of yours—it's covered in thick layers of powder, and those blood-red lips are stained with cinnabar and rouge. This terrifying appearance is merely a facade you’ve painted to intimidate others. Therefore, it wasn't you who killed those women at all; it has everything to do with that strange servant who acts so suspiciously."