They seem like the Eldest Brother and Lao Er, also like Lao San and Lao Si, and they should resemble Lao Wu and Lao Liu somewhat.

She snorted with laughter.

"Young Master Xiao, after months apart, we meet by chance today, and my heart is broadly joyful."

But her eyes are cold.

"In the past, you slapped me across the face and shattered my shoulder; I’ve always thought, should we meet again, I must return these favors to you in kind."

Her eyes seemingly carried a lightness, her tone was quite calm, as if speaking with an old friend for a long time; yet the meaning within her words was imposing and fierce.

Qinghe calmly gazed at her, she had changed, becoming less and less like the person she once was.

This change wasn’t merely in personality, demeanor, or thought; even her appearance was different.

No longer the familiar clownish face he knew, nor the bold warrior clad in black; she had blossomed into a graceful young woman.

Yet in his eyes, she was utterly unfamiliar.

He chuckled briefly.

"Looking at you, it actually pains my heart more than it used to."

Dong Huiying raised her eyebrows, "So tell me, how should I deal with you now? Fry, roast, boil, a variety of options, take your pick."

"Is the Baobao from before never coming back?"

"Whenever I see you now, I start to psychologically feel the pain from the slap you once gave me. If my medical skills weren’t good, when you shattered my shoulder, I might have been disabled from that point onward. Even though I healed myself, in order to fix those fragmented bones, eighteen steel pins were driven into my shoulder blade."

"Knowing you’re alive, I am happy, but the current you are no longer the Baobao from before, no longer the person I cherished."

Dong Huiying: "..."

This is far too unfriendly.

She inexplicably felt a blockage in her heart.

Their conversation was entirely disjointed, she sulked with a straight face.

"Xiao Qinghe, you’re such a jerk!" 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

She frowned.

"Why are you acting all sentimental and like you care deeply? If you truly cared deeply, you wouldn’t have treated the past me that way back then!"

Some things have traces to follow, even if not experienced, much can be deduced.

She’s not inherently slow, her mind is sharp.

She smiled as she scrutinized him.

"In the past, power struggles swirled, and you maneuvered left and right; seeing the Eighth Princess rising prominently, you accommodated her. Now that the Eighth Princess is considered done for, and the Ninth Princess’s faction is gaining momentum, you come posing as a heartbroken lover, doesn’t this appear a bit ridiculous?"

Qinghe was stunned for a moment.

"It seems you really do resent me deeply."

Dong Huiying almost spat out old blood.

"It’s like I misunderstood you, who exactly slapped me across the face? And who caused my shoulder to retain eighteen steel pins? The things you did, not one was good, already rotten deep within the bones."

Qinghe was silent for a moment, then suddenly wistful.

"Indeed."

He didn’t defend himself, Ah Lian wanted to speak but closed her mouth.

She wanted to help the Young Master explain, wanted to say that the Young Master’s heart had always been tied to the Marshal; even accommodating the Eighth Princess back then was not as the Marshal imagined.

On the surface, the Young Master was favored by the Eighth Prince, but the Young Master’s body was always pale; those nights sleeping with the Eighth Princess were actually with a substitute, similar in figure to the Young Master and disguised to look like him.

But after glancing at Dong Huiying silently, Ah Lian closed her mouth again.

At this point, even if explained, what use would it have?