Translator: Atlas Studios
Editor: Atlas Studios
Which man wouldn’t like compliments from his own woman? His lips unconsciously curved gradually into a smile.
Ruoyin knew that Lord Fourth’s temper had dissipated. “My Lord, have you eaten? My dishes are light in flavor today. Would you like to have a taste?” she asked in hopes of winning his favor.
Lord Fourth let out a soft huff as a form of approval.
The kitchen knew Ruoyin had a good appetite. Normally, she would eat two bowls of rice. Therefore, they had prepared two portions of the pineapple rice this time as well.
Actually, the pineapple was almost twice the size of a bowl. Meaning one portion would have been enough.
But the extra portion was sufficient to share with Lord Fourth.
Therefore, Ruoyin served Lord Fourth with one half of the pineapple.
Lord Fourth almost wanted to say that they should eat fruits later or they wouldn’t have any appetite for their meal.
But he realized that this was not a pineapple. The pineapple was filled with rice and mixed with various other ingredients. It smelled rather delicious.
Caught in a dilemma, he wondered if this was edible.
But as he saw how great it looked with all the red, green, and yellow ingredients mixed, it worked up his appetite.
Seeing his hesitance, she took a spoonful of it. After chewing and swallowing, she said, “Mmm. This is delicious! My Lord, quick! Have a taste.”
With that, she began to start eating by herself in an extremely happy manner.
As Lord Fourth saw how much she was enjoying herself, he picked up his silver spoon and took a bite. Indeed, the taste was not bad.
The fragrance of the various ingredients spread across his mouth, with the freshness of the pineapple being the strongest.
Accompanied by the few light dishes in front of them, there was a foreign taste tied to the meal.
Lord Fourth had thought that she loved to eat only spicy food. He did not expect that she would have so many tricks up her sleeve with just rice.
Half an hour later, Lord Fourth was full and satisfied. He was no longer in the mood to be angry with Ruoyin.
As the saying went, “One is partial to those from whom presents have been accepted.” He was unable to be angry after eating the sumptuous meal she had prepared.
Right at this moment, Su Peicheng invited the physician in.
The physician went through a series of questions about Ruoyin’s condition and concluded that she was suffering from excessive internal heat. He also prescribed some medicine.
After the physician had left, Ruoyin acted coquettishly with Lord Fourth. “My Lord, it’s just internal heat. Can I not take any medicine? Medicine is so bitter!”
Lord Fourth glanced at Ruoyin’s face. It seemed like she was in pain. “You don’t have to take the medicine if you don’t want to. But you have to abstain from certain foods. You have to eat light flavors and drink honeysuckle and chrysanthemum tea.”
“Alright, I will listen to everything you say,” Ruoyin answered honestly.
Since the physician said it was not a big issue, Lord Fourth was relieved. “Please recover well. I will come to visit you another day,” he said as he stood up after sitting for a while.
Like a daughter-in-law who had done something wrong, Ruoyin nodded her head and watched Lord Fourth leave longingly.
During that time, Lord Fourth turned around and glanced at her. He was stunned for a few seconds by her gaze that was full of love before he withdrew his eyes and turned around to leave.
After waiting for Lord Fourth to go a little farther, Ruoyin headed back into the house. She returned to her usual composure without any love in her eyes.
In the next few days, the pimple on Ruoyin’s nose slowly became inflamed. “Fujin, shall we burst the pimple? It will get better faster,” Nanny Liu advised.
“No, let it get better naturally. Squeezing it will leave a scar.” The scar was one thing, but letting it heal slowly was another.
Ruoyin went through all the trouble to hurt herself. Of course, she had to let this pimple accompany her as she went through her risky time peacefully. If not, wouldn’t it be a waste?
During the time that Ruoyin could not serve Lord Fourth, Consort Li was the happiest. She felt as if this was a rare opportunity for her.
These last few days, Consort Li had personally waited for Lord Fourth outside his study room every single day, bringing him desserts and soups.
Consort Song sent him several rounds of delicacies as well.
During this time, Lord Fourth finally stopped pampering only one person. His heart was no longer focused only on the main courtyard.
This left Consort Li devastatingly happy. Since returning from Jinan, he finally rested at her place.
By the time Ruoyin’s pimple had fully recovered, it had been ten days.
In those ten days, Lord Fourth had visited her three times and eaten with her twice. This was not bad, indicating that he had not forgotten her.
This afternoon, Ruoyin was lying contentedly on the imperial consort’s seat as she let Qiao Feng and Qiao Lan massage her shoulders and her legs.
Qiao Lan was her newest servant. She was eye-grabbing and intelligent. That was why she was given this name.
As she was enjoying herself, Li Fukang came dashing in. “Fujin, Eunuch Su is here and he is waiting outside.”
Ruoyin paused for a moment. This individual was Lord Fourth’s right-hand man. Something must have happened for him to personally seek her out.
She stood up and sat on the rose chair beside her. “Let him in.”
Following closely after, Su Peicheng arrived. He knelt on the ground and bowed deeply as he said, “Paying my respects to the Fujin.”
Ruoyin accepted his greeting without much modesty. She was the Fujin, after all. Therefore, she was worthy of Su Peicheng’s bow.
But she was still modest when she needed to be. “Eunuch Su, for you to come here, there must be an issue, am I right?” Ruoyin asked as she smiled.
“Replying to the Fujin, it’s Lord Fourth who asked me to come over. He has invited you to head over to the front courtyard’s study room to have a chat,” Su Peicheng said with a smile.
Ruoyin lowered her head to have a look at her clothing. She was a very particular person. Not only did she have to eat to her fullest every day, but she also had to make sure she looked beautiful too.
It didn’t matter if Lord Fourth was coming or not. Every morning, she would let others dress her up and put on her favorite robes. She did what she liked, and she enjoyed each day to her fullest.
When she saw that her clothing had no issues, Ruoyin immediately took Nanny Liu along with her as they followed Su Peicheng to the front courtyard.
When they reached the courtyard, Su Peicheng took her directly to Lord Fourth’s study room as Nanny Liu waited outside.
As Ruoyin entered the study room, she could detect the faint smell of ink. Lord Fourth’s study room was furnished entirely with brown wooden shelves and accessories.
There were two rows of round chairs outside, two rosewood marble screens, and a few small tables. It seemed like they were used for guests.
Ruoyin looked around, then stared more intently inside the room when she still hadn’t spotted Lord Fourth.
There was a brown fretwork screen inside, allowing her to barely see Lord Fourth seated at his desk as he wrote seriously.
Lord Fourth was wearing blue robes embedded with silver trims. His eyes were deep and full of spirit, his nose was high and straight, and his lips were thin and sexy. All things combined, he looked like a man that had just walked out of a painting.
Now that she had noticed Lord Fourth, Ruoyin strutted further into the room. When she reached the screen, Lord Fourth raised his head and noticed her. “You are here right on time. Please help me grind the ink.”
“Alright.” Since Lord Fourth was not treating her like an outsider and was inviting her to help him grind ink, she decided to not be modest and do more than was required.
Ruoyin sat in front of Lord Fourth and held on to the pitch-black ingot, and began to grind.
Lord Fourth looked extremely busy. He was reading a huge pile of official documents, furrowing his eyebrows from time to time as he lowered his head, deep in thought. Occasionally, he wrote at a tremendous speed.
The room was extremely silent at the moment. Only the sounds of Lord Fourth’s writing and Ruoyin’s ink grinding could be heard.
Ruoyin did not bother him as she examined the interior of the room while grinding ink.
Behind Lord Fourth were two large brown wooden bookcases filled with books of all sizes.
Beside it was an Arhat couch that was almost as wide as a double bed.
At a glance, she saw that it was probably ten feet wide!