The fragrant fruit mixed with the finely shaved ice promptly melted in his mouth.
The sweet fragrance of the watermelon juice was refreshingly cool. It was not too cold and the freshness could rejuvenate one’s heart.
Following this, he turned his head to look at the porcelain bowl containing the watermelon slushie perched at the side.
He had originally thought it was simply a bowl of watermelon juice with ice. He did not expect Ruoyin to have shaved the ice into fine snow and mixed it with the watermelon flesh and juice.
However, he quickly snapped out of it and continued looking through the account books and writing.
Soon afterward, Ruoyin was feeding Lord Fourth one mouthful after another. Of course, she availed herself of some of it too.
One scoop for Lord Fourth, another scoop for herself.
At the same time, she kept mulling over the idea that Consort Li had tattled on someone to Consort De. How should she go about tattling to Lord Fourth in retaliation?
And then, how should she approach the issue with the copy of Lessons for Women?
In any case, Lord Fourth was busy at work right now. It was not apt for her to start chatting and she could only wait until he had finished.
If not, she reckoned Lord Fourth would drive her away.
Eventually, Ruoyin waited for two hours—the slushie had long been finished.
Lord Fourth was still not done at this point in time. He darted a glance from the corner of his eyes toward the woman by his side.
He realized she had been quietly sitting still at the side, except for the occasional nodding of her head.
Therefore, Lord Fourth turned his head and saw that Ruoyin’s eyes were half-closed; she looked weary and like a total sleepyhead.
Lord Fourth could not help but chuckle, his handsome, slender lips forming into a smile.
Aside from her seductive voice and very alluring outer appearance, she did not do anything inappropriate.
She was rather composed and considerate, always quietly serving him by his side.
It looked like it was the right decision to let her in.
“If you are tired, go back and rest. My work is not yet completed,” Lord Fourth said while poking her cheek with his brush.
Upon being poked, Ruoyin’s whole body shivered to wakefulness, feeling a little dazed.
She rubbed her cheek with a frown; why did Lord Fourth like to poke her face so much?
However, this was not the time to fret about that; she still had yet to state her business.
Ruoyin turned her head to look at Lord Fourth with her red lips slightly pursed, looking like she had something to say but was too embarrassed to say it.
Upon seeing this, Lord Fourth asked directly, “What’s the matter? Just say it.”
Ruoyin heard this and put on a cheery face immediately. “My Lord, I went to Mother’s place today and she asked me to copy the Lessons for Women once. Then, I remembered you had asked me to do the same, so I wonder if I may retrieve that copy to be submitted to Mother. It just so happened I copied it once the other time too.”
“What have you done and why did Mother instruct you to copy the Lessons for Women?” Lord Fourth deflected the request and asked in reply, concentrating not on her wiles.
“Well… Well, could Lord Fourth refrain from asking?” Ruoyin said, embarrassed.
When he heard that she was reluctant to speak, Lord Fourth’s eyes immediately became cold. “Fujin, I realize you are getting more and more out of line recently, mm?”
Lord Fourth’s sudden change of mood came as a surprise to her, but everything was going according to her plan. She would have been more worried if Lord Fourth did not ask!
She tugged on Lord Fourth’s sleeve, acting coquettishly to pacify him. “Please calm down, my Lord. I haven’t finished speaking yet~”
“Speak, then!” Lord Fourth did not shake her off but merely commanded sternly.
“So it went like this: Mother invited me into the palace at the last minute today. She said that she knew my Lord and I had some falling out and then asked for the cause. I did not tell her and she asked me to copy the Lessons for Women after that, stating that I needed to learn to be more considerate of my Lord,” Ruoyin said while hanging her head low, like a child that had done something wrong.
It had to be said that both Consort De and Lord Fourth were controlling people who wished to know everything as if it was all in their grasp.
However, her relationship with Lord Fourth had always been average from the beginning, so there was no worth in mentioning her relationship with her daughter-in-law as well.
In any case, the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was always complicated, and thus, she was not so silly as to confide everything to Consort De.
However, it was different with Lord Fourth. He was her man, so she had to cling on tightly to this head of the family, with all the benefits she could get~
And being with Lord Fourth had many, many benefits! Having him on her side would mean a life of security without having to worry about basic needs.
Lord Fourth pondered over the meaning of the words and replied matter-of-factly, “How did you turn down her question?”
“I said that a husband and wife were bound to have some moments of falling out and we ought not trouble Mother with our trifles.” Ruoyin had stated things as they really were. Following that, she affected confusion and said, “But it was weird. We are already living out here, but Mother still found out about our situation from her palace. I think I should always get along with my Lord from now on and not anger my Lord ever again~”
After saying this, she slowly and intimately leaned against Lord Fourth’s shoulders.
Anyway, she was going to stop talking now. If she talked any more, it would make her seem like she was deliberately trying to rat out whoever had been leaking information behind their backs.
And Lord Fourth was a man of immense shrewdness. Lord Fourth would be able to arrive at any conclusions she did, and he would even be able to formulate thoughts she could not.
Moreover, she did not have any ulterior motive anyway; it was not as if Lord Fourth would instruct Consort Li to stop spewing gossip if she had tattled to Lord Fourth.
There was no way of controlling Consort Li’s mouth and she therefore would not obey. Even if she did promise to stop, she would still resort to the same tricks if she had to tattle again.
Although none of these would stop Consort Li from tattling to Lord Fourth, Lord Fourth would know that Consort Li had been misbehaving and that she had been gossiping about herself and Lord Fourth to Consort De.
Just as expected, Lord Fourth fell silent for a moment, his gaze shifting around slightly.
In the end, his line of sight stopped at the almanac on the writing desk, seemingly recalling something important.
He said unemotionally, “Since the situation has come to this, listen to Mother and copy the Lessons for Women obediently. You couldn’t even complete ten copies the other time, and now you’re only thinking of the easy way out!”
Right then at that moment, Ruoyin felt so heartbroken that she had trouble breathing.
She could not accept the reality that Lord Fourth had unexpectedly declined her request outrightly.
Was this the same Lord Fourth who had slept with her yesterday? The difference was just too much!
He was lewd as the devil when letting loose, but saintly as the Buddha when being proper; he even preached principles to her!
She let out a deep sigh, arose to curtsy to him, and said in an obviously pathetic manner, “My Lord is right. I will copy it properly. It’s just that I have been sitting for too long and my back is aching a little now. I shall no longer bother my Lord, and I’ll go back first to Yi Lan Villa to rest for a while.”
Lord Fourth noticed the pretense of his lady but her pathetic behavior made him recall that her subordinate had mentioned her aching back before.
Thus, Lord Fourth’s heart softened a little and he took a glimpse at the almanac. “Considering that your body is still in recovery, you may submit half your copy to the palace, but you must recopy the other half.”
Hearing this, joy sprung in Ruoyin’s heart and she said, smiling, “Thank you, my Lord! You’re the best~”
“You should go back to rest. I’ve been quite busy these days, so please refrain from coming to the study if there’s no business.” Lord Fourth had asked her to leave matter-of-factly, but his eyes were glued fixedly at the lady in front of him.
Now that her goal was half accomplished, it was natural for her not to overstay her welcome.
She knew that Lord Fourth was an ambitious person. He would hate to be disturbed by anyone, whether male or female, while he was working.
Therefore, she obeyed and replied, “Yes, my Lord,” before taking her leave.
Although she had to copy half of the Lessons for Women, she still wanted to find a good opportunity to make him bend to her will with her wiles once again. It would be best if she did not have to write a single word.
…
Lord Fourth’s busyness lasted a few days.
On the third afternoon, he took the initiative to send someone to summon Ruoyin.
It was unclear if he had finished his work or if it was because of something else.