Chapter 221 They won't let us in, how do we break this deadlock?

Everyone in the mansion knew that Lu Yunqi never needed maids to serve him in his study in the outer courtyard, so Luo Yi was afraid of making things worse by saying this to Pei Mama and dared not lie anymore.

Granny Pei said sarcastically, "Miss Luo, a young lady, isn't afraid of being misunderstood, so what is our young mistress afraid of? However, the bath soap we use here is lotus leaf scented, not the mint scent you mentioned. Miss Luo, would you like to try borrowing some from somewhere else?"

Luo Yi: ...

He awkwardly pulled out a silk handkerchief to wipe his sweat, exchanged a few more casual words, and then hurriedly took his leave.

"Pah! She's obviously here on purpose to cause trouble, why even bother borrowing bath soap? I think she's the real clown!"

Granny Pei spat as she watched Luo Yi's departing figure before turning around to comfort her:

"Young Madam, ignore her. The more you pay attention to her, the more she'll act up. She really thinks she's something special. A young lady like her, constantly talking about caring about the General. She has no shame."

Yu Qingci said calmly, "Of course I don't care. By the way, I'll close the courtyard gate early again today."

Granny Pei: ...

As night fell, Lu Yunqi hurriedly returned from outside. He had deliberately come back half an hour early today, and after quickly washing up in the outer study, he returned to the inner courtyard. In the past, even if he came back early at this time, he would read military books in the study for a while before going back.

At the entrance of Guanlan Pavilion, Lu Yunqi frowned and stared at the tightly closed courtyard gate. His earlier excitement quickly vanished. Even if he was stupid, he knew that his little wife didn't like him.

Are you really angry? Because of a bowl of lotus seed porridge?

His handsome brows were furrowed, and he stood there helplessly, unable to come up with a solution.

This greatly worried Xuanbing and Xuanying, who were hiding in a tree not far behind watching the commotion.

The general's current state has clearly displeased the young mistress. Look, she won't even let him into the courtyard. How can this situation be resolved?

They had been by the general's side since childhood, so they were naturally eager to help him. However, both of them had never been in a relationship and had no experience in charming women. Now that their master was being turned away, they were at a loss.

The two began whispering about whether they should go forward and knock on the door for their master. Just then, their master seemed to notice them and glanced at the place where they were hiding. The two immediately froze and dared not move.

Then they saw his general walk to the flower wall on the side and leap over it.

Both of them breathed a sigh of relief.

I told you, it's too embarrassing for a general to be unable to even enter his room for two days after returning home.

Xuanbing felt a sense of relief, casually plucked a tender leaf from a nearby branch, put it in her mouth, and asked softly:

"Tell me, when the general climbed over the wall and entered the house, was the lady happy or unhappy to see him?"

Xuan Ying glanced at him disdainfully: "Is that even a question? Of course I'm happy!"

Xuanbing became interested: "Really? How do you know?"

Xuan Ying scoffed again: "You're obviously inexperienced. Women love to say the opposite of what they mean in front of men. Even if they like a man, they'll always say: 'Who told you to come back?'"

Conversely, if the man really doesn't go back, the woman might be thinking to herself, "Ugh, why isn't he coming back?"

Xuan Ying spoke in a high-pitched, coquettish voice, and then gave Xuan Bing a flirtatious wink, causing Xuan Bing to shudder and almost fall off the tree.

How did you know?

Xuan Ying: "You little punk, you've never eaten pork but you've seen a pig run, right? Use your pig brain to figure it out."

Xuanbing rolled her eyes in dissatisfaction, ignoring him.

After a while, he couldn't help but ask again, "Hey, what do you think our general is doing in there right now? Is he kneeling before his wife, swearing that he will never make her angry again, or is he already in her arms, being all tender and affectionate?"

Xuanbing: "Is there even a need to guess? It's definitely the latter. With our general's handsome and dashing appearance, as long as he coaxes his wife a little, the two of them will reconcile in no time..."

The two people in the tree were chatting enthusiastically when they saw a figure fly out from inside the flower wall of Guanlan Pavilion and stand in the same spot.

Even though it was so dark that the two of them couldn't see the other person's face clearly, they could feel that their master was staring at them with a death stare.

The two exchanged a glance, sighed silently, and nimbly slid down from the tree.

Seeing the two of them come out, Lu Yunqi turned around and quietly headed towards the outer courtyard.

The two people behind them followed silently.

The next day, after Yu Qingci got up and washed, she went to the window and found a small hole in the snow-white window paper.

She looked at it carefully for a few moments, puzzled. The small hole didn't seem to have been blown open by the wind; it looked more like someone had poked it with their finger.

She stared thoughtfully at the small hole.

Before she could think any further, Lu Yun Chu's voice rang out from outside.

Yu Qingci suddenly remembered that she had promised Yun Chu yesterday that she would take her to Jinxiufang today. In a couple of days, one of her friends was having a birthday party and had sent her an invitation. She planned to take Yun Chu to Jinxiufang to pick out a few outfits she liked, and if they had time, they could also go shopping elsewhere together.

Yun Chu walked in quickly, and Yu Qingci's eyes lit up. The girl's outfit today was very dazzling. She wore a short, pale yellow silk blouse embroidered with a dark lotus pattern, and the collar and cuffs were neatly fitted. She paired it with a light green silk skirt with six narrow pleats at the hem. A silver chain with two fish pendants was tied around her waist, making a soft, tinkling sound as she walked.

Her long hair was styled into a neat tassel bun, adorned with only a few novel and unique tortoiseshell flower ornaments. It was simple and elegant, yet eye-catching.

Since Lu Yunqi returned, the person who has changed the most in the entire General's Mansion is actually Yun Chu, the younger sister-in-law. With her brother, a great general, backing her up, Yun Chu's former reserved and cautious nature has gradually disappeared, replaced by a bright smile and the elegance and confidence that a lady of a prominent family is born with.

Yun Chu stepped forward and took Yu Qingci's arm: "Sister-in-law, I'll come find you as soon as I'm ready. I promise I can spend the whole day with you today. Let's go out and have a good stroll."

Yu Qingci said with a smile, "Okay, you'll stay with me all day."

Yun Chu chuckled. Her sister-in-law was busy all day long; she didn't need her company. She just wanted to make her sister-in-law happy.

The two women, sister-in-law and aunt, chatted and laughed as they left Guanlan Pavilion.

They were going to Songbai Hall to inform the old lady before leaving. Just as the two arrived at the entrance of Songbai Hall, they heard Luo Yi's voice coming from inside. Yun Chu rolled her eyes, then pulled Yu Qingci and turned to head directly towards the place where the carriages were parked at the second gate.

Yu Qingci was puzzled, so Yun Chu explained to her in a low voice as they walked:

“Let’s just go. If we tell Mother, Miss Luo will definitely want to come with us. With her by my side, I’d rather not go anywhere.”

The young girl made no attempt to hide her dislike for Luo Yi in front of her sister-in-law. However, being a well-bred young lady, she rarely spoke ill of Luo Yi in public, despite her dislike for her.

The two women, without tacitly agreeing, got into the carriage and left.