Chapter 31: Tonight I would like to ask the mistress to give me special treatment.

At first, Li Yue'er thought that the mistress hadn't seen her, so she took a few steps forward when she got up to curtsy.

She assumed that the mistress had come to see her, and even Sister Su thought so, so Sister Su nodded and greeted the mistress before sitting back down.

It wasn't until the mistress mentioned Shi Yi that Su Rou realized she was there to see her, so she sat down in the chair slightly to the right of the head of the table.

Seeing the mistress talking to Sister Su, Li Yue'er hesitated for a moment, then slowly sat back down, gently fiddling with the abacus beads and prickling up her ears to eavesdrop on their conversation.

They must be looking for Sister Su.

As for ignoring me, it's probably because they don't want outsiders to discover their relationship.

Li Yue'er lowered her eyes, her heart and arms felt heavy, and even her hands slowed down when she was working on the abacus.

The mistress wasn't one to gossip about trivial matters, and only mentioned it briefly to Su Rou: "Aunt Tan said that Shi Yi is very smart, and he might be able to take over his father's job in half a year."

As she spoke the second half of the sentence, Su Rou's eyelashes fluttered and drooped lightly, concealing all the emotions in her eyes.

Even Li Yue'er realized that Su Rou didn't really want to chat with the mistress, let alone the mistress who was good at understanding people's hearts and had a lot of complaints about Su Rou.

The two sat there sipping tea. After a few silent moments, Su Rou realized that her mistress would not speak to her anymore, so she excused herself and said she needed to use the restroom.

Qu Rong lowered her eyelids and gave a very faint "hmm".

After Su Rou left, the main hall fell silent. Li Yue'er turned to look at the mistress of the house, secretly hoping that she would walk towards her.

The mistress didn't look at her; instead, she focused her gaze on Meng Xiaoxiao.

Li Yue'er, "?"

This was Meng Xiaoxiao's first time meeting the mistress in person. She was a little curious and a little nervous. When the mistress was talking to Sister Su, she tilted her head to look at the mistress. When the mistress looked at her, she smiled and imitated Li Yue'er, saying, "Greetings, Mistress."

So this is what the people Sister Yue'er serves look like.

She's a cold-faced beauty.

The mistress spoke up, asking Meng Xiaoxiao, "Are you adjusting well to moving to Songlan Hall?"

Meng Xiaoxiao: "Everything else is fine, but it's especially lonely at night because I can't stay with Sister Yue'er."

Qu Rong raised her eyes. "Oh? You two didn't stay together last night?"

Li Yue'er's eyelids and heart twitched slightly. She was 80% sure that the mistress was after her, and that ignoring her was purely intentional.

Meng Xiaoxiao shook her head, "No, we each sleep in our own rooms."

Qu Rong withdrew her gaze, lowered her eyes to sip her tea, and without even glancing at Li Yue'er, said in a cryptic tone, "I thought you two slept side by side and talked all night yesterday."

Li Yue'er, "..."

She was now quite certain that the mistress was after her.

No matter how she viewed the mistress, the mistress acted as if she didn't exist in the main hall, only speaking to Meng Xiaoxiao, and even her voice sounded very gentle.

Li Yue'er couldn't quite describe her feelings. There was a hint of smugness and joy, but also a stifling and sour discomfort. The two emotions were intertwined, like something had been spilled, leaving her with a very unpleasant feeling.

Before Su Rou returned, Li Yue'er cleared her throat twice and stared at the numbers on the paper with feigned confusion, saying, "This is so difficult."

Li Yue'er glanced at her mistress out of the corner of her eye.

The mistress happened to glance in her direction.

Their eyes met in mid-air.

A smile appeared in Li Yue'er's eyes, the light in her autumn-water eyes even gentler than the warm sun outside.

The mistress, "..."

Qu Rong turned her face away, frowned, pursed her lips, and got up to leave.

Li Yue'er quickly got up and chased after her, grabbing the mistress's wrist through her sleeve, looking at her expectantly, and pleading in a low voice, "Teach me, mistress."

She pulled the mistress toward the table, her fingers sliding down, her palm brushing over the open sleeve of the mistress's outer garment, then over the narrow sleeve of her inner garment, and finally grasping the mistress's warm fingers.

The mistress's expression was indifferent, but she didn't shake her off. In fact, when she tried to put her fingers into the mistress's sleeve, the mistress pinched her fingertips and gave her a warning and disdainful look.

A clear blue sky.

...Moreover, Li Yue'er's hand touched the pen and the paper, and then she wanted to touch her undergarments.

Li Yue'er looked at the mistress's face. The mistress was standing by the table, looking down at the papers on her desk with a focused and serious expression, exuding a unique composure.

Li Yue'er's ears inexplicably felt hot, and her gaze slowly slid down to the mistress's wide sleeves.

Beneath the blue brocade embroidered with golden bamboo, the mistress was unconsciously rubbing and playing with her fingertips. This was a gesture she often made when she was in a good mood and thinking, only now it was her hand instead of her mouth.

A smile appeared in Li Yue'er's eyes, and the corners of her lips unconsciously turned up.

Although she didn't know why her mistress was suddenly unhappy again, her unhappy mistress was particularly easy to coax. A few touches or a few kind words were enough to make her purse her lips and stop arguing with her.

If someone doesn't know the mistress, they might be intimidated by her cold face and words, and then hastily retreat in fear.

Li Yue'er didn't. The colder the mistress's face was, the more she wanted to coax her.

Noticing that Li Yue'er had been staring at her, Qu Rong glanced at her sideways and said, "Is it because you didn't study properly, or because Su Rou didn't teach you properly? You can't even do such a simple account."

Li Yue'er deliberately miscalculated, "..."

After being scolded by the mistress, Li Yue'er bit her lower lip lightly, her watery eyes revealing a pleading look, "It must be because I'm stupid and haven't learned well, so I want to ask the mistress to give me some extra help tonight."

Qu Rong turned her face away, her ears slightly warm, and said in a light voice, "If you don't know, just ask Su Rou. I didn't invite her here for nothing."

Her face was very serious, but the fingers holding Li Yue'er's fingertips under her sleeve slowly tightened, and no one knew what kind of improper little tricks she was thinking.

Su Rou came in from outside.

Her long shadow, cast by the warm winter sun, had barely touched the floor tiles in front of the hall when the mistress released Li Yue'er's fingers, as if nothing had happened, her face serious and indifferent.

Li Yue'er looked at her with a smile, deliberately looking down at her fingertips.

The mistress frowned. "...Look at the question."

Li Yue'er drew out an "oh," secretly relieved that it wasn't her mother who had taught her.

When Qu Rong saw Su Rou approaching, she said, "You two continue, I have other things to attend to."

After saying that, he left with the gamboge and cinnabar waiting at the door.

After exiting the main hall through the round door, Teng Huang, who was following behind the mistress, whispered to Dan Sha, "I thought Miss Yue'er wouldn't be able to stand the mistress's hot and cold attitude and would stop talking to her."

Qu Rong: "I heard it."

Garcinia pretended to whistle, "Where, where are these little birds chirping?"

Dansha turned to look at Teng Huang, who gestured at her with a wave of his sleeve, "Go away, go away~"

Dansha smiled, looked at the mistress's back, and whispered, "Miss Yue'er is very patient, especially since she is not an only child."

It took Gambo a moment to realize what was happening, and he immediately covered his mouth with his hand and laughed.

Qu Rong, "..."

Qu Rong pretended not to hear and said slowly, "The accounts have been delayed for a long time and must be sorted out before the end of the year. You will all have lunch in the study today and are not allowed to leave except to use the toilet."

The mistress was reviewing the accounts in her study, so Dansha and Tenghuang naturally stayed behind to help organize them. Both of them were skilled at reading account books, which is why they became the mistress's right-hand women.

Upon hearing that she couldn't slack off, Teng Huang immediately looked up to the sky and wailed, "I only regret that I am so clever and talented; my life is so bitter!"

Qu Rong smiled faintly, feeling relaxed and refreshed.

She went first into the study, followed closely by cinnabar and gamboge.

Before crossing the threshold, Dansha took out an orange from his sleeve and handed it to Tenghuang.

Garcinia accepted it as usual, silently complaining with his lips, "My mistress is content with just water, but I am not. I'll keep it for now and eat it when I'm hungry later."

Cinnabar: "Hmm."

It seems oranges aren't filling enough; I'll stick to pastries next time.

The mistress of the house now lets the old lady handle all the affairs inside and outside the mansion. With the year-end accounting to do, she's so busy she barely has time to breathe. Even so, she still deliberately goes around to the main hall to sit idly, her behavior clearly showing her strangeness.

When Su Rou returned from her trip outside, sat down in a chair, and draped a blanket over her lap, she lowered her eyes and said, "You've offended her."

Li Yue'er thought she had misheard, and looked up at Su Rou twice.

Su Rou sighed softly, "If you offend her again next time, I can give you half a day to deal with it, but don't bring her here."

It annoyed her.

She could be perfunctory and dismissive towards others, but she couldn't ignore Qu Rong even if she wanted to.

Li Yue'er blushed at Su Jie's words and replied apologetically in a low voice, "Okay."

She didn't know how she had offended the mistress, but she was used to going along with things and didn't take it to heart. However, when she had some free time and thought about it carefully, she felt that the way the mistress deliberately went out of her way to "ignore" her was a bit childish.

It was as if she was afraid I wouldn't know she was unhappy, so she deliberately walked up to me and circled around, waiting for me to coax her.

Today, the mistress delayed me a bit, and the end of school was postponed by half an hour. I don't know how the mistress explained it to me. When the class ended at dusk, Aunt Qiu came over.

She told Meng Xiaoxiao that starting tomorrow, Meng Xiaoxiao would become her apprentice and learn how to be a responsible mother.

The mistress's exact words were, "We don't keep idle people in this household."

Li Yue'er thought this was a good thing!

Firstly, Meng Xiaoxiao finally has something to do in the household, instead of being a useless concubine waiting idly for the master to return. Only by being truly useful can she avoid being kicked out in the future and being looked down upon by the maids.

Secondly, Aunt Qiu liked Meng Xiaoxiao. Even putting that aside, Aunt Qiu was a gentle and patient person, and she would definitely explain the important things to Meng Xiaoxiao in detail.

Li Yue'er was happy for Meng Xiaoxiao, and gently rubbed her chubby cheeks, saying in a cheerful tone, "Then you must learn well from Aunt Qiu."

Meng Xiaoxiao was also happy; she finally didn't have to come and listen to incomprehensible nonsense every day! Compared to attending classes, she preferred running around with Aunt Qiu. "Great!"

Knowing that she would be learning something from Aunt Qiu the next day, Meng Xiaoxiao didn't cling to Li Yue'er that evening. After dinner, she sensibly went back to sleep first.

Li Yue'er, carrying the two neatly embroidered and folded cushions she had prepared, walked towards the mistress's courtyard, trying to maintain a normal expression.

The cinnabar outside the door was gone; only gamboge was squatting at the entrance.

Seeing that she looked listless and not as energetic as usual, Li Yue'er quickly knelt down in front of her and asked with concern, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Teng Huang's face was slightly pale, but his spirits were still relatively good. "I'm fine, it's just that my period came suddenly."

She felt that Dan Sha had ruined her! It was all that cool orange's fault! She was determined to get back at Dan Sha!

Li Yue'er immediately understood and subconsciously reached out to unfold the cushion in her hand and wrap it around Teng Huang's buttocks.

Garcinia smiled and politely declined, "Cinnabar has already gone to get me a cloak, I'll just squat down and rest for a bit."

Taking advantage of this rare opportunity, she decided to make Dansha feel guilty and guilty and order her around!

However, she couldn't tell Miss Yue'er about this.

Teng Huang's gaze fell on the cushion in Li Yue'er's hand, and his eyes suddenly lit up as if he had thought of something.

Li Yue'er, "..."

Li Yue'er leaned back tactically, "...What are you doing?"

Teng Huang immediately helped Li Yue'er up by the arm, as if he had been injected with chicken blood, "You've come to see the mistress? She's taking a bath in the room, saying that her period has ended and she can finally have a proper bath."

For the past few days, I've just done simple wiping. For the mistress of the house, this kind of washing is just like her skin kissing the water; it doesn't really clean her thoroughly.

Li Yue'er pretended not to understand Teng Huang's hint, her ears turned red, and she pretended to be serious like the mistress, "I have a question to ask the mistress."

She emphasized, "This is serious business."

For example, what is the correct way to use a mat, and does a mat actually absorb water?

Li Yue'er was really worried about Teng Huang, so she helped her stand in the porch outside the door for a while until Dan Sha came back with a cloak draped over her arm and a hand warmer in her hand.

Li Yue'er handed the limp gamboge to Dansha and instructed, "Drink some hot water, don't drink anything cold."

Gambo squinted at the cinnabar.

Dan Sha was speechless and could only whisper, "Who knew you would arrive a few days early this time?"

Gambogi, "Keep arguing!"

cinnabar,"……"

Li Yue'er didn't hear the two head maids arguing. Seeing that she no longer needed to worry about Teng Huang, she pushed open the door and went in.

The inner room was filled with heat and humidity. Behind the screen where butterflies fluttered around peonies and bees collected nectar, the mistress was taking a bath.

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Mistress: Come in and say something.

Moon: "Come in." [Heart emoji] [Shy emoji]

Mistress: ...

Ah, I struggle every day between "Let's update more!" and "Let's take a break!" If I finish writing it, I'll say "Yes" in the announcement below the article; if I don't, I'll say "No." That way you'll know whether to wait or not! [Rabbit head with upright ears]