Chapter 32: Seven In and Seven Out.

Now, when Li Yue'er enters or leaves the mistress's room, the mistress no longer needs to say "come in" separately.

Previously, Fujiwara pushed the door open and shoved her in; now, she opened the door herself and entered.

Li Yue'er planned to put the cushion on her own pillow, but when she walked to the bedside, she saw that the bedding on the mistress's bed was neatly made, except that the pillow that belonged to her was a little strange.

It was flipped over like a turtle.

The embroidered pillow is placed face down, while the plain pillow is placed face up.

The maidservants dared not touch the items on the mistress's bed, so the answer to who turned over the pillows was obvious.

Li Yue'er smiled as she flipped the pillow over, straightened it, and placed it next to the one belonging to the mistress before putting the two cushions on her own pillow.

Li Yue'er stood outside the screen and asked softly, "Does Madam need my help with washing?"

Qu Rong gave a lazy, soft "Mmm," and said, "Come in."

Li Yue'er walked around the screen and saw the mistress sitting in the bathtub with her back to her. After washing, her long, wet hair was wrapped in a towel and coiled on top of her head. Her slender neck and fair, thin shoulders and back were visible outside the tub.

Like the first snow of winter, cold, white, and crisp.

The mistress leaned back in the bathtub, taking a nap with her eyes closed. She didn't open her eyes when she heard her come in, but only gently reminded her, "Wash your hands before you come to serve me."

Li Yue'er, "..."

She refused.

She deliberately squatted by the bathtub, tentatively poking her slightly cool, unwashed index finger on the mistress's shoulder, and blinked, "I washed up before I came."

I even changed into a new coat so I can wear it tomorrow morning.

The mistress still frowned, and with a look of disgust, she lifted her eyes and turned her head to look at her, as well as at her unwashed index finger that had dared to touch her skin.

Knowing when to stop, Li Yue'er smiled and splashed water to wash her hands. In front of her mistress, she washed all ten fingers clean, then spread them out and presented them to her mistress for her personal inspection. Only then did her mistress take a loofah ball out of the bucket and hand it to her.

Li Yue'er rolled up her wide sleeves high, used the straps that her mistress had placed on the clothes rack to fasten them, pulled over a stool, and sat down outside the bathtub behind her mistress to gently rub her back.

Li Yue'er used this bathtub last time. It can only accommodate one person to sit in. Although it is a bit small, it is very practical in winter.

The tub is small and dissipates heat slowly, so you can sit inside and soak for a while longer.

Next to it was a wooden tub filled with boiling hot water, covered with a lid. Once the water in the bath tub cooled down, the hot water from this tub would be scooped out and added to the tub.

Naturally, only wealthy merchants like the Qu family could enjoy such a comfortable bathing experience in winter.

Li Yue'er, for example, was considered very clean if she simply washed herself with a basin of warm water and a towel. Most other families only wiped their faces and washed their bottoms.

After all, for ordinary families, using firewood to heat water for bathing is a luxury and a waste, especially in the cold winter. If they catch a cold, it is even more of a loss. Most people spend a penny every five or six days to go to the bathhouse on the street to scrub themselves.

As Li Yue'er was pondering this, the mistress suddenly turned to look at her and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

It was obvious that he was distracted while she was serving him.

Li Yue'er remained calm and composed, and blurted out, "I was thinking how fair-skinned you are, Mistress."

The mistress, "..."

The mistress silently turned her face away, her expression suggesting she was vaguely regretting letting her in to serve her.

Li Yue'er smiled silently.

The headscarf on the mistress's head was loose, and stray hairs slipped out and draped over her shoulders and the back of her neck.

Li Yue'er untied the towel for her mistress, re-hooked up her hair, and when she lowered her eyes to pick up the loofah ball again, she noticed a thin red mark on her mistress's shoulder, left by her fingernails scratching.

On her flawless, porcelain-white skin, the red mark stood out all the more.

Li Yue'er's eyelids twitched slightly, her breathing tightened, and she took a deep breath of moisture before cautiously observing her mistress's expression.

The mistress seemed oblivious, sitting upright in the bathtub with her eyes closed as she was being scrubbed.

Li Yue'er didn't know when she had scratched her mistress and left a mark on her body. Feeling a little guilty, she served her carefully, not daring to be distracted at all. When washing her, she carefully avoided the scratch mark.

The clean room quieted down, and the mistress, unusually, took the initiative to bring up her "studies," saying, "It must be that Su Rou didn't teach you diligently enough, that's why you're so stupid as to make such a simple calculation wrong."

He insulted two people with just one sentence.

Li Yue'er was unusually honest at this moment, "Sister Su taught me with all her heart, it was my carelessness and distraction that caused the mistake."

Li Yue'er leaned to one side to look at her mistress's face, and argued, "It's because the mistress deliberately ignored me today, making it impossible for me to concentrate on my math problems."

The mistress opened her phoenix eyes a narrow slit and glanced at her out of the corner of her eye.

Li Yue'er held Tao in both hands, made a gesture of clasping her hands in a gesture of respect, and said softly, "Alright, alright, it must be that I have offended the mistress in some way."

Qu Rong gave a soft chuckle, tacitly agreeing with her words, and changed the subject, only saying to Li Yue'er, "Although I have some prejudices against Su Rou's behavior, she does have real skills."

Li Yue'er stared at the back of the mistress's head in surprise, rubbing her back while listening quietly to her speak.

Qu Rong said, “The Su family has been officials in the capital for generations. Su Rou has learned things since childhood that are no less than any young lady in the capital. You will only benefit from learning from her. You must do your best.”

The mistress's tone was mature and experienced, but it carried a sense of well-intentioned and patient advice, something she rarely did with herself.

Li Yue'er nodded softly, taking her words to heart. "I was wrong today, please rest assured, Mistress. I will definitely learn from Sister Su."

Qu Rong closed her eyes, relaxed her shoulders and back, and breathed slowly, drawing out her tone, "You'd better study hard. If you let down all the hard work I've put into your training, I'll definitely punish you severely."

Li Yue'er bit her lip and smiled, asking in a low voice, "So how does the mistress plan to punish me? Strip me naked and lock me in bed?"

Qu Rong, "..."

Li Yue'er only dared to make a joke. Seeing that her mistress remained silent, she lowered her head and gave her a flattering kiss on the shoulder, saying, "This servant will remember."

She kept saying "this servant" to herself, but her behavior was anything but respectful.

He even gently brushed the tip of his nose against the back of her neck, his breath slowly caressing her shoulders and neck, and his cool, soft lips pressed against the nail scratch on her shoulder.

Qu Rong's breathing tightened, her eyelashes fluttered, and her heart felt as if it were floating lightly on the surface of water.

Qu Rong tilted her head back slightly and reached out her hand, her wet fingertips brushing against Li Yue'er's cheek and through her loose hair. Her thumb lightly brushed her earlobe, partly to pull her closer to herself, and partly to prevent her from getting any closer.

Her unconscious actions were contradictory, but her words were true to her heart, and she murmured softly, "You must be obedient and study hard so that you can help me manage the accounts and the house in the future."

Li Yue'er lightly licked the water droplets on her mistress's shoulder, her mind still hazy, and she didn't hear what she was saying at all.

The mistress was cleaner than snow, and the water infused with dried flower petals was even clearer and more fragrant.

Li Yue'er placed her hands on her mistress's shoulders, her lips tracing a path from her neck to behind her ear. She leaned forward, almost touching the tub, and lowered her head to nibble on her mistress's shoulder.

The mistress did not withdraw her fingers from her hair, but simply rested one hand on the edge of the bathtub.

The loofah ball that Li Yue'er was holding had long since fallen to who-knows-where. She gently placed one hand on the side of the mistress's face and the other hand down the mistress's waist and abdomen, changing from a sitting position to a standing position with her back bent.

Her hair was already loosely styled, and after being rubbed and kneaded by the mistress's fingertips, it became even looser. As she lowered her head and bent over, a strand of long hair fell down to her cheek, the ends of which floated on the water and petals, getting wet.

Li Yue'er kissed the mistress's chin, took a breath to catch her breath, and then changed the direction of her lips to kiss the mistress's collarbone.

Qu Rong noticed her movement, her long, damp eyelashes lifted slightly, and she glanced at her out of the corner of her eye. She seemed to want to say something but didn't speak, only gently stroking Li Yue'er's hair with her fingertips.

It signifies patience.

The other finger resting on the edge of the bathtub slowly gripped the wooden tub tightly, the nail almost digging into the cracks in the wood, the knuckles, which should have been blood-red from the heat, turned white from the tension.

Li Yue'er's hand moved downwards, and even though her arms were bound, the sleeve of the hand under the tub was still immersed in the water.

Expensive, brand-new, wide-sleeved fabric floated on the water's surface, swaying gently with the ripples in the tub.

The dried flower petals that were originally in the bucket were now soaked and plump, pressed under the fabric, some sticking to Li Yue'er's slender, fair elbows.

The fingertips, like fabric, pressed down on the delicate flower, which had been softened by the warm water.

His lips lightly kissed the white patch on the mistress's shoulder.

The mistress's reaction was always indifferent, including in this matter; at least Li Yue'er felt that her reaction was calmer than her own.

If it were her sitting in the bucket, she would have jumped out of it like a shrimp in a hot pan.

The mistress's breathing only became heavier, without a trace of nasal consonance leaking out. Her long, wet eyelashes drooped, and the small beauty mark at the corner of her eye appeared even more alluring and seductive at this moment.

Li Yue'er couldn't help but bite her shoulder and asked in a low voice, "Did I not serve you well?"

The mistress pursed her lips and ignored her.

Li Yue'er said, "That's why they don't call her 'Mistress'."

The mistress, "..."

The mistress finally made a move, pulling her hand out of her hair and covering her mouth with it.

Li Yue'er then kissed her palm.

The mistress suddenly realized that covering her mouth with her wet, hot hands was useless, so she moved her hands up to cover her eyes instead.

Li Yue'er could see it but could touch it; unfortunately, she couldn't see what expression the mistress had under her palm.

As the water in the bathtub cooled to a warm temperature, the mistress's heartbeat gradually returned to normal.

Li Yue'er washed her palms with the water in the bucket, then turned her head to look at her mistress, who was sitting in a round-backed chair drying her hair, dressed neatly.

The other person reached out and looked intently.

Li Yue'er had read that book before, "The Art of War".

Originally, her indenture was tucked inside, but when she woke up and looked at it again, the indenture had been taken away and hidden by the mistress. She searched the bed and under the pillow for a long time but couldn't find it.

Clearly, the mistress had no intention of giving her the indenture right now.

Li Yue'er was neither disappointed nor discouraged; she knew how to handle her, which was typical of a mistress.

Li Yue'er wiped her hands with a handkerchief and stood behind the mistress, arranging her hair. "Where did you see, mistress?"

She had read this book when she was a child, but she wasn't interested in it and only skimmed through it with her grandfather.

The mistress didn't even look up, "I saw her go in and out seven times."

Li Yue'er, "?"

This content exists.

She lowered her head and bent down with a mixture of doubt and curiosity, her head brushing over the mistress's shoulder to look at the book in the mistress's hand.

She leaned closer, and the mistress just happened to raise her hand and pinch the soft flesh on her face.

Li Yue'er glanced at her sideways with a sly look, "You're lying to me."

Qu Rong smiled and gave a sincere "hmm," gently shaking the few remaining bits of flesh on Li Yue'er's cheek with her fingers. "That's called 'all's fair in war.'"

Who says you can't study military strategy if you're in business? If you can't understand these principles, how can you grasp current affairs and run your business steadily?

Li Yue'er, "..."

Li Yue'er snorted, deciding not to argue with the mistress.

Once the mistress's hair is dry and she's on the bed, she'll show her what a battle of wits and verbal sparring really is!

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Mistress: ...