Chapter 97: Then please, Mistress, treat me kindly tonight.

Although the older generation's feelings were somewhat complicated, and the old lady had a lot of opinions about the mistress, it must be said that Qu Ming and the mistress, who were half-siblings, had a fairly good relationship.

According to Teng Huang, when Qu Ming fled, it was the mistress of the house who provided cover.

As for why it's called an escape, it's probably because Qu Ming always wanted to control his life, and his grandmother, who refused to investigate the cause of his parents' death for the sake of the Zheng and Qu families' business and relationship, was no different from a prison guard to him. The entire Qu family was the cage in which his grandmother imprisoned him, and he never wanted to break free from the old lady's control.

He didn't want to be a puppet. He knew nothing about business and had no talent for it. Moreover, he had his own ideas. So, in that absurd marriage between siblings that was a sham, he ran away with his martial arts-skilled maid.

Only when he flies out of his grandmother's net can he and his sister work together to break free from her control.

It was originally an ordinary collaboration, and the brother and sister's relationship remained superficial until they brought Zheng Er to justice and their views on the future of the Qu family aligned, at which point the brother and sister developed some genuine affection for each other.

Li Yue'er discovered that Qu Ming's personality should be completely different from that of his taciturn and aloof mistress, because in the letters he sent to his mistress, in addition to discussing important matters, he should have also written about his daily life and inquired about her recent life.

Although she couldn't understand the brother and sister's letter, she could understand the mistress's reaction.

Whenever such a thick "book" of letters arrived, the mistress would glance at it, then only take out the one with the important matter written on it and look at it repeatedly. As for the others, she would put them all aside, clearly feeling that there was no need to read them a second time.

I reckon it's just some unimportant gossip.

As for why Li Yue'er thought Qu Ming would ask about the mistress's recent situation, it was because the mistress had mentioned in a letter that she was getting married and marrying a woman, which is why she had these two mutton-fat jade bracelets.

When the mistress returned in the evening, Li Yue'er was overjoyed. She took rattan and a lantern and went to the courtyard gate to greet her personally.

The mistress was clearly surprised to see her. She was happy, but what she said was, "It's so cold, what are you doing out here?"

Li Yue'er, "..."

If it weren't for the fact that her mouth had its own special uses at night, Li Yue'er sometimes really wanted to sew her mistress's mouth shut, so that she could just look at her cold and beautiful face.

Li Yue'er, "Come out and look at the moon."

Qu Rong looked up and saw that it wasn't even the middle of the month yet, and there was only a crescent moon in the sky, nothing much to see.

She looked away from Li Yue'er and smiled slightly.

Li Yue'er, "?"

She reached out and took the mistress's arm, walking beside her into the hall, staring at her with a puzzled look, "What are you laughing at?"

Qu Rong remained silent.

Seeing that she couldn't get any information out of her, Li Yue'er had no choice but to change the subject and talk about the gifts that had been received that day. When she mentioned the box of gold, the mistress didn't even blink, but just gave a soft "hmm" and said, "You can keep it."

Li Yue'er was overjoyed. She gently shook the mistress's arm and said in a coquettish and affected manner, "Give it all to me? It's so precious, I don't dare to accept it."

Qu Rong, "..."

Qu Rong glanced at her sideways, and said slowly and deliberately, drawing out her words, "You don't want it? Then just leave it there."

Li Yue'er, "..."

Li Yue'er started secretly pinching her arm.

Qu Rong turned her face away to suppress a laugh, and then said, "Take it. What's given to me is also given to you."

The words came out naturally, in an ordinary tone.

The mistress clearly didn't think there was anything wrong with what she said, but Li Yue'er heard it and thought it was a love confession.

She kissed the mistress on the cheek.

The mistress frowned, raised her hand to take a handkerchief, not to wipe her own face, but to wipe her mouth, and gently scolded her, "You have such a dusty face, how could you kiss me?"

Li Yue'er pretended not to hear and brought up Qu Ming's gift again.

The mistress clearly knew that Qu Ming had sent a congratulatory gift, but she didn't know what it was.

Li Yue'er lightly bit her lower lip, smiled and raised her hands, her wide sleeves sliding down to reveal two mutton-fat jade bracelets on her fair wrists.

Qu Rong looked down at him, "What happened to your wrist?"

She's been doing most of the work lately, but she hasn't gotten tired at all.

Li Yue'er, "..."

Li Yue'er took a deep breath, frowned, and shook her wrist.

Qu Rong: "Yes, she is quite fair-skinned."

Li Yue'er wasn't just white on her wrists, her whole body was white. Qu Rong stared at Li Yue'er's wrists, and a line of poetry, which she rarely remembered, came to mind, which she then modified:

Her fair wrists were like frost and snow, and the person beside her was like the moon.

Why look at the moon? The vibrant and gentle moon beside her is far more beautiful than the cold and incomplete half-moon in the sky.

But Qu Rong could never bring herself to say such things. First, it was too cloying for her to say, and second, if Li Yue'er heard it, she would just mimic it in a sweet, coquettish voice and then act all high and mighty over her.

We can't spoil her too much.

When Qu Rong thought of this, she first touched the temperature of Li Yue'er's palm. Seeing that her palm was still warm, she did not take off the cloak and put it on her.

It was just the beginning of winter, cold but not that cold yet. Today was the first day of their marriage, so it was fine for her to come out to greet her. But if Li Yue'er came out in the cold night again in the future, she would have to scold her.

Compared to romance and charm, her health is naturally more important. I know the way, and even if she doesn't come out to greet me, I can still get back.

Qu Rong said, "I saw it."

She gently squeezed Li Yue'er's fingers and said softly, "People usually wear only one bracelet, but you're wearing two..."

Li Yue'er snorted, thinking that her mistress was going to say that she was greedy, and deliberately dangled the jade bracelet on her wrist, "What's wrong with wearing two? They're both mine, and you're mine too."

Her tone was arrogant and self-righteous.

Qu Rong paused, lowered her eyes and smiled silently, holding Li Yue'er's fingers tightly in her palm with great pleasure.

She silently acquiesced to Li Yue'er's words.

When the mistress laughed, Li Yue'er didn't realize it until the mistress hinted that she should go into the clean room to take a bath together. Only then did Li Yue'er belatedly realize that wearing two bracelets did indeed have a bit of a handcuff feel to it.

Because the mistress held two jade bracelets in one hand and easily pushed her arm above her head, Li Yue'er couldn't struggle free at all and could only let the mistress leave red marks on her fragrant breasts.

When the two came out of the clean room, Li Yue'er's eyes were wet, and her lips were a vibrant, luscious color.

The mistress sat at the table waiting for her to eat, but she took off all her bracelets and put them in the jewelry box before coming over.

Even if the bracelet is made of warm jade, it is still cool compared to the skin on sensitive areas. Moreover, when emotions are intense, wearing jewelry can be a bit of a hindrance, as it can easily bump into the skin and leave bruises.

Just like the mistress, who usually wears a jade thumb ring, but would always take it off before touching her.

He felt the ring was unclean and shouldn't touch her warm, damp area, and he was also afraid the ring would hurt her.

Just now in the clean room, Li Yue'er was crying and begging for mercy because of her mistress. But now, thinking of her thoughtfulness, her temper softened. When she came over to eat, she first kissed her mistress on the corner of her mouth.

Qu Rong served her some food, coaxing her gently, "Eat first."

Li Yue'er, "?"

After feeding the upper mouth, feed the lower one.

.

The weather grew colder day by day. Last year, the group spent the Spring Festival at the manor, and Li Yue'er had the same plan this year.

Before going to bed, as she was tidying her hair at her dressing table, she turned to the mistress behind her and said, "Xiaoxiao and Tenghuang have talked to me about the estate countless times. Let's go to the estate to celebrate the New Year again this year."

She began to dream, "I'll make you a huge snowman. This year I even specially asked a master to teach me how to carve, so I'll make it so lifelike that you won't be able to find a single flaw."

Just thinking about it made Li Yue'er very proud.

The mistress didn't say anything after hearing this, but walked over, lowered her head and kissed the crown of her head with great tenderness.

Li Yue'er felt confused and looked up at her.

The mistress's kiss landed naturally on her forehead.

The mistress rarely kissed her so proactively, especially so tenderly, off the bed.

Although Li Yue'er was smiling, she had a bad feeling in her heart.

As the old saying goes, there must be a reason for anything unusual. She didn't believe that the mistress would suddenly change her personality, going from reserved to enthusiastic.

Li Yue'er held a comb in one hand and clutched the cotton nightgown at the waist of the mistress with the other, asking softly, "What's wrong?"

Qu Rong lifted a strand of hair from Li Yue'er's cheek with her finger, lowered her eyes and said to her, "Do you remember when I told you that the imperial court has been levying taxes on merchants?"

Li Yue'er naturally knew that this matter had been going on for more than half a year, and the number of tax items was increasing month by month. Many small businesses could not survive and closed down and fled to the south.

But the imperial court wouldn't let them escape so easily. All those captured were killed, their heads cut off and hung on the city gates for the people and merchants to see.

The imperial court made an example of them to deter others; anyone who dared to disobey the imperial order and flee, whether they were serving in the military or paying taxes, would suffer the same fate.

Although the incident happened elsewhere, she was still frightened when she first heard about it.

The court is corrupt and tyrannical, causing widespread panic. Even the once bustling Yingkelai restaurant, which used to be the most popular before the Lunar New Year, has seen its business decline recently.

Li Yue'er knew about this because she had seen it with her own eyes a few days ago when she invited her mother and sister to a banquet to welcome guests.

In the past, you had to make an appointment in advance to reserve a private room when welcoming guests, but now you don't need to.

Hearing the mistress bring up this matter so suddenly, Li Yue'er couldn't help but feel flustered.

After the political situation deteriorated, small businesses could no longer survive and sold off their businesses. The matriarch seized the opportunity to acquire these businesses, making the Qu family's business larger and more prominent.

When Li Yue'er and her mistress returned to the academy to deliver festival gifts to her mother and the headmaster, the headmaster worried about her and her mistress because of this matter, saying that the imperial court would not let go of the Qu family, such a fat piece of meat, and he told his mistress to restrain herself.

Since the mistress didn't refute the headmaster's words on the surface, Li Yue'er knew that the mistress wouldn't change her mind. So even though the headmaster asked her to persuade her privately, Li Yue'er didn't say anything.

The mistress had her own plans. Although she felt it was risky and frightening, she also admired the mistress's courage and vision.

She didn't know what the new army's "emperor" was like, but she could see clearly what the current court was like, and it couldn't be any worse.

Li Yue'er: "Is the imperial court going to take action against us?"

She looked flustered.

Qu Rong tucked her hair behind her ear, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Scared?"

Li Yue'er nodded.

Qu Rong chuckled, gently kneading her earlobe with her fingertips, and threatened in a low voice, "Too late, since you've already married me."

Li Yue'er, "..."

She knew all along that the mistress's promise of "a future divorce" was a lie! She had hidden her indenture and never intended to give her the option of "divorce"!

Li Yue'er turned her head to bite her hand.

Qu Rong pulled her into his arms, hugged her tightly, and said softly, "Don't be afraid, how could I let you risk your life with me?"

Li Yue'er's eyes welled up with tears.

Qu Rong said, “The court won’t really do anything to the Qu family in the short term, but in the long run, the Qu family will eventually be dragged down and drained. So I discussed with Zheng San and Qu Ming that we should unite with other merchants and rebel before the court takes drastic measures.”

That is, they joined forces with the new army to rebel.

Li Yue'er hugged her mistress tightly around the waist and asked in a muffled voice, "How long have you been away from home?"

To unite other merchants in rebellion, it's essential to go out and make contacts and persuade them. If everyone agrees to refrain from paying taxes and serving in the military, and if local officials suppress the rebellion, then overthrow them; if local officials share the same idea, then unite against the imperial court.

With the new army already reaching the capital, the imperial court was besieged on both sides and could not hold out for long.

The risks of this trip may not be great, but it certainly won't be possible to spend the Lunar New Year at home.

Qu Rong stroked Li Yue'er's smooth long hair on her shoulder, "At least until after the New Year. This year, you should still take Teng Huang Xiaoxiao to the estate for the New Year, and bring your mother and Xing'er along, and invite Shi Yi and Su Rou as well, the more people, the more lively it will be."

Li Yue'er snorted, "Do you need to teach me these things? Am I the mistress or are you the mistress?"

Qu Rong smiled and kissed her earlobe, "You are."

She rarely coaxed her, and said softly, "Then please, mistress, be kind to me tonight."

When the voice rang in her ears, Li Yue'er felt her waist go weak.

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It's almost over, there won't be any major ups and downs, at most a short separation will make us feel like we're getting back together!

I had something to do yesterday, so I'll add an extra chapter today~~~

Then, I asked someone to do some voice-over for the mistress and Yue'er. I'll edit it and send it to you guys later [shy].