55 Invitations

Once the servants had all left and only their own people remained in the dining room, everyone relaxed and became more at ease.

"There are no outsiders here, sit down and eat." Ye Zhenzhen tugged at the man's sleeve. "Hurry up, you'll have to stand up again when the others come."

“Yes, Ting Shen, please sit down and eat. You’ve been busy all night,” Wang Liqing, the eldest woman, said with a smile.

Gu Tingshen pulled out the chair to Ye Zhenzhen's left and sat down. Soon, Ye Zhenzhen piled her plate full of food.

"Look at you, you're so worried about it." Zhang Siqing whispered to Lan Nuo beside her, the two smiled at each other, and then lowered their heads to continue eating their dessert fruit.

The silverware was in the classic Edwardian style, and the crystal glasses sparkled under the candlelight, complementing the pink roses in the center of the table. With a group of guests dressed in vintage clothing around the table, the scene captured by the camera looked like a recreation of 19th-century aristocratic life.

"It's getting a little strange that the director hasn't shown up to give us any tasks. It's still early, what should we do tonight?"

After dinner, everyone returned to the living room. Zhang Siqing, taking advantage of the fact that the NPCs in the castle had not yet returned, asked questions with great interest.

"Shall we go for a walk outside?" Liu Wei suggested. "We took a stroll outside this afternoon. This area is quite large, and there's a river if you keep walking south. A little further on, there's a building that looks like a church."

“I’m too tired to walk anymore. This dress has been so tight all day,” Wang Liqing said with a weary smile as she sat in a Louis XV armchair. “I need to go back to my bedroom to relax.”

After she said that, the ladies became somewhat disheartened and all said they wanted to go back to their bedrooms.

They had already seen their respective rooms during the afternoon's castle tour, led by the butler.

After descending the spiral staircase to the third floor, everyone said goodnight to each other and went into different rooms.

The third floor consists entirely of guest rooms, and Ye Zhenzhen's room was designed as a suite with extremely spacious interior.

The walls are covered with gray-pink silk wainscoting, and the rest area is furnished with a pink floral fabric sofa, a walnut coffee table, and a cherry blossom pink fabric tassel table lamp in the corner that emits a soft light.

The bedroom features a four-poster bed with intricate carvings on the bed frame and posts. A luxurious pink silk canopy matches the overall color scheme of the room, creating a romantic and elegant ambiance.

There is also an adjoining small bedroom inside, and both bedrooms have their own bathrooms, which is very friendly to guests with children.

After admiring the furnishings inside, Ye Zhenzhen couldn't help but admire the castle owner's taste.

The old objects displayed in this room, even the most insignificant ones, all demonstrate a pursuit of beauty.

She finally relaxed after covering all the cameras.

"Okay, Nan Nan, go take a shower. You've had a long day, so go to bed early."

"Okay, Mom, where are my pajamas?" Gu Sinan went to the inner room and looked around, but couldn't find her suitcase.

"Huh? Our boxes haven't been delivered yet?" Ye Zhenzhen asked the man standing to the side.

"Yes, madam,"

"Stop!" Ye Zhenzhen waved her hand to stop the man. "It's just the three of us, let's talk properly."

Gu Tingshen smiled slightly, separated his feet from his previous stance, and then subtly changed his posture.

"The clothes that don't belong to this era have been taken away from the boxes, but the butler has thoughtfully prepared everything the guests need."

He opened the carved wardrobe against the wall and showed her nightgowns made of different materials: fine cotton, linen, and silk.

"Then this one will do." Ye Zhenzhen pouted and chose a fine cotton nightgown. "Nannan, look at your wardrobe, you should have some pajamas there too."

The children went to explore their rooms. Ye Zhenzhen searched through the closet and asked curiously, "Why are all these women's clothes? What are you wearing?"

"This is the room for the madam and young master, so of course there won't be any of my clothes here."

Seeing the girl's wide eyes, Gu Tingshen shook his head with amusement, "Have you forgotten my identity as a transmigrator?"

"Where is your room?"

"First floor."

"It really is in the servants' quarters. Have you gone to check? What did you think?"

Gu Tingshen shrugged. "Very realistic."

It's a bit too realistic.

Ye Zhenzhen followed the man downstairs, opened the low door, and saw that the narrow rectangular room contained only a single bed, a low table, and a simple clothes rack.

A set of plain linen pajama clothes hung on the clothes rack, consisting of a plain shirt and underpants.

It's nothing like the soft linen upstairs; it feels rough, and you can imagine how itchy it would be to wear.

Now it was Ye Zhenzhen's turn to frown.

"How can you live here? Is that bed even 1.8 meters wide? If you lie down on it, your legs will be dragging on the floor."

After Ye Zhenzhen finished speaking, she tried to pull the man upstairs.

She couldn't be pulled; instead, the man pulled her into the house.

"How..." Gu Tingshen stretched out a finger and pressed it against her lips.

Then, soft footsteps were heard outside the door, followed by a woman's hushed voice speaking in English.

Ye Zhenzhen quickly shut her mouth, focusing on the indistinct sounds outside, unaware that the two people were standing very close in the darkness.

A beam of moonlight shone through the narrow window, casting a silvery-gray glow on the girl in his arms. She looked like a delicate, blooming white rose, her alabaster skin glowing white, and her exquisite face displaying a captivating beauty.

The noblewoman, dressed in opulent robes that seemed out of place in the cramped and shabby servant's quarters, was held in the arms of a tall, strong male servant. His tanned fingers pressed against her delicate lips. She listened intently to the sounds outside the door, completely unaware of the danger and desire in his eyes...

This scene is a bit too much.

Behind the monitor, cameraman Xiao Liu unconsciously held his breath, almost having the illusion that he had stumbled upon a secret tryst—a beautiful noblewoman and a handsome male servant...

"They left, apparently on night patrol. The butler instructed them to report any suspicious persons or incidents that night."

After Ye Zhenzhen had completely digested the sounds outside the door, she pulled the man's hand down and leaned closer to tell him what she had just discovered.

"Hmm," Gu Tingshen could only see her rose-colored lips opening and closing, but he couldn't hear what she was saying at all.

"What are you thinking about? Come upstairs with me..." Ye Zhenzhen analyzed the situation for a long time, but received no response from the man, so she waved her hand in front of him.

But suddenly the man grabbed her fingertips.

"Are you inviting me upstairs to your room for the night, madam?"

The man's deep voice had a magnetic, husky quality.

Ye Zhenzhen's ears itched, and she belatedly realized that the atmosphere was a bit strange.

The man's eyes looked a little scary.

Her animalistic instincts urged her to say something quickly, or escape from here.

"Hurry, before they come back, we need to...!"

“It’s my pleasure, madam.” The man took her hand and pressed it to his lips.

Gu Tingshen lowered his head, his kiss almost devoutly tender, yet his gaze was dark and intensely passionate.

Ye Zhenzhen recoiled as if burned, her fingertips instantly becoming incredibly sensitive.

She put her hands behind her back and pressed them against the rough wall, using the cold touch to cool the tingling, itchy sensation that made her shiver all over.

The cameraman behind the monitor watched them slowly open the door, climb the stairs covered with a thick fleece blanket, and return to the third floor.

The noblewoman in the white dress looked around cautiously, clearly not one to do anything out of line. Her heart was in her throat as she saw her meeting with the male servant at night and inviting him to spend the night in her room.

At the slightest sound, it pricks up its ears like a startled rabbit.

The male servant following behind her walked with ease, his large hand supporting her slender waist to prevent her from falling.

They continued until they entered the guest room on the third floor and closed the door.

The cameras in the room had already been covered up. The cameraman was about to leave with some regret when he heard a rustling sound of fabric rubbing in the darkness.

Then, a soft, delicate female voice rang out.

"Quickly, help me take off my skirt..."

"Do you know how to solve this...?"

"Ouch, be gentle, don't tear my clothes..."

"Haha, don't touch my waist, it tickles..."

Even though I knew that she was probably just changing clothes in the room, these words, combined with my previous assumptions, were just too much!

The cameraman covered his burning nose and decided to leave; if he listened any longer, he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.

The pink atmosphere that the photographer had imagined was nowhere to be found in the guest rooms on the third floor.

After being constricted all day, Ye Zhenzhen quickly went to the bathroom to shower while still wearing her slip, changed into a comfortable full-length nightgown, and lay down on the velvet bed. She snuggled happily for a bit and soon drifted off to sleep.

In a high-rise apartment on Central Avenue, Jiang Anna leaned against a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf, swirling a glass of amber-colored liquor.

"So calm, aren't you going to go check out the castle?"

"Do you think everyone is as idle as you?" Ye Qinglan sat behind her desk, surrounded by piles of documents, her hand signing documents nonstop as she spoke.

"You went to so much trouble, withstood family pressure, and cooperated with their program team, just for the Chinese market?"

"Otherwise what?"

“Hiss,” Jiang Anna swallowed a mouthful of amber wine, looked the expressionless man up and down, “No selfish motives at all? Don’t say your mother doesn’t believe it, I don’t believe you don’t have any personal thoughts.”

"Does my personal opinion matter?" Ye Qinglan looked up at her. "The Chinese market is indeed important for the development of Kangde Castle, and no one can deny that."

After Jiang Anna left, Ye Qinglan put down the documents in her hand, leaned back in her chair, and pinched the bridge of her nose.

Of course he wanted to see her, even just a glimpse from afar would be enough to comfort his heart tormented by longing and pain.

However, he couldn't do that; it would bring her unnecessary trouble, or even danger.

His grandfather's health has been declining since he suffered a stroke last year, and the infighting within the Swire family has intensified.

He cannot reveal his feelings until he has gained absolute control over the family.

In the empty room, he let himself lean back in his chair, feeling somewhat dejected, and turned to look at the moon outside the window. It was so bright and clear, just like the girl in his heart.

I wonder how she slept in the castle. He had chosen that room carefully; I hope she liked it.

---

"Madam, it's time to get up."

With her hair sticking up in the wind, she stared blankly at Gu Tingshen, who was dressed in a plain black morning suit by the bedside, and the silver tray he was holding in one hand.

Looking down at the other side of the bed, there was no sign of anyone having slept there.

"Did you sleep downstairs last night?" Ye Zhenzhen asked, frowning.

Gu Tingshen bent down and handed her an exquisite white porcelain cup.

“I slept next to you last night,” Gu Tingshen said as she took the pillow, then leaned closer and whispered in her ear, “Your sleeping face was so beautiful that I almost missed getting up in the morning.”

"Why are you talking so close..." The warm breath and magnetic voice made Ye Zhenzhen rub her ears uncomfortably, and she muttered softly.

"Would you like to have breakfast in bed? Or would you like to move to the dining room?" Gu Tingshen asked with a smile as he straightened up.

"Do I need to wear a full outfit to the restaurant?" Ye Zhenzhen paused as she got out of bed.

Her pure white cotton nightgown reached her ankles, and her face was rosy from waking up. The ruffled and lace neckline and lantern sleeves wrapped her up completely.

With her slightly wavy black hair cascading over her shoulders, she stood in front of the French windows, bathed in the morning light. Her fair skin, with barely visible pores, made her look like a delicate doll, almost unreal in her beauty.

"Let's eat in the room then. The three of us together will be more comfortable without any NPCs." She rolled her eyes, thinking of the corset that felt like torture devices yesterday.

"Can I spend the whole day in my bedroom today? If I wear my morning robe in my room, it won't be out of character."

"I'm afraid that won't work." Gu Tingshen shattered her illusions and handed her an exquisite card with a message written on it in cursive script.

Ye Zhenzhen raised her eyebrows after reading only the first line.

"Distinguished guest, today is Costume Day in Condéshire. Please choose your attire for today."

[Author's Note]

Hey cuties, long time no see! I've been so busy with real life lately, just squeezing in a little time each day to write some chapters. I'll try my best to update from now on~~ Hugs! [Sprinkling flowers][Sprinkling flowers][Sprinkling flowers]