Chapter 14 Expressing Apologies: Li Yang Has His Own Ways of Dealing with People

Seeing the dazed look in Li Yang's eyes, Chen Junbo said, "Something has come up at the tea shop. I need to go and take care of it tomorrow, and I'm afraid I'll be delayed overnight."

Li Yang: "Oh."

Chen Junbo's dark eyes flickered, and after a moment of silence, he asked again, "Do you want to come along?"

The warm tea choked him, and Li Yang coughed violently, patting his chest. He rubbed his eyes and looked back at him, "You mean, me?"

The other party nodded in agreement, and Li Yang was overjoyed. This was a reward from his employer, so he quickly got up and agreed.

Her face immediately lit up with a radiant smile, and she jumped up from the stool, completely dispelling her earlier daze.

Seeing this, Chen Junbo withdrew his hand and turned to his side.

Yesterday, while looking at the account books, he suddenly recalled how he had rushed out during the day, making her eyes red with anger, and felt a pang of guilt. That night, hearing that Li Yang hadn't returned for several hours—unusually—he felt a strange sense of worry. Who knew this young woman knew how to have fun; she returned drunk under the moonlight, babbling incoherently before retreating to her room, looking just like a cat with its fur standing on end.

This morning he handed all the account books to his mother and made a point of saying, "I know all about Li's expenses. Even if I don't, does the Chen family not know how much money they have to support a young lady?"

At this moment, thinking about the trip to the tea house, I wanted to take her out to relax and unwind, so that she would forget about the framing. Then I thought, this would also be a way to make up for the mistake of angering her that day.

Thinking this, she said, "Get some rest," and turned back to her cubicle.

As soon as he turned around the screen, Li Yang's eyes lit up, and he almost jumped and ran to the wardrobe.

Since we can finally go out and have some fun tomorrow, we absolutely cannot dress casually.

The closet was full of silk dresses and gowns, all of which had been tailored for her by the embroiderers sent by the Chen family after her engagement. They could be considered part of the betrothal gifts from the Chen family. However, she usually disliked trouble and only wore a few everyday clothes. Now, suddenly having to go out, she had to carefully consider how to put together a suitable outfit.

The indigo blue wide-sleeved shirt looked quite nice, embroidered with white butterfly patterns, with a bright yellow cross-collar and front opening, and a pinkish-white trim.

The light blue cardigan also looks nice. Although it's May, it's still cool in the mountains in the mornings and evenings, so you need to wear a cardigan when you go out.

She was very satisfied when she compared the two outfits to herself.

Then she pulled out a light pink horse-face skirt, with fine pleats at the hem and the front.

This one, that one, so many clothes look good.

Li Yang, clutching her dress and fully clothed, lay down on the bed and rolled around excitedly, unable to fall asleep.

She wondered to herself, would she and Chen Junbo ride in the same carriage when they went out tomorrow?

It's at least half an hour's journey from Chen's residence on Kangshan Street to the tea plantation. What should we talk about? Today he's been praising his shop's success and his excellent accounting...

Thinking about it, he chuckled foolishly.

Not knowing if it would rain tomorrow, she quickly got out of bed, ran to the window in her white socks, and reached out to push open the lattice window to look at the sky outside.

The moon is bright and the stars are few; it shouldn't rain tomorrow.

Not feeling at ease, I went to find another pair of lake-blue embroidered shoes to keep in mind, in case the mountain road was muddy and wearing light-colored shoes would be too conspicuous.

After much fuss, she finally lay back down on the bed and drifted off to sleep, lost in thought.

While sound asleep, Li Yang felt someone nudging her shoulder and heard a male voice from above her head, "Get up, it's time to set off."

She mumbled something, rolled over, and pulled the blanket over her head. "Hmm...wait a minute..."

Set off!

The next moment, Li Yang sat up, pulling the covers over his head. When he saw the person standing in front of the bed, his mind suddenly cleared, and his cheeks burned as if on fire. "Get up, get up, I'm coming."

Chen Junbo chuckled softly, turned around, and went outside to wait.

She hurriedly got up to change her clothes. The overcoat she'd slept in the previous night was full of wrinkles. Outside, someone was already waiting; there was no time to find her new clothes. With a stomp of her foot, Li Yang resigned herself to putting on the wrinkled clothes.

Stepping out the door, she looked up and saw Chen Junbo standing with one hand behind his back, dressed in a light blue robe, his figure outlined in the sunlight, clear and handsome. Seeing her come out, he turned and walked away. Li Yang followed behind him, unconsciously tugging at the hem of her vest, trying to straighten it.

Guh~~~~~~

A soft cry came from her womb.

The person in front of her paused, turned around, and glanced at her. Li Yang felt extremely embarrassed, but there was nothing she could do. She hadn't eaten dinner last night, only drinking a lot of water, and was starving right now.

Seeing her embarrassed expression, Chen Junbo said in a low voice, "It's getting late. Have Bifang put this breakfast in the car later so we can eat it while we travel."

"Oh." Li Yang followed behind him dejectedly.

Seriously!

What kind of nonsense is this!

I should have known better than to skimp on that bowl of wontons yesterday. It was a classic case of trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice instead; my clothes are wrinkled, and my stomach is growling…

My mind was filled with regret; the joy and excitement of last night had been completely wiped out by a series of blows.

As they walked to the gate, a gentle breeze blew by, and Li Yang saw several maids and servants carrying bundles and food boxes, standing by the gate.

Three horse-drawn carriages stood before the gate, their bodies tall and gleaming with a dark purple sheen. The wooden frames were intricately patterned, resembling intertwined branches. Bells jingled from the four corners of the roof. Two chestnut horses, their coats glossy, trotted and snorted at the front of each carriage.

Previously, she always traveled on foot, and this was the first time she had traveled in the Chen family's carriage. Just as she was watching intently, she saw the figure in light blue robes board the first carriage, followed by Bi Fang in dark blue robes.

Li Yang was stunned. Huh? Were they in the same car?

Mo Lian urged her from beside her, "Young Madam, this way," and led her toward the second carriage.

Li Yang smacked his lips, thinking: Okay, okay, Butler Bi is Young Master Chen's confidant!

This made things convenient. After boarding the train, Li Yang quickly ate some snacks to fill his stomach, then leaned against a corner of the carriage and dozed off with his arms crossed.

She was starving and freezing this morning, and now that she has satisfied her appetite, she can finally catch up on some sleep after such a long journey.

In a daze, she only felt the sound of hooves gradually slow down, and then she was suddenly drowned out by a commotion. She quickly lifted the curtain to look and saw a group of men who looked like farmers, young and old, surrounding Chen Junbai's carriage. After he and Bi Fang got out of the carriage, the leader bowed and said loudly, "We are here to welcome the young master! Steward Bi!"

Ha! Look at the entourage of Young Master Chen!

Li Yang found it interesting and watched intently.

After Chen Junbo got out of the car and exchanged pleasantries with everyone, he gave some instructions to the leader. Soon, the other villagers dispersed, leaving only the leader to take a pen and go somewhere first.

Seeing him walk towards his carriage, Li Yang was startled. He quickly pulled down the curtain, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and then followed Mo Lian out of the carriage.

Chen Junbo: "I still have things to discuss with the head of the village, you go and enjoy yourself." As if remembering something, he added, "Just don't go too deep into the mountains, and come back when the sun is setting."

What's wrong with this person?

Li Yang's temples throbbed. Why was he bringing up old grievances? She immediately felt like she was being lectured by an elder, and gave a curt "Oh." Making a face at the man's back, she turned around and said, "Mo Lian, let's go!"

For this trip, Chen Junbai specifically chose Mo Lian to accompany him, out of concern that a young lady from Liyang might have some inconvenience on the road. Young Master Chen only had two head maids; Cai Qing, due to her previous incident of catching stolen goods, had already been forbidden from entering Lanxin Pavilion. Now, the only reliable maid left was Mo Lian, known for her prudent actions.

Li Yang had never been able to remember the maids and servants, but now that only Mo Lian remained in Lan Xin Pavilion, she could barely recall the girl's name. Having Mo Lian accompany her this time was quite nice; at least she would have company while sightseeing.

Thinking it over, she cheerfully said to the maid behind her, "Mo Lian, hurry up, this tea mountain is so big, we should take a good look around."

The two walked briskly up the earthen steps.

In May, the tea mountains are being awakened by the spring breeze, with lush green waves undulating.

The sparrows circled up the giant staircase, chose a spot under the eaves halfway up the mountain, and settled down to preen their feathers.

Under the eaves, there was a small courtyard with earthen walls. In the courtyard, seven or eight girls surrounded a woman in red. The girls were mostly around five or six years old, an age when they should be noisy, but at this moment they all held their breath and looked at the woman.