Chapter 24 The Fish is Hooked

Pei Jingxu raised his eyebrows slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes: "It's pressed down?"

"Yes, Guard Jiang said that the eldest son announced that there was an emergency in the mansion, and you came to the Prime Minister's Mansion to look for him."

This explanation is clearly full of loopholes. Even if there really was something urgent, it should have been the servant who came to inform. How could the Second Lady of the Rong family come to tell her in person?

But as long as Rong Jianxue wants to suppress it, all she needs is an explanation.

Therefore, over the past few days, the rumor about Pei Jingxu going to the Chen Mansion for a banquet has not been leaked at all.

Pei Jingxu raised his eyebrows in surprise when he heard this: "He actually took it for me?"

No wonder, no wonder I haven’t heard those rumors for so long.

Thinking of this, Pei Jingxu chuckled, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes: "If Chen Congyue knew about this, wouldn't she be so angry that she would faint?"

Hearing this, Hongyao snorted, "Who told her to frame the girl? She deserves it!"

Pei Jingxu also felt that she deserved it.

Counting the time, she hadn't seen Rong Jianxue for five or six days.

When Pei Jingxu learned that Rong Jianxue had stopped the rumors for her, she felt that the time was almost right.

"Go, and get me a cashier."

Pei Jingxu said this as he casually took out a few gold leaves from his dressing box and handed them to Hongyao.

In fact, she didn't need Rong Jianxue to find an accountant for her. She was too rich, and even if she threw money at him, there would always be a teacher who dared to teach her.

Holding the gold leaf, Hongyao nodded and asked, "What kind of man do you want to find, young lady?"

Pei Jingxu picked up an eyebrow pencil and drew her own eyebrows while casually saying, "Find someone...who has good acting skills."

"Good acting skills?"

"Yes, the more realistic the performance, the better. Money is not a problem." Pei Jingxu looked at his eyebrows and smiled with satisfaction. "Tell him that as long as the performance is good, I can afford any amount of money."

"Yes, I will do it right away."

Calculating the time, Rong Jianxue should be leaving court in half an hour.

She was wearing a light blue dress today, which was brighter than her previous plain dresses but not too gaudy to overshadow the rest of the outfit.

Her makeup today made her look very healthy, and Pei Jingxu was very satisfied.

If she didn't have to act delicate in front of Rong Jianxue, Pei Jingxu would have loved to put on beautiful makeup every day.

After many days, Pei Jingxu finally left the room and walked out of the west courtyard today.

She didn't go far, but came to the door of Rong Mansion alone, waiting for the fish to bite the hook.

--

Rong Jianxue's carriage returned from the palace and stopped outside the Rong Mansion.

He sat in the carriage, his eyes lowered, not knowing what he was thinking about.

Recently, after being scolded by His Majesty, the prince has become more determined and has been asking him questions about his studies all day long.

He didn't care about these things, but His Majesty's warning this time seemed to have the officials supporting the prince leaning towards him.

Thinking of this, Rong Jianxue paused and stroked the paper in his hand with his fingertips.

——He has almost finished reading this account book.

If he studied on his own, he would be able to remember this stuff in a day, but if he wanted to teach others, he still had to be more careful.

Although he is the Prince's tutor and the Prince's mentor, men and women have different thoughts, so he should teach according to their aptitude and not mislead them.

Twisting the Buddhist beads in his right hand, Rong Jianxue's fingertips stroked the gold-plated Sanskrit on the beads. The cool temperature helped him sort out his thoughts.

"Sir, you've been looking over this account book over and over again for several days. You were just teaching the Crown Prince his lessons before, so you didn't have to go to this extent, right?"

Rong Jianxue said in a cold voice, "She has never learned to keep accounts before, so she is naturally different from the Crown Prince."

"Then, sir, when do you plan to tell the Second Lady that you will personally teach her how to read the accounts?"

Rong Jianxue pinched the finger bones at the foot of the page and tightened them: "Tomorrow, her hand should be healed."

Jiang Hui chuckled, said nothing more, and continued to drive the carriage forward.

Until they arrived at the gate of Rong Mansion.

"Hmm?" Jiang Hui asked in confusion and surprise, "Sir, the Second Lady is outside the mansion, seemingly waiting for someone."

The Buddhist beads paused.

He stood up, lifted the curtain and got out of the carriage.

Outside the mansion, a woman in a light blue long dress, with clear eyes and a stunning appearance, stood out.

She stood on the steps obediently, and when she saw it was him, she bowed slightly.

Rong Jianxue nodded and walked forward.

"Why are you here?" he asked.

"Greetings, sir," Pei Jingxu said in a gentle voice, "I am waiting for someone here."

Rong Jianxue nodded: "Friends?"

Pei Jingxu shook his head and whispered, "Yes, sir."

The man was holding the account book in his hand.

He glanced sideways slightly: "What?"

Pei Jingxu said in a low voice, "I asked someone to find an accountant outside, and he's here to teach me today."

The wind blew through the woman's hair, bringing with it the scent of jasmine.

Rong Jianxue stood there, not saying a word, just looking down at her.

Pei Jingxu raised his eyes, met the man's gaze, tilted his head slightly, his eyes full of confusion: "Sir, what's wrong?"

Rong Jianxue pursed her lips and said in a slightly cold voice, "Nothing."

Pei Jingxu curled her lips and said, "When I asked people to find accountants, they all refused as soon as they heard that I was going to teach them."

Rong Jianxue remained silent, but tiny ripples appeared in her cold eyes.

"I asked many people to find this gentleman. I was worried that he would be unhappy, so I came to wait outside the mansion."

Pei Jingxu's words were so convincing that no one would doubt that they were lies.

"If he gets angry because the Second Lady of the Rong Mansion didn't go out to greet you, I don't think he is a gentleman of good character."

Hearing Rong Jianxue's cold tone, Pei Jingxu blushed, lowered her head, and spoke in a smaller voice, "Your Excellency is right, but my reputation is really bad. Apart from this accountant, no one is willing to teach me."

Hearing this, Rong Jianxue closed her eyes slightly, her tone somewhat unnatural: "I'm not... mocking you."

Pei Jingxu pretended to be indifferent and shook her head, smiling at the man. "Your Excellency is right. I have a bad reputation and am known throughout the city for my stupidity. I am lucky to have someone find me a gentleman."

That's not the case.

At most, she was just a little tearful.

It's not some bad reputation or stupidity.

As if she felt she had talked too much with him, Pei Jingxu quickly stepped back and made room for Rong Jianxue. "Your Excellency must have worked hard at court. Please return to the East Courtyard first. I...will probably have to wait a little longer."

Rong Jianxue rubbed his fingertips a few times, but didn't say anything. He just took the account book and walked into the Rong Mansion.

Looking at Rong Jianxue's leaving back, a smile appeared on Pei Jingxu's face.

tonight.

Tonight she would make Rong Jianxue willingly teach her how to look after the accounts.

Not long after, Hongyao brought a middle-aged man with a big belly to the gate of the mansion. Pei Jingxu bowed to him in a pretentious manner and led the man to the west courtyard.

--

East courtyard, study.

Since returning home, Rong Jianxue has been handling official business in the study. He has not even eaten lunch or dinner, and has never come out.

Jiang Hui was a little worried, so he knocked on the door and asked, "Sir, would you like something to eat?"

The man in the room did not answer. Jiang Hui had good hearing and could hear the rustling sound of writing coming from the room through the door.

He sighed. If the young master didn't want to pay attention to him, Jiang Hui could do nothing.

The sun moved from the east to the west and then set. Jiang Hui looked at the moon and calculated that seven hours had passed.

"Sir, should we go to the west courtyard and take a look? I just ran into Hongyao in the kitchen. She said that the accountant has been teaching since early morning, and the Second Lady hasn't had a rest yet!"