Chapter 22: I am clearly the mistress's concubine.
Trying to kiss her on the cheek while she's wearing an overcoat? Her lips are definitely out of the question.
Qu Rong really couldn't understand Li Yue'er's quirks. She always liked to bite people with her mouth. Was she born in the Year of the Dog?
“A few winter clothes are nothing to be so happy about,” Qu Rong released Li Yue’er’s mouth and took out a handkerchief to wipe her palms. “You are the master’s concubines, and these are what you deserve.”
Go out and ask around. Which wealthy family's concubines are crammed into a shared bed with three other women, without even a maidservant to attend to them? And now they're even worried about having a few winter clothes. If word gets out, all the merchants will laugh their heads off.
If Qu Ming hadn't run away, Li Yue'er would have received the best treatment among them.
Li Yue'er didn't know what the mistress was thinking. Her face grew colder and colder, and she rubbed her palms harder and harder, her mood visibly somber.
Li Yue'er had a feeling that serving a ruler was like serving a tiger. No matter how good she was at reading people's expressions, she couldn't read the mind of her mistress and couldn't guess why her mistress had suddenly turned cold.
But she was clever.
Li Yue'er leaned forward gently, wrapped her arms around the mistress, and rubbed her cheek against her shoulder, humming in a sweet, coquettish voice, "What master's concubine? I am clearly the mistress's concubine."
The mistress's body stiffened visibly for a moment, then her cold, indifferent, and disdainful tone slowly rang out, "You haven't washed your face and you're rubbing against my clothes. How am I supposed to sleep in this dress?"
Li Yue'er, "..."
The mistress's words implied that she was disgusted that the girl hadn't showered and had come to rub against her, but she didn't lift her off her lap. In fact, when the girl leaned back, the mistress subconsciously protected her waist briefly.
Li Yue'er sighed softly in her heart.
Fortunately, she was kind-hearted and observant of her mistress's good qualities; otherwise, she would have been unable to tolerate her mistress's two-faced words.
Li Yue'er pretended not to hear her mistress's words, straightened her back and knelt down properly, and carefully combed her hair. At the same time, she chatted about the matter of becoming a disciple today, "It's all thanks to the mistress's kindness to me that she introduced me to a teacher to teach me how to manage a household. The mistress is truly the best fairy in the world."
Li Yue'er made no attempt to hide her excitement at being able to become Su Rou's apprentice, and she was also generous with her praise for her mistress.
Regarding the matter of becoming an apprentice, she didn't yet understand what the mistress wanted, but she clearly knew what benefits she had gained. Since she had enjoyed the mistress's favor, she naturally had to spend more time praising the mistress.
If the mistress's period didn't come, Li Yue'er was willing to go out of her way to persuade her elsewhere.
Li Yue'er speaks in a soft, gentle tone, just like her clear, autumn-water eyes, making it easy for people to immerse themselves in her words and listen quietly, even if it's just some trivial chatter.
Especially when she gently gathers her long hair that hangs down her back with her fingers, holding it in her palm, and gently combs her hair roots with a comb in her other hand, it's hard not to feel relaxed.
Qu Rong closed her eyes slightly and placed her hand on Li Yue'er's calf. "Just learn how to manage a household from Su Rou. You don't need to learn anything else from her."
Upon hearing this, Li Yue'er recalled her embarrassing attempt to imitate Dong Shi when she came in earlier, which was truly shameful.
Fortunately, Li Yue'er was thick-skinned and stubbornly argued, "Isn't it because I want to learn more from others' strengths so as not to embarrass you, Mistress, in front of outsiders?"
The mistress chuckled softly, her breathy voice short and sharp.
Li Yue'er looked down at her and could only see the mistress's thick, long eyelashes that covered her eyes. Li Yue'er felt a little itchy and couldn't help but say, "It's good that I can read."
The hint of smugness in her light, airy tone was impossible to hide.
When she told Su Rou that she could read in the morning, she was simply stating the facts. She was neither ashamed nor boastful; she was just telling her future teacher what she had learned.
But when Li Yue'er spoke to her mistress, her voice trailed off with a slight lilt.
Qu Rong looked up at Li Yue'er.
When she hummed, her eyelashes drooped and the corners of her mouth lifted, her voice like a little hook, tickling one's ears.
Qu Rong did not deny that she was quite pleased with Li Yue'er's approach.
At least Li Yue'er could distinguish between herself and Su Rou who was the outsider, and she always remembered that Li Yue'er was someone in her household.
After praising herself, Li Yue'er felt a little embarrassed and started to try to make up for it by praising her teacher.
Li Yue'er said, "Sister Su has an excellent temperament. Every move she makes exudes elegance. She must be from a well-to-do family."
As she muttered these things, Qu Rong kept her eyes closed and didn't bother to make a sound. She only gently tugged at Li Yue'er's skirt with her fingers, pulling the fabric up to the back of her knees. She then grasped Li Yue'er's slightly cool calves and gently squeezed them.
Li Yue'er wasn't short, but she had a small frame, so her calves felt smooth and soft to the touch, like tofu with no bones.
Li Yue'er noticed the mistress's actions and felt a warmth in her heart.
Perhaps because she was also a woman, the mistress could better understand her discomfort after binding her chest, and very considerately spared her poor two mounds of flesh, instead touching her calves instead.
Li Yue'er then noticed that the area where the mistress's palm was touching did indeed have a slightly rough texture. It didn't hurt, but it was slightly itchy when rubbed.
This shows that the matriarch also had calluses on her hands.
That's great, they're both "rough" people.
This conclusion made Li Yue'er's eyes dart around and her cheeks flush slightly. A tingling, itchy sensation climbed up her calves. She slightly moved her knees and knelt a little deeper into the chair. This movement made it easier for the mistress, while also allowing her pubic bone to press completely against the mistress's waist and abdomen.
Li Yue'er used words to distract herself from her legs, "With Sister Su's talent, what kind of person must Shi Yi's father be for her to condescend to marry him?"
Li Yue'er wouldn't have bothered to inquire about other people, but this would be her teacher in the future, so it's always good to know more.
The prerequisite is that the mistress is willing to tell her.
The mistress said, "You overestimate her."
Li Yue'er suddenly knelt up straight, looked down at her mistress, and smiled.
Qu Rong, "..."
Qu Rong raised her hand and gave Li Yue'er's pert buttocks a light pat.
Li Yue'er let out a soft "Aiya!" and leaned forward to rest in her mistress's arms, wrapping her arms around her shoulders and using her fingers to comb her hair.
Qu Rong's hand moved up along Li Yue'er's knee, causing her skirt to bunch up at her forearm, the red skirt covering her white sleeves.
The fabric not only covered the fabric itself, but also concealed the mistress's improper hands beneath her dignified expression.
Qu Rong said, "Su Rou has little talent, but is extremely arrogant."
Both of them had received an education since childhood, but Qu Rong felt that Li Yue'er was more insightful and open-minded than Su Rou, and was also more adaptable to her current situation, at least she wouldn't make things difficult for herself.
Qu Rong commented on Su Rou in one sentence: "She has lost the support that maintains her dignity, yet she still can't bring herself to kneel down. Seven or eight years have passed, but the pride of being the legitimate daughter of the Minister's mansion in her heart has not been worn away yet."
Li Yue'er heard something incredible: Sister Su was actually the legitimate daughter of the Minister's mansion.
How did she become the wife of a manager in the dye house?
She wanted to know.
Qu Rong raised her eyebrows slightly, and beneath her red skirt, her fingers brushed against the seam, rubbing her damp fingertips together.
Li Yue'er's face turned bright red. Like a quail, she stuck out her buttocks and lowered her head, hiding her forehead in the mistress's neck, and said softly, "Please."
Qu Rong, "Which one do you want?"
Is it about Su Rou, or this slippery substance?
Li Yue'er pressed her lips to the edge of the mistress's collar, "I want them all."
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Interviewer: How did you win over the matriarch?
Moon: With words [shy]
Interviewer: ...Which one?
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