Chapter 70: Even if you're craving it, you won't be able to eat it today.
Qu Rong is a junior, a younger generation, and her nominal granddaughter-in-law. She should sit in the lower position and look up at her with the attitude of serving the superior.
Even though Qu Rong is now in charge of the house, she is not qualified to be on equal footing with me.
The old lady instantly lost all interest in opening the letter. She turned to look at Qu Rong and started to settle scores with her, including the accounts from the yard earlier. "In this family, you're only temporarily in charge, yet you can't distinguish between the old and the young, or even recognize who you are?"
The old woman tossed the letter onto the table beside her, and it slid across the surface to Qu Rong's elbow. "I'm not dead yet."
As long as she lives, Qu Rong and her daughter will not be allowed to run rampant in this house. All the gold and silver in this house will belong to her grandson Qu Ming, and have nothing to do with Qu Rong and her daughter.
No matter how much Qu Rong does or how much real power she holds, she is still a lowly servant who works for the Qu family, a servant or manager of the Qu family, and will never be a master!
Qu Rong reached for the envelope on the table, tore it open, pulled out the letter, and threw the empty envelope back onto the table. "I didn't expect you to die."
Qu Rong turned her head to meet the old lady's gloomy eyes, and said slowly and calmly, "Even if you live to be a hundred, it won't bother me."
Her fearless and arrogant attitude completely enraged the old lady.
"You insolent fool!" The old lady slammed her hand on the table, making the envelope tremble. "You should know that without my approval and my seal, you can't touch a single penny of the Qu family's money!"
She sneered repeatedly, "It's your good fortune that I'm using you. Don't get too big for your britches and forget your place."
Qu Rong scanned the contents of the letter, folded it up again, and stuffed it back into the envelope. "Oh? Since all the family wealth belongs to your grandson Qu Ming, then go and get it back from him."
Qu Rong held the letter between two fingers, turned to the side, and handed it to the old lady with one hand, smiling provocatively, "Go find him by following the information in the letter."
The old lady said, "You—"
Knowing full well that she couldn't understand those scribbled symbols, he still tried to use that to manipulate her.
Qu Rong laughed, lowered her eyes, and threw the letter on the table. "Do you know why you can't understand it? It's because Qu Ming hates you, and he doesn't want you to understand it."
Qu Rong looked up at her and said, "Did you hear that clearly? Your most beloved grandson hates you."
These past few months have probably been the most carefree and enjoyable days of Qu Ming's life.
The old woman's face darkened horribly as she was struck in a sensitive spot. She gripped the handrails tightly, panting heavily as she glared at Qu Rong.
Qu Rong imitated her, placing her hands on the armrests of the chair and gently stroking them with her palms, "This position is really good. Even if I speak loudly, I feel more confident sitting here."
She turned her head to look at the old lady, "No wonder you are so healthy and energetic, Grandmother. The chair you are sitting on must be very 'nourishing'."
She... she's still thinking about the chair she's sitting on?
The old lady pointed at Qu Rong, but before she could say anything, Qu Rong had already looked away from her.
Qu Rong slowly stood up, supporting herself on the armrests of the chair. She raised her hands and carefully straightened her sleeves in front of her. Although she did not plan to see Li Yue'er's mother, if she encountered her on her way back to the academy, she would naturally have to go down and pay her respects. Disheveled sleeves were not the proper manners for her to show respect to her elders.
“As Grandmother just said, I am in charge of the household for the time being. Since I am in charge, everyone must listen to me. I am not Qu Ming, I don’t like being a puppet, and I don’t like having anyone make decisions for me.”
"It's true that you have the official seal, but if I need to use money, why would I need the seal?"
Qu Rong turned to look at her, her tone gentle, "Unless I'm going to sell the Qu family."
"You, you dare!" The old lady was so angry that her eyes went black. She stood up, but after shouting, she seemed to have all her strength drained away. Her body swayed back and forth, and she slumped back into the chair.
Startled, Wu's mother quickly helped the old lady up and patted her back.
How dare the mistress disobey the old lady!
When Wu's mother looked up, intending to say something to Qu Rong, she met Qu Rong's cold eyes and swallowed back the words she was about to say.
Qu Rong may be young, but she is truly ruthless.
Qu Rong withdrew her gaze, glanced at the sky, and walked outside. "Grandma, please take care of yourself. I have other matters to attend to, so I won't be able to stay here to fulfill my filial duties."
As Qu Rong stepped over the threshold, she vaguely heard the old lady's voice, as if she was deliberately trying to make her hear it:
"Go and fetch Tan Xiang here!"
Qu Rong paused, lowered her eyelashes, and then continued walking towards Songlan Hall.
Dansha glanced at the mistress's face, her brows furrowed. Seeing that the mistress did not speak, she had no choice but to follow her closely.
Inside Songlan Hall, Li Yue'er stood at the kitchen door waiting for pastries.
Upon learning that it was Li Yue'er's younger sister's birthday, the cook, Aunt Zhou, even added a red dot to the freshly steamed brown sugar bun, saying, "Happy birthday to Yue'er's younger sister, may you be healthy and safe."
Several hot dishes and pastries were packed into two three-tiered food boxes. Aunt Zhou carried one in each hand and handed them to Teng Huang, saying, "Don't worry about packing them here. They won't get cold within two hours."
Li Yue'er clasped her hands together and bowed to the group, then smiled and said to Aunt Zhou, "Thank you."
She didn't go inside because the kitchen was preparing food, and it was full of the smell of cooking oil.
Li Yue'er didn't mind these things, but the main issue was that she was going to ride in the mistress's carriage to the academy later, and if she smelled of cooking oil, it might bother the mistress who was taking her back.
Garcinia, carrying the food box, said, "Let's go."
Li Yue'er reached out to Teng Huang, "Give me one."
Gambo replied, "No need. My arms are strong enough to hold account books all the time. The main thing is to have one on each side so that I can keep my balance and not get tired."
Li Yue'er looked suspicious, but decided to believe her fallacious reasoning for the time being.
As soon as the two arrived at Songlan Hall, they saw the mistress already standing on the steps in front of the hall waiting for them.
Li Yue'er's eyes lit up, and she ran over, lifting her dress. She only went up one step, then looked up at her from two steps away. After just one glance, she asked in confusion, "Why does the mistress look unhappy?"
She puffed out her cheeks and snorted, "Who dared to offend my mistress? Let me go and teach her a lesson!"
Qu Rong smiled and looked down at her, "Who said I'm not happy?"
She always had a cold face, so how did Li Yue'er notice that she was unhappy?
Li Yue'er stepped up the stairs, stood beside the mistress, and cupped the mistress's face in her hands to examine it closely from all angles. "I could tell right away, I could tell at a glance."
He's talking nonsense again.
Qu Rong almost laughed. She raised her hand, grabbed the woman's wrist, and pulled her cold hand off her face, deliberately saying, "If you want to warm your hands with my face, just say so. Why make up such a lame excuse?"
Her fingers slid down Li Yue'er's wrist, grasped her palm, and gathered her hands together under her wide sleeve.
Li Yue'er turned to face the mistress and took her arm with one hand, "Oh dear, you figured it out."
Seeing that her mistress's expression had softened and that she didn't seem inclined to elaborate, she chuckled and changed the subject.
At the bottom of the steps, Teng Huang walked over carrying a food box, facing Dan Sha. With a lift of her arms, she moved the food box from her palm to Dan Sha's palm.
Li Yue'er laughed, "I said I'd lift one, but you insisted you were strong enough to do it. If you could lift it, why are you handing it all over to Dansha now?"
cinnabar,"……"
Dansha looked at Gamboge and said in a flat tone, "Oh?"
Teng Huang rubbed his arms, puffed out his cheeks, and glared at Li Yue'er, "I feel sorry for you, and you still expose me."
Seeing Dansha looking at him, Teng Huang chuckled and said softly, "If your arms are sore, I'll massage them for you tonight."
It was getting late, and the sky was already dark. Qu Rong didn't let the three of them chat idly. She took Li Yue'er's hand and stepped down the stairs. "Let's go."
The carriage exited through the back door and went up the long street.
Teng Huang lifted the curtain and looked outside. By sheer coincidence, he saw Aunt Tan's carriage passing by them in the opposite direction. "Hmm? Is Aunt Tan going to the Qu residence? But the mistress has only just left."
She didn't go to Shouhe Hall with the mistress, so naturally she didn't know that the mistress and the old lady had a dispute.
Dansha pursed her lips and shook her head slightly at Gamboge.
Realizing something, Watanabe belatedly looked at his mistress. Seeing that she was keeping her eyes down and not speaking, he carefully lowered the curtains and obediently remained silent.
Li Yue'er bent down, lifted the lid of the food box, took out a clean handkerchief, pinched out a piece of peach shortbread with the handkerchief, broke it in half, kept one half for herself, and handed the other half pinched in the handkerchief to the mistress.
She didn't see the exchange of glances between Teng Huang and Dan Sha, but she heard Teng Huang's voice, which she repeated curiously, "Aunt Tan?"
This was one of the few times she had heard this title.
She remembered that the first time, it was Sister Su who brought Shiyi over and asked the mistress to arrange a job for Shiyi.
At that time, the mistress wanted her to learn from Su Rou, so she agreed to it, only saying that the person Shi Yi was to find was Aunt Tan.
The four corners of the carriage are inlaid with luminous pearls, which emit a gentle light.
Garcinia pretended to look up and admire the luminous pearl.
Li Yue'er sensed something was amiss, but seeing that Teng Huang dared not speak, she didn't press the matter further. Instead, she turned and handed the peach shortbread from the handkerchief to her mistress, saying, "It smells so good, want to try some?"
The mistress lifted her eyelids to look at her, her gaze sweeping over the corner of her mouth with a hint of disdain.
Li Yue'er, "..."
I'd rather not eat it.
She assumed her mistress was annoyed that she was eating in the carriage. Given her mistress's temperament, it was indeed difficult for her to tolerate her dropping crumbs of peach shortbread onto the carpet in the carriage.
But inside the carriage, people don't take off their shoes when getting on and off, and the soles of various shoes are easily soiled as they step on each other, so they don't care about her little bit of fruit crumbs.
In her opinion, why bother putting a blanket in the carriage when no one is sitting on it?
Li Yue'er handed the half-piece to Teng Huang.
Her intention was to divide the gamboge in two and give some to cinnabar to try. But the gamboge was very possessive of its food and stuffed it directly into its own mouth.
Li Yue'er glanced at the cinnabar, then at the peach shortbread she had bitten, her shoe tips peeking out from under her skirt as she gently kicked the gamboge shoe upper.
Fujiwara blinked his eyes. "She doesn't eat these. Even if you give them to her, she'll save them for me."
Li Yue'er looked at Dan Sha again, feeling as if she understood something. She raised an eyebrow teasingly and drawled, "Oh?"
Dan Sha kept her eyes closed and her mind focused, not uttering a single word in defense of herself, clearly proving that Teng Huang was telling the truth.
The carriage moved slowly forward, the whole carriage filled with the aroma of peach shortbread.
Qu Rong looked up at Li Yue'er helplessly, and seeing that there were still crumbs on the corners of her mouth, she couldn't help but take out a handkerchief and wipe her mouth. "Greedy."
It was her sister's birthday, so she ate the fruit first.
Li Yue'er laughed and said deliberately, "Even if you're craving it, you won't be able to eat it today."
It's because she got her period.
Qu Rong pressed his thumb against her lower lip, his eyes stopping her from saying anything rash.
Li Yue'er's eyes flickered, and she hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back.
If she didn't say anything, Qu Rong would pretend not to see it.
The carriage stopped at the back gate of the academy.
Teng Huang brought out a footstool and helped Li Yue'er out of the car, while Dan Sha stood beside her carrying two food boxes.
Qu Rong reached out and lifted the curtain, bending down to come out, but showed no intention of getting down.
She looked up and quietly observed Li Yue'er, waiting to see how long she could hold back before speaking.
Li Yue'er shuffled forward, tilting her head to look at her, "Mistress."
The mistress, "Hmm?"
The mistress even gently tucked a stray hair behind her ear.
Li Yue'er's heart softened; she wanted to stay the night, but she also wanted to go back with her.
Li Yue'er raised her hand, lifted the thick fur collar of the mistress's collar to cover her face, and compromised, "Then wait for me for a while, I'll go home with you after I deliver the things."
Qu Rong lowered her eyes, her gaze falling on Li Yue'er's fingertips by her collar. Although her fingers were clean, the scent of peach shortbread still lingered.
It has a cloyingly sweet taste.
But she just happens to have a sweet tooth.
Qu Rong followed Li Yue'er's finger to Li Yue'er's face. Seeing the struggle still in her eyes, she raised an eyebrow and made a decision for her, "If you don't tell me now, you'll really have to go back to sleep with me tonight."
Li Yue'er's eyes suddenly lit up as she looked at her mistress with delight.
She looked up at herself, her watery eyes reflecting the light of the lanterns beside the carriage, like flickering flames or leaping stars.
It was the only light and vitality she could see in the darkness.
Qu Rong raised her hand and pinched Li Yue'er's cheek. "Just for one night. I'll have Teng Huang come and pick you up tomorrow morning."
Li Yue'er jumped up excitedly, wrapped her arms around her mistress's shoulders and neck, and kissed her on the corner of her mouth, "This servant thanks mistress."
She was about to let go and leave.
Qu Rong suddenly felt a little reluctant. The fingers that were pinching Li Yue'er's cheek moved back, and her palm gently tapped the back of Li Yue'er's head. Half forcefully and half coercively, she made Li Yue'er raise her head, and then she turned her head and bent down to kiss her lips.
After grinding it carefully for a while, Qu Rong finally released her, savoring the rich aroma of peach shortbread.
When she looked up, her gaze inadvertently swept across what was in front of her, then paused, "..."
Li Yue'er was dazed from the kisses, her hands stickily wrapped around her mistress's neck, her eyes fixed on her.
The mistress looked down at her, pursed her lips, and then gently pinched her chin, turning her head back.
Behind her, Madam Ming raised her hand to cover Li Xing'er's eyes and stood at the entrance of the academy, looking straight at them. When their eyes met, Madam Ming silently turned around and faced away from them.
Li Yue'er, "?"
Li Yue'er, "!!"
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Ming: No wonder you said the mistress is a good person [clown]
Moon: ...Actually, life is good too [kiss]
Garcinia: How good is it? [Winking emoji]
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