His expression remained unchanged, but the tips of his ears had gradually turned red. He picked up the teacup to hide it.
At this time, Yao Susu handed the book to Xu Zekun. Her fingers were as soft and tender as the finest jade. She seemed to sigh slightly, and then said seriously, "Master, please forgive me. Susu has taken this book and has kept it safely. Now it is returned to its rightful owner."
Xu Zekun already knew Yao Susu's general background from his mother. The uncle she had always lived with was just an ordinary citizen and did not even have an official title.
But at this moment, hearing her elegant words, he couldn't help but feel curious and blurted out, "Can you read?"
"I know a few words."
Xu Zekun stroked his teacup with his fingers. It was undeniable that Yao Susu had indeed attracted his attention. "There are hundreds of books in that bookcase. Why did you choose this one?"
In fact, this is also what Xu Zekun is most puzzled about. If she had not chosen "Spring and Autumn Annals" but chose something else, he might not have discovered it so quickly.
Hearing Xu Zekun's question, and his tone no longer as cold as before, Yao Susu couldn't help but relax a lot. She knew that this risky move was the right one.
Her eyebrows curved, her eyes seemed to be sprinkled with gold, and her tone became more relaxed: "This book has been read the most times by the master, and the pages are the most worn, so Su Su thinks this book must be the master's favorite. If it is lost, the master will come to find me."
Xu Zekun was shocked. He had never expected Yao Susu to be so smart and thoughtful.
It was hard for him to imagine how Yao Susu compared hundreds of books and picked the one he liked best.
She had spent so much time just for a chance to meet him.
"Ding, favorability increased by 10%, current favorability 10/100"
Yao Susu smiled inwardly. Xu Zekun had been unable to get the love of the county lord and had never truly experienced the feeling of being firmly chosen by someone. Now that she was so attentive to him, it really touched Xu Zekun's heart, which was as cold as a stone.
Xu Zekun felt the heat spreading from his ears to his face. To avoid losing his composure, he took the book and said coldly, "I won't punish you this time, but this won't happen again."
After saying this, Xu Zekun left as if nothing had happened.
It was just a small storm, with much ado about nothing, and no substantial damage was caused.
Everyone in Yingxue Pavilion was feeling relieved, but Mrs. Wu was not happy at all, because Xu Zekun had not yet agreed to take Yao Susu as his concubine, let alone consummate his marriage with her.
She still remembered the purpose of inviting Yao Susu into the mansion.
So, the old lady spontaneously organized a dinner party, saying that Yao Susu would offer a cup of tea to Fang Yanran and Xu Zekun, which would be considered as officially taking them into the family as concubines.
It was just a dinner for taking in concubines, not a big deal, so Marquis Ningyuan did not come. As for Marquis Ningyuan's concubines in the mansion, Wu didn't want to see them even more.
So this banquet was very quiet. At the beginning, only Wu was present, and Yao Susu was standing beside her.
Although Yao Susu is the "protagonist" of this banquet, she knows her identity and is actually more at the mercy of others. She originally wanted to cultivate a good relationship with Xu Zekun for a while, but it is obvious that the old lady does not think so.
Looking at the table full of food and the anxiously waiting Wu, Yao Susu suddenly felt a pang of sympathy. It looked like Xu Zekun and the county lady weren't planning on coming...
Wu was even more furious, and she said to Mother Zheng in a cold voice, "Go to Linfengju and invite the master over!"
Mother Zheng was afraid that Wu would get angry and do something bad, so she smiled and said, "Old Madam, you forgot, we have Tongfu waiting for Master at the gatehouse. If Master returns home, he will definitely come to report."
Upon hearing this, Wu finally felt a little relieved. Xu Zekun hadn't returned home yet, but what about Fang Yanran, who had been at home all this time? Did she still act like a daughter-in-law? She didn't even listen to her mother-in-law!
The more Wu thought about it, the angrier she became. She asked herself, "Yanran is pretty good. Since she got married, has she been obedient in every way?"
She was not simply targeting the Imperial Concubine. Although the Imperial Concubine was noble and had given birth to a prince, she still had the Empress above her.
The Ningyuan Marquisate had been a family of nobles for generations, and they were no pushovers. She treated Yanran this way because she knew her son loved her. She only had one son, so naturally she hoped he and his wife would live happily.
But what did Fang Yanran do?
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Wu said in a very cold and hard tone, "Then go to Huanfang Courtyard and invite Madam over!"
Mother Zheng swallowed her saliva, realizing that the old lady was really angry, and was about to respond.
Then a female voice came from afar: "Mother, calm down. I am late."
Yao Susu was startled, knowing that the person coming was Princess Jianing.
A fragrant breeze floated by, and Mrs. Wu saw Fang Yanran wearing a magenta jacket and skirt embroidered with peony patterns in gold thread, a rising sun-inlaid kingfisher pearl hairpin on her head, and a pair of gold earrings hanging from her ears. She came towards her gracefully.
Her expression turned cold, and she said, "I thought I couldn't get you to be my daughter-in-law!"
She was angry and her words were full of sarcasm. Fang Yanran's face froze. Since she got married, she had not spent much time with the old lady except for paying her respects on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month. However, Mrs. Wu had always been polite to her and had never spoken to her like this.
Although she felt strange in her heart, she quickly adjusted herself and apologized, "Mother, please forgive me. I got the time wrong, which is why I came late."
Although she admitted her mistake, her tone was indescribably cold, and she was not sincere at all.
Wu's heart choked, and she wondered why Fang Yanran was so arrogant. She looked like a beauty, but she had a sullen face every day and never smiled, as if she was wronged by marrying into their Xu family!
If you really don't want to get married, our Xu family doesn't necessarily need you!
Wu was upset, but after all, things had come to this point and no matter how much she said, it would be of no use.
She still cared about Xu Zekun's attitude, so she tried her best to endure it. She winked at Yao Susu and said, "Go and serve tea to your wife."
Yao Susu murmured a response. Fang Yanran's grip on the handkerchief tightened. She really didn't want to come today. Xu Zekun hadn't agreed to take a concubine, so Wu had organized a dinner party on her own, clearly trying to force them to submit.
She lingered in Huanfangyuan for a long time, and only after Qingxing begged her for a long time did she come over.
Although Qingxing was her maid, she was also given to her by her elder sister, and her wishes were also the wishes of her elder sister.
When Wu wanted to take a concubine for Xu Zekun, she asked her eldest sister. What did her eldest sister say to her at that time?
"Yanran, you've been so willful these past few years, that's enough. Live a good life with Xu Zekun. Since you don't want to have children, then let the Marquis take a concubine as she wishes. As for the rest, I will help you with it."
Fang Yanran really thought it was ridiculous. Her life was ruined by Xu Zekun, but wasn't it also ruined by her elder sister? Her elder sister knew who she liked.
But she could hate Xu Zekun, but she couldn't hate her elder sister, because of her elder sister's love for her all the time and the inseparable family affection.
Thinking of this, she calmed down and tried her best to get rid of the jealousy and discomfort that came from nowhere in her mind. She kept telling herself in her heart that she didn't care about Xu Zekun, so naturally she didn't care whether he took a concubine or not.
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