This was exactly what Nara wanted to hear. She was initially pleased but also troubled. Seeing that Tong refused, her eyes lit up and she chuckled, "Master, Tong's suggestion is good. Let the steward manage it. Tong's health is not good, and she should take good care of herself. If the affairs of the household burden her, I will feel uneasy."
Yinzhen meant well, but upon seeing this, he said coldly, "How can that be? There's no one in charge in the mansion."
When Li was pregnant, Tong didn't want to take care of it. The other concubines were all low-ranking and couldn't make decisions when something happened in the mansion.
"Why not? After Master leaves, we can just close the mansion to all visitors," Nan Yi suggested casually.
Yinzhen glared at her, about to reprimand her, but then he remembered he was about to leave, so he suppressed his displeasure and pondered for a while before deciding that it was a good idea.
Seeing his hesitation, Lady Nara said, "My lord, I also think this method is good. Before I leave, I will arrange everything." It would be best if she could accompany the emperor and keep the power of domestic affairs in her own hands.
Yinzhen glanced at his wife, a complex expression flashing across his face. Nara was startled and quickly lowered her gaze, thinking to herself, "She's too hasty."
“If that’s the case, then so be it,” Yinzhen finally agreed, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Yinzhen led Li Shi away, and Nan Yi followed closely behind.
The next day at dinner time, Yinzhen entered Lanyuan again. Nan Yi was puzzled. Was he not going to accompany Li Shi? Then he thought of Li Shi's face and wondered if he also felt uncomfortable with her.
After chatting for a while, Yinzhen was somewhat tempted. Since she returned to the manor, he had not touched her. He held the person closest to him in his arms and teased her, peacefully enjoying the thrill of her in his arms.
Nan Yi was already lost in thought, only remembering what Yi Ren had let slip last night. Suddenly, she felt a little annoyed. When she came back to her senses, she also found the man in front of her displeasing, and her face showed impatience. Yin Zhen grasped her slender waist, which was moving around, and pulled her close. Nan Yi pushed him away and accidentally blurted out, "Go away."
"Hmm?" The deep, gloomy voice startled Nan Yi, who bit her tongue and froze, her scalp tingling. Unwilling to show weakness, she decided to go for it, supporting him on the shoulder to sit up straight, her eyes fixed on him, and asked, "Are you comfortable with the maidservants of Consort Li?"
Before he could speak, Nan Yi coldly reminded him, "I don't have any in my courtyard."
He understood the seemingly random sentence. Yinzhen, who was originally furious and on the verge of exploding, calmed down and nodded slightly.
Nan Yi was slightly taken aback. This nod indicated that the maid was serving her well, but she immediately got up in anger and said, "I won't make arrangements."
She wouldn't arrange for a maid to serve her in bed; even if she didn't care, she wouldn't do something so brainless and bizarre.
Qingfeng and the others are all good girls. Before they left, she provided each of them with a substantial dowry. They could go out and be proper wives, which would be much better than staying in this cannibalistic backyard.
Yinzhen nodded again and hugged her tightly once more.
Nan Yi was even angrier. She was inexplicably annoyed, and a rift instantly formed in her heart. Her face unconsciously showed a look of disgust, and she cursed Yinzhen in her heart as a philandering scoundrel, a filthy man.
She felt for a moment that it was really a loss for her to be his concubine, but then again, it seemed like it would be a loss for her to be anyone's concubine.
Her expression was too obvious. Yinzhen didn't care at first, but when he looked up and saw her expression, he was furious. What kind of look was that? Did she despise him? She actually despised him! He blurted out, "You despise me?" It wasn't a question, but a very certain statement.
Her eyes narrowed. Uh, he was being so obvious. She pulled her fingers back from his grasp, lowered her head slightly to fidget with her nails, her gaze shifting uncertainly. She denied it aloud, saying, "No," but in her heart she thought, "I just don't like you, so what?"
Yinzhen was furious, but he lowered his head as if he couldn't see through her. He lifted her chin and stared straight into her eyes. "Look at me and say it, hmm—" She had the guts to do it, but not the guts to say it.
She raised her head slightly and readily agreed, "No, how could that be?" She gave a perfunctory reply, but her starry eyes kept darting around, refusing to look at him.
Yinzhen frowned, a sharp look rising in his eyes. "Hmph, what a hypocritical woman, daring to look down on me."
A chill ran through her, making her feel cold. Nan Yi was afraid of making a scene, so she quickly tried to salvage the situation. But given her personality, she was a master at causing trouble and not good at cleaning up messes. Before she knew it, she blurted out, "Master, I really didn't do it. Please don't make wild guesses."
She clung to Yinzhen, shaking his arm coquettishly, but what she was really thinking was, "I'm begging you, my lord, to fawn over you for now."
Yinzhen took a sip of tea, about to swallow, when… *pfft*
"Cough cough..." Master, how is he old? Yinzhen was bewildered. He was only twenty-six years old, ten years older than her.
Once he had finished coughing, Nan Yi cried out again, "Master—"
Yinzhen's lips twitched, his gaze was sideways, and his face was expressionless.
Nan glanced at him and saw a cold glare on his face, suppressing his smile.
“Honghui is the young master, and you are the master,” she explained matter-of-factly. Yes, you are the master, the dashing and unrestrained master.
That's true, but he was annoyed. When Yinzhen was called "Master," he got up, wanting to leave. If he listened to her again, he would really become a master. Unexpectedly, Nan Yi was hanging on him, and he almost fell off the bed with her. He quickly pulled her back and made sure she sat up.
Nan was startled and patted his chest, panting heavily. Once he caught his breath, he said, "Master, I..."
Seeing his cold expression, she quickly changed her words, "Sir, please stay and have a meal with me. You've never eaten at Lan Courtyard before."
She feigned a complaint, her eyes darting around. Yinzhen was a little unaccustomed to her acting like this, but he still endured his discomfort and agreed.
Seeing her lower her head, looking slightly aggrieved, Lady Tong asked him to stay. Yinzhen was very pleased and sat back down.
After the couple finished setting the table, Nan Yi glanced around and casually asked his lover, "Hey, where's the snow ginseng tonic soup I ordered?"
Hearing her question, the lovers turned pale with fright and immediately knelt down. Nan Yi chuckled, "What are you all doing? Go and bring it over. That medicine is very precious."
The lover knelt forward a few steps, glanced at her master, and hesitated, as if she wanted to say something. Yinzhen frowned and glared at her coldly.
The lover swallowed hard. “Reporting to Your Majesty, when I was fetching the food, I met Sister Xingzhi from Fangfei Courtyard. She said that Consort Li needed it and took the medicine from my hands. I couldn’t stop her, so please punish me, Your Majesty,” the lover said, bowing her head in apology.
After listening, Nan Yi pondered for a moment, his expression unreadable, and said, "Since it's what Sister Li needs, then let's forget about it."
Yinzhen was initially slightly annoyed when he heard that Li had taken the food without asking, but Tong did not pursue the matter, so his brows relaxed slightly, and the two continued their meal without mentioning it.
Another day passed. After finishing his official duties, Yinzhen went straight to Lan Courtyard. As he passed through the corridor, he heard two of Tong's personal maids arguing. As Yinzhen drew closer, he heard one of them say, "We failed to get the master's snow ginseng soup again today. What should we do..."
Another person said, "Oh dear, this is the second time already. Consort Li is really going too far. Today she even took away the Hundred Flower Cake that the master loves. It's infuriating."
“Who says otherwise? Everyone was getting theirs from the kitchen. Qiuju even said that no one could prove that the things belonged to the master. That’s so domineering and infuriating.”
"Never mind, never mind, the master didn't say anything, there's nothing we can do," one of them advised. The two maids exchanged a few words and then hurriedly left.
After hearing this, Yinzhen's face turned ashen, but he kept quiet about it!
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