Lu Zhi had only just returned when he heard from the servants that Yu Xi had come over.
At that moment, Yu Xi was crouched in front of the screen, seemingly looking at something, her expression somewhat strange.
Lu Zhi asked, “What’s wrong?”
Yu Xi stood up. “Nothing, just looking around.”
As she spoke, she walked up to Lu Zhi, and pretending not to care, asked, “Husband, this screen is so pretty, did Gao Zhengyu give it to you? I heard she’s your cousin, when did she give it to you?”
Lu Zhi didn’t like others paying too much attention to his private affairs, but Yu Xi was his wife, she was, in a sense, his too, so there was no such thing as a private matter from her.
He sat down by the table and poured a cup of water before saying, “She gave it to me as a birthday gift the year before last. This room happened to be empty at the time, so it got put in here. Why the sudden question?”
Yu Xi looked at him suspiciously, and sat down beside him. “So do you think what she painted is nice?”
Hearing this, Lu Zhi’s hand holding the teacup paused slightly, was Yu Xi testing him about his relationship with his cousin?
He looked at Yu Xi, only to see her face feigning nonchalance, but with a hint of nervousness hidden in her eyes.
“It’s decent,” Lu Zhi said, taking a sip of tea. “Just a decoration, I haven’t paid it much attention, you needn’t be suspicious.”
“What suspicion, I’m not suspicious at all,” his words put Yu Xi’s mind considerably more at ease, and she smiled brightly again. “I was just asking casually, I’m not the jealous type at all!”
Not the jealous type? Lu Zhi wasn’t so sure about that.
Lu Zhi set down his teacup. “If you don’t like it, I’ll have it moved out.”
“I don’t dislike it!” Yu Xi scooted a bit closer to him, her fingers brushing his hem. “I just think this screen is too big. Husband, I have a mother-of-pearl screen in my dowry that would suit you much better, I’ll have it moved over here for you later.”
As she spoke, her fingers tugged at his hem downward. Lu Zhi lifted it back up and nodded. “As you like.”
It was just a decoration, after all, didn’t matter whose it was.
Although her hand had grasped at empty air, Yu Xi’s eyes had not been idle. Looking at Lu Zhi in his purple court robes, she felt her eyes were having a feast.
Who on earth had mixed this color for the court robes, how could it suit her husband so perfectly!
Purple was a deep, heavy color, but Lu Zhi’s features were already refined and striking, his whole bearing dignified and solemn, and instead of being overwhelmed by such a heavy color, he carried it off with an air all his own, noble beyond words.
Outside the window, the night had gone fully dark, lanterns hung beneath the eaves. With the dim evening behind him, Lu Zhi looked as handsome as some noble immortal stepped out of a painting.
Yu Xi’s gaze naturally couldn’t escape Lu Zhi’s sharp awareness. He didn’t understand why she always looked at him like this.
Lu Zhi looked at Yu Xi, and she immediately sat up a little straighter, looking entirely at his mercy.
Her light pink sleeve rested against his deep purple court robe, an abrupt yet strangely harmonious sight.
Pink was youthful and pretty, and Yu Xi loved wearing it. She sat there obediently like this, like a peach on the table, but her eyes were restless, flickering about, clearly up to no good.
“It’s late,” Lu Zhi said, giving her the hint to leave. “You should go back.”
“Go back?” Yu Xi looked around in confusion, saying sweetly, “This is my home, where would I go?”
She truly wasn’t shy around strangers, and had quickly come to think of the Lu residence as her own home, but that wasn’t what Lu Zhi meant.
Lu Zhi said, “Go sleep in the back courtyard. I still have two more hours of work.”
Yu Xi immediately declared, “Husband, I think you work too hard! Why don’t I keep you company, so you won’t be tired!”
Lu Zhi refused at once. “No need.”
He still had unfinished matters to attend to, and truly had no time to chat with Yu Xi, besides, his study wasn’t somewhere Yu Xi could enter anyway.
Lu Zhi stood up. “Xuanyu, escort the young mistress back to her room.”
With that, he went to the study next door.
Xuanyu looked at Yu Xi awkwardly. “Young mistress, allow this servant to escort you back.”
“No.”
Yu Xi turned her head away, somewhat angry, she’d been planning to keep Lu Zhi company while he worked, and he’d actually chased her off. How could he be so unreasonable!
Seeing Yu Xi pour herself a cup of tea and start drinking it, Xuanyu hesitated, but decided not to press further.
After all, judging by his master’s attitude, it probably wouldn’t matter much if the young mistress went back a little later.
Once she finished her tea, Yu Xi wandered around the room a couple more times, touching this and looking at that. After about half an hour, feeling a bit sleepy, she lay down on Lu Zhi’s bed, hugging the blanket, and began to doze off.
Xuanyu was about to speak up, but Xique pushed him out.
Xique said in a low voice, “Our young mistress came especially to keep the young master company, how can you be so tactless?”
Xique had long been dissatisfied with this fellow, standing there like a wooden post, with no idea how to adapt.
Xuanyu was puzzled. “Tactless how? Our master has work to do, he doesn’t need the young mistress’s company anyway.”
Xique gave him a look. “Whether the young master needs it or not, coming to keep him company is our young mistress’s own good intentions. As for matters between husband and wife, we should just go along and push things forward, surely you don’t want to watch your master stay cold and lonely forever.”
“That… I suppose that’s true.”
Unable to out-argue Xique, Xuanyu went to Lu Zhi’s study.
Xuanyu said, “Master, the young mistress has fallen asleep, what would you like to do…”
Lu Zhi had just finished a pile of tedious documents, and rubbed his temple, waving a hand. “Let her be.”
Xuanyu said, “Yes, sir.”
By the time Lu Zhi finished for the night, it was already past the Hour of Hai. After washing up, he walked to the door of the side room, where Xique, keeping watch, immediately stood up. “Young master, you’re here. Our young lady has already fallen fast asleep.”
Lu Zhi nodded and pushed the door open.
Only one lamp was lit inside, deliberately left for him. Yu Xi was sleeping in his small bed, not taking up much space, but her sleeping posture was rather unrefined.
Lu Zhi walked over, frowning. Yu Xi was sleeping soundly, hugging the blanket, her pant leg slipped up to her knee, revealing a pale, slender calf, the nail color on her feet still not wiped off, if anything, it looked even redder than before.
The whiteness of her skin and the redness of the nail color stood out sharply against Lu Zhi’s plain blue bedding.
As if sensing his presence, Yu Xi blearily opened her eyes and shifted aside a little. “Mm… husband, you’re here, come sleep quickly.”
The bed was too small, if Lu Zhi slept here with her, they’d definitely be squeezed together.
He said flatly, “You sleep. I’ll sleep on the couch in the study.”
“Don’t want that,” Yu Xi grabbed his sleeve. “Why won’t you sleep with me?”
She always managed to ask such embarrassing questions this bluntly, without a trace of shyness.
“The bed’s too small, we’d be squeezed.”
“Then let’s be squeezed,” Yu Xi said, instead looking pleased, patting the bed. “Come on, I love sleeping squeezed together with someone!”
Being squeezed together sounded nice, she just wanted to sleep close to Lu Zhi.
Lu Zhi paused, unable to help thinking of Yu Xi and Lu Ping at these words, childhood sweethearts, had they slept squeezed together like this before too?
“No,” Lu Zhi lowered his eyes, not caring either way. “I’m leaving.”
“Eh, wait!” Yu Xi’s eyes darted about, and thinking of something, she held out her hand. “Husband, hold my hand again, I slept so well after you held it last time!”
It was late at night, and Lu Zhi didn’t want to keep dealing with her, so he held her small hand briefly. “There.”
Yu Xi looked at her hand that had just been held, clenching it, feeling it wasn’t quite enough, and growing a little bolder. “Then, then can you kiss me too?”
As she said this, she pointed at the side of her face, closing her eyes, waiting nervously and expectantly for Lu Zhi to kiss her.
They’d already been married for several days now, surely Lu Zhi should kiss her by now!
In the romance novels she read, people always kissed!
Lu Zhi looked at her fair, faintly pink cheek, then turned and left, she was too self-indulgent, he absolutely couldn’t spoil her.
After waiting a while, with neither a kiss nor an answer, Yu Xi opened her eyes in confusion, only to see that Lu Zhi had already left.
“What the…”
Yu Xi lay back down, disheartened, hugging Lu Zhi’s pillow, thinking, she’d never pay attention to him again!
Thinking it was one thing, but the next day, when Yu Xi woke up and saw the sky still dim, she assumed it was still early, and the first thing on her mind was still to find Lu Zhi.
Xique brought in water for washing her face and told her honestly, “Miss, it’s nearly noon already, it’s just overcast because it’s raining. The young master left long ago.”
“Fine,” Yu Xi lay back down, staring blankly at the top of the bed canopy, then finally sat up. “It’s raining today, I’m going to pick husband up!”
At a quarter past the Hour of You, Yu Xi appeared punctually at the palace gate.
Yu Guanhai, coming out of the palace, was moved to see Yu Xi there, though his daughter had married out, she still thought of her father, even coming to pick him up in the rain.
Yu Guanhai bragged to his colleagues. “Look at this, this is my good daughter, coming to pick her father up even in the rain, how come no one’s come for you all?”
The Marquis of Xinyang, walking beside him, glanced at him. “Look how pleased with yourself you are.”
Yu Guanhai said, “Nothing to say to someone with no daughter to pick him up.”
With that, amid the Marquis’s scolding, Yu Guanhai made his way to Yu Xi’s carriage.
“Good daughter, Father’s here, let’s hurry home.”
Yu Xi, however, looked at him in confusion. “Father, why did you come? Is my husband out yet?”
Yu Guanhai understood. Yu Guanhai’s heart broke.
“Good daughter, Father’s colleagues are still watching, let Father in first…”
Once Yu Guanhai got into the carriage and saw Yu Xi still looking at him expectantly, he could only say reluctantly, “He won’t be out until at least the Hour of Xu. Come back with Father for now, Father will give you some pocket money.”
Yu Xi held out her hand, and Yu Guanhai, smiling, took out his money pouch. “Good daughter, Father knew you were on his side.”
Yu Xi took the money and said with a bright smile, “Father thinks of everything. I’ll take my husband out to eat later, Father, you should get going, Mother’s probably already sent someone to pick you up.”
Yu Guanhai: “…”
This ungrateful little thing.
After Yu Guanhai left, Yu Xi leaned against the carriage wall to read her romance novel. She didn’t know how much time had passed when she rubbed her eyes, stuck her head out the window, and happened to see Lu Zhi coming out of the palace.
Yu Xi immediately grabbed an umbrella and ran down. “Husband, I’ve come to pick you up!”
Seeing Yu Xi, Lu Zhi paused for a moment. “Let’s go.”
Xuanyu held an umbrella for Lu Zhi, Xique held one for Yu Xi, and Yu Xi had another umbrella in her hand too, one she’d brought specially for Lu Zhi.
Once in the carriage, Lu Zhi brushed the rainwater off himself, and noticing Yu Xi sitting on top of a book, reminded her, “Put the book away properly, don’t get it wet.”
Yu Xi startled, remembering what Xique had said before about hiding her romance novels, and shifted the book further under herself, awkwardly. “Mm-hm, I know, I know.”
Seeing her sitting on the book, Lu Zhi assumed she’d been waiting a long time, and his voice softened slightly. “Coming to pick me up in such heavy rain, that was thoughtful of you.”
“Yes, yes, I waited a long, long time,” Yu Xi immediately seized the opportunity, grabbing his hand. “You should really thank me properly!”
Lu Zhi, rarely, didn’t pull his hand away immediately, and asked with a smile instead, “How would you like me to thank you?”
Then he saw Yu Xi point at her face, at the same spot as the night before. “Then kiss me!”