18 – Depends on Yinzhen’s Attitude
Seeing Yin Zhen about to speak, Fu Qingzi cut him off, narrowing her phoenix eyes slightly as she teased, “Has Shaoye offended you again?”
Yin Zhen remained unruffled, his expression calm as he replied, “You must have misheard.”
A faint trace of helplessness flickered across Fu Qingzi’s face.
Qianjin, noticing Fu Qingzi avoiding Fourth Master, moved closer to her side.
Yin Zhen patted Qianjin’s hindquarters and muttered under his breath, “Useless.”
Only then did Yin Zhen remember the tea leaves and tea set he had brought for Fu Qingzi, but after observing her for a moment, he realized she seemed to have genuinely forgotten about it!
His deep eyes fixed on her for a long while before he finally spoke softly, “Fu Qingzi, did you ask me to bring you anything?”
Fu Qingzi closed her eyes, as if carefully recalling. The more Yin Zhen thought about it, the more annoyed he became. Just as he was about to speak, Fu Qingzi suddenly looked up at him and said, “Lord, my tea.”
Yin Zhen narrowed his eyes slightly and let out a light hum, clearly not so easily appeased.
Fu Qingzi leaned down and placed a kiss on Yin Zhen’s forehead, withdrawing quickly before he could react.
Yin Zhen’s face flushed slightly, and he cleared his throat softly, covering his mouth with his large hand.
After Yin Zhen left on business, Fu Qingzi stared blankly at the items before her. Without even looking closely, she could tell he had put thought into them. Why had he bothered? It would have been better if he had just fobbed her off casually.
Especially after seeing Qiao An’s suggestive gaze, she felt even more irritated.
The weather was cold, perfect for hot pot. Fu Qingzi specifically asked Qiao An to inform Yin Zhen in the front courtyard.
When Yin Zhen arrived, he took his seat and picked up his chopsticks, remarking, “If you want to eat, just eat. Couldn’t you have eaten without me?”
Fu Qingzi glanced at him indifferently and said, “Then you may leave.”
Yin Zhen: “…”
Yin Zhen lazily glanced at her and snorted lightly, “I am not someone you can summon and dismiss at will.”
Even while eating hot pot, Fu Qingzi maintained an elegant posture. Yin Zhen directly dipped a piece of tripe into the broth and placed it into Fu Qingzi’s mouth.
Fu Qingzi suppressed her innate sense of disgust—her cleanliness obsession was inborn, and she couldn’t help it.
If Fu Qingzi had looked more closely, she would have noticed that Yin Zhen hadn’t used serving chopsticks for the hot pot.
Outside, Qiao An and Su Peisheng watched the heavy snowfall. Qiao An rested her chin on her hand, her thoughts drifting far away. Fu Qingzi and Yin Zhen had been together for half a year—one was indifferent to worldly desires, and the other remained unmoved. Of course, the former referred to Yin Zhen, and the latter to Fu Qingzi.
One was indifferent to others, and the other was unmoved by Yin Zhen.
Their relationship was destined to be rocky, given Fu Qingzi’s aloofness toward Yin Zhen.
Qiao An turned and whispered to Su Peisheng, “Did your Fourth Master really not have any women when he went south?”
Su Peisheng immediately made a shushing gesture. “Oh, my dear lady, keep your voice down. I’ve told you three times already—there really weren’t any. Would I lie to you?”
Qiao An finally understood: Yin Zhen truly wouldn’t touch people he didn’t like or didn’t want to be close to. For example, Fu Qingzi, whom he had just married—he resisted pressure from the palace to avoid touching her.
Some things are simply destined…
Qiao An patted Su Peisheng’s forehead and said with a smile, “Be good, keep an eye on Fourth Master for me.”
Su Peisheng: “…” Anyone hearing this would think you were the mistress of the house, but he still nodded in agreement.
Yin Zhen’s gaze fell upon Fu Qingzi’s fair face, tinged with a faint blush, and his heart skipped a beat. He composed himself before saying, “I still have some matters to attend to in the front courtyard. Will you wait for me?”
Fu Qingzi smiled gently, wiping her mouth with a handkerchief before replying softly, “No, it’s cold. You should rest in the front courtyard.”
Yin Zhen gave a hum of acknowledgment and left the Main Courtyard.
Fu Qingzi removed her hair ornaments, washed up, and settled into bed. Not far away, a brazier glowed warmly, making the room cozy and comfortable.
Just as Fu Qingzi closed her eyes, Qiao An slipped in from outside and, out of habit, burrowed into Fu Qingzi’s quilt, sighing contentedly. “It feels so much better sleeping next to Azi~”
Qiao An clung tightly to Fu Qingzi’s arm, tilting her head to look at her with closed eyes, and couldn’t help but ask, “Azi, do you think Consort Geng will make her move tonight? Will she succeed?”
Fu Qingzi’s eyes were clear, her tone devoid of excessive emotion. “Her success depends entirely on Yin Zhen’s attitude. I don’t know.”
Qiao An thought Consort Geng had an eighty percent chance of failing unless she could captivate Yin Zhen at first glance.
The next day.
Qiao An’s expression was complicated, and after hesitating for a moment, she said, “Azi, Consort Geng knelt in the snow all night yesterday.”
Fu Qingzi’s hand, holding the teacup, paused slightly. It didn’t matter whether she knelt in the snow all night; what mattered was whether she told Yin Zhen it was her idea. If Consort Geng was smart, she definitely wouldn’t say a word. Since Fourth Master already looked down on her, she wouldn’t dare offend Fu Qingzi either.
When in history had Yin Zhen ever been so chaste? Fu Qingzi chuckled softly. It seemed his feelings for Ulanara truly ran deep.
Qiao An wanted to say, “Could it be because you make him sleep so comfortably… and he’s also angry about being manipulated?” Of course, she didn’t dare voice this thought unless she had a death wish.
Fu Qingzi set down her teacup and said nonchalantly, “Send Qianjin to the front courtyard. Don’t let his anger burn us.”
Qiao An: “…” Qianjin must have had the worst luck in eight lifetimes to cross paths with Fu Qingzi.
Just as Qiao An was about to leave, Fu Qingzi added from behind, “Oh, right, send some nice things to Yueman Courtyard to console Consort Geng.”
When Yin Zhen heard that Fu Qingzi had sent a generous amount of gifts to Yueman Courtyard, he was instantly furious. “Well done, Fu Qingzi. She seduced me, and you act as if nothing happened, running off to console her.”
Yin Zhen’s cold gaze swept over Su Peisheng as he said sternly, “Go and summon the mistress here.”
Upon hearing that Yin Zhen had called her to the front courtyard, Fu Qingzi immediately felt a headache coming on and quickly prepared a set of excuses.
As soon as Fu Qingzi stepped into the front courtyard, she met Yin Zhen’s icy gaze. She quickly curtsied and said, “My Lord.”
“Fu Qingzi, don’t tell me Consort Geng’s matter has nothing to do with you.” Yin Zhen clasped his hands together under his chin, his dark eyes radiating a chill Fu Qingzi couldn’t quite decipher.
Fu Qingzi met Yin Zhen’s dark gaze calmly and replied softly, “It has nothing to do with me. Do you believe that?”
“My Lord, I am, after all, the mistress of the house.”
With this single sentence, she made her actions of sending gifts to Yueman Courtyard perfectly clear: as the mistress, this was her duty, devoid of personal motives.
After a long while, Yin Zhen finally uttered two words: “I believe.”
Fu Qingzi seemed to have anticipated this, a faint, almost imperceptible smile curling at the corners of her lips.