The maidservants who had been waiting on them in the house went out, and Yun Shu quietly knelt down before Qi You, "I beg you to grant me a complete marriage."

  Qī Yòu is used to seeing people, and there are not a few who are loyal to him. However, he also has some appreciation for this housekeeper of his wife's. It's the first time he's seen such a capable and responsible maid for her master's sake.

  "Get up."

  Yun Shu stood up obediently, his head hung low, with a waiting-for-instruction look on his face.

  Qī Yòu wouldn't underestimate her; these few maids by Yún Shū's side all had some skills, with Yún Shū being the most skilled.

  "Do you think you can just pretend nothing happened?"

  Yun Shu knelt down again, "Master, forgive me for speaking bluntly. Except for not being able to give her heart to you, Miss will definitely be the most qualified wife and won't be inferior to anyone. There's no rule that a wife must love her husband, even if Miss falls in love with you, you don't have a complete heart to give to her. Since that's the case, why should she humiliate herself? She doesn't fall in love with you just for self-protection."

  Bold.

  "The maid speaks rashly, please forgive her, but this life of hers was given by the young lady, for the young lady's sake, death is not regrettable."

  Qī Yòu fell silent, knowing he was being unreasonable. Perhaps many things could be forced, but emotions were not one of them. For Rú Chū, using a quarter of his heart to exchange for her whole heart was an insult to her. Yet, deep down, he still felt unresigned.

  For a man, he can fall out of love with his wife, but the wife must always love him. It's not a rule, but almost all men take it for granted that this is how things should be.

  The room was quiet to the point of being terrifying, as if even the sound of a heartbeat was like thunder. Qi Xiu looked at the kneeling person, and under such high pressure, he didn't flinch at all. Unfortunately, he was just a servant, but Qi Xiu did feel some regret.

  "How long have you been following Ru Chu?"

  "Twelve years."

  "Why didn't you arrange a marriage for me during my youth when I had feelings for you?"

  Yun Shu couldn't understand why Master asked such questions, but still answered honestly, "Miss promised me the freedom to marry whomever I want, and I... don't want to leave Miss's side."

  Qī Yòu didn't expect to get such an answer, he was used to understanding a person from the details, like the initial servant girls were very loyal, if he asked directly, he might not have gotten anything.

  "Following her all along?"

  "Yes, as long as Miss doesn't despise me for being useless."

  Qī Yòu was taken aback, the usual means suddenly didn't want to be used, forget it, let's slowly understand from the beginning again. He leaned back and said, "Bring me a cup of tea."

  "Yes." Yun Shu stood up, poured a cup of tea and placed it beside Qi You. Not having clearly obtained his consent, he felt uneasy in his heart, hesitated for a moment before asking: "This matter..."

  Qī Yòu closed his eyes without realizing it, but Yun Shū understood the meaning behind it. A look of joy flashed across his face as he sincerely knelt down and kowtowed.

  Hua Ru usually didn't sleep for long during the day, as long as she could lie down for a bit, she would be full of energy. But today's sleep was twice as long as usual, and she slept until her body felt soft before slowly getting up from bed, stretching her waist and saying: "Who's in the house? Make me a cup of tea."

  The curtain was lifted by someone, and Hua Ruochu didn't look at the person. She took over the tea and drank it all in one breath, and her strength seemed to have returned with it.

  With a satisfied smile, Hua returned the cup and looked up, intending to ask her to bring over his clothes. But when he saw who it was, his words changed to: "How did you end up back here? Didn't you go to Green Willow's place?"

  If he hadn't had a bit of understanding of his new wife, Qi You would have thought that this remark was full of sarcasm. But precisely because of this understanding, he knew very well that she was simply asking the question out of curiosity, without any ulterior motive.

  Concealing the inexplicable sense of loss in her heart, Qiyou handed her clothes over and replied, "I'm not busy today. The prince is very interested in tea and has some things he wants me to pass on, so he let me return home."

  Hua nodded slightly, threw on her clothes and got out of bed, "I'll talk after I've washed up."

  Qī Yòu simply nodded, without speaking, watching as she shed her lazy attire under the gentle attendance of Autumn, and felt a sense of peace in his heart.

  A quiet room with no gentle whispers, no loving gazes following, and no disturbing scents. This room isn't even familiar, yet it feels great.

  Qī yòu zì jǐ dōu yǒu diǎn bù liǎo jiě zì jǐ le, nán dào jiù yīn wèi zhī dào rú chū bù liàn mù tā, yīn wèi xīn dǐ de bù gān tā cái zuò me nán yǐ wàng huái ma?

  Translation:

  Qi Yu himself is a bit unclear about himself. Is it just because he knows that Ruchu doesn't have feelings for him, and because of the unwillingness in his heart, he can't forget him?

  When did he become such a superficial person?

  "Qiyou, wouldn't it be better if we changed places to talk? If we go back inside during the day, I'm afraid it will spread and not be good for you. Our grandparents and parents won't be happy either."

  So rational and wise, yet lacking in emotions, Qi You closed his eyes and stood up to leave.

  Hua Ru's eyebrows furrowed slightly, Qi You felt a bit off, and Lü Liu dared to give him a headache. What happened after he came back that made him feel off?

  In the study, the two sat opposite each other by the window. Autumn carefully served tea and then retreated with Yā Huán, while Qí ān also withdrew to outside the door at the master's indication and closed it behind him.

  Hua Ru thought she could guess what the prince was thinking, but it wasn't her style to show it openly. "What did the prince say?"

  Qī Yòu looked at the osmanthus tree swaying outside the window and said, "The crown prince originally wanted to give you a tea garden, so that he could supply him with an unlimited amount of tea leaves in the future. I refused on your behalf."

  "It's not as useful as you think, this tea is just novel at first, but after the novelty wears off, only those who truly love tea will still be craving for it."

  "The prince said that tea leaves should not be provided to the opposing side, I undertook it for you."

  "It's not like I had that intention in the first place, good tea is hard to make, and tea trees have different varieties. The tea trees from this side of Hebei province don't necessarily produce tea with the same flavor as what we drink now. In the first year after getting the tea garden, you shouldn't have too high hopes, there won't be much top-grade tea, just practicing will consume a lot. Except for a few girls by my side, all the others who know how to make tea are still in Yangzhou."

  "I will pass it on."

  Hua Ru nodded slightly, "Anything else?"

  "I'll take care of the other things. Qi You took a sip of tea, and what he originally didn't want to say finally came out in a seemingly casual tone, 'I remembered where I saw that purple soil you mentioned, but I'm not sure if it's what you're looking for either. Wait until my people bring back some soil and take a look.'"

  "Really?" Hua Ruochu was overjoyed, "Not only is there purple mud, but also green mud and red mud. In short, any colored soil can be brought back for me to see."

  Even if she brought back the purple clay as it was when Hua Ru saw it with her own eyes, she wouldn't be able to tell if it was what she wanted. She could only try making something out of it because she had learned a bit about ceramics and read many books on the subject. Even if she couldn't create something as exquisite as others did, she would still have a way to turn this purple clay into silver.

  Besides, there were originally ceramic crafts here, and if she didn't know how, someone else would.

  Hua Ru's excitement was too straightforward, and Qi You couldn't help but curve the corners of his mouth even if it would tie a thousand knots in his heart, although to outsiders it looked no different from usual.

  "I will instruct them, and within the borders of Jizhou, with swift horses and urgent messages, there will be a response in no more than a few days."

  "If it's really what I want, I'll make one myself as a gift for you."

  "I will remember."

  P.S: There is also someone else watching, isn't there?