)

  "I'll help you change." Hua Ruchu got up, wearing only her undershirt and underpants, and since there were no outsiders around at this time, she didn't pretend to be demure.

  One, still his, early in the morning wearing only this much in front of him, this is a very testing thing for a man's willpower, Qi You's eyes dimmed slightly, if it wasn't necessary to go to work, if he hadn't come up in time, if...

  Closed her eyes, thinking that if she couldn't see it, it would be better, but the subtle touch in the unseen situation made her imagination run wild.

  When Ruru tied the belt around his waist, Qiyou finally opened his eyes. His head, which only reached Qi's chin, moved back and forth, his hair lightly brushing against Qi's chin, making him feel itchy to the core.

  This is a great hugging posture, just slightly lift your hands and you can pull people into your arms...

  "Alright, Qiyou, how about I give you a new jade pendant to wear today? Lift your head up. Qiyou was slightly dazed, this face wasn't enough to captivate the country or the city, he had seen more beautiful ones before, she wouldn't be coquettish or playfully beg for sympathy, but somehow this ordinary yet lively girl stirred his heart."

  It had been more than ten days since they met on the ship.

  "Qī yòu, le?" He's really spaced out again? Hua Ru Chū waved her hand in front of him and just as she was about to pull it back, it got caught.

  Never-before-seen interlocking of ten fingers.

  Hua Ru Chu felt a bit awkward and struggled several times but couldn't get free.

  "Qiu You, you're on duty today, don't be late."

  Qī yòu lowered his head, stretched out his hand and finally managed to pull her into his arms, just like pulling her into a small world of his own, where he held up the sky, no matter how windy or rainy it was outside, she wouldn't be hurt in the slightest.

  She was held in a tight embrace! Being at a physical disadvantage due to her height, Hua Ruyue couldn't break free even halfway. The arms surrounding her seemed like steel, and despite her confidence in her own abilities, she felt an absolute inability to budge even a little bit.

  What song did Qi You sing today? Or was it that she opened a certain forbidden switch and touched him?

  "Good luck."

  "Alright."

  "You're late."

  "Alright."

  "It's okay if it's late?"

  "Alright."

  Hua Ru rolled her eyes and said, "Are you going with me to pay respects to my parents?"

  "...be different."

  "You're going to be late."

  "Alright."

  "It's okay if it's late?"

  "Alright."

  She really wants to scold him!

  It was as if she had sensed that Hua Ruochu was about to lose control of her emotions, and Qi You finally let go of his hand. The smile on his face made Hua Ruochu forget the embarrassment from earlier, leaving only a sense of satisfaction. If a hug could make a man reveal a smile, then this price was well worth it - this was also the first time she had seen a man smile since getting to know him!

  The bold and daring hand reached out and poked at the man's face, "You look good when you smile, you don't look so old."

  Qī Yòu narrowed his eyes dangerously, "Old?"

  "It's not old age, it's maturity, maturity."

  If it weren't for the fact that time was really running out, Qiyou would have liked to use his actions to make her put away this old habit. "I'll be back early today."

  Hua Ruyin didn't dare to probe deeper, her intuition told her that if she did, she would be the one to suffer. She hastily took a jade pendant from the box on her dresser and hung it around Qi You's waist, saying "This is something I made, if you don't like it, just take it off tomorrow and consider it a new trinket."

  Qī Yòu had always been good at remembering things, and upon seeing this jade pendant, he immediately recalled the one Huá Rú Yì wore on her waist when she came to send off the relatives. At that time, he didn't think much of it, but now thinking back, being able to receive this from Ru Yi should also be a kind of recognition.

  The corners of his mouth twitched involuntarily, remembering that she said he smiled, unfortunately didn't have time to look in the mirror, he forgot how long it had been since he last smiled. In the year when he could completely control his emotions, he wanted to cry and laugh loudly to vent, but not only did tears not flow out, even laughter became a laugh or cry, extremely strange.

  They've been stuck in this awkward state for many years, with Grandpa and Grandma feeling guilty and the Crown Prince sighing, but all of these are just superficial. No one understands his pain, his distress, and his sorrow. He can't get comfort from others, no matter how badly he's hurt, he can only heal himself. As time goes on, the distance between him and others grows further and further, even if unintentionally, it can never be reversed again.

  Stroking the jade pendant under the red knot, Qi You made another effort to curl up the corners of his mouth, trying to smile again. "I like it very much, I'll use this one from now on."

  It's really stiff to laugh, this kind of man makes people heartache, especially in front of Hua Ru Chu who has always wanted a child and is overflowing with maternal light. "When your emotions reach the point where you want to laugh, don't control it anymore, just let out a natural smile, don't force it, it will be painful."

  Being stared at like that by Ruchu, Qiyou felt embarrassed and hastily turned his face away, intending to leave.

  "Are you sure opening the door won't make me be seen by others?"

  Qī Yòu's footsteps stopped immediately, and he turned his head to look at her.

  Paper tiger. If Hua Ru had a tail, it would have been raised to the sky. She took out clothes from the closet and put them on, shouting loudly: "Yun Shu, come in and serve Master."

  "Yes."

  Seeing that both of them had changed their clothes, Yun Shu was slightly surprised. After seeing a face as if he had stolen a chicken and looked like a fox, she understood. Probably the young master had been teased (?!).

  Qian You finished washing up over here, Hua Ru Chu looked at her husband through the mirror and said, "It's getting late, you go have your meal first, I'll be right there."

  "No rush, together."

  She had urged him more than once this morning, and her responsibility was fully fulfilled. Once she understood this point, Hua Ru Chu let it go. "Yun Shu, I'll be going to pay my respects to my mother-in-law later, tie your hair tightly, don't let people pick on you."

  "Yes, I understand."

  Her fingers moved nimbly as she quickly finished styling her hair, then selected a few pieces of jewelry from the box and put them on.

  Hua Ru Chu nodded after looking around, "Alright, it's settled then. Qiu Jian, go and have someone send in the meal."

  "Yes."

  "Let's go." Walking over to Qi You's side, Hua Ruochu raised her head, and without the help of high heels, she was shorter than him by more than just a little bit.

  Qī Yòu looked at her hair several times, "Don't you like your hair styled this way?"

  "Found out? Hua Ru touched her hair, "The hairstyles in Yangzhou are much looser than those in Jizhou, I haven't gotten used to it yet, and my scalp will hurt after a long time."

  "It's fine to be in the house as usual." After saying this, Qi You seemed a bit embarrassed too, and took the lead to walk out of the door. Yun Shu couldn't help but laugh, was Master being taken down? From getting married until now, Master had never stayed overnight at his aunt's place.

  After a memorable morning, when preparing to pay respects to her mother-in-law, Hua Ruyi felt that her heart was not as heavy as before.

  "The cloud book follows me, others stay behind."

  "Yes."

  These days in the mansion, Hua Ruochu has been secretly investigating the inner workings of the Qi manor. Like other aristocratic families, the illegitimate children have no status unless they possess some special talent that can benefit the family. The concubines are treated well when they are favored, but if they fall out of favor and do not have any children to rely on, they can only hope for a peaceful life.

  The situation on the side of the main house is still okay, with a first wife and four concubines all having children by their side. Even the fifth concubine, who is currently favored, has a daughter and is now aiming to get pregnant again as her ultimate goal. No matter how many more favors she receives, having children is a must. Concubines in aristocratic families are not naive enough to think that they can spend their lives relying on favoritism alone; they have to rely on their children.

  Being the eldest grandson, even if Fifth Aunt was favored again, she didn't need to fawn on her, and the children of concubines would only have to come to fawn on her. On the other hand, for Di Ya's legitimate younger sister Qi Zhen, she needed to put in some effort.

  It's not that the rules of having meals in the main house were broken, but rather because there wasn't much interaction between the different houses to begin with. Without this bridge, they wouldn't see each other for several days, and even basic interactions ceased. It was only when she saw this that the old lady decided to go to the main house for meals, hoping that it would still be like before, where just one day of gathering in the main house during a rest period would be enough.

  "We're here." Yun Shu Ai reminded softly as she walked, a habit of hers.

  Looking at the courtyard gate shaded by greenery, it's much more majestic than that side. The long house of the Qi Manor should not be as gentle as its appearance either.

  Straightened his back, Hua Ru stepped up onto the stairs as if nothing had happened.

  "The slaves have seen Master Shao before." The two little maids at the gate saw Master Shao come in for the first time and hurriedly knelt down to pay their respects.

  "No need for courtesy, is grandma in?"

  "Go and inform them at once."

  Watching Xiaoyao run quickly, Hua Ruchu was not in a hurry, slowly following behind her, and the little space left in between was enough to hide.

  Inside the house, Qi Wu's wife was teaching her daughter when she heard that her son had arrived. She couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and said: "It's been several days, are you finally coming to pay your respects?"

  "Stay in the house and remember what I just taught you. If you can't answer me later, then don't eat lunch today."

  "Yes, mother." Qi Zhen replied timidly, wiping away her tears and lowering her head as she entered the inner room.

  Qī Wǔ's family is so fed up with her, how did they end up raising such a useless daughter? With this kind of temperament, if she gets married in the future, it's not that she won't be able to help her husband's family, but rather she'll probably get bullied to death by the concubines.

  "Don't worry, Zhen is still young and inexperienced, she'll be better later."

  "Alright then, Liu Ma, put these away."

  "Yes."

  When Hua Ru first walked in, she still looked pale and her complexion wasn't good. Qi Wu's dissatisfaction in her heart dissipated a bit, thinking that her mother-in-law said she was still helping Yu'er with tea leaves, and with her current body, she was probably barely holding on. Thinking of this, Qi Wu finally didn't have a black face anymore.

  "Give greetings to your mother."

  "Sit down, your body hasn't recovered yet? You're not even fully healed and you're already in poor health. What if there are problems with childbirth later on? Yu'er is already 22 this year, men of his age from good families have already become fathers. If you're not feeling well, let Yu'er go to the concubine's quarters more often, hurry up and have a child to take care of you, maybe it'll even bring one for you."

  Hua Ru was so angry that she wanted to flip the table on her face, and hurry her husband to go to his concubine's room. Would Qi Wu do such a thing? As soon as she arrived, she gave her a warning shot, wasn't this mother-in-law being too arrogant?

  No wonder Qi You didn't like coming here, it's really reasonable. Qi You looked expressionless, but he was absolutely not an unfeeling person, and would treat his parents this way, probably something had happened to him too.

  She slowly exhaled a breath of air, her face even paler and more transparent, "Yes, Mother, I will... speak with my husband."

  "This is right, a big woman should be able to tolerate others. A concubine, no matter how capable she is, will always be a concubine, and the children she gives birth to are also illegitimate sons and daughters who are not valued. You should let go of your feelings and remember not to be jealous."

  "Yes, mother, I remember."

  P: Looking for a fan. (If you like this work, welcome to subscribe and reward, your support is my greatest motivation.)

  More chapters are available at the website strongly recommended ad-free full-text reader

  Bookworm Building updates the fastest, no pop-up window, please collect Bookworm Building (.co).