But then, Lu Huaizhou instantly found the culprit.
It was all that guy Pei Qing'an's fault!
Not only did he act all prim and proper, but he even did some shady and despicable deeds, and in turn, implicated him in being misunderstood by his wife!
Lu Huaizhou clenched his fist and gritted his teeth: He was going to settle the score with that guy!
Of course, now was not the time to settle scores.
Noticing Miss Jiang's increasingly cold gaze, Lu Huaizhou felt a tightness in his back and broke out in a thin layer of sweat.
He forced a smile and offered her a cup of hot tea: "Miss Jiang, don't be angry. That guy isn't worth your anger."
Jiang Fuying was a little dazed.
Yes, what was a scumbag like Pei Qing'an worth getting angry about?
Noticing that she didn't take the cup of tea for a long time, Lu Huaizhou panicked.
Oh no! His wife's anger had not subsided!
"If Miss Jiang isn't thirsty..." His eyes searched around and soon locked on the pastries on the table.
"Then try this pastry." He presented it in front of her like a treasure: "This is a new pastry made by the kitchen. The taste is excellent."
Jiang Fuying had yet to come back to her senses. Her deep and unfathomable eyes stared into the distance.
Noticing that she still didn't say a word, Lu Huaizhou was completely flustered.
He tried every means to ask her: "Is Miss Jiang tired? I happen to know some massage techniques. I can massage your shoulders?"
"If you're tired, I can also take you out of the mansion to a few good places in the capital to relax..."
Cai Pu and Cai Zhi exchanged a look and tactfully left.
Their young lady and the young master, one was thinking about the matter in the neighboring mansion, the other thought the other was angry and was trying every means to coax the other. Wasn't this the unique... love between husband and wife?
...
After a long time, Jiang Fuying finally came back to her senses from her myriad of thoughts.
She blinked her eyes blankly and looked at him in front of her with a cup of tea in one hand and a pastry in the other. He was still making faces at her non-stop.
"What is Young Master Lu doing?"
"I noticed Miss Jiang wasn't in a good mood, so I thought..." Being asked like this, Lu Huaizhou was a little shy for some reason. His voice was getting lower: "I'll coax you."
His last half sentence was as quiet as a mosquito. Jiang Fuying didn't hear him clearly at all.
However, looking at his appearance, she guessed it to a large extent.
"So Young Master Lu is afraid that I'll think all men in this world are untrustworthy and take my anger out on you?"
When she said this, her tone was light and there was a faint smile on her lips.
Lu Huaizhou instantly lost his composure and reacted.
No?
So she wasn't angry at all?
Then didn't he...
"Thank you, Young Master Lu, for your kind intentions." Jiang Fuying's eyes curved and she thanked him sincerely: "I'll remember this kindness."
Suddenly, Lu Huaizhou felt a little defeated and deflated.
He did so much not to hear her official and polite thank you. He was clearly sincere and didn't want her to be angry about this and didn't want her to misunderstand that he was also a person like Pei Qing'an who was prim and proper on the surface but was actually despicable. He...
There were thousands of words Lu Huaizhou wanted to say, but his lips opened and closed for a long time. Once he met her bright eyes, he stammered and couldn't say a single word.
He was really afraid. He was afraid that a person like her who was always tough and independent would distance herself from him once she heard him say those words.
Now that they were family, at least he could still be by her side and go through the wind and rain with her.
Jiang Fuying saw that he had something to say but stopped himself, but she misunderstood his meaning.
"Is Young Master Lu trying to tell me something about the Moon Bright Pavilion?"
Lu Huaizhou's smile was forced. He followed her words: "Yes, I almost forgot. I have something about the Moon Bright Pavilion I want to tell you."
"Those... fake glazed mirrors..." His mind was spinning fast as he quickly thought of a topic about the Moon Bright Pavilion: "Those notices have been very effective. We've received a lot of leads now. Those leads are very useful..."
The more Jiang Fuying listened, the more she frowned.
He had said a lot of nonsense for a long time but didn't say a single word to the point?
She couldn't help but interrupt him: "Young Master Lu, I already know everything you've said."
She tilted her head and was very confused: "Do you have anything important to say?"
Lu Huaizhou's smile completely froze on his face.
The notices had only been posted for a few days. The leads hadn't been collected yet. Where did he have anything important to say?
His ears and cheeks were hot. He simply thought of a plan.
Since things had come to this, he should just change the topic!
"Miss Jiang, since you already know, I won't waste your time."
After he said that, he quickly spread out his bedding on the floor and got into it. He wrapped himself up tightly.
"It's getting late. I'll go to bed first!"
After his voice fell, his entire head got into the bedding. After a while, even breathing sounds could be heard.
Jiang Fuying shook her head helplessly.
Young Master Lu's personality was really interesting.
This thought flashed past and quickly, she buried her head in the thick ledger.
Now that the Moon Bright Pavilion was open, she had to look at the Moon Bright Pavilion's ledger every day and also find the time to check the ledger of the Southern Duke's Mansion.
The Second and Third Branches' hearts were still full of schemes. Her Great Branch and theirs would eventually fall out and settle the score. She had to prepare first.
The night grew deeper and the candlelight in the room flickered.
By the middle of the night, her upper and lower eyelids were fighting. She really couldn't hold on anymore. She simply laid on the table and fell asleep with her clothes on.
Perhaps because she was too tired, she slept extremely deeply and even had a strange dream.
"Daddy, Mommy, Fuying has been waiting for you for a long time!"
"You promised to take Fuying out of the mansion to see the lanterns tonight!"
"Okay! Daddy and Mommy took Fuying to see the biggest and most beautiful lanterns in the entire capital!"
"This is the most beautiful lantern Fuying has ever seen. What's even more beautiful is that Daddy and Mommy are both with Fuying!"
"Fuying is so happy tonight..."
She mumbled in her dream. What she didn't know was that a head popped out of the bedding on the floor.
Lu Huaizhou was in a mess. He hadn't fallen asleep at all.
He had been waiting for her to finish looking at the ledger and for her to go to bed. He wanted to look at her quietly again.
But he didn't expect that after waiting, he would see her fall asleep on the table and even hear her talking in her sleep.
From her words, he had already guessed a general idea.
"Daddy", "Mommy", "Lanterns", these three words were lingering in his mind.
His mother-in-law had passed away for many years. He couldn't find her.
That Minister Jiang was also a biased scumbag. He would only say harsh words to her.
Only the lanterns, he could still do something.
Pei Qing'an blinked and remembered the matter of seeing the lanterns.
However, the night was getting deeper and the dew was getting heavier. He couldn't just watch her sleep on her stomach for the whole night.
So he only took a second to make a decision:
He suddenly got out of the bedding, walked to the table, picked her up horizontally, and carefully placed her on the bed.
Not only that, he also carefully tucked in the corners of the quilt for her.
However, when he was tucking in the quilt, he still felt a little hot.
His eyes were deep. He really wanted to do something more, but his rationality held him back.
In the end, he sighed and gently smoothed the wrinkles on her forehead.
"Miss Jiang, have a good night."