Zhao Luoning not only said so but also did so. She not only ate and drank separately from Ji Shisu, avoided seeing him on weekdays, but even didn't put her clothes in the same wardrobe as his.
For Ji Shisu, who was invincible in the pleasure - seeking world and had never been snubbed by a woman, this was undoubtedly a great humiliation.
Especially when he saw that Zhao Luoning even often stayed in the servant's quarters to avoid him, he got extremely angry.
On the way to pay respects to the old matriarch together, Ji Shisu finally couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Zhao Luoning, what on earth are you sulking about?"
"Your words are too heavy, my lord. How dare I sulk at you?"
Ji Shisu didn't believe it. Although Zhao Luoning always gave him an unfathomable impression, he also knew that she was definitely not as magnanimous, well - educated, and polite as she seemed on the surface. At least, she had never shown him a good face.
"Zhao Luoning, stop putting on this act in front of me. Let's just lay our cards on the table."
Zhao Luoning pouted and said,
"I've already laid it all out for you."
Ji Shisu suddenly remembered that Zhao Luoning had indeed proposed a deal to him.
It would have been better if Zhao Luoning hadn't brought up this matter. Once she did, Ji Shisu felt even more depressed.
"Zhao Luoning, is this really necessary? Don't you understand that one should do one's duty in one's position?"
"Does my lord think I've failed to do my duty somewhere?"
"As the mistress of the household, you're indeed very qualified. But as a wife, you..."
"My lord, please rest assured. I know what I'm doing. My lord doesn't like me, and I wouldn't dare to claim the identity of your wife. You can just think of me as an ugly vase. If my lord gets tired of me or wants me to make way for your sweetheart, you're welcome to come to me at any time. The deal I mentioned will always be valid!"
Ji Shisu: "..."
The two parted on bad terms again. Zhao Luoning didn't know what Ji Shisu was angry about. She only saw him storming off angrily and disappearing quickly.
Zhao Luoning pouted. This man was really hard to please.
She didn't know why Ji Shisu just wouldn't agree to such a good deal.
Moreover, Ji Shisu's temper was so unpredictable that waiting for him to agree to the deal seemed like a far - fetched idea.
She should think of a way to see if she could find someone else to bypass Ji Shisu and get this done.
Ji Shisu showed his anger through his actions.
Although Ji Shisu's things had been moved into Zhao Luoning's room, he hadn't returned to Furong Courtyard to sleep for several days.
Maybe fearing the old matriarch's blame, Ji Shisu didn't spend the night with any of his concubines either. When paying respects, he just said that the business in the shop was too busy for him to spare the time.
The old matriarch knew that Ji Shisu was a stubborn person. She just told him to take care of his body and didn't mention when he should return to his room.
Zhao Luoning was actually glad that she didn't have to worry about Ji Shisu. She knew exactly where Ji Shisu spent his nights.
Wasn't it just in the brothels?
With Ji Shisu's charm and good looks, he didn't have to worry about finding a place to sleep.
After Ji Shisu had been away for several nights, Zhao Luoning felt relieved.
She was just afraid that he would come back.
If he didn't come back, she could move back to her own room and didn't have to paint her face like a powder doll every day.
Ji Shisu, who had been sleeping curled up in the shop for several days, was very depressed.
The bed in the shop was so hard!
Within three days, Ji Shisu was sore all over from sleeping. Every time he went home to pay respects, he would glance in the direction of Furong Courtyard. He found that the courtyard gate was always closed, and occasionally there would be laughter and chatting from inside.
It made him look so lonely and miserable.
On the fourth day, Ji Shisu finally couldn't hold it in anymore and asked,
"Has the second young mistress left any instructions?"
Yu Chi shook his head. "The second young mistress has left no instructions. But several concubines and Miss Lianxiang have come to ask about you, my lord. It's not a long - term solution for you to sleep in the shop. Why don't you go to one of the concubines' places to rest? If you're afraid of the old matriarch's blame, you can go to Miss Lianxiang's place."
An inexplicable annoyance welled up in Ji Shisu's heart.
It wasn't because of the bad sleep but because of that woman.
Didn't she care about him at all?
Seeing that the anger on Ji Shisu's face hadn't subsided, Yu Chi roughly guessed his thoughts and persuaded him with a somewhat inquisitive tone,
"My lord, how about we go back to Furong Courtyard?"
Ji Shisu's expression changed, and he immediately replied,
"No! That woman has such a bad attitude. Why should I give her face?"
"My lord, how can this be giving the second young mistress face? Think about it. If you don't go back, you won't be able to explain it to the old matriarch. And you're not going back for the second young mistress. You're the head of the family, and Furong Courtyard is your territory. You can go back whenever you want."
"Who wants to go back!"
"Yes, yes. It was my slip of the tongue, my lord. Then what do you think..."
"Forget it. You do have a point. I'm just afraid of grandma's nagging. It's definitely not because of that woman!"
"Yes, you're doing it for the old matriarch! We all understand."
After some coaxing, Yu Chi finally managed to convince Ji Shisu.
When he saw Ji Shisu packing his things to go back to the mansion with a smile on his face, Yu Chi sighed.
It was really difficult to be a qualified and considerate pageboy.
At night.
Zhao Luoning had taken a bath. She was only wearing an undergarment and a grass - green gauze. With a natural face, she was half - lying on the imperial concubine chair, flipping through an anonymous poetry collection.
The door was pushed open, and a gust of cold wind blew in. Zhao Luoning thought it might be Caixue coming back. She thought that since Caixue came, there must be something. So she put on her shoes and lifted the gauze curtain separating the inner room.
Unexpectedly, it wasn't Caixue but Ji Shisu, who should have been enjoying himself in the arms of a beauty.
Ji Shisu knew that Zhao Luoning would avoid him, so he deliberately came at night. But he didn't expect that Zhao Luoning wasn't asleep yet. He stopped at the door and greeted her somewhat awkwardly.
"Not asleep yet?"
Since he had already come, Ji Shisu had to pretend to be calm and turn around to close the door.
Inside the room, Zhao Luoning was on high alert.
Why did Ji Shisu suddenly come? Hadn't he seen her face?
Zhao Luoning quickly put down the gauze curtain and casually smeared some rouge on her face.
Ji Shisu was wondering why Zhao Luoning had hidden in the room when he came in. When he saw Zhao Luoning touching the rouge on the dressing table and peeked over, he saw a face smeared messily with rouge in the mirror.
"Why are you putting on rouge in the middle of the night?"
"This is a newly developed rouge. Caixue just brought it to me tonight. I wanted to try it. If it's good, I can offer it to the old matriarch when I go to pay respects to her tomorrow."
Zhao Luoning's explanation was reasonable. To relieve the awkwardness, Ji Shisu continued to find a topic.
"Which shop does this rouge come from? I think the quality is excellent."