"The young master is so wonderful. How could he be a burden!"
The one who spoke was Zhu Sheng.
Zhu Sheng was the personal maid of Zhao Luojing, taking care of his daily life. Initially, Madam Zhao sent her here with the intention of having her serve as Zhao Luojing's concubine.
Zhao Luojing accepted her but never touched her.
Madam Zhao always thought that Zhao Luojing didn't like Zhu Sheng, so she stopped bothering about her afterwards.
Only Zhao Luoning knew clearly that if Zhao Luojing didn't like Zhu Sheng, he wouldn't have kept her by his side, let alone taught her to read and write personally.
This was not just training a maid; it was clearly raising a future wife.
The little "wife - to - be", well, actually Zhu Sheng, stormed forward angrily. She placed the tea on the stone table with a thud, pouted, and said, "Young master, you're not allowed to say such disheartened words anymore."
Although Zhu Sheng seemed angry, she served Zhao Luojing with great care. Seeing that his cloak couldn't keep out the wind, she fetched a thicker one and helped him put it on.
Zhao Luojing was obedient and let her arrange things for him.
After Zhu Sheng finished, she hugged the thin cloak and stepped back.
Zhao Luoning glanced at the tea on the table. Just now, when Zhu Sheng put the tea down angrily, quite a bit of it had splashed out.
Zhao Luoning joked with a smile, "Luojing, the maid in your room has quite a temper."
Zhao Luojing explained awkwardly, "Zhu Sheng has been spoiled by me. Elder sister, please don't take it to heart."
"She's the one you cherish, and will be my sister - in - law in the future. I'll rely on her to take good care of me. If I get bullied after I get married and come back for shelter, I'll have to count on my sister - in - law to take me in."
Zhao Luojing looked at Zhao Luoning in surprise.
Zhao Luoning was full of confusion under his gaze. "What's wrong?"
Zhao Luojing shook his head with a smile and said, "Elder sister, don't you think it's beneath your dignity to have a maid as your sister - in - law?"
Even mother would repeatedly remind him of this.
A concubine could be for fun but not to be taken seriously. Not to mention marrying her as the main wife, she wasn't even qualified to be a concubine.
"You think too much. We know Zhu Sheng well. She treats you well, and I'm at ease. That's enough. When choosing a wife, one should value virtue, not family background."
Zhao Luojing thought for a while, then lowered his head with a smile and shook it again.
"Elder sister, I'd better not burden others."
Zhao Luoning smiled and said, "Didn't you hear what the girl said? The young master is so wonderful. How could he be a burden!"
Zhao Luojing didn't expect Zhao Luoning to use this to block him, and he was stunned for a moment.
Seeing his reaction, Zhao Luoning burst into laughter.
Luojing was so eloquent that he was never afraid of anyone in the business world, but now he was easily silenced.
It seemed that he was really in love.
Zhao Luoning stood up and said, "Well, it seems I can take these two girls back."
Zhao Luojing sipped his tea with a smile and watched Zhao Luoning get up and leave. It was only after her figure disappeared around the corner that he allowed himself to cough.
This cough was no small matter. Hearing the noise, Zhu Sheng, who was busy tidying up in the room, rushed out immediately, still holding a cup of hot water in her hand.
"Young master, I've told you that the wind on the mountaintop is strong, but you just won't listen."
As soon as Zhu Sheng opened her mouth, she rattled on. Her mouth didn't stop, and her hands were also busy. She quickly cleared the tea set on the table and helped Zhao Luojing into the inner room.
Zhao Luojing leaned against the desk for a while and waved his hand at her.
"Zhu Sheng, stop bustling around. Go and rest."
"Don't even think about it!" Zhu Sheng pouted. "Young master, your top priority now is to have a good rest. Don't think I don't know. If I don't watch you, you'll secretly look at the ledger. There are so many ledgers. Can't you wait one more night?"
"Alright, alright."
Zhao Luojing also thought he was asking for trouble. He clearly liked quietness, but he had kept such a talkative girl. Every day, she chirped like a sparrow in his ear.
Zhao Luojing reminded her, "What will you do in the future like this?"
"What's wrong with me like this?"
"If you serve other masters in the future, you have to control your temper."
Zhu Sheng's busy figure suddenly stopped.
She lowered her head and didn't say a word.
The air fell into a deathly silence.
Zhao Luojing sighed and said, "Zhu Sheng, I..."
"Young master, you don't need to say anymore. I won't go anywhere except the Zhao family!"
Saying that, Zhu Sheng threw down the rag and stormed out.
Zhao Luojing leaned against the table and coughed violently several times.
He coughed until he was in a daze, but Zhu Sheng didn't appear.
It seemed that this little girl was really angry with him.
Zhao Luojing was smiling bitterly.
Suddenly, the door was pushed open forcefully.
Zhu Sheng pouted and came in with a basin of hot water.
"You know your health is not good, but you still insist on staying in the wind. You're just doing it on purpose, deliberately making people worry!"
Zhu Sheng placed the hot water in front of him.
She was still as quick - witted and decisive as ever.
Zhu Sheng wanted to take the handkerchief from Zhao Luojing's hand to wipe his hands and face, but Zhao Luojing smiled and put the handkerchief back into his sleeve.
"I can do it myself."
Zhu Sheng didn't miss the blood at the corner of Zhao Luojing's mouth.
The young master had coughed up blood again.
Zhu Sheng's eyes were sour, but she tried not to show it in front of Zhao Luojing.
"Young master, you should have a good rest today. I'll guard the door. Don't even think about secretly working behind my back."
Zhao Luojing nodded weakly with a smile.
"Okay."
After Zhu Sheng finished, she carried the water and rushed out.
Just as she reached the door, she stopped.
Inside the room, there came a soft coughing sound. It seemed that Zhao Luojing covered his mouth and nose, trying to keep the sound as low as possible for fear that she would hear it.
The young master was such a gentle person. Why was God so unfair to him!
Zhu Sheng leaned against the wall with the basin in her hand and slowly squatted down.
Tears rolled down from her eyes.
...
That night, with lightning and thunder, it was destined to be an unusual night.
Zhao Luojing, who had been bed - ridden for many days, finally got out of bed.
Zhu Sheng was still bustling around to serve him.
As Zhao Luojing's illness got worse, Zhu Sheng became quieter. It had been an hour, and she hadn't said a single word. Zhao Luojing wasn't quite used to it.
Zhao Luojing glanced at Zhu Sheng and asked weakly, "What's wrong? Has someone sewn your mouth shut?"
Zhu Sheng gave him a disdainful look. "The doctor said you need to rest quietly. You don't appreciate my kindness."
"You're different from others. I like listening to you talk."
After helping him put on his shoes, Zhu Sheng muttered, "Is your word more effective than the doctor's? What if I disturb you?"
"I don't know if my word is more effective than the doctor's, but your words are definitely more effective than the medicine."
Zhu Sheng let out a silent sigh of relief.
"Okay, I understand."
"Look, that's right. Little Bamboo mustn't hold it in."