"Hey, Second Master..." Li Xiang was anxious, dropped the basin and followed Second Master Bao into the yard. How could Second Master do this? He hadn't even consummated the marriage yet, and he was so careless as to enter Second Wife's yard. It was too unruly.
Mingyu was standing outside practicing calligraphy when she heard the door being pushed open with a bang. She was startled and it took her a long time to come back to her senses. She saw Master Bao standing in front of her like a gust of wind.
The beautiful words written by the pen were ruined by the shock from Master Bao, and the tip of the pen made a thick ink blob on the paper.
Mingyu was secretly annoyed. She calmly put down her pen, crumpled up the damaged paper, and threw it into the small wooden box under the table. "Second Master, what's the matter?"
"You didn't go to pay your respects to the old lady?" Master Bao asked, "I had to stand at the gate of Yiqing Courtyard waiting for you for a long time."
Mingyu shook her head in surprise, "No, last night..." Mingyu had been struggling fiercely for a long time. She really wanted to tell Ba Tianbao what happened last night. Luo Lingxiu had already gone crazy, so why not take pity on her loneliness and have sex with her as well...
"What happened last night?" Master Bao didn't hear clearly, so he leaned closer to Mingyu and asked.
Mingyu took half a step back calmly, putting some distance between them, and sighed in her heart. She had no evidence to prove that Luo Lingxiu was behind what happened last night. It was Meizi who lost the bracelet, and it was Lixiang who was caught dirty. Luo Lingxiu's maid and Yingrong were just witnesses.
The most important thing is that Miao has made it very clear that this matter concerns the reputation of the master of the Marquis' Mansion. She doesn't want to hear any more rumors about this matter. If she complains to Master Bao again, and Master Bao goes to tell the lady about it in a daze, wouldn't that be a slap in the face of the lady?
After returning from Miao's place, Mingyu changed into a high-necked cardigan to hide the blood scab on her neck. People were coming and going in the mansion, and there were many gossips. If someone saw it, who knows what would happen. Mingyu closed her eyes and smiled, "I didn't sleep well last night, and I'm not in good spirits. Madam was afraid that the old lady would miss me, so she let me come back to rest."
"Is it serious? Should I call a doctor to check you out?" Master Bao asked with concern.
Mingyu shook her head and said, "Let the doctor see your sister-in-law first. She's so mentally ill that she's going crazy."
Master Bao looked at Mingyu, who was even more silent than usual, and scratched his head in confusion, "What's wrong with you two? Didn't you both sleep well last night?"
Mingyu caught the key words in Master Bao's words and asked, "Who else didn't sleep well last night?"
Master Bao replied casually: "Yingrong, I didn't sleep well last night and didn't get up this morning."
Mingyu laughed, her big dark eyes sparkling like ripples, like a pond under the bright summer sun. She didn't expect that she would still feel guilty. She thought that the maids who had surrendered to Luo Lingxiu were all black people. "Then you should have a good rest." Mingyu said sympathetically, with the corners of her mouth curled up involuntarily.
"Let's not talk about this anymore." Master Bao felt that Mingyu's words were strange. He took out the wooden box in his hand and placed it on Mingyu's desk. He said in a nonchalant tone, "This is for you. Keep it."
Mingyu looked at Master Bao in surprise, then at the wooden box. Master Bao became anxious when he saw that the little girl was taking so long to take the box. "Hey, why don't you open the things I gave you? You must like it."
Considering that Mingyu had received a toad as a gift from Master Bao, she felt even more uneasy after being urged by Master Bao. Who knew what more bizarre thing Master Bao would come up with for her? Something scarier than a toad? Could it be a little snake? Thinking of this, Mingyu's face turned green. She looked at the box on her desk as if it was a bomb that would explode when opened.
"I'll take it and look at it later." Mingyu laughed dryly and said. As soon as the annoying Ba Tianbao left, she asked Lixiang to throw the box away. Bao Erye, a playboy who loves to bully others, is hated by dogs, but a bunch of women still treat him as a treasure and don't care about their dignity. They must have seen too few men...
Master Bao, who was eagerly waiting for the little girl to express some emotion like "I'm so touched, you're so kind...", was obviously shocked. Mingyu didn't look very interested, which made him anxious. He opened the wooden box directly. The moment he opened it, Mingyu quickly took two steps back, fearing that she would be affected by the things in the box.
"Why are you so far away?" Master Bao swallowed a mouthful of blood and shouted unhappily. Mingyu's reaction really dampened his enthusiasm.
Mingyu smiled awkwardly and took a closer look at the box. Only then did she realize that there was no living thing in the box, only an exquisite wooden frame. "What is this?" Mingyu asked curiously.
Master Bao chuckled, took the wooden stand out of the box and handed it to Mingyu, with a flattering attitude of offering a treasure, "This will definitely be a good place to put the stone your brother gave you."
Mingyu was stunned, and her hand sank as she took the wooden shelf. The wooden shelf looked small, but it felt very heavy in her hand. The wood was hard, and the purple-black color of the original wood could be seen under the four unpainted legs. If you got closer, you could smell a faint sandalwood fragrance, which was a rare old red sandalwood in the northwest.
The shelf is covered with auspicious cloud-like patterns and is painted with fine lacquer. It must be worth a lot of money.
Batianbao was so thoughtful that he specially asked someone to carve a beautiful rosewood frame for her. Mingyu would be lying if she said she was not touched.
"Take out the stone and put it in to see if it fits. If not, I'll ask the master to modify it." When Master Bao saw Mingyu touching the wooden shelf with her head down and keeping silent, he knew that the little girl must like the thing he gave her.
Mingyu took out the wooden box her brother had given her from the drawer of the table. She opened it and took out the rain flower stone with a pattern that resembled a fairy mountain shrouded in clouds and mist. She put it on the wooden shelf sent by Master Bao. It fit perfectly. When she placed it next to the table, the rosewood shelf and the fairy mountain shaped like the rain flower stone complemented each other and was exceptionally elegant and beautiful.
"Thank you, Second Master!" Mingyu thanked him sincerely. If Second Master Bao had been so reliable in the past, she would not have hated a sixteen-year-old boy so much. She couldn't be honest with him, but at least she could coexist peacefully with Second Master Bao.
Mingyu's ivory-white skin was tinged with peach red, so tender that it seemed like water could be squeezed out of it. The look she gave Bao Erye was sincere and focused, and her bright black eyes seemed to be able to speak. Bao Erye himself couldn't explain why, but his heart began to beat uncontrollably, as if it was going to jump out of his chest, and his fair face looked as if the sunset on the horizon had been overturned, burning all over.
Holding back the discomfort, Master Bao turned his head away and dared not look at Mingyu. However, without seeing Mingyu, he felt as if something was missing in his heart, so he simply moved closer to Mingyu. His mouth was not working properly at this moment, and a thousand words came to his mind. In the end, he could only stammer, "No, you're welcome! What else do you want? Tell me, and I'll get it for you."
The boy's eyes were hot and bold, and Mingyu couldn't help but take two steps back. The strange feeling that had been lingering in her heart seemed to suddenly become clear, as if she had seen the truth and the answer after the fog had been cleared away. Looking at the boy's blushing cheeks, Mingyu couldn't help but blurt out, "Do you like... me?"
Hearing Mingyu's crisp question, Master Bao immediately felt hot from his hair to his heels, even the tips of his ears were blood red, and his neck and face were even more burned. Looking at Mingyu who was surprised but calm in front of him, Master Bao was extremely embarrassed and stammered, "What nonsense are you talking about! What do you know, little girl! You dare to open a dyeing factory just because I give you some color? You, if you keep talking nonsense... I, I will be rude to you!"
After saying this, Master Bao slammed the table heavily as if in protest, and everything on the table shook.
Mingyu realized belatedly that she had lost her mind just now, and her face was burning. Even in modern times, she would not be so bold to ask a man if he liked her. If someone heard it, her reputation would be ruined.
To be honest, a man like Bao Erye is not a freak in this era. He is like most of the children of rich and powerful families, frivolous and flamboyant, fighting and raising concubines. Judging by the moral standards of this era, he is far from being a treacherous and evil person. It is too normal. Just look at his attitude towards Luo Lingxiu and Yingrong, and you will know that he is tolerant and considerate enough to treat women. He is handsome, noble, and can get a lot of family property. There are many women who have feelings for him.
After Master Bao finished his weak roar, he turned around and ran out the door. When he reached the door, he tripped over the threshold and almost fell to his knees in front of Lixiang and Baihao who came over after hearing the noise.
Master Bao felt ashamed, glared at the two men, and ran out angrily, wanting to leave this place that made him embarrassed. Bai Hao didn't understand what was going on, so he quickly followed behind. Master Bao ran very fast in front, as if there was a vicious dog chasing him. Bai Hao was out of breath and kept shouting, "Master, wait for me!"
As soon as the two of them walked out of Mingyu's yard, they ran into Miao who was visiting Mingyu with Luo Lingxiu. Seeing her son's absent-minded look, Miao immediately lost her composure and stood there with a stern face and shouted, "What's wrong with you?"
Master Bao, who had been trying to "escape" with his head down, only then did he hear his mother's cry. He looked around in panic and found that he had taken the wrong road. Amid the screams of Miao and Luo and the expression of Bai Hao who was powerless to stop him, Master Bao could not stop his momentum and crashed into a tree beside the road. He fell backwards to the ground, startling all the birds in the tree.