Chapter 015: The Amazing Little Girl

Zhao Ruyi blushed at the ambiguous actions of Song Wuji.

She quickly withdrew her hand, feeling a bit at a loss.

"I... I'll go make the bed..." Zhao Ruyi, with a red face, hastily found an excuse for herself, but as she turned around, she realized that she had already made the bed.

Being too proactive was not good after all!

Zhao Ruyi couldn't help but roll her eyes at herself.

Song Wuji also realized that he had acted inappropriately, but fortunately, he could still control his emotions and pretended to be calm.

However, Zhao Ruyi's reaction made him feel amused.

She actually avoided him?!

Was she afraid?

Since he had no interest in reading anymore, Song Wuji decided to close the book and quietly walked behind Zhao Ruyi, giving a cold snort.

Startled, Zhao Ruyi moved aside in a flustered manner.

But Song Wuji burst into laughter.

"What are you afraid of? I'm not going to eat you!" Seeing Zhao Ruyi's embarrassed look, Song Wuji found it amusing.

He sat down on the bed in a casual manner, looked at Zhao Ruyi, and noticed a hint of tears in her eyes.

"Alright, I won't tease you anymore," Song Wuji suddenly felt soft-hearted, "I'm tired."

Zhao Ruyi quickly helped him take off his shoes and fanned him with a handkerchief inside the gauze curtain before lowering the curtain.

"You're very skilled at setting up the canopy," lying on the bed, Song Wuji couldn't help but comment with a smile.

"At home, my mother used to set up the canopy for me like this," Zhao Ruyi lowered her eyes and then placed a cool pillow on the footstool in front of the prince's bed.

By convention, the maid or servant on night duty couldn't sleep, but in the long night, it was inevitable for them to doze off. In order not to miss any movement from the master, the maid or servant on night duty would sleep on the footstool in front of the master's bed, so they would quickly notice any movement on the bed.

Seeing the cool pillow that Zhao Ruyi had placed, Song Wuji said to her, "You can sleep on the opposite kang, I sleep deeply at night and don't need to get up."

Upon hearing the prince say so, Zhao Ruyi happily climbed onto the kang with the cool pillow.

"No need to keep the lamp on," Song Wuji turned over to face the wall and said.

Zhao Ruyi extinguished the lamp and lay on the big kang by the window, but she tossed and turned like a hotcake and couldn't fall asleep.

"Why? Can't sleep?" Just as Zhao Ruyi was turning over for she didn't know how many times, she suddenly heard Song Wuji speak from the bed.

"Did I disturb you?" Zhao Ruyi tentatively asked.

"No, I just can't sleep either," Song Wuji lay there and said, "You just recited the Thousand Character Classic, why don't you continue now?"

What? Recite the Thousand Character Classic now?

Although surprised, Zhao Ruyi didn't dare to resist and obediently lay there reciting, "Heaven and earth are mysterious and yellow, the universe is vast. The sun and moon are full and wane, the stars revolve..."

When she recited "Fruits are precious, vegetables are valuable," she couldn't help but yawn, and after reciting "Women cherish chastity," she fell silent.

Listening to the even breathing from the kang, Song Wuji faintly smiled, then turned over and fell asleep.

But before dawn, the usually aloof prince had taken a stand for a little maid and it spread throughout the Ningguo Mansion.

Early the next morning, the steward who had received the news eagerly went to the Fragrant House where Lady Xue, the wife of Duke Ningguo, resided.

"What did you say? Yesterday, Song Wuji actually left the Xi'zhao Hall because of a little maid?" Lady Xue, who was sitting in front of the dressing table still a bit dazed, suddenly became more alert.

Lady Xue quickly sent away the maid who was combing her hair and let the steward continue speaking.

"And that's not all! I heard that the prince even made that little maid stay up at night," the steward gossiped.

"Hmph! I've always seen him as cold and aloof, and even thought he was a person without desires or emotions, I didn't expect him to be provoked by a little maid!" Lady Xue sneered. "Have you found out the background of that little maid?"

Listening, Lady Xue's face twisted into a sly smile, "It turns out that she is Qin Chunhua's daughter."

"Qin Chunhua?" Lady Xue suddenly remembered, "Is that the daughter who looks fair and delicate, and has some charm?"

"Exactly! If it wasn't for you, Mistress, managing to get her out of the mansion in those days, she would have become the mistress of our mansion by now," the steward added fuel to the fire.

"Just her?" Lady Xue seemed unconvinced, "She has a good appearance, but she is timid and nondescript, like a puppet. Otherwise, why would Mistress Xu give her a face and let her serve as a secondary wife?"

Though smiling on her face, the steward thought to herself: if you hadn't been afraid of Qin Chunhua back then, there would have been no need to go to such lengths to get her out of the mansion.

But she dared not say such words.

"What about her daughter?" Lady Xue furrowed her brows in contemplation for a while, "How come she was brought to the Xi'zhao Hall?"

Old Madam Yan's heart skipped a beat, but fortunately she had prepared a draft in her mind on the way there: "I don't know how they managed to get Yao Dazong's support and brought their daughter Ruyi into the mansion. Originally, Chunhua wanted me to arrange a good job for her daughter, but I remembered that you, Madam, didn't like her, so I didn't agree."

In order to prevent Madam Xue from discovering her ulterior motives in selecting a maid, Old Madam Yan casually made up an excuse.

She then observed Madam Xue's expression and continued, "Originally, I thought it would be difficult to get into the Evening Glow Hall, and I planned to have them send the girl back. Most of the jobs in various places were already arranged, so it would be easy to send her back. But unexpectedly, they decided to keep her. Not only that, but I heard that within a few months, she was promoted to first-class maid!"

"Oh? So, Qin Chunhua's daughter is quite capable?" Madam Xue was very interested. "Find a time to bring that little girl over for me to see. I want to see for myself how she managed to catch the eye of our son, who is so discerning."

Old Madam Yan, who was eager to show her merit, readily agreed.

But after leaving the Fragrant Pavilion, she regretted it. Qin Chunhua's daughter seemed much more formidable than Chunhua herself. She was afraid she wouldn't be easy to handle.