Chapter 19: Sleeping on the same bed.
"Guyu, what time is it?" Liu Yu closed the notebook he had finished reading, put it on the table, and asked Guyu who was waiting at the door.
Knowing that Mr. Chen San would be back late, she brought a storybook with her when she went to Tingzhuxuan to pass the time.
Guyu: "Miss, it's already the 10 o'clock."
Liu Yu frowned: "It's so late?" Could something have happened? To make an official of Mr. Chen San stay in the palace so late, something big must have happened in the court. She thought about what happened at this time in her previous life, but at that time she was just a maid of Prince Qi, and Prince Qi was living by the prince at this time. How could she know these important events in the court?
After thinking for a long time, she couldn't remember anything, so Liu Yu didn't care anymore. She stood up, lifted the gauze curtain, walked to the high stool in the corner, opened the lid of the incense burner, picked up the incense spoon beside it, and pulled out the spices that were about to go out. When the smoke rose again, she put the lid back on and walked back.
"My lord is back."
The voice of the East Courtyard gatekeeper was heard, followed by the sound of deep and steady footsteps. Liu Yu paused and walked to the door.
From a distance, she saw Mr. Chen San walking towards the house. He was very different from the elegant and easy-going man she usually saw. At this moment, he was wearing the purple court robe of a third-rank official. He was so majestic as to make people feel sacred and inviolable.
When Mr. Chen San saw her waiting behind the door, the corners of his serious and indifferent face curled up, his expression softened involuntarily, and his voice was always gentle:
"It's hot outside, why did you come out?"
"It's not hot." Liu Yu handed the round fan in his hand to Gu Yu and took over the official hat he had taken off: "Third Master, would you like some dinner?"
"Um"
Liu Yu asked Guyu to ask Jingzhe to prepare some side dishes, and the two of them walked into the bedroom. During this time, a maid had already prepared water, and Master Chen San went straight into the bathroom.
Liu Yu hesitated for a moment, but still followed him in.
When Mr. Chen San saw Liu Yu following in, he was startled for a moment.
Liu Yu didn't dare to look at his face. She then did what a concubine should do, moving closer to him, then raised her hands to unbutton his neck, preparing to undress him.
The sweet and fragrant aroma penetrated his nose unscrupulously. Master Chen San, who had not been in contact with a woman for many years, felt strange in his heart. His eyes darkened and he held her hand: "I'll do it myself! You go out and wait for me."
"Okay." Liu Yu turned and walked out. Looking behind the screen and listening to the sound of water splashing, he breathed a sigh of relief, yet felt a little worried.
She was thinking, if she was sent back by him later, how would she face the old lady and her situation in the Chen Mansion tomorrow.
But there was no mistress in the East Courtyard, so being out of favor would at most result in some gossips from the servants, and that was actually no big deal. . .
While her thoughts were in a mess, Mr. Chen San had already walked out. He was dressed in purlin-colored clothes and seemed to have regained his former gentleness and elegance.
"Third Master." Liu Yu wanted to stand up.
He raised his hand to stop her action, then walked over to sit opposite her. On the table was a plate of pickled bamboo shoots, a bowl of rice porridge with vegetables and shredded pork, and five-flavor apricot cheese lamb.
She served him a bowl of porridge: "It's hot now, so it's not good to eat too much at night. These are sour and delicious, and they won't cause indigestion. Please try them, Third Master." Sometimes when she was hungry at night in the other courtyard, she would ask Jingzhe to cook these dishes for her.
Uncle Chen San took it and started to eat. Perhaps because he was in a good mood, this ordinary bowl of porridge tasted extraordinarily delicious.
Seeing her sleepy look, Master Chen thought for a moment and said:
"Why don't you settle it first!" He stood up and walked to the chessboard in the room and sat down. He grabbed a handful of black pieces and placed one, then a white piece, and played chess with himself.
In this situation, how could Liu Yu go to sleep? She followed him and came to his side.
He said that she didn't want to, and Mr. Chen San didn't force her. His eyes were still on the chessboard, and he asked casually without turning his head:
"can you?"
He didn't ask her to sit down directly, but asked her if she knew how to do it first. Liu Yu was somewhat moved.
You know, although her father was the eldest son of the old marquis, he was not favored since childhood. After her grandmother passed away, he became an abandoned child. Later, the title was inherited by Liu Zhang, who was born to the old marquis's second wife, Qiu.
But even though her cowardly father never married and only married her mother, her mother was still tortured beyond recognition by Qiu.
As their daughter, how could the Qiu family let her learn the things that the young ladies from wealthy families know?
Not hearing any answer, Mr. Chen San turned around to look at her. He had sent people to investigate her situation and naturally knew about the dirty things going on in the inner house of Marquis Pingnan.
There was a hint of emotion in his eyes, and he said:
"If you don't know how, I'll teach you."
Liu Yu smiled and bowed to him: "Thank you, Third Master." She walked over to sit opposite him, picked up a white piece, and before he pointed out where to put it, her white onion-like finger had already placed a finger on the chessboard.
When Mr. Chen San saw the direction where she placed the chess piece, he was surprised for a moment and became interested.
Then he didn't ask anything, picked up a black piece, and followed closely. Liu Yu placed another piece.
In this way, the two began to fight on the chessboard.
After a game of chess, the red candles in the room had burned halfway. In the silent night, the only sound was the sound of them picking up the chess pieces one by one.
"Your chess skills are different from your personality." Mr. Chen San said with a faint smile.
Liu Yu smiled and said nothing.
She learned chess in her previous life when she entered Prince Qi's mansion. Prince Qi was just an unpopular prince at that time. In order to please him, she played chess mainly based on offense, even if it meant sacrificing the rear, as long as she could achieve her goal, just like how she was in her previous life.
Liu Yu didn't want to discuss this topic with him, so he didn't respond.
It was getting late, so Mr. Chen San did not say any more about it. He put on his shoes and socks, got up and walked towards the bed covered with red gauze curtains.
After a while of no sound behind him, Mr. Chen San turned around and saw that she was still standing there in a daze. He raised his eyebrows slightly:
"Aren't you sleepy?"
"I'm sleepy." Liu Yu answered truthfully.
Master Chen San smiled faintly: "Then let's settle it!"
"Okay." Liu Yu nodded and followed him to the bed.
Things have come to this point, looking at Mr. Chen San's elegant and dignified face, it would be a lie to say that I'm not nervous.
The Chen family's ancestors were indeed worthy of being the third place winners. The man in front of him was clearly over 30 years old, but his face looked like he was only in his twenties.
No wonder, even though rumors of Long Yang's affair spread, there were many noble ladies in Yanjing City willing to marry into the Chen family.
This time, before Liu Yu could reach out to undress him, Mr. Chen San started talking:
"It's too late tonight, let's all go to bed early!" He went to bed first and lay outside.
Liu Yu saw the seat he had reserved for her, pondered for a moment, crawled in, and lay down next to Master Chen San. She didn't dare touch him and tried to get as close as possible.
Mr. Chen San just glanced at her and closed his eyes.
Looking at the ceiling, her thoughts drifted...
I don't know when, I closed my eyes and fell asleep.
But at this moment, Mr. Chen San, who was sleeping beside her, opened his eyes, turned his head to look at her fair little face, and stretched out his hand involuntarily, but when his hand was about to touch her face, he retracted it...