My Wife is a Frustrating Genius!!! - Chapter 10

Old Lady Lu truly had no idea how to voice the doubts in her heart.

Lu Jiahe sat beside the old lady’s couch, picked up a pastry, and took a bite. Hearing her grandmother’s words, she lifted her gaze and looked at her with a puzzled expression, not understanding what she meant.

“Jiahe, you’ve grown up. If you have someone you like, just tell your grandmother. Whether it’s a man or a woman, as long as you like them and they treat you well, I can accept it.”

Old Lady Lu was already advanced in years, and heaven only knew how much courage it took for her to say those words.

“Pfft!”

“Cough, cough, cough!”

Upon hearing this, Lu Jiahe choked on the mung bean cake she hadn’t yet swallowed, coughing it all out.

Seeing this, Old Lady Lu hurriedly handed over the cup of tea she had set aside to cool. “Look at you, child, eating like a little kid even now.”

Lu Jiahe quickly took the tea and gulped it down in large mouthfuls. After catching her breath, she said, “Grandmother, why are you suddenly bringing this up? I haven’t even achieved any scholarly honors yet. I have no thoughts about that kind of thing.”

“Don’t you like that girl?” Old Lady Lu frowned at her granddaughter’s words. Based on her granddaughter’s character, if it were just an ordinary friend, she wouldn’t be staying away from home so frequently.

“No, I just find some of the things she does very novel and want to learn from her.” Lu Jiahe didn’t know how to answer the question. After all, she didn’t dislike spending time with Cheng Yi, but if asked whether she liked her, even she herself didn’t know.

Afraid that staying any longer would lead to even more outrageous questions from her grandmother, she quickly stood up, excused herself by saying she needed to return to her room to study, and hurriedly fled.

This was definitely a sign of something!

Old Lady Lu shook her head inwardly as she watched Lu Jiahe’s retreating figure. A moment later, just as she was about to get up and return to her room to rest, the servant she had assigned to Lu Jiahe was brought in by a maid.

“Greetings, Old Madam.”

Hearing the voice, Old Lady Lu glanced at the newcomer, then sighed and sat back down on the couch. “It’s so late. What is it?”

“Reporting to the Old Madam, this evening, the young master encountered a young lady again outside the city gates.”

The servant recounted everything that had happened outside the city gates that evening in detail.

“Old Ancestor, our young master is truly popular with the ladies. He’s only been back for a few days, and this young lady is already eager to go out with him.”

Lu Jiahe had long passed the age of capping ceremony. Even before she returned, the servants in the mansion had heard that their young master was coming back this time to settle down and start a family.

“I understand. You may go.” Old Lady Lu was clearly displeased with what the servant had said, though she didn’t show it.

Lu Jiahe rushed back to her own courtyard and, as soon as she entered, summoned Guo’er and Lu An to the main hall, intending to ask if there were any new servants around her who had been sent by the old lady.

Guo’er stepped back, one foot outside the door, and leaned out to look around before pulling her leg back in and closing the door.

“Young master, ever since the old lady had me and Lu An take the servants to help you and Miss Cheng, she left that entire group of people in our courtyard.” Guo’er narrowed her eyes, as if she had uncovered some secret clue, and whispered quietly to Lu Jiahe.

“Do you know who it is?” Lu Jiahe narrowed his eyes as well.

Guo’er, upon hearing this, shook her head with a troubled expression. “There are too many people around us; everyone is a suspect.”

“Alright then, tomorrow morning, Lu An will come with me to the academy. You stay home and keep an eye on these people. See who seems the most suspicious.” Lu Jiahe knew that the old lady had placed people around him out of fear that he might suffer outside. But he was already grown up, and there were many little secrets he didn’t want her to know.

“Come here,” Lu Jiahe beckoned to the two in front of him. “Tomorrow, just do as I say.”

Seeing that their master wanted to speak privately, Lu An and Guo’er immediately stepped closer, leaning in to listen.

“Mm-hmm, understood.”

As Lu Jiahe spoke, Guo’er and Lu An nodded in agreement.

Early the next morning, Lu Jiahe set off for the academy with Lu An. Shortly after they left, Guo’er hurried out of the small courtyard carrying a food box and a letter conspicuously displayed, as if wanting someone to notice it.

“Hey! Sister Guo’er, where are you off to?” A servant dressed in dark blue household attire stopped her at the gate.

Hearing this, Guo’er halted and carefully examined the person blocking her way. Not recognizing him as a familiar face from the courtyard, she guessed he must be one of the old lady’s spies planted among them.

“I’m just delivering something from the young master to Miss Cheng. Why? Do you need something?” Guo’er deliberately feigned confusion, hoping to make her story more convincing. “Are you free? Maybe you could go in my place?”

The servant chuckled at her words. “No, no, this is a task the young master entrusted to you, Sister Guo’er. I’d better get back to work.” With that, he quickly walked away, disappearing from Guo’er’s sight.

Pretending not to care, Guo’er continued out of the courtyard, then found a hidden spot to conceal herself.

Before long, the same servant who had stopped her earlier sneaked out of the courtyard alone and hurried toward Old Lady Lu’s residence. Hidden behind a pine tree, Guo’er immediately followed him. However, the old lady wasn’t at home today, so she had to trail him out of the estate.

“Where is he going? Good heavens!” Carrying her things and covering her face, Guo’er followed him for two or three miles under the scorching sun.

At Songhe Tower, the finest restaurant in Bianjing, Cheng Yi sat leisurely across from Old Lady Lu.

“Miss Cheng, may I ask where your family is from? I heard from He’er that you live alone in Bianjing?” Old Lady Lu observed the young woman before her with a kindly expression.

“That’s right. I don’t have any relatives here, so I came to Bianjing hoping to start my own business.” As a modern person, Cheng Yi understood all too well why Old Lady Lu had asked to meet her privately.

Old Lady Lu nodded, picked up her teacup, and took a sip. “You’re not like ordinary young women.”

Just as she set down her cup and was about to say more, the door to the room was opened from the outside by an elderly maid standing guard.

“Old Ancestor, Chang San is here.”

Hearing this, Old Lady Lu glanced at the maid by the door and nodded, signaling for her to let him in.

Chang San entered the room and, noticing there were outsiders present, leaned close to the old lady’s ear and whispered with a chuckle about how their young master had sent Guo’er to deliver something to Cheng Yi.

As she listened to Chang San, Old Lady Lu cast her gaze over Cheng Yi. “Alright, I understand. You may go,” she said, waving her hand dismissively.

Cheng Yi had noticed Old Lady Lu’s scrutinizing look and thought to herself that whatever had been discussed must have involved her. She had agreed to meet with Old Lady Lu in the hopes of securing an investment to open a shop. But seeing the constant stream of people in the room and hearing their conversation. This was not going to be easy!

“Madam, Guo’er is hiding outside,” an elderly maid hurried into the room to report.

Old Lady Lu chuckled upon hearing this. “This is a token of goodwill for Miss Cheng. Why not bring her in at once?”

“Yes, ma’am,” the maid replied, stepping out to pull Guo’er into the room.

Cheng Yi, who had been listening to their exchange, looked utterly bewildered. At that moment, she had no idea what they were up to.

If the granddaughter was disguised as a boy, shouldn’t the grandmother be preventing such behavior?

“G-Grand Ancestor,” Guo’er murmured, head bowed as she entered the room, clutching the items. She wondered how she had been discovered despite hiding so well, and why she had been summoned inside.

“Why aren’t you at the academy attending to the young master? What are you doing here?” Old Lady Lu pretended to know nothing and glanced at the “terrified” Guo’er. “Hurry and bring the things He’er sent for Miss Cheng.”

Guo’er had never imagined her day could turn so unlucky. She sighed inwardly. “Yes, Grand Ancestor.”

She approached Cheng Yi, opened the food box, and arranged the pastries Lu Jiahe had instructed her to bring in front of Cheng Yi. “Miss Cheng, our young master specially asked me to bring these for you.”

Difficult! So difficult! Guo’er’s expression was at its worst.

“Huh? Ah?” Cheng Yi stared at the exquisitely arranged pastries before her, utterly confused, and couldn’t help but glance at the young girl beside her.

“And the letter? Give that to Miss Cheng as well,” the old lady said leisurely, taking a sip of tea as she watched the two with amusement.

“…Yes,” Guo’er replied, pulling out the envelope containing a page of poetry she had torn from one of her books that morning and handing it to Cheng Yi.

Curious, Cheng Yi took the letter, opened it, and glanced at the contents. She nearly spat out the tea she had just sipped.

“Th-this… you should return this to your young master,” Cheng Yi said, stuffing the paper filled with love poems back into Guo’er’s arms.

Seeing this, Old Lady Lu sensed something amiss and motioned for Guo’er to bring her the letter.

Despite having weathered decades of life’s storms, the old lady couldn’t help but blush at the sight of such bold and explicit love poems written on the page.

“Take this back to your young master! How dare he send such vulgar things when you’ve only just met!” Old Lady Lu tossed the letter back at Guo’er, then narrowed her eyes to scrutinize Cheng Yi, the one who had so captivated her granddaughter.

“Miss Cheng, as you can see, He’er cares deeply for you, going behind my back multiple times to help you. The reason I sought you out today is to ask you plainly: What are your true feelings toward my grandchild?”

Cheng Yi was completely stunned by Old Lady Lu’s words! What kind of attitude could she possibly have toward Lu Jiahe? They were both girls. She had never even considered the kind of thoughts Old Lady Lu had in mind.

“Miss Guo’er, could you please step out for a moment?”

Unsure of how many people knew about Lu Jiahe’s identity, Cheng Yi decided to send Guo’er away, intending to lay all her cards on the table with Old Lady Lu.