My Wife is a Frustrating Genius!!! - Chapter 13

Lu Jiahe already held resentment toward her father and stepmother. If her father hadn’t just enforced family discipline by kicking her to the ground, she would never have knelt before the two of them.

Seeing Lu Jiahe rise to her feet, Lu Zhengliang felt he had lost face in front of so many people and immediately roared in anger, “How dare you! When I discipline my own son, who are you to interfere?”

Cheng Yi shot him a cool, indifferent glance. “Master Lu, may I ask what has happened that you would torment my frail future husband so early in the morning?”

She knew all too well how difficult it was for Lu Jiahe to disguise herself as a man in such a large family. Today, she intended to stand up for her, hoping to prevent any lingering resentment from festering in the future.

“Hmph!” Lu Zhengliang snorted disdainfully. “Your future husband? I have never agreed to this marriage. Dream on if you think you can become a daughter-in-law of the Lu family!”

“Does the Lu family not keep its word?” Cheng Yi was thoroughly exasperated by this stubborn old man. “My engagement to Jiahe was personally arranged by the Old Madam Lu. Are you saying the words spoken by members of the Lu family are as worthless as flatulence?”

“You!” Lu Zhengliang had never imagined that someone of his age could be so insulted by a young girl. He immediately grabbed a whip and stepped forward to strike her. “Such insolence! Such arrogance!”

“Stop!”

Old Madam Lu cried out anxiously as she watched Lu Zhengliang raise the whip. Meanwhile, Lu Jiahe swiftly wrapped her arms around Cheng Yi, turning to shield her in an embrace.

“Ah!” The whip landed harshly on Lu Jiahe’s shoulder, and she couldn’t suppress a pained gasp.

“Jiahe!” Old Madam Lu rushed forward, pulling Lu Jiahe close to examine the injury. Seeing the blood seeping through the pristine white robe, she urgently instructed the old matron beside her to fetch a physician.

Cheng Yi stared in shock at the scene. Even a vicious tiger doesn’t prey on its own young! How could this old man be so cruel!

“How can you do this?” Cheng Yi frowned, her gaze icy as she glared at Lu Zhengliang. “You didn’t even bother to understand the truth of the matter before resorting to the whip. Is this the usual conduct of Master Lu of Bianjing? Truly an eye-opener!”

Ignoring both Lu Zhengliang and Diaoyu Qing completely, Cheng Yi turned to support Lu Jiahe and began leading her toward the rear courtyard. Halfway there, she couldn’t resist throwing a sharp warning over her shoulder, “If you continue to act so unreasonably in the future, I won’t hesitate to give the people of Bianjing one more topic to laugh about over dinner.”

“You!” Master Lu was so enraged that he threw the whip aside, coughing several times as he clutched his chest.

Seeing her husband treated so disrespectfully, Diaoyu Qing took two quick steps after Cheng Yi and shouted, “You insolent wild girl! How dare you act so arrogantly here? Tomorrow, I will have you driven out of Bianjing!”

Cheng Yi sneered at Diaoyu Qing’s threat, continuing to support Lu Jiahe as they walked toward the rear courtyard without so much as a pause in her step.

Staggering, Lu Zhengliang slumped into a chair. After all, Lu Jiahe was his own flesh and blood, and he couldn’t bear to truly harm her with the whip. Yet, Lu Jiahe’s stubborn refusal to change her attitude, and now bringing someone home to provoke him further. For a moment, he began to wonder why Lu Jiahe always treated him with such cold indifference.

After helping Lu Jiahe back to her room, Cheng Yi made a move to undo her clothes. But before her hand could even touch the collar, Lu Jiahe, like a startled kitten, clutched her collar tightly despite the pain in her arm.

“What are you trying to do?” Lu Jiahe stared at the woman across from her in alarm, afraid she might tear open her collar just like the first time they met.

“I’m taking off your clothes. Look at the state your arm is in,” Cheng Yi said, frowning slightly as she studied the person before her. After a moment’s thought, she realized the other woman was probably afraid her identity would be discovered, hence the panic.

To Lu Jiahe, Cheng Yi’s seemingly ordinary words sounded flirtatious. Her face flushed red, and she lowered her gaze, unable to look directly at the beauty before her. She stammered softly, “N-no need! Let Guo’er come and help me change instead.”

Seeing Lu Jiahe acting like a shy young girl, Cheng Yi found her utterly adorable. “Oh, then we’ll wait a bit,” she said, sitting down on a nearby chair without any intention of leaving.

Hearing the movement, Lu Jiahe secretly glanced over, her hand on the edge of the bed unconsciously tightening its grip.

“Young master, the physician is here!” Guo’er burst into the room like a whirlwind, not hesitating for a second as she dragged a chair over for the physician to sit in front of her young master.

Lu Jiahe pressed her lips together and shot Guo’er a look. Her clothes weren’t even off yet. How was the physician supposed to examine her arm?

Her sharp gaze lingered on Guo’er, who stood frozen for a few seconds before realizing her mistake.

“Young master, should we change your clothes first?” Guo’er leaned in and whispered into Lu Jiahe’s ear.

Lu Jiahe shook her head and sighed. “Forget it. Just go get some scissors and cut off my sleeve.”

“Yes,” Guo’er replied, pouting with a pitiful expression as she went outside to fetch scissors and cut off Lu Jiahe’s sleeve.

Lu Jiahe lay on the bed, allowing the old physician to examine her injury.

“Young master, what happened? Who beat you up like this?” The old physician shook his head helplessly at the sight of Lu Jiahe’s bloody, torn flesh.

Hearing this, Cheng Yi stood up and ambled over to the bedside, hands behind her back, watching as the physician treated Lu Jiahe’s wound.

That evening, feeling responsible for the whip strike Lu Jiahe had taken on her behalf, Cheng Yi went to the kitchen and personally prepared a light dinner for her.

“Can’t you change your clothes? Or at least cut off the other sleeve,” Cheng Yi said, sitting at the dining table and staring at Lu Jiahe’s exposed arm. No matter how she looked at it, it seemed odd.

Lu Jiahe, who had been eating with her head down, widened her eyes at Cheng Yi’s words. After hesitating for a moment, she replied, “It’s getting warmer now, and the physician said not to cover the wound. Even if I wore different clothes, I’d still have to cut the sleeve off.”

Cheng Yi didn’t know whether to laugh or feel sorry for her. After all, that whip was meant for her.

“Avoid spicy food these next few days. I’ll cook for you so your wound won’t hurt as much and to prevent scarring later,” Cheng Yi said, watching Lu Jiahe eat. She couldn’t resist reaching out to wipe a grain of rice from the corner of Lu Jiahe’s mouth.

Lu Jiahe paused her rice-eating motions as she felt the gentle touch at her corner of her mouth, her face flushing as she dared not meet Cheng Yi’s gaze directly.

That night, after returning to the room prepared for her by Old Lady Lu, Cheng Yi began contemplating Jiahe’s current clothing situation. She opened the window to gauge the nighttime temperature and decided she would personally make modern-style clothes for Jiahe to wear while she was injured.

Early the next morning, Jiahe lay in bed waiting for Guo’er to come change her bandages. But even as the sun rose high in the sky, there was no sign of her. Eventually, she got up and went out into the courtyard wearing her single-sleeved garment to look for her.

“Young master, it’s almost mealtime. Where are you going?” Lu An asked, returning with arms full of packages just as his young master emerged from the courtyard gate.

“Where have you been?” Jiahe looked curiously at Lu An and his numerous parcels. “Where’s Guo’er? Have you seen her?”

Only then did Lu An remember that his young master had still been sleeping when he and Guo’er went out that morning. “Young master, Madam came this morning to take Guo’er and me out to buy silk. She said she wants to make clothes for you.”

“Madam?” Jiahe was taken aback. Was her stepmother really that kind? Kind enough to buy silk to make clothes for her? “Well, tell her it’s unnecessary. Since I was little, my clothes have always been made by the old lady’s orders. I can’t accept her kindness.”

“No, young master,” Lu An realized he hadn’t explained clearly and hurried to clarify. “It was Miss Cheng who sent us to buy the silk.”

“What…?” Jiahe took two steps back, scrutinizing the attendant who had grown up with her. “Her? Then why did you say ‘Madam’ sent you?”

Lu An chuckled awkwardly. “Well, since you and Miss Cheng are going to marry, and she’s even making clothes for you personally, she’ll be the madam of our courtyard sooner or later anyway.”

“……”

“Don’t call her that anymore,” Jiahe said, feeling as if ten thousand camels were stampeding through her heart. “I haven’t agreed to anything yet! If you call her that again, you can go be her attendant instead!” With that, Jiahe hurried back to her room and buried herself under the covers to “play dead.”

It wasn’t until noon that Guo’er finally returned to Jiahe’s courtyard, panting and exhausted after following Cheng Yi around to buy numerous items.

“Young master, I’ve come to change your bandages,” Guo’er said as she entered the room carrying a water basin.

Hearing Guo’er’s voice, Jiahe glanced toward the door, then immediately covered herself completely with the quilt when she saw her enter.

Seeing this, Guo’er grew curious about what was wrong with her young master. She placed the water basin and medicine bottle by the bedside. “Young master, what’s wrong? Are you unwell? Should I call the old physician to examine you?”

Three questions in a row, and not one hit the mark.

Jiahe pulled the quilt down from over her head and squinted as she scrutinized the person before her.

“Guo’er, how long have you been with me?”

“Oh, I’ve grown up with you and Lu An since we were little, I’ve been with you for as long as we’ve been alive!”

“So you’ll always be on my side no matter what, right?”

“Of course!”

“You’ll listen to me?”

“I will.”

“Then why did you and Lu An obey Miss Cheng’s orders and willingly accompany her out early this morning?”

It’s finally been asked, it’s finally been asked. Although Lu Jiahe didn’t have any objections to Cheng Yi ordering them around, the current relationship between her and Cheng Yi was somewhat awkwardly delicate, and Lu Jiahe felt a little uncomfortable inside.