My Wife is a Frustrating Genius!!! - Chapter 24

Lu Jiahe stiffened upon hearing this. Pressing her lips together, she glanced at Cheng Yi, too afraid to respond. She had originally assumed that, given Cheng Yi’s straightforward and carefree nature, the other woman wouldn’t remember the previous incident. Or perhaps she thought her own place in Cheng Yi’s heart wasn’t that high, and that Cheng Yi wouldn’t even care.

But it seemed Lu Jiahe had miscalculated.

“Um well, let’s go find someone first. We shouldn’t delay the important matter of your shop opening.”

Cheng Yi frowned, her lips curling as she stared at Lu Jiahe. Seeing the other’s evasive gaze, she instantly understood, Lu Jiahe must have lied to her back at the teahouse. Now, she couldn’t shake the feeling of having been tricked into marriage.

“Just you wait, Lu Jiahe. Once we’re done with this matter, if you don’t explain yourself clearly.” Her gaze drifted down to Lu Jiahe’s legs. “You’ll spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair!”

Lu Jiahe’s heart trembled at the threat. She couldn’t believe that over such a trivial matter, Cheng Yi was threatening to break her legs. Fear coursed through her limbs, and she shivered, reaching out to touch her still-intact legs.

“I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you everything when we get back. I really didn’t mean to deceive you,” Lu Jiahe said with a pained expression, as if she had just swallowed a bitter melon fresh from the stove.

Hearing her tone only made Cheng Yi angrier. “Enough nonsense! Let’s deal with the important matter first!” She was truly furious now and didn’t want to exchange another unnecessary word.

Guo’er and Lu An watched as their young master was thoroughly put in her place but didn’t dare intervene. After all, this fiery and volatile woman was the young madam personally chosen by the family’s matriarch.

“Oh my! Isn’t this Young Master Lu? What wind has blown you here? Didn’t Young Master Jiang and Young Master Tan come with you?”

A flashily dressed woman, spotting Lu Jiahe, led a few other girls forward and surrounded the four of them.

“You know who I am?” Lu Jiahe asked, pointing to her own veiled head.

The woman chuckled. “Young Master Lu, you do love to jest. My heart holds a place for you, how could I not recognize you? Even if you cover your handsome face, I’d still know who you are.” As she spoke, she leaned in, as if to throw herself into Lu Jiahe’s arms.

Seeing this, Cheng Yi yanked Lu Jiahe to her side. She turned and glared fiercely through her black veil, her rough movements clearly expressing her anger and dissatisfaction.

Caught off guard by the sudden pull, Lu Jiahe stumbled two steps and nearly knocked Cheng Yi over. Though both of their faces were hidden beneath veils, Lu Jiahe could feel the countless daggers in Cheng Yi’s gaze, piercing straight through the fabric into her face.

The woman who had tried to take advantage of Lu Jiahe would have fallen flat on her face if her companions hadn’t caught her in time. Straightening her posture, she stared blankly at the two. “Young Master Lu, who is this?”

“Oh, this is a foreign friend I recently befriended. I brought her here tonight to broaden her horizons. Lead the way for us.” Lu Jiahe stood obediently beside Cheng Yi, her expression so serious it was as if she were making an official declaration.

The woman nodded in understanding. Bianjing was the wealthiest city after the capital—it wasn’t uncommon to see foreigners here.

“Then please follow me, all of you.” She smiled, flicked her handkerchief, and led them inside.

Unlike the first building Cheng Yi had entered earlier, this one was truly magnificent and resplendent. Beneath the dazzling multicolored glazed tiles, countless gold-carved murals adorned the walls. The candlelight, filtered through lampshades of various hues, bathed the hall in a uniquely enchanting glow.

Is running a brothel really this profitable? Cheng Yi thought. They even use gold-carved murals as decorations.

“Young Master Lu,” the woman beside Lu Jiahe said coyly, “are a few of us enough to accompany you? Should we call over a few more young ladies to keep you and your guest company?”

Lu Jiahe took out his money pouch, retrieved two silver notes, and handed them to her. “No need. You all can attend to your other guests.”

The woman accepted the silver notes without hesitation. Everyone in Bianjing knew the Lu family’s young master was a bookworm. There was no need to be overly polite. Taking the money, she rose and led the others away from the table.

Seeing how smoothly the matter was handled, Cheng Yi snorted coldly. “Young Master Lu truly lives up to his reputation as the scion of a wealthy family. A few casual words from you can earn someone a hundred taels of silver.”

Hearing this, Lu Jiahe wiped the cold sweat forming on his forehead. What did he know about such things? He had only wanted to send them away quickly so they wouldn’t interfere with their plan.

“No, don’t misunderstand. I’ll explain everything when we get back,” Lu Jiahe said hurriedly. Though he and Cheng Yi had no real relationship, the moment she spoke to him in that cold tone, he felt flustered and instinctively wanted to avoid her misunderstanding.

“Hmph!” Cheng Yi turned her head away, refusing to look at him.

Lu An and Guo’er, meeting Cheng Yi’s gaze, quickly lowered their heads. They were merely servants of the Lu family and had no desire to suffer for their young master’s lies. After all, even their young master feared this woman. How could he possibly protect them?

Lu Jiahe had never comforted anyone before and had no idea how to coax an angry woman. The only woman he had ever coaxed was his grandmother, and with her, a few sweet words and a little acting cute were enough. But clearly, Cheng Yi wasn’t going to fall for that.

Rubbing his temples, Lu Jiahe stopped a waiter carrying dishes and asked for his elder brother’s room.

At first, the waiter, seeing the person in the black veil hat, suspected trouble and didn’t believe Lu Jiahe’s claim. Left with no choice, Lu Jiahe removed his hat to reveal his face.

“You, waiter! Since when do I need to report my identity to you just to find my elder brother?” Lu Jiahe vented all his pent-up frustration from Cheng Yi onto the waiter.

Upon seeing his face, the waiter immediately bowed and apologized. “My apologies, Young Master. This humble one was blind and failed to recognize you.”

“Enough, just tell me where my elder brother is.”

The waiter, unaware of the strained relationship between Lu Jiahe and Lu Jiazheng, promptly told him which room the elder young master was in.

Lu Jiahe tossed him a silver ingot. “Not a word of this to anyone, understand? Otherwise, you can forget about making a living in Bianjing.”

“Y-yes, of course. This humble one understands.”

The waiter didn’t care either way, in his eyes, money was all that mattered. “Young Master, shall I take my leave now?”

“Mm.” Lu Jiahe waved him away, then turned to Cheng Yi. “Do you want to go find him now?” he asked gently.

Lu Jiazheng’s room wasn’t in this building but in the small courtyard behind the house.

Cheng Yi thought for a moment and decided to wait until it was later. Although Lu Jiazheng’s courtyard wasn’t frequented by many people, there was still a chance they might be unlucky and get spotted while playing their prank.

The group listened to the music on stage and waited two hours before quietly slipping away to the backyard when no one was paying attention.

“Lu An, how are your martial arts skills?” Cheng Yi asked, worried that if they ran into someone, she wouldn’t be able to protect them.

“Don’t worry, Young Mistress. Madam sent me to a martial arts school from a young age to learn kung fu and protect the young master.”

Cheng Yi nodded. “Good. Keep watch later. If anyone comes, take them and leave immediately.”

“Yes, Young Mistress.” Lu An had long understood Cheng Yi’s place in his young master’s heart, so he never disobeyed her, especially when it was for his young master’s sake.

Lu Jiahe wasn’t having it. She grabbed Cheng Yi’s arm, removed the veil hat from her head, and looked at Cheng Yi seriously. “Then what about you?”

Cheng Yi tried to pull her arm free, but Lu Jiahe held on too tightly.

“None of your business.”

She had wanted to tell Lu Jiahe that she was a first-degree black belt in taekwondo, but she was still angry and wanted to let the girl worry.

“How can that be? I brought you here. If I don’t take you back, then how will I explain to Grandmother?” Lu Jiahe pursed her lips, a little embarrassed by her own words.

Cheng Yi looked at her, puzzled. Why had she suddenly become so innocent?

“Then have you thought about how you’ll explain to me, and to your grandmother that you came here in the first place?”

To be honest, she hadn’t thought it through at all. She was just bad with words.

Seeing that Cheng Yi had rendered her speechless, the other woman finally managed to pull her arm free. She took off her own veil hat, tossed it aside, and her face painted like a “ghost’s scribble” glared at Lu Jiahe before crouching beneath Lu Jiazheng’s window.

Lu Jiahe followed, wanting to explain, but as soon as she reached Cheng Yi’s side, she froze at the suggestive noises coming from inside the room.

She stood stiffly by the window, staring blankly at Cheng Yi, clearly startled by what she heard.

Seeing this, Cheng Yi reached out, pulled her into an embrace, and together they crouched low to the ground.

“Are you stupid? The candles inside aren’t even out. If you stand by the window like that, won’t he spot us?” Cheng Yi whispered into her ear.

Lu Jiahe leaned into her embrace, enduring the ticklish sensation by her ear. Her face was now as red as Lord Guan’s.

“Oh, I-I didn’t know. Sorry,” Lu Jiahe murmured softly, her head resting just below Cheng Yi’s shoulder.

Cheng Yi tilted her head, listening intently to the sounds inside. Worried that Lu Jiazheng might discover them, she focused all her attention on the room, completely missing Lu Jiahe’s bashful expression.

The person standing guard not far away, however, saw everything clearly.

“Tsk.”

Lu An and Guo’er both shook their heads silently as they watched their young master’s antics.

When the sounds inside gradually faded, Cheng Yi released Lu Jiahe’s shoulder and reached out to scratch at the window paper with her fingernails, whining in a ghostly tone:

“Lu Jiazheng, you heartless man! I’ll drag you to the underworld and have the King of Hell judge you!”

“Ah! Lu Jiazheng, you faithless creature, I’m going to claw you down there!”

“Who’s there? Who is it?”

The sound of hurried footsteps followed. Cheng Yi quickly pushed Lu Jiahe behind the wall. Seeing this, Lu An immediately pulled Guo’er into hiding as well.

Once everyone was concealed, Cheng Yi straightened her posture, and stepped up to the door.