My Wife is a Frustrating Genius!!! - Chapter 43

“Huh? This. Boss, you’ve already drunk so much. Do you really want to keep going? What if you can’t wake up tomorrow morning and end up delaying the wedding?” Cui’er looked at the scattered wine containers at her feet with a troubled expression.

“Lady, please stop drinking. We have to get up early tomorrow to bathe and get dressed.” Guo’er, noticing Cheng Yi’s flushed neck and cheeks, grew concerned and hurriedly tried to persuade her.

Cheng Yi furrowed her brow at the incessant chatter from the two people beside her. “Alright, alright, no more drinking, hic!” She picked up her cup and downed the last drop of wine, then stood up and looked at the two. “Go call Panda Eyes and Missing Tooth to come eat the meat with us. There’s so much left; it’ll all go bad if we don’t finish it.”

Guo’er glanced at the remaining dishes on the table with a worried look. “Madam, how about I take the leftovers out to them after you finish eating? You’re getting married tomorrow, it wouldn’t be proper for them to come in and stay with you.”

“What’s wrong with that? They’re my employees. Can’t I invite them to eat with me?” Cheng Yi, already somewhat dizzy, propped her head up and looked at Guo’er.

Having served Lu Jiahe and followed Cheng Yi for so long, Guo’er was well aware of her temperament. “Lady, if this gets back to the Master and the Old Ancestor, it won’t be good. You know how much the young master has suffered in the Lu family. If the Madam or the eldest or second young masters find out, they’ll surely make things difficult for you.”

“Hmph!” Cheng Yi snorted coldly at this. “I’m not some helpless little rabbit they can bully. If they dare provoke me, I’ll fight them to the death!”

The intoxicated woman blurted out everything on her mind, completely unconcerned about the possibility of eavesdroppers.

“Young master, maybe we should go back. If you get caught eavesdropping here, you’ll definitely be punished by the Master.”

Outside the back gate of the courtyard, a man dressed in luxurious robes was standing on his servant’s back, peeking into the courtyard.

“If you don’t tell, who will know? Besides, don’t you want to try the food they’re eating?”

The servant supporting his young master from below frowned, as if wrestling with some inner conflict.

“I do.”

“Then hold on a little longer. We’ll go in after Miss Cheng returns to her room.”

Panda Eyes and Missing Tooth, the two brothers assigned to patrol the courtyard that night, turned the corner and arrived at the back gate. Spotting two people peeping over the wall, they immediately shouted at them to stop and rushed forward to capture them.

The two eavesdroppers, guilty-hearted, tried to flee upon hearing the voices. But the one standing on his servant, in his haste, lost his balance and fell to the ground.

“Ouch!”

“Young Master!”

“Boss?”

Lu An, seeing his young master fall, immediately crouched down to help him up.

The Panda Eyes brothers, realizing the person rolling on the ground was their boss, hurriedly lifted him and carried him into the courtyard.

The women chatting inside the room sobered up instantly at the commotion outside. Frowning, they exchanged glances, then all put down their chopsticks and ran toward the courtyard gate.

“What’s going on?”

As Guo’er opened the door, Cheng Yi looked up and saw Lu Jiahe, covered in dust and moaning incessantly.

“Young Mistress, i-it’s all our fault.” Panda Eyes, afraid of losing his job at Yiju because of this incident, forced out two tears, hoping to soften her heart and give him and his brother another chance to turn over a new leaf.

Cheng Yi watched as the burly man before her cried like a shy little girl and found herself at a loss for words. Comforting him was out of the question, seeing Panda Eyes’ exaggerated act made her want to punch him in the face again.

“Waaah! Waaah!”

“Stop crying first. How did she end up like this?”

Cheng Yi couldn’t stand Panda Eyes’ wailing; it was giving her a headache. And the missing-toothed man supporting Lu Jiahe’s other shoulder, seeing his elder brother cry, pouted as if he were about to burst into tears too.

Missing Tooth glanced at his elder brother, then sobbed, “Just now, the young master was stepping on Lu An to spy on the proprietress from outside. My elder brother and I thought a bad guy had come, so we shouted. We didn’t expect our voices to be so loud that we scared the young master, and she fell right off the wall.”

“Spying?”

Guo’er and Cui’er, upon hearing Missing Tooth’s words, covered their mouths in shock and stared at Lu Jiahe.

Missing Tooth’s description was so vivid it painted a picture!

After listening, Cheng Yi rubbed her temples. If she didn’t know Lu Jiahe’s upright character, she might have almost believed what he said.

“Let’s help her inside first. Missing Tooth, go fetch a physician. We can’t risk any injuries from the fall.” Cheng Yi stepped forward and draped Lu Jiahe’s arm over her own shoulder. Selfishly, she didn’t want anyone else to be this intimate with Lu Jiahe besides herself.

“No need.” Lu Jiahe inhaled the fragrance of Cheng Yi’s clothes, and the pain in her body instantly vanished.

Thanks to Lu An cushioning her fall, she hadn’t been seriously hurt.

“What do you mean, no need? That wall is so high. What if you’ve suffered internal injuries? Do you expect me to wait on you hand and foot for the rest of my life?” Seeing how careless Lu Jiahe was about her own well-being, Cheng Yi’s tone turned noticeably colder.

“No, I didn’t hurt anything. Lu An caught me. I just landed hard on my butt, nothing serious, really.” Noticing Cheng Yi’s anger, Lu Jiahe quickly explained in a placating tone.

Cheng Yi kept a cold expression. Her sidelong gaze fixed on Lu Jiahe without a word.

The previously lively and noisy atmosphere chilled instantly after their exchange. The group stood at the courtyard gate, exchanging glances, none willing to break the icy silence.

You caused the trouble. You deal with it!

After waiting in vain for someone to speak up for her, Lu Jiahe smiled and said to Cheng Yi, “I’m hungry. Can I eat with you?”

Another long silence followed, with no one responding to Lu Jiahe’s words.

Annoyed, Lu Jiahe glared at everyone except Cheng Yi, thinking, I’m the one who pays your salaries every month, and when I need you, not one of you speaks up for me!

She shot a cold look at the others, as if saying, “I’m deducting all your pay this month!” Then, she turned a smiling gaze toward Cheng Yi, who was supporting her.

“I’m really fine, don’t worry. I came over because I wanted to eat something you made.”

“Hmph.” Cheng Yi stared at Lu Jiahe with a cold snort. “You just want to eat? You’re the young master of Bianjing’s wealthiest family. If you want something to eat, all you need to do is say the word, and people will line up to make it for you. Why sneak over to my place in the middle of the night like a thief?”

Lu Jiahe was too embarrassed to admit that he had come over because he couldn’t sleep from missing her, so he decided to make up an excuse to brush off her question.

“Really, no one makes food as delicious as yours. Let’s eat together. Once we’re done, I’ll go back to the estate and come pick you up early tomorrow morning.”

Cheng Yi had originally intended to keep giving him the cold shoulder, hoping to teach him a lesson so he wouldn’t do such dangerous things again. But Lu Jiahe’s last sentence struck a chord deep in her heart.

“Then hurry up and eat. Once you’re done, go back quickly.” With that, Cheng Yi shook off Lu Jiahe’s arm and walked toward the stone table.

Seeing that she seemed to have forgiven him, Lu Jiahe quickly hurried after her.

Since there was so much food prepared for the night, Cheng Yi also invited Lu An and the panda-eyed brothers to join them.

After a whirlwind meal, Lu Jiahe finally satisfied his hunger. As the sky grew darker, they hurriedly cleaned up the remnants of their meal.

To make up for their earlier mistakes, Panda Eyes and Missing Tooth took the initiative to handle throwing out the trash and washing the dishes.

Guo’er and Cui’er were thoughtful people. Knowing their mistress had important matters to attend to the next day, they suggested that Cheng Yi and Lu Jiahe go back and rest, assuring them that they would take care of the remaining tasks slowly.

Cheng Yi was genuinely feeling a bit dizzy by then. After helping tidy up the trash in the courtyard, she promised to give them bonuses at the beginning of the next month. Then, holding her forehead, she returned to her room to wash up and rest.

Seeing that Cheng Yi had gone back to her room to rest, Lu Jiahe had no intention of staying any longer. He helped clean up the courtyard a bit before taking Lu An back to the Lu estate.

Early the next morning, before dawn had even broken, Cheng Yi was awakened by Guo’er for her bath and incense ritual.

Having drunk a little wine the previous night, Cheng Yi’s head was throbbing with pain.

“Young Mistress, please get up quickly. Cui’er has prepared a hangover soup for you. I’ll bring it over while you bathe.” After rousing her, Guo’er hurriedly poured the prepared hot water into a wooden tub filled with fresh flower petals.

Cheng Yi sat on the bed for a long while, gathering her senses. Only when she was fully awake did she get up to help Guo’er with the tasks.

“Young Mistress, please sit and wait. These rough tasks are for us to handle.”

“It’s fine. Here, you don’t need to think of us as mistress and servant.”

Guo’er couldn’t hide her joy upon hearing this. She had never imagined that, aside from her own young master, Cheng Yi would also be someone who cared for and respected servants.

Back when Cheng Yi had cooked for the household staff, Guo’er had thought she was just putting on a show. But as they spent more time together, she realized that everything Cheng Yi did, including setting monthly rewards for them, proved that her words were genuine.

Once the tub was filled with hot water, Cheng Yi undid her robes and stepped in.

Noticing this, Guo’er informed her and then went to the kitchen to fetch the hangover soup that Cui’er had prepared early that morning.

The small black clay pot steamed continuously. Cheng Yi picked up a spoon, scooped a mouthful of the soup, and tasted it. “Mmm, it’s delicious.”

“By the way, you drank last night too. Go get a spoon and share this with me.” Cheng Yi felt uncomfortable having Guo’er stand by her side attending to her the whole time. Moreover, since Guo’er had also drunk the night before and must be feeling unwell, yet still had to handle many tasks for her today, she thought it would be good to let her have some of the hangover soup to ease the symptoms.

“It’s alright, Madam. Cui’er prepared a portion for me as well. I’ll go to the kitchen and have it later.”

“That would take too much time. Go bring it here and have it with me.” Cheng Yi waved her hand, urging her to hurry to the kitchen.

After a moment’s thought, Guo’er decided she made a good point and quickly ran to the kitchen to fetch her own bowl of hangover soup.