roccoschili Chapter 14 Breaking the Ice
Chapter 14 Breaking the Ice
In the ensuing conversation, Yin'e deliberately avoided those private topics that were easy to provoke.
He started rambling on and on, talking about the newly blooming peonies in the mansion's garden. Those few plants were specially transplanted from the Fengtai Flower Nursery. They were blooming in pink and white, with large, heavy blossoms that weighed down the branches.
Then they mentioned the newly opened pastry shop on Qianmen Street, which is said to be run by people from Suzhou. They make jujube paste pastries with a paper-thin crust and a sweet but not greasy filling.
They also talked about the Western gadgets that were popular on the street recently, such as pocket watches, music boxes, and enamel snuff bottles.
Those items were incredibly well-made, and their prices were outrageously high.
Ulan initially maintained a haughty demeanor, and her responses were mostly lukewarm, such as "um," "oh," or "really?"
The wariness in those big eyes hadn't completely dissipated.
Her fingers would occasionally rub the coral beads hanging from her silver belt, a habitual gesture when she was nervous.
But gradually, she noticed that Yin'e's way of speaking was different from before.
The former Tenth Prince spoke as if he were arguing.
He never stops using the word "Master," and he's always slamming his fist on the table and glaring at people, making so loud it could shake the dust off the roof beams.
Eating with him is like going to war; every word he says is full of gunpowder, making you annoyed and wanting to smash your bowl in his face.
But today, he spoke at a moderate pace and in a moderate tone, his words neither seeming deliberately ingratiating nor perfunctory.
When he talked about those trivial matters, his expression was very natural, as if he were sharing his daily life with a friend he had known for a long time.
Ulan felt a strange, inexplicable feeling welling up inside her.
After a long silence, Wulan suddenly put down her teacup, raised her head, and looked straight at Yin'e.
"Have you been getting harassed by your fourth brother for debt lately?"
Her tone carried a hint of probing, as well as a touch of malicious teasing.
If these words had been spoken in the past, the original owner of this body would have definitely gotten angry.
He slammed his fist on the table, threw down his chopsticks, cursed the fourth brother as a scoundrel, and called Tian Wenjing a cruel official.
The whole process went smoothly, but in the end, it ruined a perfectly good meal and turned into a very unpleasant experience.
But today, Yin'e only gave a bitter smile and shook his head.
"Indeed," he picked up his teacup, took a sip, "Two hundred thousand taels is enough for me to drink a whole pot of tea."
Ulan thought he was going to complain, and she had already prepared sarcastic remarks in her mind.
Phrases like "Serves you right," "Who told you to waste money?" and "Why didn't you think of that when you were building the theater?"
The words were on the tip of her tongue, and she was just waiting for him to open them before she unleashed them all at once.
But Yin'e changed the subject and said, "However, I can figure out a way to handle this myself, so you don't need to worry about it, my lady."
Keep your dowry safe and leave it to your children in the future.
Ulan swallowed back the words that were already on the tip of her tongue.
Her face flushed slightly involuntarily.
She quickly lowered her head, pretending to reach for the milk tea.
"Who wants to have your baby?" she muttered under her breath.
Yin'e seemed not to hear, and while he was drinking soup, he glanced at "Overheard" again.
[Current favorability: 17.1 → 18.4]
Just as the atmosphere was gradually easing and the ice between the two seemed to be quietly melting, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the door.
Fu Quan jogged in, bowed at the door, and looked somewhat anxious.
"Sir, Lord Yin has arrived. He says he has urgent business and requests your immediate presence."
Yin'e frowned, put down his chopsticks, and turned to look at Wulan.
Ulan did not look at him.
She picked up her milk tea and took a slow, deliberate sip.
"Since there's something to attend to, Tenth Master, you should go."
Yin'e stood up and hesitated for a moment.
He reached out and picked up the plate of milk tofu, walked over to Ulan, and gently placed it beside her bowl.
"Take this home with you; you can have it as a snack if you get hungry tonight."
Ulan paused for a moment, looked down at the plate of milk tofu, and then looked up at Yin'e.
Yin'e did not linger any longer, turned around and strode towards the door.
He suddenly stopped when he reached the door.
He turned around, looked back, and glanced at Ulan.
The afternoon sun slanted in from outside the door, casting a golden halo over half of his face.
"My lady, I enjoyed this meal very much." A slight smile played on his lips. "Let's eat together again another day."
After saying that, he turned and walked out, his figure disappearing into the sunlight outside the door.
The main hall fell silent.
Ulan sat there with a table full of dishes in front of her.
She stood there stunned for a while before slowly putting down the milk tea bowl in her hand.
She glanced down at the plate of milk tofu, reached out, picked it up, and smelled it.
It has a rich, milky aroma, a scent she's been accustomed to since childhood.
"Has this person... taken the wrong medicine?"
In the corridor, Yin'e strode towards the front yard, and the number for his wife in the TV series "Overheard" jumped up again.
[Current favorability: 18.4 → 20.1]
The performance rating has also changed: [Monitoring range 15 meters, good clarity, can penetrate a typical wall.]
"Not bad," he muttered.
He didn't know what urgent matter Yin De had, but at least the purpose of the meal had been achieved.
The relationship has eased, and the favorability has increased, causing the Princess Consort's defenses to weaken slightly.
More importantly, he didn't mention money, didn't mention accounts, and didn't embarrass his wife.
You have to eat one bite at a time, and you have to go step by step.
Today is just the first step.
In the front yard, Yin De was pacing anxiously back and forth.
He stood with his hands behind his back, head down, the blue bricks beneath his feet creaking under his feet.
Seeing Yin'e walking from the other end of the corridor, he rushed to greet him.
"Tenth Master! Something's happened."
Yin'e paused, his brows furrowing slightly.
"What happened?"
Yin De leaned closer: "Fourth Master has sent someone to collect the debt again. Didn't you say... Ninth Master paid it back for you?"
But the Ministry of Revenue said the IOU was still there, and not a single penny had been touched.
Yin'e's brows furrowed even more.
"Here to collect the debt again?" His voice carried a hint of confusion.
Logically speaking, the Eighth Prince had already given his word at the Eighth Prince's residence yesterday, and the Ninth Prince had readily agreed.
With his family's wealth, 200,000 taels was just a drop in the ocean.
He shouldn't have delayed repaying the debt, and he certainly shouldn't have let the Ministry of Revenue officials come knocking on his door again.
unless……
Did Lao Jiu not actually pay him back the money?
Why? Even though Lao Ba told him to go quickly, he agreed.
It's impossible for the ninth brother to disobey the eighth brother. Did something happen in between?
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"This time they even brought up the Emperor, saying there are still half a month left until the deadline."
"Let's go back to the study to talk," he whispered, then strode toward the study.
Yin De quickly followed, and the two of them disappeared at the end of the corridor, one after the other.