Chapter 30: Daring to Have Feelings for My Master

Liu Changning glanced at him expressionlessly and said in a flat voice, “Do you suspect there’s something wrong with him?”

Although she hadn’t been with her convenient husband for long, she understood his personality quite well.

Sharp-tongued but soft-hearted, he wouldn’t trouble people without reason.

Just now, although he was reprimanding him, his tone was still relatively gentle.

“If I say yes, won’t you scold me for judging based on first impressions? Forget it, time will tell. Why am I even telling you this? If you care about that person so much, you might as well go and offer your services? If you truly treat that person sincerely, who knows, his eyesight might be poor and he might fall for you. Then you can live this miserable life in a leaky house together!”

The man in red clothes lying on the rocking chair, having the upper hand, kept talking, his words unpleasant and grating.

Liu Changning picked at her ear, then leaned down with her hands on either side of his rocking chair. She looked at him displeased, the corner of her mouth curling into a dangerous arc: “…You seem to look down on me quite a bit. If that’s the case…”

She lowered her body a bit more, her lips barely stopping at Pei Yuanshao’s ear.

The person beneath her shuddered, that overly striking face tinged with a faint blush.

He clenched his legs tightly, his fine eyebrows furrowed high, as if enduring something, a flash of bewilderment passing through his eyes.

Liu Changning, however, didn’t observe his expression carefully. In her life, she disliked self-righteous people the most.

At this moment, her convenient husband was mocking her with every sentence, speaking sarcastically, not knowing why he was in such a bad mood.

Liu Changning frowned, unwilling to indulge him. Perhaps she had been too gentle with him these past few days, spoiling him to become increasingly foul-mouthed.

She lowered her voice, her hot breath blowing on his fair, round ear: “If that’s the case, you should leave earlier. No need to委屈yourself by staying.”

After saying this, she straightened up, her footsteps slightly off, and walked towards the main hall.

But she didn’t see that the person behind her had lost all traces of his deliberately feigned arrogance, his ink-black eyes staring at her back, obscure and embarrassed.

The shame below had involuntarily risen when she approached him, and he hadn’t yet recovered from this broad daylight shock.

That person’s expression, however, had returned to the cold demeanor of the past few days, as if the tacit understanding and harmony between them in recent days had never existed.

Pei Yuanshao couldn’t explain why his heart suddenly felt heavy and dull.

He stared intently at her back, his hand unconsciously reaching out, wanting to grab her back, but found that she had already gone far.

When he came to his senses, looking at his hand suspended in mid-air, the forced smile at the corner of his lips was more difficult to bear than crying.

He thought he must be terminally ill…

As Liu Changning walked to the main hall, Jing Huan, who had been paying attention to the movements under the old locust tree, had a faint smile slip through her phoenix eyes.

It seemed that the Long Imperial Consort had developed feelings for her master?

But of all people to like, he chose someone like her master. Most importantly, sharp-tongued and self-destructive, her master hated people who spoke without restraint, looked down on others, and considered themselves superior.

This Long Imperial Consort was really something, hitting all the marks.

She had originally considered him a rival, but now it seemed she had overestimated him. With such an arrogant personality and disregard for others, he would only learn to restrain himself after being severely beaten in the future.

Jing Huan was secretly delighted, but didn’t show it on her face. She bowed, holding a broom in her hand, sweeping the last bit of water out of the main hall. However, from the corner of her eye, she kept a close watch on the hem of the approaching person’s clothes.

The light in front of her was completely blocked by that person, dimming slightly.

“Your name is Guangjing? Are you tired? Why don’t you take a break and then continue cleaning the house?”

The cold voice came from above, making Jing Huan’s heart, gripping the broom, tremble uncontrollably. This was her master’s voice.

Only her master’s voice could make her heart, dormant for thousands of years, start beating frantically.

Five hundred years… she had waited too long… The desire in her eyes was almost uncontrollable.

She dared not raise her head, fearing that with one careless moment, she would blatantly expose the longing in her eyes before her.

If she were to discover her true identity, she would have no more chances…

The body she had transmigrated into bore a seven-tenths resemblance to her original face.

Subconsciously, she hoped their first encounter would be as beautiful strangers, but in her heart, she also hoped to make her fall in love with this face.

What if… in the previous life, she hated her for her exploitation, but actually liked her in her heart?

Jing Huan had pondered this possibility for five hundred years. Although she denied it every time, there was still a glimmer of hope…

Liu Changning saw this strange young man standing dumbfounded, his head almost buried in the ground, silent for a long time.

She looked at him strangely and explained, “My spouse is unruly, but he’s usually sharp-tongued yet soft-hearted, with no ill intentions. He spoke harshly to you, so I apologize on his behalf. Please be understanding.”

Jing Huan’s initial fervor disappeared entirely upon hearing these words.

Although it was an act, her master seemed to take that despicable young man too seriously.

Displeased in her heart, her tone remained very calm. Jing Huan’s skill at controlling emotions was far superior to Pei Yuanshao’s. She replied gently, “The lady is too kind. Thanks to you and the young master for taking me in, otherwise Guangjing would have nowhere to stay.”

Pei Yuanshao concentrated his internal energy on his ears, perking them up, and heard the man’s words. He snorted heavily. If anyone said this person had no intentions, he wouldn’t believe it at all. He had originally thought the person was after him, but it turned out to be a peach blossom debt brought by this farm woman?

Young master? Which proper young man would address the female head of the household as “young master” on their first day staying at someone else’s home?

It was hateful how the farm woman seemed oblivious, lowering her head and speaking gently to that person.

Pei Yuanshao really couldn’t bear to listen anymore. He leapt up from the rocking chair and hurried back to the bedroom. His red robe rustled loudly, his footsteps deliberately heavier than usual.

Liu Changning heard the commotion and turned her head, only managing to see a flash of red disappearing before her eyes at an extremely fast speed.

She thought to herself, the young master’s sarcastic temper was acting up again, might as well let him cool down on his own.

Liu Changning frowned, having no time to deal with him.

Jing Huan lowered her head, her full lips curling into an almost imperceptible arc.

Daring to like her master… hah!

“Is the lady going to check on the young master? I observed that he seems to be in a bad mood today. Could it be that my arrival has disturbed your peace…” she asked regretfully, lowering her head, appearing obedient and considerate.

The words spoken were very pleasing to the ear. If it were any other woman at this time, it would have elicited a round of comfort.

However, Liu Changning furrowed her brows, her cold expression slightly condensing. The tone of this person’s speech was very odd.

If she were a woman, it would be exactly the same as the tone of speech of many vicious white lotuses she had seen in dramas in her previous life.

Liu Changning raised an eyebrow, her gaze falling on the crown of his head.

The man before her was hunched over. Roughly estimating, although not as tall as her convenient husband, he wasn’t short either.

A full-grown man speaking in such a coquettish manner was somewhat nauseating.

Liu Changning unconsciously took a step back, her expression cooling a few degrees: “Oh, if you’re tired, take a rest for a moment. There are only four mud-brick rooms in the house, so you’ll have to make do with the adjacent firewood room from now on. My husband is usually a bit impatient, but as long as you don’t provoke him, he definitely won’t give you a hard time. Alright, you carry on… I’ll go check the other rooms. The house is leaking, and many things need to be dried before they can be used.”

Liu Changning was not a talkative person to begin with, and now seeing this person speak so coquettishly, she just casually gave a couple of instructions.

Jing Huan responded dazedly with a sound. Although her head was lowered, she always felt that her master’s tone was not as gentle as before. But thinking about it, her master was originally of this temperament, so it wasn’t surprising.

She continued to clean up the mess on the ground with the broom.

It had been hundreds of years since she had done such menial work. Even after transmigrating to the mortal realm, she had lived a life of luxury. Now…

She looked down with disgust at this bare house, enduring the filth all over the ground, completely concealing the look of disgust on her face.

—

Liu Changning checked the other rooms and found that the water in the other houses had already been cleaned up. Only the food in the kitchen had been soaked by rainwater, and much of it could no longer be eaten.

She went to her convenient husband’s room to get some silver money. He was pretending to read a book seriously and didn’t pay attention to her.

After taking the silver, Liu Changning was about to push the door open to leave when she couldn’t help but turn back. With her back to the light, a smile spread in her eyes as she pointed at the book in his hand and said, “The book is upside down.”

After saying this, she turned and walked out of the room.

The man in the room flushed red and white alternately. He looked at the upside-down book in his hand with frustration, his ink-black eyes rising and falling. Angrily embarrassed, he threw the book out, hitting the doorway straight on.

His hands trembled with anger, but he was even more annoyed at his own absent-mindedness and gradually losing control.

–

Liu Changning went to the village. Although the original owner was usually timid, she was a good person. There were still some vegetables in the three mu of land that the original body had been allocated before. So she picked some by herself.

Then she went to the butcher Luo’s house at the east end of the village to buy a few jin of meat, planning to have a feast. Because she bought a lot of meat, butcher Luo, not being a stingy person, seeing her thin frame, gave her some pork bones that couldn’t be sold.

Liu Changning was very grateful. Seeing these pork bones, she thought of the bone tubes she ate in her second life, especially when they were well-cooked, the bone marrow was particularly nourishing.

After buying the things, she met many villagers along the way.

She didn’t like to talk, but the aunties in the village were particularly enthusiastic. After greeting her all the way, by the time she returned, it was already past noon.

She had originally thought that lunch might not be possible today, but who knew, when she reached the old house gate, she saw smoke coming from the chimney, and a fragrant smell of food wafted from the cracks in the door, very tempting.

When did her convenient husband’s cooking skills become so good?

She had just checked earlier, and apart from some fine rice that was still edible, the rest of the raw food had been soaked in rainwater and couldn’t be used at all.

Liu Changning’s face showed a trace of doubt as she hesitantly pushed the door open.

From afar, she heard her convenient husband’s mocking sneer.

“You sure like to curry favor, you’re quite good at housework!”

Liu Changning frowned. Although the newly arrived young man didn’t seem as simple as he appeared on the surface, he had been working hard all along. Her convenient husband speaking like this seemed too harsh.

She was about to speak up to stop him.

Unexpectedly, the young man inside was no pushover either.

He said coldly, “The lady instructed me before she left that except for your room, I could treat the rest as my own home. I’m in my own home, cooking for myself and the lady, what does the young master have to criticize?”

Liu Changning stopped her hurried steps into the house, almost choking.

Own home? Too familiar or turning from guest to host?

This… this… this newly arrived young man… could his brain be damaged?