The Young Mistress’s Little Romance in the Duke’s Mansion 19

Chapter 19
Lu Chenglian looked at the angered Gu Xiyan. A blush like rouge had risen to her cheeks, resembling peach blossoms in March, radiant and alluring.
He watched her intently without blinking and gave a soft chuckle. “What, did I say something wrong?”
Gu Xiyan bit her lip softly and shot him a glare. “Third Master is naturally always right; how could you be wrong? You have shown me great kindness, so even if you were to say something amiss, I have no right to be angry. Say whatever you please.”
She simply steeled her heart and added, “Why don’t you scold me a few more times? Treat me however you wish. As long as you are happy, anything is fine with me. Isn’t this all part of repaying your gratitude?”
Lu Chenglian observed that as she fumed, her chest rose and fell rhythmically. No matter how plain her dress, it could not conceal that inherent charm.
The tips of his ears turned slightly red. He pressed his lips together and said in a hoarse voice, “When have I ever mistreated you?”
Hearing this, Gu Xiyan felt an inexplicable surge of bitterness and grievance in her heart. She cast him a resentful glance. “If Third Master says he hasn’t, then I suppose he hasn’t. But whether it counts as mistreatment depends on whether I feel happy about it. If I am unhappy, then it is mistreatment.”
Lu Chenglian paused, his dark eyes fixing on her earnestly. “Since you feel that way, why bother coming here at all? If word gets out, it will only invite suspicion and gossip.”
Gu Xiyan replied in a low voice, “I came strictly according to propriety to offer formal thanks. Aren’t you overthinking this, Third Master?”
This remark infuriated Lu Chenglian. He ground his teeth. “Fine. You’ve certainly mastered the art of burning bridges after crossing them, pushing me ten miles away with a single pole.”
Gu Xiyan lowered her brows and eyes submissively.
Let him be angry if he wanted to. There was nothing he could do to her anyway.
If push came to shove, she would run to Princess Ruiqing or the Old Madame. Would he really dare make a scene publicly? Didn’t he care about his reputation? Didn’t he want to marry the prince’s daughter?
Those with nothing to lose feared nothing from those who had everything to protect—that was the logic!
Lu Chenglian stared at her for a long moment. Seeing her submissive demeanor, he suddenly let out a derisive sneer. “I understand. I understand exactly what you mean!”
With a sharp flick of his sleeve, he strode away.
Beside him, Qiusang listened with a pounding heart, not daring to lift her head. Only when she heard Lu Chenglian’s footsteps fading did she dare to raise her eyes and glance tremulously in his direction.
The Third Master walked with such ferocity that the bluestone slabs beneath his feet seemed ready to shatter!
She looked cautiously at Gu Xiyan. “Young Mistress?”
Gu Xiyan slowly gathered her composure. “Let’s go.”
With this bout of anger, everything between them should finally be over.
In a fit of rage, Lu Chenglian entered his own courtyard. The moment he stepped inside, the atmosphere seemed to darken instantly. A page boy rushed forward to lift the curtain for him, but he ignored the gesture entirely.
Entering the flower hall, he saw tea cups left uncollected on the table and asked coldly, “Where is Yingtong?”
Yingtong and Peibai were whispering in the side room. Hearing the commotion, they hurried over with quick, mincing steps.
Lu Chenglian demanded immediately, “Who visited just now?”
Yingtong quickly replied, “It was the Sixth Young Mistress—”
“What did she come for? Who allowed her here?” Lu Chenglian interrupted sharply. “Can anyone just walk into my quarters whenever they please?”
Yingtong was startled, and Peibai was terrified.
Lu Chenglian pressed again, “What did she want?”
Yingtong whispered, “She said Third Master had spoken on behalf of her natal family’s legal case and came to express her thanks. She also brought a gift.”
A gift?
“She gave a gift?” Lu Chenglian asked.
“Yes,” Yingtong answered. “She called it a small token of appreciation. I thought it inappropriate and didn’t want to accept it, but she insisted on leaving it behind.”
Peibai chimed in from the side, “Sister Yingtong and I naturally told her that we had no use for such items and asked her to take it back. Third Master doesn’t casually accept gifts from others, yet she insisted on leaving it.”
Lowering her voice, she muttered, “She is a young mistress and used her status to pressure us. As servants, we couldn’t very well argue.”
Her words clearly carried a hint of complaint.
Lu Chenglian frowned. “Peibai, do you feel aggrieved serving as a maid here?”
Peibai froze.
Seeing this, Yingtong hurriedly interceded, “Master, Peibai didn’t mean that. It was just a careless remark.”
Lu Chenglian smiled coldly. “If you feel wronged, you may leave. No one is stopping you.”
Peibai’s face turned deathly pale, her eyes staring blankly. Her knees gave way, and she collapsed onto the floor. “Third Master, this servant was wrong. Please forgive me!”
Yingtong knelt beside her, pleading on Peibai’s behalf.
Ignoring them, Lu Chenglian asked instead, “What exactly did the Sixth Young Mistress say, and what gift did she bring?”
Yingtong recounted everything in detail.
“An inkstone?” Lu Chenglian asked.
“Yes,” Yingtong confirmed.
Suddenly, she felt the air around her grow several degrees colder.
“Where is the inkstone?”
His voice was calm, yet carried the ominous weight of an impending storm.
Yingtong quickly signaled to a nearby maid, who scampered off and returned with the item.
Lu Chenglian took it, frowning as he examined it closely. His expression grew darker with every passing second.
Yingtong’s heart turned cold as she realized she might have made a grave mistake.
Then she finally heard Lu Chenglian enunciate each word deliberately: “Utterly absurd.”
With a loud bang, the inkstone was hurled to the ground. The resounding crash sent tremors through everyone’s hearts.
Cold fury burned in Lu Chenglian’s eyes. “You kept such a thing? It’s an eyesore just sitting there! Throw it out! Throw it far away!”
His rage was so intense that everyone was thoroughly frightened. Peibai, her hands trembling, quickly picked up the inkstone and rushed outside to find a servant to dispose of it.
Just then, she spotted a dark shape hanging upside down from the moongate archway. Startled, she looked closer and realized it was Amole.
Gritting her teeth in annoyance, Peibai snapped, “You suicidal black monkey! Always playing ghost tricks to scare people!”
Amole flipped nimbly to the ground and scratched her head sheepishly. “I was waiting for Third Master’s orders.”
Hearing this, Peibai thrust the rosewood box into her hands. “Go, throw this away. Throw it far, far away.”
Amole held the box, turning it over and inspecting it curiously.
Peibai glared at her. “Our master is furious today. Remember to throw it away properly. Don’t keep it for yourself, and absolutely don’t pick it back up! If you dare disobey, watch out—they’ll strip that black hide right off you!”
Amole was instantly cowed. She stammered, “Throw it far, I know! Throw it far!”
“Good. Now go,” Peibai commanded.
Amole hunched her shoulders in fear and dashed off, clutching the box tightly.
Inside the room, Yingtong couldn’t understand why Lu Chenglian was so enraged. Recalling his previous outburst, she noticed both incidents seemed connected to the Sixth Young Mistress.
Remembering the Sixth Young Mistress’s mention of “the legal case outside,” she naturally formed a conjecture.
Third Master was the Emperor’s most favored minister. Various branches of the household always sought to curry favor or request favors from him. Clearly, the Sixth Young Mistress’s affairs had disturbed him. As a widow and his younger brother’s wife, he couldn’t easily refuse her. He had handled the matter out of necessity, but was deeply displeased.
Now she had come offering a mere inkstone to ingratiate herself, potentially tarnishing his reputation. If word spread, others might assume any trivial matter could be brought to Third Master, inviting endless annoyances.
Having reached this conclusion, she resolved to distance herself further from Gu Xiyan. For now, she dared not speak, merely serving tea gently and attending to him carefully.
Just then, Peibai reentered, standing respectfully to the side without daring to utter a word.
Lu Chenglian had no desire for tea. Rising to his feet, he announced, “Mother has been unwell recently and lacks attentive care. Usually occupied with official duties, I haven’t had time to serve her personally. Peibai, from now on, you will report to Taihe Hall.”
To Peibai’s ears, these words struck like a thunderbolt.
Currently, since Lu Chenglian was unmarried and had no concubines, the most prominent maids were Yingtong, followed by herself. Life was comfortable and leisurely; she spent her days idly cracking melon seeds and ordering junior maids around.
But transferring to Taihe Hall meant facing entirely different rules under Princess Ruiqing. Moreover, the princess’s matrons and attendants were notoriously difficult to deal with. What rank would she hold there? She would have to tread cautiously everywhere, constantly watching others’ expressions!
Most critically, being dismissed from Third Master’s quarters signaled to everyone that her path to becoming a concubine was permanently closed.
Her face turned ashen as she dropped to her knees, pleading, “Third Master, this servant knows her mistake!”
Lu Chenglian’s expression remained cold and unyielding, leaving no room for negotiation. “Get out.”
Standing nearby, Yingtong considered pleading for her, but though her lips moved, she ultimately said nothing.
Sooner or later, Third Master would take someone into his household. If one were chosen, it would likely be herself—but what if something unexpected happened?
Biting her lip, Yingtong lowered her head.
She felt somewhat guilty, yet knew that pleading now would be futile.
Previously, after speaking with Lu Chenglian, Gu Xiyan would either be distracted or overwhelmed with indignation. This time, however, she found herself surprisingly calm.
She recalled a line from the Platform Sutra: “It is not the wind that moves, nor the banner that moves, but your mind that moves.”
Reflecting now, she realized all her emotions—love, hate, resentment, obsession—stemmed from her unwillingness to accept her stagnant life. She had harbored longing, and when this man appeared during her most helpless moment, seemingly willing to lend a hand, hope had blossomed within her.
With hope came feelings that should never have existed.
Now, knowing definitively that he was set to marry a prince’s daughter, and having witnessed firsthand how the two women in his quarters managed his domestic affairs, she fully understood that this man was worlds apart from her.
An unbridgeable chasm lay between them, one neither could cross.
Nevertheless, Qiusang remained somewhat indignant. “Truly, if the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam follows suit. No wonder Yingtong and Peibai don’t treat you as their mistress—the root lies with Third Master himself! Even if he helped you, you spoke kindly and came specifically to thank him. Yet look at him! One shouldn’t strike a smiling face, especially when you went to the trouble of spending fifty taels on a thank-you gift!
Fifty taels! Fifty whole taels!
Gu Xiyan chuckled softly. “Never mind him. The matter is settled; let him do as he pleases. As for his anger—”
Speaking of which, Gu Xiyan suddenly remembered her brother’s situation. The coastal defense garrison was still investigating.
Actually, since the person was already gone, let them investigate. There was no real need to ask him for help.
Surely he wouldn’t be so depraved as to deliberately obstruct the stipend owed to a war widow?
If he did, she would certainly fight him tooth and nail.
As long as he didn’t sabotage her, there was nothing to fear. Their entanglement was over, finished once and for all.
If he believed this favor was monumental and disdained her modest gift, so be it. After he passed away, he could seek repayment from his cousin Lu Chengyuan, along with accumulated interest over the years. Let the brothers sort it out themselves!
Once one figures out the principles of life, everything becomes clear.
Gu Xiyan walked with light steps, heading back toward her own courtyard.
Unexpectedly, after only a few paces, she heard Qiusang give a muffled cry of surprise.
Gu Xiyan looked at her quizzically. “What’s wrong?”

Qiusang said in a trembling voice, “I saw a shadow, just like a black monkey, dart past here in a flash.”
Gu Xiyan looked around but saw no one. She replied, “Your eyes must be playing tricks on you. Where would a monkey come from in this mansion?”
In the past, even when the ladies of various households kept pets, they were at most small horses or dogs; she had never seen a monkey.
Just then, a blur caught her eye. Suddenly, a dark streak swept through the depths of the bamboo grove, swift as a gale, vanishing instantly among the verdant leaves.
Gu Xiyan stared in astonishment. “Was that… a black monkey?”
Clenching her fists and staring fixedly at the direction where the shadow had disappeared, Qiusang said, “Young Mistress, that black monkey is exactly what grabbed me that day. I remember it!”