Thinking that she was still dreaming, Ruoyin couldn't help but to rub her eyes.
Then she gazed left, right, up, and down. Who else could this person in front of her be other than Lord Fourth?
After confirming that it was Lord Fourth, Ruoyin propped herself up to greet him.
But since she had just woken up and was feeling a little woozy, and the rocking chair was swaying, she stumbled and almost failed to greet Lord Fourth.
Fortunately, Lord Fourth saw that she was about to fall, and he grabbed her arm in time, without making any inappropriate moves on her.
When Ruoyin had steadied herself, she was barefooted on the ground, and she gathered her clothes to keep a distance away from Lord Fourth in case he might have the wrong idea that she was trying to seduce him.
Standing steadily, she bowed docily. "I fell asleep. I didn't realize that Lord Fourth has arrived. Excuse me for not going out to receive you."
Lord Fourth gently pushed her away with the folding fan in his hand. Then he lay down on the rocking chair that Ruoyin had been using. "It's been some time since I came over here. Give me a massage."
Ruoyin was startled. Okay, Lord Fourth disregarded what she said again. But from the sound of him, he seemed like he was in a good mood.
She tugged at her lips and said, "It was careless of me. I'll pour you a cup of tea first, then I'll give you a massage after that."
Lord Fourth leaned back on the rocking chair, narrowing his eyes mysteriously as he muttered in approval.
Barefooted, Ruoyin went to the teapot to pour a cup of tea for Lord Fourth. "My Lord, the tea is ready. Please have some."
Lord Fourth opened his eyes and took the tea from Ruoyin. Taking in the sweet aroma, he gently took a sip. Then he glanced over and asked, "Is this rose tea?"
"Yes. It's good to drink these scented tea for a day like this. I heard that drinking rose tea makes people happy." Ruoyin walked behind Lord Fourth and gave him a head massage.
Hearing this, Lord Fourth remembered that he had read this in a book before. Doctors of traditional Chinese medicine believed that rose was sweet and slightly bitter, warm in nature, able to rectify Qi, improve blood circulation, and treat depression.
As he was reminded that Ruoyin had only just recovered from depression and how he had been treating her coldly lately, his heart softened.
He closed his eyes and said, "Yes. This drink is good for women."
"Lord Fourth hasn't been here for a long time. What brings you here?" Ruoyin asked with some bitterness as he started to talk.
Hearing the bitterness in her words, Lord Fourth was a little delighted, yet at the same time sympathetic.
But he returned only a mild and evasive reply. "I went to the palace today. They received a letter saying that the Emperor is returning to the capital. Your father, the commander, stayed in Mongolia to pick up the loose ends, and he has killed 3000 of the enemy. This was a battle well fought!"
His answer only made his real motive more conspicuous.
It seemed that he came here because of this.
When she heard what Lord Fourth had said, Ruoyin's hands that were giving the massage stopped. From her memory, though Fei Yanggu was a tough lord in the battlefield, he was filled with loyalty and patriotism and was very doting on the original host of this body.
Therefore, Ruoyin was happy and proud upon hearing of Fei Yanggu's achievement.
"That's great. I hope only that Father will be able to return to the capital earlier and have fewer injuries," she said in a shaky voice.
Lord Fourth paused, thinking that this was good of her, that her mind was not set upon rising in ranks or titles, or expecting tons of rewards.
As a daughter, she had only simple wishes for her father.
He raised his hand up above his head and held her hand that was giving him a massage. "Your father is a good man and commander. He'll be fine."
"Thank you, my Lord, for consoling me." Ruoyin calmed herself down. This was a good thing. Lamenting the situation emotionally was fine, but it would be inappropriate of her to tear up.
She thought that Lord Fourth using this as an excuse to meet her was a way for them to move past this awkward situation. He probably had stopped being angry over the matter of her drinking contraceptive soup.
Otherwise, he could have simply informed the servants to pass the message instead of telling her personally.
So she reciprocated and held Lord Fourth's hand. She walked up beside Lord Fourth, leaned against the armrest of the rocking chair, and mumbled, "My Lord, I was wrong. I won't do that again next time."
Hearing her talk as though she was sleep talking, Lord Fourth felt a tug at his heartstrings. But he continued to keep his eyes closed, trying not to look at her.
Lest he might not be able to help himself and forgive her too soon.
"What did you do wrong? What will you not do next time?"
"I shouldn't have taken the contraceptive soup without my Lord's knowing," Ruoyin said softly.
Lord Fourth furrowed his brows and said in a deep voice, "Wrong. You simply shouldn't have taken it!"
Ruoyin was startled. Okay, Lord Fourth was usually too mysterious, and she didn't guess the right answer. This time, she could only go along with what Lord Fourth had said. "My Lord is right. I won't take it anymore. Even if I get sick, I'll have to ask for the Lord's permission and have the physician to examine it. Only when the resident physician says I should avoid pregnancy do I do it. If he says no, then I won't avoid the pregnancy."
Ruoyin realized only during this period that she was being neglected by Lord Fourth that a man could be so cold toward her.
They could be sharing the sweetest time with you yesterday and give you the cold shoulder for the next half a month and ten days as though you didn't even exist.
The reason she didn't go and find Lord Fourth was so they could give each other some time to calm down.
After all, she was indeed the one who was wrong. To have Lord Fourth accept her again required a process. If she had been too eager to get reconciled, it might not have ended well.
Even if Lord Fourth were to have reconciled with her early because of her initiative, it might seem as though she was trying to force someone to put a square peg into a round hole. It would put her in a good position in their future interactions.
However, now that Lord Fourth had taken the initiative to meet her, which was different from her going to meet him, of course she had to make good use of the opportunity.
Lord Fourth could not bear to have her suffer more. When he saw her innocent look, his anger had almost dissipated.
But he still kept a straight face as he gave Ruoyin a side-glance, as though he expected better from her.
It had already been five years, and she still had no signs of bearing a child, yet she still dared to take contraceptive soup. He really wanted to see what was in that head of hers. Did she have any brains at all?
Although Ruoyin was an expert at the cold shoulder treatment, since Lord Fourth had taken the first step, it would now depend on her to take the initiative.
Anyways, this was the way she was. If someone else were to be cold to her, she would not get back at the person the same way, but she wouldn't take the initiative to reconcile with the person either as she also cared to keep her dignity.
If the other person took the first step of reconciliation, then she would show no scruples to reconcile with the person!
Moreover, for a cold, tsundere Beile like Lord Fourth to take the first step was really not easy for him!
Thus, seeing that Lord Fourth wasn't fierce toward her, she shuffled her feet and sat directly on Lord Fourth's lap.
The rocking chair began to shake violently, and she simply allowed herself to fall directly into Lord Fourth's arms.
Lord Fourth simply held her and prevented her from falling.
Like a frightened little rabbit, Ruoyin docily lay on Lord Fourth's chest.
She hooked her arms around his neck tightly, as if she was afraid of losing him, and she murmured softly, "Don't neglect me, my Lord. I'll behave myself in the future and not make you angry~"