She could not possibly go back on her words, since she had previously given her consent to Lord Fourth to avoid bathing with cold water from thereon.
She still ought to give Lord Fourth some face; thus, she spared the subordinates the trouble of seeing that Lord Fourth's instructions had no effect on her.
At this moment, the kitchen was preparing the food, so she took the opportunity to take a bath and change out into beautiful, youthful-looking clothes.
She had worn something sedate to visit her mother-in-law in the palace earlier.
On top of that, she had returned home right at the hottest part of the day and she had perspired quite a lot in the carriage.
In a short moment, Qiao Lan appeared in front of her, offering a change of clothes. "Fujin, your water is ready."
"Mm." Ruoyin spread open her arms and let Nanny Liu change her clothes.
As the Mistress, she would not hold back at all in treating her subordinates well where it was due.
Where it was not due, however, then she ought to show who was in charge; otherwise, the subordinates would not regard her as the mistress.
During the bath, as Nanny Liu was scrubbing Ruoyin's body, she said, "Mistress, I've heard that Consort Li had gone to the palace to pay respects to Consort De. She received a rather sizable amount of gifts and was showing them off in the residence."
"Her actions are up to her discretion," Ruoyin said indifferently, albeit with a flash of sneer.
It looked like Consort Li had gone to tattle to Consort De about someone yesterday.
Shortly after, Ruoyin exited the bath in loose, colorful clothing.
She then intentionally put on some very sweet-looking make-up that matched her clothes. Her entire look was beautiful and youthful.
As soon as she finished grooming herself, Qiao Feng arrived just in time with the snacks.
Soon afterward, Ruoyin went on her way to Jin Mo Pavilion with Qiao Feng in tow.
Upon reaching Jin Mo Pavilion, she immediately hurried toward Lord Fourth's study.
The subordinates did not dare to stop her when they saw her approaching, merely bowing respectfully to her.
Finally, Ruoyin arrived and stopped right in front of the study.
The study door was shut tight. The troupe of eunuchs and maidservants in front of the door saw Ruoyin and bowed to her one after another.
Ruoyin gestured with her hands and said to He Zhongkang immediately, "I have brought snacks for Lord Fourth. Please go inside and notify him."
"Ah, understood! Please wait here, Fujin; your humble servant will go in and notify Lord Fourth immediately," He Zhongkang said unabashedly. Everyone knew that the Fujin was being favored by Lord Fourth as of late.
With that said, he turned around and knocked on the door of the study room.
Within a short while, the door opened a crack. Su Peicheng peeked out of the door, showing only half his head. "Do you not know that Lord Fourth is very busy inside?" he said softly.
"My Lord, I do know of what you mentioned. It's just that the Fujin has brought some snacks and is currently waiting outside," He Zhongkang replied cheerfully.
Hearing this, Su Peicheng stood upright and jumped past He Zhongkang to look outside. It took him only a glance to see Ruoyin before he immediately looked away.
"Wait right here. I will let Lord Fourth know," he said to He Zhongkang.
Afterward, he turned to go back inside the study room. He walked to the writing desk and said softly, "My Lord, the Fujin has come. She was said to have prepared some snacks for my Lord and is currently waiting outside."
Lord Fourth was overwrought with hecticness; there had been droughts in quite a few places, so the Crown Prince commanded several lords to brainstorm solutions. It was considered a test for these lords and Lord Fourth was among those being tested.
At this moment, Lord Fourth did not even move his head as he said unenthusiastically, "Bring the snacks in and ask her to return home."
"Yes, my Lord!" Su Peicheng replied and turned around to walk outside. He recalled that the Fujin was looking especially well-groomed from a glance just now.
It was such a pity; Lord Fourth would not let anybody in, so he would not be able to see it.
In the end, he was just arriving outside when he heard Lord Fourth saying, "Never mind. She's someone who knows how to behave, so there's no harm asking her to come in."
"Ah?" Su Peicheng turned around in astonishment and proceeded to say, "Understood, your humble servant will welcome her in."
The Fujin knew how to behave? Did it mean that Lord Fourth and the Fujin had only been chatting under the quilts in the study the last time?
Soon after, Su Peicheng invited Ruoyin to enter the study. He even closed the door conspicuously and stood outside to wait.
Ruoyin walked slowly inside with a food container in her hand.
This time, Lord Fourth did not even lift his head up to look at her upon her entrance. Might he be too busy?
She proceeded forward, curtsied, and greeted him while smiling, "May health be upon Lord Fourth."
Hearing her voice, Lord Fourth lifted up his head to look at her and then did a double take.
Indeed, the lady in front of her was very beautifully groomed. The loose, colorful clothing dazzled him.
The amount of make-up she used was just right; she did not show any natural features, but she was not conspicuously wearing heavy make-up either, thus evoking a pleasant kind of feeling.
As a man, though the scorching summer's day was all around him, he could still feel the sweetness of spring.
"Eat first. I will still be occupied for a moment," he said, his lips twitching.
Originally, he had not planned to invite Ruoyin in, but in the end, he remembered the fact that she had not come to the study for so long and subsequently allowed her entrance.
However, Lord Fourth was also thinking about whether it was the right decision to have invited such an alluring woman in. Ruoyin was not a well-behaved and obedient person, after all.
She put the food container on a long table by the side.
She then immediately brought over the two bowls of watermelon slushies and sat down opposite Lord Fourth. "My Lord, there's no hurry to consume the snacks, but it would be good to eat the slushie first. I had especially asked the kitchen to prepare this and it would be a waste if it melts."
Her voice was all soft and delicate.
Lord Fourth's heart was so smitten that it almost melted away at her voice, and he immediately knitted his eyebrows conspicuously.
However, when he raised his head to meet the gaze of her sweet eyes, he only said matter-of-factly, "Be good and go eat by the side."
Ruoyin was capable of reading people, and she realized Lord Fourth did not seem to be too happy.
However, she thickened her skin and gave this another try. This time, she would not use an extremely delicate voice, but rather an innocent one.
"My Lord may focus on handling the matters at hand. I could serve the snack to my Lord and I can vow to do so absolutely quietly without bothering you," she said as she stretched out her fingers, imitating a vow.
"Have you forgotten your lesson?" Lord Fourth raised his well-defined eyebrow and his expression became serious.
Hearing this, Ruoyin immediately recalled Lord Fourth demanding autocratically of her that she was not allowed to take vows. She covered her mouth after realization dawned on her and admitted embarrassedly, "I shall not do it again."
As he saw that she admitted her error obediently, his slender lips relaxed and uttered an emotionless "mm."
Although he had no idea why Ruoyin was fawning over him in this manner, it worked on him as she intended.
"Sit next to me and serve me. Be careful not to dirty my account books," he said.
"Yes, I will definitely be careful," replied Ruoyin happily. She even brought over a chair and sat down at the left hand side of Lord Fourth.
You see, sometimes one ought to explore outside of one's comfort zone; if she did not even try, how could she know whether Lord Fourth would agree?
And how else would she know just how thick her skin was? Right?
Lord Fourth noticed that her voice became all delicate again and he frowned a little more—she really did not learn her lesson.
Right after he agreed to let her serve him by his side, she became ill-behaved again.
An alluring woman would always be an alluring woman; there was no changing one's inherent traits.
Immediately after that, Ruoyin looked at the two bowls of slushies: one was her own, the other Lord Fourth's.
At first, she called out, "My Lord," to let Lord Fourth know that she was about to feed him the slushie.
Lord Fourth then naturally turned his head slightly, relaxed his slender lips, and calmly took a bite of the slushie from the porcelain spoon; it was very graceful.
Lord Fourth's eyes sparkled after he took his first bite.