Chapter 2 Kiss her
After teasing her, he seemed to be unsatisfied. He lowered his eyes and glanced at her: "Why? Are you looking forward to being favored by this prince?"

This gentleman is the proudest and most capable one, and he is born to be praised by others.

The little girl was born with a clever tongue, and she quickly agreed with him, "My Lord, you are joking. You are of noble status, and you are both a man of both military and literary talents. You have made great contributions to the recovery of Hexi this time. You will surely hold a high position in the future. I'm afraid all the women in the capital are looking forward to your favor. How could I dare to have such extravagant hopes?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Ji rolled his eyes at her, said nothing more, and left her alone, walking out of the bathroom.

Knowing that he was angry with her, she dared not dissuade him. She raised her hand to rub her forehead which was numb from the collision and quickly caught up with him.

Seeing him sitting in the armchair in the inner room, she took small steps forward, poured tea for him, and said with a smile on her face, "You have been gone for five years. The maids who used to serve in the house have all reached the age and have been let out. Sister Amber has selected a lot of new people, saying that you can only be allowed to work in the house after you have selected them. I will call them all in now. Would you like to take a look?"

"That's not urgent." Lu Ji fiddled with the lid of the teapot slowly, raised his eyes and glanced at her: "Don't you still take care of my room?"

Is he going to treat her like a maid? Such a big house, with so many chores, and he wants her to do all the hard work by herself?
Ever since she was chosen as a concubine, she became half the master of this courtyard and did not have to do any work. Even before she was chosen as a concubine, she did not actually work. Lu Ji always disliked her for being clumsy, so she just admitted that she was clumsy and could not do the work well, so she simply stopped doing it.

Now, if something doesn't go her way, he's punishing her by doing hard labor. He's so cruel and heartless.

Seeing her hesitation, he put down the teacup and asked, "Don't you want to serve me anymore?"

It seemed as if as long as she nodded, he would immediately fulfill her wish and drive her out.

The little girl hurriedly said, "How could that be? I am so lucky to be able to serve the prince."

Although the words were against her will, the little girl looked extremely docile.

A strong man like Lu Ji has always liked gentle women. Seeing this, he stopped looking for trouble and took another sip of tea. He stood up and walked out. When he reached the door, he paused slightly and said, "Make the bed before I come back."

In the evening, the whole mansion will hold a welcoming banquet, and Lu Ji is going to attend the banquet.

Qin Xiaoning looked through the window and saw that the person had left the yard and walked far away. She breathed a sigh of relief and walked out of the house. She ran into the maid Song Zhi. She was considered an old person in the yard, but she was not old enough to be let out.

With their master away, everyone relaxed and the two of them sat on the steps under the porch, chatting in the sun.

"Is the Young Master angry with you?" Although she was not the head maid in the house, she had been in this yard for a long time and knew her master's temper to some extent. From the cold words the Young Master said in the yard when he came back, Songzhi saw some clues.

Qin Xiaoning didn't say anything, which was considered as acquiescence. Song Zhi sighed with an air of condescension: "The prince must be blaming you because you pretended to be sick and refused to accompany him to the war." Then he looked at her angrily: "How many people hoped to become the prince's woman, but he only chose you, and you disappointed them."

Qin Xiaoning sneered: "He asked me to follow him to the northwest to eat the wind and sand, and I should be grateful to him?"

"The prince wouldn't be so stingy." Songzhi explained, "The prince must be angry that you are unwilling to share the joys and sorrows with him."

Qin Xiaoning was surprised: "I'm not his wife, why should I share his sufferings?" Then she smiled self-deprecatingly: "I'm not qualified to be one."

Songzhi began to nag at her earnestly, advising her to seize the opportunity and strive to climb the throne of the prince's favorite concubine as soon as possible. Qin Xiaoning ignored it and counted the days carefully with her fingers: "In five days, should the monthly allowance be paid?"

When this was mentioned, Songzhi finally stopped talking about the previous topic and became disappointed: "You do have hope, but you have two taels of silver. I have less than a hundred coins, not even enough to buy a ruler." Then, she started talking about her lofty ideal: "Oh! I don't know when I can become a first-class maid."

Since becoming Lu Ji's concubine, the biggest benefit was that her monthly allowance increased. Although she was not able to accompany Lu Ji to Hexi in the end, the Duke's wife was a straightforward person and did not treat her unfairly at all. She was given two taels of silver per month, and during festivals, she was rewarded according to the treatment of concubines in the mansion. Over the past two years, she has saved up a little money.

The family tradition of the Duke's Mansion is upright, and few men take concubines. When she was chosen to be a concubine, it was also a special situation. The Duke's wife told her clearly that whether she could stay in the future depended on the mistress's opinion.

In wealthy families, it is not uncommon for men to have concubines, but once the wife enters the family, the stay or departure of these concubines will be decided by the mistress. Most of the time, the wife will not keep her husband's previous girlfriends, and even if she wants to take a concubine for her husband, she will have to choose again.

Qin Xiaoning is different from family-born children like Songzhi and Amber. She is not a slave but a free person. She was taken in by the government because she had nowhere else to go when she was young. When she gets out in the future, she can live her own life.

Of course, if you want to live a good life, you can’t live without money.

Therefore, save more money now so that you won't be left without a job when you leave the government office in the future. "I'll buy you a ruler when the monthly salary comes in." Qin Xiaoning was reluctant to spend money herself, but she was always generous to her friends.

Songzhi's face brightened up when he heard that. He took out a handful of melon seeds from his pocket and stuffed them into Qin Xiaoning's hand.

There were bursts of salutes coming from the front, the welcoming banquet had already begun. Lu Ji had made an unprecedented contribution this time, so the banquet would not end until midnight.

Qin Xiaoning and Songzhi cracked melon seeds until dark. Songzhi stretched lazily and went back to her room to sleep. Qin Xiaoning also got up and went back to the main room. There was no maid serving her in the room. Although she was sleepy, she had to wait for the young master to return and serve him until he went to rest before she could take care of herself.

Unable to bear it any longer, she was so sleepy that she collapsed on the table, drowsy and confused, until she heard a loud throat clearing sound and woke up.

The man had returned and was standing at the door, looking at her with a serious gaze.

I thought he would forget about it after the banquet, but looking at his expression, it seems he hasn't gotten over it yet.

"You're back." Qin Xiaoning quickly stood up and greeted him attentively, with a look of concern on her face: "You drank a lot of wine again."

Lu Ji glanced at her sideways, said nothing, and gently raised his arms. Qin Xiaoning stood on tiptoe to change his clothes for him, still caring about him: "If your stomach feels uncomfortable, I'll have someone make a bowl of hangover soup for you. I'm worried that you might drink too much."

"Stop pretending to be virtuous with me!"

She was talking when Lu Ji interrupted her impatiently. Then, he pulled her to him. His dark eyes were as deep as an eagle, revealing a cold and majestic look. He scolded her fiercely, "Qin Xiaoning, if you dare to be hypocritical in front of me again, I will teach you a lesson."

She was so frightened that her heart trembled, her eyebrows unconsciously frowned, and her eyes were misty and filled with water.

"You've wronged me--" Her feather-fan-like eyelashes drooped down wetly, and her voice lost its confidence, sounding like the hum of a mosquito.

Lu Ji snorted heavily, then let her go, left her behind, and sat on the bed. Qin Xiaoning rubbed her wrist that was pinched so hard by him, and was silent for a long time. She turned around and looked at him, hesitated, and asked timidly, "Would you like some tea?"

He said "hmm". Qin Xiaoning walked to the table, poured a cup of warm tea, and handed it to him. Her tone was aggrieved, but also a bit flattering: "I know that the prince is not used to strong tea, so I brewed white tea as before, added some jasmine flowers to it, and kept it warm in hot water. It's just right to drink now."

She half-lowered her eyes and looked at him timidly, with a submissive look, as if she had really been well-behaved.

Lu Ji's expression finally eased a little. He took the teacup, raised his head and drank it all in one gulp.

Seeing that he had calmed down, Qin Xiaoning approached the bed, bent over to spread the quilt, and said softly, "It's getting late, Master, go to bed early."

After saying that, he was about to turn around and leave, but Lu Ji grabbed his wrist and pulled him back.

He sat on the bed and she fell on his legs. He pinched her slender waist with both hands and held her tightly in his arms. The girl was wrapped in the cold breath of the man. Before she could come to her senses, his passionate kiss mixed with the smell of alcohol was imprinted on her lips.

His kiss was overbearing and passionate, as if he wanted to eat her alive. Although she was his, he had never touched her before. The girl was inexperienced and could still struggle at first, but after a while, she was exhausted by him and had no strength left. She whimpered and could only allow him to kiss her endlessly.

When he finally let her go, she had already collapsed.

He slid the person off his thigh without even looking at her, and said calmly, "Let's go."

Seeing her standing there motionless, Lu Ji raised his eyes and looked at her, a smile gradually forming on the corners of his mouth, as if he was playing with her: "What? Don't you want to leave again?"

The little girl stood before him weakly, the smell of blood overflowing from her lips into her mouth. She covered her lips that were swollen from his kiss, her little face wooden, looking very unwilling, but intimidated by his power, she did not dare to show any grievance, only her eyebrows were tightly knitted together.

Lu Ji stared at her for a long time, then his face darkened again and he said unhappily, "Go! Stop disturbing my sleep."

(End of this chapter)