As soon as Nangong Muyan returned to the Prime Minister's Mansion, Aunt Ying called her to the main courtyard. Luo Siyi was waiting eagerly for her, and immediately asked when she entered, "Yan'er, how did it go?"
There were pastries on the table. Nangong Muyan grabbed a chestnut cake and nibbled on it slowly while answering, "What can be accomplished in just one day? Hearts don't change that quickly. It's more interesting to take things slowly."
Hearing this, Luo Siyi expressed clear disapproval: "How can we afford to be slow? You're getting married in two months, and I don't want to see my son-in-law unwillingly bowing to me."
"Mother, don't worry. I'm not even worried..."
As mother and daughter chatted back and forth, when dinner time came and the maids had set the table, Nangong Ya walked in, looking overjoyed as he addressed Luo Siyi: "Siyi, I've received Chen Feng's reply. He'll be back in a few days."
"That's wonderful!" exclaimed Luo Siyi, who hadn't seen her son in three years. She turned to Nangong Muyan, "Yan'er, did you hear that? Your brother is coming back for your wedding ceremony."
Nangong Muyan pretended to be happy: "Yes, yes, I heard! Brother is coming back, that's wonderful!"
Ah, how troublesome, why does he have to come back? She had already failed at playing the role of the good daughter, and now she had to act as the good sister too?
Nangong Muyan thought gloomily.
Due to the news of Nangong Chenfeng's return, both Nangong Ya and Luo Siyi were beaming with joy. Nangong Muyan smiled through dinner, and when she planned to return to her own quarters, the couple stopped her to give some advice.
"Yan'er, don't forget to visit Zhou Yi tomorrow. These things require persistence - let him see your sincerity," Luo Siyi advised earnestly.
"But remember to maintain proper boundaries. A young lady must still preserve her dignity," Nangong Ya added.
"Don't put on airs like a grand lady waiting to be served. Occasionally, you can pour him tea or serve him food, show him your virtuous, gentle, and understanding side..."
"And remember, you can't let your desires get the better of you. You're carrying a child now, and the first three months are crucial. Some things absolutely cannot be done!"
Nangong Ya's blunt words stunned both Luo Siyi and Nangong Muyan.
"Why are you saying such things? Yan'er isn't foolish!" Luo Siyi elbowed Nangong Ya, complaining.
"I just think she's capable of such things..." Nangong Ya defended himself.
Seeing the conversation getting more and more outrageous, Nangong Muyan quickly interrupted: "Oh my, Father, Mother, I'm exhausted. I need to go to bed."
Before they could say anything more, Nangong Muyan left for her quarters with Xiaoru.
The sky was dark, and Xiaoru walked slightly ahead of Nangong Muyan, holding a lantern to light the way.
When they reached the main door, just as Xiaoru was about to open it and light the lamps, Nangong Muyan stopped her: "You go rest first. Just have them bring hot water in half an hour."
Xiaoru responded with a "Yes," handed the lantern to Nangong Muyan, and turned towards a small side room.
Nangong Muyan glanced at the scattered leaves on the steps, pushed open the door, and wasn't surprised to see Jiang Ning sitting inside.
"Your signal was terrible," Nangong Muyan criticized while lighting the lamp.
"It doesn't matter, as long as you understood it," Jiang Ning replied indifferently.
"What brings you here?" After lighting the lamp, Nangong Muyan sat down at the table and looked at Jiang Ning.
Jiang Ning got straight to the point: "What did you do to Zhou Yi this time?"
"What do you mean, what did I do?"
"He went drinking with Liu Ming'an again, cursing you as a bastard. You must have done something."
Nangong Muyan suddenly laughed. Zhou Yi was so amusing, running to Liu Ming'an for comfort after being upset by her.
"You're laughing?" Jiang Ning didn't understand. "Didn't you tell me before that you'd maintain a cordial relationship with Zhou Yi as husband and wife just for appearance's sake and to raise the child? What's the meaning of bullying him now?"
"I didn't bully him," Nangong Muyan thought of Zhou Yi's reaction to being teased and laughed heartily. "I just kissed him once."
Jiang Ning frowned, almost able to guess what had happened: "Zhou Yi is a very innocent person. If you don't like him, don't tease him. Wouldn't it be better to just get along peacefully?"
"Sister-in-law, don't be so fierce~" Nangong Muyan poured a cup of water for Jiang Ning with a playful smile.
Since Jiang Ning had abandoned her identity as Nangong Ling, she had started calling her sister-in-law like Zhou Yi did. It was quite interesting how she went from being a sister to a sister-in-law.
"I'm being very serious with you," Jiang Ning took a few sips of water, her expression somewhat stern. "Zhou Yi was already unfortunate enough to meet you. Even if you like to tease people, there should be limits."
Nangong Muyan stared at Jiang Ning for a while, then covered her mouth and smiled: "In the past, I was always the one teaching you and lecturing you. Who would have thought that after coming to this world, our roles would reverse? How interesting!"
"Changing the subject? Using such a basic conversational tactic on me? Don't tell me pregnancy really does make one foolish for three years?"
"Uh..." Nangong Muyan was momentarily speechless.
Jiang Ning actually didn't know how to persuade Nangong Muyan. She wasn't good at this sort of thing. This person had always maintained a carefree, playful attitude toward life, and it would probably be difficult to change her mindset with just a few words.
"Don't hurt Zhou Yi. He's innocent in all this. He's never wronged you."
In the end, that was all Jiang Ning could advise.
Nangong Muyan nodded repeatedly, but once Jiang Ning had left, she sighed and slumped onto the table.
Why was everyone trying to teach her how to behave? Luo Siyi and Nangong Ya were one thing, but now even Jiang Ning was lecturing her. Life really was...
Ah~ Zhou Yi was still the most fun.
Because of the contrast with these three people, Nangong Muyan increasingly appreciated Zhou Yi's charm, so early the next morning, right after breakfast, she eagerly rushed to the Jun Yue Restaurant.
Zhou Yi had also just finished breakfast not long ago. Seeing her arrive, he was somewhat surprised: "You're here so early?"
"I just missed you so much."
Nangong Muyan stared at him with a grin, successfully making Zhou Yi's expression turn somewhat unpleasant.
"Can you stop saying such strange things? Can't you act normal?"
Seeing Zhou Yi's annoyance, Nangong Muyan quickly changed the subject: "Are your parents not here today either?"
"They went to the estate."
"Your family has an estate?"
"Yes, several in the suburbs," Zhou Yi saw that she seemed interested and elaborated: "These estates are connected to the shops - wine brewing, textile weaving, growing melons, fruits and vegetables, raising chickens, ducks, fish, pigs, cattle, and sheep."
"Wow~ That's amazing!" Nangong Muyan genuinely exclaimed. No wonder Zhou Yi was always busy with his abacus.
Hearing her praise, Zhou Yi looked at Nangong Muyan's sparkling eyes and felt inexplicably pleased: "If you'd like, you can go stay there for a few days. I'll let them know to take good care of you."
And then you won't keep bothering me, Zhou Yi added in his heart.
How could such a small scheme escape Nangong Muyan's notice?
Grabbing Zhou Yi's sleeve, Nangong Muyan's eyes crinkled with a deep smile: "Then I want you to come with me."
"I'm very busy. Go by yourself," Zhou Yi said, pulling his sleeve back.
"Are you really that busy?" Nangong Muyan didn't believe it.
"Yes, I can't spare even a moment."
"Oh, can't spare even a moment?" Nangong Muyan raised an eyebrow and mercilessly exposed his lie: "Then how did you have time to go fishing before?"
The previously composed person suddenly turned cold upon hearing these words, his voice becoming stiff: "Don't go."
After saying this, Zhou Yi remained silent no matter what Nangong Muyan said, focusing solely on his accounting.
Ah, how troublesome, Nangong Muyan thought worriedly as she looked at Zhou Yi's stern face. She had traumatized him so much that even the word "fishing" triggered him. She really was terribly sinful!
The early spring sunlight slanted through the window. Nangong Muyan rested her chin in her hand, staring intently at Zhou Yi, while he kept his head down, flipping through account books and clicking away at his abacus.
After watching for a while, drowsiness overcame her, and just like yesterday, she fell asleep with her head resting on her arms.
Constantly being stared at so intensely, Zhou Yi naturally sensed it, but he didn't want to deal with this person anymore. He simply buried himself in his account books and abacus, hoping that out of sight would mean out of mind.
Until a certain moment, Zhou Yi sensed something and looked up, only to find that person sleeping sweetly on the table again.
After a brief hesitation, Zhou Yi still got up and walked to the table. With yesterday's experience in mind, he had given up on trying to wake Nangong Muyan and directly carried her to the next room.
As he gently placed her on the bed, before Zhou Yi could withdraw his hands, he felt a sudden force on his clothes. Caught off guard, his upper body sank downward, landing squarely on Nangong Muyan, his lips brushing past her cheek before ending up near her ear.
Light, gleeful giggles echoed in his ear, and pressed against her soft body, Zhou Yi could feel Nangong Muyan's frame trembling with laughter.
Zhou Yi scrambled to push himself up and retreated five steps from the bed. The supposedly sleeping person had already opened her eyes and was looking at him with a tilted head, grinning like a cat that had caught its prey. "Zhou Yi, you just kissed me, you know."
"Nangong Muyan! You, you, you..."
Zhou Yi was furious but wanted to scold her. Yet remembering she was carrying his child, he couldn't bring himself to curse, and could only angrily wipe his mouth with his hand.
"Hmm, I'm a scoundrel."
Nangong Muyan casually completed his sentence, touching the spot on her face where he had brushed against, smiling brightly at Zhou Yi. "You can scold me to my face, I don't mind. Just don't go drinking with Liu Ming'an anymore. Too much alcohol is bad for your health."
Zhou Yi was stunned. How did she know he went to see Liu Ming'an? And that last sentence - was it concern?
Nangong Muyan hugged the blanket and yawned, her eyes misting over, her voice becoming muffled, "I'm going to sleep now. Don't forget to wake me up for meals."
The questions stuck in his throat, and Zhou Yi watched as she closed her eyes, feeling that his emotions were easily stirred by her. Nangong Muyan was always cheerful and smiling, effortlessly able to infuriate him.
After standing there for a while, Zhou Yi helplessly turned to leave. After taking two steps, he noticed the window was wide open, so he went back to close it, leaving just a small gap.
He swore to himself that he definitely wouldn't carry her again tomorrow.
Zhou Yi returned to the next room, making calculations on his abacus while silently vowing to himself.
The next day, when Nangong Muyan entered the accounting room, she saw a bed placed in the middle of the room and nearly doubled over with laughter.
"Haha... Zhou Yi, how did you... haha..."
Nangong Muyan laughed so hard her stomach hurt, holding onto the door as she crouched down, unable to even complete a sentence.
How could there be someone like Zhou Yi in this world? He was just too adorably amusing!
Zhou Yi watched her silently with a dark face, also wondering how there could be someone like Nangong Muyan in this world, who could go crazy at any moment.
In the accounting room, besides Zhou Yi's desk for calculations, there had originally been another table, meant for when his parents came to check the accounts together. Nangong Muyan had been sleeping on that table the past couple of days.
Now that table had been removed and replaced with a bed, making the entire room appear much more cramped. Especially since the bed was an ornate chaise lounge with purple-pink gauze curtains and jade-carved flowers, covered with a light blue vine-patterned quilt - completely out of place in this room.
Nangong Muyan laughed until tears came out. Zhou Yi held back again and again until he couldn't anymore. He got up, walked to the door, pulled her up from the ground, dragged her to the bed, and said coldly, "You'll sleep here."
Nangong Muyan quickly nodded, not daring to disappoint his thoughtfulness.
"Behave yourself, and don't pull any more tricks."
Nangong Muyan nodded again, took off her shoes, lifted the covers, and lay down, appearing to be the perfect picture of obedience.
Seeing her being sensible, Zhou Yi's expression softened, and his tone became gentler: "Sleep now, I'll wake you up when it's time to eat."
Nangong Muyan lay on the bed, looking up at him with eyes full of sparkling mirth: "Alright, alright~"
Zhou Yi lowered the raised gauze curtains around the bed and returned to his desk to continue his work.
For some reason today, even with the bed, Nangong Muyan couldn't fall asleep. She felt an inexplicable excitement in her heart that made her somewhat elated. She lay on her side, secretly lifting a corner of the gauze curtain, watching Zhou Yi motionlessly for half the day, completely without drowsiness.
When it was about time, Zhou Yi came to wake her for lunch. She pretended to be in deep sleep as he called her, and after eating, she went back to happily watching him.
The day passed peacefully this way. After Li Jiu and Jin Hui came to pick up Nangong Muyan, Zhou Yi looked at the bed and felt quite pleased with his own cleverness.
Although when he was arranging for this bed, he had endured strange, meaningful looks from all the waiters at Jun Yue Restaurant and Manager Li that made his scalp tingle, but thinking about how smoothly the day had gone, Zhou Yi felt it was worth it!
After sending Nangong Muyan away, Zhou Yi contentedly ate his dinner and had just returned to the accounting room when he saw his parents standing by the door, staring at the bed with unpredictable expressions that made one nervous.
"Father, Mother, you're back... let me explain..."
Zhou Yi greeted them awkwardly. The scene was indeed easy to misunderstand. Just as he was about to explain, Zhou Zhili heavily slapped his back, glaring angrily: "You unfilial son! Are you that impatient? With so many rooms available, you can't be bothered to walk a few extra steps? You had to fool around in the accounting room?"
Hong Yuanping also kicked his leg: "She's still carrying a child, and you're so consumed by lust that you've become less than human? You good-for-nothing!"
Zhou Yi suddenly felt so wronged he could cry.