Unlimited estates for rural beauty-Chapter 640: Coming for a Second Date (2)

"Cheap? Just wait and see if she can really benefit from it in the future,"

Yingsu and Mei Lenglei exchanged glances behind him. How could they forget that their master was a man who always sought retribution? How could he let them enjoy themselves carefree? With this thought, their moods improved considerably.

The group retraced their steps back. Feng Xuxu looked up at the clear sky and the high sun, shook her head in regret. Her great mood from the morning had been disrupted by the jealous bickering, and she sighed. Her husband was the best, free from all these messy people and affairs, and unlike Lou Qianyu’s indecisiveness and overthinking, timid nature.

Lan Lengyun was hanging clothes when she suddenly saw that the empress had returned. She smiled immediately, dropped the sleeve she was holding, and went to boil a pot of water in the small kitchen.

"Lan sister, let me do it. You hang the clothes," Mei Lenglei said upon seeing a few wet clothes still in the basin and no one around. She guessed Lan sister must be in the kitchen. Since the master had rested and she had nothing to do, she might as well help Lan Lengyun.

Seeing Mei Lenglei didn’t seem very enthusiastic and had a poor complexion, Lan Lengyun asked, with suspicion, "Sister Mei, what’s wrong with you?"

"Hmph, don’t mention it, I ran into a mad dog." She lifted the kettle, checked the fire underneath, which was still strong, put the kettle back on the stove, grabbed a stool from the floor, and sat down with focus, intent on watching the water.

Bitten by a dog? Are there mad dogs in the Imperial Palace? Lan Lengyun gave her a doubtful look, and seeing that Sister Mei didn’t want to elaborate, she shrugged her shoulders, turned, and went to hang the remaining clothes. It was almost noon, and she thought about the palace maids who would be delivering lunch, probably on their way at that moment. Thus, another half-day passed in this manner.

After lunch, with nothing better to do, Feng Xuxu turned to find Jiazhen to chat, but seeing her distracted appearance, she shook her head. It seemed she wasn’t in the mood to talk at the moment.

Turning back, she returned to her own room: "Yingsu, guard the door well. Call me if someone comes."

Seeing the empress behave like this, Yingsu knew she must be going to the space. The thought of having fresh fruit to eat soon improved her mood greatly. She put the unpleasantness of the morning behind her, and agreed cheerfully, "Yes, Your Highness."

Feng Xuxu laughed inwardly at her happy demeanor, closed the palace door, and then flashed into the space.

Once inside, she discovered that the Spiritual Energy was even more abundant than half a month ago. The distant mountains were clearly visible before, but now, veiled in cloud and mist, they appeared half-hidden and ethereal.

Feng Xuxu was puzzled. She went to the root of a tree and woke up Xiaobai. Seeing it barely opened its tiger eyes and yawned, it then lazily said, "Sister Feng, I am so sleepy."

"What’s going on?" She pointed at the distant Hanshan.

Xiaobai lifted its eyelids slightly, didn’t even turn its head, and said, "Just like what sister can see, that’s Spiritual Energy. But it looks like the space is about to upgrade."

"Upgrade? When will it happen?" On hearing about the space upgrade, that meant there would be good things appearing in the space again, but she didn’t know what they would be this time.

Xiaobai glanced at her excited sister and shook its tiger head, "Don’t know. It should be within a month or so, by the looks of it."

Feng Xuxu, having gotten her answer, patted its head, "Keep sleeping then." She got up and walked towards her three-story cottage.

Upon reaching the third floor, she picked out a storybook that wasn’t too bad, took the book, descended the stairs, plucked a basket of fruit from the orchard, took another look at Hanshan, and left the space with a pleased heart. She gave half of the basket to Yingsu, and seeing her walk away beaming, Feng Xuxu herself took the book and settled on a soft couch, covered herself with a thin quilt, and started reading with relish.

At Wei Time, Lou Qianyu led his guards into the ’Zhaoxia Palace’. Mei Lenglei took him to the main hall, served hot tea, and then turned to invite her mistress.

Mei Lenglei had been standing in front of the Empress for nearly half an hour, yet had not seen Her Majesty show any intention of putting down the book in her hands. His mind made a quick turn, understanding what Her Majesty meant, and he promptly kept silent, obediently pouring a fresh cup of hot tea for Her Majesty.

At last, the final page was turned, and Feng Xuxu put down the book with a sense of unfulfillment. She picked up the tea, taking a light sip, and turned to look at Lenglei, "How many hours has it been?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, it is now the end of Wei Time."

"Mm, Lou Emperor must be growing impatient, let’s go." She placed the teacup down, lifted the thin blanket off her, and lazily got up. She straightened her long skirt before walking out of the bedroom.

Lou Emperor had already drunk pot after pot of tea, and yet the empress still hadn’t come out. No doubt she was still angry about what happened this morning. He heaved a heavy sigh, the bitterness in his heart understood by no one.

"I’m sorry to have kept Lou Emperor waiting so long," she said with a light and graceful figure as she walked through the doorway and sat down opposite Lou Qianyu, smiling coyly at him.

Lou Qianyu shook his head with a bitter smile, "It was just a moment, I haven’t been waiting long."

Feng Xuxu’s eyebrows twitched slightly, neither confirming nor denying it. She looked down to see slight creases in the long dress on her thigh and stretched out her fair hand to gently smooth them out.

Seeing that she had not asked about how he punished the two, Lou Qianyu breathed a slight sigh of relief. With an awkward smile on his face, he addressed the Feng Xuxu across from him, "Sister-in-law, regarding the land matter... When do you think it would be a good time for us to check it out?"

"When it comes to your territory, Lou Emperor, you may arrange as you please; I’m available anytime."

"Good, then how about I come to get you early tomorrow morning?" Lou Qianyu said joyfully, not expecting things to go so smoothly.

Watching his joyful expression, Feng Xuxu coldly smiled without a sound. She swirled the teacup in her hands back and forth, occasionally blowing on the steam that rose from it. After a moment, she lightly parted her pink lips and said, "Mm, that would be fine."

Seeing that the empress had agreed so readily, Lou Qianyu’s heart was overjoyed. He had prepared many speeches in case of protest from the empress; given her attitude now, it seemed they were unnecessary. He got up and gave a respectful fist-and-palm salute, "Qianyu will not disturb sister-in-law’s rest then. I will come to pick up sister-in-law early tomorrow morning."

"Mm, that’s good. Yingsu, see Lou Emperor out."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

After the individuals had left the great hall, Mei Lenglei stamped her foot in anger, "Your Majesty, such a person does not deserve our help."

"Be patient and not impulsive. Lou Qianyu is indecisive by nature; you must give him some time. Even if I were to ask him about the outcome today, he would have a pile of words waiting for me. So, what’s the point of asking? Besides, our purpose for visiting is not for him, but for those poor commoners," said Feng Xuxu, standing up with a tone of gravity and significance.

"Your Majesty, if I may speak frankly, those commoners are not subjects of Xueyan Country. Even if they are well-fed and clothed, they won’t remember you," Mei Lenglei said indignantly on behalf of the Empress.

Feng Xuxu shook her head, "I am not helping them just so they would feel grateful and remember me."

"Then why?"