Her Smile

Bai Yu Yan saw that the man no longer seemed angry and sighed in relief. She then thought of how to ask him about why he was here without offending him. Thinking for a while she looked at him and asked in a dutiful manner, "Your Excellency came here personally, was there anything important to discuss with this wife?"

Lu Tong Xiao glanced at her docile expression and remembered how clever she was in the afternoon. Reminding himself to not be fooled by her, he asked with a raised brow, "Why, does this lord need a reason to come here?"

"No..no, this wife was just asking. Your Excellency is always welcome here. It's cold outside so I was just wondering if there is anything then we could go and talk inside.", My dear ancestor, what happened to you tonight? Bai Yu Yan's smile was about to fall off.

"Why, you don't want to stay here alone with this lord?"

"..." She didn't know how to continue the conversation with this person anymore.

Lu Tong Xiao saw her trying hard to come up with an answer and leisurely stretched his long legs to sit on the grass in a comfortable position. The last time he sat on the ground was probably when he was still training in martial arts before he took his position as the Prime Minister.

"Mother told me that you want to manage a shop?", seeing that she had not spoken, he asked looking up at the sky.

Bai Yu Yan, who was trying to match his mental pace, was instantly alerted by his question. She thought he was dissatisfied with her, as the Prime Minister's wife, working in a little shop.

"Yes, Your Excellency. This wife actually has nothing to do at home all day and wanted to engage myself in something. It's just going to the shop every day, nothing more. B_But I will make sure to hide my identity and not manage it under my name.", she hurried to explain to him. If this person did not want her to work then there would be no way for her to continue doing what she loved to do the most. She was actually scared about how he would reply.

Unease was apparent in her face. Lu Tong Xiao, who had seen her confident self, didn't like this unease in her. He understood what she was hitting at and his eyes sank. "Did this lord say you couldn't work in your shop? The shop belongs to you and you can do anything with it. There is no need for you to hide your identity."

The moment his voice dropped, Bai Yu Yan's nervous heart slowly calmed down. She didn't reply to him but looked at him. Her eyes met his. His eyes were so dark and had an unknown depth but it didn't seem as cold as she had thought it would be. Maybe because he just gave her permission to run her shop, or maybe because the night was just too beautiful but she didn't find him so annoying. As a result, she couldn't resist showing him her canine.

Lu Tong Xiao who was also looking at her was suddenly blinded by that smile. He hurriedly removed his sight to look back up in the sky. The anger he felt at her this afternoon vanished into the thin air.

He then remembered his actual purpose of visiting the Autumn courtyard. He wanted to scold this stupid woman for the shameful act she did earlier in the shop. But looking at her right now, he didn't know why but he couldn't bring himself to scold her.

Did this woman cast a spell on him?

He thought for a while about what to say in that regard. After a long silence, he opened his mouth to speak. "Just..In the future, if you are in trouble, you can take this lord's name to take care of it. The Prime Minister's residence can afford that much trouble. No need to say any nonsense." Finishing saying it, he didn't look at her face. This woman would definitely cause trouble in the future. So he was doing it for the sake of the Prime Minister's residence. He tried to convince himself.

Yes, it was exactly that.

Lu Tong Xiao's words took a while to sink in Yu Yan's mind. Just that his magnetic voice sounded domineering so she couldn't understand whether he was showing off his power or suggesting for it her sake. Still, it was to her advantage, so she replied to him with a genuine smile. "Your Excellency's grace, this wife is really grateful for it."

"It's cold here. Go back inside." Finished saying that he stood up and left without looking back. When he had nearly reached the gate of the Autumn courtyard, he remembered there was no servant by her side. But he couldn't go back just to ask her where her servants were. So he turned around to look at the lotus pond. Bai Yu Yan was preparing to go back. Seeing her handmaid come outside, he finally walked away.

When Xiao Fan came out running, she saw her Miss coming back in a daze.

"Miss, you are already coming back? The warmer clothes were at the back of the closet, so it took time to look - Ah, Miss, whose coat are you wearing?", Xiao Fan was surprised to see Yu Yan wearing a large coat which obviously looked like it belonged to a man.

What happened when she was gone for just a moment, ah?

Her question brought Bai Yu Yan back to her senses. She looked at the coat she was still wearing and had forgotten to give back. She then looked at Xiao Fan who had a suspicious expression and said "Xiao Fan, don't let your thoughts wander around in the wrong direction. This belongs to His Excellency."

"His Excellency?", Xiao Fan was obviously surprised by what she heard. After a moment, she began to giggle by herself.

"Xiao Fan, I told you not to let think of anything nonsense."

Laughing, the happy Xiao Fan followed behind Bai Yu Yan to the room.