Chapter 15

Her? Batting her eyelashes? Her glare had been razor-sharp! She had been telling her to stop running her mouth! Glare, glare, glare... Mm... Li Chenjing was glaring at her now... Huh!? Why did his eyes say exactly what hers had—Big mouth. Shut up!

...Her mouth was already sealed. How was she supposed to run it?

"The boy only arrived at the mansion today and doesn't know the rules yet. I'll discipline him properly later."

Discipline? Li Chenjing was going to discipline her? Had he taken her rejection on exam day to heart, then schemed to bring her to his side so he could settle a personal score under the guise of official business?

Then hadn't she—driven a wolf from the front door only to let a tiger in through the back? She had barely slipped from Young Master Long's grasp before falling into Li Chenjing's enormous trap!

"Does 'he doesn't know the rules' absolve him of everything? Grand Secretary Li, aren't you being rather lenient with your own? Since you might not have the heart to punish one of your people, why not hand that sissy over to me? I'll discipline him for you!" Longyang had finally found a hold on Li Chenjing. Letting go so quickly was out of the question.

Li Chenjing's expression did not change. He merely glanced at Longyang and said lightly, "No need. Lord Long needn't concern himself with my people."

"Then how about I concern myself with Xiaojing instead? On one condition—Xiaojing goes on a date with me."

Li Chenjing lifted his eyes toward the balcony, then walked unhurriedly to Zhu Bafu, who was pinned to the bench. He gathered his robe and crouched before her, fixing her with an unwavering gaze. "No need. From today onward, he's mine. I can discipline him myself."

He's mine, he's mine, he's mine, he's mine, he's mine... The echo went on forever...

Young Master Chenjing, where did you learn to say such indecent things? Do you want to go kneel in punishment with Young Master Piao?

"Don't move. Your pants are about to fall down," he warned her...

"Mmph! Mmmph mmmph mmmph!"

"I don't help men pull up their pants."

"..."

"Can you still walk?" he asked.

"Mmph mmmph mmmph! Mmmph mmmph mmmph!"

"I don't carry men."

"..." Who asked you to carry me?!

"Hold on to your pants and follow me."

With that, Li Chenjing pinched the back of her collar between two fingers, turned away without a trace of warmth, and strolled toward his Ministry of Personnel Study.

"Brother! What do you think?" Longyang glanced at the closed door of the Ministry of Personnel Study, then looked up at the fellow on the second floor who was still toying with a peony. "Since when did Li have a personal Study Attendant? How come I didn't know? He isn't trying to fool me, is he?"

"No. Your Lordship told me he was giving Xiaojing a special gift. I'd say this grand gift is special enough."

"A Study Attendant bestowed by the Holy Emperor?"

"That's right. A special imperial gift. You nearly chopped off the 'little bird' Your Lordship gave him."

"Bah! Some special gift. Why didn't we get one!? The Holy Emperor's favoritism toward the Li Household is nothing new! Why does Li alone get a personal Study Attendant? In what way is our Long Household inferior to theirs?"

"That... Perhaps Xiaojing has a magic about him that makes people unable to keep their hands off him." Long Ang chuckled.

"...Brother... Mother told me to warn you: any woman will do. She doesn't care about matching status or family background, but—you are not allowed to become a Cut Sleeve!"

"Rest easy, Xiaoyang. I won't bring shame on the Long Household. I will most certainly be the one on top!"

"You missed the point!"

"Perhaps one day Xiaoyang will think boys aren't so bad either." Otherwise, wouldn't that splendid name of his, "Longyang," go to waste?

"What do you mean, 'either'!?"

"Heh heh heh heh—"

"Don't 'heh heh heh heh' at me!"

Author's note:

(??д?)b... It got locked, and revising it now is sheer agony.

A personal Study Attendant?!

The position Young Master Piao had arranged for her—the one supposedly so convenient for gathering gossip—was Li Chenjing's personal Study Attendant?!

Had his brain spent so many years under a kitten's paws that it had been trampled senseless? Or had he visited Chunfen Pavilion so often, filling his head with pretty girls, that he had gone stupid? He expected her to attend to Li Chenjing's every need at Dongxu Mansion? Was he serious? With a pair of eyes fixed on her, how was she supposed to fulfill her mission of gathering gossip?

Most importantly—

"Young Master, may I borrow a belt for my pants?"

"..."

"Thank you."

"..."

"Could you close your eyes and turn around? It's improper to look."

"..."

"Thank you."

See? Four eyes met, and neither had a word to say. They could only stare at each other... They had nothing in common! Forcing them together could never lead to happiness!

She needed to complain to Young Master Piao. She had to get a different job! The gatehouse, the dining hall, the privy—even working under that old lecher, the Minister of Revenue, would do. At least then she could keep an eye on him and stop him from doing anything improper to her little brother.

"Are you free tonight?"

Her hands paused on her belt. She turned around. "Huh? Ah? Young Master, are you talking to me?"

"..."

Who else would I be talking to? ...Ugh... Why did she have to understand his expression?

But was it really all right for one man to ask another man, "Are you free tonight?"

"Of course I'm not free tonight! I—I'm not exactly unpopular with women! A nightlife is indispensable to any red-blooded man!"