Legend of Concubine's Daughter Minglan 知否知否 应是绿肥红瘦

C171. The Affairs, the Love, the People and the Silver of the Past (2)

Danju served the fruit to the main room. Before she left, she pondered for a while and then put a fresh red pomegranate in the bowl. Then she put the tea and the fruit in the room with a smile. Seeing that Minglan was only wearing little clothes, Danju took out an informal bluish white coat with red plum in the snow pattern and then threw it gently on Minglan's shoulder. At last, after Danju had turned up three of the sheepskin palace lanterns, she left slowly.

For all these years, Minglan always kept a good study habit. As she looked through the accounts, she didn't forget to make extracts (Although no one understands the things she has written). In the meantime, she also muttered something softly. Gu Tingye raised his head to glance at her, finding her jade-like face with blush and her peach-like cheek with pink lips seeming super adorable under the candlelight.

He then clenched his fists and coughed gently. Minglan looked up at him and only found the calm look on Gu Tingye's face. Then she heard him saying, "I need you to help me clean up the inner study tomorrow. I have already given all the things I want to move into the study to Sir Gongsun. I don't mind about other things, but I need two reliable maids to guard my things... It'll be the best if they don't know how to read." Minglan was about to say yes. However, when she heard his last words, she thought for a while and then answered, "I don't know the servants here very well. My own maids all know how to read. Xiaotao is the dumb one among them who hasn't learned to read for long. But I can guarantee you that she is a reliable girl. Let her guard your documents for the moment. I'll find someone else for you later. It's not easy to find dependable servants so quickly. As for these days... If you don't mind, I can tidy the study for you."

Whether the maids knew how to read was not important, the only thing that mattered was if the maids were reliable. Since he couldn't be sure of the loyalty of the maids, he found that it would be better to find ones who couldn't read. After all, it would be too easy for a maid who had been educated to peek at the documents and remember something. However, for those who didn't know how to read, they had to carry the documents out secretly if they wanted to steal the information. That was rather a dangerous move and they were easy to be caught.

Gu Tingye nodded with satisfaction. Then he frowned slightly, saying, "Why do they all know how to read? You have taught them that? Is that really necessary?"

Minglan nodded while saying with a serious look, "Only educated maids deserve an elegant madam like me." As a matter of fact, Minglan had only taught her maids how to read because she had needed them to read the rules of the House of Clear Dusk.

Gu Tingye raised his eyebrows. Right now, the golden line pattern on his dark blue silk robe was flickering slightly. The bluish white sleeping suit on him cast a bright light on his face, which made him seem even more charming. With his fists clenched and his lips curved, he smiled and said, "Nice, nice, Scholar Sheng, come help your husband grind the ink."

Minglan laughed and walked over to grind the ink for him. Meanwhile, she put on a bitter face on purpose while sighing with her head wagged, "Alas, the master hands of mine."

Gu Tingye stared at her while chuckling. Then he saw Minglan grinding the ink slowly and elegantly with her snow-like wrists, being a bit stunned. After a long while, Minglan had finished grinding a whole inkstone of ink and prepared to go back to her seat. However, Gu Tingye dragged her all of a sudden and asked calmly, "Don't you, have anything to ask me?"

Minglan found his question very abrupt. Then she asked in a daze, "Ask... about what?"

"Marquis Ningyuan's mansion." Gu Tingye replied, "Are you sure there is nothing you want to know?" The situation in Gu's mansion was super strange, which was obvious to anyone. Nonetheless, Minglan hadn't asked anything about that.