His Rui

Raising her head, she saw Xi Ying who was looking down at her hands with a frown.

Xi Ying disliked the things that were dirty, Li Rui knew. She was about to tell him that he could go to the living room and she would be there in a few moments but she saw him walking towards the only table placed in the garden.

He came back soon with the clean cloth in his hand this time.

"Come here."

But Li Rui looked at him in confusion and didn't stand up. Seeing her dazed look, Xi Ying sighed and kneeled down in front of her.

She saw him taking her one hand and wiping it with the cloth very gently and carefully.

He still had a frown on his face as he muttered

"Why do you need to do it yourself? Just ask your maids to do anything you want."

Hearing these words, Liu Lan nodded her head agreeing while Li Hua was still trying to register what she was seeing, in her mind.

She was stilled when she suddenly saw a man entering the backyard but she soon recognized him. She had seen Lord Xi when he had visited her mistress at her first night in Xi Manor but after that also left soon.

But what was Lord Xi doing in Plum Courtyard?

Seeing the man who was her mistress' husband but didn't visit her in the past four years, naturally, made her furious. He even took away her mistress' child.

Now the same man was kneeling in front of her mistress was wiping her hands so casually.

What has changed when she was not here? Li Hua wondered as she watched everything with a dazed expression on her face.

It was not her fault. She has been inside her room for the past few weeks. Since her wound was still recovering, Li Rui didn't allow her to walk too much.

It was only today that she came out of her room with Li Rui's permission but never in her dreams or nightmares, had Li Hua imagined seeing such a scene. 

"We should leave." Liu Lan whispered in her ear in a very low voice not wanting to disturb the ambiguous atmosphere between her mistress and Lord Xi.

Li Hua didn't say anything as she was dragged outside by Liu Lan slowly.

On the other hand, feeling the absence of her maids made Li Rui a bit uncomfortable. She tried to take her hand back but Xi Ying didn't let her.

"Why is Lord bothering about such a small thing? This wangfei can do this by herself." She tried to take the cloth from Xi Ying's hands but Xi Ying raised her head to look at her calmly.

For a moment, his calm gaze suddenly made Li Rui take her hand back with guilt that she should not be feeling in the first place.

However, he couldn't maintain her calm when he saw the soil on Li Rui's nose and temple. She looked so cute to him that he could not control himself and pecked her lips lightly. When he saw Li Rui's shocked eyes, a smile appeared on his lips as he shook her head making Li Rui confused.

"Such a hard-working wangfei I have gotten."

Xi Ying said and then wiped the soil from her face. Only then Li Rui came to know that there was soil on her face but….he still kissed her.

In the next few moments, Xi Ying just cleaned Li Rui's hands while Li Rui looked at him. He didn't let her do anything.

After he was finished and raised her head, Li Rui calmly looked away and thanked him in a low voice.

"Have you eaten your dinner yet?"

She shook her head at his question. Xi Ying smiled and said

"Then we will have it together."

The dinner was served soon. Like every day, Xi Ying first filled Li Rui's plate.

Li Hua was still standing with Liu Lan and saw this. When she saw Xi Ying putting something spicy in the plate, she frowned and said very respectfully

"My Lord, Lady Li can't eat so much spicy food."

Her mistress stomach would ache if she ate this kind of food and Li Hua didn't want this.

Xi Ying raised his head to look at her and then silently put back the dish in the plate.

When they finished, Liu Lan helped Xi Ying in washing his hands while Li Hua helped Li Rui.

Putting the basin under Li Rui's hands, she said

"My Lady."

And Li Rui washed her hands in the basin.

"Call her wangfei."

Li Rui and Li Hua, both stopped when they heard Xi Ying's words. A frown marred Li Hua's forehead as she looked at the young Minister.

Very fearlessly she said

"As my Lord wishes but this servant will take some time, after all, this one has been calling My Lady like this since long including the past few years."

Li Lan gasped and covered her mouth in shock. Li Hua had indirectly taunted Lord Xi for not visiting wangfei for the past four years.

Li Rui was surprised when she heard these words from Li Hua's mouth. She had never thought that Li Hua could also speak so sharply.

On the other hand, Xi Ying's face was cold. He could feel the maid's hostility towards himself. He had heard how Li Mei had spoken against him in front of Li Rui.

So he felt that Li Hua would also do the same which would make Li Rui more distant.

He knew that the maid was closer to Li Rui so he felt irritated with her presence and unconsciously expressed it but had not expected such an answer.

  Hearing the maid's words, he felt like he was punched in the gut especially when he saw silent Li Rui. Although Xi Ying knew that the past four years had been his fault but his ego would never let him accept it in front of a maid.

Bit he could not do anything to Li Ha because Li Rui won't be able to tolerate this. So he silently stood up from his chair and said

"I have some work so I will go to the study."

His fists were clenched as he left the courtyard.