Bai Yu Yan’s eyes nearly fell out of her socket seeing the number of gifts that Lu Tong Xiao had prepared for their visit to the Bai manor. It was the time of evening when the sky was painted in the golden color of the near setting sun. As someone who loved her work, Bai Yu Yan usually didn’t feel tired after coming home from her work unless the day didn't go well. But the mere thought of going to her maiden house drained the energy out of her body.

“Are we taking all these?” She pointed towards the stack of small and large boxes neatly arranged in the carriage. The pile looked like a small mountain.

Lu Tong Xiao seriously nodded his head. “Are we missing anything?”

Seriously? Bai Yu Yan couldn’t control the twitch in her eye. Was this man joking? 200 years old ginseng, bolts of the finest silk, jewelry, gold taels, expensive paintings and calligraphies, and he was asking if anything was missing? But looking at his serious face, he didn’t seem to be joking.

“Your Excellency, I am afraid we don’t have enough space in the carriage.” Bai Yu Yan turned to point at the large space occupied by it. There was almost no space for them to sit.

You shouldn’t be calling me that anymore. Lu Tong Xiao swallowed his words and stretched his arm to pull her hand pointing at the carriage. “Don’t worry, these will be carried in a separate carriage.”

The man was just too rich. Suppressing the sigh in her heart, Bai Yu Yan got into the carriage. They were closely followed by another carriage full of gifts and a few servants to help them along the way. Lu Tong Xiao sat beside her as they departed to the Bai manor.

Although neither of the two said anything about their intimate moment the other day, their relationship was slowly but surely having a subtle change. The servants could see the distance between them closing in.

Lu Tong Xiao quietly smiled when he saw that she wasn’t conscious of his touch earlier. Does it mean that she was getting used to him?

On the side, Bai Yu Yan who had no idea about his thoughts was thinking about what happened in the afternoon.

“I heard Matriarch Gu and Madame Gu visited your shop today?” Lu Tong Xiao casually asked as he pushed the plate of snacks towards Bai Yu Yan.

Although Bai Yu Yan didn’t have lunch in the afternoon, she was not feeling hungry. So she pushed the plate back and replied, “Um. Matriarch Gu’s birthday is coming up. And they want me to make her a dress for the birthday celebration.” She turned her head to look at him. “How do you know about it?”

“Gu Jin told me about it.” He deliberately left out the part where he coerced Gu Jin to spread the rumor about Consort Shu’s designer in the upper circle so that it could reach the ears of the General's household.

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“Don’t worry. You don’t have to be on guard against them.” He knew she had unknowingly irked the Empress for designing the dress for Consort Shu which outshined the Empress. So he was telling her to work with a peace of mind with this new client. Unbeknown to him, Matriarch Gu was dissatisfied for not meeting Bai Yu Yan earlier and making her granddaughter-in-law. In the General’s house, Gu Jin was having a hard time pacifying his grandmother.

Lu Tong Xiao poured tea in a cup and again pushed the snacks along with it. “I heard you didn’t have anything at lunch?”

The man had probably overheard about her skipping lunch when Xiao Fan was nagging her to eat something after they arrived home. She wanted to say she was not hungry but noticed the snacks on the plate.

There were small buns stuffed with duck meat and coated with flower syrup. Before departing, Bai Yu Yan had heard him asking Xiao Fan to bring some snacks for their way. She had thought he was restocking the food in the carriage for traveling but now noticing her favorite snack deliciously lying on the plate, she couldn’t deny he had done it for her. Because as far as she knew, he didn’t like to eat sweet food.

But then she remembered they were going for dinner. “Aren’t we going there for a meal anyway?” she asked.

“Eat this a little for now. We don’t know when they’ll serve dinner.” He looked at her, silently prompting her to eat it.

Bai Yu Yan let her gaze fall on the plate, picked up the small-sized buns and chewed on it. The sweet and savory taste spread in her mouth. She could feel his eyes were still lingering on her. The last time she remembered he was still sneaking peeks at her but now, he was openly doing it. The man’s progress was definitely not slow.

“Want some?” she offered in an attempt to act unaffected under his eyes.

Lu Tong Xiao shook his head. With his head resting on the back of the seat, he continued looking at her.

After finishing the bun in her hand, she couldn’t resist eating two more, after which, the coachman informed them of their arrival.

“Yu Yan”

Hearing his deep and mellow voice call her name, she turned her head to look at him. It was probably the first time he had called her with her first name and she had no idea it would sound so good when it escaped the lips of this man.

Lu Tong Xiao gently tucked a lock of her silky hair behind her ear and held her cheeks in both his hands, “You are my wife. Remember, no matter what happens, I’ll always have your back.”

Bai Yu Yan’s pupils dilated at his words and the sincere expression he was looking at her with. A gush of warmth spread inside her chest, catching her unprepared. She blinked her eyes not letting it linger on his devilishly handsome face.

She chewed the inside of her cheeks to make her expression appear normal. The man who used his words like gold couldn’t have said it just to flirt with her. It took her a second to realize the purpose of his words. He had probably known about Bai Yu Yan’s situation in the Bai house and the treatment she received from the Bai family.

So, was he reassuring her if they poked her, she didn’t have to tolerate it and could fight back without worrying about the consequence?

“Then...I’ll have to trouble Your Excellency!” Bai Yu Yan held his wrist and looked back at him with a smile.

Seeing her smile in response, Lu Tong Xiao’s heart itched to capture those delicious lips. Having captured them once, he couldn’t help but think of its taste all day, even when he was having an intense meeting with the senior officials and ministers. But the coachman’s reminder from outside and seeing her perfect makeup that he didn’t want to ruin, he held himself back. He closed his eyes and breathed in through the nose to suppress the rising temptation. It seems that every time he wanted to catch her off guard, he was the one at a loss for words.