“What are you talking about…” Chang Yuncheng quickly came to his senses and said in a deep voice, but he didn’t drive him away again. He picked up the book on the table once more, though his gaze didn’t fall upon it.

Fan Yilin moved from his chair to one closer to the desk.

“Lord, having such a husband, the Young Madam is truly blessed,” he said with feeling.

Right, right, this damned woman really doesn’t know how good she has it!

Chang Yuncheng held the book without moving.

“To be honest with you, Lord, I’m not from around here. I only heard about the Young Madam’s background last night…”

“…With the Young Madam’s origins, for the Lord to still treat her this way is truly admirable and moving…”

Fan Yilin became more excited as he spoke, simply standing up and leaning against the desk.

Chang Yuncheng listened to him talk, actually ignoring his casual movements.

“…Though I’ve only had brief contact twice, I can tell that the Young Madam’s temperament isn’t very good…” Fan Yilin finally got to the point, looking at Chang Yuncheng with some caution, his gaze falling on the wound on his forehead. “This is… the Young Madam hit you?”

This time Chang Yuncheng neither sneered nor glared angrily.

“It was an accident, she didn’t mean it,” he said slowly, putting down the book in a muffled voice.

“What intentional or unintentional, hurting the Lord is just too much,” Fan Yilin said indignantly.

Chang Yuncheng glanced at him with warning.

Fan Yilin quickly made a shushing gesture.

“Well, Lord…” he thought for a moment and lowered his voice, “your relationship with the Young Madam… is somewhat troubled.”

Chang Yuncheng ignored him, flipping through the book on the table.

“I speak plainly, so if I say something wrong, Lord, please bear with me,” Fan Yilin continued, seeing Chang Yuncheng had no reaction, he relaxed. “Well, Lord, the reason the Young Madam is so volatile, I think it’s related to your not returning home for many years, right?”

Chang Yuncheng snorted inwardly. What, was his three years away and mistreating her also common knowledge?

Three years away – did he want that?

Of course, to say it was deliberate, there was some of that, but it wasn’t specifically aimed at her. It was because he didn’t want to come back, didn’t want to enter this household…

“With imperial orders, can I make my own decisions?” He slammed the book shut with a snap and said in a deep voice.

“Exactly.” Fan Yilin immediately agreed loudly. “This kind of thing isn’t something the Lord can decide. If one could return, who wouldn’t want to go home? Suffering alone in a distant, bitter cold place!”

Chang Yuncheng’s expression softened slightly. It seemed everyone was reasonable, only that woman was being unreasonable!

“How can you call it suffering? As a soldier, serving the emperor loyally is duty,” he said lightly, correcting this young master who had probably never known what a bitter cold place was, having been raised in luxury.

Fan Yilin nodded and agreed with a chuckle.

“But,” he said, his tone shifting after the laughter, “Lord, this woman is different from ordinary people.”

What’s different? Chang Yuncheng couldn’t help but look up at him.

“This woman’s mind,” Fan Yilin pointed to his own head, lowering his voice, “is completely different from us men.”

That’s right, that woman’s mind is indeed quite strange…

So it seems…

Could it be that all women in the world are like this?

Chang Yuncheng’s expression showed some curiosity.

Fan Yilin leaned back in his chair.

“Look, take your three years away. You, I, and even the common people all think this is duty, what a gentleman should do,” he said seriously, casually picking up a brush from the desk and playing with it. “But the Young Madam definitely wouldn’t think this way. She would certainly think you did it on purpose, that you don’t care about her, that you didn’t want to see her, that you deliberately neglected her…”

That’s right, this damned woman was essentially fixated on those three years!

“Absolutely ridiculous!” Chang Yuncheng said with a dark face.

Fan Yilin nodded. Beauty, for the sake of your future marital harmony and happiness, I’ve really put in effort. I hope the beauty will know my good intentions in the future, though even if she doesn’t, it’s fine. He, Fan Yilin, was just this kind of person who cherished beauty, willing to hide his achievements and fame.

“However, the word ‘woman’ is equivalent to the word ‘unreasonable,'” he said with a smile, coughing as if his throat was dry.

Chang Yuncheng glanced at him.

“Someone, serve tea,” he called out.

The young servant standing outside was very surprised. He hadn’t expected this son-in-law of the Wang family to not only avoid being driven away with a few words, but to actually be served tea. What was wrong with the Lord today? Wasn’t he in a very bad mood?

The servant didn’t dare delay and immediately came in to serve tea to both men.

Fan Yilin exchanged pleasantries and drained his cup in one gulp.

“Mm, mm, good tea,” he said with a face full of admiration.

Less nonsense, Chang Yuncheng glanced at him.

Fan Yilin quickly read the situation and put down his teacup.

“Where was I?” he said, then slapped his forehead. “Unreasonable, these women, you can’t reason with them. Their logic is ‘whatever I say is right,’ so if you try to reason with them, it’s absolutely impossible to get through.”

That’s right, this damned woman was never reasonable.

Chang Yuncheng nodded.

“But from another perspective, it’s actually normal for the Young Madam to think this way,” Fan Yilin said with a smile.

Chang Yuncheng frowned.

“As the saying goes, ‘care leads to chaos, deep love leads to harsh criticism,'” Fan Yilin said with a smile. “The Young Madam cares too much about you, so she holds such grudges. If it were anyone else, any other person in the household, do you think she would be so unreasonable?”

With other people in the household, Chang Yuncheng suddenly understood.

That’s right, look at how that woman treated other family members – whether it was Chang Yunqi, Chang Chunlan, or even her own grandmother’s family, she was extremely reasonable with them all. Only with him was she unreasonably troublesome.

Was it because… she cared about him?

Chang Yuncheng’s heart suddenly warmed.

Seeing the man before him suddenly show a strange silly smile, Fan Yilin was startled instead.

Really? Just one sentence made him this happy? This naive boy was too… innocent.

Chang Yuncheng straightened his expression and looked at Fan Yilin.

“Alright, you can go now. Show the guest out,” he said, standing up.

Just crossing the bridge and removing the planks, Fan Yilin stared.

“Lord, though you now know the Young Madam’s feelings, what do you plan to do?” he asked.

What business is it of yours, Chang Yuncheng’s face clearly said.

Of course it’s my business. If such a beauty can’t be carefully cherished and protected, it would be a tragedy. How could he, Fan Yilin, watch such a beauty suffer?

“You’re not planning to have a good talk with the Young Madam, are you? Or explain things?” he asked.

What else could he do?

“Just talk things through clearly,” Chang Yuncheng said.

Fan Yilin shook his head and sighed.

“Lord, you’ve forgotten what I said. Women can’t be reasoned with,” he said. “The Young Madam has caused scenes before, hasn’t she?”

Chang Yuncheng paused. These matters between husband and wife, he really didn’t want to discuss with outsiders, especially this smooth-talking young man…

“The Young Madam has caused scenes before, so given your character, Lord, you naturally tried to move her with emotion and convince her with reason, right?” Fan Yilin asked with a grin.

Of course, I’m naturally a reasonable person, Chang Yuncheng nodded slightly.

Fan Yilin chuckled.

“Then the result was definitely that things were fine at the time, but she made scenes again later, right?” he asked with a smile.

Chang Yuncheng’s face darkened.

“When she made scenes again, she still held onto old grievances, right?” Fan Yilin continued asking.

Chang Yuncheng’s expression froze slightly.

“After the scene, she would still say you were being unreasonable, right?” Fan Yilin asked again.

Chang Yuncheng looked at Fan Yilin, his expression unable to hide his surprise.

Qiu Xiang hurried through the door curtain, and A’Ru quickly looked over.

“Young Madam,” she said with some joy, bowing.

Qi Yue didn’t look up and hummed acknowledgment.

“The Lord said he’s going out to eat with Young Master Fan, so he won’t be joining you for lunch, Young Madam,” Qiu Xiang said happily.

Qi Yue hummed again, then suddenly looked up.

“What?” she asked, looking at Qiu Xiang with a knowing smile. “Hey, did you embellish the message again?”

Qiu Xiang quickly shook her head.

“No, no, Young Madam. That’s exactly what the Lord said,” she said urgently.

“Really?” Qi Yue didn’t believe it.

“Really, why would this servant lie to you? If you don’t believe me, go ask the servants in the outer study – everyone heard it,” Qiu Xiang said anxiously.

Only then did Qi Yue believe it.

“Won’t be joining me for lunch?” she repeated, looking up at A’Ru. “He actually said something like that? His head wasn’t hit too hard, was it?”

A’Ru quickly shushed her.

Qi Yue smiled and said nothing.

“Since that’s the case, Qiu Xiang, go tell the Lord that because I need to practice surgery for Yan’er, I won’t be coming back for dinner tonight and might return late,” she said, pausing, “so I won’t be able to join him for dinner either.”

Qiu Xiang happily agreed and left.

In the finest restaurant in Yongqing Prefecture, in a premium private room, Fan Yilin was already drunk, squinting as he touched the wine pot. Hearing the servant’s report, he couldn’t help but chuckle.

Chang Yuncheng maintained his usual expression, nodding with a stern face and saying he understood.

“How about it, Lord? Women need to be coaxed, not reasoned with. For them, sweet words are reason,” Fan Yilin said, sprawling on the silk cushions. “See, it’s nothing serious. Just say a few nice words and they’ll immediately treat you well. You definitely never said nice things to the Young Madam before, always with a stern face… yes, yes, just like now… even when caring, you put on an ‘I don’t care’ expression…”

Chang Yuncheng’s expression grew even uglier from his words.

“Flowery words and smooth talk, what’s good about that? These women are truly boring,” he said in a deep voice. He was both pleased and dissatisfied with Qi Yue’s reaction, not knowing what to feel.

“Good? There’s nothing good or bad about it. Women are like flowers – they need tending, need care, need to be kept happy every day, as if soaked in honey water, to bloom beautifully and last long,” Fan Yilin said with a smile, touching the wine pot and becoming increasingly uncomfortable. He winked at Chang Yuncheng. “Lord, ahem, what’s the fun in two grown men drinking alone? Why don’t we call for some girls?”