Transmigrated Female Official

Chu Yilin glanced at Chu Qingluo, then sighed again, this time even louder than before.

After so many twists and turns, a good result was finally achieved. Chu Qingluo couldn't help but exclaim excitedly, "What 'oh'?! Can't you explain things properly to Madam Luo?!"

"I explained, but she wouldn't listen, and there was nothing I could do," Chu Yilin said with a gloomy face.

"..." Chu Qingluo gritted her teeth in exasperation and said, "Then I'll go explain to Madam Luo for you!" After saying that, she turned to leave, but Ji Qiran stopped her in time.

He said softly, "Don't jump to conclusions."

"Pfft—" Chu Yilin couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.

Chu Qingluo finally snapped out of her daze and looked at the two of them with a mixture of anger and annoyance: "You two conspired to lie to me?!"

"It's not a lie!" Chu Yilin said with a grin, putting his arm around her shoulder. "It's called teasing."

Chu Qingluo shoved her elbow hard, saying, "I was worried for you!"

Chu Yilin cried out in pain, clutching his ribs, and said, "You went way too far!"

"Who told you to lie to me? This is a small punishment to teach you a lesson."

"Don't you believe in your brother's charm at all? Is there ever a time when I, Chu Yilin, can't handle him?"

"Tch!" Chu Qingluo rolled her eyes at him dismissively and said, "There are plenty more like that, I'm too lazy to even call you out on it."

Seeing that Chu Yilin was still rubbing his stomach, she asked again, "Has Second Brother already spoken to Mother? When do you plan to become an apprentice?"

"As soon as I got back, I told them that after burning incense and paying respects to our ancestors, my mother immediately went to prepare for the initiation ceremony."

Thinking of her mother's expression when she heard the good news, Chu Qingluo couldn't help but laugh: "Mother must be overjoyed."

"But I also told my mother not to rush, to take her time preparing, so that I could enjoy my freedom for as long as possible."

"You really are annoying..." Chu Qingluo couldn't find the words to criticize him anymore, so she simply ignored him and turned to Ji Qiran, who was watching the commotion from the side, and said, "Wait here for me, I'll come find you later."

Ji Qiran was taken aback at first, then raised an eyebrow and said, "...Okay."

Although he didn't think Chu Qingluo could have anything good to do by contacting him, he never expected that her trip back to Ningxiang Courtyard was actually to return the jade pendant to him.

“I told you, I can’t accept this,” she said.

"Um...you guys talk." Seeing the change in Ji Qiran's expression, Chu Yilin wisely made his way out first.

Ji Qiran stared at the jade pendant Chu Qingluo offered, but didn't take it. He simply said, "Your name is engraved on the back of this pendant. If you don't want it, then throw it away."

“…Alright.” Chu Qingluo sighed softly, said nothing more, and put the jade pendant away.

Ji Qiran, of course, didn't want her to actually throw it away, and couldn't help but ask, "It's just a gift, is it really necessary for you to be so resistant?"

"Isn't it because this thing is very meaningful?" Chu Qinglu thought to herself, but didn't say it aloud.

"Even if you lose your things and continue to ignore me, do you think I'll give up?"

Chu Qingluo pouted helplessly and muttered, "Then why are you so persistent?"

Ji Qiran coldly replied, "Just like you said, that's my business."

She met his dark eyes and realized she truly had no way to win him over...

"Fine, fine. Since you insist on giving me this, it's my business what I do with it." With that, she waved the jade pendant in her hand and bid farewell to Ji Qiran: "I'm going back now. Do as you please."

"..." Ji Qiran, feeling utterly frustrated, could only watch Chu Qingluo leave in silence.

When will she finally look back at him again?

……

The Chu family prepared the initiation gift for Chu Yilin in just three days, but Chu Yilin kept making excuses and dragged it out for more than ten days without sending it to the Luo family.

This prompted Luo Lifei to personally come to the Chu family again, and in the end, she dragged Chu Yilin out the door by the ear.

Watching this scene, Chu Qingluo sighed sincerely, "Truly, there's always someone who can subdue another..."

However, without Chu Yilin, the Chu family seemed to have lost a lot of its fun for Chu Qingluo. This made her suddenly realize that she didn't want to move away from here at all, and didn't want to go to the house in the east of the city.

Because it would be too deserted!

Having spent so much time together, she had long since grown accustomed to Chu's mother and everyone in the Chu family. So she made a momentous decision: she would stay at the Chu family home and never leave! She even planned to convert one of the courtyards of the new house into a factory so that she could mass-produce cotton pillows, clothing, or other things in the future.

When Chu's mother heard Chu Qingluo's idea, she thought she was crazy.

"You won't live in such a fine imperial residence? If you won't, then let me live there!" At this moment, Chu's mother was sitting on a stool, looking at Chu Qingluo with disbelief.

Although Chu's mother was happy for Chu Qingluo to continue living under the same roof with her, she thought it would be better for the whole family to move to the new house.

"Oh, Mother—!" Chu Qinglu walked over, put her arm around her mother's shoulder from behind, and said, "If you want to live in the new house, I'm naturally willing. It's just that our Chu family mansion is currently located in the heart of Yancheng City, which is both bustling and conveniently located. Look, whether it's going to the famous clothing stores or the pastry shops, they're all relatively close, isn't that convenient?"

“You’re absolutely right, but it feels like such a waste to leave a mansion bestowed by the emperor unused.”

"Mother, you can rest assured. There are still several courtyards that we haven't figured out how to arrange yet. I'll personally arrange one for you. You can do whatever you want with it and go to stay whenever you want. How about that?"

Hearing her say that, Chu's mother thought for a moment before reluctantly pouting and saying, "Alright then." She then added, "Remember, you'll have to pay for the renovation of the house."

Chu Qinglu chuckled and said, "Okay, I'll pay!"

……

Inside the famous clothing store.

Looking out at the heavy snow mixed with rain, August sighed deeply.

Seeing him staring at the door and sighing, Chu Qingluo couldn't help but ask, "Are you waiting for someone, August?"

August replied: "Yes. The day before yesterday, Miss Wu came to the shop to order a new dress. She said she needed it for her coming-of-age ceremony tomorrow, so she was in a real hurry! She had Lingnan and Dongxu work overnight to finish it. They clearly agreed to pick it up at noon today, but now it's almost dark and the Wu family hasn't come to pick it up yet."

"Which Miss Wu?" Chu Qingluo asked, puzzled.

"She said she lived on Shili Street in the north of the city. When she came the day before yesterday, you weren't in the neighborhood, ward master."

“The north of the city… that’s a bit far.” Chu Qingluo thought for a moment and said, “I guess the weather is bad, or something has delayed them. How about this, you ride in my carriage and I’ll go and deliver it myself.”