Not Your Typical Villianess

The Lu residence

Su Liya Stood from the bed and moved to stand beside Zhu Fenfang as she heard the servants guarding the hallway outside the nuptial room chorused greetings to the Duke.

"The Duke is here", Su Liya whispered and stood by the bed.

The door was pushed open and the Duke and the female wedding officiant walked in. Zhu Fengyin and the Duke completed the wedding ritual. Everyone stepped out as soon as they were done with the rituals leaving the couple to have their wedding night.

Su Liya was the last to leave, she shut the door tight and ran forward. She was exhausted after the long day. She had escorted Zhu Fengyin through all procedures carried out during the wedding ceremony. She ran into a solid male chest as she rushed forward.

Su Liya was knocked back slightly, she looked up as a rough hand held her steady. "Thank_ you," she said looking up at an eerie set of eyes. The set of eyes were a weird mix of greet and brown covered by long thick lashes arranged in a straight line. A scar ran from a little above the slim eyebrow to below the light green eyes.

Su Liya felt the hands on her Shoulders flex, Lu Yaozhu looked intently at her. She could tell that he was studying her face as she was studying his. Madam Lu was rumoured to be quite the vulture, it didn't take a genius to guess that she would have her spies planted in the main courtyard.

Zhu Fengyin just married into the marriage, with how strained the Lu family relationship with the Zhu Family had become, Madam Lu pretty much had it out for them. Su Liya wasn't about to give Zhu Fengyin's mother-in-law materials to hurt her. She stepped away from Lu Yaozhu quickly and muttering a greeting fled away from the scene.

The next morning Su Liya led Tian Tian and the rest of Zhu Fengyin's dowry maid's into Zhu Fengyin's room to help her get prepared for the tea ceremony. Xiaojun and the Duke's servants already waited by the door when they arrived.

Both parties exchanged greetings as they waited outside the room for the right time to wake their masters. An hour and a half later Zhu Fengyin and Lu Yingjie were both dressed and walked side by side to madam Lu's place.

Madam Lu was just as Su Liya imagined cold and calculating. She didn't leave Zhu Fengyin any escape route and instead picked on all of Zhu Fengyin faults. By the end of the day, Madam Lu made her stance on the marriage obvious. Zhu Fengyin had already predicted this response and tolerated every hardship.

Madam Lu saw Zhu Fengyin as an eyesore so they didn't stay long at her courtyard. Once the tea service was concluded she sent Zhu Fengyin away. Duke Wu escorted his new wife back to her rooms before leaving for court.

Lu Yingjie was cordial to Zhu Fengyin, they had dinner together and had some small talks but apart from having the standard conversations regarding the household management, He never let anything slip.

He was quite cautious around her, so were the servants but unlike his mother, he didn't make it obvious. Su Liya didn't run into Lu Yaozhu again until a few days later. Su Liya ran into the general at the garden close to the main courtyard.

Su Liya had stepped out to have her lunch while Zhu Fengyin had a nap. The Lu family residence was a little different from the minister's residence. There were a lot more servants assigned to Zhu Fengyin, so she was forced to share rooms with three other maids.

Two of which she suspected were madam Lu's spies, they paid close attention to every action she took. Su Liya couldn't eat comfortably because of the nosy bunch l, who for the past few days judged her every action.

It was so irritating how often those two had an opinion, they once commented on her eating habits because they say her eating from Zhu Fengyin's snack bowl.

Su Liya looked around as she walked into the garden, there wasn't a soul in sight. She let out a breath of relief and took out her launch from her sleeves.

Su Liya sat crossed-legged on the bench next to a tall flower bed and began munching on her lunch. She hadn't eaten to her fill during breakfast so she was famished. The ever-helpful bunch of nosy older maids had accompanied She and Tian Tian during breakfast. She could barely eat a few spoons without being chided by the nagging aunties.

Su Liya sighed heavily after eating to her fill "now this is the feeling", she said rubbing her tummy gently. When she heard a soft male voice ask

"Was it good?" Su Liya replied "Yes ah_" only to stop midway when her mind cleared. She quickly looked up, Lu Yaozhu stood a few steps away dressed in dark blue robes, his hair was all packed up.

"Gen... General Lu", Su Liya stood.

Lu Yaozhu waved her off "there no need for all this tiresome ceremony, please seat down", Lu Yaozhu said moving forward.

Su Liya replied "Thank you General " and sat down.

Lu Yaozhu stood by the cherry tree opposite Su Liya and asked "Why are you eating here? it's a bit far from the main courtyard".

Su Liya smiled "I came out to get some fresh air", she said with a straight face. Madam Lu was Lu Yaozhu's mother, after all, she couldn't just tell him that she ran to the garden to hide from his mother's monitoring squad. She could only lie through her nose to avoid ruffling any feathers.

"oh, are there no fresh air at the main courtyard that you would have to travel so far?", he asked in a bored tone.

Su Liya felt her heart sink, why was he trying to be difficult, wasn't Lu Yaozhu written to be taciturn and unconcerned with the activities of others. why was he acting out of character?

Su Liya grit her teeth silently and replied "the residence has a lot of beautiful sceneries, I wanted to enjoy some of the scenery while eating".

"Really? so you aren't hiding here to avoid getting scolded by other maids"

"of course not!" she replied loudly.

"hmm, that's what I thought. You haven't given me an answer to my previous question Miss Su" he looked down at her.

Su Liya could see something spark in his eyes, his lips were tugged up a little almost like he was holding a laugh but she quickly dismissed that thought and replied "What question?"

Lu Yaozhu's Lips curved up " I asked if the meal was tasty".

"Yes! it was tasty that is", she said nodding.

Lu Yaozhu looked at her nervous expression and smiled "I am starving but I sent Yu Tao on an errant. would you please get me a tray from the kitchen?", he said bending to her eye level.

"um... um I, why don't I tell the kitchen to make you some food. This may not be to your liking" she replied quickly.

"oh I don't mind, I am a soldier Miss Su. I am used to eating pretty much anything, plus you said that it was tasty. I will trust your judgement" he said and turned around to look down at the small fish pond at the centre of the garden.

As if to tell her that the conversation was over. Su Liya bit her lips gently, he seemed a little stubborn, she might not be able to convince him otherwise. Su Liya turned around and went to the kitchen.