In the carriage on the way back to the mansion, the couple sat facing each other.
A small table sat between them, holding a pot of hot tea.
When she saw the man across from her reach for the teapot, Cui Lingyao flatly refused. "I'm not drinking. Don't pour any for me."
"..." Xie Jinbai's hand paused. He lifted his gaze to glance at her, a corner of his mouth twitching. "Who said I was pouring this for you? Can't I have some myself?"
To Cui Lingyao, it sounded like he was telling her not to be so presumptuous.
She felt a pang of awkwardness. The memory of the six portraits of beautiful women she had received that morning made her throat tighten.
Silence fell between them.
Xie Jinbai leisurely sipped his warm tea. Seeing her cold and distant expression, he spoke up. "I left the palace and went to the Tea Garden, where I ran into Minzhi. He told me you were at his mansion, so I came over to get you."
Minzhi was Zhao Shijie's courtesy name.
