Alaric picked up another piece, a pale yellow thin blouse with a floral long skirt, smiling, "Madam, how about this one?"
Pearl looked at it, her face still calm, and said softly, "Hmm, not bad."
Actually, Pearl felt it was more convenient to wear men's clothes when she went out. She was too lazy to wear these complicated clothes even when staying in the mansion.
After looking at all the clothes, Pearl's expression remained indifferent. She neither said she liked them nor disliked them.
Alaric held the pale yellow blouse with flowers and came beside Pearl, "Let me help Madam try this on, I think it's nice."
Pearl said calmly, "No need to try. These are all nice. Keep them all."
Alaric smiled lightly, "Alright, since Madam likes them, I'll keep them all."
He put the long skirt back, then carried a tray over. On it were colorful pieces of cloth.
Sitting in front of Pearl, he picked up the bright red fabric on top, embroidered with vivid mandarin ducks playing in water, smiling, "Madam, how about this color for a belly band? With your fair skin, it will definitely look beautiful."
Pearl's face darkened looking at the mandarin duck belly band.
Did she really have no privacy in front of this man? Seeing his smiling face, she really wanted to slap him.
Seeing her serious face, Alaric picked up another blue belly band, embroidered with delicate pear blossoms pressing against crabapple flowers, and smiled, "Madam, how about this one? I think it will also look good on you."
Pearl gave him a dark look, but he didn't notice and picked up a pure white one, smiling, "Madam might also like to wear this one."
He kept showing her belly bands of different colors and patterns, as if she was already wearing them in front of him.
Pearl felt frustrated again. This damn man was always thinking about how to overwhelm her.
"Madam, which ones do you like? I'll keep them for you."
Pearl finally gave him a cold look, then silently picked up a book to read.
Alaric leaned close to her ear and whispered with a smile, "How about Madam wears these belly bands and changes them every day for me to see?"
After saying that, he quickly kissed her cheek, then took the tray with the belly bands and left the room.
Pearl felt a fierce fire rise in her heart. She was so angry. This damn man was teasing her again.
All day long, Pearl endured the cold, but Alaric seemed not to notice. Whenever possible, he stuck close to her.
At meals, he fed her; when reading, he hugged her to read together; when taking a walk to digest, he held her little hand.
After bathing, Alaric got into bed and started to stick close again. One big hand began to wander on Pearl's body.
He said, "Madam, your body is so soft, it feels so good to touch."
His face rubbed against hers, "You smell nice too. I really like it."
Pearl put down her book, darkened her face, and quickly pushed him away, "Stay away from me."
Alaric was pushed back but quickly clung on again, holding her tightly. His low, husky voice softly coaxed, "Madam, please give yourself to me. I promise to be gentle and make you comfortable."
Pearl was furious. She twisted his arm hard, making him wince.
Then she pushed him away with force, glaring coldly, "If you dare do anything again, I swear you will never be able to use it your whole life."
Alaric froze there, his face showing restraint, brows furrowed, but he did not come closer again.
They stared at each other, one holding back, the other cold and harsh.
Alaric spoke first, "Does the lady really resist her husband so much?"
Pearl just gave a cold laugh, mocking him as if he was stating the obvious.
"Fine…" Alaric's voice turned cold, as if forcing the words through his teeth, chilling and dark, "Your husband won't touch you then."
He moved over to lie on the other side, his whole presence heavy with gloom.
Pearl withdrew her gaze, picked up her book and kept reading. Seeing he made no move, she quietly relaxed, finally having him under control.
She read until sleepy, then put the book down and fell asleep.
The room was bright when Pearl opened her eyes. It was another day.
She wasn't being held close anymore. Thinking back on last night, she breathed out in relief. Looks like she could have some quiet time now.
She got up and saw Alaric was already gone. She washed up and ate breakfast: goat milk, soup buns, vegetable buns, meat rolls, sesame peanut buns.
Drinking the goat milk, Pearl remembered something. After breakfast, she called Servant Xin over.
Servant Xin bowed respectfully, "Servant Xin greets the lady."
Pearl asked, "Servant Xin, do you usually eat beef on the estate?"
"Beef?!" Servant Xin's eyes widened in shock, looking at Pearl uncertainly. "Lady, are you talking about the beef from the work oxen?!"
"Work oxen? Isn't there beef cattle raised just for eating on the estate?" Pearl asked, confused.
"Lady, we only have work oxen. There are no cattle raised specifically for food." Servant Xin looked confused as well.
If the lady thinks about eating beef, that breaks the law. No one can protect her if she does.
Servant Xin grew more alarmed and hurried to stop her. "Lady, work oxen can't be eaten. That breaks the law. The master will be punished too. We can't have this idea."
"Why is that?" Pearl asked, still curious.
"Because work oxen are our farmers' labor force. Also, work oxen are rare and hard to raise. The government made this law to protect farming and the harvest. No one is allowed to eat beef."
"Work oxen are rare?" Pearl was even more puzzled.
Servant Xin quickly explained, "Lady, you don't know how hard it is to raise a work ox."
"From a calf to adult takes more than two years. Every day you have to cut grass and feed it. If it gets sick, all that effort is wasted."
"Most oxen on our estate die after one or two years. Very few live past three. More oxen die than are born every year, so they are very scarce."
"I understand. I just wanted to ask. I'm not planning to eat beef." Pearl said calmly.
She sighed inside, missing the taste of braised beef noodles, tomato beef, potato beef, radish beef brisket, beef hotpot, roasted beef, and cold beef salad. Too bad beef is forbidden here.
Seeing Pearl confirm she wouldn't eat beef, Servant Xin relaxed.
"Servant Xin, what are the main products from your estate?" Pearl asked again.