"Hey, so when were His Highness's legs crippled?"
"…"
Ashley Bowen was about to pry further when a cold, deep voice cut her off.
Yuri Sinclair reached the second floor in his wheelchair and suddenly looked back. "Going stir-crazy from boredom? And you think sunbathing really helps?"
"Uh…" Ashley Bowen bit her finger, her brow furrowed in thought. As she was trying to figure out how to respond, Yuri Sinclair's toneless voice drifted over. "No one's tying you down. You can go wherever you please."
Watching Yuri Sinclair and Aaron disappear down the corridor, Ashley Bowen immediately winked at Ryan Osborne. "Butler Osborne, did you hear that? His Highness said I'm free to come and go as I please!"
'That damn stone-faced man. He's practically had me under house arrest for a month!'
Ryan Osborne gave an awkward twitch of his lips and said, very reluctantly, "If the Imperial Concubine wishes to go anywhere, please just inform me. I will arrange for a car."
"I don't need you to arrange a car. Get me a bicycle. I want to go have fun by myself!" Ashley Bowen genuinely disliked this Butler Osborne; she always felt like he was looking at her askance.
Ryan Osborne agreed sullenly. "Very well. And when will the Imperial Concubine be needing it?"
"I'll need it by lunchtime. That shouldn't be too difficult, should it, Butler Osborne?" Ashley Bowen gloated inwardly. 'After being bossed around by this stone-faced butler for a month, I finally get to turn the tables and be the one in charge! This feels incredible. It's the first time I've actually felt like the lady of a wealthy house. Nice, very nice. Hehe.'
"It's already eleven-thirty. Perhaps it would be better to wait until after lunch?" Ryan Osborne glanced up at the enormous quartz clock on the wall, his expression troubled.
'I'm *trying* to make things difficult for you!' Ashley Bowen beamed. "But what if I don't want to eat lunch at home?"
"That's out of the question. His Highness has just returned. According to the Sinclair family's rules, you must stay and have lunch with him." Ryan Osborne frowned.
In the end, Ashley Bowen compromised. 'The Sinclair family rules are law. It's so infuriating!'
Lunch began promptly at 12:00 PM. The dining table was a massive, Western-style piece, five meters long and one-and-a-half meters wide. Yuri Sinclair, the master of the house, naturally sat at its head. Ashley Bowen was seated in the first chair to his left. The remaining twenty or so servants stood in two rows on either side of the table, simply watching them eat.
This was the first time Ashley Bowen had experienced such a grand display. Gazing at the ridiculously large table, she saw it would be difficult to even reach the serving dishes.
A maid opened the metal lid of a steamer, deboned the succulent fish, and carefully placed portions onto Yuri Sinclair's and Ashley Bowen's plates.
Ashley Bowen took a bite of the fish. It was incredibly bland—it tasted as if it had almost no salt or MSG at all. It was absolutely awful.
"Is the food to your liking?" Suddenly, Yuri Sinclair wiped his mouth with his napkin and spoke up.
Ashley Bowen, of course, wanted to be honest, but she felt a sharp pinch from behind. Feigning a smile, she nodded. "Yes, I'm quite used to it! This is exactly the kind of food you'd find on an enlightened monk's menu. It's sure to extend one's life!"
Everyone present looked awkward. Ryan Osborne couldn't help but let out a couple of coughs. 'Monks can eat meat? And something this luxurious? What a load of nonsense!'
"Enlightened monks?" Yuri Sinclair mulled over Ashley Bowen's words and suddenly shifted his wheelchair.
The moment he saw this, Ryan Osborne hurried over to grip the handles of the wheelchair. "Is Your Highness finished eating?" he asked obsequiously.
"I'm finished. I have a video conference." Yuri Sinclair glanced at Ashley Bowen, who was putting on an innocent face, his own expression impassive.