The hall in the building where the old Estate Master lived was just as quiet.

Camellia cake seemed to be a daily necessity for the old Estate Master — always present in the camellia courtyard, made fresh every day.

The old Estate Master led Feng Jiu inside, while the servants, as was customary, placed a wooden figure in the seat beside the old Estate Master.

It was a figure carved entirely of wood, and its face… Feng Jiu froze, staring at the wooden figure, a peculiar feeling stirring deep within her.

Because it was made of wood, its features weren’t very distinct, but… but why did it resemble her so much?

It resembled the her without disguise — resembled the old Feng Jiu’er! How could this be?

“What is this thing, take it away, take it away at once, don’t let it block my Long’er!” The old Estate Master, seeing the wooden figure occupying the seat that should belong to Long’er, immediately grew furious. “Quick!”

“But my lord, you have the young miss eat camellia cake every day…” Before the servant could finish, a cold glare from Long Yan silenced them.

“Take it away.” Long Yan glanced at Feng Jiu — the wooden figure didn’t resemble her in the least, really; he couldn’t understand at all where his lord saw any resemblance.

This face — the difference was enormous!

Still, looking closely, perhaps Feng Jiu’s silhouette did resemble the young miss from back then somewhat… well, so many years had passed, even Long Yan himself didn’t remember her clearly anymore.

Besides, Feng Jiu was a man — how could he resemble a woman? If he said so out loud, Sir Feng Jiu would probably be offended.

The old Estate Master had Feng Jiu sit in the chair beside him, suddenly losing all interest in the wooden figure he faced day and night.

“Long’er, come quickly and try your favorite camellia cake — look, it’s all made from pure white camellias, isn’t it as white as snow?”

“Long’er, try it, quickly!”

The old Estate Master was practically beside himself, as eager as if presenting a treasure, insisting that Feng Jiu try his favorite camellia cake.

Feng Jiu picked up her chopsticks and took a bite. As one piece of camellia cake went down, her eyes suddenly lit up. “Delicious!”

“Then eat more, eat more!” That single simple word — delicious — nearly brought tears to the old Estate Master’s eyes.

In the past, Long’er had never said a single word; every day he gave her so much camellia cake, and she never once responded.

But now, Long’er could finally speak, and had even said the camellia cake was delicious!

The old Estate Master kept piling more onto her plate, yet he himself never touched a single piece. With other pastries he might eat a little here and there, but camellia cake — he simply refused to touch it.

Anyone who didn’t know better might wonder if the camellia cake had been drugged, but Feng Jiu understood — the old Estate Master simply couldn’t bear to eat it himself.

“Our lord insists on a fresh batch of camellia cake every day, all for… for the one just now…”

“I understand.” Feng Jiu cut off the words Long Yan found too difficult to say.

The old Estate Master’s camellia cakes were meant for the wooden figure just now. She could already vaguely guess at the general situation — it must be the old Estate Master’s daughter, the woman called Long’er, who was no longer present. The old Estate Master, consumed by grief and longing for his daughter, had become like this, his mind unraveling.

She didn’t know what had happened to them in the past — that was someone else’s family secret, and she had no intention of digging further.

It was just that the wooden figure’s features really had resembled her own rather closely.

“Sir, I truly am sorry, please forgive us.” At this point, Long Yan had no other recourse.

Fortunately, the visitor didn’t seem upset in the least — this kindness, Long Yan would remember.

“Why would I need to forgive anything? Didn’t I just get to eat this delicious camellia cake?”

Very few people used camellia petals to make pastries — usually it was osmanthus cake or jujube paste cake. This was truly her first time tasting camellia cake.

And yet, the very first taste was enough to make Feng Jiu fall in love with the flavor.

The camellia’s fragrance wasn’t overpowering, quite mild, and it seemed several extra steps had gone into removing the inherent bitterness of the camellia before it was kneaded into the dough.

The pastry was sweet without being cloying, and best of all, after eating it, a faint trace of camellia fragrance lingered in the mouth, as if one’s whole being were immersed among camellia blossoms.

Long Yan still seemed uneasy. “It’s just… I’m worried about taking up too much of your time, sir.”

“If it troubles you so, then consider this a consultation I’m giving for your old Estate Master right now.” Feng Jiu said with a smile.

“A… consultation for the old Estate Master?” But the old Estate Master’s illness was an affliction of the heart — every physician had said it couldn’t be cured.

Even the Estate Master himself had given up; as long as the old Estate Master could live out his life in peace, the Estate Master would be content.

“Just consider it a consultation, then. You can pay me twenty taels for the diagnosis.”

“Twenty taels? No, absolutely not! How could you possibly accept only twenty taels, sir? That would be an insult to your reputation.”

“Steward Long, my consultation fees really aren’t high. I mainly deal in medicinal herbs — treating illness is just something I do on the side.”

Twenty taels for a whole morning was far too little for the wealthy, but for ordinary commoners, it was already a great deal, quite expensive.

The main issue was that she’d spent the entire morning out here — quite a long time — so charging too little didn’t seem fitting either.

“Sir, this… this really won’t do. How about this — I’ll give you a thousand taels, consider it…”

“Steward Long, with this kind of generosity, your estate will collapse sooner or later.” Feng Jiu wasn’t being sarcastic — she genuinely felt they were being far too lavish.

“You don’t need to worry about that, sir. If there’s one thing our estate doesn’t lack, it’s money.”

“…” Feng Jiu felt thoroughly humbled by her own naivety. What did it mean to be called the Number One Estate Under Heaven? If they weren’t extraordinarily wealthy, even with great power alone, they couldn’t carry such a name.

These people truly weren’t short on money, yet here she was, worrying about saving them coin.

“Sir, please don’t mind me — I’m a blunt sort of person, not good with words. I don’t mean anything by it, it’s just that our estate truly… truly doesn’t lack money. Besides, when it comes to spending on our lord, no amount is too much, so… so please don’t take offense, sir, I really…”

He didn’t even know how to explain himself properly. He truly meant nothing else by it, nor was he trying to boast or show off in front of others.

Just as he’d said, he was a blunt man, speaking plainly, with none of those flowery words.

“Very well then, since you’re so wealthy, give me a hundred taels for this morning’s consultation.”

Though in truth she hadn’t done anything at all, the time had genuinely been spent.

Rather than let Long Yan keep feeling guilty and apologetic, it was better to let him spend a little money for peace of mind — especially since their estate clearly wasn’t short on funds.

Long Yan thought it over and finally nodded.

The old Estate Master kept urging from the side, “Long’er, eat quickly, and once you’re done, I’ll take you to see your bedroom. All these years, your room has stayed just as clean as before — you’re sure to love it!”