After leaving the main house, Yan Shisheng walked a few steps along the eaves and saw his family anxiously huddled in a corner against the wall.

Outside the fence, lights flickered like stars through the falling rain as townspeople and villagers stood on tiptoes, craning their necks, trying to see what had become of the Yan household now guarded by soldiers.

When Yan Shisheng emerged, his family hurriedly approached, staring at him expectantly.

Father Yan, though middle-aged, maintained a dignified bearing and considerable charm. He paced over with his hands behind his back, affecting the manner of a clear-minded old scholar. But once he drew close, he nimbly reached out his thin arm and anxiously clutched his son’s sleeve: “Second son…”

Yan Shisheng pulled his sleeve from his father’s grasp: “Wait a moment.”

Before comforting his family, he first bowed across the fence to thank the concerned villagers, then caught the village chief’s eye, indicating that his family’s problem was resolved and there was no need to worry.

Through the slanting rain and wind came the young scholar’s clear, mellow voice: “…Thus, I shall visit another day to express my gratitude properly. Thank you, neighbors and fellow villagers, for your concern.”

The village chief smiled: “It’s a small matter, we didn’t do much. Once Young Master Yan returned, we knew your family’s situation would surely be resolved. We stayed only to set our minds at ease. Since everything is fine now, everyone should disperse.”

Yan Shisheng bowed again.

The Yan family’s third son, his voice thunderous as ever, spoke brazenly: “Second brother, we’re all local family here, why be so stuffy and formal…”

Yan Shisheng glanced at him, and the third son was instantly pulled aside by their youngest sister, who gestured for him not to cause trouble for their second brother.

After the people outside the gate dispersed, Yan Shisheng finally related his conversation with Mu Wanyao to his family.

Hearing they could still stay in their home, Father Yan first breathed a sigh of relief, his worried face breaking into a smile. When their home was occupied, he hadn’t dared to negotiate, instead waiting for his second son’s return to resolve the problem.

The other Yan family members nodded, though the third son had some complaints about only being able to use the side rooms, but under Yan Shisheng’s steady gaze, he didn’t voice his dissatisfaction.

Seeing them settled, Yan Shisheng turned to his little sister Yan Xiaozhou, speaking gently: “Little sister, tonight you’ll sleep in a room alone. Wake up early tomorrow and retrieve the Lingxi Boluo we buried last year under the tree by the back door. Lingxi Boluo is a famous Lingnan wine, and Lady Mu, being new here, likely hasn’t tried it. Tomorrow you’ll warm the wine and offer it to her.”

Little sister Yan Xiaozhou was startled.

She opened her clear eyes wide, protesting weakly: “But Lingxi Boluo is very precious. I brewed it for an entire year, and we agreed to save it for when my eldest brother takes a wife. Why should we give it to this strange lady now? She’s just passing through!”

Yan Shisheng said: “Even the finest things must be used at the right moment. That Lady Mu is of noble status. Not only must we avoid offending her, but we should also cultivate good relations with her. You all… never mind, I’ll handle this.”

Yan Shisheng shook his head, not trusting his family to approach that lady.

The scene of all those maids kneeling while Mu Wanyao remained completely unfazed still made his heart tremble, thinking she must be accustomed to people kneeling before her. He absolutely couldn’t let his family approach her – if they somehow angered the lady, their whole family might face mortal danger.

Such matters were better left to his careful handling.

After considering this, Yan Shisheng asked the Yan family’s eldest son: “Elder brother, do you mind if I have little sister retrieve the Lingxi Boluo?”

The eldest brother, tall and imposing with the might of a tiger hunter, was the most robust of them all. He had complete trust in his second brother and immediately thumped his chest: “No problem at all. I don’t even know when I’ll be able to bring you all a sister-in-law, so let the wine be drunk.”

Yan Shisheng approved.

Only the third brother curled his lip in disdain. But given Yan Shisheng’s authority in their family, he didn’t dare speak up—

At dawn, behind the gold-threaded silk curtains, Mu Wanyao dreamily awoke. The maids stood ready outside the curtain to serve the princess, lifting the drape to see the young maiden with hair trailing to her ankles step out languidly.

Her snow-white bare feet stepped onto the warm carpet, wearing neither shoes nor socks, her toenails painted with red henna, bright as flower petals. So crystal clear and delicate, inspiring flights of fancy.

Mu Wanyao sat down as the maid Chunhua and several others came forward to dress her hair and try on clothes.

Suddenly, Mu Wanyao caught a whiff of fragrance.

She frowned slightly.

Before she could ask, Chunhua, attentive to her moods, explained while brushing the princess’s black lustrous hair: “The Yan family’s youngest daughter has been brewing wine outside since early morning. She says her second brother instructed her to bring out their treasured Ling-something-Luo wine for the princess.”

Mu Wanyao was somewhat surprised that when last night’s Yan Second Young Master said he’d have his sister bring her some brewed wine, he had sent the wine.

Even in such a small matter, he hadn’t deceived her.

Mu Wanyao looked down at her long, slender white fingers, laughing to herself.

Chunhua observed the princess’s ambiguous smile and hesitantly judged: “…I’m afraid there won’t be any good wine in rural Lingnan. If the princess doesn’t like it, I can send that Yan girl away.”

Leaning against the cushioned couch, Mu Wanyao gave the maid a disdainful glance.

She spoke deliberately: “Lingnan’s Lingxi Boluo, Sichuan’s Jiannan Shaochun, Wucheng’s Ruoxia, and so on – these are all the finest wines in the realm today. How amusing that you’ve come to Lingnan yet haven’t heard of its most famous Lingxi Boluo.”

The maid Chunhua smiled apologetically: “This servant’s learning is shallow, just a commoner, how could I compare to the lady’s vast knowledge?”

Perhaps because this compliment was well-phrased, Mu Wanyao’s lips curved in a smile.

A peony was placed at Mu Wanyao’s brow, with hanging ornaments, gold and jade reflecting crimson, fresh and alluring—

Before daybreak, Yan Shisheng had already taken his umbrella and gone to school in the rain. Meanwhile, the Yan family’s youngest daughter Yan Xiaozhou, being very obedient, had dug out the wine jar buried under the ancient tree by the back door while the sky was still gray, and as per her second brother’s instructions, had been warming wine all morning.

Who knew this female guest would put on such airs? When Yan Xiaozhou brought the wine jar to offer a drink, the lady’s maids blocked her at the door, coldly saying “The lady hasn’t awakened, you’ll have to wait.”

Yan Xiaozhou was somewhat dissatisfied, but being timid and seeing their home surrounded by guards, she didn’t dare get angry, and could only wait dejectedly for the lady to wake.

Yan Xiaozhou stood in the corridor until her feet were nearly numb before a maid opened the door to let her in.

Standing at a distance in the main hall, Yan Xiaozhou was puzzled about why she had to wait like a servant for this guest to summon her. While she was lost in confusion, Mu Wanyao finally emerged wearing upturned shoes.

Yan Xiaozhou opened the wine jar, gesturing for the maid to pour. She hadn’t just brought wine – she also opened a food box containing a bowl of fragrant, soft cheese.

Her voice gentle and sweet, she deftly set down the bowls and plates: “As the lady has just awakened, drinking wine alone isn’t good. I’ve also prepared lychee cheese for the lady, hoping you’ll like it.”

Mu Wanyao sat down, propping her chin with her hand, watching the clever Yan family’s youngest daughter’s movements. She smiled ambiguously: “Who told you to prepare cheese?”

Yan Xiaozhou lowered her head and said softly: “My second brother said the lady comes from the Central Plains and might not be used to our local food. My second brother said northerners eat cheese, and while we produce lychee here, it’s rarely seen in the north. Combined, the lady might enjoy such a breakfast.”

As she spoke, the maid had already returned to Mu Wanyao’s side with the plates.

Mu Wanyao extended her fingers, taking a bite of cheese. The soft food melted like flowing milk on her tongue. At the same time, the lychee’s fruit fragrance balanced out the natural gamey taste of the cheese, making it truly soft and delicious.

Mu Wanyao then took a sip of wine.

She pondered: “This wine seems to have more than just the taste of Lingxi Boluo.”

Yan Xiaozhou was somewhat surprised, now believing this lady was truly of noble birth as her second brother had said, having even tasted Lingxi Boluo before.

Because even though this wine was produced in their Lingnan, it wasn’t something ordinary people could afford. Their family had just this one jar, precious even for their consumption, yet this lady could discern its proper taste.

Yan Xiaozhou explained: “My second brother said with the continuous rain these days, the lady must be weary from traveling. He had me add some red dates to the wine to help clear the lady’s mind and nourish the spleen.”

Mu Wanyao: “…”

Maid Chunhua: “…”

Chunhua felt somewhat bewildered and had a hint of crisis. This Yan second son was being far too attentive, stealing away tasks that should have been performed by them as maids. Would the princess think them incompetent?

Mu Wanyao took another sip of wine.

She sneered: “Who needs to clear their mind and nourish their spleen? That country bumpkin is doing too much.”

Yan Xiaozhou grew slightly angry. Even though she feared this lady, she still gathered her courage to speak up: “You can’t talk about my second brother like that!”

The fire in her eyes gave the Yan family’s youngest daughter’s somewhat delicate face a vibrant energy.

Mu Wanyao gave a slight laugh.

She asked lazily: “Why didn’t your second brother come to serve me himself?”

Hearing this lady say her second brother was there to serve people, Yan Xiaozhou grew even angrier. As she was about to retort, she saw Mu Wanyao’s beautiful eyes gazing at her. Beneath the smile lay fragments of floating ice.

Yan Xiaozhou shuddered, her voice growing weak again: “…My second brother went to school.”

Mu Wanyao gave a light “oh,” somewhat boredly pushing away the cheese and light wine on the table.

She wasn’t particularly fond of wine or food.

She just lacked interesting people to amuse her—

The rain continued to fall.

The Yan family remained nervous, fearing that Lady Mu would cause more trouble.

However, she didn’t. After Yan Xiaozhou brought Mu Wanyao wine in the morning, Lady Mu didn’t come out at all. Apart from the unsettling presence of these maids and guards in the courtyard, nothing had happened at home.

In the afternoon, Yan Shisheng took leave from school and returned home. He had already requested several days off, firstly because of the distinguished guest at home who might be difficult to deal with, and secondly, because the rainy weather truly made travel inconvenient, so he simply decided to study at home rather than go to school.

After returning, Yan Shisheng heard from his family that Lady Mu hadn’t spoken to them again, and hadn’t even come out of her room, and he too breathed a sigh of relief.

He thought that not disturbing each other and maintaining peace was quite good.

After reassuring his family, telling those who should practice martial arts to practice and those who should study to study, Yan Shisheng himself took out books from his book bag, preparing to study.

He worried inwardly, thinking that at the end of each year, the prefecture would select qualified students to send to Chang’an to participate in the following year’s early examinations, which was the only way to have a chance at becoming a jinshi.

But he had already tried for three consecutive years without being recommended by the prefecture to go to Chang’an. This fourth year, he didn’t know if he would succeed…

Yan Shisheng pushed aside these distracting thoughts, spread out his scrolls, and prepared to read. But looking down, he found the light in the side room was poor, dim, and gloomy, making it difficult to see the characters.

Yan Shisheng hesitated for a moment but still couldn’t bring himself to light candles in broad daylight. So he rolled up his books and went out into the rain to the outer corridor, finding a suitable place to read.

Sitting in the corridor, listening to the gentle sound of rain, Yan Shisheng contentedly opened the “Book of Documents.”

Meanwhile, the Yan family’s youngest daughter Yan Xiaozhou secretly crept over to complain to Yan Shisheng about how frightening that lady was and anxiously asked when she would leave—

Mu Wanyao leaned against the window, sitting properly before a chess board, playing against herself. She grew bored with the game and gradually became drowsy, her head nodding against the window bit by bit as she dozed off.

The maids saw the princess like this through the curtain and whispered among themselves, but none dared approach to ask if she wanted to rest.

In her drowsy state, Mu Wanyao dreamed she was riding a horse among thousands of stone tablets, the long wind catching her clothes as she galloped freely, completely sweeping away the gloom in her heart.

The white horse raised its head and neighed long, and the princess riding it looked back at the stone tablets and thousands of troops she had left behind. She couldn’t help but smile smugly, but before she could taunt her pursuers, she suddenly stumbled as her horse lost its footing, and she fell from the height…

“Thud!” Mu Wanyao’s head hit the chessboard.

The crisp sound startled the maids.

Mu Wanyao opened her eyes, lifted her skirts, stepped onto the chess board, and leaned on the windowsill, tilting her ear to listen to the deliberately lowered voices outside—the culprits who had frightened her from her dream.

The maids saw the princess being so unladylike and exchanged odd looks—

“Bang!”

Yan Shisheng was sitting on the steps speaking quietly to console his sister not to speak carelessly when the window behind them opened and a bowl of chess pieces showered down. The chess pieces crashed down like hailstones, nearly killing Yan Shisheng.

This was attempted murder.

The brother and sister hurriedly stood up, with Yan Shisheng holding his sister in his arms for protection. The chess pieces clattered against his body as he gritted his teeth to endure. Looking back, he saw the opened window where Mu Wanyao gazed down.

Rain misted their faces, fragrance swirling about.

She smiled: “You were asking when I would leave?”

Yan Shisheng immediately said: “There seems to be some misunderstanding between us…”

Mu Wanyao smiled brightly: “There’s no misunderstanding. I heard that you hope I’ll leave soon. I was originally planning to leave tomorrow, but now I’ve decided to stay here longer. Yan Shisheng, you’ll have to endure my torment for a few more days. Are you angry?”

Yan Shisheng: …