This was also why the Emperor so readily granted the imperial marriage decree when Lu Guanyi said he wanted to marry her.

Lu Guanyi naturally understood this reasoning.

However, this didn’t diminish Lu Guanyi’s genuine feelings for her. You can always sense whether someone truly cares about you, whether they hold you in their heart. Ye Yaming never spoke of these things to anyone, not even to her grandfather or father, because she didn’t want to dishonor Lu Guanyi’s sincerity.

An Jingning’s pupils contracted sharply as she stared wide-eyed at Ye Yaming.

Ye Yaming stepped back two paces, increasing the distance between them. Seeing An Jingning’s expression, she couldn’t help but ask with confusion: “Didn’t your parents ever tell you this?”

An Jingning bit her lip tightly: “They did.”

“Then you…”

“I… I…” An Jingning stammered, then stamped her foot. “Anyway, I don’t think about it anymore.” With that, she turned and ran away quickly.

Was it so terrible that she had been foolish?

Ye Yaming couldn’t help but smile, shaking her head with a sigh: “Quite adorable.”

She turned and gestured to Zi Yuan and the other: “Let’s go.”

When they reached the front courtyard, she saw off two more groups of guests before Princess Imperial Yuning and Princess Imperial Yuan approached at a leisurely pace.

Ye Yaming went forward to greet them: “Would Your Highnesses like to have lunch here? I can have the kitchen prepare some exquisite dishes.”

Although Jihang Pavilion was a teahouse, business couldn’t be too rigid.

The location was somewhat remote, taking over half an hour by carriage from the Imperial City. But with its serene environment and unique scenery, guests could certainly come with friends to enjoy tea and fishing, whileing away an entire day. Without serving meals, it would be difficult to keep customers, so preparing some fine dishes was certainly feasible.

For the teahouse’s refreshments, Ye Yaming had prepared cakes, bread, and various Western-style desserts. For meals, she offered convenient and delicious items she had enjoyed in various countries in her modern life, such as fried chicken and sushi, served in elegant dishware that would surely earn endless praise from these people.

Princess Imperial Yuning smiled: “We’ll come here often in the future, but not today. You’ve been busy all morning, so you should go home and rest soon.”

If they didn’t leave, Ye Yaming would have to stay and accompany them. Princess Imperial Yuning didn’t want her to be so exhausted.

She pointed at Princess Imperial Yuan: “My second sister here prefers tranquility and doesn’t like going out. But staying at home all the time isn’t good either, so I’ve been encouraging her to go out more. Earlier, your attendants prepared fishing rods for us, and we fished for a while. The Second Princess found it quite enjoyable. Give her a membership card so I can bring her here more often in the future.”

Ye Yaming had been gathering intelligence in the Capital, and since Princess Imperial Yuan was recently widowed and could potentially become her future mother-in-law, Ye Yaming had paid special attention to her.

She knew that Princess Imperial Yuan’s experience was extremely similar to Madam Yin’s: she had only given birth to two daughters, and when delivering her younger daughter, she suffered a difficult labor that damaged her health, preventing her from conceiving again.

But despite being a princess, she was far less fortunate than Madam Yin. Her Prince Consort was not a decent man. Although he didn’t dare bring concubines into the Princess’s residence, he kept two mistresses outside who had borne him several children.

If it had been Princess Imperial Yuning, she would have created such a scene that it would have led to divorce, crushing the scoundrel until he couldn’t recover. But Princess Imperial Yuan had a gentle nature and chose to remain silent for the sake of her two daughters’ reputation.

The Emperor, being a man, could particularly understand the suffering of a man without sons who couldn’t take concubines. Moreover, Princess Imperial Yuan wasn’t his favorite daughter, and making a fuss would only bring shame to the royal family, so he turned a blind eye, pretending not to know.

Seeing this, Princess Yuan’s Prince Consort became even more unrestrained, spending twenty days each month living with his mistresses.

When Princess Imperial Yuning learned of this, she was furious. After scolding Princess Yuan to no avail, she set various traps for the scoundrel, not only suppressing him but also his entire family. Only then did the scoundrel show some restraint, no longer daring to spend so much time with his mistresses.

Now that the scoundrel had passed away and both daughters were married, the vast Princess’s residence had only Princess Imperial Yuan as its sole mistress, inevitably leading to loneliness.

This was probably why Princess Imperial Yuning had dragged Princess Yuan here.

Ye Yaming was grateful for Princess Imperial Yuning’s protection and was willing to return the favor, but unfortunately, Princess Yuning lacked for nothing. Now that she wanted to help her widowed sister, Ye Yaming naturally wouldn’t hold back.

She smiled and asked: “How do Your Highnesses find the refreshments at our teahouse?”

Princess Imperial Yuning’s eyes immediately brightened: “Oh my, I love them! I’m a princess after all, and I’ve tasted all the fine foods in the Great Jin, but the pastries in your teahouse—I’ve never even seen such things before, let alone tasted them. Where on earth did you find such amazing cooks?”

“The recipes came from a reclusive Taoist who needed funds to renovate his temple, so he partnered with us in this business,” Ye Yaming explained.

As she spoke, Ye Yaming casually mentioned how Chancellor Li’s wife wanted to buy the recipes, and added apologetically: “Actually, these recipes aren’t ours. We agreed from the beginning that this was just a partnership, and the recipes couldn’t be disclosed. For this reason, I specifically selected the most loyal servants from our bonded servants and spent two years training them to make these pastries. The same goes for the teahouse’s meals—we don’t dare hire outside cooks.”

When Princess Imperial Yuning heard this, she became angry: “You needn’t pay any attention to her.”

She lowered her voice: “Chancellor Li is valued by the Emperor as a trusted minister, so his character and abilities are undoubtedly excellent. But his wife comes from a humble background and is quite shallow. Over the years, using Chancellor Li’s position, she has asked for countless things from others. At first, she would ask directly, but after Chancellor Li reprimanded her, she changed to making subtle hints.”

“Oh?” Ye Yaming feigned surprise. “Is that so?”

“Indeed.” Princess Imperial Yuning pursed her lips. “Once you’ve been in the Capital longer, you’ll find there are quite a few people like that.”

The Great Jin Emperor was most wary of powerful aristocratic families. Not only were the women in his harem from minor official families, but he also preferred to employ officials from humble origins.

As a result, most officials at court came from humble backgrounds, and naturally, their wives and family members weren’t of high birth either. This occasionally led to embarrassing situations involving officials’ family members.

Ye Yaming blinked her eyes and smiled at Princess Imperial Yuning: “Then I can rest easy.”

She looked at Princess Imperial Yuning, then at Princess Yuan, and said, “My mother had nothing to do at home and was getting bored, so I had her open a pastry shop in Lin’an, which became very successful. After having something to occupy her, her entire demeanor changed—she became more energetic, and her health improved significantly.”

She smiled at Princess Imperial Yuan: “I notice Your Highness also has free time. Why not open a pastry shop in the Capital with my mother? I know Your Highness doesn’t need the money—it would just be for fun. You could occasionally check on the cooks making pastries, inspect the hygiene and taste, review the accounts—nothing too taxing.”