Chang Yuncheng declined Madam Xie’s invitation to stay for dinner.

“I’ll go check on Father,” he said, his expression slightly uncomfortable. “Father is still staying in the study?”

Madam Xie nodded.

“Don’t worry, he’ll be fine in just a few days,” she said lightly.

Chang Yuncheng withdrew.

Due to the Concubine Zhou incident in the household, Madam Xie used the excuse of being troubled to tell the concubines and children not to come for daily attendance. Marquis Dingxi spent all day in his study, claiming to be fasting and atoning for his sins. Therefore, in the vast dining hall, only Madam Xie sat alone, looking at the table full of fine wine and delicacies without touching her chopsticks much.

“Madam,” a servant woman entered and paid her respects.

“How was it?” Madam Xie asked with downcast eyes.

“The Lord went to the Marquis’s study, but the Marquis didn’t see him, so the Lord returned,” the servant woman answered quietly.

Madam Xie said nothing, holding her chopsticks and slowly picking at the braised fish and tofu before her, pulling out fishbones one by one.

“He…” she murmured, “went back to have dinner with that woman…”

Nanny Su quickly waved for the servant woman to leave and took the chopsticks herself to pick up the deboned fish meat for Madam Xie.

“Madam, it’s the Lord’s filial piety. He was afraid you’d know and wait for him, delaying your own meal,” she said with a smile.

Madam Xie smiled but didn’t take the fish meat from Nanny Su. Instead, she pulled the whole plate of fish toward herself.

“The Marquis hasn’t been seeing anyone these past few days. He’s not unaware of this…” she said. “He finally lied to me, and it was for that wench…”

Madam Xie used her chopsticks to stab the beautifully carved fish repeatedly, crushing it. Only by picking out fishbone after fishbone did her nerves seem to find relief.

Chang Yuncheng stepped through the courtyard gate and saw all the maids standing in the courtyard, including Qiu Xiang.

Seeing him enter, everyone hurried to pay their respects, with Qiu Xiang stepping forward to take his outer garment.

This weather-vane wall-grass of a wretched maid—wasn’t her eyes only for that woman?

Why wasn’t she inside serving?

He couldn’t help but glance at the dining hall, seeing it was quiet without the liveliness of that woman’s mealtimes.

At least you have some sense, knowing to wait for the master to return…

“Serve dinner,” he said.

Qiu Xiang responded and passed the word. The courtyard became busy but orderly, with the prepared dishes being served one by one.

Chang Yuncheng entered the room and, though he walked directly into his bedroom, his peripheral vision had already swept the other side. His steps into the room involuntarily stopped.

No one there?

He looked back—that side was empty.

In the washroom?

He hesitated for a moment, then deliberately made his footsteps heavier as he walked toward the washroom, but didn’t hear that woman’s voice stopping him.

Chang Yuncheng stopped and looked back, seeing Qiu Xiang standing at the bedroom door watching him. She showed no sign of reminding or dissuading him, but instead…

“Lord, would you like this servant to attend your washing?” she asked respectfully when she saw Chang Yuncheng looking over.

Not in the washroom…

Chang Yuncheng grunted with some discomfort.

“Where is the young madam?” he asked seemingly casually.

Qiu Xiang had already brought clean casual clothes.

“The young madam went to Second Madam’s place and sent word back that Second Madam is keeping her for dinner,” she answered.

Chang Yuncheng looked up and took a deep breath, then heavily stepped into the washroom.

As Qiu Xiang followed Chang Yuncheng toward the dining hall, all the maids received her warning look.

The Lord was in a bad mood, very bad. Everyone should be extremely careful.

The atmosphere in the entire Pengcheng Courtyard immediately became tense.

Meanwhile, Chen Shi’s courtyard in the western mansion hadn’t been this lively in a long time.

“…Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, what is this?”

Watching another dish being served, Chen Shi’s daughter immediately asked, while the young man sitting beside her couldn’t wait and stood up to serve himself.

“Second Brother, Mother hasn’t eaten yet,” Chen Shi’s daughter, fifteen-year-old Chang Yinglan, tapped the young man’s hand with her chopsticks.

Qi Yue stood nearby watching them with a smile.

“Aunt can’t eat this,” she said, personally picking up several pieces and putting them in a small dish. “Aunt, try this. Mock crab roe.”

Chen Shi reclined against her chair back with a thick blanket over her legs, smiling as she watched the roomful of people competing to sample the dishes. Hearing Qi Yue’s words, she looked over and reached out with a smile.

“Young Madam, our madam’s physician has advised that she cannot eat crab, shrimp, and such…” Cai Qing said quickly, seeing that Second Madam was reaching for it without hesitation.

Second Madam didn’t stop her hand and took the small dish.

“I haven’t eaten crab roe in so long, I’m almost forgetting what it tastes like,” she said with a smile, picking up a small piece and putting it in her mouth.

Chen Shi’s children, who had been looking at the food, all stood up with worried expressions.

“Mother…”

Qi Yue just smiled without speaking and didn’t dissuade her.

“Sister-in-law is a physician. If she says Mother can eat it, then she can,” Chang Yunsheng said quietly, signaling his younger siblings to sit down.

Everyone sat down with doubt.

“How is it?” Qi Yue asked after watching Chen Shi eat two bites.

Chen Shi nodded with some nostalgia.

“It’s really delicious,” she said, smiling at Qi Yue.

“It’s scrambled eggs!” Qi Yue laughed heartily, patting Chen Shi’s shoulder.

Everyone in the room was stunned.

“Scrambled eggs?”

Chen Shi was also very surprised. She gestured, and Cai Qing quickly served her more.

“It really does taste like eggs,” she said after eating carefully. “But…”

The other children all had the maids serve them some.

“Indeed…”

“But it really is like crab roe…”

“Sister-in-law, quickly tell us how to make it!” Chang Yinglan ran to Qi Yue’s side, shaking her arm and asking repeatedly. “I’ll make it for Mother every day from now on.”

“It’s very simple. Just raw eggs and raw salted duck eggs, add wine, sugar, and vinegar and stir-fry,” Qi Yue smiled.

“That simple?” Chang Yinglan looked incredulous. “Sister-in-law, please teach me…”

“Yinglan, sit down quickly. Let your sister-in-law eat. She made all these dishes and hasn’t eaten yet,” Chen Shi said to her daughter.

Chang Yinglan stuck out her tongue and quickly returned to her seat.

The servant women arranged chairs and chopsticks for Qi Yue to sit.

“Sister-in-law has worked hard,” Chang Yunsheng said with his younger siblings in unison.

“Not at all. Cooking for people you care about is a blessing and a very joyful thing,” Qi Yue smiled, pointing to the dishes she had made. “Come, try this boiled fish. But I warn you, you must take a small piece first to make sure you can handle it before eating more.”

This aroused everyone’s interest even more. They all refused to believe it and deliberately picked up large pieces to put in their mouths, immediately throwing the table into chaos.

Some spat it out, some wanted water, some cried.

Chen Shi watched her children’s predicament without the slightest worry, but laughed instead.

The three Chang Yunsheng siblings walked Qi Yue to the door together, and at the entrance, all three called out “Sister-in-law” to Qi Yue in unison.

Qi Yue turned back to look at them, the lanterns in the hands of the maids and servants illuminating her serene face.

“Thank you, Sister-in-law,” the three bowed respectfully in unison.

“It’s just a meal, not worth all this. If you want to eat, come to my place anytime,” Qi Yue smiled.

“Thank you, Sister-in-law, for working hard in the kitchen to make Mother so happy,” Chang Yunsheng said solemnly, his excitement barely contained. “Since Father passed away, this is the first time Mother has been so joyful…”

His voice trembled at this point and he could barely continue.

Qi Yue looked at them with a slight smile.

“Thank you too for letting me cook for you,” she said. With that, she waved her hand and turned to walk slowly away.

Watching the dim lanterns accompanying the woman as she gradually disappeared into the distance, the three at the door still stood without moving.

“Why did she thank us? Thank us for letting her cook?” Chang Yinglan said in confusion.

This was her first time meeting this long-renowned Lord’s wife, and she didn’t match the impression from the descriptions she’d heard. Instead, the thought that came to mind was no wonder the old marchioness had liked her so much.

Chang Yunsheng watched the woman’s figure gradually disappearing into the distance and sighed.

“Because over there, she’s probably too lonely and isolated,” he said quietly.

In that household, except for the old marchioness, no one liked her.

Even with such excellent cooking skills, having no one who wanted to eat her cooking must be terribly sad and lonely.

This was a fact everyone knew. All three couldn’t help but sigh, looking toward the direction Qi Yue had left, which was already shrouded in darkness.

When Qi Yue entered the door, the room was already dark.

Qiu Xiang looked at her with embarrassment and concern.

“The Lord always… sleeps early…” she stammered in explanation.

Qi Yue didn’t mind and smiled at her.

“Then I’ll borrow your and A’Ru’s place to wash up,” she said. “I won’t disturb the Lord.”

Chang Yuncheng, hearing this in his room, felt somehow… disappointed.

He stared at the canopy in the darkness and suddenly remembered that time when the woman had shamelessly lingered in his room, looking around everywhere, ready to explode at the slightest touch…

It seemed like he hadn’t heard her screams or her raised voice calling his name in a long time.

No one had ever called him by his full name like that…

Simple and direct, with all emotions clearly displayed through this form of address.

“Chang Yuncheng! Chang Yuncheng!”

It sounded… somehow… somewhat intimate?

The door made a soft sound, followed by light, deliberately quieted footsteps.

That faint, elusive fragrance gradually spread, seeping through the door crack.

A lamp was lit, then dimmed somewhat, as if someone had deliberately blocked it.

“There should be a door curtain here, otherwise it will disturb the Lord’s rest…”

“This servant will have it ready tomorrow…”

Chang Yuncheng heard the woman’s quiet conversation.

Then came the sound of light footsteps leaving, the door closing, and the room returning to quiet except for the faint lamplight.

Chang Yuncheng lay with his hands behind his head, silent for a moment before suddenly sitting up.

Qi Yue frowned at a line of text in her book.

“What does this mean?” she murmured, picking up a goose feather pen nearby, dipping it in ink and writing it down on paper. “I should ask my teacher tomorrow. It’s truly like different professions being separated by mountains, with thousands of years between ancient and modern times.”

“It’s so late, why aren’t you sleeping yet?”

Chang Yuncheng’s voice suddenly rang out, startling Qi Yue.

She looked up to see Chang Yuncheng standing at the bedroom door across from her.

She had been too absorbed in reading to hear him open the door.

“Did I disturb you?” Qi Yue smiled and said, putting down her book. “I couldn’t sleep so I read for a while. I’ll go to sleep now, I won’t read anymore.”

As she said this, she stood up from the desk and reached to extinguish the lamp.

But Chang Yuncheng walked over instead.