Princess Yuning was delighted when she heard this. “Your idea is excellent.”

Ye Yaming smiled and said, “To be honest with you, this manor has far too many rooms, yet our family isn’t large. With so many empty rooms, I felt quite uneasy when I lived here alone. I’ve wanted to renovate the manor for some time. Now I’ve found an excuse.”

Princess Yuning was increasingly pleased to see her sincerity.

She tapped her head. “Good, I’ll go back and tell my second royal sister right away.” After a pause, she asked, “But we should also ask your father-in-law, shouldn’t we?”

Ye Yaming nodded. “The Ministry of Rites has also sent an official to inquire. A few days ago, Guanyi sent someone to the border, and we should receive a reply in a few days. Once we have his response, I’ll send someone to inform you.”

“Very well. We’ll discuss this matter further once we have your father-in-law’s reply,” Princess Yuning said.

Shortly after she left, Madam Yin arrived with Ye Yayin and Ye Yayu.

When Ye Yaming was giving birth, Ye Hongsheng had taken Ye Yayin and Ye Yayu back to Lin’an for a visit. After Ye Yaming safely delivered her babies, the three of them returned to the Capital. Madam Yin had stayed behind to attend to Ye Yaming during her confinement period.

Madam Yin had come to the Capital with Ye Yaming and the others.

After entering, the three first looked at the children. When the wet nurse took the children away, Madam Yin said to Ye Yaming, “The day after tomorrow, Yayin will be engaged to Young Master Li. You and your husband should come for the meal.”

Ye Yaming looked at Ye Yayin and smiled. “Congratulations, Sister.”

Ye Yayin wasn’t shy at all and giggled, “I’ve been waiting for you to come to the Capital.”

She and Li Shu had already agreed to get engaged, but Ye Yayin had really wanted Ye Yaming to attend her engagement banquet, so she had repeatedly postponed it, hoping to wait until her sister came to the Capital.

Ye Yaming then looked at Ye Yayu. “What about you, Yayu? Has the date been set?”

Ye Yayu twisted her skirt and said with a flushed face, “Yes, on the twenty-sixth of this month.”

Last time, after Madam Yin had asked Ye Yaming and no one had objected, she had expressed her feelings to Liu Yuzhang.

Liu Yuzhang had been interested in her as well, but there was such a large disparity in wealth between the two families that he had reservations.

He had stated that he wanted to wait until after participating in this year’s autumn provincial examination and becoming a juren before discussing marriage.

Recently, the results had been announced, and Liu Yuzhang had successfully passed the examination to become a juren.

After confirming his success, Liu Yuzhang brought gifts to visit Ye Hongsheng and explained his family situation. He also discussed how he would arrange their life together with Ye Yayu and his family after marriage.

He said that he could neither bring his family to live off Ye Yayu’s money, nor could he abandon his family to enjoy prosperity alone. Therefore, for a short period, he would have to ask Ye Yayu to endure some hardship with him, and he and his family would work hard to make their life better.

Once he passed the metropolitan examination and became an official, their life would improve somewhat. But it would still not compare to Ye Yayu’s current lifestyle.

He had discussed this issue with Ye Yayu, and she had said it wasn’t a problem. That was why he had boldly come to speak with them. If Ye Hongsheng didn’t approve, they would consider the matter dropped.

Although Ye Hongsheng wasn’t entirely satisfied with this match, Ye Yayu was willing, and over time, they had come to understand the Liu family’s character fairly well, so he didn’t object further. He had found time to meet with Liu Yuzhang’s father.

The Liu family’s circumstances were different from the Li family’s. The betrothal gifts and the standard of the banquet would be different, so the two families planned to have their engagement ceremonies at different times. The Li families would be first, followed by the Liu family’s.

“Good, your brother-in-law and I will attend both of your engagement banquets,” Ye Yaming said.

A few days after Ye Yayin’s engagement banquet, An Tai, who had been sent to the border, returned with Lu Zhongyong’s verbal message.

“The Marquis said that everything should follow His Majesty’s and the Ministry of Rites’ wishes. If they truly want to know his preference, he would naturally prefer to live in the Marquis Manor.”

Lu Guanyi stood up. “Come with me to Master Zhong’s house.”

When he returned from Master Zhong’s house, he said to Ye Yaming, “I’ve shared your plan with Master Zhong. He will report it to his superiors. If they find it feasible, construction will begin here immediately.”

It was already October, and the wedding was set for March next year. Construction couldn’t take place during the first lunar month, so they had at most two months to complete the renovation of the entire manor—the time was quite tight.

“We can only spend the New Year in the side courtyard this year,” he said.

This would be the first New Year for their two children, yet they would have to spend it in the side courtyard.

“That’s not a problem,” Ye Yaming smiled. “With the court providing the funds and the Ministry of Rites issuing the orders, as long as there’s no quibbling over the plan, the construction can proceed quickly.”

“Tomorrow, I’ll send people to clean up the side courtyard. Once the imperial edict is issued, we’ll have to move there. I’ll also draw up a design plan showing which parts of the manor should be preserved, which should be demolished, and what scenery should be created. I’ll show it to Princess Yu’an. If she has no objections, she can submit it to the Ministry of Rites.”

Lu Guanyi praised, “That’s good, that’s good.”

This way, the renovated manor would be exactly to their liking. It would avoid the Ministry of Rites officials arguing for half a month before coming up with a construction plan. And even after they built it, it might not be satisfactory, with inconveniences everywhere.

So, he thought, marrying a clever and virtuous wife who could arrange everything was the wisest decision.

He had just entered the Ministry of War and needed to understand his colleagues and familiarize himself with the situation—there were so many things to attend to that he had no energy to think about these household matters.

The next day, Ye Yaming sprang into action. First, she sent people to clean the side courtyard. Then she had Xu Zan lead several servants, armed with a ten-meter-long measuring tape she had made herself before her wedding, to thoroughly measure every part of the manor. She drew a rough sketch.

The manor had originally been built by a wealthy and prominent family, but after they were arrested and their property confiscated, it was awarded to Lu Zhongyong. Therefore, the materials and craftsmanship of the manor were exquisite, making it comfortable to live in.

However, there were too many buildings and too few natural landscapes, which made Ye Yaming, who was accustomed to the Jiangnan garden-style residences where one could see spacious yet delicate scenery immediately upon stepping outside, quite uncomfortable.

So she only made subtractions, demolishing some courtyards, and then having people transplant flowers and trees, plant bamboo, build rockeries, and create water features.

Using paths as lines and buildings as points, by the time Lu Guanyi returned from his office, he saw the design sketch that Ye Yaming had drawn.

“Let’s eat first. After dinner, you can look at it carefully and see if anything needs to be changed. If you have no objections, I’ll finalize the drawing tomorrow morning and send it to Princess Yu’an’s manor.”

Lu Guanyi had already finished looking at it and smiled. “No need to look any further, it’s excellent.”

Seeing that the maids weren’t in the room, he secretly kissed Ye Yaming. “You’re so clever and have considered everything so thoroughly. How could there be anything unsatisfactory about what you’ve drawn?”

Ye Yaming gave him a reproachful look and led him to the adjacent dining room, asking, “How are you doing in the Ministry of War? Is anyone trying to exclude you?”

Of course there was.