“Miss Leng, you’re too thin! Have some pig’s trotter.” Yu Jingfeng put a piece of braised pig’s trotter into Leng Xuepiao’s bowl.

“Miss Leng, you don’t look like you’re in great spirits, have some chicken soup.” Yu Jingfeng ladled a bowl of chicken soup for Leng Xuepiao.

“Miss Leng, this chicken leg smells great, have one too.” Yu Jingfeng offered her a chicken leg.

And yet, she hadn’t even eaten the trotter yet, and there was simply nowhere left to put the chicken leg.

Leng Xuepiao turned her head and looked at Yu Jingfeng expressionlessly.

“Take the trotter back!” she said flatly.

“Alright.” Yu Jingfeng smiled and used his spoon to scoop the trotter out of Leng Xuepiao’s bowl, putting the chicken leg in instead.

“Sorry! I didn’t know you don’t like pig’s trotters. They’re delicious and good for the body, you should really eat more.”

The moment he finished speaking, Yu Jingfeng picked up the trotter and took a bite.

Everyone at the table stopped, hands and mouths alike, and stared at him.

Yu Jingfeng glanced around at everyone and blinked.

“What’s wrong? Did I… eat too much?”

He’d just counted — it seemed like everyone had gotten exactly one, and he’d eaten two. Maybe that was too much.

“Sorry! Isn’t this the one Miss Leng didn’t want? And there are still five left, I thought…”

“I already ate that trotter.” Leng Xuepiao informed Yu Jingfeng of an important fact.

Unexpectedly, Yu Jingfeng’s response was: “It’s fine, such a delicious trotter, it’d be a waste not to eat it, wouldn’t it?”

Then he lowered his head and kept eating, relishing every bite.

In truth, Yu Jingfeng badly wanted to say: What? You’d already eaten it? Then why did you give it back to me?

But he didn’t dare. He could only calmly accept this fact.

If he got angry, Miss Leng might be frightened to tears again, and he’d have no way to comfort her.

Besides, he’d almost kissed her the night before anyway — eating a trotter she’d already had a bite of was nothing much either.

Yu Jingfeng, how did I not realize you were like this?

Feng Jiu’er really wanted to tease him about it!

But she said nothing. Right now the most important thing was Xuepiao’s attitude — as for how much Lord Yu could take, she wasn’t the least bit worried about that.

“At first glance, doesn’t it seem like Lord Yu and Xuepiao make a couple?” Qingqing said with a smile.

“Yes, I think so too.” the last female physician nodded in agreement.

“Just now Lord Yu was feeding her like he was feeding his own wife. Only a husband worries this much about whether his wife’s eaten enough.”

“Cough…” Yu Jingfeng nearly choked.

He set the trotter back down in his bowl and picked up a cloth to wipe his hands.

“Don’t joke around!” Miss Leng couldn’t be frightened — frighten her and something would go wrong.

Ever since what happened the night before, Yu Jingfeng had held firmly to this belief.

And since he was the one who’d started it all, as an upstanding man he had to take responsibility.

Even though Yu Jingfeng had no idea just how long he’d be responsible for, at the very least he had to do right by the present moment.

“See, Lord Yu won’t even let us say a word about Xuepiao.” Qingqing said, giggling.

Leng Xuepiao picked up the chicken leg, took a bite, set it down, and picked up a piece of vegetable for herself instead.

To look at her, one would think this whole discussion had nothing to do with her at all.

Yu Jingfeng glanced at her and let out a relieved breath.

“Miss Leng, what else would you like to eat? I’ll get it for you.”

Leng Xuepiao still ignored him and kept eating her own food, as if so long as Yu Jingfeng didn’t reach over toward her, none of this affected her at all.

The two female physicians, seeing her like this, fell silent too.

Everyone understood, without needing to say it, that Xuepiao’s situation was a little special.

…

After a while, having eaten her fill, Leng Xuepiao wiped her hands and stood.

“Come on, back to work.”

When Yu Jingfeng looked up, he found she was actually looking at him.

He hurriedly lifted his bowl, shoveled the remaining rice into his mouth, and stood.

Leng Xuepiao swept a glance over the group and turned to leave.

Yu Jingfeng, without a second thought, followed.

After all, he was working in the courtyard anyway, so if Ninth Miss decided to leave, he’d surely see her go.

This was why, cold as it was outside, Yu Jingfeng still insisted on moving the stone mortar out into the courtyard.

His first duty was still to protect Ninth Miss; he could only use whatever spare time he had to make up for his own mistake.

The two of them left, walking off into the distance.

Xiao Yingtao looked at Feng Jiu’er and said quietly, “Jiu’er, don’t you think Xuepiao’s condition has really improved?”

“I think so too.” Qingqing nodded eagerly.

“She actually dared to give Lord Yu orders, so fiercely too.” another female physician said, looking utterly amazed.

“This is the Xuepiao we want to see!” one of the male physicians said with feeling.

Another, somewhat older, male physician nodded along as well.

“This little girl is so young, and always kept to herself, without a soul to talk to. Isn’t it wonderful to see her like this now?”

“I think Xuepiao is quite adorable like this too.” Xiao Yingtao said, smiling happily.

“She’s still young, there’s still a chance for her to change.” Feng Jiu’er wiped her hands and picked up the teapot.

“If Yu Jingfeng stirring things up like this helps her slowly open up to everyone and settle into this big family, that’s not a bad thing at all.”

“Right.” Xiao Yingtao nodded happily.

“So then, Xuepiao and Lord Yu really did become close through conflict, so to speak.” the oldest physician said with a smile.

“That’s quite nice — I think Lord Yu is quite decent too, now.” Qingqing nodded and looked toward Feng Jiu’er.

“Ninth Miss, do you think there’s a chance for Lord Yu and Xuepiao? Does Lord Yu really have no family already?”

“He’s so tall, and handsome too, and more importantly he’s the Prince’s trusted right hand — his martial skill must be extraordinary. How could there be no women willing to follow him?”

“Right, right, right.” the other female physician chimed in too, looking at Feng Jiu’er.

“Ninth Miss, this concerns Xuepiao’s happiness, you really must find out for certain.”

“We’ve known Yu Jingfeng a long time, and never heard he had anyone. There’s no one.” Xiao Yingtao said, eyeing a piece of meat and reaching for it with her chopsticks.

“He’s good-looking, and honest too, a very reliable, dependable man.”

“I think he’s dependable too.” Qingqing said, her eyes lighting up at some thought.

“If Xuepiao really did marry Lord Yu, she’d surely be very happy — I’m already a little envious.”

Feng Jiu’er watched the group at the table chattering away and let the corner of her mouth curve upward.

Last night, everyone hadn’t been saying this at all. They’d said Yu Jingfeng looked fierce and had scared Xuepiao.

Lord Yu had even spent a good while doubting himself over the whole thing because of it.

Today, why had everyone started singing his praises? Too bad Lord Yu couldn’t hear any of it.

That very Lord Yu who couldn’t hear any of it was now seated back on the wooden step, having resumed his endlessly repeating task.

“Don’t hold your hands so low, you’re about to touch the herbs. Dirty!” the young woman beside him hadn’t stopped complaining.

“Right, higher.” Yu Jingfeng set down the pestle and picked it up again.

“Did you actually wash your hands? You just ate!” little Xuepiao’s voice came again.

“Sorry!” Yu Jingfeng stood and came before the woman who stood a head and a neck shorter than him.

He looked at her with a smile and said, “Not yet, I’ll go right now.”

The moment he finished speaking, Yu Jingfeng hurried off toward the well.