Shaoye raised her head to look at her friend, asking with her eyes, Is this alright now?

Hua Zhi gave her shoulder a reassuring pat. “Granddaughter will take Shaoye to look at the prescription first.”

“Go on, treat her well.”

“Yes.”

As the sound of footsteps faded into the distance, the Old Madam let out a sigh of feeling, “Who knows what actually happened at the manor, to have made the acquaintance of such a young female physician.”

Nanny Su handed over the teacup. “When did a female physician appear in the capital? This servant has only heard of female physicians in the palace — this is the first time this servant has ever seen one outside of it!”

“We already have a female teacher, so a female physician isn’t that strange. It’s just that, what a coincidence — everything seems to involve our household.” Though she was clearly a little worried, the Old Madam could not suppress the pride welling up in her heart. A female teacher — and one recognized by Teacher Mu at that. Was that something just anyone could accomplish?

“How much truth do you think there is in what she said?”

“It couldn’t be more truthful. That young lady came from outside — there was no time for her to coordinate a story with the eldest young miss.”

“Did you think I didn’t notice their little gestures?” The Old Madam smiled and shot the old servant a sidelong glance, holding her gaze until the woman lowered her head in embarrassment. “Those words were certainly true — but not the whole truth. Zhi’er isn’t afraid of me knowing. She’s afraid of the others in the household finding out. She’s guarding against someone!”

“The eldest young miss is capable.”

“Yes, she is.” And precisely because she was capable, she had to shoulder such enormous responsibility. Those who were not capable sheltered under her protection, yet showed not a shred of gratitude, never thinking about how to lend a hand — only fretting over what little they themselves had received.

People could be discontented, but they could not be ungrateful.

On her way back to her own courtyard, Hua Zhi observed Shaoye carefully, noting how composed her expression was as she took in the grand depths of the residence. From that, she understood that what Shaoye was accustomed to seeing in her daily life was no lesser than the Hua household. If she were being honest, she was curious about that man — yet not curious enough to compel her to actually investigate.

Curiosity killed the cat was more than just a saying.

“Hua Zhi, what delicious things will Fudong make for lunch?”

Hua Zhi laughed in spite of herself, and every lingering thought in her mind scattered. “She’ll definitely make a few extra dishes knowing you’re here. If you’re not in a rush to leave, we’ll have her make braised pork knuckle in the evening.”

“No rush, no rush — I’m not leaving.” Shaoye remembered she hadn’t yet asked the host’s permission. She grasped Hua Zhi’s hand, leaned forward, and bent slightly at the waist. “Can I stay at your place?”

“Of course. Are you done with your work?”

“All done. Master gave me time off.” Shaoye was beside herself with happiness — she had even packed her clean clothes and personal belongings.

When Fudong saw her, she was genuinely delighted. “This servant will go right away and add a few more dishes that Miss Shaoye enjoys.”

Shaoye swallowed several times, her eyes bright and glittering. She looked as though she wanted nothing more than to follow Fudong into the kitchen — though fortunately, she still remembered that her best friend was more important.

The group entered the room. Baoxia greeted them with a smile brimming in her eyes. Back at her young miss’s side, everything felt wonderfully right to her. “Everything at the workshop is going smoothly, young miss, you can rest easy. Liu Qi and Liu Jiang are both attentive — not a single disturbance has occurred during this period.”

She gestured for the small maidservants to bring up the porcelain jars. Scooping out a bowl, she brought it before her young miss. “These mandarin oranges were made exactly to your requirements. The clingstone peaches are entirely finished — we began making the mandarin oranges starting yesterday. This is the finished product. Please try it.”

The color of the product was related to the quality of the rock sugar — crystalline and radiant with a faint yellowish hue, with a few tangerine segments floating inside. A light, fruity fragrance drifted over, making the mouth water.

She stirred it with a spoon. The syrup was not thin — it was slightly thick, almost like a slurry, yet not overly so. Setting taste aside, it was already a success simply in terms of appearance.

Scooping a spoonful into her mouth, Hua Zhi chewed slowly before giving a small nod. “That’s the right flavor.”

Baoxia visibly exhaled in relief, pressing her lips together to suppress a smile. “This bowl was made by this servant. I tasted the ones the others made, and there was no difference from mine.”

Yingchun flicked a finger against her forehead. “Still trying to take credit? Have you no shame? If, after the young miss taught you so patiently and step by step, you still couldn’t get it right, would you even have the nerve to call yourself someone who serves the young miss?”

Baoxia stuck out her tongue and dared say nothing more.

“Your performance has indeed been excellent. As a reward, you shall have a serving of the new pastry Fudong made herself.”

“Fudong made new pastries again?” Before Baoxia could say another word, Shaoye had already snatched the question away, her eyes bright and glittering.

“Yes. I’m planning to open a food stall. Aside from cooking meals, she’s been spending all her spare time experimenting lately. Don’t worry — you’ll have more than enough to eat.”

Shaoye laughed with a gleeful snicker.

“How many cellars did the clingstone peach preserves fill? Was there enough room for all those mandarin oranges from that enormous shipment?”

“We squeezed them in. After you returned, Wu Da and the others dug out two rather large additional cellars. Later, the people from Miss Shaoye’s side came again, so this servant took the liberty of asking them to send over more ice — and they did. Without those two newly added cellars, there would have been no way to fit all the mandarin oranges.”

Hua Zhi nodded. Compared to those who needed to seek approval for every little thing, the few senior maidservants around her were already quite competent managers. “Once this batch of preserves is sold and the money comes back in, we’ll renovate the manor and turn it into a proper workshop. Things are still a bit makeshift for now.”

“Young miss intends to keep this business going long-term?”

“Why not? And it won’t be limited to clingstone peaches and mandarin oranges — apples, pears, lychees, all of them can be made. Even if someone follows our lead later, this is still a large pie, and the lion’s share will be ours. You’ll all come to understand in time just how profitable this business is.”

“If you say it’s profitable, young miss, then it is certainly profitable.” Baoxia gave a curtsy. “This servant will go tell Fudong — if she doesn’t make enough, this servant fears even the portion promised to me will end up in Miss Shaoye’s stomach.”

Shaoye nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, yes, have Fudong make more. I’ve really been missing her cooking lately.”

“You’re really missing her pastries, aren’t you.”

“Obviously.”

The whole room burst into laughter. Yingchun noticed that her young miss’s brow had eased somewhat and breathed a quiet sigh of relief, then led the others out of the room.

“Hua Hua, you’ve trained your maidservants so well — not well in the rule-abiding sense, but in their spirit and bearing. They’re completely different from the maidservants in other households.”

Hua Zhi raised an eyebrow. “Hua Hua?”

“Calling you by name feels too distant. You can call me Shao Shao too — or would you prefer Yao Yao?”

“……Are there any other options?”

Shaoye touched her own cheek. “Hen Hen?”

That was even worse than Shao Shao. Hua Zhi pulled her hand away from her face. “Did you have a childhood nickname?”

“I don’t know. I can’t remember anything before the age of ten. When I came to, my face had already become like this. My family never said anything was wrong with my face, so at the time I truly didn’t understand, and assumed a face like mine was normal. Once, while Master and the others were away on a mission, I snuck out — and I frightened a great many people. They threw stones at me and called me a monster…”

“Stop. I won’t ask you about those things.”