Lin Yan returned home during the night curfew, and upon entering, he heard that his grandmother was unwell.

“The Old Madam complained of stomach discomfort two-quarters of an hour ago, and someone has already been sent to fetch a physician,” Manager Zhou reported.

“What did she have for dinner?” Lin Yan asked while quickly walking toward his grandmother’s courtyard.

“According to the Old Madam’s maid, she had several purchased yu jian mian (jade-tip dumplings), half a bowl of water celery soup, and a few bites of raw fish.”

Lin Yan frowned and nodded.

Observing his master’s expression, Manager Zhou explained: “A new shop called Shen’s Food Store opened in the ward, selling excellent meat buns. Since the Old Madam hasn’t had much appetite lately, the kitchen bought some for her.” The elderly were prone to cravings, and since they had grown tired of home-cooked food, the kitchen staff occasionally bought new items from outside to please the Old Madam. The young master was generally indulgent of his grandmother and, seeing that they were still careful, usually turned a blind eye. They weren’t sure if these jade-tip dumplings were the cause this time.

Entering the courtyard, a maid was already waiting and quietly told Lin Yan, “She vomited once and used the toilet once, but she’s been calmer now.”

Lin Yan entered the room to find his grandmother reclining on the couch with a thin blanket over her stomach, looking weak and listless.

“Don’t worry, I’m feeling better now,” Grandmother Jiang smiled as she opened her eyes.

The Old Madam’s spirits were quite good these days, and she recognized her grandson.

Lin Yan quickly walked to the couch, sat beside his grandmother, and placed his hand on her wrist to check her pulse.

Everyone quietly waited for his diagnosis.

“It’s nothing serious. Grandmother’s digestion is weak, and with the hot weather, eating greasy food has caused some discomfort,” Lin Yan said gently, releasing his grandmother’s wrist and feeling her forehead.

“A Su was worried the jade-tip dumplings weren’t clean, but I thought they looked fine – nicely pleated with good filling, pork mixed with bamboo shoots, juicy when bitten into, very fragrant.”

Lin Yan couldn’t help but smile wryly seeing his grandmother still thinking about food even in this state. “Wait until the weather cools down and your digestion improves before eating them again.”

Just then, the physician arrived. Lin Yan went to receive him, and the physician quickly clasped his hands in greeting.

Lin Yan politely returned the greeting and personally led him to his grandmother’s bedside.

After checking both wrists and asking the maids a few questions, the physician said, “The Old Madam is advanced in years with weak digestion, and having eaten rich food in the evening has caused these symptoms. I’ll prescribe two doses of medicine to strengthen the spleen, boost energy, and regulate digestion. After taking the medicine and keeping to a light diet for a few days, she should recover.”

Lin Yan thanked the physician and had the manager escort him out. Seeing that the prescription dosage was appropriately mild for an elderly person, he sent someone to wake the pharmacy and purchase the medicine.

The commotion continued until midnight. After the elderly lady took her medicine and fell asleep peacefully, Lin Yan watched over her for a while before retiring to sleep in the outer room. When he rose early the next day to attend court, his grandmother hadn’t yet awakened, but her pulse indicated improvement.

Lin Yan went to his courtyard to wash up, gave strict instructions to the relevant kitchen servants, handled two household matters, and because he hadn’t slept well and wasn’t hungry, only drank a few sips of porridge and ate a boiled egg before leaving. When he returned, it was already time for the evening lanterns to be lit.

He first went to check on his grandmother, who had recovered well and was playing cards with her maids after dinner. Lin Yan gave a few instructions and, finally relieved, returned to his courtyard to change out of his official robes and wash up.

“Young Master, have you had dinner? The kitchen still has food prepared, including excellent lamb and duck,” a maid asked with a smile.

Having had plenty to drink at the palace banquet at noon, where the food was very rich in oil, salt, and sugar, it all still sat heavily in his stomach. Lin Yan waved his hand, “No need, I’m going for a walk.”

Carrying his money pouch and waving away the guards and servants who wanted to follow, Lin Yan left home alone.

Walking slowly along the ward’s streets, his ears were filled with cicada songs. There weren’t many people out, just a few enjoying the cool evening air, and a drunk being supported home by servants from a wine house.

Walking a few steps further, Lin Yan spotted a lantern with “Shen’s” written on it swaying in the gentle night breeze.

Yesterday’s troublesome jade-tip dumplings were from some “Shen’s,” likely this place. Lin Yan suddenly remembered the palace maid who sold pancakes at the ward gate. She hadn’t been selling pancakes there these days – he had thought she finally gave up and returned to Luoyang, but perhaps…

Lin Yan casually walked into Shen’s Food Store.

Before seeing anyone, he first saw a bowl of emerald-green rice porridge still steaming on the table, a plate of halved salted duck eggs, a plate of plain lettuce strips, and a plate of sour bamboo shoots with minced meat, as if waiting for a customer to be seated.

Looking at these simple, homestyle dishes, Lin Yan suddenly felt hungry.

The water vat was at the back of the shop. After a busy day, Shen Shaoguang and A Yuan were scooping water to wash their hands and faces. While A Yuan was disposing of the washbasin and soap behind, Shen Shaoguang, with a cloth draped over his shoulder and water still dripping from his sideburns, walked through the back door into the shop and immediately saw Assistant Magistrate Lin in the lamplight.

“What would the customer like to eat? The kitchen has freshly made sweet date and egg yolk glutinous rice dumplings.”

The buns were sold out, but tomorrow’s dumplings were already steamed. The glutinous rice was tricky to cook properly, so Shen Shaoguang always steamed them the night before, leaving the lid on and using residual heat to keep them warm. By the next day, the rice would be even softer and more fragrant. They were ready now, so serving a few wouldn’t be a problem.

“This will do fine,” Lin Yan said, pointing to the porridge meal on the table, and found himself a seat.

“…” Shen Shaoguang pressed his lips together, but still not wanting to offend him, ladled out a small bowl of porridge from the pot. The side dishes couldn’t be divided, so he gave them all to Lin Yan, but fortunately there were more salted eggs, so he cut two more.

Lin Yan slowly stirred the porridge in his bowl with a spoon. It contained Gordon Euryale seeds and lotus seeds, with a subtle fragrance of lotus leaf – good for the spleen and relieving summer heat, quite a thoughtful bowl of porridge.

When A Yuan returned, she discovered that in the time it took to wash her face, the dishes had grown legs and flown away. She pouted but couldn’t say anything since it was for a customer. Shen Shaoguang patted her hand reassuringly and, worried she wouldn’t be full, brought two glutinous rice dumplings from the big pot.

The lettuce strips were dressed with vinegar and sesame oil, very refreshing; the sour bamboo shoots with minced meat had a stronger flavor, salty and perfect with porridge; even the salted eggs were well-preserved, with oily yolks that weren’t too salty and had a pleasant grainy texture. Before he knew it, Lin Yan had finished the bowl of porridge and most of the dishes, though he only ate four pieces of the eight pieces from two salted eggs.

With a satisfied stomach, Lin Yan’s mood also improved, and even the day’s matters at the office didn’t seem so troublesome anymore. He teased himself that he had followed in his grandmother’s footsteps, stepping into the same small stream.

Lin Yan stood up with a slight smile, left a tael of silver, and said to Shen Shaoguang: “Thank you for your hospitality.”

In the flickering lamplight, when this person smiled just now, it somehow felt like a moonlit lotus pond with a gentle breeze. Shen Shaoguang was stunned, thinking that beautiful people indeed should be viewed under lamplight. Though the Assistant Magistrate was handsome in daylight, he always seemed cold and unapproachable – how different from this enchanting bearing just now!

As Lin Yan walked out, Shen Shaoguang weighed the two-tael silver piece in his hand, thinking that the beautiful person was not only beautiful but also very sensible!