The next day, the sun rose as usual from the east. By the time Xu Yuejia woke up, it was nearly Chen hour (7-9 AM).
Last night, water had been called for several times in the room, so Yun Zhi and Tao Zhi did not come early in the morning to disturb them.
Xu Yuejia glanced inside. The person who had kicked him out after their activities last night had somehow rolled to the innermost side of the bed, wrapped in her own quilt, breathing softly and sleeping soundly.
Only the back of her head was visible.
Xu Yuejia got up quietly, and Wen Ye remained completely unaware. By the time she woke up, it was already past Si hour (9-11 AM).
Wen Ye felt as though her entire body had gone numb. She called out to the outside, "Tao Zhi."
Tao Zhi came in with hot water, dipped a white cloth into it, wrung it slightly, and handed it to Wen Ye, who had already sat up.
After wiping her face, Wen Ye felt much more awake.
Yun Zhi came in later and asked, "Madam, shall we serve breakfast?"
Since it was already so late, there was no need for an additional breakfast. Therefore, Wen Ye said, "Just prepare lunch directly."
Yun Zhi then asked, "Should we prepare a portion for the master as well?"
Wen Ye's gaze shifted from her reflection in the mirror, slightly surprised, "Is the master still in the mansion?"
Yun Zhi replied truthfully, "The master went out after waking up this morning, but he returned a little over a quarter of an hour ago and has been in the study ever since."
Her mistress did not involve herself in many matters and treated the servants of the west courtyard equally. Gradually, the boundaries between the front and back courtyards of the west courtyard became less distinct.
As long as it did not involve the master's privacy, matters like these were something Yun Zhi and Tao Zhi could learn about from Liuya and Liuxin.
Wen Ye was not concerned about where Xu Yuejia had gone, but since he was in the west courtyard, it would not be appropriate to exclude him from lunch.
After some thought, Wen Ye said, "Then add a few dishes that the master likes. By the way, is the menu that Liuxin gave us before still available?"
Yun Zhi nodded, "Yes, I've kept it safely."
Wen Ye said, "Choose two or three dishes from that menu."
The list of likes and dislikes Xu Yuejia had provided earlier was too vague, so Wen Ye had later asked Yun Zhi to get a more detailed one from Liuxin.
She did not seek to gain merit but only to avoid mistakes.
This way, the excessive things she had done last night should be mostly offset.
Wen Ye considered herself a person who was not impulsive, but occasionally, there were one or two moments when her impulsiveness spiraled out of control.
It was only human nature, after all.
Moreover, she was not the only one who had enjoyed last night. If Xu Yuejia dared to deny it, she would absolutely not allow it.
Tao Zhi helped Wen Ye arrange her hair, and Yun Zhi brought over the clothes that had been perfumed. By the time Wen Ye was fully dressed, it was already time for lunch.
With less than ten days left until the New Year, the main kitchen of the Duke's mansion was already preparing the ingredients needed for the New Year's Eve feast. Some dishes required several days of preparation in advance. Compared to the busyness of the main kitchen, the small kitchens in each courtyard seemed much more relaxed.
Hongxing was someone Wen Ye had discovered in the Wen family's main kitchen. Before being assigned to Hengwu Courtyard, she had merely been a fire-stoking maid. After a few years of learning, her culinary skills had undergone a remarkable transformation.
Her plating skills were still lacking, but Wen Ye had noticed from recent meals that the girl was making a great effort to improve.
By the time Wen Ye took her seat, Xu Yuejia also appeared punctually in the west courtyard.
He was dressed in a moon-white robe, tall and straight like a jade tree, exuding an air of cold elegance. Wen Ye gazed at him appreciatively, suddenly feeling as though the Xu Yuejia who had stayed in the west courtyard last night and the one before her now were two different people.
And then there was the night of their wedding, when Wen Ye had only seen him wear that set of bright red sleepwear once. To her, it had been an entirely different experience.
Wen Ye suddenly recalled the time she had encountered him on the street, dressed in a crimson official robe, tall and imposing, his authority fully displayed.
Back when Xu Yuejia had passed the imperial examination and rode through the streets on horseback, she had been too lazy to go and missed his most spirited moment. Looking back now, she felt a deep sense of regret.
What was even more regrettable was that not every version of Xu Yuejia was something she could experience.
Wen Ye's unabashed gaze forced Xu Yuejia to shift his attention toward her. He had seen many admiring and praising looks in his life, but only this woman's appreciation of him often carried a kind of indescribable "desire."
And this desire came with an extraordinary frankness, without a hint of vulgarity or shame.
Wen Ye was a complete paradox. Xu Yuejia could see through her, yet he could not fully understand her.
After finishing her admiration, Wen Ye invited Xu Yuejia to take a seat.
Last night's activities had been quite draining, so after drinking a bowl of soup, Wen Ye ate two bowls of rice in a row, along with a good amount of meat and vegetables.
Xu Yuejia's appetite remained as usual.
However, when Wen Ye was on her second bowl of rice, his gaze flicked toward her abdomen a couple of times.
Xu Yuejia did not hide his gaze, and Wen Ye naturally noticed it.
Although she was not particularly thin, she was not overweight either. However, she took good care of herself in private, practicing modern yoga regularly, which had allowed her to maintain a well-proportioned and naturally flowing figure over the years.
Nevertheless, she deliberately asked, "Does the master think I've eaten too much?"
Xu Yuejia withdrew his gaze and said, "I'm just worried you might overeat."
Seeing that he genuinely did not mean it that way, Wen Ye raised an eyebrow and said, "Don't worry, master, I know my limits."
The maids cleared the table and brought in hot tea.
Xu Yuejia took a small sip and said, "As long as you know your limits."
He held himself to strict standards but never imposed them on others.
However, a "wife" was ultimately different from "others." From the very beginning, Xu Yuejia had held expectations for the person in the role of "wife," hoping that she would take on the identity of Xu Yuxuan's "mother."
For this reason, as long as her requests were not excessive, he would do his best to fulfill them.
Xu Yuejia looked at the woman who was sipping tea and eating dried plums, her face glowing with vitality, and his heart skipped a beat.
Her needs were clear at a glance.
Wen Ye did not know what Xu Yuejia was thinking. Seeing that he had not left after the meal, she asked curiously, "Is the master not busy with official duties today?"
The New Year holiday for officials of the Great Jin Dynasty lasted from the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month to the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month, totaling twenty-five days of vacation.
Given Xu Yuejia's personality, he did not seem like someone who would rest immediately after the holiday began.
Xu Yuejia took another sip of tea and said indifferently, "There's nothing urgent today."
Wen Ye said, "Oh," and then added, "Then the master can do as he pleases. I'm going out for a walk."
With that, she stood up.
Xu Yuejia's gaze followed her, "Where are you going?"
Wen Ye walked out without turning her head, "Shopping."
Xu Yuejia: "..."
The weather was beautiful today, and Wen Ye decided to go out for a stroll to help digest her meal.
In the past, Wen Ye had rarely had the opportunity to go out. Even Yun Zhi and Tao Zhi had been out more often than she had.
After entering the Duke's mansion, she had much more freedom.
However, she did not go to any gold and silver jewelry shops or clothing and cosmetics stores, as she lacked nothing in those areas.
Instead, she went to the West Market, which was somewhat like a later-day flower and bird market, filled with all sorts of strange and interesting items.
Whenever Wen Ye came across something she liked, she had Tao Zhi pay for it. The items were not expensive, and she had no shortage of money.
She even came across a pair of supposedly overseas glass cups, each no larger than a woman's palm. The seller was a bearded merchant whose accent suggested he was not from Sheng Jing. It was unclear where he had obtained these glass cups.
The pair of glass cups cost ten taels of silver.
They were somewhat expensive, so while many people were interested, few were willing to pay for them.
The Great Jin Dynasty also had glass products, but they were crudely made and contained many impurities, unlike the pure and transparent ones in the bearded merchant's hands.
Perhaps they really were from overseas. Wen Ye had Tao Zhi pay for them and added the glass cups to her collection.
Wen Ye remembered that she still had a jar of wine she had brewed during the summer. In the future, she would use these glass cups to drink it.
After finishing her tour of the West Market and buying many small trinkets, Wen Ye returned to her carriage with a satisfied heart and asked Uncle Qiu to take her to a teahouse.
Upon entering the teahouse, Wen Ye requested a private room. In the center of the teahouse, there was a long table with tea set upon it. Behind the table sat an elderly man with a long beard, holding a gavel and passionately telling a story with rising and falling tones.
The main hall on the first floor and the private rooms on the second and third floors occasionally erupted with bursts of applause.
Wen Ye had chosen a private room on the second floor. From the window, she could clearly see the storyteller's animated expressions during the most exciting parts of his tale.
At this moment, Tao Zhi returned with several bags of snacks bought from the street.
They were all Wen Ye's favorites: fried glutinous rice balls, spicy rice cakes, pea flour cakes, candied haws, and more.
There were also some vegetarian braised dishes in a small bag. Yun Zhi asked the teahouse waiter for a pot of Biluochun tea and a few of the teahouse's signature pastries. Finally, she requested a few extra porcelain plates to arrange the snacks Tao Zhi had bought.
With the Duke's mansion guards stationed outside the private room, Wen Ye was not worried about anyone mistakenly entering. She handed each of her maids a candied haw.
The three of them ate together.
The syrup was a thin layer, and once bitten through, it revealed a bright red hawthorn inside.
Wen Ye took a bite; it was a bit sour, but still within her tolerance.
However, Tao Zhi, who couldn’t handle sourness, wasn’t as fortunate. Her face scrunched up like a bun.
Wen Ye laughed without restraint and teased, “Is it really that sour?”
Tao Zhi, with a bitter expression, forced herself to finish the remaining candied hawthorns, adhering to the principle of not wasting food. She grumbled, “That old man selling candied hawthorns isn’t honest!”
Fortunately, she had only bought five sticks and had given one to Uncle Qiu, leaving just one stick in the tray.
After finishing one stick of candied hawthorn, Wen Ye turned her chopsticks to the vegetarian stew, spicy rice cakes, and fried glutinous rice balls.
Having not fully digested her lunch, Wen Ye only took a few bites of each. Since food kept well in winter, she planned to take the leftovers back for dinner.
The storyteller in the teahouse was narrating tales of romantic scholars and beautiful ladies, but Wen Ye wasn’t particularly interested. She was just there for something new to listen to.
When the time came, she returned to the Duke’s residence with the day’s purchases.
She hadn’t realized how much she had bought until she stepped out of the sedan chair at the entrance of the Duke’s residence.
Her haul filled an entire trunk.
And that didn’t even include the snacks Tao Zhi was carrying in her arms.
The trunk was carried in by the guards and set down outside the west courtyard, where two maids were called to carry it inside.
“Mother!” As soon as Wen Ye entered the west courtyard, she heard a childish voice calling out from a distance.
She instinctively hid her hands behind her back before realizing she wasn’t holding anything.
Wen Ye looked up and noticed a small stool had been placed near the swing.
Xu Yuxuan was sitting on it, his chubby cheeks resting in his hands. When he saw Wen Ye, he immediately stood up and called out, “Mother!”
Nanny Ji stood quietly nearby.
Wen Ye approached and, out of habit, patted his head. “What are you doing here?” she asked.
Xu Yuxuan tilted his head up and replied sweetly, “Waiting for you, Mother~”
After speaking, his round, puppy-like eyes curiously glanced at the oil-paper bag in Tao Zhi’s arms.
Wen Ye: “…”
Wen Ye subtly blocked Xu Yuxuan’s view, trying to distract him. “Where’s your father? Did he just leave you here alone? How irresponsible!”
Nanny Ji, standing nearby: “…”
Wen Ye spoke with such conviction, as if Xu Yuejia had committed some heinous, unforgivable act.
“Are you looking for me?” A cool, calm voice came from inside the room.
A man holding a book appeared at the threshold.
Wen Ye: “…” Why was he still here?
