After waiting for a day, Lord Xu once again sought out Xu Yuejia and asked, "Did you find out yesterday?"
Xu Yuejia, who had just been 'expelled' from the western courtyard, pursed her lips and said, "I was discovered."
Lord Xu sighed on the surface: "Alas......"
But inwardly he thought: What a useless beauty.
Before Lord Xu could say anything, Xu Yuejia spoke again: "Brother, don't worry. I'll try to probe again in a couple of days."
Lord Xu was somewhat suspicious: "Second Brother, did you really try before?"
Xu Yuejia: "Of course."
Lord Xu remembered his wife's full smile when she mentioned Sister-in-law, and gradually put aside his suspicions.
This person is indeed skilled at beguiling people.
Lord Xu decided to give Xu Yuejia another chance: "Second Brother, time waits for no one."
Xu Yuejia: "Brother should be more patient."
At the same moment, inside the western courtyard.
Taozhi helped Wen Ye manually press green medicinal juice and said, "Madam, why didn't you let Master in just now?"
Wen Ye lowered her eyes, focusing on her work, and casually replied: "He would delay things if he came in."
Taizhi didn't understand: "Huh?"
Wen Ye looked up at her and gave a simple reason: "Master came to inquire about what birthday gift I will give to Sister-in-law this year. If he saw these, wouldn't my surprise for Sister-in-law be ruined?"
Thanks to her strong will, even though she was dazzled by beauty, she didn't tell Xu Yuejia what she would give.
Two more days passed.
That night, Wen Ye was wiping off the face mask with a warm towel.
Xu Yuejia fulfilled his promise; he walked to the dressing mirror and asked, "What birthday present have you prepared for Sister-in-law?"
The exact same line, not even changing the tone.
Exactly the same as two nights ago.
Wen Ye skillfully replied, "If I told Master, the surprise would be gone."
Xu Yuejia: "You really can't say?"
Wen Ye shook her head: "I can't."
Wen Ye rubbed her cheeks with her palm, thinking to herself, it's so tender.
Xu Yuejia: "Alright, I know."
The first part of fulfilling the promise ended.
Xu Yuejia then said: "I'm going to wash up."
Starting the second phase.
Wen Ye: "......"
Here we go again.
Occasionally, Wen Ye felt that Xu Yuejia was quite similar to her in some ways, such as both liking to emphasize the latter half of certain processes.
However... where did Xu Yuejia learn these indecent tricks?
She liked them too much.
*
With only a few days left until Madam Lu’s birthday, all Lord Xu learned from Xu Yuejia were two words: secret.
Even the most oblivious person should realize by now.
Lord Xu felt a bit hurt; his sincere younger brother had deceived him.
Upon learning part of the truth, Madam Lu laughed and said, "Could it be that Second Brother is joking with Lord Xu?"
Lord Xu corrected her: "This isn't a joke, it's deception."
Fortunately, he hadn't fully relied on his younger brother. Besides the golden cake rolls, he also learned a few other things.
Madam Lu dismissed it: "This shows that Second Brother and Ye Niang’s relationship is growing stronger."
Lord Xu didn’t understand: "Can it be explained this way?"
Madam Lu nodded: "Of course."
Lord Xu suddenly became serious: "Then shouldn't we also deceive Second Brother or Sister-in-law together?"
Madam Lu glared at him twice: "Why are you causing trouble at a time like this?"
Lord Xu felt slightly disappointed: "Oh."
...
Madam Lu’s birthday this year was much like previous ones, inviting good friends over for a gathering.
Wen Ye’s birthday gift was delivered to the main courtyard early.
After learning from Xu Yuejia that Lord Xu had specially learned to make pastries for Madam Lu this year, Wen Ye abandoned her plan to make a cake.
She didn’t want to be the executioner who caused a rift between Madam Lu and Lord Xu.
Leave some room for others, so there’s a chance to meet again in the future.
Despite Wen Ye’s repeated efforts to stay low-key, the facial masks and skincare creams she personally formulated were still loved by Madam Lu and several friends.
It wasn’t that they lacked such items; any wealthy lady would have these skincare products. What they envied was the bond between Madam Lu and Wen Ye.
The detailed instructions and precautions alone spanned several pages, showing the sincerity of the person who made this set of skincare products.
On this day, Madam Lu had an extremely joyful time.
By evening, after seeing off her friends, Madam Lu returned to the main courtyard.
Lord Xu was already there, and on the table was a box.
Madam Lu raised her eyebrows and approached cheerfully, asking: "Jewelry? Let’s open it and take a look."
Lord Xu: "No."
"Guess again." His tone seemed somewhat proud.
Madam Lu was surprised: "It’s actually not jewelry?"
Lord Xu opened the box: "It’s pastries!"
Madam Lu realized: "No wonder Jing Lin isn’t here today. Did you take over his job?"
Lord Xu defended himself: "Jing Lin couldn’t do it. These are all pastries I made myself!"
Madam Lu paused her gaze on the few pastries and said: "They look like the styles from Yufang Garden."
Lord Xu coughed awkwardly: "I went to Yufang Garden to learn. Isn’t that your favorite place for pastries?"
Seeing Madam Lu show no surprise, Lord Xu felt quite disheartened.
Madam Lu acted as if she hadn’t noticed and said: "I never eat sweets at night. Has Lord Xu forgotten?"
Lord Xu regretted deeply; he had forgotten her habit.
Madam Lu gazed at him silently for a long while, then suddenly smiled: "Help me choose one."
Lord Xu instantly brightened and enthusiastically introduced to Madam Lu: "This golden cake roll is my specialty!"
If humans grew tails like animals, Lord Xu’s tail would definitely be high up, wagging side to side.
...
The next day.
After returning from dining at the main courtyard, Wen Ye sighed: "Master, I am truly a good person."
Facing Xu Yuejia’s puzzled gaze, Wen Ye continued shamelessly: "If I hadn’t insisted on not telling Master what birthday gift I would give to Sister-in-law, Brother might not have been able to make delicious pastries."
Today at the dining table, she clearly sensed the unusual atmosphere between Madam Lu and Lord Xu.
If she had given in and told, leading Lord Xu to also go and learn, there wouldn’t have been yesterday’s success.
After listening to Wen Ye’s nonsense, Xu Yuejia nodded slightly: "Indeed."
Wen Ye’s words greatly inspired Xu Yuejia.
When Lord Xu later came to settle accounts with him, Xu Yuejia said the same thing: "If I had found out that day, would Brother still have insisted on learning to make pastries?"
Lord Xu instinctively denied: "No."
Xu Yuejia: "So, Brother should thank me properly. That’s the right thing to do."
Lord Xu: "......"
Am I stupid???
*
Before early summer, Xu Yuejia added another martial arts lesson for Xu Yuxuan.
Start with the basics.
Xu Yuxuan was well taken care of by Madam Lu, showing no signs of being a premature baby.
To keep him, Xu Mingyue drank many pregnancy-preserving medicines. Though medicine has its toxicity, Xu Yuxuan fell sick very few times over the years. Without Madam Lu’s meticulous care, he might have ended up like his father, Xu Yuejia, learning only superficial moves.
Martial arts lessons were scheduled for the morning.
After practicing for a while, Xu Yuxuan liked to swing his little fists in the yard every morning after waking up.
Before even getting into stance, his little face was full of effort.
Feeling proficient, he didn’t forget to show off to Wen Ye.
Under the clear blue sky, the little cub insisted on performing for Wen Ye.
Wen Ye didn’t pay much attention to his martial arts lessons and turned to ask Granny Ji: "Does Xuan’er have talent in martial arts?"
Granny Ji hesitated for a long time, her face full of deliberation, unsure where to start.
Wen Ye: "Alright, Granny needn’t say more. I understand."
Granny Ji sighed in relief: "It’s good that Second Madam understands."
The azure sky had not a single wisp of cloud. Sitting on the swing and gently swaying, Wen Ye could feel a slight breeze.
Looking at Xu Yuxuan held back by Rendong under the corridor, she said: "Don’t go to the yard. Perform for Mother right here under the corridor."
If she didn’t let this little guy perform, there would be no peace.
Xu Yuxuan wriggled free from Rendong’s arms, ran forward in two steps, picked up his little wooden sword, stood more than a zhang away from Wen Ye, raised his little wooden sword with his right hand, started posing, and said: "Mother, I’m starting!"
Wen Ye waved her fan nonchalantly: "Mm, mm. Mother is watching."
After only half a month of practice, there were no real moves. Wen Ye watched carefully and found that this little guy was just waving randomly.
Yet after finishing, he happily walked up to her and asked: "Mother, was Xuan’er good?"
Wen Ye thought for a moment, and just as he was about to lose patience, she said: "Not bad."
Not bad means good.
Xu Yuxuan immediately burst into a happy smile.
After being praised, he discarded his little wooden sword and ran around the yard.
Not long after, he bumped into Xu Yuejia, who had finished dealing with official duties at the front study during his day off.
Xu Yuxuan rubbed his sore little nose, looked up to see who it was, and called out: "Father."
Xu Yuejia steadied him and asked: "What are you doing?"
Xu Yuxuan happily replied: "I’m practicing swordsmanship for Mother, and she praised me!"
Upon hearing this, Xu Yuejia raised his eyes to look at the leisurely woman under the corridor, who was playing with the little wooden sword Xu Yuxuan had 'discarded.'
Xu Yuejia led Xu Yuxuan back under the corridor.
Seeing him, Wen Ye said: "Master, would you like some fruit?"
She pointed to the table.
Xu Yuejia: "No need."
Then he said: "I’ll go inside for a moment."
Wen Ye didn’t understand why he specifically told her this. If he wanted to go inside, he could just go.
A moment later, Xu Yuejia emerged holding a long sword that hadn’t been opened for a long time.
Seeing this, Wen Ye asked: "Master, what is this?"
Xu Yuejia calmly said: "It’s been a long time since I practiced. I’m rusty. With nothing to do today, I thought I’d get back into it."
Wen Ye’s eyes immediately lit up: "Then I’ll be looking forward to it."
Xu Yuejia lifted the long sword and came to the yard.
Seeing this, Xu Yuxuan quietly sneaked over. Father and son stood apart.
One held a sword, the other barehanded.
Wen Ye looked at this scene and couldn’t help but laugh: "Are you having a father-son duel?"
Xu Yuxuan nodded heavily: "Yes!"
Xu Yuejia remained calm: "Just casual practice."
Wen Ye: "Alright, then I’ll be the referee."
A moment later, the sword wind rose, like ripples stirred by a gentle breeze on a tranquil lake.
If Wen Ye understood martial arts, she would surely spot many flaws in Xu Yuejia’s every move.
But she didn’t understand.
At this moment, she could only distinguish between beauty and ugliness.
A face as cold as the moon paired with sword movements light as floating clouds.
Deadly beauty.
Seeing her mother’s attention completely drawn to her father, Xu Yuxuan, who was using all his strength to punch, became anxious and tried to call Wen Ye’s attention back with his voice: "Mother! Look at me!"
Hearing Xu Yuxuan’s shout, Wen Ye glanced briefly.
Though she admitted that Xu Yuxuan was cute, she still preferred handsome men.
