93. Chapter 93: Scheming

That very night, Yan Yan learned that their child’s full-moon banquet would be held at Nine-Taste House, and she stared at the Ninth Master in a daze.

“Master, did you not say we were not going to do it? I haven’t prepared a thing.”

Yan Yan did not approve of or appreciate Kangxi’s habit of springing surprises like this on people.

But when the Ninth Master went on grumbling about Kangxi’s stinginess, her eyes suddenly lit up, giving him such a shock that he blurted, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Yan Yan was thrilled beyond measure. How could she not be? In her eyes, the Ninth Master was simply the cleverest man in the world, already knowing to use a grand public event to display the strength of the nation.

Though she was a little worried about the Qing dynasty’s national power, she also thought that since the foreigners had not yet stirred up anything serious, perhaps there was still hope for everything. So Yan Yan spared no effort in praising him. “Master, I truly think you are dazzling. Such a wonderful idea—how did you ever think of it?”

The Ninth Master was made faintly red by her blunt praise. Instinct told him something was off; she had not even pitied him for the silver it would cost. So he sighed again. “What is so wonderful about it? How much silver will this cost me?”

Yan Yan narrowed her eyes and smiled wickedly. “Master, that is where you are mistaken. How could this possibly be a losing business? This will definitely make money.”

With that, she carried on her fine tradition of action before words and dragged the Ninth Master to the study, which had already been moved downstairs, where she began sketching and planning.

Watching her excited expression, the Ninth Master decided that this was how she should be. No matter what happened, she could always connect it to making money. He had seen women who were greedy for wealth, but a woman who loved making money to the extent Yan Yan did was, in truth, rather adorable.

More than that, Yan Yan was extraordinarily decisive. She had only just mentioned designing a special dish for the martial palace examination, and before long she had already put the idea into practice at their child’s full-moon banquet.

It was now the golden season of autumn, and the three little ones were about to turn one month old. Every corner of Nine-Taste House had already been decorated. The menu had been selected by Yan Yan herself, and the arrangements upstairs and downstairs had been completed bit by bit by Wu Tong and Cui’er under her direction, much to the Ninth Master’s delight in the days that followed.

On the eve of the banquet, the Ninth Master first went to the courtyard of Lady Dong’e. Her courtyard was exactly as it had always been, unchanged in the slightest; even the flowers planted beneath the windows were the same varieties as before. This made the Ninth Master frown. As Yan Yan would have put it, Lady Dong’e did not seem to love life at all.

When he entered Lady Dong’e’s room and saw her leading the maids in bowing to him, well, that was better. It seemed one maid had been replaced, and she was rather pretty.

Only, this maid appeared to have terrible eyesight. Her large lantern-like eyes were always open so wide that she looked rather eerie.

“Everything for tomorrow is ready?” The Ninth Master sat himself heavily in the seat of honor and, once Lady Dong’e had finished paying her respects, asked directly.

Lady Dong’e’s face stiffened. The child’s full-moon banquet had been entirely handled by Yan Yan; tomorrow, she would merely be there to receive the wives and consorts. If not for the fact that she still held the position of principal wife, Lady Dong’e suspected she might not even need to appear at the banquet at all.

She thought about it for too long, and the Ninth Master’s expression began to turn impatient. Nanny Dong nudged Lady Dong’e lightly, and only then did she come to herself.

“Replying to Master, everything has been prepared,” she said.

The Ninth Master gave a grunt and said sourly, “Good. Just don’t embarrass me tomorrow.”

With that, he patted his backside and left. Lately he had grown less and less willing to come to Lady Dong’e’s room; every time he saw that sorrowful look on her face, he lost all interest.

Who would have thought that just as the Ninth Master rose, the maid with the lantern-sized eyes would also lean out at the wrong moment, and the two of them collided at once.

Lady Dong’e hurried forward to support him and snapped at the maid, “You blind little wretch, can’t you see the master was getting up?”

The maid immediately dropped to her knees, pleading tearfully, her large eyes full of water as she looked at the Ninth Master.

His brow furrowed more tightly still. He could not understand it: the girl was clearly rather pretty, so why did she insist on staring so hard? Was she trying to frighten people?

“All right, stop with the tears. It is only annoying!” The Ninth Master glared at Lady Dong’e one more time, then strode away.

Only after he had disappeared from the courtyard did Lady Dong’e turn on the maid, who was still kneeling on the ground, and say bitterly, “Useless thing.”

This time the maid was truly wronged. She no longer dared stare, and with her eyes lowered and her manner submissive, she finally looked much gentler.

Though by then the Ninth Master could no longer see it.

After leaving Lady Dong’e’s courtyard, the Ninth Master lingered for a moment in Yong Alley before resolutely heading toward Yan Yan’s Qimeng Garden.

The moment he entered the room, he caught a rich, sweet scent of milk, and all the anger he had accumulated at Lady Dong’e’s place vanished at once.

Once he entered the outer room, he saw Cui’er hurrying downstairs, while Yan Yan herself was nowhere to be seen. The Ninth Master sighed helplessly. It seemed he truly would have to set some rules for Yan Yan. She had become more and more unruly lately.

Before he could dwell on it further, Yan Yan poked her head out from upstairs and smiled radiantly. “Master, I am making little cakes for the children. Would you come help me taste them?”

The Ninth Master gave her a fond look. “Go back up there this instant. Leaning out like that is dangerous. I’m coming up.”

Wang Quan, who had been following behind him, nearly stumbled at those words. Was this the same Ninth Master who was in the consort’s courtyard, and the same man who stood here? How had he become so agreeable?

Still, Wang Quan knew better than to pretend he could fathom the Ninth Master’s thoughts. So he obediently remained downstairs and let the Ninth Master ascend to enjoy a bit of domestic bliss.

Once upstairs, the Ninth Master saw that Yan Yan had set a table by the window and was busily working on something. The children were lying on the floor nearby, playing, and clearly not yet ready to sleep.

With Cui’er’s help, the Ninth Master changed into a set of comfortable clothes, then walked over to Yan Yan and stood behind her, encircling her waist in his arms.

Yan Yan unconsciously leaned back against him and laughed softly. “Master, are my little cakes not pretty?”

Only then did the Ninth Master see that the table before her was already filled with many round cakes, each decorated with eyes and brows drawn in black, looking especially charming. The sweet milky fragrance he had caught just now was coming from these small cakes.

Looking at the black decorations on top, he asked, “What are these?”

Yan Yan lifted a finger, touched one lightly, then brought it to his lips with a soft smile. “Try one, Master.”

The Ninth Master froze. Looking at her radiant smile, he suddenly felt that this, at last, was what life ought to be.