Snow drifted beneath the eaves, leaving a thin white layer across the stone steps.

Xie Zheng stood beneath the corridor with his arms folded against a pillar, half-lowered eyes hiding whatever thoughts occupied him. The lantern overhead cast warm light across the ground, drawing dark shadows beneath his long lashes.

He had seen many beautiful women before.

At banquets hosted by Wei Yan, he had even watched Western Region dancers perform barefoot.

He no longer remembered what those dancers’ feet looked like. The only thing left in his memory was the golden anklet bells hanging at their ankles, chiming softly as they danced like a silent invitation.

Yet when he saw Fan Changyu’s bare feet earlier, for some reason, he suddenly thought of those golden bells.

The thought itself felt absurd.

And immediately afterward came a wave of self-loathing, as though he had somehow offended her merely by having such thoughts.

Xie Zheng rubbed irritably at his brow.

Since childhood he had lived under another’s roof. In order to carry on his father’s legacy, he spent his days studying military strategy and practicing martial arts. Added to that, Wei Yan had raised both him and Wei Xuan under extremely strict discipline. To prevent them from indulging in romantic affairs, even the servants attending them had all been male pages—never maids.

After entering the battlefield, he devoted himself entirely to killing enemies and surviving wars. He had never once thought about such things.

Wei Xuan, on the other hand, seemed determined to rebel against every rule Wei Yan imposed. He frequented brothels and kept mistresses outside, earning countless punishments from Wei Yan because of it.

Back then, Wei Xuan had mocked him for being an obedient dog, asking whether he even knew what the “land of tenderness” between men and women felt like.

At the time, Xie Zheng had shared the same opinion as Wei Yan. He merely thought Wei Xuan lacked ambition and would never amount to much.

Though he hated admitting it, he truly had been deeply influenced by Wei Yan in the past.

Wei Yan believed a ruler had to master control over his own desires. Lust between men and women, in his eyes, was merely the lowest and most vulgar of impulses.

After returning from the battlefield, Xie Zheng occasionally attended unavoidable banquets out of courtesy. Watching soft-bodied dancers sway gracefully before applauding nobles only filled him with contempt.

Like Wei Yan, he looked down on the decadence of the capital’s aristocracy. He believed such drunken luxury only softened a man’s bones.

If he were ever to marry, he would choose a proper noblewoman capable of supporting the Xie family name—not someone fragile like his own mother.

Blades on the battlefield had no eyes.

One day he might die there just like his father had.

He did not need a woman to die for love after he was gone. He only needed a wife capable of holding up the Xie household in his absence.

That was how every noble son in the capital chose a wife.

And yet these past few days…

What exactly had happened to him?

Fan Changyu’s figure surfaced in his mind again without warning.

The way she slaughtered pigs. The way she fought people. The way she gritted her teeth and endured hardship.

She was good.

Better than many noble daughters, even—stronger, more resilient.

But the environment she grew up in had been too simple. She could never navigate the scheming monsters hidden within noble households…

In the end, she could never become the matriarch of the Xie family.

Only after realizing what he was thinking did Xie Zheng suddenly freeze.

The old steward woman making nighttime rounds through the courtyard noticed him standing beneath the corridor and asked, “Young man, why aren’t you back inside resting?”

Xie Zheng gathered his thoughts and replied, “I was actually about to look for you. Is it possible for me to squeeze into a room with one of the Yixiang Tower workers for the night?”

The old woman looked puzzled.

“You’re Madam Fan’s husband. Why aren’t you sleeping in the same room?”

Xie Zheng found an excuse.

“She’s with her younger sister. It’s inconvenient.”

The old woman inwardly thought Changning was barely more than a child, but considering the girl was still a young lady, she nodded.

“This old woman failed to think things through. The workers’ rooms are all shared two to a room, so there aren’t any spare rooms left. But there’s one worker whose snoring is so loud nobody can sleep beside him. If you don’t mind, you can spend the night in his room.”

Xie Zheng only replied that he did not mind.

The steward woman led him there.

Before they even reached the door, thunderous snores already shook the hallway.

Xie Zheng fell silent for a moment.

The old woman pushed open the door. Even the loud creaking of the hinges failed to wake the sleeping worker.

After lighting the oil lamp, she pointed toward an empty single bed nearby.

“You can sleep here tonight.”

After thanking her, Xie Zheng removed his outer robe and lay down with one arm beneath his head.

He already had little desire to sleep, and with the worker across from him snoring like thunder, even closing his eyes became impossible.

After enduring it for a quarter hour, Xie Zheng finally rose from bed, walked to the worker’s bedside, and chopped the back of the man’s neck with one hand.

The worker instantly passed out cold.

The snoring stopped immediately.

Xie Zheng returned to bed, yet still could not sleep.

Before this, he had never thought about any future involving Fan Changyu.

But tonight, after suddenly considering marriage, his heart felt inexplicably restless.

He knew Fan Changyu was unsuitable as the Xie family’s matriarch.

Yet when he imagined returning to the capital and marrying some perfectly composed noble daughter capable of managing the Xie household with flawless etiquette, he instinctively felt resistant.

It was as though he had discovered a wild blade of grass thriving stubbornly in the wilderness.

He liked it.

But if he uprooted that wild grass and brought it home to stand among exotic flowers and precious plants, everyone else would only laugh at it.

Wild grass only flourished freely in its own field.

Once transplanted into a luxurious porcelain pot and carefully cultivated, it would no longer be wild grass at all.

He lifted one arm to cover his eyes, lips pressed tightly together in the darkness.

—

Before dawn the next morning, Fan Changyu got up.

Changning still slept soundly. After quietly dressing herself, she slipped out the door and asked the steward woman to keep an eye on Changning before hurrying off to Yixiang Tower.

The Yixiang Tower in the county city was laid out similarly to the one in Lin’an Town, only far grander.

The serving boys hadn’t arrived yet, but the kitchen staff were already bustling around.

The pig heads to be braised had long since been cleaned and prepared. Fan Changyu didn’t even need to light the fires herself—she only needed to prepare the braising spices.

Yu Qianqian personally discussed the banquet sequence with several head chefs: which dishes to serve first, which later, and what should appear as the grand finale.

Though Fan Changyu was an outsider to such matters, even she could tell how meticulous the arrangements were.

Some dishes lost their flavor if left waiting too long.

But if too many lavish dishes were served back-to-back, the kitchen would fall behind and leave guests waiting too long between courses, which would embarrass the host family.

Ordinary people might not care if dishes came late at a banquet.

But wealthy and powerful families hosting such events cared deeply about face.

If the dishes were delayed, not only would the hosts complain to Yixiang Tower, the restaurant’s reputation would suffer too.

After finishing instructions for the chefs, Yu Qianqian noticed Fan Changyu sitting beside the stove warming herself and squeezed in beside her without any airs.

“It’s only the second day of the new year, and I’ve already dragged you here to help. I really appreciate it.”

Fan Changyu replied honestly, “Shopkeeper Yu seems far busier than me.”

Yu Qianqian laughed.

“There’s no easy money in this world. If we handle today’s banquet well, Yixiang Tower’s reputation in the county will truly be established.”

After Yixiang Tower first opened in the county city, it had been sabotaged by Wang Ji. Business had remained lukewarm ever since. Many wealthy locals still mocked the restaurant over the “lost auspicious omen” from opening day.

Yu Qianqian had spent heavily gifting wealthy madams all sorts of rare novelties before finally securing today’s banquet order.

Suddenly remembering something, she asked, “By the way, does your braised meat shop have a logo or trademark design?”

Fan Changyu looked blank.

“What’s that?”

Yu Qianqian smacked her forehead.

“My fault—I’ve been too busy and forgot to tell you earlier. Something like Wang Ji Braised Meat’s custom signboard.”

Fan Changyu shook her head.

Yu Qianqian said, “Your braised meat here in my restaurant is competing directly against Wang Ji from Drunken Immortal Tower. Even if you don’t have a proper emblem yet, at least get a nice banner written up.”

Fan Changyu looked confused.

“Isn’t braised meat just sliced and served on plates? Does it matter whether there’s a logo?”

Yu Qianqian explained patiently:

“You probably saw the shops downstairs when you entered. Fang family tea and Li family wine are all sold there. I saved a stall for your braised meat too. Later, you should braise extra and sell it there directly. Everything you earn will be yours. But your brand has to become famous. Otherwise people will think my restaurant’s braised meat has no pedigree and compare it unfavorably to Wang Ji.”

As she stood up, she added, “I’ll send someone to find a scholar with good handwriting to make you a temporary banner.”

Fan Changyu immediately thought of Xie Zheng.

“My husband can write! I’ll go get him!”

Yu Qianqian hesitated slightly.

“How good is his handwriting?”

Fan Changyu answered without hesitation:

“His writing is extremely beautiful!”

With how confidently she guaranteed it, and with countless matters still demanding her attention, Yu Qianqian finally nodded.

“Then hurry and bring him over. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll still send for a scholar afterward.”

The braised meat was already simmering in the pot, so all that remained was watching the fire.

Fan Changyu responded immediately and hurried off through the alley behind Yixiang Tower to find Xie Zheng.

—

Xie Zheng had barely slept after thinking through the night.

Only near dawn had he finally drifted off for a shallow sleep.

Yet before long, he was awakened by the steward woman loudly calling for the snoring worker.

“That boy usually doesn’t slack off,” she muttered. “Why is he still sleeping this late today?”

The worker woke looking dazed. Seeing daylight already outside, he hurriedly scrambled out of bed—only to yelp in pain halfway up, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I think I slept crooked. My neck hurts terribly.”

The steward woman scolded him immediately.

“That’s because you slept too much trying to avoid work!”

The worker, already guilty about oversleeping, could only rub his sore neck while rushing through washing up before hurrying off to work.

By now the entire courtyard buzzed with workers moving about.

Xie Zheng no longer had any interest in trying to sleep.

A single sleepless night had already brought faint stubble to his jaw.

Just after washing up, Fan Changyu arrived.

Seeing the dark shadows beneath his eyes, she asked in surprise:

“You didn’t stay awake the entire night, did you?”

The steward woman happened to be passing through the courtyard at that moment. Hearing her question and seeing Xie Zheng’s exhausted appearance, she chimed in sympathetically:

“I already warned him that worker snores terribly loud. The poor young man must’ve been kept awake all night.”

Xie Zheng had not known how to answer Fan Changyu, so he simply nodded after hearing the old woman’s explanation.

Fan Changyu immediately looked at him with sympathy.

After the steward woman left, she said, “Then after we return home tonight, you should sleep properly. Right now I need your help with something.”

Perhaps because he truly had not rested, Xie Zheng stared at her moving lips for a moment without even hearing what she said.

Instead, his thoughts drifted back to the dream he had during his brief sleep.

In the dream, they separated as agreed.

Then she turned around and married someone else.

She wore the same wedding clothes from the day they had married.

He could not see the other man’s face, but her smile was dazzling and carefree—as though she had truly married the man she wanted.

He couldn’t quite describe the feeling it left in him.

He only knew he disliked it.

Looking at Fan Changyu now, his lips unconsciously pressed downward.

Fan Changyu noticed he hadn’t responded at all and waved a hand before his eyes.

“Did you even hear what I said?”

Xie Zheng finally snapped back to reality and quickly hid his thoughts.

“What did you say?”

Fan Changyu eyed him suspiciously.

“What were you thinking about just now?”

“Nothing,” he replied calmly. “I just woke up. My mind’s still sluggish.”

Since she herself often became dazed after poor sleep, she accepted the excuse easily and returned to the main topic.

“I need you to write some words for me.”