Chapter 10: Children Who Act Cute Have the Best Lot

What Ming Yi said matched what Shu Zhonglin told him about her origins. Doing rough work in the countryside would indeed leave calluses on her hands. But Ji Bozai felt that her going to the study to wait for him was not quite reasonable.

Suspicion stirred in his heart, but he did not show it. He coaxed the beauty in a gentle voice, kissed the tears from her face one by one, and said mildly: “This lord will be a bit busy these two days. If you lack anything, tell Nanny Xun.”

Ming Yi’s nose was red, and she asked in a stuffy voice: “You will not come back at night either?”

“I will. How could I not?” He laughed low. “Yi’er is quite formidable.”

Her cheeks flushed slightly. She huffed and yawned softly, like she was tired from crying.

He had always been tolerant of beauties and kept no strict rules with them. Seeing this, he said: “Sleep a little more. When lunch is ready, have the nanny bring it to your bedside.”

“Okay.” She finally broke into a smile through her tears.

He rubbed her head, then got up and went out.

Prince Gong was the heir of Muxing City, and he both feared and relied on Ji Bozai. Sending that wine attendant over was meant to test his attitude. Ji Bozai had no wish to make an enemy of anyone right now, so naturally he had to accept her.

He just never expected the one at home to be such a little vinegar jar.

Fine. The novelty was still fresh, so he would indulge her for two more days.

“My lord.” Bu Xiu followed at his side and said in a low voice: “The magistrate led people to the old Meng residence.”

Ji Bozai frowned: “Why?”

“I heard Young Master Yan made such a fuss that the magistrate had no choice but to look for clues at the old Meng residence.”

The Meng family was originally the foremost family of Muxing City. Their eldest daughter, Meng Xian’an, was the consort and even bore an heir. They should have enjoyed wealth for generations. But someone accused Meng Xian’an of adultery with an outside man and defiling the inner court. The grand overseer was furious, ordered the consort to die, and exiled the entire Meng family.

The old residence, with its green tiles and vermilion beams, was so splendid that no one has yet been favored enough to move in, so it has stood empty ever since.

What could they find by searching it now?

He sneered and said casually: “Report to me if there is any progress.”

“Yes.”

As he turned the corner of the winding corridor, he looked once more toward Ming Yi’s courtyard.

“When you have time, send someone to look at this girl too.”

He paused, then lowered his eyes: “Find a few with a light hand.”

If she truly could not fight and got hurt, she would cry for half a day, and he would have to coax her.

Bu Xiu glanced in some surprise at his master’s expression. He paused, still said nothing, and only answered quietly.

The sky outside was somewhat gloomy, and the room, with no lamps lit, was dark as well.

Nanny Xun opened the door and entered, thinking Ming Yi was still asleep. But when she lifted the bed curtain gently, she found her sitting dazedly with red eyes, completely dejected.

“Nanny.” Seeing her come in, she pursed her lips, and tears welled in her eyes again.

Nanny Xun hurriedly waved her hands: “Do not cry at me. I am no good with words.”

Ming Yi sniffed and swallowed half her tears back: “Is it time for lunch?”

“The lord told me to ask what the miss would like to eat today.” Seeing her so pitiful, Nanny Xun could not help softening her tone. “The kitchen can make anything you want.”

“I cannot eat.” She lowered her head. “The lord has no place for me in his heart at all.”

Well, that was to be expected. The girls who lived in this courtyard outnumbered the meals she ate, and Nanny Xun knew from the start that this one would not stay long either.

But this little girl, though chatty and fond of putting on airs, had a good heart, and the longer one looked at her, the more likable she was. So Nanny Xun did not have the heart to speak the truth and only said: “If the lord had no place for you in his heart, he would not have brought you back.”

“He brings other people back too, and is so intimate with them.” Ming Yi clutched her chest, sobbing. “It hurts so much to watch.”

In the first two days, she seemed so carefree. Who would have thought she would fall into love so fast?

Nanny Xun sighed, took a fine-toothed comb, and smoothed her black hair: “A girl must always live for herself. The miss should not dwell on it. Eat a little, and do not starve yourself.”

“Huu, I am so sad… Does the cook specialize in Feihua cuisine or Zhaoyang cuisine?”

Nanny Xun choked and did not know whether to laugh or cry: “Those two cuisines are more famous, but this is Muxing City, so naturally the cook specializes in Muxing cuisine.”

Muxing City’s tastes ran light, and Ming Yi looked listless: “Then I will force down a little.”

Nanny Xun agreed and was about to go, but Ming Yi grabbed her sleeve: “Got any brown sugar preserved plums, hm? For an appetizer.”

“We do.”

Ming Yi nodded and sniffled: “And some single-steamer golden milk pastries.”

“Grilled shrimp is good in Muxing cuisine.”

“Mandarin fish with no bones, deer tendon stewed soft and sticky, and a bowl of sweet snow noodles.”

Nanny Xun: ?

You call this forcing down a little?

She did not know whether to laugh or cry: “The miss is not upset anymore?”

“I am still upset, so will Nanny eat with me?” Ming Yi gazed at her with watery eyes and pouted. “The lord will not keep me company.”

Nanny Xun wanted to refuse. The household had no such rule, and since the girl would not stay long, she did not want to form feelings. But the girl before her was so small and delicate, truly endearing, and besides, the dishes she ordered were all ones Nanny Xun liked.

Forget it. She nodded: “This old servant will be back shortly.”

Ming Yi waited obediently. When all the dishes were laid out, she ate while asking: “What does the lord usually like to do? Is there anything I can learn to please him?”

Nanny Xun shook her head: “If he likes you, he will be pleased with whatever you do. You need not do anything else.”

The implication was clear. Once he stopped liking her, nothing she did would help.

Ming Yi bit the rim of her bowl in distress: “I learned zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting from the nannies in the inner court, but I feel none of it will be useful.”

“The lord is a fighter and has always been devoted to cultivation. Only in his spare time does he listen to music or watch dancing.”

She nodded, then drooped her brows: “I cannot go to the study, right? I will never go again.”

“The villa’s study is not forbidden ground.” Nanny Xun was enjoying the deer tendon, stewed just right, and in good spirits said a little more: “If the miss is fortunate enough to go to the main residence someday, that study is the one you cannot go to. No matter who it is, anyone who enters without permission will lose their life.”

So this place was only his house on the outside?

Ming Yi’s mouth twitched.

The cunning hare really does have three burrows. This courtyard was so large and was still only a side residence. How big must his main residence be?

“By the way, the lord instructed earlier that the storeroom keys be given to you,” Nanny Xun said. “From now on, the accounts of this courtyard are yours to manage.”

Earlier, Ming Yi wondered how someone like Ji Bozai, a newly risen noble with a huge fortune, could hand it over so easily to a little seductress like her. So it was only this villa’s accounts. In effect, he took her for an accountant who did not need to be paid.

Still, money was something that made one happy just by looking at it, and she did not mind taking on the job. She had nothing else to do anyway.

So after the meal, Ming Yi began going through the accounts. The old ledgers were piled high, so she could only skim this year’s.

Nanny Xun lit a lamp for her and was about to sit with her for a while when two strange cuckoo calls sounded outside.