After Little Jing made his greetings, he sat silently at the side, looking straight ahead.
Ah Ruan must have felt something off because she suddenly turned quiet, making the whole atmosphere awkward.
The Old Ancestress broke the weird silence by saying, “Aye, I’m so old that a little chat has already exhausted me. You guys go ahead and have fun. You don’t have to keep this old woman company.”
Yu De got the hint and chimed in, “I’m going to the kitchen to see what dishes are being prepared. This is Ah Ruan’s first time here and we cannot be negligent.”
“Elder Princess, I’ll go with you,” Ye Jiayao immediately said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve cooked and my hands are feeling itchy.”
Xia Chunyu looked around, distressed. What was he supposed to do then? He couldn’t very well stay and be the third wheel but he also couldn’t come with them to the kitchen!
“I’m going to… take a look at Xuan’s dog,” he said feebly.
In a flash, everyone left the room, leaving only Ah Ruan and Little Jing inside.
Ah Ruan didn’t pick up on what was going on so she innocently asked, “Little Jing, do you think I should go and help out?”
Helian Jing was suddenly feeling awkward around Ah Ruan. Before he had the conversation with Yaoyao, he was completely comfortable being with Ah Ruan. Now, however, his mind was filled with all kinds of ‘feelings’ and ‘marriage’ related things that he couldn’t seem to look her in the eye.
“Oh, there is no need. You are the guest,” he mumbled.
Ah Ruan, satisfied, smiled at him and said, “Your family’s really nice. I thought the Old Ancestress would be a bit solemn, but she’s so friendly! My grandmother, on the other hand, is a bit strict and never smiles! The first time I saw her smile was the night before I came to Jin Ling. She hugged me and… aye, all this reminiscing is making me miss her. I don’t know when I’ll be able to see her again.”
Her tone became softer and softer as her smile fell from her face.
Helian Jing felt something tug at his heart. The sight of her in pain was making his heart clench. He wracked his brain, trying to think of words to comfort him, but she recovered quickly and continued, “You’re mother’s very nice too. She’s very sweet and nurturing like my mother.”
How was he supposed to respond to this? ‘Since you like my family, let’s just get married!’? He couldn’t say that. He hasn’t thought things through yet and he doesn’t want to do something he’d end up regretting.
“Yeah, my family’s very nice and harmonious. They’re also very nice to Yaoyao,” he said after a while.
Ah Ruan moved closer to him, swinging her feet carelessly, her head tilted very slightly as if she was deep in thought. “Brother Chunyu is really nice to Sister Yaoyao! I’m kind of jealous. I want my future husband to dote on me like how he dotes on her.”
Helian Jing looked at her. He wasn’t that guy! Maybe Yaoyao has misread the situation. Maybe Ah Ruan’s just friendly and familiar with him because he’s the one she hangs out with the most. Maybe she favors him because he’s so easy-going that he just goes along with all her plans.
This thought lightened his burden. He assured her, “You’ll find him.”
Ah Ruan turned to look at him, her huge eyes blinking mischievously. She smiled, her dimples appearing, and said, “Perhaps I’ve already found him.”
He tensed up again. Why was she looking at him like that? Was she hinting at something? Was she talking about him?
He just gave her a dry laugh.
It’s not me, not me…
During lunch, Xia Chunyu kept reminding Ye Jiayao to eat more vegetables. He would pass her various food and urge her to eat a lot.
Ah Ruan noticed their interaction and kicked Little Jing beneath the table.
The movement jostled Helian Jing and the beef he was just about to eat dropped back to his plate. “Who kicked me?”
Everyone on the table fixed their gazes on Ah Ruan.
Ah Ruan blinked innocently but her face has started to flush red.
Yu De glared at her insensible son and said, “I kicked you. You’re being rude. Why are you not serving the Old Ancestress?”
Ah Ruan’s face turned even redder.
Yu De continued, “Learn from your Brother Chunyu. You need to learn how to dote on people.”
She then turned to pick a meatball for Ah Ruan. “Here, have more, Ah Ruan. This is Jin Ling’s authentic pork meatballs made by your Sister Yaoyao.”
Helian Jing was still unsure why he got scolded. Brother Chunyu was serving his wife. He doesn’t have someone like that. Besides, if he was to dote on the person that he actually fancies, he’d most likely have his bones rearranged.
Nevertheless, he filled a bowl of yam and sweet potato soup for his grandmother. “Old Ancestress, this bowl of soup is for you.”
The Old Ancestress chuckled. “Today, you are the host and Ah Ruan is the guest. She’s the one you should be serving.”
He had no choice but to serve another bowl of soup for Ah Ruan too.
Ah Ruan smiled shyly at him. “Thank you, Little Jing.”
Ye Jiayao suppressed a sigh as she watched the scene before her. She wanted to hit Little Jing over the head to wake him up. How could someone be this daft?
After lunch, Ye Jiayao and Chunyu left, letting Little Jing face Ah Ruan alone.
“Stupid, stupid, stupid! Really stupid!” Ye Jiayao muttered as they sat inside their carriage.
“He’s not stupid. He just hasn’t thought some things through,” Chunyu said. He wanted to say that this was her fault. If she had only told Little Jing the truth about her sooner, they wouldn’t be having this problem.
She said in a huff, “I have to think of a plan to get those two together. Otherwise, Little’s Jing’s going to regret it.”
He pinched her nose and chided, “You should stop getting involved. Affairs of the heart ultimately depend on the people involved. External intervention might make matters worse.”
“Then what can we do? What if His Majesty marries Ah Ruan to someone else?”
Xia Chunyu gathered her into his arms with a slight chuckle. “Do you think Ah Ruan is Huai Song’s princess? His Majesty cannot decide by himself without Ah Ruan’s approval.”
“Really?”
“Well, that should be the case. If Ah Ruan doesn’t marry Little Jing, the next possible candidate would be the Third Prince.”
Ye Jiayao leaned into his embrace and said, “I’ve been hearing you talk about the Third Prince’s skills and capabilities recently. If he’s that good, do you think he’ll threaten the Crown Prince’s position?”
He quickly put a hand over her mouth. “Shhh! Words like these can only be said in front of me. You can’t talk about it with others.”
“Of course! I’m not stupid!”
Outside, Song Qi asked, “Heir-son Lord, are we going back to the mansion?”
Xia Chunyu answered, “Yes, back to the mansion.”
“No!” Ye Jiayao protested. “I want to go to Heavenly Residence.”
“What for? With Manager Zhao and Zhong Xiang around, you should take advantage of the rest time that you have,” he told her. Besides, his free times are rare these days too and he wanted to spend some quality time with her.
She couldn’t very well say that she doesn’t want to go back home because she’s avoiding the witches that live with them. Smoothly, she lied, “I just remembered that I have some things to do in the restaurant. The dairy cows in our farmlands have started producing milk so I have to go and take a look at the quality.”
“Can’t you just go tomorrow?”
“You know me. Once I’ve thought of something, I wouldn’t be able to rest until I’ve done it,” Ye Jiayao said as she tugged on his sleeves. “Why don’t you go back home to rest?”
Xia Chunyu shook his head. “No, I’ll go with you.”
She gave him a light peck on his cheek as a reward, but he quickly turned and pressed her down, ravishing her lips.
It wasn’t until Song Qi spoke again that they sprang apart. “Heir-son Lord, where are we going?”
Breathless, Ye Jiayao replied, “To Heavenly Residence.”
Xia Chunyu hasn’t bothered with the farmlands for so long and it wasn’t until Yaoyao talked about the milk that he realized how big the changes were. They would soon have their own supply of vegetables, flowers, and fruits.
“I also got Manager Bai to dig a pond to draw in water so we can rear fishes and grow lotus roots. This way, the irrigation for the farm, vegetable garden, and nursery would be of no problem too. We can even use it as water storage so there would be no problem even during dry periods. Zhu Wang’s wife’s also raising many chickens and ducks…” Ye Jiayao boasted. She has spent quite a lot of time and effort planning for this ecological farm, she’s not going to downplay her achievements.
“That’s very smart,” Chunyu praised. Yaoyao was really a brilliant businesswoman.
“I’m also planning to tear down the current courtyard and rebuild it into a villa so we can retreat there if want to take a vacation. For the times that we can’t go too far away, we can stay at our farmland.”
“That’s a good idea. Reverend Ji Ren is very knowledgeable in architecture so I’ll ask him to come up with a design,” he mused. Most of the noblemen in Jin Ling have a villa outside of the city. He’s been to Qixuan’s villa near the White Tower Temple and he found the construction extremely elegant. He always wanted one but he just never had the time.
Ye Jiayao wasn’t surprised that Reverend Ji Ren knew architecture. It wouldn’t even surprise her if she finds out that he knew how to make firearms and artillery. No matter how stupid a time traveler was, they still have thousands of years and experience over the people in this era.
Suddenly, she found the solution to her problem.
She turned to Chunyu and put her arms around his neck. “Chunyu, don’t you have a few days of leave left? Why don’t we head to our farmland tomorrow? We can take some measurements and make some rough plans while we are there.”
