Time Travel: The Noble Family

In the spring of March, willows sway gracefully, peach blossoms bloom dazzlingly—it’s the best time of the year. People replace their heavy, cumbersome winter clothes with light and thin spring shirts.

Yueyao looked at the newly sprouted tender green grass in the courtyard and suddenly said, "Let’s plant orchids in the back garden." Every year around this time, the orchids in the Lanxi Courtyard are in full bloom, and their fragrance can be smelled from a distance.

Xi Yu nodded with a smile and said, "Alright, I’ll inform the Chief Steward later." Apart from the back garden, everything else in the mansion had already been arranged properly.

Yueyao originally thought of planting a grove of bamboo, but considering the small size of the back garden, it would be too crowded if bamboo were planted.

After thinking for a long time, Yueyao finally decided to plant a couple of osmanthus trees. A small garden is indeed troublesome; ideally, according to Yueyao’s plan, there should be all kinds of flowers in the back garden, like chrysanthemums and begonias, and it would be best to plant a grapevine too. Unfortunately, these all went down the drain.

Xi Yu whispered, "Miss, instead of planting a Bodhi tree, it’s better to plant grapes in the courtyard." The Bodhi tree has no practical value, and she didn’t know why the Miss insisted on planting one.

Yueyao rejected the suggestion: "If you want to eat grapes, you can buy them outside, there’s no need to plant them in the courtyard." If the courtyard weren’t so small, Yueyao would have wanted to plant a phoenix tree as well.

Xi Yu said no more.

Having nothing to do, Yueyao entered the study again, picked up a brush, and started painting. She painted a bird perched on the treetop of a peach tree in full bloom.

Xiang Wei looked at Yueyao’s painting and a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth. Miss hasn’t been very busy lately, spending all her free time on painting. And now, the Miss’s paintings are noticeably more joyful than before. It’s often said that paintings reflect a person’s inner state. Judging by the paintings, it seems Miss is quite happy.

Not long after Yueyao finished her lunch, she heard that Yuehuan had come. Yueyao smiled and said, "Please let Fourth Miss come in!" Both she and Yuehuan knew each other’s backgrounds; since Yuehuan was willing to befriend her, she naturally wouldn’t refuse. Moreover, Yuehuan knew a lot of things, which might be useful to her.

Yuehuan came to invite Yueyao to start a business together: "Third Sister, I want to open a gold shop and plan to sell some jewelry. I already have a preliminary plan; I’m not sure if Third Sister is interested."

Yueyao was quite surprised: "Why do you suddenly want to open a gold shop? Do you need money?"

Yuehuan shook her head: "I don’t need money, I just feel idle and want to do some business to save some private money."

Yueyao glanced at Yuehuan and asked, "What do the Qian Family say?" Opening a gold shop is no small matter; it’s not just about the tens of thousands in capital, but also the importance of strong backing. The Qian Family is very wealthy and has support behind them; as long as the Qian Family agrees, the gold shop can be established.

Yuehuan naturally had the Qian Family’s consent: "I initially planned for the Qian Family to take a fifty percent share, I take a twenty percent share, and you and Second Sister take fifteen percent each; what do you think, Third Sister?"

Yueyao smiled and shook her head, saying, "Don’t count me in. I said I wouldn’t do business." Yueyao believed that with Yuehuan’s skills, combined with the Qian Family’s backing, the gold shop would definitely make money, but she didn’t want any entanglements with the Qian Family.

Yuehuan hurriedly said, "I know Third Sister isn’t interested in business; you just need to invest, not manage."

Looking at Yuehuan’s beautiful face, Yueyao noticed a hint of fatigue. Without asking, she knew Yuehuan must be having a tough time at the Qian Household. After thinking it over, Yueyao said, "Fourth Sister, I know with your skills, the gold shop will definitely make money. You’re offering me a share to let me benefit, but I don’t want to take advantage of you."

Yuehuan smiled bitterly, realizing the stark differences between people. Yueying is always thinking of taking advantage, whereas Yueyao doesn’t even want benefits she is offered.

Seeing Yueyao’s mind was made up, Yuehuan didn’t try persuading further.

Yueyao looked at Yuehuan, thinking that in the Lian Mansion, Yuehuan had always been sincerely loyal to her. After some consideration, she had everyone else leave, leaving just the two of them in the room.

Yuehuan looked puzzled.

Yueyao softly said, "Yuehuan, there’s something I’ll tell you. Just keep it in mind, no need to mention it to others."

A chill ran through Yuehuan’s heart: "Third Sister, what is it?" She knew Yueyao wasn’t one to create unnecessary mystery, and instinctively sensed this matter wasn’t simple.

Yueyao told Yuehuan about the Qian Family’s allegiance to the Fourth Prince. This matter wasn’t exactly a secret; anyone with some means could discover it: "You’ve read so many books, you should have some understanding about the royal succession struggle." Yueyao couldn’t say much more than that.

Yuehuan’s face turned pale. Watching modern television wasn’t in vain, especially episodes about the Qing Dynasty’s nine sons fighting for the throne; just watching was terrifying, let alone experiencing it.

It took Yuehuan a long time to suppress her inner panic. She looked at Yueyao, lowering her voice, "Third Sister, who eventually won?"

Yueyao shook her head and said, "I don’t know."

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Yuehuan was very disappointed: "Third Sister, can’t you really tell me?" Yuehuan felt that Yueyao had always been wary of her and still was to this day.

Yueyao smiled bitterly: "I’m not lying to you, I truly don’t know." Before she died, the Crown Prince was gone, and even when she died, the Emperor hadn’t appointed a new Crown Prince. All she knew was that the struggle for succession was intense.

Yuehuan was half-believing, half-doubting.

Yueyao was simply acting according to her conscience, she owed Yuehuan nothing. On the contrary, she had been helping Yuehuan all along: "Yuehuan, this is not like the society you used to live in. Making money is good, but making too much money may not be. Yuehuan, I still say that money is enough when it is sufficient." A woman with too much money but no ability to protect herself will ultimately benefit others.

Yuehuan was startled. After a moment, she said, "I understand, thank you, Third Sister." Regardless, Yueyao telling her these words today was heartfelt. However, the gold shop had already started, and it couldn’t be undone now.

Yuehuan decided that from now on, she would just focus on running this gold shop well and wouldn’t get involved in other businesses anymore: "Yueyao, I know many garments from the Cloth Workshop are your designs. When my gold shop opens in the future, could you design some jewelry styles for my shop?" Yuehuan dared not underestimate Yueyao just because she was from ancient times; on the contrary, she was very respectful of Yueyao. Yueyao’s clothing designs left her in awe.

Yueyao gently refused: "It’s not that I don’t want to help you, I draw less than ten clothing pieces a year. If your jewelry shop relies on me, you’d end up losing your capital."

Yuehuan knew Yueyao didn’t rely on this to make a living, she just drew in her spare time: "Third Sister, when you finish drawing, give them to me whenever. Rest assured, I won’t tell anyone about this. Is that alright?"

After thinking for a moment, Yueyao nodded: "Alright. But don’t expect too much, I’m very busy now, even drawing takes extra time."

Yuehuan smiled and said: "Alright."

As Yuehuan turned to leave, Yueyao suddenly remembered something and asked: "Fourth Sister, since you know how to cook, do you also know how to make some unique pastries?" Yueyao was asking this for Xiang Wei’s sake. Recently, seeing Xiang Wei upset about not being able to eat delicious foods, Yueyao felt a bit distressed.

Yuehuan paused, but quickly nodded and said: "Let me think about it when I get back, and once I figure it out, I’ll send them over to you, Third Sister." Since Yueyao had taken the initiative to ask, she had to write out several new pastry recipes. Thinking of this, Yuehuan felt a spark of excitement.

After Yuehuan left, Xiang Wei showed dissatisfaction: "Why are you so polite to her?" Xiang Wei believed that none of the Lian family members were trustworthy, and since they came so often, they must have ulterior motives.

Yueyao laughed and said: "If you want to enjoy a few more delicacies, it’s best to hope Fourth Miss visits a few more times."

Xiang Wei was very surprised.

Yueyao trusted Xiang Wei very much and wouldn’t hide things from her, recounting how Yuehuan wrote down more than twenty recipes that day.

Upon hearing this, Xiang Wei was so angry her face flushed red, grumbling: "Miss, I’ve never seen someone as foolish as you." Knowing all these recipe formulas, yet you still always get people to buy dishes from Hongfu Restaurant, isn’t this being wasteful?

Yueyao laughed and said: "If it’s not mine, I won’t take it."

Despite Xiang Wei’s arguments, Yueyao always refused. She would rather spend more money than unjustly take advantage of someone else; this was the most basic principle of being a person.

Xiang Wei almost hit her chest in frustration, wondering how she got such a stubborn master: "I’m not asking you to sell these recipes to others, it’s just for us to make and eat ourselves. Why can’t you think more flexibly?"

Yueyao glanced at Xiang Wei and said: "If you want to eat some dishes from Hongfu Restaurant, as long as they’re not the ones you should avoid, I’ll have someone get them for you."

Xiang Wei wilted.

Yuehuan returned to Qian Mansion and summoned Qian Tu. She originally planned to get involved in the gold shop business herself, but after listening to Yueyao’s advice, she changed her mind. Indeed, though she had joined a merchant family, this was not the modern era, and she shouldn’t stand out too much. Otherwise, if noticed by those with ulterior motives, she would become a tool for making money. Yuehuan wanted to withdraw, but it was not so easy as just wanting to leave.

Hong Ling brought in a plate of pastries.

Seeing that they were hawthorn cakes, Yuehuan was puzzled: "Why did the kitchen make pastries today?" The kitchen rarely made pastries, and without a small kitchen in her courtyard, it was inconvenient to get whatever she wanted.

Hong Ling laughed and said: "The Old Madam tasted them and said they were delicious, so she had the kitchen make many to distribute to each mistress."

Having already eaten pastries on the carriage, Yuehuan was full, and though the hawthorn cakes looked beautiful, she had no appetite: "Hong Ling, take this plate of pastries and share it." Yuehuan was quite generous in this aspect.

Hong Ling left a piece of hawthorn cake for Hong Mei and distributed the rest to the other maids. When Hong Mei returned from fetching something, Hong Ling presented the plate of pastries like a treasure to her: "Sister, this is a reward from the miss, and I saved you a piece. Sister, this hawthorn cake is smooth, delicate, sweet, and delicious."

Hong Mei’s face changed dramatically.