Chapter 22

For the ancestral rites, two pigs were slaughtered in the manor. Leveraging her gift of gab, Ye Ying successfully wheedled a whole hind leg from the main kitchen, brushing it with honey and roasting it until it was just tender.

It was only after arriving in this ancient era that she realized the pigs here were not like the European white hogs of the future, which easily reached three to five hundred pounds. These were a local breed known as "grass-fattened," covered in black hair, rarely exceeding one hundred pounds. While they lacked in size, their meat was far more tender and succulent.

Even just the leg weighed some ten to twenty pounds, and every bite was packed with solid, juicy meat. Everyone ate until their bellies were round and their lips glistened with oil, endlessly praising its crispy, fragrant perfection.

Once the banquet in the main courtyard concluded, the servants returned to their duties.

After the guests departed, Cui Yuan stepped out of the courtyard and walked along the covered corridor. Seeing that the moonlight was exceptionally bright tonight, he felt a desire to stroll through the garden and instructed his attendants not to rush back.

Cangwu walked ahead carrying a lantern, while Chongyun chattered incessantly. Cui Yuan responded only sporadically.

"Young Master, the moon is so round tonight, just like a large cake."
"Hmm."
"Oh, how did these pots of ink-colored chrysanthemums bloom so early?"
"That roast pig at the banquet tonight smelled so good. It’s a pity you didn't have a single bite, Young Master."
"..."
"I wonder what delicious things Sister Ying and the others are hiding away in the courtyard to eat," Chongyun mused, nudging Cangwu. "Hey, they surely saved some for us, right?"
"..."

Fearing that he would be splattered by Chongyun’s drool, Cui Yuan gave up on the garden stroll and turned back.

The two attendants were accustomed to their master’s silence; he was always a man of few words and even fewer expressions. Sometimes he was so quiet they would forget he was even there, which could be quite startling. Yet, even when he caught them slacking off or prattling endlessly, he never grew angry. In their eyes, their master had always been magnanimous, calm, cold-faced, and taciturn, yet kind-hearted, rarely displaying any negative emotions.

To Cangwu and Chongyun, tonight had been nothing more than a standard family banquet. Who would have expected that upon returning, after the Young Master went through his usual routine of changing clothes and bathing, the midnight-watch attendant, Sister Ying, would pull them aside into a small corner?

"What's wrong with the Young Master? Why does he seem so unhappy?"

Cangwu and Chongyun, who were happily munching on re-heated roast pork from lotus-leaf parcels, shook their heads and said nothing was wrong. Seeing their ignorance, Ye Ying let it go. "Fine! Is the roast pork delicious?"

"Yes! It's delicious!" Chongyun mumbled. "I saw it at the banquet today, but the Young Master didn't touch it. It was such a waste."

Ye Ying’s eyes flickered. "And how was his appetite tonight?"

"It was alright, just average," the two boys said honestly.

Ye Ying had a plan.

When Cui Yuan emerged from his bath, he found a table set with an array of midnight snacks, their aroma incredibly enticing.

"You didn't eat well earlier, did you, Young Master?" Ye Ying smiled at him. "That’s how banquets are—if you don't eat well, no wonder you’re in a foul mood. I’ve prepared some light and simple dishes, like those delicate small dumplings you like, and some mutton pastries. Won't you have a little?"

Fearing he might insist on his usual habit of not eating after midday, Ye Ying quickly added, "Going to sleep hungry is bad for your stomach. Just break the rule for once! It won't hurt to have a little."

She stood there, looking lovely, her expression filled with warmth.

Cui Yuan was slightly taken aback.

Since his parents passed, although he held a noble status and lacked for nothing in the manor, rarely had anyone shown him such direct and unmasked concern. His grandmother, feeling guilty, pampered him more than she disciplined him; his uncle and aunt had their own families and remained distant. The servants were respectful but dared not show intimacy. Only his grandfather’s teachings—laden with the weight of restoring the family’s glory—were strictly enforced.

In his memory, he could not recall when he had stopped showing his emotions or needs. He kept a cold face, studied the classics, and practiced the sage’s way. To understand the principles of heaven and extinguish human desires, to practice self-restraint and return to propriety—only by suppressing his own nature could he earn a look of satisfaction from his grandfather.

His grandmother often complained that he was overly steady and not close to her. He had grown accustomed to it. Yet, seeing his grandfather indulge the third young master without limit, with a tone of tenderness he had never received himself, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of something different.

How could he explain it? The second and third young masters were young and his own brothers; he could not possibly harbor ill will toward them.

Under the bright moonlight and the gentle autumn breeze, Cui Yuan had digested most of his emotions in the garden, leaving only a subtle residue. It had really only been for a moment—a fleeting desire not to interact with anyone.

Yet, she had seen right through it.

She must have asked Chongyun and the others, assumed he hadn't eaten enough, and rushed to prepare this table of midnight snacks herself. The flickering light swayed his heart.

Cui Yuan’s expression softened. Since she had put in such effort, how could he let it go to waste? He took a seat at the table.

Ye Ying moved to serve him, but he stopped her. "Sit."

Perhaps it was the cold wind and his damp hair that made his head feel a bit feverish; he didn't want to see her bustling about. He just wanted her to sit quietly and keep him company.

Ye Ying wasn't actually hungry. She had already had roast meat and rice earlier that evening. She picked at her noodles in small, dainty bites.

Cui Yuan watched, finding it curious. Why did she eat that way? He had expected her to be uninhibited, slurping away, but she was surprisingly, exceptionally well-behaved. Watching her made his own stomach, which hadn't been hungry, start to feel empty. Between that and having eaten so little at the banquet, he ended up finishing the entire portion she had prepared for an average person.

It was truly quite unhealthy.

However, the heaviness in his heart had strangely vanished. He felt his earlier irritation—being jealous of two young boys—was petty indeed.

Cui Yuan was surprised. Could it really have been, as she suggested, just hunger causing his mood swings?

Ye Ying smiled. "Do you feel much better now?"

When the eldest young master had walked in, his face had been tense. Now, though his expression remained mild, his eyes reflected the lamplight, and his brow had smoothed out. She knew that no one could refuse a good midnight snack.

The door curtain was rolled up, and the bright moonlight spilled across the floor. Cui Yuan suddenly remembered that tonight was the Ghost Festival. In the past, if there were no official banquets, that fellow Zhu Yu would have brought empty wine jars to find him, inviting him to drink under the moon.

This year, Zhu Yu was away at his post, so that was impossible.

There wasn't always a bright moon and clear breeze to drink with, and even when the moonlight was beautiful, one didn't always have the mood to drink.

Cui Yuan felt a stir in his heart. He looked up at Ye Ying. "Do you know how to drink?"

"Ah?"

Ye Ying was a bit surprised. After eating so much, he still wasn't in a good mood? He wanted to drown his sorrows in alcohol? What on earth had happened?

But since she had promised to "keep the young master company at all costs," a few small cups of wine were nothing. Ye Ying was quite confident in her alcohol tolerance, and she actually quite enjoyed it.

"I do!" she said happily. "Where is the wine?"

Cui Yuan told her the location.

She scurried off to find it. Since it was Cui Yuan's private collection, it had to be something good. It was hidden away in a small room where no one else dared to step. Ye Ying searched for a long time until she finally found several jars beneath a pile of books and paintings. One look at the dust on the wax seals told her they had been there for a long time.

Oh right, one shouldn't drink while ill.

Ye Ying blinked, puffed out her cheeks, and blew the dust off the jars, thinking with pity, *He is so unhappy... I’ll just let him have a little bit? And I... I’ll just pretend I don't know!*

As she turned to leave, her layered skirts caught on a painting nearby, and the stack of scrolls tumbled down like an avalanche.

A few that weren't properly tied came undone, revealing the landscapes within. Ye Ying hurriedly crouched down to pick them up and restack them, but her gaze froze when she saw one of them.

*Hm?*

Why did the person in the painting, smiling with eyes like crescent moons, look so much like... her?!