The autumn wind gradually rose.
By the time Lin Mingyan’s appetite had fully recovered, nearly half a month had passed.
It was only then that everyone realized Madam Li, who had once been in the limelight, had been placed under house arrest.
Although there was no official announcement in the rear courtyard, she hadn’t shown her face to flaunt herself for quite some time.
She hadn’t appeared for two consecutive morning greetings, nor had she sent anyone to report her absence due to illness.
Moreover, the Princess Consort hadn’t made a fuss about the matter.
It seemed she truly had been punished.
Lin Mingyan quietly breathed a sigh of relief in her heart.
She had more or less guessed that the treatment she received earlier wasn’t due to the kitchen staff being foolish—it was Madam Li scheming behind the scenes to torment her.
Now, seeing Madam Li in trouble, she felt much more at ease.
In return for his kindness, she became considerably more attentive to Fourth Master.
After all, he had, in a way, avenged her.
After Lin Mingyan regained favor, Fourth Master not only provided her with money and goods but also planned to give her additional servants.
“The three servants in your quarters aren’t particularly clever,” Fourth Master said, stroking her back, somewhat dissatisfied with her thin frame. “Although they could be trained to be useful, we can’t just wait for them to improve on their own.”
“I have many well-trained servants at my place. How about I give you two?”
Since he was considering Lin Mingyan’s needs, he wouldn’t disregard her wishes.
He had seen plenty of affairs in the inner palace and households—many people didn’t want their servants to be under someone else’s command.
For example, the Princess Consort insisted that none of the servants attending to her could be his.
But while there were none on the surface, who could say for sure what happened behind the scenes?
Lin Mingyan, however, felt as if a pie had fallen from the sky and eagerly nodded. “Yes, I want them!”
After she was officially appointed as a Gege, she should have had four maidservants and two eunuchs.
But whether the Princess Consort was too busy or deliberately withheld them, Linfeng Residence still only had Du Juan and the other two.
Now that Fourth Master was making up the shortfall, it was certainly a good thing—at least she wouldn’t have to worry about newcomers being spies sent by the Princess Consort or others.
After all, she wasn’t afraid of Fourth Master finding out anything.
Fourth Master nodded and sent the servants over that same day.
Su Peisheng made a point of telling her, “Cuiwei previously served in the study. She’s very capable.”
Compared to the elaborate introduction for Cuiwei, the other two were merely mentioned in passing.
Unlike the courtesy she had shown Du Juan and the other two, Lin Mingyan only asked for the names of these three newcomers and didn’t inquire further.
Even for Cuiwei, whom Su Peisheng had taken pains to introduce, she merely offered a polite remark.
No matter that they were sent by Fourth Master, he hadn’t said they were to take on managerial roles in Linfeng Residence.
There was an order to everything.
If Du Juan and the others were utterly incompetent, there might be grounds to promote newcomers. But for now, she was satisfied with the three of them.
Du Juan remained the head among the maidservants. She and Ling Lan occupied the positions of first-class maidservants, while the two newcomers had to settle for second-class maidservant roles.
It was the same for the eunuchs: Su He managed external affairs, while the newly arrived young eunuch Su Yan was responsible for delivering meals.
When Fourth Master visited in the evening and saw how neatly she had arranged everything, he remarked, “Indeed, Su Yan used to serve in the Front Courtyard. From now on, no one in the kitchen will dare to shortchange your meals.”
“Even if they tried, wouldn’t he and his brothers in the Front Courtyard communicate about it?”
For those assigned to Linfeng Residence, he also required them to be loyal to Lin Mingyan—they weren’t meant to be mere spies.
Lin Mingyan coquettishly replied, “I don’t need him for that. Can’t I just tell you myself?”
“Besides, are you going to go another month without visiting me?”
She didn’t know what had caught Fourth Master’s eye, but to make it up to her, he had stayed at Linfeng Residence for over half a month.
During this time, Madam Li had even been placed under house arrest, and he only visited the Princess Consort in the rear courtyard on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month, just for appearances.
As for the remaining Madam Song and Lady Zhang, he acted as if they didn’t exist at all.
Lin Mingyan felt happy about this, but more than that, she was worried.
Based on historical records and reality, she believed Fourth Master was someone with intense love and hatred.
When he loved you, he truly loved you, offering you all the best things.
But when he didn’t, he would cast you aside completely, like Lady Zhang, who still hadn’t been able to see him to this day.
He didn’t even know whether Lady Zhang was beautiful or ugly, or what her personality was like. Just because of the Princess Consort, he could completely ignore her.
Lin Mingyan didn’t want to end up like that. She wanted to live, and live well.
Fourth Master held her and sighed, “That won’t happen.”
Even if there were newcomers in the future or many other matters, he could always spare a little time each month to visit her.
So he agreed.
Fourth Master, who never made promises, seemed to lose his head and agreed to visit Lin Mingyan every month.
He even worried he might forget and instructed Su Peisheng to remember and remind him when the time came.
Su Peisheng reluctantly accepted the task, utterly amazed.
The weather grew cooler, and it was already the golden autumn of October, with the scent of osmanthus wafting through the air.
Lin Mingyan tossed the fish food in her hand into the fish tank in the courtyard, and only then did Fourth Master notice that a fish tank had appeared in Linfeng Residence at some point.
Inside were… three mandarin fish.
“Why did you think of raising such big fish?” Fourth Master shook his head, finding it somewhat amusing.
Who raised such large fish, and not even ornamental koi?
Lin Mingyan let out a soft, coquettish hum. “I caught these myself. They were originally meant for you to eat.”
“They’re lucky to have ended up in your courtyard.”
The fish she had intended to grill for Fourth Master had survived thanks to the recent chaos.
Now, after nearly two months of raising them, she had grown attached and could only continue keeping them.
“You caught them yourself?” Fourth Master was indeed surprised.
He hadn’t known there was a fishing spot in the estate!
Lin Mingyan was quick-witted and immediately pulled him up, calling for Du Juan to bring the fishing rod she had made, and they headed to the spot where she had fished last time.
“Right here, there happen to be two stone stools. Sit and fish!” She placed the fishing rod in Fourth Master’s hands.
Her expression seemed to say, “Hurry up and fish, I’m waiting to eat.”
Fourth Master teased her, “What? Didn’t you say you caught them for me to eat?”
Lin Mingyan curved her lips. “You missed that chance. Now it’s your turn to fish for me to eat.”
It wasn’t a difficult task, so he might as well fish.
“Ah! Another bite!”
“Hurry, hurry!”
“It got away again!”
Watching the fish escape for the third time, Fourth Master grew genuinely annoyed.
“Su Peisheng, fetch me a larger hook!”
Lin Mingyan chimed in, “Yes, yes, it must be because the hook is too small.”
“I made this one myself with an embroidery needle. It’s not very good.”
Well, she had caught three fish with a poorly made hook, while he hadn’t caught a single one!
Fourth Master felt a slight ache in his knees.
After finally switching to a larger hook, he caught two large fish, each as long as a forearm, and only then did he regain his pride.
Hearing his hearty laughter, it was clear he was extremely pleased.
As the sky grew dark, Lin Mingyan urged him repeatedly before they finally returned to the small courtyard.
And then… she wanted grilled fish.
The kind that’s fried first and then grilled over a small charcoal stove.
Night market grilled fish—just thinking about it makes her mouth water~