The next morning, Zhao Mingyan woke to find Nan Yan at home. He was in the courtyard practicing boxing, fists cutting through the air with force. His thin inner robe shifted with each movement, revealing the strong, well‑defined muscles beneath.
“My lord, you don’t need to go to court today?” Zhao Mingyan asked, surprised to see him at home so early. For the past several days, he had always left before she woke.
Nan Yan glanced at her, his eyes faintly resentful. “Today is a rest day.”
“Oh, a rest day,” Zhao Mingyan nodded, then turned toward the kitchen to boil water for him.
With only one or two rest days each month, and given how busy Nan Yan usually was, today was the perfect time for him to bathe properly. She hurried to prepare hot water.
“Wait.” Nan Yan called her back.
“What else, my lord?”
His gaze grew more resentful as he looked at her calm face. Gritting his teeth, he asked, “Don’t you have anything you want to say to me?”
Yesterday, after all, she had inexplicably locked him out of his own room. And today—no explanation at all.
But Zhao Mingyan had no idea what he meant. She looked at him blankly and shook her head. “No.”
Nan Yan: “……”
Their eyes met. He stared at her for a long time, while she remained puzzled, thinking him strange. She bowed politely. “If there’s nothing else, my lord, I’ll go about my work.”
With that, she turned and went to the kitchen.
Nan Yan’s heart gave a sudden jolt. He wanted to stop her, words rising to his lips—but he swallowed them back, watching silently as she disappeared inside.
Soon, Wang Shuang brought out a table full of breakfast. As always, she had prepared generously: three dishes, both meat and vegetables, plus a large pot of porridge with rice blossoms. The sight alone whetted the appetite.
But Zhao Mingyan didn’t come to eat.
“Why hasn’t Mingyan come yet?” Nan Yan asked.
“She told us to eat first—she’s in the kitchen boiling water.”
“Boiling water?”
“Yes,” Wang Shuang nodded. “She’s boiling a lot today, watching the stove.”
Nan Yan frowned. “Why didn’t she ask Nanny Li to do it?”
“Today’s the fifteenth—Nanny Li went home,” Wang Shuang said, chewing on her chopsticks.
In their household, aside from Uncle Chen and Songfeng, who were bonded servants, Nanny Li wasn’t. She had no indenture contract, so on the first and fifteenth of each month, she returned to her own home.
Nan Yan muttered, “Even so, she should eat first.”
He rose and went to the kitchen, pulling Zhao Mingyan out from where she was tending the fire.
By then, she had already boiled two cauldrons of water. In those days, bathing wasn’t easy—you had to prepare plenty of hot water and fuel. Families like the Nan household, with resources, could afford it. But ordinary households barely had enough firewood for cooking, and heating water for baths was a luxury.
In summer, people might wash in cold water or rivers. But in autumn and winter, poor families might bathe only once every few months—or not at all, just heating a little water to wipe themselves down.
Now, Zhao Mingyan had prepared half the hot water needed. Two more cauldrons would be enough for Nan Yan to bathe properly today.
As she worked, his voice came from behind. “Why are you here instead of eating breakfast?”
“My lord,” she stood quickly, “I’m boiling water.”
“Breakfast comes first! Why are you wasting time boiling water?” His face hardened.
She was about to explain that it was for his bath, since he had said it was his rest day, when suddenly her arm was seized. Nan Yan pulled her firmly out of the kitchen.
“My lord, I’ll eat later. Nanny Li isn’t here—I need to watch the fire.”
“Later, we’ll call the broker and buy two bonded servant women.”
Zhao Mingyan: “!!!”
What was this? How had the conversation suddenly turned to buying servants?
Before she could ask, Nan Yan had already led her into the main hall.
In the main hall, Wang Shuang smiled as she watched Nan Yan bring Zhao Mingyan out.
“Just now I told you to come eat with us, but you didn’t. See? Nan Yan had to fetch you himself—he wanted to wait until you joined us.”
Hearing this, Zhao Mingyan’s heart thumped wildly. It wasn’t excitement—it was unease. She was cautious by nature. Having already lived one life, she had no ambition to seek glory or revenge for past suffering. All she wanted was to live quietly and enjoy the blessings fate had given her.
But Nan Yan seemed to treat her far too well. Since entering his household, he had never mistreated her. He asked Wang Shuang to treat her kindly, bought her new clothes, gave her the household keys, agreed to her requests without hesitation. And now, even for something as small as boiling water, he had dragged her out of the kitchen so she could eat first—waiting to eat together with her.
Zhao Mingyan had always regarded Nan Yan as her superior, serving him dutifully. Yet Nan Yan’s attitude toward her seemed… She dared not think further.
At that moment, his voice came from above her head. “All right, let’s eat.”
“Yes, my lord.” Lowering her head, Zhao Mingyan sat obediently, picked up her chopsticks, and began to eat. She didn’t dare speak, and today she hardly even dared to pick up dishes.
“Eat more.” A large chopstickful of shredded meat landed in her bowl.
Nan Yan had served her.
Zhao Mingyan lifted her eyes slightly, only to meet his deep, smoke‑like gaze. She immediately lowered her head again.
“Yes, eat more. You’re the thinnest in the whole household now,” Wang Shuang added.
“Thank you, Sister Shuang. Thank you, my lord,” Zhao Mingyan murmured, head bowed, her heart warmed.
Then Nan Yan’s voice came again. “By the way, don’t forget to call the broker later to bring a few people. Our household needs more servants.”
At this, Zhao Mingyan suddenly raised her head in protest. “My lord, we already have enough help at home. There’s no need to add more servants.”
Their household was small, with only a few members. There wasn’t much work, nor a real need for more staff. And buying servants cost a lot. A single indentured servant required dozens of taels upfront, plus monthly wages. It was a luxury.
But as soon as she finished speaking, Nan Yan’s voice rang out, firm and decisive.
“Enough is not enough. From now on, you’re not to do any rough work. All of it will be done by servants.”
Hearing this, Zhao Mingyan’s heart gave a sudden leap. She saw his eyes fixed deeply on her, filled with undisguised affection. He wouldn’t let her do rough work—not even something as simple as boiling water.
But Wang Shuang also cooked and sometimes washed dishes in this household!
Before Zhao Mingyan arrived, they had only Nanny Li, an outside hire. How could it be that just because of her, Nan Yan wanted to buy permanent servants?
After the rush of emotion, Zhao Mingyan’s heart sank. Oh no. The older man was going to ruin her!
Sure enough, Wang Shuang finished her porridge with a few gulps, then stood to clear the bowls. Zhao Mingyan hurried to help. “Sister Shuang, let me.”
Wang Shuang glanced at her and teased with a smile. “Forget it. Our household doesn’t allow you to do rough work. Leave that to rough folk like me!”
Zhao Mingyan: “……”