The Yonghe Marquis’s Mansion

The young lady of the heir finally understood Yang Haiyan’s intentions after looking at the simple prescription.

Anyone who saw such a straightforward recipe would recognize it.

The wet nurse said, “To think it’s such a simple prescription—it’s hard to imagine. Miss, could this recipe be… fake? But that seems impossible; Mrs. Qin wouldn’t have the guts for that.”

The young lady replied, “Indeed, it’s impossible. Wet nurse, tell the steward to prepare three farms in different locations. We must ensure no one knows these farms are ours. One farm will be dedicated to making this alkaline solution; another will raise pigs for fat and lard, selling the leftovers; and the last one will make soap.” The steward was the wet nurse’s husband.

The wet nurse sighed.

The young lady continued, “Also, let’s prepare a batch of scented soap in the mansion according to this recipe. You must do it personally, without involving anyone else or letting anyone see.”

The wet nurse assured her, “Don’t worry, Miss, I’ll handle it.”

…

Having enough silver for anything, Yang Haiyan took her husband to shop after lunch and buy supplies.

Since the family was unaware of Qin Fang’s marriage, she needed to send a message home and prepare some gifts for the Qin family.

Not knowing the sizes of the Qin family members, but remembering that Qin Fang had been away for four years and his younger siblings had grown, Yang Haiyan decided to buy fabric and cotton so they could make clothes that fit properly.

For the two younger sisters, she thought light purple would suit them well.

Light purple isn’t picky with skin tones; both fair and dark-skinned people can wear it.

According to seasonal skin tones, purple is suitable for autumn skin, especially for yellow-toned complexions.

As for the two younger brothers, blue would be fine.

If they were studying, that color fits their status; if they were not yet of age, the color would still be appropriate.

Finally, for Qin’s father, mother, grandfather, and grandmother, she chose deep blue.

Qin’s father and grandfather would wear solid colors, while the mother and grandmother would have deep blue backgrounds with floral embroidery.

As for other relatives in the Qin family, she didn’t worry too much about their outfits.

Qin Fang didn’t know much about shopping, so he accompanied Yang Haiyan, listening to her choose colors and asking the female shopkeeper questions, feeling warm inside.

Once they finished shopping, they entrusted the big bundles to Qin Fang to carry, and the two headed home.

After arriving home, they started writing the family letter.

After writing, they took the letter and gifts for the Qin family to the town’s post station.

Generally, there aren’t courier stations in towns; those are usually found in county towns.

However, this town was different because a military camp was nearby.

Every military camp has a post station for conveying military news.

The post station was very strict, placing Yang Haiyan’s items into a box, sealing it with a seal.

It was Yang Haiyan’s first time seeing such a process; she hadn’t expected the post station to be so formal, resembling modern express delivery.

On their way back from the post station, Aunt Lu came to call them: “Haiyan, are you going to help Dahua at her house?”

In the evening, they were to dine at Han Zhen’s home.

Yang Dahua had invited Aunt Lu to join the day before, so Aunt Lu was now coming to call them.

Since Han Zhen was not home, Qin Fang stayed behind to read and practice writing.

Yang Haiyan called out, “Sister Dahua, are you there? Aunt Lu and I have arrived.” She was carrying a basket containing a bowl.

Yang Dahua replied, “Yes, yes! Come in quickly.”

Yang Dahua had prepared two tables, similar to Yang Haiyan’s setup—one for the women and one for the men.

The difference was that Yang Dahua had ordered the food from a restaurant instead of cooking herself, as her culinary skills were quite ordinary, and she was worried about embarrassing Han Zhen among his colleagues.

Although she felt bad asking Yang Haiyan for so many dishes, she ultimately decided to order from the restaurant.

Of course, she hadn’t ordered everything; for instance, she made braised pig intestines herself since Yang Haiyan had taught her.

She also made simple dishes like pork rib soup and stir-fried cabbage.

Besides the number of dishes she based on Yang Haiyan’s, she also followed Yang Haiyan’s example for the desserts.

She even prepared small red bags.

They would call people to eat in turn, and if there was a significant gap, Han Zhen might be embarrassed.

So, for her man’s sake, Yang Dahua was determined to put in the effort.

Of course, Yang Dahua’s thoughts were unknown to Yang Haiyan.

Even if she did know, she wouldn’t care; she wasn’t going to compromise her standards just to please Yang Dahua and Han Zhen.

She wanted to help Qin Fang maintain his dignity.

When it was mealtime, Mother Zhang arrived with three children, saying, “I’m here to help at Han Zhen’s house. Just tell me what to do; I may not be good at much, but I can lend a hand.”

Yang Dahua, Yang Haiyan, and Aunt Lu exchanged glances, surprised that Mother Zhang had come uninvited.

If she was genuinely here to help, that would be fine, but arriving at mealtime seemed disingenuous.

Yang Dahua replied, “Auntie, no need! We’re all set; please have a seat.”

She moved a stool for Mother Zhang, feeling it would be rude to turn her away now that she had come.

Soon, the men returned, and dinner began.

Because the Zhang family was somewhat distant from the Qin family, Mother Zhang couldn’t feed her grandson before taking him home.

She asked, “Qin Fang’s wife, have you eaten yet?”

Yang Haiyan replied, “Not yet.”

Although she didn’t know what Mother Zhang was planning, she sensed it wouldn’t be good.

Mother Zhang continued, “Oh, I thought you hadn’t touched your food. If you’ve finished eating, could you help me with the children while I eat?”

Yang Haiyan responded, “No, I have a poor appetite and eat slowly.”

This woman was frustratingly persistent.

Mother Zhang added, “We have a saying back home: newlyweds should hold more little boys to help them conceive sooner.”

Yang Haiyan ignored her, quietly eating the vegetables untouched by Mother Zhang.

If she wanted to disregard someone, the smart approach was to ignore them completely and let them perform their one-person show.

Seeing Yang Haiyan’s silence, Mother Zhang turned to Aunt Lu, who was eating with her two sons, and then to Yang Dahua, who was also eating.

Deciding not to press further, she thought that Yang Haiyan must have finished since she wasn’t eating.

Mother Zhang frowned inwardly, thinking, This wasteful girl won’t even help with a child.

After the meal, Yang Haiyan and Aunt Lu helped Yang Dahua clean up before heading home.

They carried small red bags from Yang Dahua, which contained pastries she had purchased.

Each bag had six pieces, each costing a small coin, and Yang Dahua’s heart ached at the thought of the expense.

Once home, Yang Haiyan and Qin Fang took a bath and then went to bed.

Since it was still early, Qin Fang sat on the bed reading.

When he encountered unfamiliar characters, he would ask Yang Haiyan.

He genuinely enjoyed these peaceful and leisurely evenings.

The next day, Qin Fang woke up early to prepare for his duties, rising at five o’clock.

Yang Haiyan got up with him and used leftover chicken soup from lunch to make him noodles.

She packed the remaining soup for him, saying, “Husband, remember to heat this up at the barracks for lunch. Don’t skimp on your meals; eat well in the mess hall. Also, take these cakes and cookies to share with your subordinates.” She prepared enough for the ten squad leaders under him.

Qin Fang replied, “I understand.”

He knew his wife had his best interests at heart and wanted his subordinates to remain loyal, so he wouldn’t reject her kindness.

After giving him her instructions, Yang Haiyan went back to sleep.

Once Qin Fang finished his meal and washed the dishes, he checked on his wife and found she had fallen back asleep.

He gently closed the door behind him.

In the yard, he didn’t lock the door from the inside but rather slipped out.

Leaving the yard door locked from the inside ensured Yang Haiyan was safe while sleeping alone.

Of course, some people could come in, but any strangers would likely be stopped.

Since they lived in the military family quarters, there were soldiers on leave staying nearby, so no ill-intentioned people would dare to come around.

Otherwise, any troublemaker would face the wrath of the soldiers.

When Yang Haiyan woke up, it was already eight o’clock.

She boiled two eggs and did a 20-minute fat-burning workout.

By eight-thirty, she was ready for breakfast, which consisted of two egg whites and a cup of skim milk made from powdered milk bought from the marketplace.

After breakfast, Yang Haiyan headed out.

Life in ancient times was quite dull, so she wanted to find something to do that would pass the time and earn a bit of money.

She thought about opening a pastry shop.

In this town, she wasn’t too worried about safety; local ruffians wouldn’t dare to cross paths with the military.

As a centurion, Qin Fang commanded respect even from the town mayor, so Yang Haiyan felt confident about starting a pastry shop here.

Moreover, she had some connections with Yongji, and if any issues arose, she could certainly ask for his help.

Yang Haiyan was used to thinking things through and finding solutions independently, as she had relied on herself since her grandmother passed away.

She headed to the merchant association, which facilitated transactions between buyers and sellers and took a commission.

There were two types of merchant associations: private and official.

The official associations charged higher commissions but guaranteed safety, so Yang Haiyan sought out an official association.

In reality, many times the official and private associations worked together; official associations often obtained resources from private ones, sharing a portion of the commission.

After gathering information, Yang Haiyan arrived at the official merchant association.