Autumn in the capital flashed by in the blink of an eye, and soon it was early winter.

Li Muyun shut himself up in the study every day, reading furiously, hoping to achieve good results in the upcoming Yin’en Palace examination.

The old Marquis and Li Suifeng, carrying gifts, rode out to the outskirts of the capital, stopping in front of a small countryside courtyard.

With the winter flowers gone, only a few bare trees stood by the gate.

Pushing open the wooden fence, they saw vegetables planted in the field.

The small courtyard consisted of just a few rooms — a little more refined than a poor farmer’s home, but still far more cramped compared to the average household.

Li Suifeng said in disbelief, “This is Lord Cheng’s home?”

Even the old Marquis couldn’t hide his surprise: “Just these few rooms, it seems they don’t even have any servants.”

Li Suifeng raised his voice: “Anyone here?”

There was no response from inside the courtyard.

The old Marquis said, “Miss Cheng is probably at the restaurant. Lord Cheng is likely still busy with official duties. Let’s wait here.”

There happened to be a stone table in the courtyard, so the two of them sat down.

After a while, they saw a mother hen leisurely leading her chicks across the yard to forage.

Nearby, a few ducks waddled in from a small river — obviously home-raised.

“Who would believe this is the home of a third-rank Minister of Justice?” the old Marquis sighed. “The family is this poor, yet Lord Cheng remains upright and incorruptible — now that’s a true gentleman of virtue!”

Li Suifeng muttered softly, “Although I also admire Lord Cheng’s character, I’d never want to marry my daughter to him. Without even a single servant, how would life go on?”

The old Marquis snorted coldly: “Half the elite families in the capital are scrambling to get Lord Cheng as a son-in-law. You think it’s your place to look down on him?”

Just as he finished speaking, the sound of approaching hooves echoed — Cheng Changyan had returned.

He dismounted and cupped his hands in greeting: “Old Marquis, Marquis, why didn’t you send word before coming? Sorry to keep you waiting. Please, come inside, have a seat.”

He pushed open the door and invited them in.

Rolling up his sleeves, he checked the kettle on the stove — still hot — and quickly brewed a pot of tea, pouring each of them a cup.

The tea was plain and rough, but the two Li men weren’t tea connoisseurs, so they drank it down readily.

After setting down his cup, the old Marquis spoke: “Half a month ago, at the Princess Royal’s residence, we must thank Lord Cheng for standing up for us — otherwise…”

Rumor had it that night, some young ladies from minor noble families were harassed by the Jinyiwei guards… things were chaotic, with over a hundred Jinyiwei roaming the Princess’s estate.

Afterward, even if you wanted to investigate, nothing could be traced — you could only swallow the grievance.

Thanks to Cheng Changyan’s single word, their Xiangyang Marquis household left early and avoided a lot of unnecessary trouble.

Cheng Changyan quickly said, “It was just a small favor, not worth mentioning. The old Marquis is too polite.”

Li Sui Feng pushed over a few boxes of gifts he had brought: “A small token of thanks, nothing grand. Lord Cheng is so busy every day, yet you don’t even have a servant. How about this — I’ll send you two young male attendants, two maidservants, and two older women to help. Since this little courtyard wouldn’t fit all of them, we just so happen to have an extra estate. Why not let me gift it to Lord Cheng as well?”

“There’s something the Marquis may not know,” Cheng Changyan’s gaze lowered slightly. “When I passed the top examination and became a zhuangyuan, the court granted me a residence and dozens of servants. But my sister and I still live here because… this was my mother’s last home.

Before she passed, my mother loved the quiet, tending flowers, growing vegetables, raising chickens and ducks. It’s what she enjoyed — and also what my little sister enjoys doing. If we moved into the city, it wouldn’t be so convenient anymore.”

The old Marquis was stunned: “That empty five-winged mansion near the imperial palace — don’t tell me that’s the one the court gave you?”

Cheng Changyan’s eyes dimmed, and he gave a light nod.

Li Suifeng felt deeply embarrassed.

That mansion near the imperial palace was worth more than gold — in the capital, it was practically priceless.

He had assumed the Cheng family was dirt poor.

Clearly, he had thought too much.

Clearing his throat, Li Suifeng asked awkwardly, “So… if Lord Cheng were to marry in the future, would you still live here?”

“That depends entirely on my future wife’s wishes,” Cheng Changyan’s expression was a bit uneasy. “Wherever she wants to live, we’ll live. Even if she prefers staying with her own family — that’s fine too.”

Li Suifeng stared, wide-eyed: “Are you saying, Lord Cheng, you’d be willing to… marry into the wife’s family?”

“Marry in?” Cheng Changyan paused, then chuckled. “To me, whether the woman marries the man, or the man marries into the woman’s family, there’s no real difference. It’s all up to the future wife’s preferences.”

The old Marquis nearly spat out his tea: “Lord Cheng’s thinking is truly… unconventional.”

In the Great Wei dynasty, a man marrying into the wife’s family was considered a huge disgrace, inviting ridicule and scorn.

Only incompetent or impoverished families would agree to send their son as a live-in son-in-law, especially if the children would bear the wife’s family name.

Cheng Changyan lowered his gaze.

He bore the surname Cheng — not by his own wish.

There was no need for his children to inherit a surname steeped in lies and deception.

Hiding his emotions, he smoothly shifted the topic: “With the trouble at the Princess Royal’s estate, the political landscape has shifted. Marquis, you’d best avoid getting entangled.”

Li Suifeng didn’t understand the complexities of court politics, but he knew well enough that following a smart man’s lead was never wrong.

After leaving the Cheng residence and returning to the Marquis’s mansion, Li Suifeng immediately told Bai Ruzhu about the “marrying in” matter.

“Lord Cheng disdains luxury and public opinion — such a man is truly rare,” Bai Ruzhu said thoughtfully. “Why don’t we find a matchmaker to sound things out?”

“Better to ask Yueniang first,” Li Suifeng replied. “That girl’s getting more and more independent — let her decide for herself.”

Bai Ruzhu called out, “Madam Zhou, bring Yue Niang here.”

Madam Zhou soon returned empty-handed: “Miss has gone out to the countryside estate. I heard from Li Qingsong that she’s bought so much silk, even the estate’s storage can’t hold it all. She rented six or seven warehouses, and it’s still not enough…”

Li Suifeng sighed, “So much dowry — that Cheng boy’s getting lucky… Well, no, if he’s willing to marry in, then Yue Niang’s dowry still counts as staying within our own family. Buying more isn’t a problem.”

“But isn’t it a bit too much?” Bai Ruzhu did a quick mental calculation and was stunned. “I reckon she’s bought up half the silk stock in the capital. Even if she wore one set a day, she wouldn’t finish it in a hundred — no, a thousand years!”

Meanwhile, the markets in the capital were slowly catching on.

A while back, all the major fabric shops had sold their silk to the Li family.

Now, some households wanted to buy silk but couldn’t find any.

The large shopkeepers just smiled politely at customers: “Just wait a few more days — the newest silks from Jiangnan will be arriving in the capital soon. Come early, and you can pick the best ones.”

Jiangnan was famous for silk, and every autumn and winter, several large ships would deliver the year’s production to the capital for sale — the trendiest materials and patterns that all the noble ladies eagerly awaited.

The silks the Li family had bought were from last year or early this year. To the noblewomen, they were already out of fashion.

Even so, silk prices in the capital had edged up slightly.

For example, the most basic raw silk, which normally cost about 500 wen per bolt, had now risen slightly to 700 wen.

A small fluctuation — not enough to attract much attention.