The next day, when Jiang Yanyi woke up, she was stunned to see her courtyard filled with fallen pomegranates.

She and Qiu Kui exchanged bewildered glances, staring at each other.

“What kind of wind must it have been to blow down so many pomegranates from half a tree?” Qiu Kui gazed up at the pomegranate tree over the courtyard wall in disbelief.

And did this wind only blow the pomegranates down?

How come not a single leaf was taken?

Jiang Yanyi noticed that none of the pomegranates on the ground were damaged, as if someone had intentionally picked them and placed them in the courtyard.

She suspiciously said, “Could it be that someone is trying to frame us?”

As neighbors, stealing half of the pomegranates from someone else’s tree would ruin their reputation.

How could she open her shop if she was drowned in the neighbors’ gossip?

Jiang Yanyi was startled by her own thoughts and quickly called for Qiu Kui to help her gather the pomegranates into a bamboo basket.

They rushed next door to the Duhu Mansion to return the pomegranates.

They needed to clear their names before the real culprits showed up with evidence!

The doorman, initially impatient with the early morning knocking, was pleasantly surprised to see the young lady from yesterday.

He instantly changed to a warm demeanor and glanced at the half-basket of pomegranates she was holding, looking puzzled: “Miss, what’s this about?”

Jiang Yanyi explained, “I woke up this morning to find all these pomegranates in my courtyard. My shop is next door, and since we’re neighbors with the Duhu Mansion, I’m truly worried. I’m afraid there might be some misunderstanding, so I came to return the pomegranates.”

The doorman looked at the fresh green stems of the pomegranates and, recalling Feng Shuo’s subtle attitude toward the chef yesterday, wondered if there was a connection.

As a mere doorman, he didn’t dare make decisions for his master, so he said, “Please wait a moment, miss. I’ll go inform the steward.”

Jiang Yanyi thanked him.

Before long, the doorman returned with a kindly-looking, plump steward who had a fair complexion.

The doorman gestured toward the plump steward: “This is the young lady.”

Jiang Yanyi quickly curtsied to the steward, showing her respect.

Fu Xi had already heard the whole story from the doorman and felt that this new neighbor was quite polite.

Since two pomegranates had fallen yesterday, she made a plate of cakes as a return gift.

Now, with even more pomegranates having fallen, she had come to return them.

He had initially intended to let the doorman relay the message and simply gift the basket of pomegranates, but when he heard that Feng Shuo had taken the cakes she sent over yesterday, Fu Xi became curious and decided to come take a look.

He saw that not only was Jiang Yanyi striking in appearance, but her manners were also quite proper.

As someone who had served in the palace, he found no faults in her demeanor, which made him regard her more favorably.

In this remote area, even the daughters of high officials often had wild temperaments, and very few were genuinely well-educated and courteous.

Fu Xi discreetly assessed Jiang Yanyi.

Seeing her holding the basket of pomegranates and recalling that Feng Shuo had been visiting the western courtyard frequently these past few days, he suddenly had a guess.

Could it be that the prince has taken a liking to this girl?

He usually maintained a friendly demeanor, with subtlety hidden in his eyes.

At this moment, he smiled broadly and clasped his hands together, saying, “I haven’t congratulated you on moving to this neighborhood yet. How rude of me!”

Jiang Yanyi finally realized that this was a senior steward.

“Oh no, it’s my shop that has kept me busy, preventing me from visiting your mansion earlier,” Jiang Yanyi replied, a perfectly appropriate smile on her face, not overly flattering nor too distant. “I’m here today to return this basket of pomegranates.”

As she spoke, Jiang Yanyi stepped forward to present the basket.

Fu Xi noticed her upright character and graceful demeanor and couldn’t help but nod inwardly.

Although her status was somewhat lower, good character was what mattered most.

After so many years, the prince finally had a woman who caught his eye, and Fu Xi vaguely suspected that these fallen pomegranates were the prince’s doing.

He hoped the prince would soon find someone attentive by his side, so he said, “Since these pomegranates have fallen into the neighbor’s courtyard, they belong to you now.”

Jiang Yanyi didn’t expect him to say that and hurriedly replied, “How could that be…”

Fu Xi interrupted her, “The western courtyard has been vacant for a long time, and no one has taken care of that pomegranate tree. It would be a pity for the fruits to fall to the ground.”

Seeing Jiang Yanyi still hesitating, he added, “In a few days, the Grand Empress Dowager will be celebrating her birthday. I’ve heard that the neighbor is skilled in cooking. I hope you can come help us out a bit. Consider these pomegranates as a token of thanks in advance.”

Since she had been told so, Jiang Yanyi could hardly refuse and simply expressed her gratitude.

The servants of the governor’s mansion, from the doorman to the steward, were all quite friendly and polite.

Jiang Yanyi suddenly felt that if the servants were this way, the masters of the mansion couldn’t be too bad either, right?

She didn’t know that Feng Shuo, the great general, was exactly that kind of person, but she assumed that he must be kind-hearted and benevolent.

It was only after realizing he was the great general she was grateful to that she had lingering doubts due to that incident when he barged into the military tent to retrieve the order.

But to be fair, whether it was using his own money to improve the army’s rations or pardoning the camp prostitutes, he had done good deeds.

Jiang Yanyi let out a light sigh; at that moment, she truly let go of her previous prejudice against Feng Shuo.

She returned to her small courtyard with the basket.

Qiu Kui was overjoyed with so many pomegranates, but Jiang Yanyi, staring at the pomegranate tree in the neighboring yard, suddenly recalled their initial question:

“Qiu Kui, how do you think these pomegranates fell?”

The steward next door had said that the courtyard adjacent to theirs was vacant, yet so many pomegranates had mysteriously fallen into their yard, and they were completely unscathed…

The wall was at least one and a half meters high; an ordinary person couldn’t just climb over.

A sudden chill ran down Jiang Yanyi’s spine: “Qiu Kui, do you think that courtyard next door might be haunted?”

Otherwise, why would it be empty?

Although Jiang Yanyi didn’t usually believe in ghosts, the fact that she had transmigrated made her wonder if such things might actually exist.

Qiu Kui, about to peel one of the pomegranates, was so frightened by Jiang Yanyi’s words that she quickly put it back in the basket, trembling as she said, “Huahua… don’t scare me.”

---

Feng Shuo had returned from the military camp half an hour earlier than usual today, just to see what the little chef had sent back in gratitude.

As he entered the mansion, he specifically asked the doorman, “Has the chef from the neighboring shop come by today?”

The doorman immediately replied with a servile tone: “She did come by, carrying a basket of pomegranates to return, saying they fell into her yard last night. However, the steward refused to accept them and sent her back with the pomegranates instead.”

Feng Shuo’s expression darkened slightly at the first half of the sentence, but improved a little with the latter half.

Xing Yao, standing behind him, couldn’t help but smile slightly.

He had said that his master had taken too many pomegranates last night.

Feng Shuo shot a sharp glare over his shoulder, and Xing Yao quickly composed himself.

Feng Shuo instructed, “If she sends anything, take it directly to the study.”

The doorman quickly complied.

Feng Shuo initially thought that Jiang Yanyi had accepted the pomegranates and that her returning them indicated she sensed something was off.

If she were clever enough, she should be able to guess what was happening, right?

If she continued to reciprocate, it would mean she didn’t feel indifferent toward him.

But if she didn’t… if she didn’t…

Feng Shuo abruptly stopped that line of thought; how could she possibly not respond?

Yet, he still felt a flicker of unease within him.

As he waited, he returned to his study to deal with the pile of documents and letters that had accumulated over the past few days.

Throughout the Great Xuan Dynasty, there was an invisible web woven, with lines crossing in all directions from various factions, each thread affecting the entire system.

He and the new emperor were the biggest players in this web, with his people constantly keeping watch over the emperor while the emperor was also watching him closely.

Feng Shuo rapidly scanned through the documents, drafting replies as needed.

Before he knew it, an hour had passed, and there was still no news from the doorman.

His brows gradually furrowed with impatience, his beautiful phoenix eyes becoming sharp and cold.

Xing Yao glanced at the now lukewarm lunch on the low table and suggested, “Master, your health is important; perhaps you should eat first.”

Feng Shuo abruptly threw down his brush, his expression dark: “Get out!”

Xing Yao saw his displeasure and wanted to say something but didn’t dare to speak, so he had to bow and retreat.

Having served Feng Shuo for many years, he could roughly guess the reason for his master’s distress.

He had heard Feng Shuo say yesterday that he didn’t want to be the only one troubled, and had deliberately plucked so many pomegranates, intending for the chef in the neighboring courtyard to notice something was wrong.

Yet today, that chef first returned the pomegranates, and now there was still no news; his master might feel that the chef didn’t want to respond to his feelings.

Xing Yao shook his head, thinking it would be strange if that chef understood his master’s thoughts.

If he hadn’t gone to pick the pomegranates last night and heard Feng Shuo say that, he wouldn’t have understood his master’s intentions at all.

How could someone who excelled at strategy come up with such a bizarre scheme?

---

Feng Shuo now felt as irritable as a cat that had made a rare overture but was being ignored.

He typically sat with a straight back, but now he slumped into the chair, both hands resting on the armrests.

The door was tightly closed, and the room was dim; he seemed to merge with the darkness, his handsome and noble face carrying a hint of self-mockery.

After a long while, he feigned indifference and said, “Does this prince really crave it that much?”

He was no longer the terrified boy in the palace, weeping for a shred of compassion.

Now, whatever he wanted, he had a thousand ways to obtain it.

Today, he simply chose the clumsiest and most subtle method.