In ancient times, it was common for men to have multiple wives and concubines.

Perhaps he showed some interest in her today, but who knew if his gaze would fall upon another woman tomorrow?

If she allowed herself to fall for him, she might end up resentful, a jealous woman in a large estate, or be forced to focus solely on raising children for him, perhaps even begging for a letter of release one day.

None of these were outcomes she was willing to accept.

In this era, the prevailing mindset was such.

She, having come from another world with different views on love, knew that hoping for a lifelong commitment to one person here was both absurd and laughable.

She couldn’t truly believe that just because she’d read countless romance novels about everlasting love before she arrived, she would now find a man in this world who would only ever care for her.

Once you took the wrong path, it would be difficult to turn back.

So, it was better to nip any budding emotions in the bud.

Feng Shuo listened to her words, absentmindedly twisting a peony petal in his hand until it was crushed.

His voice remained calm as he asked, “So loyal. What if he doesn’t care about you?”

There was something subtle in his use of the words “loyalty,” but Jiang Yanyi was too distracted by the thought that he, a prince, was asking her such things.

She had a faint suspicion about what Feng Shuo was trying to tell her.

Nervously clenching her sleeve, she replied, “If he doesn’t care about me, I’ll continue running my little restaurant on my own.”

Her implication was that she had no plans to consider marriage.

Feng Shuo, hearing this, thought back to the time when Lu Linyuan had bowed to her outside the shop, and she had curtsied in return.

After that bow, she had let go of the past and chose to live as a cook in this remote town.

Was it because Lu Linyuan had broken her heart?

He released the crumpled flower petals and looked at Jiang Yanyi, who stood in the doorway of the greenhouse.

A dark, heavy expression flickered in his eyes, though his words came out lightly, “Good?”

The coldness in his voice sent an inexplicable chill through Jiang Yanyi.

Tightening her grip on the water bucket, she quickly excused herself, almost fleeing, “Your servant takes her leave.”

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Time passed day by day.

Ever since the hotpot restaurant gained popularity on its opening day, Jiang Yanyi’s business had flourished.

Finding a server with martial arts skills was challenging, as such jobs didn’t pay much.

Those who knew a bit of martial arts either worked in security or served in wealthy households.

Chef Li introduced a potential worker to Jiang Yanyi, a robust woman in her thirties named Madam Guo.

She had a sturdy frame—not fat like Lady Hu but genuinely strong.

Her husband, a butcher, had passed away the previous year.

After trying to manage a butcher shop on her own, she had sought work in a restaurant, though few would hire her, thinking her recent widowhood unlucky.

Jiang Yanyi didn’t mind, as long as she was capable of doing the work.

Madam Guo’s skills impressed her during a trip to buy meat.

When the butcher was too busy to help them, Madam Guo stepped in and efficiently slaughtered a sheep herself, quicker than the butcher.

With such a capable helper, Jiang Yanyi’s workload became more manageable.

Although they hadn’t yet hired a server, the three of them managed to handle the business by being selective with orders each day, allowing them to keep up with demand.

Regulars, aware of their limited staff, adapted to a reservation system Jiang Yanyi introduced.

They would call ahead for a time slot, avoiding long lines, which ironically made the restaurant’s popularity grow even more among the town’s elite.

The exclusivity became a sort of status symbol, as patrons vied for a table at the bustling establishment.

Still, Jiang Yanyi remained wary of potential competitors.

Although her hotpot shop was thriving, she stayed vigilant.

She sought advice from Zhao Tou on sourcing fresh ingredients and ensured strict cleanliness in the restaurant, determined to avoid any pests.

Remembering the idea of getting a cat, she asked Chen Niang to help find one.

With winter approaching, however, there were no litters to adopt, so she bought an adult cat from a farmer.

Unfortunately, this feral cat had little interest in catching mice and instead became a nuisance, sneaking food from the kitchen.

Wild and untamable, the cat resisted her attempts to bathe it, evading her every time she tried to get close.

Eventually, it wandered off, and she gave up on the idea of keeping it around.

Her only comfort was the well-behaved parrot Feng Shuo had given her.

But even this belief was short-lived.

One chilly morning, she opened the door to find frost covering the courtyard stones, crunching under her feet.

Checking on the parrot by the stove, she found it happily preening itself, its feathers still bright despite a bit of soot.

Relieved, she prepared for another day at the restaurant.

As soon as Jiang Yanyi entered the kitchen, the parrot in the cage started hopping up and down, screeching in protest, “Starving! Starving!”

She took some coix seeds from the cupboard and placed them in its food dish. “You’re not starving yet, are you?”

The parrot pecked furiously at the seeds in the dish, but after hearing her words, it stopped, raised its head, and continued to complain, “Starving! Starving!”

Jiang Yanyi gently brushed the dust from the parrot’s feathers. “You’re not starving, you’re just filthy.”

Jiang Yanyi had never raised a parrot before, so she wasn’t sure if it needed regular baths.

However, with the weather getting colder, she didn’t dare take the risk, even if she wanted to.

The parrot tilted its head, clearly not yet having learned how to say “filthy.”

After a while, when it realized she wasn’t going to teach it more words, it lowered its head and resumed pecking at the seeds.

Jiang Yanyi found the parrot quite clever.

When the weather wasn’t so cold, she had hung the cage by the restaurant’s entrance.

After just a few lessons, it learned to greet customers with “Welcome” and bid farewell with “Come again” when they left.

Many diners had commented that the parrot seemed particularly intelligent, with some even offering high prices to buy it, but Jiang Yanyi refused to sell.

After all, raising a pet creates a bond, and no amount of silver could replace that connection.

Once the parrot finished its seeds, Jiang Yanyi opened the cage and poured some warm water into its drinking dish.

After drinking, the parrot flapped its wings happily and flew out into the courtyard.

Jiang Yanyi wasn’t worried about it flying away.

The parrot would take a loop around the courtyard every morning and return on its own.

She stoked the fire, preparing to make breakfast.

The hotpot restaurant only served lunch and dinner, so they could afford to sleep in during the mornings.

Aunt Guo, who had a house in the city, didn’t stay overnight at the restaurant.

She would come at noon for work, so the only ones living there were still just Jiang Yanyi and Qiu Kui.

While Jiang Yanyi was kneading dough in the kitchen for steamed buns, she suddenly heard Qiu Kui’s voice from the courtyard. “Hua Hua, the parrot seems stuck on the wall!”

Setting down her work, Jiang Yanyi went outside and sure enough, saw the silly parrot perched on the courtyard wall, not moving at all, its eyes closing as if it were dozing off.

This was clearly a sign that it had gotten too cold.

Jiang Yanyi quickly found a ladder and propped it against the wall, instructing Qiu Kui to hold it steady while she climbed up to rescue the parrot.

“Hua Hua, be careful!”

The stone-paved ground was frosty and slippery, making Qiu Kui very nervous.

The parrot had chosen a tricky spot to perch.

It was standing directly above a flowerbed, so the ladder couldn’t be placed right beneath it.

Jiang Yanyi had to climb up and walk a few steps along the top of the wall to reach the bird.

She wasn’t afraid climbing up, but once she was standing on the wall and could see the ground below, her heart began to race with fear.

The wall was made of blue bricks, about a foot wide.

As long as she was careful, there shouldn’t be any danger, but the frost made it slippery, so she treaded cautiously with every step.

Just as she was about to reach the parrot, it suddenly woke from its nap and flapped its wings, flying off on its own.

Jiang Yanyi was so angry she nearly spat blood.

She had been worried that the foolish bird was too cold to fly down, only to find it had just been napping on the wall!

She was about to turn and climb down when she sensed something wasn’t quite right.

Glancing towards the Duhu Mansion’s courtyard, she realized that Feng Shuo was standing at the entrance to the western courtyard, gazing at her with an unreadable expression.

Since their encounter in the greenhouse that day, she hadn’t run into Feng Shuo during her visits to water the pepper seedlings, nor had he come by the restaurant.

Only the steward from the mansion had come a few times to request hotpot and roasted meat for the Grand Empress Dowager.

Jiang Yanyi had no time to wonder why Feng Shuo was standing in a seldom-used part of the mansion, but she felt all the embarrassment in the world rush upon her at this moment.

Locking eyes with Feng Shuo, she miraculously understood what he was thinking and hastened to explain, “I’m not trying to climb over the wall! I came up here to rescue the parrot!”

But the bare wall, devoid of even a single parrot feather, did nothing to support her claim.

Feng Shuo continued to gaze at her, his eyes clearly conveying, “You don’t need to explain, I understand everything.”