“Fine, one month it is!” If Feng Shuo had a tail, it would be standing straight up at this moment.

He tossed all the pieces on the chessboard back into the box and said cheerfully, “Just right! This prince doesn’t need to go to the military camp for the next few days. I can take you to the borders on horseback. You haven’t seen the sunflowers on the grasslands, have you? When they bloom, it’s like a sea of fire!”

At that moment, he was acting like an exuberant young boy, with all his thoughts written on his face.

Jiang Yanyi silently interrupted him. “Your Highness, you should focus on recuperating first.”

As soon as the topic of recuperation came up, Feng Shuo thought of that bowl of excruciatingly bitter medicine, and his expression instantly changed. “This prince is fine.”

Jiang Yanyi looked at him without speaking.

Feng Shuo thought that if she wasn’t around, he wouldn’t taste the bitterness of the medicine anyway.

So he furrowed his brow and said, “This prince will drink the medicine on time from now on.”

Jiang Yanyi said, “It’s getting colder. It’s best for you to avoid the wind.”

Feng Shuo: “…”

---

Feng Shuo’s twisted expression while drinking the medicine lingered in Jiang Yanyi’s mind, refusing to leave.

After thinking it over, she decided to tell the housekeeper, Fu Xi, about it, asking if some of the stronger-tasting herbs could be replaced with medicinal dishes.

Fu Xi, upon hearing this, found a doctor who prescribed a new remedy, combining medicinal food with medicinal baths for double the effect.

Fu Xi entrusted Jiang Yanyi with the task of preparing the medicinal dishes, saying the kitchen in the residence wasn’t convenient and that the Grand Empress Dowager disliked the smell of medicine.

He offered a high price for Jiang Yanyi’s help in cooking.

Jiang Yanyi knew this was Feng Shuo’s idea.

She initially declined, saying she was too busy with the shop.

However, Fu Xi then borrowed two servants from the royal guards to help her out.

When she said she still needed to manage the accounts, Fu Xi directly lent her the accountant from the royal treasury.

With three helpers, Jiang Yanyi was finally free.

She thought she might as well get to know Feng Shuo better, so she accepted the task of making the medicinal dishes.

Every day, she could also dedicate more energy to taking care of her chili seedlings.

Fortunately, she had spent some time in the countryside in her past life and would return to her grandmother’s home during the holidays to help with farm work.

Although she had never directly learned how to grow chili seedlings, she was familiar with the process from seeing families raising seedlings during the busy farming season.

The methods for different crops were largely similar.

After hardening the seedlings, the tiny handful of chili seeds had now turned into hundreds of young plants.

The maturity period for the chilies was about two to three months.

Once winter passed, it would be the perfect time to harvest this batch of chilies.

By then, she would have more chili seeds and could rent a few acres of land in the spring, having tenant farmers help manage it.

When she had the time, she could go over to inspect it.

Jiang Yanyi felt that it might not be long before she achieved her dream of chili freedom.

In a good mood, she headed to deliver the medicinal dishes to Feng Shuo, her lips curved into a smile.

Over the past few days, she had brought the medicinal dishes to Feng Shuo first, and then went to the greenhouse to check on her chili seedlings.

By the time she came out of the greenhouse, Feng Shuo would usually be finished eating, and she could simply take the empty food container back.

“Are you this happy just from playing in the mud?”

As Jiang Yanyi approached the door, she heard his voice.

The weather had been extremely dry and cold recently, and Feng Shuo’s old injuries were aggravated by the climate.

He hadn’t been sitting in the courtyard to read or play chess for a few days.

After delivering him medicinal dishes for several days, Jiang Yanyi had gotten a sense of his temperament; there was a clear distinction between when he was genuinely angry and when he was merely being cheeky.

At the moment, it was obvious he was just being cheeky.

Jiang Yanyi replied, “Weren’t you playing in the greenhouse too?”

She referred to the time he helped her water the chili seedlings when she was at the shop.

Having his secret exposed, Feng Shuo’s expression soured.

He sat cross-legged on a mat, and the room had a ground dragon lit for warmth.

His body was strong to begin with, and although his old injuries ached in the cold, he had to wear more clothes when going out.

Now, indoors, he was wearing only a thin robe and didn’t feel cold at all.

The collar of his dark robe was slightly askew, revealing a delicate collarbone.

His long hair was not bound, only loosely held back with a headband, giving him a more relaxed and casual look compared to his usual cold demeanor.

Feng Shuo sat before a chessboard, something he often did in his leisure time, playing against himself.

When Jiang Yanyi was clearing the dishes, she noticed something peculiar: the meat and soup were all gone, but the vegetables and medicinal herbs that had been simmered in the broth were left untouched.

Unable to hold back, she asked, “Do you only eat the meat?”

Feng Shuo shot her a look as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Meat is filling.”

Back when he was in the military camp, eating enough meat was the only way to keep from feeling hungry too quickly.

In the past, when he had no sense of taste, he naturally chose the most filling food.

Now that his taste had returned… well, vegetables just didn’t have the same appeal as meat.

Jiang Yanyi, simply not liking his picky eating habits, decided not to push further since the medicinal benefits had already been absorbed into the soup.

He had drunk the broth, so she let it go.

For a few days, Feng Shuo continued playing chess by himself until he got bored.

Suddenly, he asked her, “Do you know how to play?”

“I don’t.”

“Come here, I’ll teach you.” He was in the mood.

Jiang Yanyi had always thought that playing chess seemed so sophisticated, especially in the novels she read.

Now that Feng Shuo offered, she was a bit curious to learn.

She walked over and sat cross-legged across from him on a cushion, giving him a fair warning. “I really don’t know a thing about it.”

Feng Shuo simply repeated, “I’ll teach you.”

He no longer referred to himself as “this king” in front of her as often.

Jiang Yanyi took the black stones, while Feng Shuo held the white ones.

“Black goes first,” he instructed.

She placed a stone at the intersection on the board.

Feng Shuo frowned slightly at her choice but said nothing, following with his own move.

As they continued, he explained, “In Go, stones need breathing space to live. Stones with breathing room are ‘alive,’ while stones without it are ‘dead.'”

As more stones were placed on the board, Feng Shuo pointed out a section. “See? If you place a stone here, this entire area becomes dead. But if you place it here, your game can live.”

“Oh, got it! Thanks.” Jiang Yanyi quickly retrieved her last stone and placed it where he had indicated.

Feng Shuo’s eye twitched. “A true gentleman doesn’t speak while watching a game, and a real player doesn’t regret their moves. Who plays like this?”

Jiang Yanyi blinked innocently. “I’m neither a gentleman nor a man.”

Feng Shuo was momentarily speechless.

He was highly skilled at Go, but Jiang Yanyi, though claiming to have no talent, picked up the basics quickly.

After several games, she could at least manage a few rounds against him before losing.

“It’s boring just playing like this. How about we add a wager?” Jiang Yanyi was getting bold.

Feng Shuo raised an eyebrow. “What kind of wager?”

Jiang Yanyi ran to his desk, grabbed some scrap paper, and tore it into strips. Excitedly, she said, “Whoever loses gets a paper stuck to their forehead.”

Feng Shuo: “… Childish.”

Jiang Yanyi boasted, “Or we could play truth or dare! I almost won the last round.”

Feng Shuo said nothing, only let out a light chuckle.

Several rounds later, Jiang Yanyi was utterly crushed.

She barely got a few stones down before each game ended.

The paper strips on her forehead accumulated so much that she had to hold them back with one hand to keep them from blocking her view.

Feng Shuo remained calm and composed, sipping tea slowly after each of her defeats, only to ask her a question in return:

“Do you like me?”

“What do you like about me?”

“When did you start liking me?”

…

He didn’t find these questions embarrassing, but Jiang Yanyi was practically burying her head in the floor.

Why did I think it was a good idea to challenge him at Go?

Frustrated, Jiang Yanyi yanked the paper strips off her forehead. “I’m still new to Chess! Of course I can’t beat you. Let’s play Five-in-a-Row! I’ll definitely win this one!”

Feng Shuo frowned. “Five-in-a-Row? Never heard of it.”

Jiang Yanyi, seeing her chance for a comeback, grinned brightly.

She had played Five-in-a-Row since she was a kid and hardly ever lost.

There was no way she wouldn’t win this time.

“It’s really simple, you’ll learn it in no time. Even though I’m really good at it, I’ll go easy on you in the beginning.”

Feng Shuo, resting his chin on one hand, glanced at her lips, which were now a deep shade of red, his eyes darkening. “No need to go easy on me, but we can reconsider the wager.”