He Yanxiu hesitated for a moment. “Leave it there. We didn’t bring many clothes this time, so we can change clothes.”

The Second Master didn’t care about that.

Xing’an replied “Yes” and folded the clothes and put them away.

“Don’t mention the matter of clothes and Madam Fang to Miss Su. Just pretend it never happened.” He Yanxiu instructed.

“Yes.” Xing’an agreed again.

Such things are indeed frightening to talk about. It’s better not to know if you can.

Moreover, those clothes of Su Yujin were also made by Madam Fang. If Miss Su knew about this, she might not be as open-minded as the Second Master and might not wear those clothes.

New clothes are thrown away in vain, and making new ones to wear…

It would cost a lot of money!

If Miss Su was short of money, she would definitely look at the Second Master pitifully. The Second Master was generous and couldn’t bear to treat his servants harshly. He would definitely wave his hand and give a few hundred taels of silver.

When the time comes, it will be the Second Master himself who will endure hardships and continue to paint and sell for money!

So the Second Master is the Second Master after all, he thinks long-term, sees things thoroughly, and directly nips off the bad seedlings at the source!

Xing’an suppressed the urge to give He Yanxiu a thumbs up and helped He Yanxiu spread out the paints and paper for painting.

He Yanxiu also examined his half-finished painting, took a brush, and continued painting.

About a cup of tea later, there was a knock on the door.

Xing’an asked through the door, “Who is it?”

“It’s the maid.” Su Yujin’s voice came from outside the door, “The maid made fried tofu and fried mushrooms today, and wanted to send some to the Second Master to try.”

Miss Su was here!

He Yanxiu was stunned for a moment and then began to clean up the things on the table. He had finished two-thirds of the painting.

Seeing this, Xing’an hurriedly replied, “It’s Miss Su. Please wait a moment, I’ll be right there.”

Then, he hurriedly helped He Yanxiu pack up the paints and brushes.

These things must not be seen by Miss Su. Otherwise, if the reputation of Second Master selling paintings to support a mistress spread out, where would Second Master’s face be, and what about the reputation of the He family?

The more Xing’an thought about it, the more anxious he became. He was so flustered while packing up that he accidentally knocked over a dish of paint.

It was blue-lime paint, and it happened to spill on He Yanxiu’s moon-white collar, making it extremely conspicuous.

He Yanxiu, who had just put away the paintings, said, “…”

“Second Master, I…”

It was unintentional.

“No problem, I’ll go change my clothes.” He Yanxiu put down the various brushes in his hand and went to find a new pair of clothes.

Xing’an was still busy packing.

Perhaps the more anxious he was, the more mistakes he made. He either dropped his paintbrush or accidentally kicked the table top, which made him grimace in pain, and he just wanted to jump around the room.

Su Yujin, holding pan-fried tofu and pan-fried mushrooms, waited at the door with her mouth wide open.

The second master was really slow. He hadn’t come out for such a long time.

And there was the clanging sound of nails in the room. She wondered what the Second Master and Xing’an were doing in the room…

After waiting for a while, the door of the room opened.

Su Yujin saw He Yanxiu and Xing’an standing at the door together.

Both of them looked a little flustered and even had an awkward but polite smile on their faces.

Moreover, a layer of fine sweat beads had appeared on Xing’an’s forehead, as if he had done some strenuous work. Looking at He Yanxiu…

His once-fair face now had a faint flush on his cheeks, and his breathing was a bit heavier than usual. Most importantly, the belt of his clothes was a little askew, and the lapels weren’t straight, as if he’d just put them on.

And he’d dressed in a hurry.

Having been away for so long, his clothes were disheveled…

Ahem!

Second Master being Second Master!

He was… quite open-minded!

No wonder. Since arriving in Hedong Prefecture, Second Master had spent most of his time in the backyard, aside from the days he’d spent in the mountains. He’d never left the house, and presumably never had any fun.

After so long, Second Master must have been getting a bit impatient.

Seeing Su Yujin’s complex expression, her eyes filled with inquiry, He Yanxiu spoke, “Why did you think of making all this at this hour?”

“The main course is being prepared in the small kitchen. Since Second Master didn’t seem inclined to go over for dinner, I assumed he’d already finished, so I brought some snacks for him to try.”

Su Yujin quickly put aside her gossiping thoughts. “These pan-fried mushrooms are freshly picked from the mountains. They’re more tender than those that have been soaked and fried.”

Mushrooms were naturally fragrant, and frying them slowly over low heat drew out the moisture, creating a natural broth that became even more fragrant.

He Yanxiu then realized he had been hungry for a long time.

“I was so busy just now that I forgot the time,” He Yanxiu said. “Let’s go have dinner together.”

“Okay,” Su Yujin agreed with a smile. “Then I’ll add two more dishes.”

The spring leeks were growing beautifully, and the small kitchen had freshly caught river shrimp, so she made a dish of stir-fried leeks and river shrimp.

In the small kitchen, there were crispy yams, which could be paired with carrots to make a crispy stir-fried yam dish.

Speaking of which, she saw a whole sheep pulled into the small kitchen today, with all the internal organs intact. She didn’t know if the kidneys were still there. Should she make him stir-fried lamb kidneys with green onions?

Or should she just make him a tonic medicinal meal…

In early May, the weather was getting warmer.

He Yanxiu went into the mountains to work again.

As for Su Yujin, since she didn’t have to worry about He Yanxiu’s taste every day and had already made some pills, she didn’t have to keep an eye on him all the time, so she was completely free.

Kang Shi and Chen Shi would come to talk occasionally.

Kang Shi talked about the skewers business.

The first skewers business was booming, and Kang Shi had already set her sights on the second shop and started decorating it, and it was expected to officially open at the end of this month.

Chen Shi talked about her two sons.

Chen Shi was already in her early thirties. Her two sons, the elder was fourteen and the younger was twelve, both studying at the academy and rarely came home. Especially since they went to the academy after the New Year, and now it was May, and they hadn’t seen each other again.

But they wrote letters regularly, one every month.

However, the letters were short, repeating the same few sentences over and over again: “Everything is fine, don’t worry, take care of your health, and we are studying hard.”

At first, she was naturally pleased that her children were studious and sensible, but as time went on, she felt that their words were dull, lacking words to describe the trivialities of life, which made her worry even more.

Chen Shi wanted to visit several times to see how her two sons were doing, to see if they were well fed and warmly dressed, but each time she was stopped by Qu Zhiwen.

Small Theatre

He Yanxiu: On pins and needles.

Su Yujin: “!!!!” Is it what I thought?”

(End of this chapter)

T/N Everyone from the ML to FL to their servants has a really vivid imagination!!!!