The young man’s slender and nimble fingers quickly peeled the thin skin of the peach into several petals, revealing the delicate and fragrant flesh, exuding a sweet fruit fragrance.

“Dong Jiejie, here you go.” Zhao Huanxi handed the peeled peach to Xu Nian’an.

“This is so watery, how can anyone eat it?” Xu Nian’an remarked, being picky.

“You’re right.” Zhao Huanxi held the peach in one hand and opened the study door with the other, calling out to the courtyard, “Is anyone else there?”

Mingli peeked out from the main room corridor.

Zhao Huanxi said, “Bring a knife.”

Mingli was taken aback, about to ask, “What’s that knife for?” when Xu Nian’an appeared at the study door and added, “Bring a fruit-peeling knife, a fruit plate, and a basin of clean water.”

Mingli nodded and went off.

In a moment, everything was delivered to the study. Xu Nian’an had just washed her hands when she looked up and saw Zhao Huanxi about to cut the peach in his palm.

“Let me do it!” Xu Nian’an quickly stepped forward, snatching the peach and the knife from his hand. “If you cut your hand, I can’t afford to compensate.”

Zhao Huanxi, feeling aggrieved, said, “You’re just like my mother and sisters, always thinking I can’t even do a small thing right.”

“If you want people to think that you have done things well, you have to show that you’re doing things properly. Who cuts a peach like that? Is the knife harder, or is your hand harder?” Xu Nian’an placed the peach in the fruit plate and set it on the tall table under the window, then sat down.

Unable to say anything, Zhao Huanxi sat down opposite to Xu Nian’an with a stiff face, but couldn’t help stealing glances at her as she cut the peach.

As Xu Nian’an cut the peach, the tender flesh sprayed juice, and the sweet fruit fragrance became even more intense. Zhao Huanxi happened to be a little thirsty and couldn’t help but swallow his saliva.

Xu Nian’an cut the peach flesh into eight evenly-sized slices, then picked up one slice with her fingers and put it into her mouth.

Zhao Huanxi stared steadily at her red, tender lips, as it became moist and shiny with the peach juice, and felt that his throat became even more thirsty.

“Why are you staring at me? If you want some, get it yourself,” Xu Nian’an said.

Zhao Huanxi looked at his own hands and said, “I’m too lazy to wash them. Just feed me.”

Xu Nian’an: “…”

Yisu neatly arranged the clothes Xu Nian’an brought and just came out of the main house when she saw Mingli peeking outside the West wing Room.

She knew Zhao Huanxi and Xu Nian’an were in the West wing Room, so she didn’t call out to her, just lightly touched her shoulder as she passed by.

Mingli was startled, but when she saw it was Yisu, she pulled her into the courtyard.

“What are you doing? Sneaking around like that,” Yisu asked in a low voice.

“I was watching Da Xiaojie and Gu Yé,” Mingli said, looking puzzled. “Didn’t they say Gu Yé has someone in his heart and doesn’t want to marry our Xiaojie? But from what I see, their interactions don’t seem like that at all.”

Yisu said: “I think Gu Yé is a young man full of youthful energy, with the appearance of not yet having experienced love. The rumors outside might not be true. In the future, don’t stare at Gu Yé* like you did last night, and don’t peek rudely like just now. Xiaojie is marrying into a high family. Even if we can’t help her save face, we shouldn’t cause trouble for her.”

“Oh.” Mingli obediently replied, then joyfully added, “Gu Yé just said that we should each take a peach to eat. I’ll go wash them now.”

Yisu stopped her and said, “It would be wrong of us to secretly eat peaches while Xiaowei and the others are not here.”

“But when they come back, one for each of us won’t be enough.” Earlier, when Jinyin brought the peaches over, Mingli saw the delicate little basket, which contained only about ten peaches in total. Just now, four were sent to the study, and there are six maids in total. If they each have one, there won’t be any left.

“So when they come back, let’s take two peaches and cut them, and taste them together. We’ll save the rest for Gu Yé and Xiaojie.” said Susu.

At this moment, there was a burst of children’s laughter and play outside the door, followed by eight or nine children running into their courtyard in a rush.

Yisu hurriedly went up to greet them.

The leader was none other than Zhao Yujie. When he saw Yisu, he immediately asked, “Where is my Xiao Shushu?”

Yisu replied, “San ié is reading in the study.”

Zhao Yujie ran past her towards the study, shouting, “Xiao Shushu, Xiao Shushu,” as he ran.

Zhao Huanxi, upon opening the study door, looked delighted. “Jie Ge’er, you finally remembered to come find me.”

Zhao Yujie said, “Of course, I can forget anyone but my Xiao Shushu. Xiao Shushu, we were just about to play hide and seek at Diecui Crag. My mother said we children can’t go alone, so how about you accompany us?”

叠翠岩 (Diécuì Yán): "Diecui Crag" or "Folded Greenery Crag." A descriptive name for a scenic rock formation or a garden feature, likely within the family estate.

Zhao Huanxi was about to agree when Xu Nian’an came out of the room and asked, “Where is this Diécui Crag?”

Zhao Huanxi replied, “It’s right in the Great Garden.”

“Oh, we just came back from Zhilan Hall after lunch, and then we’re going to Diecui Crag in the afternoon. I wonder if Mother will misunderstand anything. If Sanlang is going, go ahead and inform Mother first. Jie Ge’er, accompany your Xiao Shushu to explain to Da Taitai that it was Da Taitai who didn’t allow you to play, so you came to your Xiao Shushu to keep you company.”

After Xu Nian’an said this, both the older and the younger Zhao hesitated.

“Let’s just forget about it. Xiao Shushu, what did you just eat? It smells so good.” Zhao Yujie suddenly changed the subject.

Zhao Huanxi said, “We have some newly arrived peaches from the garden, they are very sweet. You guys want some?”

“Yes, yes!” All the children looked eagerly, especially Zhao Yujie, who nodded repeatedly.

Zhao Huanxi turned around to get the peaches but heard Xu Nian’an scold, “Sanlang, how can you be so forgetful? Didn’t you just finish eating the peaches?”

Zhao Huanxi was stunned. He turned his head to look under the window at the tall table, where the fruit plate with three peaches was nowhere to be found.

“That’s not…”

“What do you mean, ‘That’s not’? If it’s not you who ate them, then could it be me?” Xu Nian’an raised her hand and pinched him secretly. She then kindly said to the group of children outside the door, “If you want to eat peaches, you should hurry home. Da Taitai is distributing peaches to each house. If there’s another glutton like your Xiao Shushu at home, you might not get any if you go back late.”

Among the group of children, the oldest was the ten-year-old Zhao Yujie, so what judgement could they have? Upon hearing Xu Nian’an’s words, they all rushed back, eager to get home and eat the peaches.

Seeing his nephews and nieces all running away, Zhao Huanxi didn’t dwell on the matter of the missing peaches. He only asked Zhao Yujie, “Didn’t you say you had something important to tell me this morning?”

Zhao Yujie glanced cautiously at Xu Nian’an.

Xu Nian’an smiled and walked over to Zhao Huanxi’s desk, pretending to tidy up the desk.

Zhao Yujie pulled Zhao Huanxi to a clump of green bamboo in the corridor and took out a handkerchief from his clothes to give to Zhao Huanxi.

Zhao Huanxi took the handkerchief and unfolded it, but he was shocked and screamed in fright, then threw the handkerchief to the ground.

Zhao Yujie stared at him with widened eyes.

Feeling embarrassed, Zhao Huanxi said, “I understand. You, you can go back first.”

Zhao Yujie left.

Xu Nian’an came out of the study and saw Zhao Huanxi standing by the green bamboo with a frown face. She bent down to pick up the handkerchief from the ground.

“Hey…” Zhao Huanxi tried to stop her, but Xu Nian’an had already picked up the handkerchief.

“It’s okay,” Xu Nian’an said as she took the handkerchief and grabbed his sleeve, leading him into the study.

“Don’t be afraid, this isn’t a blood letter. If blood is exposed to air, over time, it will darken. But the writing on this handkerchief is dry, and the colour is still so bright. If I’m not mistaken, it’s written with cinnabar,” Xu Nian’an said as she examined the handkerchief.

Zhao Huanxi breathed a sigh of relief and took the handkerchief from Xu Nian’an, somewhat complaining, “Why would anyone use cinnabar to write? It scared me.”

Xu Nian’an joked, “Must be afraid that you’ll forget the old when you have someone new, so they wanted to make you feel sorry for them.”

Zhao Huanxi felt a bit embarrassed. The words on the handkerchief were full of grievances and fears of him being unfaithful. He didn’t want to dwell on them, so he crumpled the handkerchief and stuffed it into his sleeve.

Xu Nian’an snatched the handkerchief and said, “You’re still hiding it! If someone sees you with this, they’ll report it to Taitai and you’ll be scolded to death.” She then called Yisu over and instructed her to burn the handkerchief secretly, so no one would find out.

Zhao Huanxi felt embarrassed and didn’t want to discuss the matter further. Instead, he brought up the issue of Xu Nian’an hiding the peaches. He said, “I understand you’ve had a hard time in the past and are careful with money, but how can you not even be willing to give a few peaches to the children? You’re supposed to be their Xiao Shenshen. I feel ashamed of you!”

“You feel ashamed of me? Then let’s consider it settled, you big fool!” Xu Nian’an took out the peaches hidden in the painting vat.

画缸 - The painting vat a study utensil, also known as "desk vat" and "scroll vat". It is used to place scrolls, calligraphy and painting utensils.

“Who are you calling a fool?” Zhao Huanxi jumped up again.

“It’s you I’m talking about,” Xu Nian’an turned around from under the window and said, “You don’t use your brain when you encounter problems. If you’re not a big fool, then who is?”

“If you don’t explain clearly today, I’ll… I’ll…” Zhao Huanxi raised his hand as if to threaten.

“You will what? Dare to hit me? Go ahead, try.” Xu Nian’an brought her beautiful face close to his.

Zhao Huanxi looked at her picturesque features up close, his face suddenly red. He turned away and shouted, “You’re just a rogue!”

Xu Nian’an said, “The peaches are a small matter, but if someone gets hold of evidence that Taitai is unfair in managing the household, that would be a big deal.”

Zhao Huanxi was taken aback and turned to ask Xu Nian’an, “What do you mean by that?”

Xu Nian’an pointed to the three peaches in the plate and said to Zhao Huanxi, “Do you think all the peaches on the tree are as big, round, and red as these?”

Zhao Huanxi looked at the three peaches and remembered that he had been to the peach orchard before. It seemed that…. the peaches on the tree were both big and small.

“Are you saying that Mom gave us the best peaches?”

“That’s only natural, isn’t it? If you have something good, would you not give it to your own mother and instead give it to Shenshen of other branches?”

Zhao Huanxi couldn’t come up with an answer, so he said, “Our family has such a large peach orchard. There must be more good peaches than just these few. How can we be sure that the ones given to the other branches are not as good as ours?”

“Are all the peaches on the peach tree ripe at the same time? Besides, apart from us, there’s also Guogong Yé, Lao Taitai, and your sisters! If something cannot be confirmed, then don’t do it, to avoid giving others a handle. Just now, the children from First, Second, Third and Fourth Branches all had peaches. If you give them peaches and they take them home, and the elders see that the peaches from our branch are bigger than the ones from theirs, you’ll be seen as a good Xiao Shushu. But what would it be to Mom? Isn’t this just looking for trouble where there is none?”

Zhao Huanxi felt a headache coming on. “You women really like to make a big deal out of nothing.”

“Now you see how hard it is for us women, right?” Xu Nian’an said.

Zhao Huanxi: “…..”

In the Fifth Branch, Wu Taitai had just finished consoling her tearful daughter-in-law and returned to her daughter’s room. Upon entering, she saw Zhao Shuxian standing under the window with a fierce expression, venting her frustration by tearing apart the pomegranate flowers on the flower stool.

Wu Taitai dismissed the maids and walked over, reprimanding, “Do you have the face to be angry here? Who told you to speak out of turn? You speak up, but can’t argue your point. Isn’t that making a fool of yourself?”

“Who knew that Xu Shi would be so shameless! She really angers me to death!” Zhao Shuxian fiercely threw the torn pomegranate flowers to the ground.

At this moment, a maid reported that Da Taitai had sent someone to deliver peaches.

Wu Taitai’s eyes lit up, and she said to Zhao Shuxian, “New peaches have arrived. Hurry, wash your hands, arrange them on a plate, and take them to the Buddha Hall to show your Zumu.”