Chapter 32

Chapter 32

In the retiring chamber, Ming Tang finished reading the storybook in one go and then went next door to check on the progress of some work. It was just in time for lunch.

It was autumn, the perfect season for crabs. The kitchen specially sent someone to report that freshly caught crabs had been delivered from the estate. Ming Tang took this as a personal invitation and, ever adaptable, promptly changed the lunch menu.

Crabs are considered "cold" in nature, so the kitchen thoughtfully paired them with warmed Shaoxing wine. Wen He looked at the small wine pot and couldn’t help but chuckle, "Miss, please don’t get tipsy again today."

Ming Tang paused for a moment before suddenly remarking, "The ending of *The Fox in the Mountains* is that the male lead marries a wealthy family's daughter and later even becomes the top imperial scholar."

Wen He was shocked. "What? Isn’t he a fox spirit? He could barely recognize characters—how could he become the top scholar?"

Then, with a resentful look, she turned to Ming Tang. "Miss, that's really mean of you." She knew full well that Wen He wouldn’t have time to read it until that evening, yet she deliberately spoiled it now, just to tease her.

Hearing the words "fox spirit," Ming Tang couldn’t help but glance to the side. Seeing little Pei Ze engrossed in playing with his Luban lock and likely not having heard, she turned back with relief and flashed Wen He a triumphant look. "Let that be a lesson to you. See if you’ll dare laugh at me again."

Wen He felt inexplicably indignant: *Which young lady uses spoilers to manipulate her maid?*

What really stung was—it actually worked.

Wen He put on an exaggerated show of submission, saying in a deliberately servile tone, "You are absolutely right, Miss. This humble maid wouldn’t dare."

Ming Tang waved her hand magnanimously. "Good. As long as you don’t dare."

After the laughter subsided, Zhe Liu, who had finished setting the table, seamlessly gestured to Wen He, and the two left to eat. On their way out, they also took the two maids who had accompanied Pei Ze to deliver something.

The retiring chamber was now left with only Ming Tang, Pei Ze, and Nanny Zhou. Pei Ze, oblivious as ever, sat in Nanny Zhou’s arms, obediently eating what she fed him. Nanny Zhou, however, couldn’t shake a faint sense of incongruity as she watched Ming Tang across the table eating crabs on her own.

*Isn’t the young mistress the daughter of a Vice Minister? Why doesn’t she need help eating something as tricky as crabs...?*

Ming Tang had always loved crabs and was quite skilled at eating them. With a small pair of scissors, she deftly extracted the meat and roe, then reassembled the shell perfectly.

She was so accustomed to the process that her movements were fluid and practiced. Unnoticed by her, however, little Pei Ze across the table had already become completely absorbed.

Pei Ze silently observed Ming Tang’s every move, his eyes filled with longing. When the next spoonful of food was offered to his lips, he didn’t open his mouth immediately but shook his head to refuse.

Nanny Zhou was puzzled and followed his gaze—just in time to see the young mistress finish another crab and meticulously arrange the shell on the plate.

A bad feeling rose in her heart. Sure enough, Pei Ze pointed at the crabs in the center of the table and looked up at her. "Want. This. One."

Each word was deliberately enunciated with great seriousness.

Nanny Zhou immediately felt a headache coming on. Crab meat was cold in nature—she was already debating whether to cautiously advise the young mistress against eating so much. How could she dare feed it to a little boy barely over two years old?

She couldn’t help but glance pleadingly at Ming Tang, hoping she would dissuade him.

But Ming Tang just smiled and nodded. "A Ze wants to eat? Sure."

She even picked one out, placed it on a small plate, and set it before Pei Ze.

Nanny Zhou grew anxious—until Ming Tang continued, "Go ahead, A Ze."

Then, she gave Nanny Zhou a reassuring glance before picking up another crab. Slowly dismantling it, she occasionally glanced up at Pei Ze across the table.

With only the three of them in Cheng Yi Hall now, Ming Tang focused on her meal, and Nanny Zhou was reluctant to act without permission. That left Pei Ze staring at the perfectly intact crab on his plate, completely bewildered.

Pei Ze had only been intrigued after watching Ming Tang eat so intently. But now that the crab was right in front of him, he hesitated: *Can this really be eaten?*

*It looks so ugly...*

He poked the claw with a finger—it was hard.

Glancing across the table, Ming Tang was absorbed in her meal. Pei Ze then looked up at Nanny Zhou, who was more than happy for him not to eat it. The moment he turned, she offered a spoonful of finely mashed fish, meticulously deboned.

Pei Ze pressed his lips together stubbornly, still refusing to open his mouth.

Ming Tang poured herself a cup of warmed Shaoxing wine. Seeing Pei Ze hesitate, she asked, "A Ze, don’t you know how to eat crabs? Should I help you?"

Leaning forward, she took the crab back onto her own plate. Pei Ze only caught the word "help," and his eyes instantly lit up with anticipation. Sitting in Nanny Zhou’s lap, he leaned forward eagerly.

Ming Tang dismantled the crab while explaining, "This is the claw, this is the leg, this is the shell..." By the time she finished, the crab was gone.

Pei Ze’s expression fell bit by bit. When Ming Tang placed the reassembled shell back in front of him, even he—slow as he was—realized he wasn’t getting any. He looked down at the plate, then up at her, accusingly. "You bad!"

How could a child scold an elder? Nanny Zhou immediately moved to apologize on his behalf, but Ming Tang stopped her. Instead, she studied Pei Ze with amusement. "Oh? So you *can* say two words together?"

From their first meeting, this little boy had been a master of one-word-at-a-time speech. This was the first time she’d heard him say two words without pausing.

As if breaking some invisible rule, Pei Ze now spoke in two-word bursts, his little face solemn. "Say give, then no. You big, fat!"

Ming Tang barely held back her laughter and argued seriously, "I *did* give it to you—but you didn’t know how to eat it. If you can’t eat it, that’s your choice. I was just helping so it wouldn’t go to waste."

She deliberately slowed her speech to help him understand. The moment she finished, Pei Ze’s face fell. Then, looking up at Nanny Zhou behind him, he stretched out his hand and declared firmly, "A Ze, self, eat."

*If I can’t eat by myself, I’ll starve. That’s terrifying.*

Nanny Zhou hesitated for a few seconds before handing him the spoon.

Pei Ze was Pei Jun’s posthumous child (a child born after his father's death) and had lost his birth mother shortly after being born. Raised personally by Mrs. Pei, he had never so much as fed himself—even drinking water was brought to his lips by others. The scene of him attempting to eat on his own for the first time was, predictably, disastrous.

Within moments, his clothes were covered in crumbs, his face a complete mess, and very little actually made it into his mouth.

Nanny Zhou watched with heartache, but since Pei Ze had insisted on feeding himself and Ming Tang hadn’t intervened, she could only silently pray that the little master, precocious as he was, would miraculously master cutlery on his first try.

Alas, by the time the maids came to clear the table, Pei Ze still hadn’t grasped this rather advanced skill. Reluctantly watching the food disappear, he patted his stomach and comforted himself softly, "Snack later, fill up."

Shortly after lunch was finished, Nanny Zhou carried Pei Ze back to Jing Hua Hall. Mrs. Pei glanced at the small clock on the table, puzzled. *Nanny Zhou is usually so competent and steady—why is she in such a hurry to bring A Ze back today?*

When she saw Pei Ze, she couldn't help but stare. He didn’t look like he’d spent the morning playing with Ming Tang—more like he’d gotten into a scuffle.

After having him changed, she asked Nanny Zhou, "What happened to A Ze?"

Nanny Zhou recounted the entire morning’s events from beginning to end.

Hearing that Ming Tang had spent the morning reading by herself while Pei Ze amused himself, and that they’d only exchanged a few words at lunch, Mrs. Pei: "..."

*Surely Ming Tang understands why I sent A Ze over? Why is she ignoring him?*

*...Is our A Ze not cute enough?*

As she pondered this, Pei Ze—now freshly changed and once again clean and angelic-looking—was carried over by a maid. Seeing his grandmother after the morning apart, he instinctively gave her a big smile.

Mrs. Pei’s heart melted. She asked him, "Did you like the auntie who spent the morning with you?"

Pei Ze shook his head. "Auntie, bad!"

Mrs. Pei’s gaze sharpened as she swept it over Nanny Zhou. *Is she hiding something?*

Pei Ze clenched his little fists, his expression serious and his voice clearly declared, "Tomorrow, go again!"

*He'll practice eating on his own at Grandmother's tonight, and he'll definitely manage it. Tomorrow, he'll go to his aunt's place to eat what he missed today!*

Mrs. Pei: *Alright, she was overthinking it.* A Ze seems to really enjoy Ming Tang's approach.

That evening, Pei Ze still insisted on eating by himself, only to end up spilling food all over himself right in front of Mrs. Pei.

Mrs. Pei rubbed her forehead: "Have the seamstresses make a few aprons for A Ze to wear during meals from now on." Otherwise, at this rate of changing clothes after every meal, they'd run out in no time.

Fully prepared to fulfill his wish the next day, Pei Ze sat at the table in Chengyi Hall, his eyes glued to each dish as the maids brought them out, yet he never saw the food he missed the day before. After looking puzzled for a moment, he tilted his head and looked at Ming Tang: "Gone?"

Ming Tang sighed, "Well, it exists..." Unfortunately, she was menstruating, and no matter how much she craved crab (considered cooling food during menstruation), it couldn't appear on her table.

Pei Ze clearly couldn’t understand why Ming Tang said it was there but he couldn’t see it. He rubbed his eyes and looked again, still seeing nothing. He looked ready to panic: "A-Ze's eyes broken?"

Ming Tang said seriously: "A Ze, can’t you see the crab on the table?"

Pei Ze nodded.

Ming Tang put on a regretful face: "What a shame. Auntie can’t see it either. It seems neither of us can eat it today. How about you keep me company with some chicken soup?" She then poured a tiny amount of soup into a bowl and placed it before Pei Ze. Raising her own bowl midair, she gestured for him to follow.

Hearing that Ming Tang also couldn’t see it, Pei Ze, who had been uneasy, instantly relaxed. Mimicking her, he picked up his bowl, ceremoniously clinked it with hers, and took a sip.

The joy of doing something just like an adult clearly delighted Pei Ze. After drinking, his smile widened, revealing dimples on his cheeks.

Upon returning to Jinghua Hall in the afternoon, he immediately gestured to Nanny Zhou, then grabbed his little cup and wanted to clink it with Mrs. Pei.

At first puzzled, Mrs. Pei quickly understood when she saw his antics: he must have learned this new trick from Ming Tang. But admittedly, A Ze’s grown-up demeanor was completely adorable.

However, after multiple toasts and drinking too much water, Mrs. Pei couldn’t help but feel exasperated when Pei Ze raised his cup yet again: even the most adorable behavior could get old after a while.

*

During her period, Ming Tang often felt too lethargic to move about, even cutting back on her usual post-meal walks. With no new novels to read lately, she grew restless. Mornings were fine—she had an adorable little chatterbox to tease—but afternoons left her desperate for distraction.

Meanwhile, Zhe Liu was busy taking inventory of goods shipped from the south with the shopkeepers, while Wen He handled various tasks in Chengyi Hall. Faced with Ming Tang’s requests for company or chatter, both kept politely reminding her they were swamped—implying she could either pitch in or stop distracting them.

Ming Tang had no interest in taking over their work and knew they were genuinely busy, so she reluctantly gave up. Instead, she called in Hong Ying, a maid she’d met once before, to keep her company.

Initially nervous after not hearing from Ming Tang since their first meeting, Hong Ying relaxed completely after a few visits to Chengyi Hall.

—The young mistress was surprisingly easygoing.

Even Zhe Liu and Wen He, Ming Tang’s personal maids, treated her—an "outsider" gaining favor—without the expected hostility. If anything, they seemed relieved.

After a few days, escorting Ming Tang to Jinghua Hall for morning greetings naturally fell to Hong Ying.

Watching Ming Tang leave with Pei Ze, who was clearly growing closer to her, Mrs. Pei noticed keenly: "Is that Hong Ying accompanying the young mistress?"

Lin Ma nodded: "It’s that girl."

Had she not known better, she might’ve mistaken Hong Ying for one of Ming Tang’s original maids, given how often Ming Tang turned to chat with her while walking.

Hand in hand with Pei Ze, followed by her "new favorite," Ming Tang returned to Chengyi Hall all smiles and laughter—only to stop short at the sight of Pei Yue sipping tea in the lounge. Ah, so that’s what she’d forgotten these past few days—Pei Yue.