Although Lu Huan didn’t show it, he had spent the entire day secretly looking forward to the ghost-spirit appearing by his side again.

Now that he finally saw her arrive — while no one else knew, only he knew…

He felt as if he were carrying some hidden joy within him, a secret he refused to share with anyone. The corners of his lips couldn’t help but curve up slightly.

Suddenly recalling something, he cast a glance at the few servants following behind him.

The bluestone path was narrow, and the branches of plum trees on both sides stretched out, allowing only one person to pass. If she were to walk behind him, she would inevitably have to pass through those servants’ bodies.

An unexplainable, possessive displeasure arose in Lu Huan’s heart.

All at once, he lengthened his stride — naturally and without drawing attention — until he had left enough space behind him for her to walk without brushing against anyone else.

The servants behind him: “…?”

Why was Third Young Master suddenly walking so fast?

They had just been thinking about how to curry favor with him, but now, seeing themselves abruptly left behind, they immediately thought he was displeased with their slow pace. Panicked, sweating, they hurried to jog after him.

Lu Huan: “…”

Meanwhile, outside the screen, Su Xi saw her little Zai Zai happily smiling at the pear-blossom petal in his palm — and then, all of a sudden, those short legs began walking at lightning speed! Out of nowhere, he started speed-walking with the servants behind him!

And as if suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder, he absolutely had to keep a distance between himself and those servants!

When the servants caught up, he scowled, his little bun-like face furrowed in displeasure, and walked even faster until he had completely shaken them off.

“……???”

Su Xi was utterly baffled.

It wasn’t Lu Huan’s first time entering Mei’an Courtyard, but this was certainly the most respectful visit all the servants and old maids had ever shown him.

Especially the servants brought over by Lu Wenxiu — standing outside the red-walled, green-tiled main hall, they trembled at the sight of him, bowing low, as if wishing to bury their heads in the ground, terrified he might retaliate for past offenses.

Lu Yuan’an and Lu Wenxiu, the two brothers — one with a broken leg bound in splints, the other pale and frail from a cold and diarrhea — both felt extremely complicated emotions at the scene.

The Old Madam sat at the head seat.

Before her, Princess Consort Ning and Lu Yuan could barely maintain composed expressions.

But Lu Wenxiu could not restrain the jealousy burning in his chest! His face twisted with resentment, teeth clenched as he glared at Lu Huan from the moment he entered until he took his seat.

He had always been mediocre in skill, losing to this illegitimate son was one thing, but why had his eldest brother also lost to him?!

Not only that, this bastard had actually managed to find a divine physician to cure the Old Madam’s illness, earning her newfound favor!

And as if that weren’t enough, he even got lucky during the royal hunt and took first place?! That Snow Wolf King must have been sick from the cold and just happened to stumble into his path like a blind cat meeting a dead mouse! If his elder brother and he had gone, would that runt have stood any chance?

This brat’s luck was too absurd — as if heaven itself were helping him — transforming him, in mere months, from a concubine-born son into someone impossible to ignore in Prince Ning’s Manor!

Lu Wenxiu’s face had gone pale-green with envy.

Lu Huan cast him an indifferent glance, as if he hadn’t seen him at all, and when he sat down, he deliberately chose a spot at the round table slightly apart from the others.

He gestured for his servant to present a box.

“Old Madam, this is a wolf fang I obtained during the royal hunt. I offer it to you, today marks the Beginning of Spring, may it serve as an auspicious talisman to ward off evil.”

The Old Madam’s expression instantly brightened. She took the wolf fang from the brocade box and examined it carefully.

“Not bad. Huan’er, you’ve shown heart.”

The Old Madam valued power above all. In the past, she had done everything possible to send her two legitimate grandsons to the Second Prince’s side — all in hopes of bypassing General Zhenyuan and establishing direct ties with the prince himself.

Lu Huan’s gift of the wolf fang was, in fact, a token of first place in the Qiuyan Mountain Hunt — a symbol of honor and achievement, far more pleasing to the Old Madam than any gold or silver ornament. Beyond that, it served as a constant reminder that her concubine-born grandson had distinguished himself at the hunt, further strengthening her resolve to support Lu Huan’s rise in the household.

From beyond the screen, Su Xi observed and realized that her little Zai Zai’s mind was far more calculating than his soft, white-dumpling appearance suggested. Then again, it made sense — growing up in an environment like Prince Ning’s Manor, if he didn’t have a few sharp wits about him, the Princess Consort would’ve long since found a way to get rid of him.

Still, the sight of the simple sketch-like Zai Zai sitting there, looking like a snow-white dumpling carved from jade, often made her forget that fact.

Su Xi couldn’t help but chuckle, resting her chin in her hands as she continued watching — until she noticed something odd.

Everyone at the table was eating their food, but no one was touching the egg custard placed before her Zai Zai!

The Old Madam had always disliked the faint fishy smell of eggs, so she never ate egg custard. But for the Princess Consort Ning and the Lu brothers to avoid it too, that was strange.

Su Xi couldn’t help suspecting that something had been mixed into that egg custard — perhaps a laxative or something similar?

The Princess Consort and Lu Yuan’an’s expressions betrayed nothing; they even exchanged a few polite words with the Zai Zai before the Old Madam. But Lu Wenxiu, that fool, couldn’t hold himself together — his expression kept twitching, and he stole glances at the Zai Zai every so often, a flicker of something strange in his eyes.

Su Xi’s suspicions immediately turned to certainty — that idiot Lu Wenxiu was at it again!

Lu Wenxiu, of course, had no idea someone was watching him from outside the screen. He shoveled rice into his mouth while sneaking glances at Lu Huan.

He’d heard that after Lu Huan was rewarded with his own courtyard, the first thing he did was—raise chickens? What a joke! How humiliating for the Prince Ning Manor. Did this bastard concubine’s son simply have a fondness for eating chicken?

Simple-minded as ever, Lu Wenxiu decided that since that was the case, he would put the laxative in the egg custard and also in Lu Huan’s wine.

Heh, even if the bastard didn’t touch the custard, surely he’d drink the wine, wouldn’t he?!

After recovering from his cold, Lu Wenxiu had, for some reason, continued to suffer from diarrhea for half a month — nearly prolapsing from exhaustion, his body visibly wasting away into that of a sickly ghost.

His hatred festered like poison. He believed the divine physician’s medicine had been faulty, yet he dared not complain to his mother. Instead, he blamed Lu Huan — the one who had found that divine physician for the Old Madam.

No matter what, he wanted Lu Huan to suffer the same torment he had!

He knew perfectly well the Old Madam now valued Lu Huan, but so what? He’d already reached the point of “a dead pig not fearing scalding water.” Even if he played a little trick on Lu Huan — it was just a laxative, not poison — at worst, the Old Madam would punish him with another few months of reflection in confinement. She wouldn’t possibly sentence her legitimate grandson to death!

With that in mind, he kept his eyes fixed on Lu Huan, a little anxious. Why isn’t he eating yet?!

Outside the screen, Su Xi was already speechless. She’d grown used to Lu Wenxiu’s face whenever he was about to do something stupid.

She looked toward her Zai Zai — only to see that from beginning to end, he hadn’t so much as touched the egg custard in front of him. His dark lashes remained lowered, utterly ignoring Lu Wenxiu’s presence.

Su Xi immediately gave him a mental thumbs-up. As expected of my clever Zai Zai.

But Lu Wenxiu, of course, wouldn’t give up so easily. Suddenly, he stood up, lifted his wine cup, and said to Lu Huan, “Third Brother, about what happened by the creek last time — that was my thoughtlessness. After falling ill and brushing past death’s door this time, I’ve learned my lesson. I hope you won’t hold it against me anymore.”

The sudden gesture made Su Xi’s first thought leap to the wine — there must be something in it! Instinctively, she tensed, her eyes snapping toward her Zai Zai.

The Zai Zai lowered his gaze, his expression calm and unreadable. Upon hearing Lu Wenxiu’s words, he slowly raised his eyes to look at him.

Su Xi thought, My Zai Zai is so smart, he’ll surely notice. There’s no need for me to worry…

But then she saw — her Zai Zai also stood up, reaching for the wine cup before him, as if preparing to lift it and drink with Lu Wenxiu in unison.

Su Xi: !

Wait— did my Zai Zai not realize there’s poison in the wine?!

Su Xi didn’t know exactly what had been added to the wine, but she was certain something was wrong — otherwise, why would Lu Wenxiu look so nervous?

She watched in horror as her Zai Zai lifted the cup of wine to his lips. Her heart seized; she couldn’t just sit still anymore. In a rush, she switched the interface to the outer courtyard of the main hall, and with a sharp “pa!” brought her hand down hard toward the eaves of the roof.

At once, crash, crack! — a whole row of roof tiles shattered and clattered to the ground outside the Old Madam’s hall. The loud noise startled everyone inside — the Old Madam, Lu Wenxiu, and the rest — all jerking in surprise and instinctively turning to look.

In that brief moment of distraction, Su Xi swiftly twisted her Zai Zai’s hand, snatched the wine cup from him, and switched it with Lu Wenxiu’s cup in a blink.

By the time everyone in the hall regained their composure, the Old Madam was already ordering the servants to check if the courtyard walls or roof had fallen into disrepair. Lu Wenxiu, recovering from the shock, once again fixed his eyes on Lu Huan, pressing him to drink the wine.

Lu Huan tilted his head back, downed the cup in one go, and then looked at him. “Please.”

Lu Wenxiu’s heart nearly leapt into his throat — but when he saw Lu Huan’s cup was empty, a wild joy surged through him. He hurriedly raised his own cup and drank it all as well.

Yet after drinking, he saw Lu Huan’s lips curve faintly, his gaze drifting sideways — toward something unseen — his brows and eyes carrying a trace of tenderness, as though he were… pleased.

Lu Wenxiu: “……”

The hell? What was there to be happy about after drinking laxative wine?! Just wait till you’re squatting over the chamber pot later, let’s see if you’re still smiling!

Feeling smug, he could already picture Lu Huan’s humiliation over the coming days. He’d heard that Lu Huan would accompany the Old Madam to a palace banquet tomorrow, let’s see how he managed that!

The Old Madam’s homely meal soon ended amid Lu Wenxiu’s gloating fantasies. After dinner, the Old Madam summoned Lu Huan to her study, offered him a few words of advice, rewarded him with several items, and only then did he take his leave from Mei’an Courtyard.

The moment he left, Lu Wenxiu bolted for the latrine — his expression like he’d swallowed manure. Why?! Hadn’t his diarrhea cleared up days ago? Why was it starting again today?!

Still, the thought of Lu Huan suffering the same fate made him feel slightly less resentful.

───♡───

Lu Huan, as usual, took the bluestone path back through the sea of snow-covered plum blossoms. He waved for his attendants to withdraw, walking alone with his hands clasped behind his back, his pace neither hurried nor slow — as if strolling with someone beside him.

Every previous time he’d returned to the woodshed courtyard, whether through the bamboo grove or the snow, he’d either strode briskly, weighed down by thought, or moved with heavy steps — but never before had he worn such a light, unburdened expression.

Watching from beyond the screen, Su Xi felt her own mood lift with his.

When he finally stepped into the courtyard, Lu Huan softly asked into the air, “Are you still here?”

Su Xi tugged at the little hand clasped behind his back. Lu Huan felt a faint tingling — as though the wind itself had twined around his fingertips — and immediately grew flustered, letting go at once.

“Today is the Beginning of Spring, did you know that?” The little Zai Zai on the screen looked up at the night sky above the courtyard.

Su Xi followed his gaze toward the twilight heavens.

Last night had brought the final snowfall of the Yan Kingdom’s winter. Though there was no sun today, a scattering of faint stars had begun to appear in the dusk sky.

She saw the Zai Zai stretch out his small hand, pointing earnestly toward several stars. “During the Beginning of Spring, all things are renewed, the earth revives, and the Dipper handle turns toward the Tiger constellation. Look, those seven stars forming the shape of a ladle, that’s the Big Dipper. Tonight, the ladle points toward the direction of Yin.”

Su Xi didn’t really understand, but seeing his round little face tilted upward so seriously made her heart melt. She sent a fluttering leaf across the screen, the tip of it bobbing up and down before him — telling him she understood.

Lu Huan continued, “On this day, the people worship gods and ancestors, pray for blessings and a good harvest. The streets must be bustling with festivities—”

He paused, struggling to keep his expression neutral, and said casually, “If you have nothing to do tonight, stay a little longer.”

“Although you can’t eat, making noodles is quite fun. We could make them together… or, if not, we could go stroll through the marketplace. There must be many beautiful lanterns tonight. And if the streets are too crowded, perhaps you’d like to ride beyond the city walls? The snow in the outskirts hasn’t melted yet, there must be a sea of white fields waiting there.”

After speaking, the little Zai Zai lowered his round “bun face,” clasping his hands behind his back, pretending to be casual.

But the tip of his shoe unconsciously nudged at a small pebble on the ground, as if he were a little expectant to do something together with her, yet afraid she might refuse.

Outside the screen, Su Xi’s eyes lit up. Damn, every one of those sounded so enticing! If she’d known they could do so many things together, she never would’ve hesitated to appear before him for fear of scaring him. She should’ve jumped out pretending to be a ghost long ago!

But then again, back then, her Zai Zai hadn’t trusted her yet. If she had really appeared like that, it probably would’ve only made it harder to get close to him.

Suffering from indecision, Su Xi scratched her head outside the screen, torn over which one to choose.

Then she heard her Zai Zai say, “If you can’t decide, then— tonight we’ll watch the lanterns, tomorrow we’ll go riding, and the day after, we’ll make noodles.”

His bun face was still lowered, trying his best to act indifferent — yet the tips of his ears had quietly turned a faint shade of red.