Chapter 7
When Xia Rong heard about the move, he looked at the snowmen piled up in the yard and felt reluctant to leave. Before getting married, he had never felt attached to the house he had lived in for over ten years, but now, after just over a month in this small courtyard, he had developed an emotional bond.
Shen Xiangyan gently placed his hand on Xia Rong’s shoulder and asked softly, “Reluctant to leave those two snowmen? It’s okay, Rong’er. When we get to the new house, I’ll help you build two more, alright?” Shen Xiangyan knew that Xia Rong wasn’t just attached to those two snowmen; he was also reluctant to leave this place where they had lived for a little over a month. Even Shen Xiangyan himself had developed feelings for this place where he woke up.
Xia Rong shook his head and discreetly held Shen Xiangyan’s hand under his sleeve. He knew that what he was attached to was this person, not those two snowmen or the courtyard. Wherever Shen Xiangyan was, that was his home.
It took a whole day to move. The Shen family didn’t have too many belongings, mainly Shen Xiangyan’s spices, which the servants didn’t know how to handle, so he had to take care of them himself. Of course, when it came to moving, Xia Rong’s two little rabbits were definitely not forgotten. Since arriving at the Shen family, the two little rabbits had been well taken care of by Xia Rong, and now they had grown much fatter and their fur had become shinier compared to before.
The new house already had a plaque with the words “Shen Residence” on it. Passing through the vermilion gate, there was a spacious courtyard, and ahead was the reception hall for guests. Walking through the corridor and entering through the hanging flower door on the left, there was the fragrance-making workshop Shen Xiangyan had prepared specifically for himself. Passing through this courtyard, one would find a small garden with a fake mountain and pond. There were several koi fish in the pond, but now the surface was frozen and not visible. However, it wasn’t difficult to imagine how beautiful it would be when the lotus flowers bloomed in spring. Beyond the small garden was the main residence where the two would live in the future, called the Begonia Courtyard because there was a begonia tree planted in the courtyard that required two adult men to barely hug it, a name given by the previous owner of the courtyard, and Shen Xiangyan felt that the name was quite fitting so he didn’t change it.
Shen Xiangyan led Xia Rong into the main house, and the most eye-catching thing inside was a large rosewood bed with intricate carvings. Xia Rong blushed when he saw the bed, not for any other reason but because the bed was covered with a big red brocade mattress embroidered with peonies in gold threads, and the canopy above was also adorned with red and gold flowers. Seeing him blush, Shen Xiangyan didn’t mention it and simply said, “Rong’er, let’s go back to the reception hall. The household staff all want to pay their respects to you as the new mistress.” Xia Rong blushed even more at his words.
The two of them returned to the front hall, where everyone greeted them with respectful bows. That day, they had purchased two families: one with the surname Feng and the other with the surname Chen. The young boys from these families, Feng Qin and Chen Cai, were both around thirteen or fourteen years old, still in their early teenage years. The cook, Madam Rong, was a widow who not only excelled at making Suzhou cuisine but was also skilled in preparing various kinds of pastries and snacks. This meant that Xia Rong would certainly be in for a treat.
Following Shen Xiangyan’s guidance, Xia Rong gave each person half an ounce of silver as a token of appreciation, which was considered a customary gift from the main household. Shen Xiangyan, while caressing his husband’s hand, pondered that he could handle these social interactions outside, but in the future, Xia Rong would definitely interact with the wives and young ladies of these families in the town. With Xia Rong’s innocent nature, he needed to come up with a plan. He glanced at He Xin and He Miao, who stood behind Xia Rong, thinking that perhaps they could assist with this.
That evening, the two of them dined on dishes prepared by Rong’s household. Since it was the first time she cooked for the main household, Rong spared no effort to ensure that both masters were satisfied. She prepared a total of eight dishes and a soup, with six of them tailored to Xia Rong’s taste. It seemed that the servants in the house really knew that pleasing the master was equivalent to pleasing him. Shen Xiangyan rubbed his nose. However, this was also good; they would take even better care of Xia Rong.
In the evening, Xia Rong lay in the new bedding. When the gentleman finished bathing and got into bed, Xia Rong took the initiative to snuggle up to him. The little feet, still cool under the blanket, couldn’t help but rest on the gentleman’s legs. Shen Xiangyan didn’t stop his mischief, instead, he actively reached into the blanket, held his feet, and placed them on his stomach to keep them warm.
The room was already heated with a brazier, making it quite warm, but Xia Rong’s feet remain cold, causing Shen Xiangyan to furrow his brows unconsciously.
“Rong’er, I’m thinking of inviting Uncle Li and his family to the mansion the day after tomorrow. You might have to entertain the ladies then,” Shen Xiangyan said softly.
“Ah! Rong’er has never done that before. Rong’er is afraid he won’t do well,” Xia Rong immediately became nervous when he heard he had to entertain guests.
Shen Xiangyan rubbed the head of the person in his arms and said softly, “Aunt Li is very easy to get along with, and I believe her daughter-in-law is nice too. Don’t worry, when the time comes, you just need to sit and chat with them, eat some snacks, and I’ll instruct He Xin on everything else.”
After hearing what his husband said, Xia Rong felt relieved and promised to fulfill his duties properly and entertain the guests well. After that, he coquettishly asked his husband to tell him a bedtime story. This bedtime routine had become a habit, but after telling fairy tales for a while, Shen Xiangyan’s reservoir of bedtime stories ran dry. Now, he was recounting stories from the local bookstore. Xia Rong lay in Shen Xiangyan’s arms, listening intently to tonight’s story, showing no sign of sleepiness. Shen Xiangyan found it strange how energetic his husband was today; usually, he would fall asleep before Shen Xiangyan finished telling the story.
“Why are you so energetic tonight?” Shen Xiangyan set aside his book and pulled Xia Rong closer to him.
Xia Rong buried his head in Shen Xiangyan’s chest, hesitated for a moment, and then whispered, “Husband, when will Rong’er have a baby?”
“Cough…” Shen Xiangyan was startled by Xia Rong’s sudden question, but then pretended to remain calm and asked, “Why are you thinking about having a baby all of a sudden?”
After thinking for a moment, Xia Rong finally spoke, “He Miao said that if Rong’er has a baby, husband will love Rong’er even more. Rong’er wants husband to love him more.”
Shen Xiangyan lifted Xia Rong up, letting him straddle his lap, and lifted his chin to make him look at him. “Rong’er, you’re still young. When you’re older, we’ll have a baby. But even if we don’t have a baby, the husband loves you the most.”
Hearing that there wouldn’t be a baby for now, Xia Rong felt a little disappointed, but when Shen Xiangyan said he loved him the most, Xia Rong smiled happily. “I love you the most too.”
Shen Xiangyan breathed a sigh of relief, glad to have passed over this topic. Apart from the age issue, he thought it would be best to find a reliable doctor to see Xia Rong. Despite taking care of him for so long, he hadn’t seen much improvement in his health or his habit of having cold hands and feet. It would be wise to consult a doctor to figure out the best way to take care of him.
The next day, Shen Xiangyan took Feng Qin and Chen Cai to Xiangzilai and discussed with Shen An, asking these two boys to assist him. This way, Shen An wouldn’t be as busy as he was now.
Shen An handed over the accounts for the month to Shen Xiangyan and expressed his concerns, “Master, there are other shops on the market now selling perfumes that smell similar to ours. Business for our perfumes hasn’t been as good these past few days.” Shen An was worried that if things continued like this, their shop, Xiangzilai, wouldn’t maintain its advantage.
Shen Xiangyan waved his hand dismissively, “Don’t worry. I’ve already anticipated this. Starting tomorrow, we’ll reduce the price of Yuan Yue and make it no longer a limited edition. I’ll have Feng Qin and the others bring the new perfumes over.” To be honest, he had known from the first day of opening the shop that there would inevitably be imitations. But he had plenty of formulas at hand, some of which used rare and hard-to-find ingredients. He wasn’t afraid of others producing similar products. What he needed was just a time gap, so that when people thought of perfume, they would think of Xiangzilai first. He just needed to establish the brand of Xiangzilai.
However, the truly excellent formulas he had required some rare ingredients. Once spring arrived, he would have to search the surrounding mountains near Furong Town to find them. Many fragrances were known only to him.
Shen An felt relieved when his young master assured him that there was a solution. With two boys looking after the shop, they discussed some details about the shop. From then on, Shen An truly admired his young master. The business strategies he came up with at such a young age made Shen An, who had been in charge for many years, feel inferior.
On the other hand, in the Xia household, Lady Xia pondered deeply after hearing the report from Yuma. Finally, she couldn’t believe it and asked again, “You said the recently famous perfume is from the new shop opened by the young master of the Shen family. Is that true?”
“Yes, it’s true, madam. That shop used to belong to the Shen family, but it closed for over a year. It reopened recently. The person we sent was afraid it might have been sold to someone else, so he waited at the shop’s entrance for two days. He saw the shopkeeper calling himself the young master of the Shen family, confirming that it hadn’t changed hands. Moreover, wasn’t the servant boy of the Shen family always living in their small courtyard? He moved to a new house yesterday, a four-courtyard mansion, and we found out that the price of the mansion is eight hundred taels of silver.”
For the first time, Lady Xia felt a sense of regret. She didn’t know how Shen Xiangyan suddenly had such good fortune, but she wished she had married Xia Ji to him from the beginning. Unfortunately, it was too late now. It seemed Xia Rong had lucked out.
Lady Xia rubbed her forehead and said, “Don’t tell Miss about this for now. Knowing her temper, she might cause a scene.”
Yuma understood her mistress’s temperament well but couldn’t help but offer a reminder, “I’m afraid the truth will come out eventually. It’s better for madam to prepare early.”
“Let me think of a solution. Let’s keep it hidden for one more day,” Lady Xia waved her hand impatiently to stop Yuma from saying anything further.