Ye Xinyan walked over and gave a slight nod of the knee to Guan He, then turned to Cheung Wusi and the others, "Grandfather Cheung and Ah Qiao better get back to work, that’s all there is to it here. It’s just roasting meat in the courtyard, nothing much, let them fuss over it."
Then, turning to Guan He, she said, "Master Guan, isn’t it? Our workshop was broken into by thieves last night, and Grandpa Cheung and Ah Qiao need to make some anti-theft devices as soon as possible. We really don’t have time to entertain you, please forgive us."
Upon hearing Ye Xinyan mention the word "thieves," Guan He’s eyebrows shot up, then fell again. "No worries, I’ve said it as soon as I came in—we’re all family here, no need for formalities with me." Turning to Cheung Wusi, he said, "Old man, you two go busy yourselves, entertaining guests is for strangers, we’re family and needn’t bother with such empty rituals."
Everyone in the courtyard, except for Wong Qiao and the workshops’ children, had emerged shrewd from the throngs of swindling people. The Young Lady had already mentioned the house being visited by thieves, and this person claiming to keep an eye on the Qi family didn’t ask a single extra question, still flaunting his carefree demeanor without any stress. He was indeed a challenging adversary.
Faced with Guan He’s thick-skinned attitude, Ye Xinyan couldn’t be bothered to rebut, and said to Cheung Wusi, "Grandpa and Ah Qiao, go on with your work, Master Guan is right. Grandfather has gone to report to Lord Jiang, and I’m sure Lord Jiang must guess that Master Guan has shown up and will make the trip himself; there’s no need for us to worry."
Guan He didn’t seem to mind Ye Xinyan’s continuous insinuations that he was the thief, and even laughingly told Cheung Wusi, "Your Lady Qi is obviously a wise person, she is absolutely correct. Old man, please feel free, don’t mind me. I’m here directing the kids on how to roast meat, I can’t afford to entertain you two."
Later on, Nanny Liu and others saw their Young Lady wrapped in a cloak sitting under the eaves of the east wing, silently watching a yard full of children rushing back and forth, busy lighting a row of charcoal fires that brought vivacity to the chilly winter day.
Jinrong and Jiang Yifan, along with other guests being accompanied by Qi Younian, returned to see this scene in the courtyard.
Guan He lifted the front of his cotton robe and sat in a chair, ceaselessly instructing the children this and that, unimpeded by directing Zi Ning to cut the cheese he had stolen, "That’s right, not too thick; it’s meant to be rolled up with the roast meat. If it’s too thick, it won’t roll well because it loses tenderness."
The children in the courtyard glanced at the cheese slices cut by Zi Ning from time to time, continuously swallowing their saliva. Ye Xinyan didn’t doubt for a moment that when the children found Guan He roasting meat in the pit that morning, they had done so with cheese as well.
Hearing a group of people rushing into the courtyard, Guan He glanced up and after instructing them with the rest of his half-finished sentence, he got up unhurriedly. He first bowed to Jinrong, "Humble Guan He greets the Sixth Master."
Jinrong hurriedly stepped forward to steady Guan He as he bowed, saying with a smile, "Brother Guan is too formal with me. You’ve been here for days, and yet you haven’t visited my place. I couldn’t find you either, which has made me quite anxious."
Guan He stood up smoothly, replying with a smile, "I don’t deserve the title ’Sixth Master’; it would be more comforting if you simply called me by my name. Being from the rural areas, I’m not accustomed to formalities and dare not approach you, lest I inadvertently offend."
Jinrong pushed him playfully, remarking, "We haven’t seen each other for many years, but your lack of propriety persists. Yet, you’ve become much more contrived around me."
"Nice to see you, Senior," Jiang Yifan came forward to greet, and then said to Jinrong, "It’s natural to feel a bit constrained after not seeing each other for such a long time, but it’ll be fine after a while."
Guan He gave him a sidelong glance. Indeed, they hadn’t seen each other for a long time, but it wasn’t the constraint causing it; over the years, he had grown clear about the unique thoughts of the grown-up Sixth Prince. Thinking , he said nothing, instead bowing to Qi Younian, "Guan He presumes on your hospitality and has been quite troublesome; I hope the Old Master can forgive my intrusions."
Qi Younian hurriedly returned the courtesy, "Master Guan, you’re too polite. Having a remarkable and chivalrous person like Master Guan to look after us, our entire family, young and old, should be thanking you. There’s no such thing as being a bother to us."
Watching them finish their courteous greetings one by one, Ye Xinyan handed her cotton cloak to Bi Ning, came over, and paid her respects to Jinrong and Jiang Yifan.
With a smile, Jinrong asked, "In such cold weather, why doesn’t Ye Zi come inside to sit? Is she perhaps scared by Yuanfan’s senior apprentice brother, feeling uneasy without keeping an eye on him?"
Ye Xinyan glanced at Jiang Yifan and Guan He, nodding slightly, "It is a bit frightening." She didn’t mention the theft, but the key issue was that these two were really sneaky. One was lurking near her home, who knew how long he had been spying on them, and the other hid quietly in the city without sending a word, pretending to be unaware. Thankfully, her family didn’t have any secrets. Otherwise, wouldn’t all their private matters have been exposed?
Jiang Yifan wore a helpless expression. With a senior apprentice brother , what could he do? In time, Ye Zi would understand that as long as the senior was willing to stay, the rest didn’t really matter.
To Guan He, Jinrong said, "I see that you’re somewhat lonely here by yourself. I’ll assign you a few guards who are nearby, so with people under your command, you can be more at ease."
Jiang Yifan laughed, "Is your arrangement really out of consideration for my senior brother’s peace of mind? You make it sound so nice."
Jinrong replied with a laugh, "Between us, why the formality? I haven’t even troubled them yet. Brother Guan has to go back and forth to the workshop, which takes time. Several people were keeping watch nearby, and yet none of them noticed. It really takes comparison to see the difference." While speaking, he inadvertently shook his head, "Yuanfan, don’t be so petty, let them follow Brother Guan, it’ll help him out somewhat, and incidentally, they might learn something."
As Jinrong spoke, he looked at Guan He, and seeing that Guan He didn’t object, he shot Jiang Yifan a triumphant glance.
Qi Younian called out, "Everyone, please come inside to talk. It’s not good to stay outside in this freezing weather, let’s go inside to warm up first."
Guan He glanced at all the children in the courtyard, looking somewhat distressed, and said, "How about you go inside first? I’ll stay out here and instruct the kids on grilling the meat. They also need to slice and roll it in cheese to grill. I’m afraid they’ll spoil the good stuff if left to their own devices."
When Jinrong heard about the cheese, he immediately became interested and didn’t go inside after all. Turning back the steps he had started, he asked, "Where’s the cheese? Can I see it first?"
Qi Younian shook his head. Luckily, it was only early winter, and the weather wasn’t very cold this year; otherwise, dealing with food outside in the dead of winter would really be suffering.
Following him, Jiang Yifan asked Guan He, "Does senior brother know how to use cheese? I heard Old Master Qi say that they’ve only eaten cheese three times and didn’t have your method of grilling it."
Guan He looked disdainfully at him and said, "You seemed pretty smart before, how come you’re now? Have you been stupefied by being an official? Does eating need to be taught? Their family bakes it on noodles, and we wrap it with meat to grill, wouldn’t that taste even better?"
"..." Jiang Yifan fell silent. Let it be; there was no grievance being spoken to like that by his senior brother. Indeed, his senior brother was also smarter than most, even surpassing him in some aspects, just not focused on studying that’s all.