Chapter 40: Polishing the Nest
After Lu Wenjin's departure, a strange quiet settled over Su Yanyue's household.
It wasn't uncomfortable—just… aware.
Every clink of teacups, every movement through the courtyard now carried a touch of anticipation. The words "Lady Yun" hung in the air like incense smoke, curling into everyone's thoughts.
Su Yanyue stood before her bamboo shelves, sorting her hand-labeled pouches of dried tea. She paused over her Chrysanthemum Red Date blend—the very one that had sparked the noblewoman's interest. Her fingers lightly brushed the seal on the pouch.
Behind her, Su Rui peered around a crate. "Are we going to start making tea with gold flakes now?"
Su Lin gasped. "Do noble ladies only drink tea that's been blessed by priests and bathed in moonlight?"
Yanyue didn't even look up. "You three are banned from touching any herbs until further notice."
"AUNTIE!"
But her smile was fond, not scolding.
Despite the teasing, Yanyue knew this visit—if it truly happened—was serious. She'd worked too hard to let her humble workshop appear unimpressive.
So she set to work.
The first thing to be improved was the tea preparation area. Yu Shiming, without a word, built a new bamboo workbench and reinforced the shelves. In the evenings, he and the triplets helped her sweep, scrub, and reorganize the courtyard.
"I didn't know nobles liked simple things," Su Zhi remarked one morning as they wiped a wooden table until it gleamed.
"They don't," Yanyue said. "But they like things to look effortlessly perfect."
"…That sounds hard," he muttered.
"It is."
With the help of a few neighbors, she also planted flowering herbs along the edge of her yard—lavender, jasmine, even a row of marigolds. Not just for beauty, but for scent and presentation.
As word spread that a noble lady might soon visit, the entire village became a buzz of whispers and speculation.
"I heard she's a princess."
"She must be coming to adopt Su Yanyue as her goddaughter!"
"She'll probably take her back to the capital and marry her into royalty!"
Yanyue couldn't walk through the market square without someone elbowing their friend and whispering behind a basket of cabbages.
"I thought they'd be supportive," she sighed to Yu Shiming one afternoon.
He shrugged. "They are. Just… in their own chaotic way."
A few days later, her business saw another unexpected surge—new customers began arriving from Qinghe Town.
Apparently, a traveling merchant who'd overheard Madam Ruan's praise had passed the news on to local tea houses and inns. Curious to see what the fuss was about, shopkeepers and buyers started trickling into the village, trying her samples and placing small test orders.
Yanyue welcomed each visitor with poise and care, making sure to explain her blends thoroughly.
One well-dressed buyer from Qinghe declared, "If this is what you make in a little village, Miss Su, I dread to think how impressive you'd be in the capital."
Yanyue smiled. "I like to think tea tastes best where it's grown with heart."
By the week's end, her little workshop had received enough new orders to justify expanding production again.
And though she didn't say it out loud, she'd already begun preparing a special blend—just for Lady Yun.
Something gentle, elegant… and oddly nostalgic.
As if it had been waiting all this time to return home.
Would you like Chapter 41 to feature Lady Yun's long-awaited visit to the village—or another comedic interlude as the triplets try to "help" Auntie impress the nononoblewomannonoblewlew