Every time this memory was brought up, Xiaocao always felt it was very funny and touching at the same time. Her godfather was truly a manly man, yet he had run to the emperor, crying and weeping in order to have the chance to see her get married in front of his eyes.

In all of these years, her godfather had truly treated her like his true biological daughter. Whenever he had something good to eat, fun to play, material for clothing, or bright jewels and gold, he always thought of her and left her a portion. He didn’t even change after Linlin was born. Sometimes, he would treat her better than his own son. Her godmother had also never treated her like an outsider. She had taught her how to manage relationships, oversee the household, and customs and etiquettes of the nobility.

And then there was the little fellow, Fang Haolin. He had always regarded her as his true older, biological sister and would even fight for favor with Little Shitou. However, Little Shitou was now older and disdained trying to compete with a tiny brat. Fang Haolin had always been very close to this older sister. Whenever she was around, he would even throw his mother to the side. With an extra set of parents to love and pamper her, Xiaocao truly felt like she had fallen into a pot of gold.

If she had the choice right now to go back to her previous life in the twenty-first century or stay here, she would easily make the choice to stay. That was because this era had people who loved her and people who she loved!

“Young Miss, Old General Zhao, General Zhao and his wife are here!” One of the second ranked maidservants came over with hurried footsteps as she greeted the guests clearly.

“Grandfather Zhao and Uncle Zhao are here? And Auntie Zhao as well? I need to personally see them!” Yu Xiaocao had Su Ran rest in the rocking chair that she often lounged in as she bustled over to the inner gate. Zhu Junyang noticed that the little lass regarded the Zhao Family highly, so he also came along. There wasn’t a man in the residence now, so he needed to help her receive the male guests.

However, when he saw the group of people from afar, he knew he had thought too much. The little lass’s godfather was currently respectfully next to Old General Zhao, listening to his teachings and wisdom!

“Grandfather Zhao, Uncle Zhao, it’s been a long time since I last saw you. I’ve missed you both terribly!” In front of her elders, Xiaocao had always had a sweet and endearing manner, making her a likable girl. Although it had been almost ten years since they last saw each other, when she saw these familiar faces, it was as if she had been transported back to when she lived in Dongshan Village. In those years, during her family’s hardest times, Grandfather Zhao and his family had welcomed them with open arms and helped them quite a bit. The fact that they had sent aid during their time of greatest need truly showed the depths of their kindness.

“Lass Xiaocao, in the blink of an eye, you’ve grown up into a young maiden. At that time, when Grandfather Zhao left Dongshan Village, you were such a wee thing and so skinny that you looked like you could fall over at any second. You didn’t dare to eat any of the prey that you managed to trap with great effort and hid it at our residence before sneakily going into town to sell them. At such a young age, you learned how to manage money. No wonder you’re such a successful businesswoman now!” Old General Zhao gestured with his hand at his waist as his eyes sparkled with mirth.

“Grandfather Zhao~~” Yu Xiaocao stepped forward and pulled at his rough and calloused hand as she swayed back and forth. She looked quite bashful as she said, “At that time, my family hadn’t split from the main family, right? If I brought the game back home, not a single bite would go into my mouth and not a single coin would fall into my purse either. Thus, selling it off and keeping the money in my purse was the only right thing to do!”

General Zhao also grinned, “I also remember that when you, little lass, became gluttonous, you would have your Auntie Zhao help you cook the wild pheasant you had trapped. You’d sneakily eat the cooked meat like a tiny mouse. However, you never forgot to leave some for your parents and your siblings. What did I say then? Yu Hai and his wife would rely on their daughter to have a good life. Didn’t those words become true now?”

“Uncle Zhao, I’m not a tiny mouse ah! Have you ever seen such a beautiful and adorable mouse like me?” Yu Xiaocao proudly turned around in a circle, showing off her newly made bright yellow clothing. She looked quite elegant and stately.

“Now you’re beautiful, but at that time ah——a mouse had more meat on its body than you!” General Zhao guffawed loudly.

Fang Zizhen revealed a sad expression on his face after hearing this, “Argh! This child had a hard life. It was I who had showed up too late, allowing this child to suffer so much! That old crone surnamed Zhang treated my Cao’er so poorly then. I shouldn’t have let her off so easily!”

Auntie Zhao had a gentle and sweet smile on her face, “What’s the point in bringing up those old bad memories now? Without the icy cold of winter, could we possibly enjoy the beautiful scent of plum blossoms? Hasn’t Xiaocao emerged from the bitter parts of life and is now enjoying the sweet? Not only are all of her businesses extremely successful, but she also has many noble maidens in the capital vying for her favor. She’s also the only female official in the entire Great Ming Empire. Now she’s even a fourth-ranked official and it’s possible one day that she’ll surpass you all!”

The smile on Uncle Zhao’s face became even more brilliant, “Then I must work even harder in order to avoid being surpassed by the younger generation. Wouldn’t that be so embarrassing ah?”

“The student has surpassed the master. You should enjoy the glory and achievements of the younger generation instead!” Yu Xiaocao cracked open a smile, revealing a row of perfectly white teeth, “Oh, that’s right, I heard that Older Brother Han has now been promoted to the leader of a battalion now, right? He has relied on his own abilities to slowly climb up! He’s definitely much more talented than I am!”

“He’s only a tiny little sixth-ranked military official. He’s just killed a few pirates here and there. How could he be as talented as you? Your actions have benefited all of the commoners of the empire ah!” General Zhao gave a big thumbs up in approval.

“Uncle Zhao, let’s stop complimenting each other now! The reception pavilion already has tea set out and the leaves being used today have been personally processed by me. The taste should be acceptable!” Yu Xiaocao pulled on Auntie Zhao’s hand and welcomed all of the guests to head towards the pavilion to rest.

After they passed the wisteria flower gate, the group of people suddenly saw Su Ran, who was clothed entirely in white and had a deathly pale face. Despite his obvious poor health, he couldn’t hide his inner elegance. The Zhao Family had known that he had been injured heavily and hasn't recovered yet, but they would have never expected that they would see Chief Steward Su at a welcome home party at Xiaocao’s place. Clearly, Xiaocao had quite the status in the capital!

“Old General Zhao, General Zhao, I’m currently indisposed and it’s difficult for me to get up to greet you.” Su Ran apologized gently to them and didn’t have a hint of his famous icy and aloof demeanor around him.

“No need to be so polite, Chief Steward Su. Your health is most important!” Old General Zhao had also heard what had happened to Su Ran. He was afraid that it’d be difficult for the man to make a full recovery, so he addressed the eunuch with equal parts politeness and slight pity.

The group of people entered the reception pavilion and sat down. The fragrant tea was quickly served up and, naturally, the food present included pastries personally made by Xiaocao. As they reminisced and chatted, they ended up inadvertently touching upon the topic of Su Ran’s injuries. At that time, Xiaocao vehemently vowed that she would help him reach a complete cure.

Auntie Zhao remarked somewhat worriedly, “Xiaocao, I have never regarded you as an outsider. You’re still young and are still inexperienced. You can’t be too certain when you speak sometimes. Otherwise, if you can’t fulfill what you promised, other people will end up hating you for it. Not even the imperial physicians are certain that they could fully heal Chief Steward Su’s injuries. Even though you have some good remedies on hand, you can’t make a complete guarantee…”

“Auntie Zhao, thank you for reminding me. I know you’re doing this out of the kindness of your own heart towards me. However, don’t worry, I am a hundred percent certain that I can heal Sir Su until he is completely healthy as if nothing had ever happened.” Yu Xiaocao picked up a plate of fruit mousse cake and placed it into Auntie Zhao’s hands. Her eyes glittered with a warm light.

“Alright, as long as you’re confident, that’s what matters!” Lady Zhao knew that Xiaocao wasn’t someone who would make a promise she couldn’t fulfill, so she smiled in relief and took a bite of the cake. She exclaimed in awe, “Xiaocao, you are truly incredibly talented. The cakes you’ve made are not only so enchanting that people almost can’t bear to eat them but they also taste incredibly good!”

“Auntie, I made too many earlier. You should take some back when you head out later.” Yu Xiaocao intimately nestled next to Auntie Zhao in a way that was exactly like how she used to act around the older woman back when they were still at the old Zhao Residence halfway up the West Mountain in Dongshan Village.

Although Old General Zhao was a military official, he was quite fond of tea. Currently, he was spellbound by the fragrant and mellow taste of tea that had been served to him. After taking two sips, he looked towards Xiaocao and said, “Lass, even when you were in Dongshan Village you knew how to process tea. After all these years, I can’t seem to get the taste of your tea leaves out of my mind. None of the teas that are sold on the market, no matter how expensive they are, can compete with the taste of the tea that you’ve made!”

It was obvious why the other tea leaves couldn’t compete with the tea that she personally pan-fried and processed. This was because the other tea artisans didn’t have the giant cheat item, the little divine stone, on their hands ah! It wasn’t that she was bragging, but even the most precious Da Hong Pao [1] in the imperial palace couldn’t compete with the taste brewed from her own tea leaves.

“Grandfather Zhao, I made around ten catties or so of spring tea. If you don’t disdain my wild tea for being crude, you can take back two catties with you to drink. Next spring, I’ll make sure to process more and have someone send it to you at the border garrison. In the future ah, I will supply all of the tea that you drink!” Yu Xiaocao was always generous to the people she saw as her own. It was only tea leaves. The back mountain behind the imperial plantation had a dozen or so old tea shrubs which should produce more than enough tea leaves for her purposes.

Old General Zhao nodded his head in satisfaction and continued to quietly enjoy the taste of the young tea. General Zhao asked about Yu Hai, who had been good buddies with him back then, “Lass Xiaocao, has your father been well lately? Does he have any hint of his old injuries now? At the time, if it weren’t for your father’s bravery, then there wouldn’t be me, the ‘Longhu General’ ah!”

“Uncle Zhao, my father is even more healthy and strong than he was before. He can even jog around easily with a hundred-catty sack of wheat seeds on his shoulders! The farmstead in Tanggu and the business there are all being managed by him and my older brother. My father also talks about you constantly and often mentions that if it weren’t for you teaching him how to hunt so well, he wouldn’t have been able to bring home game from time to time. Without that food, it’s possible that I, an unfavored lass, would have already died from disease or starvation now ah! If the dangerous situation had been reversed at the time, I’m sure you, Uncle Zhao, would have chosen to save my father just like he chose to save you. Otherwise, why else would you two be considered close friends?” Xiaocao felt her heart tremble a bit after remembering the dire situation that her family was in at that time. It was also the event that turned their fortunes. They had used that opportunity to split from the main family. Otherwise, they would still have that old witch leeching blood off of them even now!

“Oh right, my father should be entering the capital the day after tomorrow. If he knew you had come back from the borders, he would definitely be extremely happy.” Yu Xiaocao suddenly remembered that she didn’t mention the news about Grandfather Zhao and Uncle Zhao coming back to the capital in her letters to her family, so she felt a bit annoyed at herself.

General Zhao Bufan chuckled loudly and said, “At that time, I’ll need to drink a few more cups of wine with your father. I heard that the strong alcohol made by the Yu’s Family Business has a unique taste and very limited sales. Even those with money may not be able to buy any. Your Uncle Zhao has been thinking about it even when I was out in the northwest!”

“Don’t worry ah, Uncle Zhao, there is definitely enough good alcohol today to be had! Although other people may not be able to buy any, how could people from our own family not be able to have any?” Yu Xiaocao knew that her Uncle Zhao only had one particular hobby and that was that he enjoyed drinking some alcohol here and there. In any case, Uncle Zhao was probably going to spend a good amount of time in the capital in the future. Thus, with the good relationship between their families, he would definitely not lack for good alcohol to drink.

[1] Da Hong Pao - very expensive type of oolong tea