Mengyao went into the kitchen and smiled softly. He figured this was where she’d be.

Peizhi was on the floor, covered in flour and with dishes all around her. Her black hair looked quite grey with the flour covering it. She coughed a bit before standing up.

“I told you to stay out of the kitchen, A-Zhi! Now look what you did! I have to go back out to the market and get more flour!”

“We can make more here, Luli-jie! Besides, it was an accident! I didn’t expect it!”

“You’re supposed to expect it when you’re spilling batter and water around your feet!”

Mengyao cleared his throat to announce his presence, causing the two girls to look at him. He saw Peizhi give a wide smile as she ran over to him and jumped into his arms.

“Yao-gege!”

“Ugh! You’re gonna get flour and batter on his nice robes! And you’re twenty, A-Zhi! Act like it!”

Luli shook her head as she began cutting vegetables on her cutting board. 

Mengyao smiled at Peizhi before pushing her gently off and patting her head. “Causing trouble for Luli-jie again?”

Peizhi puffed out her cheeks. “She’s the one causing me trouble! I was making batter for my xiaolongbao!”

“How can I cause trouble for you when you’re stirring too much water in the batter?! And spilling it everywhere!”

“Enough, enough,” Mengyao said, shaking his head. He took a nearby rag and dipped it into water and began to wipe Peizhi’s face of flour and batter. 

Though she was twenty, Peizhi was different from everyone else. She had trouble recognizing characters from scrolls and even mixing them up. Her maturity level was much younger than how old she actually was.

But that was fine. Mengyao kept tabs on her and treated her as if she were his own daughter. After cleaning her up as best he could, he tried to smooth and fix her hair a bit.

“Zhi-er, why don’t you help Meilin-shu? I’m sure he’d enjoy your help in the gardens,” Mengyao suggested. Peizhi’s face lit up as she smiled.

“You can count on me, Yao-gege!”

With that, Peizhi ran from the kitchen in a blur. Mengyao chuckled. With a simple wave of his hand, the batter and flour disappeared, as if Peizhi never touched him.

“I don’t know why Madame Tung-Mei keeps her! She’s uniquely gifted, she’s obnoxious and loud and always screws up! If I was the Lady of the house, I would have gotten rid of her a long time ago!” Luli ranted as she continued to cut vegetables. Mengyao noticed as she ranted, the sound of the knife became heavier and harder.

One servant walked by and Luli shouted, “What are you doing?! Go clean the dishes and make sure they’re ready for tonight!”

“Yes Luli-zong!” the servant said, seeming as if they were ready to jump out of their skin and rushed to the basin where the dishes waited to be clean. Other servants in the kitchen began to do the same and looked for anything to do.

Madame Tung-Mei kept Luli in the kitchen since she was the only one who knew how to run it better than anyone. Luli almost preferred it this way as the kitchens were her domain. 

“Luli-mei. You know you don’t mean what you say about Zhi-er,” Mengyao commented. It earned a sigh from Luli who paused from her cutting and looked up at Mengyao.

Mengyao noticed she was a beautiful woman. If she had a softer personality, he was sure that she’d get any man she wanted. But he knew she would rather be alone than married off.

“I meant most of it. I’m shocked A-Zhi hasn’t been kicked out at all. Does Madame Tung-Mei take that much pity on her?”

“Wouldn’t you miss her if she left?”

“Of course I would,” Luli stated simply as she returned to cutting the vegetables. “Anyway, don’t you have other things to do? And you’re dressed fancy today. Trying to impress the Duan Family tonight?”

“Well, Madame Tung-Mei expects nothing less than perfection. And remember: Half growing the crop…” Mengyao began.

“Half expecting the crop. Yeah yeah, get out if you’re not going to help here,” Luli said, not looking up at Mengyao again. 

Mengyao gave a small bow to Luli as he headed out of the kitchen. He heard a clatter and Luli growling, “If you broke that, I swear there will be absolute hell to pay!”

Mengyao smiled as he left the kitchen and made his rounds of each room, straightening them up as best he could. He started with the library first and straightened the scrolls. He noticed how many scrolls were in disarray. 

Lei must have stopped by here sometime either this morning or last night and didn’t put them back. It didn't matter. Mengyao began to organize the scrolls in their place.

After straightening the library, he began to walk the courtyard to the other rooms. He looked to the sky and figured he had a few moments. He could walk through the garden or he could---

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a cat. Mengyao's brows furrowed as he looked toward the sound of the mewing. As he got closer to the beautiful pink tree, he looked through the branches and saw a cat, curled up on a branch and meowing as if she were stuck.

"Come here. Come, come, come! Come kitty!" Mengyao said, stepping onto a tree root and reaching up. The cat continued to meow until she got ready to jump. Mengyao watched as the cat jumped from one branch to another before finally jumping down.

Mengyao sighed. Master Lei's cat was always meowing as if she were in danger before just pranching off.

"They say if the pedestal is beautiful, the statue must be even more beautiful."

Mengyao jumped and fell backwards, into the arms of a man. The man had a small smirk as his intense dark eyes looked at him. "I see you've fallen for me."

Mengyao scrambled to his feet and straightened his robes. He gave the man a bow and said, "Young Master, forgive me!"

"Hmm...There might be something you can do for me to fully forgive you," the man replied. Mengyao noticed the man was atleast a head or so taller than him, dressed in Black and Gold with a dragon crest on the front of his yuanlingshan. His hair was pulled up in a ponytail with trails of golden beads.

"Ah, well..." Mengyao stammered. The man began laughing.

"I'm sorry, i'm sorry. I'm a little lost and need to find my way to Madame Tung-Mei. I don't supposed you could help me, fair beautiful servant?"

Mengyao took a deep breath and tucked his hands into his sleeves. With a smile, he said, "i can lead you to the Lady of the House. Follow me."

"You know, they say that a person with dimples is sweeter than the sweetest sugar," he heard the man say. Mengyao tried to keep a straight face but felt heat burst in his cheeks and on the tips of his ears. This nobleman might be the death of him already!

Mengyao began to lead the man toward the Main Hall. During their walk, Mengyao noticed the man's eyes were almost boring into his head. Could this man please look a different way?

When Mengyao finally approached the door, he opened it and stepped inside. There he saw Madame Tung-Mei scolding Lei again and him retorting. It made Mengyao shake his head and smile.

"Madame Tung-Mei, I apologize for the intrustion," Mengyao announced, bowing to his mistress. "A guest is here to see you."

Madame Tung-Mei looked up and said to Lei, "We will speak later. Young Master Longwei, it's been a very long time."

"It has! Sadly, I got lost on my way to see you. Your beautiful servant here helped me. If it weren't for his wits, I may have starved to death in your glorious estate," the man said.

"It seems the Duan family are still incorrigible flirts. Your father is a bad example on you and your sister."

The man chuckled. "Only when in the presence of beauty and power."

"Thank you, A-Yao. You may leave," Madame Tung-Mei said, patting Mengyao's shoulder. "Young Master Longwei, come with me. Sit."

Mengyao bowed and left the room, closing the door behind him. His legs felt weak and his heart pounded in his chest as he walked away from the Main Hall.

He now knew who this man was. Why didn't he see it before? Was it because Longwei was no longer chubby faced? Or had it been that long since the fire? It didn't seem like Longwei recognized him, and it was a good thing. What would Longwei think, seeing him working as a servant? Mengyao couldn't even bear to think about it.

After taking a few steps, he evened his breathing and straightened himself out. He had to finish his chores and choose better robes. Tonight had to be perfect.