Chapter Forty-Five: Secret Schemes

The male lead in this world was also a pitiable soul; she had always treated him so harshly, yet he bore no resentment, and instead, he was so good to her. Mo Niannian truly had no face to keep tormenting him. Forget it, she decided, she might as well stick to her old ways. For now, the most important thing was to lower his malice value. So far, she hadn’t noticed any troubling signs in the male lead; he seemed to worship her more than anything.

She had seen that kind of burning gaze before, in the eyes of star-struck girls. Though, in his eyes, the flame seemed even more intense, more fervent—but, in the end, was there really much difference? Mo Niannian didn’t want to overthink it; it was simply too troublesome. She would just take things one step at a time. With this thought, her heart grew lighter.

“I truly don’t blame you. Even if you hadn’t acted, I would have dealt with that wretched woman myself. Now, come, get up.” Like a divine light pouring down, illuminating all that was stained and tainted, he was left flustered, lost for words. “Master, I, your—” Yet in the end, he couldn’t even finish a single sentence.

Watching Jiang Hu thrown into disarray by just a few of her words, Mo Niannian couldn’t help but laugh softly, rubbing his head. “I told you, get up.” She had been far too harsh on this poor soul before, which was why he was now so timid, so cautious around her. Ah, it was all her fault.

Jiang Hu stared at the faint smile on Mo Niannian’s lips, unable to recover for a long while. “And stop calling yourself a slave from now on. We don’t stand on such ceremony in this house.”

The divine radiance was so blinding that Jiang Hu felt utterly at a loss, terrified that this was all just a dream. Mo Niannian reached out her hand and pulled him up, dragging him out of his abyss. He said nothing, his gaze fixed on her, not daring to look away for even a moment.

“It was my fault before. From now on, I’ll treat you well.” Mo Niannian arched her brows gently. This poor thing was too pitiful; since no one else could be relied upon, she might as well take it upon herself—after all, it was her mission.

She could only hope she wouldn’t repeat the same mistakes as in the last world.

After soothing Jiang Hu, Mo Niannian personally dealt with Zhou Yunxi. At the same time, she dismissed a large number of servants from the estate—those who bit the hand that fed them had long needed a proper reckoning.

The Mo household was thoroughly purged. The remaining servants were all on edge, terrified that misfortune would befall them next. They also realized, deeply, that the new slave was not someone they could provoke. The young lady might seem indifferent to him, but in truth, she had been watching his every move all along.

This time, because of him, the young lady had taken action against the Zhou family’s second miss; it was said that last time, for his sake, she had harshly punished Lord Zhong as well. It was their own stupidity, really, that they had only now come to see the truth.

From then on, no one dared cross Jiang Hu; they were all much more respectful toward him.

Mo Niannian no longer had to speak harshly to the male lead, which made her feel so much more at ease. Jiang Hu liked to follow her around, and she allowed it. Because of this small matter, Jiang Hu’s malice value dropped by ten points at once, which delighted Mo Niannian to no end.

My goodness, what had she been doing before? She’d neglected this poor fellow all this time, and look—she’d hardly treated him well at all, yet he was already devoted to her, heart and soul.

Oh, what would happen if he were deceived in the future?

“Master, please have a taste,” Jiang Hu said, presenting her with a plate of pastries.

No longer distancing herself from him, Mo Niannian felt relaxed. She reached out and took a piece from the dish, popping it into her mouth.

Instant satisfaction.

Ah, what divine flavor was this? Compared to his handiwork, the kitchen staff might as well be dismissed outright. Honestly, those cooks had been refining their recipes for years, but none could match the taste Jiang Hu achieved—it simply suited her palate perfectly, though she couldn’t say why.

Could it be that all blackened male leads mastered the art of cooking as well? If so, wasn’t that just wonderful?

Mo Niannian narrowed her eyes in satisfaction, unable to stop herself from praising him. “Your pastries are truly amazing.”

Jiang Hu stared at the back of his hand—her hand had just touched his.

He had touched his goddess.

At that thought, his heart began to boil over. He stood there dazed for several seconds before smiling and replying, “As long as you like it, Master.”

He was happy to do anything within his power for her.

Hiding his hand behind his back, he rubbed it gently, savoring the sensation.

“Niannian!” The Regent stormed in, plopping down beside Mo Niannian.

He casually picked up a piece of pastry and fed it to her. “Just got back from the palace—your father’s exhausted.”

Mo Niannian poured him a cup of tea. “Slow down. What’s happened that’s got you in such a rush?”

“Don’t ask. There’s trouble at the border again. The emperor’s at a loss, so of course he’s called on us.” The Regent clicked his tongue disdainfully.

He truly looked down on the emperor’s way of handling things—always indecisive, never resolute.

If he couldn’t stand having all the power in someone else’s hands, why not just take it back? Instead, he resorted to underhanded tricks in secret. If he’d succeeded, perhaps the Regent might have respected him a little. But in the end, he only made a mess of things.

The Regent really wanted to relinquish his power. He’d pretended to let the emperor reclaim some authority, but with the emperor at the helm, Southern Ming had only sunk deeper into decadence. Disasters and calamities were rife across the land, the people suffered terribly, and the neighboring powers eyed Southern Ming like hungry wolves.

Given the circumstances, how could he simply let go?

Now, with trouble at the border and the emperor helpless, he had come running to him once more.

The Regent was exasperated with his third brother.

He gave Mo Niannian a brief overview of the current situation, then sighed. “I’ll have to leave again for a while.”

He couldn’t bear to leave his daughter, but the situation on the border was too chaotic; he couldn’t bring himself to let her go and endure hardship there.

“I’ve seen the changes in you lately—you’ve grown up, and you’re managing things at home well. That puts my mind at ease,” he said, though his expression looked on the verge of tears.

Mo Niannian felt awkward. “How long will you be gone this time?”

“It’s hard to say—who can guarantee how things will go at the border? But as soon as it’s resolved, we’ll come straight back.” The Regent reached out to stroke her head, but withdrew his hand halfway, making the promise again: “The moment the border is pacified, we’ll return.”

The more he thought about leaving her, the more reluctant he felt, until tears streamed down his face. This tall, burly man clung to Mo Niannian, crying nonstop.

He lamented that they’d only just returned and now had to leave again, that his daughter was becoming distant—and if things went on like this, she might not even recognize them in the future, and so on.

Mo Niannian had a headache from all the fuss. After promising again and again that she would never forget him, the Regent finally dried his tears and took a few large bites of pastry.

“These are delicious! Where did they come from?” he asked, sniffing.

Mo Niannian glanced at Jiang Hu. “He made them. Amazing, right?”

“Not bad,” the Regent replied, trying to sound nonchalant.

This boy treated Niannian well, and his culinary skills were impressive—a good match, really. But the thought of his daughter marrying off made him want to cry all over again.