Wenren Yang’s face, for once, flushed slightly. Embarrassment was not something he often experienced, but he had always been a well-behaved child. “I’ve read about this in books, but I’ve never seen the actual herbs in person. If you tell me once, Fourth Sister, I’ll remember,” he said earnestly.

Xiao Cao nodded in understanding and then pointed with her chin, “Start from your left…” She proceeded to explain each herb to him, one by one.

Wenren Yang listened intently. Once Xiao Cao had finished, he quickly picked out the herbs needing to be ground, moving with far more efficiency than his earlier, slow actions.

Xiao Cao smiled lightly. Both her mother and younger sister had praised Wenren Yang’s excellent memory, and it seemed it justified their praise.

However, during the grinding process, Wenren Yang became clumsy again. Despite the simplicity of using a mortar and pestle, he nearly injured his hand several times. Even so, he pressed his lips together, diligently grinding away, stroke after stroke. As Xiao Cao had suspected, though her brother might be deeply absorbed in his reading, anything entrusted to him would be handled with utmost care.

Xiao Cao watched leisurely, but the maids standing nearby couldn’t help feeling distressed for him. Each one of them seemed eager to step in and finish the task for him. Yet, whenever one of them gathered enough courage to move forward, Xiao Cao would give a light cough and cast a calm gaze in their direction. They immediately flinched and obediently remained where they were.

Some people, though usually mild-mannered, could send others running with just a change in their demeanor. Confronting such people, you’d feel intimidated even if you had great confidence. The maids, who had no remarkable strength of presence to begin with, were especially quick to back down.

Wenren Yang managed to knock over the mortar for the third time, spilling the herbs out and even hitting his fingers with the heavy tool. Xiao Cao sighed with mild exasperation and walked over to him. “Alright, that’s enough. Let me see your hand.” As the maids bustled anxiously to fetch medicine, Xiao Cao remained completely calm. She examined his hand, noting it was slightly red, and predicted some bruising might develop later. “It’s nothing serious.”

Wenren Yang had initially felt significant pain, but seeing Xiao Cao’s casual attitude made him feel as if admitting the discomfort would seem too dramatic. So, he quietly bore it, yet a trace of inexplicable grievance still lingered inside him.

Xiao Cao opened the household medicine kit, retrieved a few items from the bottom layer, and swiftly concocted a makeshift “band-aid,” wrapping it neatly around Wenren Yang’s finger.

Any sense of grievance vanished in an instant as Wenren Yang felt the cool, soothing sensation spread from the finger that had both hurt and burned. The pain dulled considerably. He moved his fingers experimentally, finding the thin layer of material flexible and remarkably unobstructive—it didn’t require any bandage or thread to hold it in place.

Xiao Cao teasingly poked Wenren Yang on the forehead.

Puzzled, Wenren Yang looked up at her, his innocent gaze resembling that of a small child.

“Xiao Si, thank goodness for the tradition of arranged marriages, or I bet you’d never find a wife,” Xiao Cao teased with a grin.

Wenren Yang gazed at her quietly, his eyes still clear yet brimming with a silent form of protest.

“You’re clumsy, you don’t know how to farm, and you rarely leave the house. What girl would fancy you?” Xiao Cao continued jokingly.

“Plenty of girls admire me,” Wenren Yang replied, his tone calm, as though he were simply stating a fact. However, his response came just a little too quickly.

“Is it you they admire, or your reading skills?” Xiao Cao asked with a knowing smile.

Wenren Yang opened his mouth to defend himself, but he knew deep down his fourth sister was right. During his time at their maternal grandparents’ house, he had overheard girls talk about him. Aside from his knowledge of books, there wasn’t much that they liked.

Still smiling, Xiao Cao patted him on the head, as if dealing with a child. “When you get married, be good to your wife.”

Slowly, Wenren Yang nodded, “That’s only proper.”

Xiao Cao understood that Wenren Yang hadn’t grasped her full meaning. His idea of treating his wife well would likely stem from respect, not genuine understanding or emotional connection.

Her little brother, she realized, was, in many ways, like a giant infant—helpless in so many aspects of life. Fortunately, they were a wealthy family with servants to care for him. In a normal household, he would’ve been looked down upon for such dependency. Naturally, an ordinary family would never raise someone with such pampered habits. Their circumstances simply wouldn’t allow it.

As long as Wenren Yang’s future wife had no romantic interest elsewhere, she would likely find it easy to love him, perhaps even enjoy treating him like her own child. Xiao Cao’s hope, though, was that their marriage would be free of outside interference.

She didn’t know if her parents’ relationship was truly problem-free. Even if her mother genuinely didn’t mind the presence of concubines, Xiao Cao found it hard to believe that their marriage would be entirely without friction. The fact that they got along so well attested to both her mother’s high emotional intelligence and skills—a fact that also owed a great deal to her father’s role in managing the household, keeping the concubines from causing trouble.

However, with her brother’s low emotional intelligence, it was harder to predict. Someone could easily pretend to be virtuous in front of him and yet cause chaos behind his back. This would almost inevitably lead to issues between him and his wife.

Xiao Cao believed her brother was best off without concubines or mistresses.

It wasn’t a conversation she could have with him now, but perhaps after they grew a bit closer, she could subtly offer him this advice. From her perspective, Wenren Yang likely wouldn’t want any distractions anyway. Once he understood that multiple women would bring nothing but trouble and interrupt his reading, he might avoid the idea of concubines or mistresses like the plague. More importantly, perhaps she should have a talk with her mother. Though, who knew what her mother might think? People could be terribly hypocritical. Women who didn’t want their husbands to take concubines might still encourage their sons to do so.

Xiao Cao swiftly dealt with the rest of the herbs for medicine preparation. This time, Wenren Yang simply stood by, watching her work. Since Xiao Cao was conversing with him as she worked, he didn’t “zone out” as he was sometimes prone to.

“Fourth Sister, are you really good at medicine?” Wenren Yang asked curiously.

“Not bad,” Xiao Cao answered modestly.

“When did you start learning?”

“When I started my education, I used my foster father’s medical books.”

“So at least fourteen or fifteen years ago,” he calculated.

Xiao Cao smiled but didn’t respond. If she were to be really honest, it had been over twenty years.

In this way, the brother and sister spent quite a bit of time together. After Wenren Ying escaped her mother’s “clutches,” she quickly scurried over to join them. Laughter and teasing remarks aimed at Wenren Yang soon filled the air.

By the afternoon, all the necessary materials had been prepared. Xiao Cao set about making medicinal pills for the old madam. With both Wenren Yang and Wenren Ying busy elsewhere, and the maids handling tasks within their abilities—having been instructed by Han shi to take on such duties going forward—Xiao Cao worked with little interruption. The maids, keen to win their new mistress’ trust, paid close attention to the herbs. Learning to prepare them wasn’t just for show; it could only benefit them in the long run, so they were working hard not to fall behind each other.

Xiao Cao prepared a bottle of medicinal pills for the old madam and sent it over early.

The old madam hadn’t expected Xiao Cao to finish so quickly. When she opened the bottle and sniffed, a fruity fragrance greeted her, masking the usual pungent, nauseating smell of the medicine. She could only detect the faintest bit of bitterness beneath the pleasant scent, which was unlikely to cause any discomfort.

Feeling somewhat bemused, the old madam’s thoughts drifted into a strange space. Oddly enough, she felt as though she’d been treated like a child.

What she didn’t know was that this wasn’t the first time someone had felt this way around Xiao Cao.