11.

The quiet of the guardhouse courtyard was punctuated by light chatter, the distant clang of metal from the smithy down the road, and the soft clink of teacups being rinsed.

It was an unusually peaceful day.

Li Sining, sleeves loosely tied, leaned back against a wooden post and glanced sideways at Li Siyuan, who stood near the stone basin, arms folded, gaze drifting—though not subtly—toward the slender figure of Lu Yan, who was currently chatting softly with Li Silan under the apricot tree.

Sining sipped his tea.

Then exhaled loudly.

"Seventh Brother," he said casually, "since you've already won the prize, you might as well stop ogling and make it official."

Li Siyuan didn't react at first.

Then he gave a small nod. "I was going to ask. Once the house is done, we can hold the banquet."

"Mn," Sining agreed, setting down his cup. "Get the marriage certificate first. Better for paperwork. You can host the banquet at the new house once it's finished."

Siyuan hummed in agreement, his eyes still, predictably, fixed on Lu Yan.

Sining followed his line of sight and sighed dramatically. "You used to look at battle reports like that. Now you look at a pair of big eyes like they're national treasure."

"I was never interested in battle reports," Siyuan replied calmly.

"Even worse, then."

Sining gave him a mild shove on the shoulder before turning to Captain 28 and Li Siming, who stood nearby. The captain, ever-formal, still referred to Siming as "Sixth Prince" out of habit.

"Come," Sining said, beckoning them toward the side of the courtyard. "I want to discuss something."

They followed.

Once out of earshot, Sining leaned in. "We can't live off old jewels forever. We need something that keeps silver flowing."

Siming raised an eyebrow. "What do you have in mind?"

"A restaurant."

Siming blinked. "That's… sudden."

"No, it's strategic," Sining said. "People eat. People always eat. And there's no inn in this county that serves anything outside basic buns and dried pork. We introduce better dishes, make it clean, give it a name—people will come."

The Captain nodded slowly. "It would give us a public identity. A reason to be here."

"Exactly," Sining said. "We're already known for buying land. Let them think we're retired nobles running a shop. It's a distraction—and an income."

Siming frowned. "We'd need a place. Renting's risky."

"No need to rent," Sining said. "Buy it outright. Use what we have left."

The Captain nodded. "I still have 300 silver taels remaining from the jewelry sold last month. A decent shopfront in this county should cost no more than 30 taels. A corner lot might be 50."

"Good," Sining said. "Use 50 if you must. Buy something with a good location. Then find three guards with decent kitchen skills. I'll teach them dishes that'll become our specialties."

Siming gave a faint smile. "Do you even remember how to cook?"

Sining looked mildly offended. "You will know when the time comes, now go away."

The Captain bowed. "I'll begin searching tomorrow."

"Make sure the kitchen's large and the storefront has enough space to seat twenty people minimum. We'll expand later."

Siming nodded. "You've already thought this through."

"Of course. While you were getting harassed about marriage, I was thinking of survival."

Siming sighed. "I'd rather deal with money problems than that matchmaker again."

Sining laughed and clapped his shoulder.

Meanwhile, under the apricot tree, Lu Yan had nearly finished a cup of tea when Li Siyuan finally stepped over.

The boy looked up, startled.

Siyuan didn't speak right away.

Instead, he asked in his usual quiet voice, "Are you done here, or do you want to stay longer in town?"

Lu Yan blinked. "I… I don't have anything else here. I'll go with you."

Siyuan nodded, eyes calm as ever. "Then we'll stop by the registrar's office on the way."

Lu Yan froze. "…To… to register?"

"Mn," Siyuan said, as if discussing the weather. "You're free from the Lu family now. Better to formalize things before people start making noise again."

Lu Yan turned pink, his lashes fluttering. "O…Okay."

He kept his gaze down, fingers curling around his teacup.

Siyuan watched him for a moment longer. Then, without warning, he reached forward, gently caught Lu Yan's chin, and lifted his face up.

"Wha—!"

Lu Yan's eyes widened. He stared up, flustered, into Siyuan's impassive face.

"You should speak while looking me in the eye," Siyuan said softly, eyes crinkling ever so slightly. "You're not a servant anymore."

Lu Yan opened and closed his mouth several times, red all the way to his ears.

"I-I wasn't avoiding—"

"Then don't avoid me now."

"I—!" He turned even redder.

Behind them, Li Silan, still holding his tea, slowly lowered the cup with a blank look.

He stared.

Then stared harder.

Then closed his eyes as if trying to process what he'd just witnessed.

"Who is this man and where is my seventh brother???"

Silently, he set the teacup down and muttered to himself, "I feel like vomiting this tea…"

But neither Siyuan nor Lu Yan noticed him. They were still staring at each other, one blushing like the sun, the other faintly amused in that deadly way Siyuan always had when he was in control of a situation.

Three guards—former scouts with kitchen experience—were already volunteering to be trained.

Sining handed them all a rough menu plan with a few surprising entries: braised lotus root stuffed with sticky rice, peppercorn lamb ribs, and something called "glass noodles in vinegar-sesame broth," which none of them had ever heard of.

"From a different life," he said vaguely when Siming asked.

On the walk back to the village, Lu Yan walked beside Siyuan, the two close but not touching. Lu Yan kept glancing up at him, and Siyuan occasionally looked down at the shorter boy with a softness none of the other siblings could quite explain.

Behind them, Silan leaned toward Sining and whispered, "Are we sure that's Seventh Brother? He hasn't glared at anyone for an hour."

Sining smiled faintly. "Let him have it. He deserves something quiet."

"And apparently romantic," Silan muttered. "He even smiled. With teeth."

Sixue, walking on the other side, chimed in dryly, "At least we know the tragedy didn't erase all emotions from his soul."

Sining chuckled. "Now we just have to survive gossip, jealous villagers, tax collectors, and finding a name for a restaurant."

Siming, from the front, called back, "How about 'The Brother's Table'?"

"Too obvious," Sining replied.

"'House of Eleven Mouths'?"

"Too real."

Lu Yan looked back shyly. "What about… 'Apricot Garden'?"

Everyone paused.

Siyuan gave him a quiet glance, and the smallest smile returned.

"…That works," Sining said.