Night.
The girls returned home from work, and the little Western-style house grew lively.
In the study.
"Master~ How does it feel?"
Ye Xi let out a long, contented sigh and nodded with satisfaction. "Wonderful."
As he spoke, he poured Ying'er a cup of vanilla tea.
Seeing Ye Xi so satisfied, Ying'er hurriedly pressed, "Then is Master willing to take me in~?"
Ye Xi smiled. "Actually, I had no intention of refusing just now."
"Eh?"
Ying'er was slightly stunned, and her pretty face flushed at once. "Master, as long as you want it, Ying'er is ready anytime~"
"There's no need to test Ying'er like this."
"So, were you satisfied with my technique just now?"
In truth, this was the first time she had ever done such things.
What she relied on was entirely her experience in brewing fragrant balms.
"As expected of a master perfumer—your technique is first-rate."
"I look forward to your performance tonight."
Hearing Ye Xi's words, Ying'er's heart leapt with joy. "Tonight?"
"Rest assured, Master, I'll be well prepared."
And so, Ye Xi had decided to keep Ying'er by his side.
He glanced at the clock on the wall and suggested, "Let's go to the living room. The others should all be back by now—go and get acquainted with them."
"Okay~"
Ying'er hurriedly finished her tea, gently breathed into her palm, and sniffed.
A faint vanilla scent wafted up, sweet and fragrant.
She quickly followed behind Ye Xi to the living room.
By now, the girls who had gone to Sumeru and the girls of Liyue had all returned home.
Ningguang, who had just gotten off work, was bickering with Beidou.
"I say, since you came back for dinner anyway, why did you make me go see you off?"
Ningguang was quite speechless.
At noon, Beidou had suddenly come running over, saying she was off to Inazuma and wanted Ningguang to see her off.
The ship would be back in two or three days anyway, so she hadn't planned to go.
But for Beidou's sake, she had made the trip anyway.
To her surprise, she had just gotten off work and come home to find Beidou lazing around at the house.
Utterly speechless!
Beidou laughed heartily. "Young Kazuha is keeping watch on the ship, and with the cruiser too, there's no fear of running into sea beasts."
"That Hailong fellow—though he can't quite command this ship, he can at least sail it slowly at night."
"So I just dumped the work on them and came back for dinner."
"Come nightfall, I'll have to head back to the ship."
Seeing that Beidou felt not the slightest bit of remorse, Ningguang's expression darkened. "So you just wasted all that time of mine?"
"Captain Beidou, it seems the General Affairs Office ought to raise the taxes on your fleet a bit more."
In the past, hearing this, Beidou would surely have been frightened.
But now—
She looked toward Ye Xi, who was coming out of the study, and hurriedly waved. "Master Ye Xi, I brought back all the seafood you wanted!"
"It's all fresh stuff the brothers just hauled up in their nets!"
"Those shrimp are big and full of life!"
Ye Xi's eyes lit up at this. "Got it. I'll go make a pool in a bit."
Having gotten Ye Xi's response, Beidou shot Ningguang a glance. "Well? Do you still want to deal with me now?"
"The fleet belongs to Master Ye Xi, and I've got your man backing me up. You can't very well tax your own man, can you?"
"Though it makes no difference."
"By day you raise Master Ye Xi's tax revenue; by night, Master raises your 'sleep' revenue!"
Beidou put heavy emphasis on that word "sleep."
"You—!"
Looking at the smug Beidou before her, Ningguang was utterly helpless.
After all, Ye Xi was the master of this household, and she was just a little bed-warming wife.
Beidou laughed smugly.
While the two were bickering, Ying'er came over as well and introduced herself.
Everyone knew, more or less, about this new "family member."
Because everyone was using the fragrant balms Ying'er made.
Ying'er had assumed the ones she'd seen before were all of Ye Xi's wives, but to her surprise there were many more unfamiliar faces.
Yet there were also some very familiar ones she would never have dared imagine.
"La-Lady Ningguang, and Lady Keqing too?"
She really hadn't expected Ningguang and Keqing to appear here.
These two were members of the Liyue Qixing!
The ones who truly held power!
Their being here meant that Ningguang and Keqing were already Ye Xi's women!
These two, despite their unrivaled status and backgrounds, had willingly given themselves to Ye Xi alone, both at the same time!
Ningguang hadn't expected Ying'er to appear here either.
She marveled, "So it's Ying'er—how truly unexpected."
"But it's just as well. With a master tailor like you in the household, surely you'll give me some discount when I have clothes custom-made from now on?"
Ying'er laughed. "Of course I'll make them for you for free~! How could I ever charge you!"
Hearing Ningguang's words, the girls were all quite astonished.
"Eh? Is Ying'er really good at making clothes?"
"Wonderful! Can you make me some pretty clothes too?"
"If even Ningguang acknowledges her skill, she must be amazing!"
"Our Collei knows tailoring too~!"
Hearing Amber say this, Collei's pretty face flushed and she hurriedly waved her hands. "I'm not that good—I can manage a bit of mending, but I can't make clothes..."
As she spoke, Collei felt a little dejected.
Ying'er's arrival made her feel more and more useless.
What value did she still have to Ye Xi?
Ye Xi saw through Collei's little worries.
This girl was sensitive and prone to overthinking, so he often kept an eye on her.
So he stepped forward, pinched Collei's cheek, and comforted her. "Don't worry. What I, your Master, want is you. As long as it's you, nothing else matters."
"No more silly thoughts, or you'll be in for the family discipline."
Collei was deeply moved.
She hadn't expected Ye Xi to care so much about her—not only seeing through her thoughts but also coming to comfort her!
"Ngh... mm!"
She threw herself into Ye Xi's arms, her face full of happiness.
Beside them, Amber's beautiful eyes were filled with envy—she practically yearned with all her heart for that kind of doting!
Ye Xi doted on Collei so much that it was as if he would spoil her up to the heavens.
Watching this, a longing stirred in Amber's heart too.
She also wanted to be doted on by her dear big brother!
In that instant, a decision took root in her heart.
Before leaving here to return to Mondstadt, she wanted to make up her mind!
At the very least, to leave no regrets!
Hearing Collei's words, Ying'er spoke up. "Collei, I can teach you sewing techniques. Don't worry, I guarantee I'll teach you well!"
"Mm! Thank you, Ying'er."
"Why so polite?"
Ying'er said with a sweet smile, "Little by little, I'll pour all the essence of what I've learned into you~"
"You must take it all in, down to the very last drop, and let it settle in your belly~"
"Eh!?"
Collei's face flushed instantly.
She had witnessed Ying'er's unique way of speaking before, and hearing it again now, her mind still wandered elsewhere.
Keqing sighed.
Honestly, back when they had come from Sumeru to Liyue and she heard Ye Xi was going to find Ying'er, she had guessed this day would come.
If Ying'er joined them, the children of the household would surely be led astray in the future!
But it was just as well—at least it would now be convenient to have any high-end clothes custom-made.
Otherwise, when something was needed urgently, she'd have to queue and pay extra—such a hassle.
After everyone had gotten acquainted, Xiangling led the girls in getting busy.
It was actually mealtime now, and Xiangling should have been cooking at the Wanmin Restaurant.
But compared with the family restaurant, satisfying Ye Xi was what mattered most!
For this, she had just laid it all out to her dad.
She had originally wanted to keep it from her dad, but staying out all of last night had already upset him.
Today, saying she wouldn't be coming home and was leaving work early too, made her dad even angrier.
Left with no choice, she had to tell her dad that she'd become Ye Xi's little wife.
Who would have thought her dad would get so excited he nearly fainted.
He even said he'd go home and pack her bags, urging her to hurry up and move in.
It left her quite at a loss.
But it worked out well—now she could move in openly and aboveboard.
Just as Xiangling was busy at work, Ye Xi walked into the kitchen and wrapped his arm around her slender waist.
"I'm planning to make a pond and a vegetable garden nearby. Do you have any suggestions?"
"Eh?"
Xiangling's eyes lit up and she nodded eagerly. "Great! That way we can grow lots of our own vegetables and fruit!"
"I'm all for it!"
Dunyarzad, beside her, chimed in too. "Dehya, Alusha, and I can look after the vegetable garden in our spare time!"
This proposal was well received by the girls.
But then a problem arose—what about the actual details?
When it came to farming, Ye Xi knew absolutely nothing.
Xiangling was a chef, but in the field of vegetable cultivation she had only a smattering of knowledge.
As for the two Dendro Archons, they hadn't returned yet. According to Ayexia, the major project in Sumeru was progressing rapidly, and Nahida and the others were still in meetings.
Just then, Ye Xi suddenly thought of the most suitable candidate!
He turned his head and looked around, only to find that figure was nowhere to be seen.
"Keqing, Ningguang, where did Ganyu go?"
That's right.
Ganyu knew a great deal about plant cultivation!
There was a handwritten volume titled "Flora of Yujing Terrace" that had come from her very own brush.
She not only knew well how to tend Glaze Lilies and graft Silk Flowers, but was also highly knowledgeable about methods of vegetable cultivation.
It was just that, back then, in order to control her appetite—worried that once she started growing vegetables she wouldn't be able to resist gorging herself—she had blotted out all the parts of the book about vegetable cultivation!
When it came to vegetable cultivation, there was no greater expert than Ganyu!
Hearing Ye Xi's question, Keqing explained, "Ganyu's too embarrassed to keep coming over to mooch meals. No matter how I call her, she won't come—she insists on staying behind to work overtime!"
Too embarrassed to mooch a meal?
What was there to be embarrassed about?
Ye Xi didn't understand, but he turned to the three little secretaries who had followed along—Baiwen, Baishi, and Baixiao—and said, "I've got a task for you: go bring Ganyu back!"
"Got it!"
The three secretaries hurried out the door.
How could it do for Ganyu not to come?
If she didn't come, how would she ever grow dependent on this place?
And without that dependence, how would she become a wife in the future?
....
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