After seeing off the last customer, Ming Lingyi had Xiao Chun hang a "Closed for Break" sign on the door before starting on their lunch.

Xiao Chun had assumed they would just whip up something simple for lunch. But as soon as she shut the door, she was surprised to see her mistress take out a slab of pork belly, ready to fry it in the pot.

"Huh?!" Xiao Chun exclaimed in surprise. "Miss, are we having this Crispy Honey-Glazed Pork for lunch, too?"

Ming Lingyi nodded. "We’ve made so many servings, we might as well have some for lunch. Weren’t you just drooling over it?" As she spoke, she shot Xiao Chun a teasing glance.

This plump maid of hers was quite strong, and she certainly had the appetite to match.

’I can’t very well have her working in my shop and not feed her properly, can I?’

’If nothing else, since I’m running a restaurant, I have to make sure my staff are well-fed.’

Hearing this, something in Ming Lingyi’s words struck a chord with Xiao Chun. She couldn’t help but declare with heartfelt sincerity, "You’re so good to me, Miss! You’re the very, very best miss I’ve ever met!"

The SIZZLE of the hot oil filled Ming Lingyi’s ears, and she didn’t catch any deeper meaning in Xiao Chun’s words. She just smiled, chalking it up to the young maid’s casual outburst.

By the time the two of them sat down to eat, the aroma of the crispy pork belly had Xiao Chun’s eyes gleaming. She looked no different from a ravenous wolf that hadn’t eaten in days.

Ming Lingyi had barely taken two bites before Xiao Chun had already devoured an entire bowl of rice with the pork.

Soon, she’d polished off a second bowl without even stopping to say a word.

Ming Lingyi couldn’t help but laugh. Her own appetite had never been great, but watching Xiao Chun eat with such gusto made her take a few extra bites herself.

By the time Ming Lingyi was halfway through her meal, Xiao Chun had already finished her third bowl of rice.

She wiped her mouth. "Miss, what are we selling tonight?"

Ming Lingyi replied, "Let’s just do noodles. How about the sesame paste noodles we made before?"

’If it’s just for the evening,’ she thought, ’I can close up early. It’ll be less trouble.’

Besides, they had already used up most of today’s pork belly. There wouldn’t be enough ingredients to keep selling the crispy pork if they stayed open late.

Xiao Chun nodded and stood up, ready to go prepare the noodle dough.

"There’s no rush. Rest for a bit before you get busy," Ming Lingyi said, seeing right through her.

Xiao Chun did as she was told and sat back down. "Oh, that’s right! Miss, let me tell you what’s going on with Granny Qiu’s family!"

When her mistress had mentioned making noodles for the evening, it had reminded Xiao Chun of the gossip she’d wheedled out of Aunt Gui that morning. She’d been dying to share it, but her mistress had been too busy all morning for her to get a word in.

"Hm?"

"That child Yao Niang is taking care of isn’t hers and her husband’s at all—it’s from her younger brother-in-law’s family! I heard from Aunt Gui that the eldest Chai son, that Chai Yuanqian... *ahem*... might be impotent!" Xiao Chun said, her face alight with excitement.

"..."

’I don’t really want to hear this anymore,’ Ming Lingyi thought. ’Xiao Chun is still an unmarried young woman. What is she doing prying into a married couple’s private affairs?’

Ming Lingyi was about to stop her, but Xiao Chun was already rushing on. "And the second Chai son’s family has several children already, right? So Granny Qiu, thinking the eldest son’s line has no heir, wants the second son to produce an heir for both branches of the family!"

"..."

Xiao Chun spoke in a rush. "Aunt Gui lives right next door, and at night she heard Miss Yao refusing, but... but it seems it was no use. Miss, can’t people like that be reported to the authorities?"

Xiao Chun was filled with righteous indignation. Aunt Gui had been even more direct with her, but Xiao Chun remembered she was speaking to her mistress and left out the truly sordid details.

Ming Lingyi frowned. She understood what Xiao Chun was implying, despite her vague phrasing.

Granny Qiu wanted her second son to produce an heir for both lines, and Yao Niang was refusing. It was obvious this wasn’t about adopting a child from the second son’s family or finding a surrogate mother. It meant Granny Qiu was planning to have her second son force himself on his own sister-in-law.

Even in a place with customs as open as the Dayan Dynasty, no woman would willingly agree to such a thing.

Just because her husband was infertile, she was expected to have relations with his brother in order to produce an heir for the family. And this arrangement would only end once she gave birth to a son.

Most families didn’t have such a custom.

Ming Lingyi had read about such things in books but had never encountered a real-life case. That was why she had been stunned for a moment when she heard Xiao Chun mention the practice.

"Even if it is for the sake of an heir, if the woman is unwilling, the authorities can’t do anything," Ming Lingyi sighed. "Unless Yao Niang is no longer the Chai family’s daughter-in-law, otherwise..."

She left the rest unsaid, but her meaning was clear.

Otherwise, it was a clan matter, and whether Yao Niang wanted to or not, she would be forced to comply.

"So there’s nothing that can be done?" Xiao Chun asked.

Ming Lingyi said, "Not unless Yao Niang herself steps forward and demands a divorce."

’Even so, it would be incredibly difficult for her,’ she estimated.

It was simple enough for a man to divorce his wife. A single letter of repudiation could decide the fate of the woman who shared his bed, and she wouldn’t even have a chance to argue.

But for a woman to leave her husband was another matter entirely—fraught with a thousand obstacles.

Even if a woman was willing to step forward, the process alone was enough to deter anyone.

’That’s why Yao Niang’s situation is so difficult.’ 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Xiao Chun sighed. If her mistress said it wouldn’t be easy, then it must be next to impossible. She couldn’t think of a solution either, so she just sighed again. "I heard from Aunt Gui that Miss Yao has a really miserable life. She’s the one who runs almost everything at the Chai Family Noodle House. And Granny Qiu deliberately put her out front because she’s pretty, making her serve the customers. Sometimes she runs into sleazy men who try to grope her, but Granny Qiu won’t let her make a fuss. Instead, she just scolds her for being cheap and shameless..."

"..."

’A person can’t stand on their own feet through the pity and help of others alone. Without the resolve to break free, she’ll be trapped struggling in the mire for the rest of her life, with no hope in sight.’

After finishing her meal, she went to her room in the back courtyard for a short nap and, quite unexpectedly, dreamed of Li Yun.

「One day, during a spring outing for the Qingming Festival.」

Although the Great Desert had no real spring scenery to speak of, Li Yun knew she had grown up in Shangjing City. Thinking she must be used to the customs of young ladies from official families, he had taken her out for a stroll.

In truth, she rarely left the house because of her asthma. It was worst in the spring, when the flowers were all in bloom, each vying for attention, making it utterly impossible for her to go out.

But she loved being by Li Yun’s side, going out with him.

Then, in the marketplace, they saw a husband beating his wife.

Ming Lingyi instinctively looked at Li Yun.

"The people of the Northwest are fierce. Their tempers are completely different from the noble ladies of the Capital City. Just watch," Li Yun explained, seeming to understand the look in her eyes.

At the time, Ming Lingyi didn’t yet understand the full weight of his words. "But her husband dragged her out of their house and is beating her in the street..."

"If a person has no desire to stand up for themselves, the help of others is only a temporary fix. If you want to live with dignity, you must first not look down on yourself."

Li Yun had barely finished speaking when Ming Lingyi saw the woman, who had been pinned to the ground and beaten, suddenly find her chance. She scrambled to her feet, bolted toward a nearby butcher’s stall, snatched the cleaver from the butcher’s hand, and swung it at the man who was coming after her.