Serena Feng had no idea what William Wang was thinking. It wasn’t that she was oblivious—he was simply too good at hiding it.
Before Serena could step outside, William strode over. Seeing sweat bead on her forehead, he fought the urge to wipe it away himself and instead handed her a handkerchief: "Look at you, sweating in this heat. What’s wrong? Doesn’t your manor have ice stored?"
"We do, but I don’t like using it—the chill is too much." Serena naturally accepted the handkerchief, dabbing her face a bit. "It’s blazing outside. Let’s talk inside."
"You know it’s scorching, yet you still come out. Aren’t you afraid of getting sunburned?" Seeing Serena’s flushed cheeks, William sighed inwardly: Seeing her so healthy and rosy, he could finally be at ease.
"I’m not that delicate," Serena replied, unconcerned.
William didn’t argue. He simply walked beside Serena, matching her stride. The two of them side by side made a striking pair—bathed in sunlight, they seemed to glow.
The servants of Feng Manor stood entranced, eyes shining: The Young Master and Miss truly complement each other. Together, they look like a golden couple.
One was gentle and refined, the other bright and noble—no matter how you looked at it, they seemed like a perfect match.
The hidden guards, however, were on high alert, itching to rush over and wedge themselves between the pair.
To them, Miss Feng belonged to their Prince. No matter how well-matched the Young Master and Miss appeared, it was meaningless!
Serena didn’t refuse William’s kindness; instead, she asked him to send even more grapes so she could make wine and invite him to drink it later.
"I knew you could brew wine, but I didn’t expect you could make grape wine too. This time you must make extra—just the other day General Warren Yu wrote me a letter, saying you owe the entire army a round of wine." Mentioning grapes instantly brought back memories for William.
William wondered to himself: if, on that day, he had proposed to marry Serena as his wife instead of taking her only as a concubine, would she have accepted?
Sadly, he would never know the answer, because he could never bring himself to ask.
Some people, once missed, are lost for a lifetime.
Serena was speechless. "How many men does General Warren Yu have under his command now?" Back when he entered the capital, he’d only brought a few thousand. Now at the Northlyn border, he must have tens of thousands—hosting a wine banquet for all of them would bankrupt her.
William saw Serena’s distressed expression and let go of his regret, smiling: "Officially, it’s three hundred thousand. In reality, it’s over five hundred thousand."
"Well... then I’ll go bankrupt." Serena almost wanted to cry—how much wine would it take to serve five hundred thousand soldiers? She wondered if Vincent Su’s shops had that much to sell.
William couldn’t bear to see Serena troubled, so he immediately found a solution: "Don’t worry, the army forbids drinking. Only the generals can have a few cups now and then. Once your grape wine is ready, just set aside three to five jars—I’ll have someone deliver them to General Warren Yu."
"Will that work? Won’t General Warren Yu think I’m stingy?" Serena hesitated.
She’d promised the whole army, but now just three to five jars would do—it felt like she was barely making an effort.
"Grape wine is worth a thousand gold per jar—how could that be stingy?" William thought Warren would be lucky to get any. If he dared complain, William would make sure he got none.
Serena’s eyes lit up: "Is grape wine really that valuable? What if we made it to sell?"
Now it was William’s turn to be startled. He asked carefully, "Serena, is Feng Manor short on silver?"
He knew it shouldn’t be—between her partnership with the Young clan and her winnings from the Southern Lyn Su clan contest, Serena had enough silver to last decades.
With only Serena as master of the Feng family, no matter how extravagant she was, she couldn’t spend it all.
"I’m not short on money. But who ever complains about having too much silver?" Serena answered frankly, not feeling there was anything wrong with wanting to earn more.
She might not worry about food or clothing now, but she had once been poor.
"That’s not wrong, but we don’t need to wear ourselves out for silver." William said. Households like theirs didn’t need to exhaust themselves for a bit of money—they simply didn’t lack it.
Fine, William admitted—he was worried Serena would tire herself out, and he didn’t like the thought of random outsiders drinking wine she’d brewed herself.
He couldn’t control Serena’s close friends and allies, but he could certainly keep everyone else at bay.
Serena thought it over seriously and agreed: "Brewing wine really is a hassle. Making a few jars for myself is fine, but if I tried to make money from it, I’d probably work myself to death."
William saw Serena give up the idea and secretly relaxed. "It’s good you think that way. If you ever want to do business, just have your steward contact the Wang family’s managers. We have several stewards who are experts at commerce."
Without agriculture, the realm cannot be stable; without commerce, wealth cannot be built. William didn’t look down on business, but he didn’t want to waste too much time on it, and he didn’t want Serena to neglect her medical skills for trivial matters.
Such trivial matters should be handled by the servants. As the master, there’s no need to get involved personally…
With only Serena as master of the Feng family, no matter how extravagant she was, she couldn’t spend it all.
"I’m not short on money. But who ever complains about having too much silver?" Serena answered frankly, not feeling there was anything wrong with wanting to earn more.
She might not worry about food or clothing now, but she had once been poor.
"That’s not wrong, but we don’t need to wear ourselves out for silver." William said. Households like theirs didn’t need to exhaust themselves for a bit of money—they simply didn’t lack it.
Fine, William admitted—he was worried Serena would tire herself out, and he didn’t like the thought of random outsiders drinking wine she’d brewed herself.
He couldn’t control Serena’s close friends and allies, but he could certainly keep everyone else at bay.
Serena thought it over seriously and agreed: "Brewing wine really is a hassle. Making a few jars for myself is fine, but if I tried to make money from it, I’d probably work myself to death."
William saw Serena give up the idea and secretly relaxed. "It’s good you think that way. If you ever want to do business, just have your steward contact the Wang family’s managers. We have several stewards who are experts at commerce."
Without agriculture, the realm cannot be stable; without commerce, wealth cannot be built. William didn’t look down on business, but he didn’t want to waste too much time on it, and he didn’t want Serena to neglect her medical skills for trivial matters.
Such trivial matters should be handled by the servants. As the master, there’s no need to get involved personally…