After dinner, Felix, unusually, did not invite Wei Wei for their customary evening stroll. Instead, he requested a private conversation with Father Matthew.
The two men went to the study, where a servant brought them herbal tea. Before Felix could gather his thoughts, Father Matthew spoke first: "I know what you're worried about, my child."
As an experienced elder, Father Matthew could easily discern the emotions Felix was struggling to conceal. He had noticed Felix's uneasy glances during dinner.
Father Matthew spoke calmly, his tone as composed as ever.
"I have no intention of informing the Church about the young lady from the East."
Felix remained silent for a moment before responding, "I'm afraid that assurance isn't entirely convincing."
"Why not? I believe you may not know that I am Eric's godfather."
Father Matthew's words surprised Felix, causing him to widen his eyes. Felix himself had a godfather, as did his elder brother, though the priest who had baptized him had passed away long ago.
The fact that Father Matthew was the godfather of the family heir suggested a close relationship with Felix's father.
However, this did not ease Felix's suspicions. It wasn't enough to earn his trust.
"A healthy dose of skepticism is good; it keeps you alert. But too much skepticism can make you paranoid."
Father Matthew took a sip of his herbal tea. "You know I am quite old now. I took over the church in Sardinson County to escape the turmoil within the Church and to spend my remaining years in peace, serving the Lord. So, like you, I have no desire for trouble to come knocking."
Father Matthew was indeed very old. His skin was deeply wrinkled, and age spots were scattered across his face. Though his mind remained sharp and his steps steady, being in his sixties in this era meant he was living on borrowed time.
Father Matthew preferred to be addressed simply as "Father" and rarely spoke of his past, so few knew that he had once held a position of great influence.
Felix had learned from his father that Father Matthew had once been a diocesan bishop, a powerful figure overseeing an entire diocese. However, he had voluntarily stepped down to become a titular bishop (a bishop without a diocese) and came to the small church in Sardinson County, where he had remained for five years, showing no intention of returning to the center of power.
Thus, his claim of being weary was genuine, not a ploy to deceive Felix.
"I cannot make you believe my promise, but I will keep it. I will not mention Miss Wei Wei to the Church, and I will remain silent about what I have heard and seen."
Father Matthew smiled kindly. "After all, I must spread God's blessings and collect donations. Whether what is handed to me is money or something else makes no difference to me."
So, he didn't care whether or not they gave him corn, when they gave him corn, or what they gave him—as long as they paid their tithes.
Moreover, compared to grain, the Church preferred gold and silver coins, which were easier to transport.
He was telling Felix that he was indeed on his side.
As for whether Felix could trust him, only time would tell.
After speaking about himself, Father Matthew kindly added, "And I think you should be more concerned about the upcoming guests than me."
Felix, of course, knew that the arriving guests would be a problem.
Compared to Father Matthew, they were far more likely to become sources of information.
"I'll handle it."
After concluding his conversation with Father Matthew and achieving a somewhat satisfactory outcome, Felix went to find Wei Wei.
After dinner, Wei Wei always took a bath. She had made various skincare products using homemade essential oils and other ingredients, but for full-body massages, pure essential oils worked best.
Of course, she wasn't extravagant enough to indulge in daily massages, so today she had simply taken a bath.
With her hair still damp and wearing only a simple white nightgown, she draped a cloak over herself to cover the gown and ran into Felix.
Wei Wei tightened her cloak. "What are you doing here?"
Seeing her damp hair and imagining the faint blush that must be coloring her skin, Felix swallowed hard and forced himself not to let his thoughts wander.
"I need to talk to you about something."
"Now?"
Felix nodded. "Yes."
"Then let's talk in my room." Wei Wei felt that wearing her nightgown to climb the stairs was fine, but going out for a walk or to another place to talk with Felix was out of the question.
Although inviting him to her room at this time might be seen as a suggestive gesture.
But Wei Wei wasn't worried. She believed that if Felix tried anything, she would likely beat him up and then cancel their relationship.
Unaware of the test he was about to face, Felix did let his imagination run wild for a moment, but he quickly calmed down, realizing that Wei Wei's personality wouldn't allow for such ambiguous hints.
Alright, she was just inviting him to her room to talk.
This was Felix's first time entering Wei Wei's room. Previously, he had only waited at the door for her to come out.
As soon as the door opened, the two black cats, hearing the noise, came running over, circling Wei Wei and rubbing against her.
The cats, now old enough to catch mice, likely had some British Shorthair in their lineage. They were friendly and affectionate, always hovering around Wei Wei when she was present. Even when she wasn't, they could play with the maids who cared for them for hours, showing no aloofness.
After adopting the two black cats, Wei Wei's room had fewer decorations but was filled with cat toys and supplies, including a litter box she had asked a carpenter to make. Of course, it wasn't filled with commercial cat litter but with real sand, as there were no pet stores selling cat litter here. The two little darlings would have to make do.
The two black cats had taken to the litter box remarkably well, seemingly born with the instinct to use it. Perhaps their mother had taught them to bury their waste when they were still in the wild.
Wei Wei was also concerned that they might relieve themselves elsewhere in the room, so the maids regularly changed the cats' food, water, and the sand in the litter box to ensure the room remained odor-free.
The two black cats were now expert mouse hunters, clearly having been taught by their mother. Every evening, they would scratch at the door, demanding to be let out to roam. Now, not only was Wei Wei's floor free of mice, but the floor below was also completely mouse-free, as Butler Barton occasionally borrowed the cats to work in rooms suspected of harboring rodents, with great success.
The result was that when the two cats returned from their nightly patrols, they often brought back a mouse or two as gifts.
After the initial shock, Wei Wei had become numb to the sight of dead mice. As long as the cats didn't place them on her bed, she could handle it.
This was also why she didn't allow them free access to her room, lest she wake up one day to find such a deadly surprise on her bed.
However, recently, the cats seemed to have finally realized that Wei Wei didn't eat mice, and the frequency of their gifts had decreased. She believed they would eventually stop bringing them altogether.
After all, at Wei Wei's place, they could enjoy much tastier food. They could catch mice, play with them, and kill them without needing to bring them back as reserves.
However, the two black cats weren't fully domesticated like modern pet cats. They still retained some wild instincts. After showing their affection for their owner, they dashed out the door to enjoy their freedom, not returning until just before dawn the next day.
"Come in."
Once they were seated, Qin, who was accustomed to serving Wei Wei a glass of warm water after her bath, poured water for both of them and then retreated outside with Penny to stand guard.
After drinking half the glass of warm water, Wei Wei looked up at Felix. "What did you want to talk about? The corn?"
Felix briefly recounted his conversation with Father Matthew and cautioned her, "In the future, don't discuss such matters in front of many people, especially Father Matthew. He's from the Church, and if the Church or others find out, you could be in trouble."
Wei Wei nodded. "I was careless."
Her sudden transmigration had been too abrupt, and Wei Wei's long-held values and habits were hard to change so quickly. Lacking sufficient social experience, her vigilance toward others wasn't high enough, and she often failed to consider the broader implications of her actions. This was something she needed to work on.
For instance, her approach to planting in the garden hadn't been well thought out. She had intended to use the profits to secure Felix's protection, so she had agreed to pay taxes on the harvest. However, she hadn't considered the possibility that Felix might greedily take all the produce, leaving her with nothing.
Fortunately, her luck had held, and she hadn't encountered such a greedy person.
These thoughts swirled in her mind as she pondered the current issue.
"Father Matthew is right. In a few days, the guests will arrive, and they'll undoubtedly wander the garden. It wouldn't be good if they saw the crops."
While most nobles didn't engage in farming, any noble who wasn't completely incompetent would know the yield of crops grown on their land.
For example, Wei Wei had planted a field of wheat. The wheat had already passed the stages of sprouting, flowering, and pollination. In the next ten days, grains would gradually form on the ears, making it easy to notice how different these wheat plants were.
After all, the difference between an ear of wheat with a dozen grains and one with thirty or forty grains was obvious at a glance.
Felix thought Wei Wei was referring to the corn and didn't realize she was thinking of other crops. "I'll have the cornfield fenced off."
Building a wall now would take too long, but a tall wooden fence would suffice.
Additionally, the rooms near the cornfield would need to be locked, and Butler Barton would have to ensure no guests were assigned to those rooms, preventing any accidents.
Felix considered that fencing off just a small area would be too conspicuous, so he decided to enclose all the land Wei Wei had been cultivating.
Wei Wei had initially chosen a secluded spot for her crops. When she expanded, she did so adjacent to the cornfield. Originally, the area next to the cornfield was a large plot of flowers and plants tended by the gardener. Though the seeds were small, the plants that sprouted covered a vast area, with some fast-growing species already blooming, creating a colorful display.
Moreover, as the temperature rose in April, Wei Wei planted the remaining seeds. While slow-growing trees were less noticeable, the fast-growing vegetables and grains occupied a significant amount of space. If not for the fact that most of the seedlings had been transplanted to the newly opened vegetable garden behind the castle, nearly a fifth of the garden would have been taken over by Wei Wei's crops.
Even so, the current scale was substantial.
"Wouldn't just a wooden fence be too obvious? We could plant some vines around it to create a living wall, blending it with the garden's overall style. There are plenty of vines in the forest, so decorating it wouldn't take much time."
"That works. Let's do it your way."
The next day, Felix issued the orders. Some of the serfs were sent to the forest to cut down trees and gather vines, which were then brought to the castle garden to construct the fence.
Shortly after the fence was completed, concealing the entire plot, Sardinson County welcomed its first guest.
The earliest arrival was the Hunt family, the barons whose territory was closest to Sardinson Castle.
The baron, a man in his forties with an ordinary appearance and a slightly plump build, had a smile that made him look more like a merchant. His wife, on the other hand, was rather stern.
Along with their gifts and luggage, they brought their two children.
"That baroness seems eager to become the earl's mother-in-law," Penny said as she combed Wei Wei's now longer black hair, sharing gossip she had heard from other maids. "In my opinion, the baron's daughter isn't particularly pretty and seems a bit dull. I don't know where her confidence comes from."
Wei Wei's current status was still that of a guest at the castle, so she didn't need to receive the visitors. Due to the difference in rank, Felix only met briefly with the Hunt family when he had free time. Since they arrived in the evening after dinner, after a brief exchange, they were handed over to Butler Barton to be shown to their rooms.
Thus, Wei Wei only learned about the guests' arrival the next morning.
Amused, she looked at her maid through the blurry mirror. "Have you seen her? What does she look like?"
"The maid assigned to serve Miss Hunt told me. The baroness has a bigger air about her than the earl himself. She spent the whole night complaining about this and that, even her husband couldn't stand her."
News traveled quickly among the castle servants, as they all lived in the same area. Whatever happened during the day became gossip during their evening breaks.
Of course, matters the master ordered to be kept secret were never discussed. For instance, after Wei Wei's slip-up, the servants who knew about the corn yield had been commanded to keep their mouths shut. No matter how excited they were, no one dared to talk about it.
After finishing her morning routine, Wei Wei went downstairs for breakfast.
The dining table was twice as crowded as usual, with the extra seats occupied by the Hunt family.
When Wei Wei arrived, the baroness was trying to persuade Felix to invite her daughter for a walk. The fifteen-year-old Miss Hunt, clearly smitten with Felix, was blushing and stealing glances at him, hoping he would comply with her mother's wishes.
The mother and daughter were seated next to Dolores, who was feeling quite nervous. Though part of her anxiety stemmed from the baroness's loud voice, which reminded her of Mrs. Bates, the main source of her discomfort was the gaze coming from across the table.
On Felix's right, Father Matthew still occupied the first seat, and to his right sat Baron Hunt and his son.
The gaze unsettling Dolores came from young Hunt.
The seventeen-year-old had inherited his mother's good looks and his father's shrewdness. While his family was scheming to win over Felix, he had set his sights on Dolores. Before arriving, he had heard about the earl's timid but beautiful daughter. Marrying her would forge a connection with the earl's family, greatly benefiting their future.
Thus, even though they hadn't spoken yet, young Hunt was doing his best to convey his admiration.
Baron Hunt, naturally, was pleased with this development and had been cheerfully playing along with his wife, much to Felix's annoyance.
If not for his chivalrous nature preventing him from losing his temper with women, Felix would have slammed the table and walked out.
"Am I late?"
Wei Wei appeared at this moment.
The room fell silent as everyone turned to look at the dining room entrance.
The black-haired, black-eyed young woman stunned the Hunt family, who were seeing her for the first time, leaving them momentarily speechless.
"Of course not, you're right on time," Felix said, his polite smile finally gaining a touch of genuine warmth. He stood up and personally pulled out a chair for Wei Wei, inviting her to sit.
The empty seat that had caught the Hunts' attention now had an occupant.
Realizing what Felix's gesture implied, Miss Hunt's face paled, and the baroness was struck dumb, like a duck whose neck had been wrung.
Only Baron Hunt managed to ask, "My lord, could you introduce us to this lovely lady?"
"Of course, this is Wei Wei, a noble from the distant East. Her country, which I'm sure you've heard of, is the most powerful nation on the Eastern continent—Seres (the Land of Silk)." For once, Felix pronounced Wei Wei's name correctly.
At this time, porcelain had not yet reached Europe, so the continent's impression of China was shaped by its exquisite silk, leading to the name "Seres."
So, not only was she a foreigner, but she had come from such a distant land?
The baroness's gaze toward Wei Wei carried a hint of disdain, and her words became less pleasant.
"Only a name? Do nobles in Seres not have surnames?"
Perhaps she wasn't a noble at all. What noblewoman would travel alone across the seas to such a distant place? Even if her status was genuine, given her current solitary state, she might have ended up on the streets—or worse—if not for the earl's kindness.
As for why they assumed she was alone, it was because if a large group of foreigners had arrived in Sardinson County, they would have heard about it.
With this in mind, the baroness grew even more contemptuous, and her daughter's complexion improved slightly. While she might not match Wei Wei's beauty, status and dowry were what a wise man should prioritize when choosing a wife.
"No, 'Wei' is the surname, and 'Wei Wei' is the given name. In my country, names typically consist of two to four syllables," Wei Wei explained with a friendly smile. "Our naming conventions are different from yours. We have tens of thousands of surnames, and when combined with given names, many people can have unique names that aren't shared by too many others."
In reality, the number of surnames was still growing, but that was a matter for the future. In this era, Chinese surnames were relatively fewer, but that didn't stop her from using this fact to impress.
While many shared the same surname, given names were often repeated as well, leaving the others present: ...
Felix coughed. "You never mentioned this before."
"It's just a trivial matter. After all, my country has a population of about 120 million (Northern Song Dynasty population; the Southern Song Dynasty had only 80 million), so having many surnames is normal."
At this time, the entire population of Europe was less than 100 million.
Thinking about their own country with only eight million people: ...
This probably wasn't a good topic, at least the baron's family didn't comment further on Wei Wei's identity afterward. As for what they thought privately, it remains unknown.
When the food was served, even fewer words were exchanged.
To entertain the guests, the meal consisted of mainstream dishes of the time, but the flavors were distinctly different from before. The food, meticulously prepared by Chef Bob, even satisfied Wei Wei, let alone the baron's family who had never tasted such cuisine. They praised the castle chef's culinary skills while speeding up their eating. The silver forks, demonstrated by Felix, were also readily accepted.
After all, eating in this manner appeared more elegant and dignified. The baron's family assumed this was a dining style Felix brought back from the capital and considered adopting it themselves to keep up with the trend.
After the meal, the baroness once again expressed her hope that Felix would show them around the castle.
Felix, of course, declined.
"I'm sorry, I have some urgent documents to finish today. If you wish to tour the castle, I can have the butler escort you," Felix said, nodding to Butler Barton, who stepped forward promptly and bowed to the guests.
"Then, could Miss Dolores show us around?" young Hunter suddenly spoke up. "Miss Dolores is about the same age as my sister Jenny. I think they would get along well?"
Before Felix could respond, Wei Wei, already annoyed by young Hunter's gaze, coolly interjected, "I'm sorry, Dolores has a class soon and probably won't have time to show you around."
Dolores, who had been anxious that her brother might agree, immediately brightened up at these words. "Yes, today's class is about to start. I need to attend."
Baroness: "Then, perhaps Miss Wei Wei has some time to join us?"
She wanted to seize the opportunity to learn more about this foreign girl.
Wei Wei smiled gently at her, and just as the baroness thought she would agree, she said, "I am Dolores's tutor."