A large number of newly minted serfs, originally foreign refugees, had arrived in Slot—this marked the second major event that took place while Weiwei was not actively managing things.
But the events that followed were all directly related to her.
The first was the smooth success of this year's spring planting. The newly sown corn, potatoes, and sweet potatoes were growing well. The tomatoes, pumpkins, and other vegetables that had been promised to the people were reportedly sprouting with high success rates under the care of the commoners—most had germinated successfully. The varieties that still needed cultivation were being grown by the slaves on the villa grounds, just like last year. With the experience they'd gained, the slaves now completed the task without needing any instruction. So far, all the crops were thriving.
Then, not long after the spring planting, the piglets that had been promised last year finally arrived. Delivered by a piglet vendor, there were so many that Felix had them sent straight to the slaughterhouse, where most of the boar piglets were castrated by the butchers. After being raised at the slaughterhouse for a period and confirming they had recovered well, both the castrated boars and the sow piglets were distributed to the registered commoners.
Many people had signed up for piglets during the winter, so when the time came to collect them, long queues formed. Since the distribution point wasn't at the castle but at the slaughterhouse—where anyone could go—it also drew many onlookers. Thanks to last year's precedent, no one found the castration process unusual anymore. Some who hadn't qualified to receive free piglets but had some savings bought piglets themselves and paid the slaughterhouse to castrate the boars. According to the piglet vendor, nearby counties were also starting to popularize the practice of raising castrated pigs. This trend was driven not only by the excellent taste of the pigs raised in Sardinson last year but also by the vendor's aggressive promotion.
The piglets had already been with their new owners for about a month, and so far, most were being raised successfully. Even in cases of minor illnesses or issues, Weiwei had prepared a handbook detailing treatment methods, which had proven sufficient for people to handle these small problems themselves.
Incidentally, before this latest batch of piglets was delivered, the livestock farm had acquired a new group of piglets—crossbreeds between wild boars and domestic pigs. These hybrids had strong disease resistance, and like pure wild boars, were omnivorous and could eat almost anything. Compared to domestic pigs, they were easier to raise. After completing this breeding project, the farm seemed to have found a new goal and had begun working with pig vendors to obtain other exotic domestic breeds not found locally, in hopes of breeding even better strains.
Another noteworthy development was the relocation of wild rabbits to the hillside for free-range breeding. At first, the rabbits tried to escape. But the enclosure around the hill had been built high and with deep foundations—too high to jump, and too deep to dig through. Patrols circled the walls daily, filling in any holes they found. With no way to escape and discovering that they had food, water, and no predators in this environment, the rabbits gradually adapted and gave up trying to flee. The ones raised by humans from birth were especially tame—they didn't even run when people approached, remaining docile and well-behaved.
In just a few months, even the earliest rabbits born in the castle had now become parents themselves—multiple litters. Now, the entire hillside was teeming with rabbits. It wouldn't be long before they could start selling them commercially.
These were the major events in Sardinson over the past few months that were tied to Weiwei. Felix couldn't recall the other minor affairs and naturally didn't mention them to her.
However, there was still one important matter unrelated to Sardinson.
"Allen is about to take over Princia. I've already written to invite him to the child's naming ceremony. Unless something unexpected happens, he won't be returning to the capital afterward—he'll stay on in Princia."
This news caught Weiwei off guard. She blinked in surprise. "But I remember you saying he could only become the Count of Princia after he got married, right? Did we receive a wedding invitation?"
That seemed unlikely. If Allen were getting married, Felix would surely attend the ceremony. Could it be that Weiwei's upcoming childbirth had prevented him from going?
If so, would that affect their friendship?
"Don't overthink it. It's not what you imagine." Felix reached out to gently brush Weiwei's still-damp hair, despite the maid's efforts to dry it. "There's no wedding. Allen probably won't be considering marriage anytime soon. But yes, he's officially received his title. We can now refer to him as Count Princia."
"What happened?" Weiwei asked, confused.
At this, Felix looked as though he wasn't sure what expression to wear. "It's a bit of a scandal, honestly. I wasn't going to tell you, but—do you remember Allen's fiancée?"
Weiwei nodded. Of course, she remembered. They'd met a few times in the capital. She'd even attended Weiwei and Felix's wedding. Despite Allen and Felix being good friends, Weiwei hadn't interacted much with the woman—mostly because the fiancée didn't seem interested in making conversation. Aside from a few polite exchanges, they had barely spoken.
"Well," Felix hesitated, then said, "She ran off with someone else."
Oh?!!
Weiwei's expression turned from surprised to thoroughly gossip-hungry. "Ran off with who?"
"A bodyguard." Seeing how intrigued his wife was, Felix just told her directly. "You know, Allen doesn't have the best reputation among noblewomen in the capital."
That much was true. Now officially Allen Devonshire Princia, the handsome nobleman was widely known as a playboy. Though considered Felix's equal in looks, Allen had a notorious reputation. He deliberately dated socialites and young widows to avoid marriage pressure. While he never involved himself with unmarried noble girls, his reputation still suffered. People said he was untrustworthy and not marriage material.
Although noble marriages were more about family background than affection, young ladies still often dreamed of love. Allen's fiancée was one of those romantics. So, just when their engagement was about to be formalized, she ran away with a man she loved—her bodyguard. And it wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision either. The couple had planned it carefully, leaving their families completely unprepared. By the time anyone noticed, they had fled with a considerable amount of gold and silver, and no one had been able to find them since.
At first, her family tried to keep the incident under wraps, hoping to quietly recover her and proceed with the marriage. But after two weeks of fruitless searching, Allen's family finally caught wind of the situation. Furious, his father immediately broke off the engagement. After giving Allen a scolding, they decided to avoid gossip and public scrutiny by simply handing him the title, and letting him take over Princia. Now, Allen was officially the Count of Princia.
Since Allen had previously served in the military, he could choose to keep his position or retire upon inheriting the title. Given the current peace and his idle role in the army, he opted to resign. He was currently handling the transition and would soon leave the capital to take charge of his lands.
This made Felix's invitation to the naming ceremony much easier to accept.
"Will this incident have a big impact on Allen? Was he very angry?" Weiwei asked. Surely he'd be furious if his fiancée had run off, right?
"Not really," Felix said. "I only found out about this because he told me himself—he wrote me a letter."
Felix and Allen had been friends for many years, practically like brothers-in-arms. They knew each other's character well, and from Allen's letter, Felix could tell he wasn't angry or even sad. On the contrary, Allen wrote about it with a tone of relief, as if this scandal was the best thing that had happened to him. He even mentioned that now, at least for the next year or two, no one would dare try to pressure him into marriage again.
When Felix first heard what had happened, his immediate reaction had been to reaffirm his belief that agreeing to let Weiwei have female bodyguards was the right decision. Although he trusted his wife completely and knew she would never run off with another man, Allen's experience had still raised his sense of vigilance. From then on, he resolved never to assign any young, handsome male guards to her. Even if Weiwei wouldn't be tempted, what if those men developed inappropriate ideas?
Unacceptable. Female guards were the way to go—very, very good!
At this point, there was only one week left before the baby's naming ceremony. Fortunately, the guest list was small, so the preparations were simple. The real challenge was the upcoming full moon banquet—the grandest celebration of the year. Not only were the surrounding nobles invited, but even some nobles from the capital, who were originally only sent courtesy invitations, had replied saying they would attend. As a result, the guest list had doubled. Many of them were traveling a long way, so they'd need not only meals but also lodging.
The entire castle was now being cleaned from top to bottom. Even the floor where Felix and Weiwei lived wasn't spared. Because of the large number of guests, any unoccupied rooms near the main chambers, including the empty ones next to the lord and lady's master bedrooms, were being readied for high-ranking guests.
"So… does that mean the room I used to live in needs to be prepared too?" Weiwei asked, wondering if she had left anything in there when she moved out.
Well, everything should have been moved to the adjacent lady's bedroom, so it should be fine.
"No, that room will be kept just as it is," Felix replied firmly. That room had belonged to Weiwei—there was no way he would let anyone else stay there. It had since been locked. Maybe in the future, it could be turned into their child's room, but it would never be given to guests.
Weiwei had already been resting for three weeks after giving birth. Though she hadn't yet completed a full month, let alone the traditional 42-day postpartum period, she felt well enough to move around. So long as she didn't go outside or get chilled, she could begin to walk around the castle and resume light activities.
With her recovery underway, Weiwei began learning about the procedures for the naming ceremony and full moon banquet. Felix had told her before that the full moon banquet would be a grand affair, but she hadn't realized that, in addition to the castle's indoor banquet, he had also arranged open-air feasts—called flowing banquets—in both Sardinson and Slot counties. It was an extravagant gesture.
However, upon reviewing the menu for the outdoor banquets, Weiwei was relieved to find that while the dishes were plentiful, the ingredients were all common fare—vegetables, and local meats, all sourced within the territory. Preparing one table didn't cost much. Even after calculating the total for all the flowing banquets combined, the expense still didn't match the cost of a single formal noble banquet in the castle. After all, outdoor banquets required no décor, no silverware, no rare or expensive foods, and no candles since they were held at midday. Even the tables and chairs were rented from nearby inns and taverns. The only major expense was paying cooks and procuring food.
In short, feeding the common folk was vastly more economical than hosting the nobles.
Weiwei looked at the two expense reports for the full moon celebration and was struck by the enormous difference between them. You could multiply the flowing banquet costs several times and still not reach the total for the castle banquet.
Most of these things were already prepared—Weiwei was mainly reviewing the process. For the naming ceremony, all she needed to do was hold the baby while the priest performed the baptism with holy water. It was quite similar to the Chinese sanxi (three-day) or man yue (full-month) rites, though this one required a full bath rather than just washing the head.
The guest list for the naming ceremony was much smaller than for the full moon banquet—only about twenty people, mostly Felix's close friends and fellow knights.
"Isn't it a problem not inviting the other nobles?" Weiwei asked. In ancient China, both the sanxi and man yue celebrations were major events, and omitting guests could easily offend someone.
"It's fine," Felix said casually. For nobles, a baby's baptism wasn't all that important—mostly because it was a religious ceremony, and many nobles were somewhat indifferent toward the Church. Naming ceremonies were generally attended only by close friends and family. The Williams family had few living relatives—only the royal family and the family of Felix's deceased sister-in-law, Penna, could be considered close. The former, being the royal family, were unlikely to leave the capital easily. Although Felix had sent them a formal invitation, there had been no reply, so he assumed they wouldn't be coming.
As for Penna's family, they were distant relatives at best, and not particularly close. Though currently collaborating in the olive oil trade, they weren't on personal terms. Felix invited Penna's parents to the full moon banquet but not the naming ceremony. Europeans, after all, were used to being direct in social matters—such decisions were rarely taken as personal slights.
And honestly, even though it was a naming ceremony if most of the guests were knights, noble attendees might not be too eager to join in anyway.
Most of Felix's knight friends were based in the capital. He had once considered recruiting them to his territory, but it didn't work out—knights usually already had lords they served, and even with strong friendships, it wasn't easy to "poach" them unless their current situation was terrible. Unfortunately (or fortunately), Felix's friends were all doing quite well. As Felix's status as Earl of Williams grew, his friends also gained favor with their lords, making them even harder to lure away.
This group of friends was among the first guests to arrive in Sardinson. Many of them had arranged to travel together—and Allen was among them. As Felix's close friend, Allen had naturally joined their party.
Some of these knights had been to Sardinson before. They had visited when Felix took over the earldom, even attending his father and brother's funerals and the succession ceremony.
But this was their first time returning since Sardinson had begun its rapid development.
To save time, they traveled by sea and first landed at Princia—Allen's territory. Truth be told, though Allen had known he would eventually inherit the land, this was his first visit in years. His previous impression was of a modestly prosperous but unimpressive area.
Now, however, the city was rapidly becoming famous along the eastern Mediterranean coast. The once rundown port had been repaired and was undergoing expansion. The surrounding city bustled with crowds. Shops lined the streets—food, drink, lodging, shopping—everything was there. It felt like you could find every product the Mediterranean had to offer.
"Allen, I didn't think your territory would be this lively," one of the knights said, eyes wide as they disembarked. The others looked around in amazement and envy. They had always known Allen would inherit Princia, but none had expected such prosperity.
From the look of it, the place was livelier than even the capital's shopping district.
"I didn't know either," Allen admitted, stunned. He had never managed the territory himself—his mother's people had handled it. Even after receiving the title, he had only skimmed a few documents. Nothing compared to seeing it with his own eyes.
"Well, congratulations! You've inherited an incredible place, Count Princia."
A youthful voice chimed in. Allen snapped out of his daze and turned to reply, "You're too kind, Count Aldridge."
"Just call me Adonis," the boy said.
With dark hair and green eyes, Adonis still retained the delicate features of a youth, though he was already nearly as tall as Allen. It was clear that he would grow into a stunning young man in the future.
He was also a powerful noble—young, but already the head of the prestigious Aldridge family. His domain was a large and prosperous county with several major cities, rivaling even a duchy in scale. Located at a major transportation hub in Pradi, the Aldridge family had long been one of the empire's most influential noble houses.
Not long ago, Adonis's sister had been chosen as the future wife of Prince Andrew. Adonis himself had a trace of royal blood, though it was distant. This time, he was acting as the royal family's representative at the Williams family's naming ceremony. For safety and convenience, he had chosen to travel with Allen and the other knights.
Allen didn't know Adonis well. Though the Aldridge family was prominent, they had always kept a low profile and rarely mingled in capital society. In recent years, the previous Count Aldridge had been bedridden, and as the sole heir, Adonis had stayed home to care for him while gradually taking over family affairs. He rarely left his territory.
This trip marked Adonis's first time leaving since inheriting the title. He hadn't come just for the naming ceremony, though. Before his death, his father had agreed to the royal proposal. So Adonis, fulfilling his late father's wishes, escorted his sister to the capital to arrange the royal marriage. While there, he received an invitation from Sardinson. The king decided to send him as the royal representative. Adonis, who wanted to build ties with Felix, accepted gladly and joined Allen and the others on the trip.
Though they hadn't reached Sardinson yet, seeing the flourishing Princia raised everyone's expectations for what lay ahead.
They didn't linger in Princia. The local stewards could only watch helplessly as their new count made a brief stop at the harbor before heading straight toward Slot.
The journey from Slot to Sardinson would only take a few days. Along the way, the knights' impressions of both territories were completely transformed. Slot, once known as the fallen county of a disgraced noble whose lands had been reclaimed and left to rot, had now—under Felix's leadership—begun to thrive. The cities and ports were under construction, and though sparsely populated, signs of growth were everywhere.
"I never imagined Felix had such talent for development. What a waste it would've been if he'd stayed a knight," someone commented.
Allen laughed and replied, "I think a lot of the credit goes to him marrying the right woman."
But after he said that, the others fell silent. Everyone knew Allen's fiancée had just run off with someone else.
And suddenly… no one knew what to say next.