Chapter 393: Letter
Editor: Atlas Studios
“The armor is heavy and can’t be worn at all times.” Qi Haoran explained, “The leather armor has a certain protective effect and is light. What’s more useful than armor?”
Moreover, the leather armor that Mu Yangling made was very thin and soft. One only needed to wear an undergarment inside, and it was impossible to tell underneath their clothes. It was more of an element of surprise.
When Li Jinghua came in, she was facing Mu Yangling. Mu Yangling looked up and saw Li Jinghua. She hurriedly stood up with a smile and bowed. “This must be Sister-in-law?”
Qi Xiuyuan glanced at Mu Yangling with a faint smile, his eyes clearly saying, “Keep pretending.”
Li Jinghua didn’t have time to think and had already gone forward to help her up. She said with a smile, “Miss Mu, there’s no need to be so polite. Quickly sit down.”
Li Jinghua took a pair of silver bracelets from Wen Cui and handed them to her. She smiled and said, “This is a gift from me since it’s our first time meeting.”
Mu Yangling accepted it graciously and smiled. “Thank you, Sister-in-law.” She said in embarrassment, “I came in a hurry today and left the gift for you at home. I’ll send it to you later.”
“Alright, does your sister-in-law lack anything?” Qi Xiuyuan interrupted her. “Let’s go eat first.”
Mu Yangling picked up the prescription on the table and handed it to Qi Xiuyuan. “Big Brother Qi, the prescription is done.”
Qi Xiuyuan folded it carelessly and put it in his sleeve, before leading everyone to the dining room. On the way, he turned around and asked a servant girl, “Where’s Young Master Zijin?”
“Young Master Zijin went out early in the morning and didn’t say if he was coming back for dinner.”
Qi Xiuyuan frowned slightly, but Mu Yangling had already seen Fan Zijin walking over quickly. Qi Xiuyuan also saw him and waved. “Hurry up and wash up. We’ll wait for you.”
Fan Zijin could only hurriedly bow to Li Jinghua and turn around to return to his room. Fortunately, he was fast enough. Li Jinghua had just held Mu Yangling’s hand and finished asking about her family situation when he arrived.
Fan Zijin sat down on Qi Xiuyuan’s right and asked Mu Yangling, “Why are you here?”
At this point, Qi Xiuyuan smiled and took the initiative to say, “Zijin, I was about to tell you that a child in Ah Ling’s nursery has come up with a new printing method. Later, help her find a bookseller and sell that technique. Make sure Ah Ling doesn’t suffer a loss.”
“No problem. Tell me in detail later. I’ll help you find someone.” With Qi Xiuyuan’s suggestion, Fan Zijin agreed readily.
“No.” Mu Yangling refused immediately. “I want to keep it for myself.”
Li Jinghua looked at Mu Yangling in surprise. Fan Zijin said unhappily, “Then why did you still come to me?”
Qi Xiuyuan laughed out loud and said, “This child thinks that this is a wonderful thing that benefits the country and the people. She wants me to submit a memorial to the Emperor.” He mocked her.
Mu Yangling only pouted and did not refute.
Fan Zijin pursed his lips and said, “When you can develop other high-yielding grains like corn one day, that will be a great merit. Don’t think about anything else.”
“Do potatoes count?”
Fan Zijin looked at her in disdain. “Potatoes are vegetables, not grains.”
“Who said potatoes aren’t grains? It can also fill your stomach when you’re hungry.”
“I’ve only seen people eat corn porridge, but I’ve never seen anyone eat potato cubes. How long can potatoes keep one full? They’ll be hungry again in less than two hours. What kind of grains is this?”
“Alright.” Seeing that the dishes were all served, Qi Xiuyuan said, “Let’s eat first. You can argue after dinner.”
Li Jinghua, who had been sitting quietly at the table, looked up and smiled upon hearing Qi Xiuyuan’s words. She took the initiative to pick up some food for Mu Yangling, who smiled and thanked her.
As per tradition, Li Jinghua was supposed to visit her new in-laws on the second day of their marriage. However, the Qi family were in Lin’an Prefecture, and Qi Haoran was not at home. Fan Zijin only met Qi Xiuyuan briefly in the morning before leaving. Since between the sexes there should be a prudent reserve, Mu Yangling’s arrival obviously eased Li Jinghua’s awkwardness. When Qi Xiuyuan was talking to Fan Zijin, Li Jinghua pulled Mu Yangling aside to talk to her.
Wen Cui looked up at Mu Yangling again, confusion flashing across her eyes. She kept feeling that this Miss Mu looked familiar, as if she had seen her somewhere before.
“…So you don’t live in Jingzhao Prefecture. In that case, it will be difficult for me to visit your house in the future,” Li Jinghua said regretfully.
Beaming, Mu Yangling said, “I live in Hanzhong Prefecture most of the time. It’s not far. If Sister-in-law is bored, you can come look for me.”
Li Jinghua smiled shyly. After the cousins finished speaking, Fan Zijin turned around and said to Mu Yangling, “Haoran wrote you a few letters. I’ll get Yanmo to bring them to you later.”
Qi Xiuyuan raised his eyebrows and asked, “Why did Haoran write to Ah Ling through you?” He couldn’t help but sit up straight and ask, “Did he get into trouble again?”
Fan Zijin’s body stiffened, but he smiled without batting an eyelid. “Eldest Cousin, Haoran is already much more mature. He’s just too embarrassed to pass the letter to Ah Ling through you. He’s not in any trouble.”
He glanced at Mu Yangling, hoping that she would be smart enough to play along.
Mu Yangling lowered her head shyly and remained silent.
Qi Xiuyuan looked at the two of them suspiciously and couldn’t see any clues. He could only say, “It’s best if he doesn’t get into trouble. If he does, you’d better not hide it for him. Otherwise, a small disaster can also become a huge disaster.”
He thought of the trouble his younger brother had caused in the past. Although he was lucky enough to keep it hidden, who knew if he would be so lucky next time?
When Yanmo sent over two letters and a bag, Mu Yangling asked in surprise, “Why are there two letters?”
“The first letter was received three days ago. Our young master wanted to have it sent to you when he’s free, but then he received another letter a few days ago. This bag was sent along with it. Our young master thought that you would have to attend Eldest Young Master’s wedding banquet anyway, so he kept it for you. It’s just that everyone was busy yesterday and forgot about it.” After saying that, he stood there without moving.
Mu Yangling took the letter and looked at him suspiciously. “Alright, go back. Tell your young master that I received it.”
Yanmo smiled bitterly and hesitated to leave. Under Mu Yangling’s oppressive gaze, he said in a low voice, “Miss, my master is just worried that Young Master Haoran might have gotten into trouble outside again, so…”
Only then did Mu Yangling not chase him away. She quickly opened the letter and asked, “Didn’t Haoran write to your Young Master Zijin?”
With a secretive expression, Yanmo said, “He only wrote one letter to him. The second time, there was only your letter.”
No wonder Fan Zijin was so worried after only one day.
The first letter was very simple. It was nothing more than missing her and discussing Qi Xiuyuan’s marriage. Qi Haoran said that he had given his big brother a big gift and it would be treated as a gift from the two of them, to make things simpler on her side.
Mu Yangling scanned through it quickly before opening the second letter. Mu Yangling raised her eyebrows slightly under Yanmo’s pleading gaze.
The letter said that when he went to survey the terrain, he came to a valley. There was a patch of wild rice there that grew very well. He remembered that Mu Yangling had said that she wanted to find wild rice to crossbreed, so he brought people back to collect some seeds.
Mu Yangling shook the bag in her hand. This was only a little more than a catty of grain, but it was better than nothing.
Mu Yangling looked up and met Yanmo’s pleading gaze. “It’s nothing much. He just said that he found a patch of wild rice in a valley. He knew that I needed it, so he got someone to send it back.”