Chapter 320: Chapter 300, Not Owing _1
“Grandmother, Mother, I’m back!”
Before seeing the person, their voice was heard.
Hearing this voice full of cheer and vibrancy, Wu Family’s old Madam Yan and Madam Li’s faces instantly revealed smiles as they both looked towards the doorway together.
Sun Family’s Mrs., Wu Family’s Mrs., and the three sisters Yan Yihuan also looked over.
The curtain parted, and Daohua, wearing a blue cloak, walked in with a beaming smile as Yan Wenxiu’s three brothers followed behind her.
Madam Li quickly stood up, “You all, how come you didn’t send a word before coming back?”
Daohua smiled and went forward, taking Madam Li’s arm, “Look at what Mother’s saying, do I and my brothers need to announce our arrival when we return to our own home?”
Madam Li tapped Daohua’s forehead, “Is that what Mother means? I mean to say, it would have been good to send someone to the pier to pick you up in advance.”
Daohua laughed, “Isn’t Big Brother here with us? Why bother the family to make an extra trip?”
Madam Li glanced at Daohua funnily and then pushed her towards the old Madam Yan, “Aren’t you going to greet your grandmother? The old lady has been talking about you these days.”
Letting go of Madam Li, Daohua approached the old Madam Yan, who was sitting on the step, gave her a formal bow, and then followed suit with Mrs. Sun and Mrs. Wu before sitting directly next to the old lady, “Grandmother, Daohua has missed you.”
Old Madam Yan’s mouth couldn’t help but curl upwards, “Miss me? I think you’ve gone wild with fun in the governor’s office!”
Daohua, wrapping her arm around the old lady’s, leaned on her shoulder and cooed, “Not at all. Every day I missed Grandmother. But what about you, Grandmother? Did you miss me?”
Old Madam Yan grunted, “The old woman has been busy, when would she have time to miss a girl like you?”
Hearing this, Daohua sighed, “Ah, I knew it. Grandmother is already getting tired of me.”
Old Madam Yan gave her naughty granddaughter a sideways glance and hit her lightly on the forehead, “Yes, I’m tired of you!”
Below them, the three Yan Yihuan sisters saw how their eldest sister had the grandmother smiling from ear to ear upon her return and couldn’t help but lower their gaze.
During the time their big sister was away, they had come to accompany the grandmother every day. Although the grandmother was pleasant with them, she wasn’t nearly as close to them as she was to their big sister.
At that time, the three brothers Yan Wenxiu stepped forward to pay their respects.
Old Madam Yan cheerfully asked them to sit down and began to inquire about their time in the governor’s office.
After some laughter, Mrs. Sun interjected, “You’ve come back at the right time; we were just discussing finding a match for Wenxiu.”
Daohua looked surprised, glancing at her visibly uncomfortable eldest brother, and then at Madam Li, “Mother, you’re arranging a marriage for Big Brother?”
Madam Li smiled, “It’s just an intention for now.” She said, looking proudly and contentedly at her eldest son, handsome as a jade tree.
Sending her eldest son to Beijing with his father had been the right decision. After going out to meet guests with the second master from the Zhou Family just once, he caught the eye of Earl Zhaode’s Han, Earl Zhaode Residence.
Old Madam Yan smiled at her eldest grandson, “In a blink, Wenxiu is already eighteen — it’s indeed time to discuss his marriage.”
Daohua quickly asked, “Whose daughter?”
Madam Li replied, “As I said, it’s just an idea so far, nothing’s settled yet.”
Daohua saw that Madam Li seemed reluctant to say more and didn’t press further, but her gaze fell on her eldest brother.
The younger siblings did the same, snickering as they looked at Yan Wenxiu.
Though Yan Wenxiu felt he had thick skin, seeing his brothers and sisters staring at him made him a bit uncomfortable, and he felt compelled to stand up and say, “Grandmother, Mother, Second Aunt, Third Aunt, I’m going to tidy up the courtyard.”
Seeing her son embarrassed, Madam Li kindly let him leave, and Yan Wenkai and Yan Wentao also followed him out.
Old Madam Yan looked toward Daohua, “Alright, you go tidy up your own courtyard as well. Come back later to talk.”
Subsequently, Madam Li took Daohua to the main courtyard.
…
The Governor’s Office’s back yard was more than twice as large as the Prefectural Governor’s Office’s back yard — it took a full fifteen minutes to walk from the old lady’s Songhe Courtyard to the main courtyard.
“How can this back yard be so large? Isn’t that excessive?” said Daohua, shocked.
Madam Li laughed, “It’s not excessive. Ningmen Prefecture covers a large area, and accordingly, the Governor’s Office is naturally a bit larger than others.”
Daohua nodded, “Then, Mother, where will I be staying?”
Ping Tong answered with a laugh, “Naturally, the eldest young miss will stay in the most exquisite courtyard in the back yard.”
The most magnificent main courtyard was where the Madam and the master lived; the most comfortable courtyard was granted to the old lady.
Since there were plenty of courtyards, each young master and miss had their own independent one. However, the eldest son and eldest young miss’s were a bit larger and in better locations.
The only ones sharing a courtyard in the house were the concubines from the Liu and Lin families.
Soon, the mother and daughter arrived at the main courtyard.
“What are these items?”
Looking at the items set out in the courtyard, Madam Li was somewhat surprised.
“Some are gifts prepared by your uncles and aunts, and some are moving gifts from Xiao Yeyang to our family,” Daohua explained.
Madam Li first looked at the gifts prepared by the Li Family, smiling as she asked Ping Tong to move them to the storeroom. Then, she began to look at Xiao Yeyang’s gifts.
Her expression changed immediately when she saw the dressing mirror and vanity inlaid with carved rosewood: “These are too valuable!”
“Mother, just rest assured and keep them,”
Yan Wenxiu and Yan Wenkai walked in with smiles.
Seeing her two sons, Madam Li’s expression brightened, “Is the courtyard tidy now?”
Yan Wenxiu laughed, “Mother has everything prepared. There wasn’t much for us to tidy up.”
Yan Wenkai followed, “Mother has worked hard.”
The smile on Madam Li’s face grew even brighter, “What hard work? It’s my pleasure to tidy the courtyard for you.” Saying this, her gaze returned to the dressing mirror and vanity.
Since her eldest son said to keep them without worry, she stopped fussing over it and immediately called for the maid: “Take this dressing mirror and vanity to the eldest girl’s courtyard.”
Daohua quickly intervened, “Mother, I already have a vanity. The mirror embedded on it is large enough. You keep the dressing mirror.”
Madam Li gave Daohua a glance, “Mother is fine with a bronze mirror, I don’t need a dressing mirror.”
Daohua shook her head, “The bronze mirror is not as clear as the dressing mirror. Mother needs to go out for visits, and occasionally receive ladies who call upon us, so you must be properly and neatly dressed.”
“Yes, Mother, this is a token of your daughter’s filial piety, please keep it,” Yan Wenxiu interjected timely.
Yan Wenkai nodded along, “Exactly, exactly, one each, it’s just perfect.”
Seeing that all three children said so, Madam Li agreed with a full smile, “Alright, I accept your kind intentions.”
“What’s this fabric? It’s so beautiful!”
Ping Xiao opened a box, which contained five bolts of fabric different from the other silks.
Madam Li gasped, “This is Kesi Silk!”
She recognized the fabric because the Emperor used it to make the awarded fans.
Madam Li picked up a bolt of lotus-colored lotus blossom Kesi silk, her face showing hesitation and difficulty, “These moving gifts from the Little Prince are just too valuable.” As she spoke, she looked toward her daughter.
“And that residence from last time, you said it was only three to four thousand silver, but when your father went to Beijing to inquire, it would cost at least twenty to thirty thousand to buy.”
Daohua’s eyes widened, “That expensive?!”
Yan Wenxiu took over, “The prices in Beijing are naturally higher than other places, and that residence is near the inner city, so the location is very good.”
Daohua was startled at first, then patted her chest, “That’s good, that’s good. I gave him the recipe for making colored glazed tiles. As long as he can find someone to make the glazed tiles, we won’t owe him anything.”
Owe?
Hearing this word, Yan Wenxiu looked up at his sister, noticing her worried about owing favors to the Little Prince. He instantly felt relieved.
The Little Prince was clearly a bit too attentive to his sister, and he really worried that some feelings might develop between them.
The Little Prince’s status was far too noble, and their family certainly couldn’t afford to climb so high.
Now, seeing that his sister did not harbor such feelings toward the Little Prince, he felt somewhat reassured.
“What’s this recipe for making colored glazed tiles?” Madam Li sharply caught the key point in her daughter’s words.
Yan Wenkai hurriedly replied, “It’s the recipe for making colored glazed tiles that our sister saw in a storybook.”
Madam Li looked skeptical, “That recipe couldn’t be fake, could it?”
Colored glazed wares sell for so much. Who would write the recipe in a storybook?
Daohua, of course, did not dare to be too confident and smiled vaguely, “Who cares if it’s real or fake? Let Xiao Yeyang try it out. If it really works, then he’s the one who benefits.”
Madam Li was somewhat speechless.
Yan Wenkai curled his lips, “Eldest sister, that’s not very fair of you. Before, when you talked about it so convincingly, I thought making colored glazes was indeed very easy. Turns out you were just putting off the Little Prince?”
Daohua immediately retorted, “I wasn’t putting him off. Everything in this world requires repeated trials.”
Yan Wenkai, “What if the Little Prince doesn’t succeed in the trials?”
Daohua fell silent for a moment, “Then…it’s because his craftsmen are no good. He’ll just have to keep trying.”
Madam Li, smiling, stopped the squabble between her two children and looked at the five bolts of Kesi silk in the box. Three of them were clearly for the use of young girls, while the colors of the other two were a bit deeper.
“Take this lotus color, sky blue, and tender green to the eldest girl’s courtyard, and take the golden brown to the old lady for making clothes. I’ll keep this sapphire blue one.”
After dividing the items, Madam Li led her three children into the house.