Chapter Seventy [V] She hid in Xue Yi's arms...

At first, Xue Yi lived alone in this house; there were only a steward and servants in the household.

After that, after taking Aunt Liu to live with them, they went to the brokerage firm and bought a maid to serve Aunt Liu.

Now that he has figured out his identity, Aunt Liu will never be coming back, but the two maids he bought for her will naturally remain in the mansion.

The servants in the manor were also perceptive. Seeing that the old lady from before was gone, and now so many people had come, and that the master was calling the old lady in front of him "Mother," they knew that they had probably mistaken her for someone else before, and that this was the real Mother.

Although the two maids used to serve Aunt Liu, they only recognized Xue Yi as their master. So now that their master had changed mothers, they naturally followed suit and recognized the person in front of them as the old lady.

Aunt Xue was arranged to live in the courtyard where Aunt Liu used to live. There was no need to tidy up much; she could move in directly.

Xue Yi originally wanted to move his mother to a different place, but this place was good; he had specially prepared it for her beforehand.

Therefore, Xue Yi did not take it upon himself to arrange another place. Instead, he waited until his mother arrived, took her to see the place first, and then asked, "If Mother feels uncomfortable living here, I will prepare another place for you."

"Why would I be bothered?" Aunt Xue thought this place was wonderful. The courtyard was small and exquisite, with plenty of shade from trees and bamboo. In the summer, the wind was blowing, making it very cool. "Don't bother with anything else, this is perfect. I love it."

Seeing that his mother didn't seem to mind, Xue Yi said, "Then Mother, you can stay here for now. If you feel anything is not right, just tell your son."

"Everything here is good, how could it not be good?" Aunt Xue was very content with her life now. The only regret was that her second son's branch of the family had not yet produced any offspring. So she said, "I can take good care of myself, you don't need to worry about me. You all go about your own business." Xu Ge'er was grown up, so she didn't care anymore. She just held Yue'er in her arms and said, "Yue'er is used to sleeping with me, so she will continue to live with me from now on."

Xue Yi nodded: "There is another small courtyard, which is just right for Xu Ge'er to live in." Xue Yi thought that he still had to go to the brokerage to find a page for his nephew to accompany him in his studies and take care of his daily life.

Thinking of going to the brokerage again to buy someone, he thought of Li again.

Since we've considered my nephew, we also have to consider her.

So Xue Yi looked at Li Yan beside him and asked, "I'm going to the brokerage again tomorrow. Do you want to come along and choose a maid?"

As a modern woman who has lived in the new century for more than 20 years, I believe that outdated practices such as buying maids and servants should be discarded.

But now that we've reached this era, we should adapt to local customs. And undeniably, unless one is destined to remain stagnant for life, once one's career and family fortune grow, one will inevitably need to hire maids and servants.

Since you'll have to buy it sooner or later, it's better to buy it sooner rather than later.

Li Yan wanted to buy people and train them to become her confidants. If she was going to train them, she might as well do it sooner rather than later.

So, after only a moment's thought, Li Yan replied to Xue Yi, "Do you have time tomorrow?"

Xue Yi nodded: "Tomorrow is a day off."

Li Yan: "Then let's go take a look together tomorrow."

Xue Yi's dark eyes lingered on Li Yan for a moment before slowly looking away, and he replied in a deep voice, "Okay."

Seeing that the young couple were now discussing things amicably, Aunt Xue was overjoyed. She was secretly delighted, and with a smile on her face, she said, "Good, good, that's good. It's a sign of prosperity that you two discuss things together."

Aunt Xue urged them to leave alone: ​​"Yue'er and Xu'er, stay here. I have something to say. You two go back to your rooms."

Xue Yi and Li Yan were perfectly aware of Aunt Xue's thoughts, but neither of them said anything. Since she had asked them to leave, they tactfully took their leave as well.

Qingniang turned to follow, but Aunt Xue quickly stopped her, saying, "Qingniang, you stay too."

Aunt Xue reached out and pulled Qingniang, saying warmly, "You're not a maid, you don't need to follow Yanniang around all the time. Don't go today, stay here with me."

.

Aunt Xue kept everyone else behind, so Xue Yi and Li Yan had to leave alone.

Although it is the height of summer, the courtyard is full of vegetation, with bamboo groves several meters tall... much of the summer heat has dissipated, so it is not hot at all.

After leaving Aunt Xue's residence, "Liqing Garden," we went around a moon gate and went directly onto a corridor. After passing through the corridor and going around another moon gate, we turned a corner and walked a few steps to reach the residence that Xue Yi had arranged for Li Yan.

This place is larger and brighter than Liqingyuan, and there are more flowers and plants in the courtyard. When she arrived at the gate, Li Yan looked up and saw the three characters "Qiuxiangyuan" written on the gate plaque.

This place was previously uninhabited and had just been cleaned up. So the courtyard is very quiet right now, and there are no maids or servants serving inside.

Xue Yi looked around and thought that if he wanted servants, this courtyard would need an old woman and two maids.

This actually increased household expenses considerably.

The monthly salary of a fifth-rank commander was not much, but he had received a considerable amount of rewards when the emperor rewarded his merits. With those rewards, he could at least support his family.

Since Li was kept, even though neither of them had ever considered consummating their marriage or becoming a proper couple, Xue Yi treated her as his wife since they hadn't divorced. Therefore, he never imagined that the expenses for buying servants for her would be her own money.

But Li Yan didn't want to take advantage of the situation, so she made it clear from the start: "You have a day off tomorrow, do you have time to accompany me to the carriage shop?"

Xue Yi: "What are you going there for?" But realizing he might have been meddling, he added, "I have time. If you want to go, I'll go with you."

Li Yan said honestly, "I want to buy a carriage, but I don't know anything about horses, so I'd like to ask you to help me make an assessment." Thinking that since she was going to buy these things, she should know the approximate price so that she would have a general idea in advance. So, Li Yan asked, "According to the current market price in Jiangning Prefecture, how much silver would it cost to buy an ordinary carriage, a maid, and a servant?"

The expensive part of a carriage isn't the carriage itself, but the horse. A typical horse currently costs around forty or fifty taels of silver, but as for the maids and servants… well, that's hard to say.

"A carriage, including the horse and the carriage itself, will cost a total of fifty taels. As for the maids and servants... we'll have to choose them in person to find out."

Li Yan nodded upon hearing this: "That's alright."

Xue Yi didn't ask her what she wanted to do with the horse; she was in business, and having a carriage would definitely make it easier for her to travel.

However, he still reminded her, "I also have a carriage at my residence. You can use it anytime if you need it." This carriage was bought for the convenience of "mother" when she traveled. He just didn't expect that "mother" was not his real mother.

Fortunately, he has now found his biological mother, and the carriage can be put to use again.

Using his carriage would indeed save me some money, but it's not a long-term solution. It would be more convenient to have my own carriage.

Therefore, Li Yan declined his offer: "Thank you, but I still have to buy a car myself."

Therefore, Xue Yi did not try to persuade him any further.

That night, Li Yan slept in the main bedroom, while Xue Yi made do in the side room outside. Firstly, his mother was keeping an eye on things, and secondly, since Li Yan was new to the area and Qiu Xiang Courtyard was empty, he was worried that she might be scared living there alone.

Li Yan was genuinely a little scared, so when Xue Yi said he would sleep in the outer room that night, she readily agreed.

The next day, the couple went together from Qiuxiang Courtyard to Liqing Courtyard to pay their respects. When Madam Xue learned that the two of them had slept in Qiuxiang Courtyard the night before, she was overjoyed.

The maids at Liqing Courtyard had prepared breakfast early in the morning. After the couple ate breakfast together at Liqing Courtyard, they bid farewell to Madam Xue.

"Yan Niang and I need to go to the brokerage and carriage shop today to buy two more maids and servants. Also, Yan Niang wants to buy a carriage, so I'll go and help her look into it."

"Alright, alright, you're busy, don't worry about me." Old Madam Xue was overjoyed. "Now that you are the heads of the Xue family, you can make all the decisions about the family from now on. I'll stay home and take care of my grandson and try not to cause you any trouble."

Before Xue Yi could speak, Li Shi beside him spoke first: "Mother, what are you saying? You are the one who should be in charge of this family. You are the backbone, and we will all listen to you."

Madam Xue immediately said, "If you really listen to me, you two should give me a grandson soon."

Upon hearing Madam Xue's words, neither Li Yan nor Xue Yi responded. Only then did the old lady belatedly realize that she had been too hasty.

Then he stopped urging her and just said cheerfully, "Go ahead, go early, the sun will be higher and it will get hotter later."

Xue Yi crossed his arms and said, "Then my son will go first."

Li Yan also said, "I'm leaving first too."

Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, Old Madam Xue felt a warm glow in her heart. She hadn't been this happy in a long time.

When Qingniang saw that her master had left, she immediately ran to follow him, but was caught by Old Madam Xue in time.

"Where are you going?" Old Madam Xue pulled her to sit beside her. "You'll be coming with me from now on."

Qingniang blinked: "Why? I don't sleep with my master anymore, so why can't I go out with him either?"

"I'm skilled, and I'm here to protect my master." Although Qingniang was young, she was well aware of her role in Li Yan's life. She had been hunting with her father since she was a child and was quite skilled. Her master was young and beautiful, and when they were out and about, they were bound to be bothered by hooligans and ruffians. That's when her role would come in handy.

Madam Xue chuckled and poked her forehead, saying, "Silly child, with my Erlang around, how could Yanniang suffer? My Erlang has carried a gun on the battlefield and earned military merits. How could his skills not be better than yours?"

Qingniang nodded repeatedly: "Then I will stay by your side when the general is here, and I will serve the master when the general is not at home."

"That's right." Madam Xue was enjoying the lively and harmonious family life at the moment. "Let's have a good chat together now."

.

Xue Yi first led Li Yan to the carriage and horse shop. When the owner of the shop heard that the two of them were there to buy horses, he immediately smiled and respectfully invited them to the place where the horses were kept.

Li Yan didn't understand any of this, so she just stood silently behind Xue Yi, watching him talk to the owner of the carriage shop about some insider knowledge.

"This black horse is called Black Whirlwind. It has excellent gait, is fast and durable. However, it has a fierce temperament and is difficult for ordinary people to tame. I think you are a martial artist, young master, so you should have the ability to subdue it." The carriage shop owner thought Xue Yi wanted to buy a horse, so he kept recommending this fierce one.

Before Xue Yi could explain, the black whirlwind seemed to be provoked and impatient. Suddenly, it raised its front hooves high, let out a long neigh, and then made a big effort to rush out of the stable.

Li Yan had never seen anything like this before. In fact, this was the first time she had ever seen a horse in both of her lives combined.

Startled by this sudden action, she instinctively hid in Xue Yi's arms.