Chapter 34 "Another day, let's invite a few young masters from the Lu family..."

They brought back a person, and although he was entrusted to Chen for upbringing, he could not bypass Wu's care.

So when Meng Yuanxiao returned, the young couple took Niu Niu and went to the main courtyard of the Wu family.

Upon arriving at the main courtyard, Meng Yuanxiao, holding Niu Niu's hand, sweetly called out "Mother" as they entered.

Cui Xintang remained silent, his face expressionless. Niu Niu, led by Meng Yuanxiao, looked timidly at Madam Wu and called out in a childish voice, "Madam."

Wu's gaze lingered on Niu Niu for a moment. Her usually dignified and plain face revealed no emotion, and she simply nodded slightly before glancing at Granny Cao.

Granny Cao immediately stepped forward and, smiling, tied a jade pendant around Niu Niu's waist.

After fastening the jade pendant, Granny Cao said with a smile, "This was a gift from the First Madam, why don't you quickly thank her?"

Niu Niu held Meng Yuanxiao's hand tightly, glanced at Meng Yuanxiao first, and then timidly said, "Thank you, Madam."

Arriving in such an unfamiliar place, Niu Niu's little face was full of nervousness and timidity. However, Madam Wu did not make things difficult for her. She simply instructed Granny Cao to say that some snacks had been prepared in the side hall and to take her there to play.

Granny Cao and her entourage withdrew, leaving only three people in the hall. Madam Wu glanced at the two people below and asked, "What are you standing there for? Can't you sit down?"

Meng Yuanxiao ran to her mother-in-law's side with a smile, took Wu's arm, and started talking to her affectionately.

During the month they were away from the mansion, it became increasingly deserted. It was rare to hear people chattering and making noise, which Wu Shi found quite pleasant.

So she smiled and let Meng Yuanxiao hold her arm and keep talking.

Meng Yuanxiao's throat was dry from talking, so Madam Wu had someone bring him a cup of tea to soothe his throat and said with a faint smile, "Speak slowly, Mother is listening, no rush."

Meng Yuanxiao playfully stuck out her tongue, took the teacup from the nanny's hand, and drank it down in a few gulps.

"Mother still cares about me the most. Brother Tang, why don't you say something too? Was what I said just now right?"

Cui Xintang glanced at her, a slight smile playing on her lips. "Yes."

He acted as if nothing had happened, just sitting there with one long leg crossed, without saying a word.

Meng Yuanxiao rolled her eyes at him and ignored him.

The mother and son remained silent, creating an awkward silence. Meng Yuanxiao wanted to ease the tension between them, so when speaking to his mother-in-law, he deliberately mentioned Cui Xintang.

She spoke of how capable her brother Tang was when he was on official business in Yunping County, even though she knew nothing about it herself, yet she spoke with great conviction, almost exaggerating his abilities to the heavens.

Cui Xintang glanced at her a few times, but didn't stop her.

Although the mother-son relationship was cold, Wu was not indifferent when she heard people praising her son.

She agreed calmly, then glanced at her son.

As they were talking, the kitchen quickly brought over dinner.

When Meng Yuanxiao had almost finished eating, a maid came in to report that Niu Niu was shy and refused to eat, and was making a fuss about finding the young mistress.

Niu Niu is usually well-behaved and sensible, and rarely makes a fuss. Meng Yuanxiao blinked, thinking that she was not feeling well, so she told her mother-in-law and got up to go find Niu Niu.

The dining hall quieted down, with only the occasional crackling of the silver charcoal burning in the stove to the side.

During the years that Cui Zhen was away, the relationship between the mother and son improved considerably, at least on the surface.

However, when Cui Xintang got married, Cui Zhen suddenly returned, and the scars that had been buried in Wu's heart for many years were torn open again. Looking at Cui Xintang's face, which was six or seven parts similar to Cui Zhen's, she felt disgusted and the relationship between mother and son became strained again.

There was no one else in the dining hall at that moment, only awkwardness remained.

Madam Wu glanced at Cui Xintang and asked in a low voice, "Was that child Yuanyuan wanted to bring back?"

“No,” Cui Xintang said without even raising her head, as she poured herself a cup of tea. “It was my son who decided to bring it back.”

His words only made Madam Wu's expression grow colder. She sneered, "You brought this person back, are you deliberately trying to disgust your mother?"

A few years ago, Cui Zhen's wife gave birth to a son and a daughter for him. By all accounts, Cui Zhen's two children are only a little older than Niu Niu.

I heard that Cui Zhen dotes on his two children, especially his younger daughter, whom he cherishes dearly.

When Cui Xintang and Yuanyuan got married last time, Cui Zhen rushed over for a few days, carrying with him an ugly purse.

It is said that the pattern on that purse was his youngest daughter's doodle, and he asked someone to embroider it according to his daughter's doodle.

Thinking back on this trip back to Beijing, I was extremely reluctant to leave my two children, so I brought my purse with me as a keepsake.

Once his wedding was over, Cui Zhen couldn't stay any longer and immediately set off to return home.

That woman outside Cui Town was no pushover. When the twins turned one month old, she specially sent wedding cakes from afar, which made Wu Shi so angry that she fell seriously ill.

“Mother is overthinking it,” Cui Xintang said. “Niu Niu becoming an orphan is inextricably linked to your son. Your son can’t just abandon her and ignore her.”

"But why is the mother secretly contacting Yunping County so frequently? She knows her son is already married."

His expression turned slightly cold. "If Mother wants to help the Lin family, that's fine, but there should be a limit. Don't let it fall into Yuanyuan's ears."

"As for Yunping County, when I sent him there, everything was settled. What happens to him in the future is up to his own fate. Yunping County is not peaceful now, so for my sake, Mother, please do not contact Lin Yu again."

Madam Wu frowned slightly and gave him a brief, indifferent glance.

After exchanging those few words, the mother and son fell silent.

When Meng Yuanxiao returned, dinner had already been cleared away, and a few snacks were placed on the table.

Meng Yuanxiao sat down and immediately drank a cup of tea. "Brother Tang, it's fortunate that Sister Chen came, otherwise I wouldn't know how to coax Niu Niu."

Cui Xintang asked, "Have you coaxed him?"

“Hmm,” Meng Yuanxiao blinked her almond-shaped eyes with a hint of excitement, “Niu Niu and Sister Chen get along very well. Sister Chen coaxed Niu Niu a few times, and Niu Niu wasn’t afraid anymore. Sister Chen is feeding Niu Niu right now!”

Seeing her so happy, Cui Xintang also showed a faint smile.

Seeing this, Madam Wu suddenly said, "Since you like children, just have one yourself. There's no need to raise someone else's child."

Meng Yuanxiao: "..."

She poked Cui Xintang's hand under the table, and Cui Xintang grabbed her hand and squeezed it in his palm.

"No rush, we'll talk about it another day." He said casually, agreeing with Meng Yuanxiao's wishes.

“Mrs. Chen has no children yet. My son and Mrs. Chen have agreed that Niu Niu will be raised by Mrs. Chen. The Cui family will give Mrs. Chen three taels of silver every month. I have informed my mother of this matter first.”

He said "inform," and Wu's expression turned even colder, but she couldn't lash out in front of Meng Yuanxiao, so she just said, "Now that it's Steward Yuanyuan, she can decide on these small matters."

Meng Yuanxiao choked. She had wanted to continue being lazy; she should have spent more time with Niu Niu instead.

As she was thinking this, Madam Wu instructed her maid to bring a letter and hand it to Meng Yuanxiao.

The invitation was sent by the Meng family. Meng Yuanxiao's eyes lit up when she saw it. As soon as she opened it, Madam Wu asked, "Yuanyuan, do you miss your mother?"

"Yes, I do!" Meng Yuanxiao replied without hesitation.

Madam Wu said, "Since you want to, then stay in the capital city with peace of mind. Your mother will miss you if you stay away from home for too long."

After saying that, he glanced at Cui Xintang's face and said, "No matter how good it is outside, it can't compare to the capital. Even for Dalang, staying in the capital is the only proper way out."

Cui Xintang's expression turned cold.

He tightened his grip on Meng Yuanxiao's hand. Meng Yuanxiao gave him a strange look and handed him the invitation.

Madam Wu said, "The winter solstice is in two days. My mother-in-law knew you were coming back in the next few days, so she sent someone to deliver an invitation the other day, saying that the Meng family will be going to the estate around the winter solstice. Would Yuanyuan like to go with us?"

Meng Yuanxiao wanted to go, but she had just returned from her slack-off and was afraid that her mother-in-law would be unhappy if she went out again.

She looked at Madam Wu with pleading eyes, "Mother, may I go?"

Madam Wu smiled and said, "Go if you want. Your mother misses you. Go and have a good talk with her."

Meng Yuanxiao immediately beamed with joy, "Thank you, Mother!"

*

The Meng family's estate is located in the western suburbs of Shangjing City. There are hot springs in that area, and many powerful and wealthy families in Shangjing City have built estates there.

A few days earlier, Madam Feng had arrived at the estate and oversaw the careful preparation of its contents. The following day, Meng Yuanxiao and Cui Xintang bypassed the Meng residence and went directly to the estate.

As always, Madam Wu was very thoughtful and prepared a lot of things for them to take with them, including venison, saying that it was fresh venison that had just been bestowed upon them by the palace and was perfect for winter.

Besides these, there were also the things Meng Yuanxiao brought from Yunping County to the Meng family, as well as the treasures given by the women of Huai Shu Village.

These alone filled an entire carriage.

Meng Yuanxiao felt it was really unnecessary. Watching the servants carrying things into the carriage, she couldn't help but say, "Brother Tang, Mother and Brother have surely prepared all of this. Is it really necessary to bring it?"

Cui Xintang replied, "Since Mother has already prepared it, then bring it along, so as not to be impolite."

Meng Yuanxiao found it strange, "When did I need to be so particular about etiquette when I'm just going home?"

Cui Xintang glanced at her, said nothing, and helped her into the carriage.

The carriage slowly arrived at the western suburbs. Meng Yuanxiao lifted the curtain and looked out.

She brought many things to amuse herself, including storybooks. Cui Xintang was flipping through one of her storybooks when she suddenly said, "I remember, the Lu family also has a manor here?"

Meng Yuanxiao: "...What's wrong?"

Cui Xintang chuckled, "It's nothing. The Imperial Academy should be on holiday soon. I'll come over another day and invite a few young masters from the Lu family to have a barbecue and drinks together."

Meng Yuanxiao: "..."

When they arrived at the village, Meng Xu and Meng Zheng's carriage had already arrived.

Madam Feng and the Meng brothers, Meng Xu and Meng Zheng, were already waiting. Meng Yuanxiao had not seen his mother for a long time, so he got off the carriage and rushed into Madam Feng's arms, hugging her and acting coquettishly for a while.

Madam Feng also missed her dearly, so she pulled her into her arms and gently touched her all over through her clothes, saying with concern, "Why have you lost weight?"

Meng Yuanxiao stepped out of Madam Feng's arms, pinched her cheek, and her eyes brightened. "Have you really lost weight? I thought I was too fat and wanted to lose some weight!"

Madam Feng scolded her and asked, "You must have suffered a lot on this trip, right?"

After saying that, he gave Cui Xintang a cryptic look.

Cui Xintang: "..."

Meng Yuanxiao quickly shook her head, "It's not hard, Brother Tang has always taken care of me. Mother, the countryside is so much fun, I want to go again next time."

"Also, before I came back, the women in the village gave me a lot of things, they were so interesting, I brought them all with me, I'll show them to my mother and sisters-in-law later!"

Madam Feng raised her hand and tapped her forehead, amused, "Your brother Tang went on official business, not for fun. Don't go along and cause trouble again next time."

Despite being scolded by his mother, Meng Yuanxiao was not angry. He hugged Feng Shi and laughed and joked for a while, then took his sister-in-law's arm and chattered with her about the interesting things in Huai Shu Village.

After Cui Xintang and Meng Xu had spoken, the group went inside.

Although the government office was closed for seven days for the Winter Solstice, Cui Xintang had just returned from Yunping County. There was a lot of official business piled up in the office, and he also needed to report his trip to Yunping County to his superiors and go to the palace to give a detailed report to His Majesty and the Princess. He really couldn't spare the time.

So after meeting with Madam Feng and speaking with Meng Xu, he decided to return to the capital.

Previously, when she was in the capital, Meng Yuanxiao had her mother, brother and sister-in-law, and Mingyue by her side, so she was not very attached to Cui Xintang.

During her trip to Yunping County, she only had Cui Xintang by her side and relied on him for everything, so she became somewhat inseparable from him. Therefore, Meng Yuanxiao was very unwilling for him to go back.

But she didn't want to delay his business, so she clung to him and acted spoiled for a while. Only after he repeatedly promised to come and pick her up in a few days did she reluctantly let him go.

As the Cui family's carriage drove away, Meng Yuanxiao turned around and saw her second brother, Meng Zheng, leaning against the corridor with his arms crossed, looking at her with a half-smile.