Chapter 18 Yulang: She's Different From Others: "Grandpa, watch your step." "How was things at home during the day? Has Second Uncle returned yet…?"

"Sir, please watch your step."

"How was things at home during the day? Did your second uncle come back? Which families sent things over? What did your great-grandmother do today?"

Having climbed to the top by marrying the Crown Prince, this time it won't be something that can be solved with a few jars of wine.

Since I wasn't on duty today, I called up the men in the guard camp and had Chang Shun invite the battalion commander of the guard camp. We booked an entire courtyard at Bazhenlou Restaurant and treated everyone to a meal.

Firstly, he wanted to thank his superiors and subordinates for their care over the past few years; secondly, he wanted to introduce the two Blue Feather Captains he had promoted to Commander Duoqi.

Most of the guards in his class were from his own command, and the remaining half were either from the Plain Yellow Banner or were from the same banner. Whether the new guard captain was transferred from outside or promoted directly from one of the two Blue Feather Captains made a big difference.

After a drinking session, Duoqi didn't give Yulang a definite answer, only saying that no matter who came, he wouldn't let his men suffer any grievances. Yulang knew that someone must have already set their sights on his position as a military academy officer.

There's not much to say. Although I am a Zuo Ling of the Plain Yellow Banner, and although I have a fairly valuable Hesheli surname, and although others may think I've climbed the social ladder, there are still too many people in the capital who have powerful backers and influential connections.

Duoqi married a woman from a collateral branch of the same clan as Empress Xiaoyiren. After Empress Xiaoyiren passed away, the Emperor brought a cousin from the Tong family into the palace.

Xiao Tongjia lived in Jingren Palace. Although she had not yet been formally conferred a title, her allowance had already been distributed according to the rank of Consort. Sooner or later, Tongjia would become a Consort or even a Noble Consort. This was something even a blind person could see clearly.

Anyone with eyes can see that this is His Majesty's favor to Empress Xiaoyiren and the Tong family. Even with such a powerful in-law family as a backer, Duoqi still couldn't even get a position as a military officer.

"Today, the eldest madam asked the second madam for the account books of our east courtyard in the main courtyard."

Changlu and Changshun were both Yulang's personal attendants since childhood. Changshun would go out with him, while Changlu would watch over the east courtyard and Yulang's private treasury. He was always aware of everything that happened in the main and west courtyards. Even if Yulang hadn't asked, he would have reported everything that happened this afternoon in detail.

"The old lady hasn't made any move on this matter, so it's hard to say what her attitude is. Aunt Fu is quite happy. Before it was even time for dinner, she sent a maid to the kitchen to fetch a pot of warm wine and two dishes of snacks to go with it back to the back room."

"The second madam was furious. The vegetables sent to the west courtyard that night were barely touched. She even sent someone to look for the second master, but he was on duty and didn't come back."

“Hey, your great-grandmother is quite the troublemaker.” Upon hearing that Shumulu was so angry that she was on the verge of exploding, Yulang stopped and looked at Changlu. “What about Mother? Did she say anything bad about your great-grandmother?”

"No, when the eldest mistress came back, she went to the madam's courtyard first. I didn't hear what they talked about, but I know that in the afternoon, the madam instructed her maid, Narcissus, to go out and say that she would ask the embroiderers from Yun Jin Ge to come back tomorrow to make two sets of clothes for the eldest mistress to wear for the Mid-Autumn Festival."

Upon hearing that his mother was going to make clothes for Shen Wanqing, Yu Lang was completely relieved. He didn't even bother to go to Niohuru's courtyard and went straight back to the East Courtyard.

Originally, I wanted to hurry back and ask Shen Wanqing what she was thinking about today's events, but as soon as I reached the door, I bumped into Fu Xuan coming out of the East Courtyard.

"Auntie, why did you come at this hour?"

"Why are you so late? There's a curfew outside. Aren't you afraid the infantry and the Five Cities Garrison will arrest you?"

The aunt and niece started teasing each other as soon as they met, which the servants nearby were used to. Yulang even chuckled and pulled off his newly acquired Yuqing Palace waist token from his waist, hooking it on his finger to show Fuxuan.

“Auntie, now that I have this badge, how can I not treat people to a meal? If I come back early today, my brothers will be talking behind my back tomorrow, saying I’m not kind.”

"Nonsense, what brothers? Don't think I don't know they're all under your command. Do you think they won't listen to you?"

Saying this would be considered an admission of ignorance. Fu Xuan was not stupid, but she rarely left the house except to go out for banquets with Tong Jia Shi and her two sisters-in-law.

She knew that her nephew was a Zuo Ling (military officer) of the Plain Yellow Banner, and all the bannermen under him had to listen to him. If that was the case, then whatever he said could be counted, so why would she be afraid of offending anyone?

"Alright, alright, I can't explain this to you. It's so late, you should go home now. Otherwise, if the old lady finds out, it will be my fault again."

"Go away, I'm talking to your wife about serious business, don't worry about it. Look at you, you reek of alcohol. Go inside and change your clothes first, don't bother Jiyun with the smell, you hear me?"

? ? ?

Clearing clouds?

Yu Lang couldn't help but look up at the sky to make sure it was the moon, then looked down at Fu Xuan. He was certain this was his aunt, and even began to wonder if he had really drunk too much that night.

"Stop looking at me like that and hurry up and go inside."

Fu Xuan is twenty this year, and was the youngest child in the family back then. Yu Lang is eighteen years old (by Chinese reckoning) and was born at the beginning of the year, making him the oldest child in his generation. The two aunt and nephew are actually less than two years apart in age.

When Yulang was a little boy and had just learned to walk, he loved to cling to adults. Since his parents were busy, his aunt Fuxuan would take him to play.

As Yulang grew older, Fuxuan, the young lady, could no longer play as wildly as she did when she was little, and she had fewer opportunities to go out. So, every time Yulang went out, he would bring back some toys for her.

Despite their playful bickering, the two were very close. Fu Xuan knew what Yu Lang was thinking without him even having to say a word. There were some things she didn't want to discuss with him, so she simply pushed him towards the east courtyard. "Ask your wife what you want to know," she thought, "why are you always arguing with me?"

"You're back? Are you hungry? I'll have Ningxiang go to the kitchen and make some scallion oil noodles. Would you like some too?"

"Just scallion oil noodles."

"There are also ham flatbread, cold spinach salad, shredded tripe salad, and tofu and dried shrimp soup."

"I'm not eating anymore. I drank a lot of alcohol tonight and can't eat anything."

Upon entering, Yu Lang saw Shen Wanqing reclining on the daybed, reading a book from her dowry. The original owner of this body had a fondness for mounting and arranging things like seals and fans. What others might consider frivolous pursuits, Shen Wanqing saw as the perfect way to deceive others.

Playing with these things inevitably leads to reading a lot of unrelated books. And if you read too many unrelated books, you'll have an easy excuse to make if you accidentally say something you shouldn't have.

Shen Wanqing now felt like a professional patcher, not only patching things up but also taking precautions and giving people a heads-up. As soon as Yu Lang entered the room, Shen Wanqing deliberately used the opportunity of talking to place the cover of Mengxi Bitan on the kang table with the cover facing upwards, making sure he could see it.

"Why are you reading so late at night?" Yu Lang glanced at the book, then walked to the side, removed the lampshade, and used special candle wick trimmers to make the candle flame brighter. "The study uses white candles; I'll have Bi Yun bring them to you tomorrow."

"No need. The windows are all open at this time of day, so there's hardly any smell. I use it a lot for reading, so burning white candles wouldn't be worthwhile."

Only after becoming an ancient person did Shen Wanqing realize that living in this place was not easy at all. Not to mention the food, clothing, and daily necessities, even the candles used after nightfall were completely different from those she had used before.

Shen Wanqing still remembers that when she was little, the power would often go out at home in the summer. Shen Wanqing was happy when the power went out because she could take out all the spare candles in the house and light two in each room.

Those white candles were cheap, and they didn't have any strange smell when lit. When Shen Wanqing was little, she loved to poke at the candle flames with her hands in the dark room.

Alternatively, you could wait for the wax to fall off and press it with your hand. It would be a little hot, but bearable. The wax would form a film on your fingers, which you would then peel off piece by piece and collect. Then you would wait to be scolded by your mother, who would say that playing with fire would cause you to wet the bed at night.

That was the cheapest toy when I was a child, but now it has become a somewhat luxurious item.

Currently, common candles are made of butter, mutton tallow, tallow wood, beeswax, and white wax. Butter and mutton tallow candles produce a lot of smoke and are not very bright. Tallow wood candles are quite good, but they are more commonly found in the south.

In Beijing, the most commonly used candles among the Manchu people were yellow candles. High-ranking officials and lower-ranking concubines in the palace mostly used a mixture of white and yellow candles. Only those above them were given special tributes of incense candles and Western candles, which were much more expensive.

Shen Wanqing wouldn't deprive herself of anything, but she also didn't want to waste anything. Rather than lighting a white candle, she would rather add a few more candlesticks in the room and light yellow candles. This way, she could read without straining her eyes and Xueyan and Qiuwen could bring their embroidery work into the room to do.

Once you get back to your room, go to sleep peacefully. Don't try to embroider with such a tiny oil lamp. If you keep doing that, you'll be half-blind in less than ten years. That's no joke.

“Our eldest mistress is kind-hearted. It’s a blessing for Biyun and the others to have a master like you.”

"What blessings or not? If your eyesight fails, it will be difficult for you, as the master, to use them. It's just a candle; it's more worthwhile to have people who are still alive."

There were four candlesticks in the small room. Yu Lang trimmed the wicks of each one. When he heard Shen Wanqing say this, he was trimming the last one. His hand paused and his heart paused as well.

He had intended to say that it was just a servant, and if this one wasn't good enough, they could replace it; a newly trained servant would be the most cost-effective. But looking back at his wife's solemn expression, Yu Lang swallowed his words.

Shen Wanqing had already been paying attention to Yu Lang's reaction, and his words immediately made her realize that what she had said was inappropriate. However, she didn't intend to change it, nor could she.

"Let's not talk about that. Tomorrow I'll have Changshun go to the public finance office to get the candles. We don't need to save money on this. Let's talk about something else. I ran into my aunt at the door just now. What did she come here for?"

Yu Lang keenly sensed that his great-grandmother was different from ordinary people. However, he couldn't quite put his finger on what was different. Fortunately, he wasn't in a hurry; there was plenty of time, and he could slowly, gradually understand.

"Look at you, you've been asking all sorts of questions since you got back, you almost forgot the important thing. My aunt gave me a pair of bracelets, three-colored jadeite, the quality is really good." Yu Lang didn't continue, and Shen Wanqing also agreed and didn't bring it up again. Some things are better left unsaid than to be discussed.

Offering help for no reason was obviously because she wanted something from Shen Wanqing. "She said that the First-Class Duke's Mansion sent an invitation to the old lady for a chrysanthemum appreciation banquet during the Mid-Autumn Festival. She wanted me to go with her to help her find a suitable family. If there was one, she wanted to arrange her marriage as soon as possible."