When Lord Yongning read Xu Rao's letter, he was filled with shock, anger, joy, and fear. Although his children and grandchildren were all safe and sound, they had all suffered, especially his youngest grandson, who was born under such circumstances. This was the precious young master of the Marquis's mansion.

Because Chen Wufu was there, the Marquis of Yongning didn't say anything, but after seeing Chen Wufu off, the Marquis of Yongning's face was so dark it looked like it could be wrung out.

After hearing the maid's announcement, Granny Shen arrived and hurried to the door. Upon seeing the Marquis of Yongning's face, her heart skipped a beat. She quickly helped lift the curtain. After the Marquis of Yongning entered, he went straight to the Old Madam's resting area. The Old Madam was sitting on the daybed. Seeing the Marquis of Yongning's expression, she asked in surprise, "What's wrong? Why do you look so unwell?"

Marquis Yongning handed the letter to the old lady and then said to Granny Shen, "Granny, those outside were sent by Eunuch Chen. He said they were gifts from the Emperor. Please take a look and put them away."

Granny Shen agreed and quickly opened the boxes outside to take a look. They were all things suitable for the old lady, so she knew that the emperor had specially prepared them for her. Just as she put the boxes back, she heard the sound of a cup being smashed inside.

Granny Shen was stunned for a moment, then quickly ran over there, taking out a medicine bottle from her purse as she ran.

The old lady turned pale with anger and gasped for breath. Granny Shen quickly helped her sit down, took out some pills for her, and said, "Old lady, you must take care of your health."

The old lady took the medicine from Granny Shen's hand. Once her breathing had calmed down, she waved to Granny Shen, who quickly went out. Granny Shen also told the several maids who were serving in the outer room to go outside as well, while she personally guarded the door of the room, afraid that someone might be eavesdropping nearby.

Marquis Yongning poured a glass of honey water for the old lady and said, “Mother, I knew you would be angry. That’s why I thought for a long time about whether to come and tell you about this. But the Emperor’s reward has arrived. You will find out sooner or later. Please calm down first. Let’s discuss who to send to Hexi.”

The old lady said, "It's a pity that my old bones are useless. Otherwise, I would have gone there myself. The county town has been destroyed. Where is this family living? And Zhaoci, she just gave birth and suffered such pain. And my great-grandson, oh my, I'm so angry."

Marquis Yongning said, “Mother, we are all father and son of the Emperor, so we can only endure these things. Otherwise, who can we complain to? Besides, I think the Emperor doesn’t intend to make this public. Since he doesn’t intend to make it public, we can’t tell anyone either. Mother, let’s not worry about anything else for now. Let’s take care of our own family first. Rao’er has already done enough. What I’m thinking is, should we send a few more capable nannies to help take care of Rao’er’s family? And shouldn’t we find two wet nurses as well?”

The old lady said, "Don't rush to find these things. They've been able to live in Hexi for so many years, so they must have managed their lives very well. The Northern Di people burned down the county town, so they must be lacking in various things. We should quickly send people to Hexi to deliver supplies. Didn't the Emperor send Chen Wufu? Go find Chen Wufu and ask him to find a way to send supplies there. Our family has suffered such a great loss, and we can't complain. Surely we can use their people?"

Marquis Yongning said, "Mother, I will go prepare the things now and then go find Eunuch Chen."

The old lady nodded and said, "Prepare more fabric and medicinal herbs. These are for urgent use. Even if they want to buy them, it will probably be difficult. The New Year is coming soon. Which shops will still be open at this time? By the way, I heard from someone that the kitchen just bought a lot of dried goods. Get them all ready and send them to Hexi."

Marquis Yongning said, "Mother, we still need to entertain guests during the New Year."

The old lady said, "We're in the capital now, what can't we buy? We've sent it to Hexi, won't we just let them buy it again? I'll make up for the missing money, Granny Shen, Granny Shen." The old lady called out loudly.

Granny Shen hurried in from outside. The old lady said, "Go open my box, take out two thousand taels of silver notes and send them to the young master's wife. Tell her to go and buy more dried goods for the kitchen. I need the ones that have already been prepared."

Granny Shen agreed and hurried to the inner room to open the box. Marquis Yongning said anxiously, "Mother, what are you doing? You can't pay for this. I can do it myself."

The old lady waved her hand and said, "Listen to me, just take care of things outside now. You understand the Emperor's meaning, so we must not let a single word of it slip out. This is a matter of the royal family's reputation. If the rewards won by our ancestors are used by a few unworthy descendants to compete, people will laugh their heads off."

Marquis Yongning nodded quickly and said, "Then I'll go and make the arrangements right away."

After the Marquis of Yongning left, Granny Shen came out of the inner room with silver notes. The old lady sighed and said, "Take these to the young master's wife and tell her it was my idea. I urgently need the dried goods that the family has purchased. Pack them up and send them to the estate so that the young master's wife can take this money and buy more."

Granny Shen agreed and hurried off to the young master's courtyard.

After hearing what Granny Shen meant, the young master's wife accepted the silver notes and immediately sent someone to contact the owners of the dried and fresh goods shops. The New Year is a very important festival, and many families pre-order dried and fresh goods. It is rare to see a family like the Yongning Marquis's Mansion rushing to buy them at the very end of the year.

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