Chapter 74: We can't spoil her too much.

Aunt Tan opened the already opened letter with suspicion, took out the letter, unfolded it, and read it through.

After only one glance, he said, "So these two letters should be read together."

Judging from the letter in the old lady's hand, Qu Ming did not intend to support the new army. He only mentioned protecting the Qu family itself. However, when the two letters were put together, along with the fact that Qu Ming had become the county magistrate, one could understand what Qu Rong had said earlier.

Aunt Tan always looked pleased and spoke with pride about any decision Qu Ming made, saying, "He is indeed the young master, with his own ideas and thoughts."

Even if Qu Ming gives up his original identity, even if Qu Ming doesn't want this entire family business, as long as it's what Qu Ming wants and what he's willing to do, then Tan Xiang will support him.

Qu Rong lowered her eyes, leaned back in her chair, and listened quietly. Her gaze seemed to fall on her skirt, but then again, it seemed not.

Aunt Tan sighed softly, carefully put the letter away, placed it on the account book, and gently scolded, "Since you had this letter, why didn't you say so earlier? If you had brought it out earlier, you wouldn't have had to waste so much breath."

Because she wanted to try again.

Perhaps it was because they had dinner at the academy that evening, and the atmosphere between Ming and her daughter was too relaxed and casual. Even such a big matter was tolerated and accepted by Ming for Li Yue'er's sake, and she treated her kindly and indulged her. This profound maternal love gave her the illusion that she could persuade Aunt Tan on her own.

She thought, what if?

What if she is loved too?

Qu Rong smiled. "Now that you've read Qu Ming's letter, can I now make all the decisions, both inside and outside the household?"

"The old lady's opinion differs from... Qu Ming's, so whose opinion should I listen to?"

Without a second thought, Aunt Tan replied matter-of-factly, "Of course, I'll listen to the young master."

Compared to Qu Ming, who carries Zheng Qianxi's bloodline, what is the old lady who made things difficult for Zheng Qianxi? The owner of this house is Qu Ming, and he said he would hand over the Qu residence to Qu Rong for management, so let's do as he says.

Qu Rong placed her hands on the armrests of the armchair, looked up to the side, and asked childishly, "I am the current head of the Qu family, so Aunt Tan doesn't mind if I sit here, right?"

Aunt Tan frowned and glanced at her, gently reminding her, "It's only temporary. You can sit if you want until the young master takes back your power."

Qu Rong felt that in Aunt Tan's eyes, she was like a dog temporarily wearing human skin. Only when the person who gave her the skin allowed her to be a human could she be a human.

Qu Rong found it uninteresting and withdrew her hand, taking out a handkerchief to wipe her palms and between her fingers. She lowered her eyes and asked, "Is Aunt Tan staying at the Qu residence tonight? If there's nothing else, you should go back and rest early."

She sits here, no longer needing anyone's approval or permission.

Whether Aunt Tan agreed or not, it didn't affect her sitting in the main seat after entering the house.

"It's alright now." Aunt Tan had come all this way for the old lady's matter, and now that it was resolved, she gently stood up. Then, remembering something, she asked, "Did you eat longevity noodles for your birthday last year?"

Qu Rong paused in wiping her hands and replied softly, "I wasn't at the Qu residence last year; I went to the estate. The lady in charge of the estate doesn't know how to make noodles."

She waited quietly, waiting for Aunt Tan to ask again, "Did you eat noodles?"

Aunt Tan said, "Oh, I see."

Aunt Tan seemed to only want an answer; whether she ate or not was not important, and she didn't press further.

Qu Rong didn't get the words she wanted to hear, so she stopped talking and continued wiping her hands.

Aunt Tan was already at the door, just waiting to open it and leave, but now she stopped there, looking down and rummaging in her clothes. "I've been so busy, I forgot to give you a gift."

She naturally didn't bring any gifts with her, because she hadn't had time to prepare them in advance; all she could take out now was her purse.

She poured out a gold nugget and handed it to Qu Rong, saying, "Your birthday has passed, so let's just say it has. Today is the Lantern Festival, so I'm giving you a gift as a bonus, along with the one I gave you on New Year's Day."

Aunt Tan's voice was very gentle. Qu Rong heard her say, "Rong'er, please accept it. I will give you one every year."

Every year she would send her a New Year's gift, because after she turned five and became sensible, she only paid New Year's visits to her and only received one gift from her.

A piece of gold that has remained unchanged for eleven years, precious yet carelessly prepared.

Every year, she clutches the gold nuggets she receives, trying to feel the warmth of Aunt Tan's palm and the meager love from their cold surfaces.

Regardless of whether the gold nugget carried any symbolic meaning of a mother's love for her daughter, after clutching the nugget and repeatedly speculating, she concluded that:

I think so.

Now that Qu Rong thinks about it, the reason why Aunt Tan spoke so gently when she gave her the gold was probably because Aunt Tan's soft Wu dialect was just like that, and it was the same for everyone, not something unique to her.

Qu Rong's gaze fell on Aunt Tan's palm, and she softly declined, "No need this year."

Aunt Tan asked in confusion, "Hmm?"

Qu Rong said, "I received a gift on the first day of the Lunar New Year this year."

A gift that clearly expresses emotion and love.

The New Year's gift Li Yue'er gave her was specially placed in a large pink pouch. When she opened it and emptied it out, there were two copper coins.

Qu Rong knew that Li Yue'er was angry with her at that time because she had only given Li Yue'er one coin in the morning.

Li Yue'er insisted on comparing herself to her, saying that she was willing to give her two copper coins, which was more than double the amount of a penny.

Qu Rong laughed at her for being naive, but put away the copper coins along with her purse.

Although there were only two copper coins, the purse was hand-embroidered by Li Yue'er every night before going to bed. She finished embroidering it before New Year's Eve and it arrived in her hands on New Year's Day.

Li Yue'er smiled and said to her, "Only when your purse is empty can you put things in it. I wish you a full purse next year, Madam."

Qu Rong wanted to put Li Yue'er into her purse at that time.

Qu Rong snapped out of her thoughts, stopped wiping her hands with the handkerchief in her hand, looked up at Aunt Tan, and said softly, "Aunt Tan, someone has given me a gift. You don't need to prepare anything for me anymore."

Aunt Tan smiled, asked nothing, and withdrew her arm. "That's fine too."

She opened the door and went out, walking to Dansha's side. After thinking for a moment, she placed the gold nugget she was holding in her palm into Dansha's hand, saying, "From now on, you can keep it for her."

Aunt Tan only realized how cold it was late at night when she went out. As the maid handed her a cloak, she turned around to ask Dansha to bring Qu Rong a garment inside. But when she turned back, she saw Teng Huang running into the study, shaking out the cloak he had been holding to keep warm, and carefully draping it over Qu Rong's shoulders.

Dansha lowered her eyes. "What does Aunt Tan want to say?"

Aunt Tan shook her head and smiled, "It's nothing."

She left with her maids.

Aunt Tan's status in the Qu family was awkward and unique. When the master was alive, he had his whole heart on her, and even offered her the position of a secondary wife, but Aunt Tan herself refused.

Logically speaking, someone of her status should have been disliked by the mistress, but the original mistress, Zheng Qianxi, treated her better than the master did.

No one in the Qu family compound or the surrounding neighborhood calls Aunt Tan "Aunt Tan" because the original mistress forbade it, and only allowed people to respect her as Aunt Tan.

Dansha withdrew her gaze and the hand holding the gold, then stepped into the study.

In the study, the mistress sat quietly with her eyes lowered, only slowly raising her head when she heard her enter.

Qu Rong raised her face and turned her head, speaking gently to Teng Huang beside her, "It's late, go to sleep. Tomorrow you and Lin Mu will have to go to the academy."

Fujiwara looked at his mistress's pale and unsightly face with concern, and hesitated before walking back.

She looked at Dansha and gestured for Dansha to take good care of the mistress and not to look at the account books too late.

Once Teng Huang had walked far away and was roughly inside the house, Qu Rong gestured to Dan Sha, "Go get the carriage ready, let's go for a walk."

There was no need for a driver, because the mistress and she both knew how to drive.

One good thing about this dynasty is that although the city gates are closed, there is no curfew inside the city, and even at night, carriages and horses can travel on the roads.

Especially today, the Lantern Festival, the streets and alleys are full of lanterns of all colors, making it lively and bright.

Although it was already past midnight, the festive atmosphere on the streets had not completely dissipated. Dansha drove his carriage slowly, not in a hurry to hurry because he had no direction.

After passing the main street, the bustling atmosphere gradually turned quiet.

The lanterns on the side streets are not as bright as those on the main street; some of the candles inside have been extinguished by the wind.

On the street, there were lanterns with torn paper covers, which some child was carrying. They were carelessly thrown on the road and kicked and trampled by the crowd, leaving only a bamboo frame. Even the frame had several bamboo strips stretched out.

When it gets light tomorrow, the street sweepers will sweep it up along with other filth and throw it away.

The mistress sat on the carriage shaft, her hands gripping the carriage bed, bending slightly over. As the carriage passed by, she leaned to the side and reached out to pick up the lantern.

Dansha glanced sideways at her. The mistress lowered her eyes and pursed her lips, half of her face hidden in the silver-white fur collar of her cloak. Her slender, fair hands gripped the bamboo strip that had popped out, and with a slight force, her knuckles protruded before she pressed it back down to its original position.

Having something to do is better than having nothing to do.

Seeing that the mistress was willing to repair the lantern, Dansha silently breathed a sigh of relief.

This wasn't the first time she had gone out for a walk with her mistress.

This has happened several times in previous years.

If it was hot and early in the morning, the mistress would take her out for a horse ride. They would ride out of the city and run aimlessly until they were tired and it was dawn, at which point the emotions in their hearts would pass.

Only when it's cold and late at night will they hitch up a carriage and drive around.

It's usually fine, but the holidays and festivals are the hardest to get through.

Just like now, the festivities of the Lantern Festival have subsided, and everyone is carrying lanterns with smiles on their faces as they head home.

Such a large street suddenly became empty, as if apart from the litter scattered on the ground, they had nowhere else to go.

Dansha felt that she was different from the mistress. She and Teng Huang had been by the mistress's side since childhood. Wherever the mistress was, that was their home.

But for the mistress, she was the one who truly had nowhere to go, nowhere to return home.

"Shall I buy you a new one?" Dansha asked softly after a moment of silence, seeing that the lantern was still terribly ugly even after the mistress had finished repairing it.

Qu Rong glanced at her sideways, "What do I need this for?"

She picked up the lantern, which was still tattered after the repairs, squinted at it, and could vaguely make out that it was shaped like a rabbit.

She kept holding the lantern, pretending it was still lit, and said, "I'll show you the way."

Dan Sha looked at her.

Qu Rong only looked at the lanterns, saying, "Follow the direction of the lanterns."

Between the two of them, she always did whatever the mistress said, never asking questions or talking back, just quietly obeying and listening. This was also the reason why the mistress would bring her out.

Dan Sha drove the car, glancing at the lanterns out of the corner of his eye, following their direction, stopping and starting, until—

"This is……"

Academy.

It was the back gate of the academy, where they had only left not long ago.

The mistress lowered her hand, the lantern dangled at her feet, and the scraps of paper trembled slightly in the cold night wind, as if trying to break free of their frames and fly away.

Qu Rong leaned against the carriage, looking towards the backyard, and chuckled, "She's probably sleeping like a little pig."

Dan Sha said, "Maybe he's still awake."

Today, the Moon Maiden is staying with her mother and sister, which is a rare occasion, so she definitely won't be going to bed early.

The mistress, however, seemed not to hear, and then, as if in a huff, lightly scoffed, "If she insists on staying overnight, there's no underfloor heating in the academy; she'll probably freeze to death."

cinnabar,"……"

The cold wind blowing across my face in the middle of the night felt like a sharp blade slicing through it, as if it wanted to slice off half of my flesh.

Dan Sha thought to himself, "Who knows who will freeze to death first?"

Even if the Moon Maidens didn't have a heated floor and were lying in bed covered with blankets, they would still be warmer than the girls sitting in carriages outside the academy, exposed to the cold wind.

The fact that the mistress ignored her previous statement shows that the mistress had no intention of letting her go and knock on the door.

Perhaps having nowhere else to go, she thought of this place and followed along. Now that she's at the door, she doesn't seem inclined to go in; she probably wants to sit quietly for a while in the study next to Miss Yue'er's residence.

Seeing that the mistress was not going to leave, Dansha took out blankets from the soft couch in the carriage and gave one to each of them to wear.

Dansha covered the mistress with the blanket and sat down beside her.

The two of them wore cloaks and blankets, wrapped up like rice dumplings.

It's really silly to just sit there like that. Luckily no one saw it, otherwise Dansha would have felt his face burning.

The mistress belatedly realized what was happening and, as if trying to cover it up, began to talk to her about the accounts in a serious manner.

cinnabar,"……"

Both of them had a photographic memory; even without ledgers, they could accurately recall the accounts they had seen.

So they started reconciling the accounts, one after the other, filling in any gaps in their memories.

It was so cold at night, but the mistress stubbornly refused to go into the carriage or mention going back.

Dansha is alright; she's more tolerant than Ma, at least she can endure the cold without making a sound.

But horses are different. When a horse gets cold, it will stand still, stomp its hooves, and keep shaking its head and snorting, making noises to urge its owner to hurry up.

The commotion was too abrupt at night.

Qu Rong was silent for a moment, then handed the lantern to Dan Sha, saying, "I'll drive the carriage."

Dansha suppressed her excitement, "Shall we go back?"

The mistress ignored her and drove the carriage around the academy, just to let the horses exercise and prevent them from freezing to death outside.

cinnabar,"……"

As dawn broke and a sliver of morning light slowly rose from the horizon, the sound of the academy gates opening could be heard. Only then did Dansha drive his carriage away from the academy gates.

Dan Sha said, "It's already this late, why don't you wait a little longer and pick up Miss Yue'er to go back together?"

The mistress looked tired, but was in good spirits; her complexion was even better than the night before. "We can't spoil her too much."

cinnabar,"?"

Qu Rong had her own set of reasons. She felt that if Li Yue'er knew that she had waited for her outside the academy all night, she would be so smug that she would be drooling with pride when she got back, and would then act arrogantly and domineeringly every day, whining and begging to come back and stay every few days.

Qu Rong was very stubborn and urged Dan Sha to leave quickly so that Li Yue'er wouldn't see them.

What if Li Yue'er laughs at her about this?

Besides, Li Yue'er said she would go home to find her today.

So she waited at home.

Dansha didn't understand the mistress's thoughts, but she chose to obey.

But after being frozen all night, her brain was so foggy that she wasn't very sharp, and she forgot to tell her mistress something.

That means that since there was no snow last night, the tracks left by the carriages as they circled around the academy like a millstone after dawn today will be clearly visible to everyone.

————————

at night

Ming: What's making noise outside?

Cinnabar: ...The stubborn donkey [melted].

Mistress: ...