The window frames of the Lanyue Pavilion were covered with sunset light, casting a warm hue on the pearwood furniture in the room.
Xue Yuanchu took off his light military armor and changed into an indigo casual robe. As soon as he stepped into the inner room, he heard the baby babbling.
Little Chong'an was lying in the rocking chair, waving his little arms like lotus roots to reach the colorful sachet hanging above.
"Did I bother you today?" Xue Yuanchu leaned over and picked up his son, gently scratching the child's pink cheek with his fingertips.
When little Chong'an smelled the familiar scent of pine and ink on his father, he immediately grinned with his toothless mouth.
Jiang Shuxiu was checking the gift list at her desk. When she heard this, she looked up and a silver hairpin on her temples swayed slightly with her movements.
"Much better than yesterday. The nurse said he slept for two full hours at noon." She put down her brush and rubbed the back of her neck, "But you, you didn't come home until curfew for three days in a row..."
Before he finished speaking, hurried footsteps were suddenly heard outside.
The head maid, Rui'er, pulled aside the beaded curtain and said anxiously, "Young Madam, the Ding family's dowry delivery manager is waiting in the front hall. He said that the size of two screens doesn't match the gift list!"
Jiang Shuxiu stood up suddenly, the rings and bracelets on her waist jingling. "When I inspected it yesterday, it was clear..."
She suddenly paused, turned to look at the ignorant child in her husband's arms, suppressed her anxiety and whispered, "I'll go and take a look myself."
Xue Yuanchu held his son in one hand and held his wife's slightly cold fingertips with the other: "I will go with you."
Jiang Shuxiu felt warm in her heart, pursed her lips and nodded.
As I walked through the corridor, the scene in the mansion was very different from a few months ago.
Craftsmen were re-laying blue bricks in the west wing, and a dozen old women were carrying newly painted nanmu furniture back and forth.
Xue Yuanchu was protecting his son from the flying wood chips when he suddenly heard his wife's raised voice in front of him.
"This step-out bed with a peony pattern should definitely be placed in the east wing! Who told you to carry it to the west warm room?"
Jiang Shuxiu stood in front of the moon-shaped door, pointing at the booklet with her fingertips and saying sternly, "After my third brother gets married, he will live in the east wing. The twelve glazed screens that Miss Ding brought must be placed facing the south window. Otherwise, how will they reflect the morning light?"
She turned around and pointed at a group of maids carrying boxes and crates, "Put those dowries in the storeroom first..."
Xue Yuanchu stepped forward at the right moment and handed his babbling son over. "Look at you, there's no way this can be completed in one day."
The little kid grabbed his mother's clothes at the right time, and Jiang Shuxiu's fierceness suddenly turned into tenderness.
She took the child and patted him gently, her voice softening. "Place them all in the positions listed in the booklet. If they are wrong, they must be adjusted tonight."
After everyone had left, she whispered in her husband's ear, "Luckily, my second brother's wedding is in December. If it had been in October like my third brother's, I'd have wished I had three heads and six arms!"
Xue Yuanchu embraced his wife and walked towards the waterside pavilion, thinking of his second brother's marriage.
"Speaking of Zhongfu, he married Princess An Ning, so according to the rules, he should have a separate palace built for the princess. Tomorrow I happen to be going to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to deliver a military report, and I'll also inquire about the regulations while I'm there."
Jiang Shuxiu suddenly chuckled: "If outsiders heard this, they would think that I, the eldest sister-in-law, was trying to save trouble by kicking my second brother out to live with me."
Little Chong'an in her arms was infected by his mother's laughter and started giggling, revealing two cute dimples.
As dusk deepened, the couple had dinner in the flower hall.
Jiang Shuxiu fed her son rice porridge while listening to her husband tell interesting stories about the military camp.
The candlelight illuminated her gentle face. Xue Yuanchu suddenly reached out and tucked away a strand of her hair.
Early the next morning, Xue Yuanchu arrived at the Imperial Household Department.
A young eunuch in blue was already waiting beside the stone lions in front of the vermilion lacquered gate. Seeing his badge, he smiled and said, "General Xue, please follow me. The general manager is in the meeting room."
Passing through the triple-carved moon gate, the chief steward of the Imperial Household Department was holding an enamel hand warmer and looking at the account books.
Seeing Xue Yuanchu coming in, he actually stood up to greet him: "General Xue has returned victoriously, and I haven't even offered my congratulations yet."
He tapped the table three times with his fingers, and immediately a young eunuch presented him with this year's new tribute, Yunwu Tea.
"You're so polite, Eunuch Zhao." Xue Yuanchu took the teacup and sat down. "Today I'm here to bother you about my brother's wedding. Princess An Ning is getting married. I wonder how your family is going to prepare for it?"
Eunuch Zhao narrowed his eyes and smiled, "The Dowager Consort Shu has said that the princess has been spoiled since childhood and actually envies the bustle of the Marquis's residence. His Majesty has graciously permitted her to remain in the Marquis's residence after marriage. All she needs is a separate courtyard and a separate kitchenette."
Xue Yuanchu gently rubbed the tea lid with his fingertips.
This was unexpected - according to the custom of this dynasty, the man who married a princess should at least choose a new family.
He suddenly remembered the coquettish look on his wife's face last night when she said, "I wish I had three heads and six arms," and the corners of his lips unconsciously rose slightly.
Eunuch Zhao suddenly looked embarrassed and lowered his voice.
"However, Second Young Master Xue is currently only the head of the Ministry of Works, so the wedding ceremony is bound to be somewhat complicated... If he could have the blessing of the crown prince..."
The old eunuch stopped talking midway and began to sip from the teacup.
Xue Yuanchu's eyes darkened. Of course he could hear the hidden meaning. It was already a stretch for a fifth-rank official to marry a princess. Without a title, it would probably not even look good on the marriage invitation list.
In the Lanyue Pavilion of the Marquis' Mansion, Jiang Shuxiu was sketching the blueprint of the West Garden.
Seeing her husband return, she waved with a smile: "Look, tear down the screen wall between the two courtyards, and build a snow-viewing pavilion for the princess..."
Xue Yuanchu put his arms around his wife from behind, resting his chin lightly on the top of her head: "Thank you for your hard work. The eldest princess really wants to live in the mansion."
Jiang Shuxiu paused with his red brush, then smiled and said, "Then I'll have to plan carefully. I heard that Princess An Ning loves plum blossoms, so why not plant some in the courtyard?"
She suddenly turned around and touched her husband's eyebrows with her fingertips, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Xue Yuanchu grabbed her hand and kissed it gently, "I just feel that you take care of too much for this family."
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