Chapter 84: Annual Gift Offense
The warm bedroom made people very sleepy. Gu Youan perked up and watched him wash and change clothes. The two of them were lying on the floor, one of them was cleaning himself, and they occasionally said a few words.
When Zhou Qi changed into his pajamas and looked back, the person who had just whispered back to him was already asleep, leaning against a soft pillow. Her cheeks were rosy, her breathing was deep, and she was sleeping soundly.
Zhou Qi couldn't help the smile on his lips. He lay down beside her, gently put his arms around her shoulders and neck, pulled away the soft pillow, and held her in his arms.
The person in her arms seemed to be dreaming of some treasure that she wanted to hold tightly. She subconsciously hugged him back, tightening her arms, a smile on her face.
Gu Youan has always had a good sleep. When she woke up the next morning, there was no one beside her. She sat up and was about to call for help when she suddenly heard her mother's loud voice outside, happily talking to someone.
Gu Youan slowly sat up and remembered that Zhou Qi had come back last night.
The bedroom door was pushed open, and Madam Du said with a smile, "Get up quickly when you wake up. Prince Qi is waiting for you to have breakfast."
Xiaoyue brought in a few little maids with hot water to serve. Gu Youan asked as he put on his clothes, "When did you come, mother? Is it time for breakfast?"
"I had breakfast earlier. Your father had to be on duty. After breakfast, I left with your father. He took me to the palace before we went to the government office."
"Oh, if I had known that Prince Qi was back, I would not have come so early. I would have told you two to have a good rest for a day." Mrs. Du saw that her daughter's hair was combed, and she personally selected a jade hairpin for her to wear.
"Where's Xuan?"
"She didn't come. This girl said she was coming last night. This morning, when your father and I were getting up, we asked someone to call her, but she was feeling very hungry and couldn't get up. She said she would come over at noon."
Madam Du suddenly whispered, "Prince Qi has just returned. You and your wife must have a lot to talk about. I've sent someone back to tell her not to disturb you for now."
Gu Youan smiled and said, "If she wants to come, just ask her to come. Zhou Qi is already back, so why can't he talk when he wants to?"
Zhou Qi was standing outside the door. She saw his figure in the mirror. Their eyes met, and he seemed a little resentful.
Gu Youan smiled, adjusted his hairpin, helped Xiaoyue stand up, and touched his belly with one hand: "Mom, come eat with me later."
"I'm full. You and your wife can eat by yourselves. When I entered the house just now, I met the person delivering food in the backyard. I'll go to the small kitchen to take a look." After saying that, Mrs. Du left.
Zhou Qi, who had been standing outside the door, walked in, took her hand, and sighed, "Your Highness, please come in. It's time for breakfast."
Gu Youan followed him with a smile and asked him, "I asked you to eat a bowl of noodle soup before going to bed last night. Did you eat it?"
"I wanted to eat, but then I turned around and saw the princess sleeping so soundly. I was also very sleepy, so I decided to forget it. I wasn't too hungry anyway."
"Oh, then you must have woken up hungry this morning. Why didn't you eat earlier? Why wait for me?"
The couple went to the dining room. Zhou Qi helped her sit down and sent the maid out. He personally served her porridge and dishes, saying with a smile, "It's been a while since I've eaten with you. It doesn't matter if I wait for you for a while."
When you think about it, it's quite sad that they have been apart for most of the time since they got married.
"It was too late yesterday, so I didn't ask in detail. What's going on over there on the grassland?"
After serving her a good meal, Zhou Qi could finally take care of himself. He ate half his fill before slowly saying, "I won't go into details. You just need to know that the Northeast Army has completely controlled the vast grasslands west of Songjiang City. I won't need to worry about it for a few years. I'll leave everything to Dong Yizhong."
Next, in addition to focusing on his wife and children, he will keep an eye on the Yanzhou Army, hoping to support Lieutenant General Liu within the next year and smoothly take over the military power of the Yanzhou Army.
Gu Youan: "The Tartars on the northeastern grasslands have been driven westward, reducing the defensive pressure on the Yanzhou and Liaodong armies. Even if there are some disturbances during the transition of military power, it won't be a big deal."
Zhou Qi nodded. He had thought of this when he was planning to find an opportunity to fight the Tartars at his doorstep.
After drinking a spoonful of rice soup, Gu Youan said, "If we let the Yanzhou Army take control, the Liaodong Army's escape route will be largely blocked. The imperial court will have to send food and money to the Liaodong Army through under the noses of the Yanzhou Army."
The Yanzhou Army is crucial!
"Don't think about it. I'm here, just take care of yourself." He gave her another half bowl of porridge.
Gu Youan smiled and said, "You won't be traveling far next year?"
"I won't go out. I'll stay at home to take care of you and the child."
Gu Youan looked down at her stomach, then suddenly looked up at him: "It's moving."
He immediately sat down beside her, his hand covering her belly, and he immediately felt a gentle touch on his palm, as if being tickled, and an indescribable throbbing suddenly arose in his heart.
"Child..." He was so excited that he couldn't speak.
Gu Youan rarely showed a childish look, proud and complacent, hugged his arm and said, "Ours."
"Yeah, ours."
After touching the child for a long time, he reluctantly let go of his hand until the child stopped moving, sighing contentedly, "Our flesh and blood."
Seriously speaking, they both had precocious personalities. Maturity too early, entering the world of adult intrigue too early, naturally led to the loss of many of their softer sides.
When Zhou Qi said the words "our flesh and blood", Gu Youan felt the softest part of his heart from his expression and tone.
For no reason, I couldn't help but feel sorry for him, just like I felt sorry for myself when I was little.
"It's a pity that you weren't here in the fall, and it wasn't convenient for me to go up the mountain. I just asked Liu Zhong to take people to sweep the Queen Mother's grave. I thought to myself that the Queen Mother actually wanted to see us and the children more."
Queen Mother? Zhou Qi said gently, "Let's go after the spring of next year. By then, you'll be out of confinement, and we can take the child to visit her grave."
The winter in Songjiang City is so long, and it will be a long time before next spring.
Prince Qi has returned to Songjiang City. The front yard of Prince Qi's mansion is more lively than usual. People are lining up to see Prince Qi. However, even if they come early, they will definitely not see anyone today.
After enduring the cold wind on the grassland, Xu Zhi finally got home and slept on a warm kang. He slept until noon and after lunch, he walked lazily to the palace.
Xu Zhijin walked a few steps to the left of the palace and saw that the back office was full of people inside and outside. Inside the room were officials from various departments waiting to be summoned by the prince, and outside the room were servants running around delivering invitations and gifts.
Xu Zhi glanced into the room and made eye contact with Li Xian. Li Xian strode out. Xu Zhi put on a dandy face and said, "Hey, aren't you the head of the princess's guards? What are you doing queuing here?"
"I'm not here to queue. I just saw the steward who manages the princess's farm leave, so I went to ask Zhou Changshi what's going on."
"What's going on?"
"It's about collecting grain payments. In the fall, all the grain from the Princess's farm was sold to the government. This matter was handled by Master Xiaotian. Master Xiaotian has been transferred to Master Gu, so Steward Wang came to the palace to ask what should be done about this matter."
Xu Zhi touched his head and laughed, "New! Our princess also sells grain?"
"The princess traveled back and forth from the interior to buy slaves from the government to open up wasteland and cultivate the land. How could you not know this?"
"You know that's not what I meant."
Li Xian smiled and said, "Whatever you mean, the farm is the princess's dowry. Whether it's our palace or the government office, it's not right to ask the princess for food for free and ask her to pay for the dowry. Zhou Chen has been busy preparing the New Year gifts these days and is not very available. You can go and urge the payment later."
Xu Zhi took a step back exaggeratedly and looked at Li Xian: "What's the matter? You used to be the prince's guard. How long have you been with the princess? And you're already speaking in her favor?"
"Anyway, remember what I said and hurry up. I'm leaving now."
Li Xian didn't want to tell Xu Zhi that every time there was a festival, their guards would get another reward together with the princess's servants.
One portion goes to the palace, and the princess gives another portion as a special reward. Since they get double the benefits, they will naturally protect the princess's property more.
Xu Zhi went to the office inside and looked inside from the door. The desks in the room were piled with documents. Zhou Chen and several of his managers were so busy that they didn't even have time to drink water.
Zhou Chen looked up and saw Xu Zhi, and hurriedly stood up to call him. Xu Zhi changed his lazy look and slipped away quickly.
Xu Zhi strolled outside the main courtyard and saw Wei Saozi, Zheng Erjia, Xiaoyue, Xiaoju and other people who served the princess closely. He greeted them warmly and called them sisters.
Xiaoju asked with a smile: "Xu Zhi, you are being lazy? You didn't come this morning, you didn't come in the morning, but you had to wait until now to come."
Xu Zhi laughed heartily. "It's not that I'm lazy, it's that the prince understands that it's not easy for us. In order to return home as soon as possible, we braved the cold wind last night before entering the city. The prince said there was nothing for us to do, so he told us to go home and rest for a few days before returning to duty."
"I told you to rest for a few days, why did you come today?"
"I miss you guys."
Xiaoju put her hands on her hips and said, "Bah, look at you, you're such a smooth talker. If you have the time to talk nonsense here, you might as well show your face in front of the prince. This is also your credit."
Xu Zhi was surprised: "Our little sister Xiaoju also knows all this now? It's really amazing."
Xiaoyue stopped Xiaoju and said with a smile, "The prince and princess are still taking a nap, so the two of you should stop arguing."
Xu Zhi glanced at the angry Xiaoju, coughed lightly, and asked, "You are all here, why is Liu Zhong not here?"
"Go to the backyard to do some work, right? You know the New Year is coming soon, and there will be a lot of social interactions. Chief Zhou and his men are sorting out the gift list up front, and Eunuch Liu and his men are going to check the warehouse list first to make sure there are no omissions."
"Liu Zhong is really meticulous in his work."
"Of course, otherwise the princess wouldn't have asked him to go out and do something important."
Xu Zhi immediately caught on to the conversation and asked hurriedly, "What's the big deal? I've been away for a few months. What big thing is going on in the mansion that I don't know about?"
Xiaoju would not tell him. After all, Liu Zhong was the princess's confidant just like them. Liu Zhong was valued by the master, which was better than other people taking advantage of him.
Besides, since Liu Zhong is not here, even if she is not the one to serve as the chief steward in front of the princess, it should be Sister-in-law Wei or Xiaoyue, which is also good for her.
Xiaoju used to be simple and naive, but after watching and learning in the palace for more than a year, she has become a little shrewd now.
He just doesn't have much brains. If Xiaoyue hadn't stopped him, Xu Zhi would have been able to get the truth out of him with just a few more questions.
Xiaoyue smiled and said, "You are the prince's attendant. Even if the princess needs help, she wouldn't call you over. What are you asking?"
He couldn't go, but there were others who could go. Many people wanted to do things for their master and show themselves in front of him.
Xu Zhi wanted to ask more questions when Liu Zhong came back.
"Hey, Brother Liu, I heard you're going to be rich, but don't forget your brothers."
Liu Zhong glanced at him, ignoring his overtures of brotherly affection. He simply said, "How did you become so dark? I heard your family is going to tell someone about you. What young lady would like you with this look on your face?"
Fighting is a battle. Just being able to come back alive is the best you can do. Who cares if you get darker or thinner? He hadn't looked in the mirror since returning. Now Xu Zhi was busy touching his face and asked them, "Is it really darker?"
"black!"
"ugly!"
“Ugly!”
Everyone gave a heartfelt answer. Xu Zhi looked up at the sky in grief and indignation: "Forget it, if no one is interested in me, I won't get married. After all, the prince will not lack me for food."
Everyone laughed at once. Sister Wei smiled and advised him, "I see you're always running around outside, so it's not suitable for you to find a quiet young lady. There are many young ladies in the princess's guards. Why don't you ask someone to introduce you to someone with strong martial arts skills?"
Looking for a woman with strong martial arts skills? No, no, no, he still likes gentle and lively young ladies.
Xiaoju was talking to Xiaoyue when she felt someone looking at her. She turned around and glared at him: "What are you looking at?"
Xu Zhi smiled but said nothing.
Xu Zhi stayed in the main courtyard gatehouse for a while. The prince and princess got up inside. He went in to pay his respects to his master and left.
Xu Zhi first went to Zhou Chen, then went to the warehouse to ask. Before it got dark in the afternoon, someone went to Zhang Gui to talk about the grain money.
Zhang Gui knew that no matter who the government owed grain money to, it would never be the princess. He just went to the palace to ask about it out of boredom. He didn't expect that the money would be sent so quickly and they would apologize.
As Zhang Gui saw them off, he smiled and said, "It's not your fault. The invoice wasn't delivered to you, and you didn't know our grain payment hadn't been settled yet."
The clerk who came to deliver the money hurriedly said, "Thank you, Manager Zhang, for your understanding. Thank you very much."
After sending the people away, Zhang Gui returned to his room and said to his wife, "Back when we were in Luoyang, it wasn't so easy for us to do things for the master. We are all family, and there are people in the mansion who would make things difficult for us village heads."
The wife laughed and said, "How can that be the same? The princess holds great power. If those clever people below don't flatter you, they'd be ignorant. How could they try to trip us up?"
Yes, it's different. Following the right master, it can transform a person in just a few years.
After Zhang Gui's family was freed from slavery, Liu Zhong bought them a house on the back street of the palace to make things easier. Compared with their previous life, their lives were completely different.
Zhang Gui changed into his going-out clothes and said, "Before it gets dark, I'll go to the mansion again. The grain payment has arrived, and other matters should be settled early. Everyone in the manor is waiting for the New Year's bonus."
His wife put his hat on him and said, "Go ahead. I'll prepare dinner and wait for you when you come back."
Everyone in the mansion was happily waiting for the New Year. Gu Youan was also looking forward to it very much. After the New Year, in the first month of the lunar year, she would be able to get pregnant.
The day before the New Year, Gu Youan persuaded her mother to go back: "Dad and big brother are very busy and can't take care of the family. Big sister-in-law has to take care of Ningning and has no free time. You can't rely on Axuan, so the family still depends on you."
The Gu family is no longer the same as before. Whether it is the social interactions among families during the New Year or the New Year banquet, they are all big events and there must be a hostess to sort out the household chores.
Mrs. Du was worried: "Your belly is getting bigger and bigger. If I'm not here..."
"Don't worry, Zhou Qi has learned everything from you. He is very skilled at massaging my legs and shoulders. Are you worried about him being around?"
Her daughter's words were too blunt. Mrs. Du glanced at Prince Qi. Prince Qi looked relaxed, as if he didn't feel embarrassed, so Mrs. Du didn't care anymore.
Mrs. Du said, "I can go back. I'll come back after the New Year's banquet at home."
"Well, you can come back on the tenth. Uncle Zhang came to the mansion yesterday to check my pulse and said I won't give birth until the middle of the month."
Mrs. Du looked at her daughter's belly and said, "How can it be so accurate? It's better to prepare early than late. Giving birth is like stepping into the gates of hell. It's very difficult."
Her mother didn't need to tell her, Gu Youan valued his life very much and had already made almost all the preparations for himself.
For example, a separate production room was set up in the east wing of the main courtyard. It was cleaned thoroughly and fumigated and disinfected every two days. The quilts and cushions prepared were also fumigated repeatedly.
To be on the safe side, she also found the book left by her grandmother in advance, copied a book about the caesarean section process and gave it to Uncle Zhang. When asked, she said that she got it from somewhere else and asked Uncle Zhang to study it first.
I have made all the preparations I can. If I really encounter it, it will be my fate.
But she believed everything would be fine.
Gu Youan persuaded her mother to leave, and asked Liu Zhong to send the prepared New Year gifts to the Gu family, and then returned to their courtyard with Zhou Qi.
Back in the house, she wanted to sit down, but he pulled her away and said, "Doctor Zhang and mother-in-law both told you to move more. Why don't you walk for a while longer?"
"I'm tired."
"One more walk."
Gu Youan glared at him and was about to argue with him, but when he saw that his expression was not right, he asked tentatively, "Are you nervous because of what my mother said?"
Zhou Qi pulled her along and said, "Be good, walk around for a while and then take a rest."
Gu Youan had no choice but to follow him, but she still had to say, "Look at my belly. I haven't dared to eat much lately because I was afraid the baby would grow too big and it would be difficult to give birth. This morning, the female doctor felt my belly and said that the baby in my belly was just the right size."
“It’s always good to walk more.”
Gu Youan didn't argue with him. Well, just go.
The couple walked around the spacious room twice more. Gu Youan held her stomach and felt really tired, so he let her rest.
This rest means lying down, and it must be lying on your side, in his arms.
While lying in Zhou Qi's arms, Gu Youan thought back to her childhood. Not long after her mother passed away, her father remarried, and her grandmother sneered and scolded her father.
Grandma said: The child was not conceived by you, nor was it born by you, and you did not take the trouble to take care of the child after giving birth. If the person has bad morals and no sense of responsibility, even if the child is your own, it will be no different from a child picked up from outside, and you can throw the child away at will.
Finally, grandma concluded her speech: It’s bad enough for a woman to be blind and choose the wrong person, but if she is blind and also has the bad habit of feeling sorry for men, she deserves to be abandoned by her wife and children.
Grandma scolded her father, who was a sinister villain with no sense of responsibility and a conscience eaten by dogs, and her mother, who died early due to love.
Pinching Zhou Qi's fingers and playing with them, she thought that Zhou Qi took good care of her, worried about her and the children, and put in a lot of effort, which was actually also cultivating their relationship.
She had made up her mind that after the child was born, she, as the father, would have to take care of him. Being a father painlessly always required some sacrifice.
"Zhou Qi."
"Um?"
"You have to take care of the baby after it's born."
"There are wet nurses and servants to take care of her, how do you want me to take care of her?"
"From now on, whenever you are at home, you should take time to play with your children. When they grow up, you should teach them to read and write, and to ride horses and hunt."
Zhou Qi understood what she meant and laughed softly: "Don't worry, I'm not a person like my father."
Most children who grew up in the palace were sensitive and suspicious, because in the eyes of their father, no matter who gave birth to a child in the harem, he would treat them like a new cat or dog. If the child grew up, they would become a bargaining chip for their father to plot against the former court and the harem.
The father-son relationship is either fake or non-existent.
“Our children won’t grow up like me,” he promised.
"Um."
Gu Youan believed in his character and would definitely not break the promise he made.
She placed his hand on her belly: "We treat both sons and daughters the same."
"Both sons and daughters are born to me by you. They continue our bloodline. I will not treat them harshly."
Gu Youan was satisfied and turned to kiss him. He immediately smiled and refused to let her kiss him. He asked her, "What do you mean? My answer satisfied you, so what's the reward for me?"
"I just asked if you wanted to kiss me?"
Being scolded, he lowered his head and responded to her softly.
Be gentle, don't do anything rash, and just try it briefly.
The Little New Year has arrived, and the return gifts from Prince Qi's Mansion have been sent out to various places. Not to mention other places, almost every household living on the first street in the north of the city has received a return gift from the palace.
Mrs. Liu received the list of return gifts from Prince Qi's Mansion, which included several baskets of fresh vegetables and fruits that were rare in winter, a large variety of dried goods from the north and south, two boxes of silk, tea, and gold and silver ingots of various shapes and sizes, as well as a box of small items such as rabbit lanterns used to entertain children at the Lantern Festival in the first month of the lunar year.
Madam Liu was shocked: "The palace should return the gifts we gave double."
The housekeeper was also shocked when he saw the list. He said, "I went to the Zhang family next door to ask. I heard that the princess sympathized with us because we were far away from home and our master was not here, so she gave us such a generous return gift."
"Is it always like this?"
"I heard from the Zhang family's housekeeper that for a family like ours, the return gifts from the palace are more generous than those from other families."
The housekeeper pointed to the next door and whispered, "If we're talking about size, General Meng's family is fine, but the Yuan family's return gift is far inferior to ours."
The three daughters-in-law of the Liu family all sat in front of their mother-in-law. The eldest daughter-in-law of the Liu family smiled and said, "I went to another family's banquet and heard people say that the princess is very kind to those of us who work for the palace. Today I finally saw it."
Why the princess? Because everyone said that when Prince Qi's mansion didn't have a princess, the prince would ignore them during festivals.
Mrs. Liu was afraid that something had happened to her husband, and that the palace's kindness to their family was due to other reasons. After the housekeeper and daughter-in-law said so, Mrs. Liu finally felt relieved.
Mrs. Liu looked at the room full of children and grandchildren and said with a smile, "Alright, send the food to the kitchen, and divide the rest among you."
Mrs. Liu has a gentle personality and is always generous to her children and grandchildren. The three daughters-in-law hurriedly thanked their mother-in-law with a smile.
The Liu family was delighted to receive the generous gift from the palace, and so was the Meng family next door. Princess Qi had always been meticulous in her work, and since the Meng family moved to Songjiang City, she had given them both face and substance. Although they were not close enough, they were more than respectful.
General Meng privately told his wife, "It's a huge sum of money to buy horse bones. With our Meng family as an example, Zhang Minghui and the Liaodong Army might be lured here."
It is still unknown whether the Liaodong Army will be lured here, but the Liaodong Army's commander, General Bai, has already realized how powerful Prince Qi is. For the first time in so many years, he has taken the initiative to send New Year gifts to Prince Qi's mansion.
The couple sat together looking at General Bai's gift list. Gu Youan laughed and said, "Why are you sending so many sea fish? Are you hinting to us that even if you completely control Yanmen Pass, they can still transport food and supplies by sea?"
Zhou Qi uttered one word: "Poor!"
Gu Youan laughed a few times. The Liaodong Army probably couldn't make much money from selling sea fish, so it was quite thoughtful of them to give gifts for so many years.
This General Bai seems to be a man who knows how to deal with current affairs.
The Grand Commander-in-Chief of Zhenbei was very angry that Prince Qi was driving the Tartars westward. He did not send any New Year gifts, only a letter, which Prince Qi burned after reading it.
Gu Youan asked: "What did you say?"
"Not worth the crap you know."
Gu Youan smiled and said, "It's okay. The Shen family's stance won't change. Besides, they can't do anything to us. If they've offended us, then so be it."
Besides, guarding the border is his duty. Why does Mr. Shen accuse Zhou Qi of causing him trouble?
Prince Qi didn't want to mention the Shen family. He smiled and said, "General Bai sent several carts of sea fish. Should we add some seafood to our New Year's Eve dinner?"
"Tian! We can't let General Bai down."
So much has happened this year, but generally speaking, it's mostly good things. The Prince Qi's mansion prospers year after year, so we deserve a prosperous New Year.
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