The house is located in Zhaohua Lane on Xihua Street. It was built by Gu Heguang for Zhu Jiayu's family. It is near Yong'an Street, but not as noisy. Most of the people renting in this area are government officials. Not only is the location excellent, but the house is also spacious and deep, with an excellent layout.
Because their embroidery workshop was booming in Heling, Gu Heguang and Zhu Jiayu discussed opening new branches in several nearby cities such as Chaoping and Shangling. It was no exaggeration to say that they were making a fortune every day. Therefore, Gu Heguang found Zhu Jiayu very pleasing to the eye. When he heard that they were going to Yujing, he naturally volunteered to take on the task of finding a house for them, and even gave her the land deed without charging her a penny.
Zhu Jiayu is now quite wealthy.
Pushing open the door, Zhu Congjian couldn't help but gasp. He was unaware that the land deed for the house was already in his daughter's hands. Although he was very tempted, he couldn't help but advise Zhu Jiayu, "Yujing Residence is not easy to come by. Let's move to another place and save some money for future emergencies."
Zhu Jiayu smiled and said, "It's alright, Father. Look what this is."
She pulled the land deed from her sleeve, handed it to her father, and said, "People in Yujing are used to flattering the powerful and belittling the weak. Although we don't know which family Aunt married into, we imagine it's not a humble one. Even if Aunt doesn't care, Father wouldn't want us to embarrass her, would he?"
"Moreover, in this capital city where every inch of land is precious, a house is a person's face and status. Even though we are a merchant family, if someone asks where we live and learns where our house is, they will respect us even more. The house has been bought, so Father can live there in peace."
Zhu Congjian felt uneasy, as if it were a dream. He no longer cared about the business. After learning that his daughter was running the embroidery shop very well, he let her run it. As for himself, he focused on fishing and gardening. Therefore, he did not know that the Zhu family embroidery shop had not only made a name for itself in Heling and Suiping, but had even opened several branches.
After resting in the house for a day and tidying up the side rooms and courtyard, Zhu Jiayu went to the brokerage to buy several cleaning maids and cooks. The next day, Zhu Congjian took Zhu Jiayu to the address given in his sister's letter.
Xiao Wan knew that her brother and niece were coming today, so she had been waiting at the mansion since early morning. When the gatekeeper came to report, she hurriedly asked her personal maid to invite the two to the flower hall in the front yard.
She is still in her early pregnancy, so it's not that she can't move around, but she has some abdominal pain when she wakes up in the morning, so she really doesn't dare to move around rashly. Even though she really wants to see her brother and niece, she doesn't dare to joke about the baby in her belly.
When Qin Fang arrived at the gate of the mansion, she naturally explained the situation to Zhu Congjian and his daughter before leading her people into the courtyard.
Just before entering, Zhu Jiayu glanced at the plaque at the entrance, which bore two large, bold characters: Ning Mansion.
She racked her brains for any officials with the surname Ning that she could think of, but still couldn't figure out which Ning it was.
After entering the courtyard and navigating a winding path, the group finally arrived at the front hall.
Hanging in the hall is a painting of distant mountains and forests, with light ink and a subtle atmosphere. Below it is a long table with a pair of vases, each containing two gardenias and a bunch of orchids, exuding elegance and refinement.
The young woman, with her hair styled in a disheveled bun, had gentle features and tears in her eyes. Upon seeing them enter, she rushed into Zhu Congjian's arms, crying out in a sorrowful voice, "Brother!"
This young woman was Zhu Congjian's younger sister, Zhu Congwan, who was adopted by the old Grand Tutor and renamed Xiao Wan.
She was very young when she went missing. Later, after learning that she had an older brother, she could hardly recall the time they spent together. But just now, when she saw Zhu Congjian in a gray robe, some blurry fragments suddenly flashed through her mind, and she naturally called out "brother".
Zhu Congjian was slightly taken aback. Coming to his senses, he hesitated for a moment before reaching out and gently placing his hand on the shoulder of the person in his arms. He patted it softly and asked in a low voice, "How have you been all these years?"
Xiao Wan was still crying. Zhu Congjian looked helplessly at Zhu Jiayu. Zhu Jiayu understood and stepped forward to separate the two, gently advising, "Madam is pregnant now, so please take care of yourself and don't be too sad."
Xiao Wan finally calmed down and composed herself. She lowered her head and gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief. Then she looked at Zhu Jiayu with a loving expression: "This is Ayu, right? Silly child, why are you still calling me Madam? You should call me Aunt."
She looked at the girl in front of her and became more and more satisfied. The girl was slender and plump, with a beautiful face, but her eyebrows and eyes were not like those of a typical delicate young lady. Instead, she had a kind of resolute and aloof temperament.
Zhu Jiayu readily complied, curtsied, and called out "Auntie".
Seeing her bow, Xiao Wan quickly helped her up, but she was a little puzzled.
The messages she received, including those in her correspondence with her brother, all said that her niece was fifteen years old and had been staying in Suiping until February or March of this year, when she went to Heling.
However, Suiping and Heling were remote places, and although her maternal family had been officials for generations, they had little official luck and had always served as local officials with relatively low ranks.
However, her every movement during the bow was perfectly standard and precise. It would be impossible to achieve this without rigorous training.
Where did she learn that?
Xiao Wan pursed her lips, suppressing her doubts, before noticing that they had been standing the whole time. She smiled sheepishly and said, "It's my fault for being so excited that I forgot to invite my brother and Ayu to sit down. Please don't stand, let's all sit down and talk."
After everyone sat down, Xiao Wan and Zhu Congjian did most of the talking.
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