Chapter 437 Handwriting
The snow fell heavily and it took two days for the sun to completely melt.
Chen Wan's body was getting heavier day by day. Even if there was no snow on the ground, she didn't dare to leave Zhaolanxuan.
The princess was afraid that Chen Wan would go to Liuliyuan to pay her respects, so she simply came to Zhaolanxuan to see Chen Wan.
It was just an unfortunate coincidence that as soon as the princess entered the courtyard, a maid came over and said, "My Lord, the Emperor summoned you to the palace..."
Not knowing what the emperor wanted to talk to him about, Xie Jingyu went into the palace.
The princess looked at Shen Wan's belly, which had grown bigger, and felt happy but distressed.
She was very hard-working when she was pregnant with Xie Jingyu, but Chen Wan was carrying twins. However, the blessing of being able to give birth to two at a time is not something that ordinary people can have.
Although the sun was out, there was a strong wind that blew straight into my neck.
Fearing that Chen Wan would catch a cold, the princess asked a maid to help her into the house. But as soon as she entered, a maid came up behind her, holding a painting in her hand and said, "Princess, someone sent you a painting..."
How could someone send her a painting?
The princess found it strange, and Shen Wan was also surprised.
The princess held out her hand.
The maid then handed the painting to the princess.
The princess opened it.
The painting shows an orchid.
There is no signature on it, but there are two inscriptions praising the orchid's noble character.
The handwriting does look somewhat familiar.
Before Shen Wan could react, the princess's maid Shaoyao said, "This looks like the orchid you painted, and the handwriting is similar..."
Shen Wan thought about it, it was exactly like the princess's handwriting.
The princess said, "It does look like I drew it, but I don't remember drawing this..."
She seldom painted. When she did paint a few strokes occasionally, she would not let her maid send them to be framed, but would just keep them in her study.
The princess asked the maid, "Who sent this painting?"
The maid shook her head. "I don't know. It was brought here by a child about seven or eight years old. Steward Zhou asked the child, and the child said that a masked man asked him to bring it to the Jingbei Palace..."
Seeing that the princess had been staring at the painting with a frown on her face, Shen Wan said, "You dare not come to deliver a painting in person, and you are wearing a mask. Nine out of ten, you have no good intentions. Don't take it to heart, mother."
"When my husband returns home, I'll ask him to find out who the masked man is."
Shen Wan took the painting from the princess, who hesitated for a moment and then let go.
Chen Wan casually handed the painting to Shanhu. The cotton curtain was opened outside, and a cold wind blew in. A little maid came in and said, "Princess, the orchids you raised in the garden are all dead..."
The princess loved orchids and raised quite a few of them. She used to keep most of them in the glass courtyard. After the family split up, the princess moved seven or eight orchids to the garden.
But how could they all be dead?
The princess was very distressed, "Mother, go and take a look."
Since Chen Wan couldn't go with them, she asked Yin Chuan to go and take a look.
Soon Yinchuan came back and told Chen Wan, "The orchids that the princess kept in the garden were frozen to death because someone watered their roots..."
Is there any need to ask?
Apart from that mother and daughter, who else in this mansion would do such a thing to cause trouble to others?
The old lady and the second and third wives could still find excuses to separate, but it would be difficult for the mother and daughter. Xie Zhihuan could have gotten married, but no one came to propose marriage, and God knows when she would be able to get married. Even if Xie Zhihuan could be sent away, Concubine Wen was the prince's concubine, and the old prince forced him to marry her. For the sake of the old prince's face, Concubine Wen could not be driven out.
But letting Concubine Wen stay in the mansion and cause trouble from time to time is quite frustrating.
Chen Wan admired the courage of Concubine Wen and her daughter for daring to touch the princess's orchids. Did they think that Xie Jingyu was easy to talk to and couldn't do anything to them without evidence?
Before Xie Jingyu came back, Shen Wan helped Concubine Wen and her daughter light the candles.
After gaining weight, my waist becomes particularly sore when I sit. When I get tired of sitting, I stand up and walk around holding my stomach. When I get tired of walking, I sit down and rest my feet.
It was almost lunchtime when Xie Jingyu came back. Shen Wan knew she shouldn't ask, but she couldn't help asking, "Why did the emperor ask you to come to the palace?"
Xie Jingyu came over. After Chen Wan's belly grew bigger, it was inconvenient for him to hold her. Just as he was about to say something, the maid outside lifted the cotton curtain and came in to announce the good news, "Prince's Consort, the Yun family has made great contributions, and the emperor has sent people to the Yun family to announce the reward..."
Chen Wan's eyes widened as he looked at Xie Jingyu, "What merits did the Yun family accomplish?"
Xie Jingyu pinched Chen Wan's nose and said, "Aren't you the one who knows best what the Yun family has accomplished?"
If she wants to know clearly, she won't ask.
Shen Wan said, "Tell me quickly."
Xie Jingyu said, "A snowstorm hit Yongzhou. Today, the prefect of Yongzhou sent a memorial to the palace to report the disaster to the emperor and to ask for credit for the Yun family. The emperor asked me to come to the palace for this matter..."
The Yun family in Yongzhou told everyone that there would be heavy snow this winter and asked everyone to stock up on charcoal.
At first, many people didn't believe it, so the Yun family shop manager said, "We, the Yun family, are telling you this not because of our charcoal business. Our business is spread all over the world, and we don't care about selling charcoal at all. It's just that Taoist Qingyuan in Kyoto calculated that many people in Yongzhou will freeze to death this winter. We can't bear it, so we opened several charcoal shops in Yongzhou. Now that winter has not yet arrived, you can go up the mountain to chop more firewood, just in case."
"As for reinforcing the house, it's for your own good. Whether this house is reinforced or not, no one in our Yun family will live there. But if it snows heavily this winter and collapses the house, you will be the ones who suffer from the cold."
The Yun family's steward spoke sincerely, and everyone rushed to tell each other that it was better to believe it.
If you don't want to spend money on charcoal, just go up the mountain and chop more firewood. Firewood is always needed. If you don't need it in winter, you can just chop less next year.
In the spirit of being prepared for the worst, several mountains in Yongzhou were cut down and became bare.
Originally, the prefect of Yongzhou did not believe it, but since it did not hinder him in any way, he did not care.
Who would have thought that not long after the beginning of winter, Yongzhou was hit by heavy snow that had not been seen in 20 to 30 years. Even the reinforced houses were still crushed by the snow. However, because the Yun family had warned that there would be a heavy snow, the people of Yongzhou were very vigilant. Only a few lazy people were killed or injured, and everyone else was fine.
Every household stockpiled charcoal and firewood, and prepared cotton-padded clothes and quilts. Although the snow was heavy, the losses were minimal.
Besides, the news of Xiao Huaijin's return to his ancestral home had already spread to Yongzhou. The relationship between the Yun family and the Duke Dingguo's Mansion was well known to everyone in the officialdom. Such a good opportunity to take sides must not be missed.
The Yun family has made great contributions, and the emperor will definitely reward them, but he also feels strange that the Yun family would care about such a thing. Thinking of the flood in Jizhou and the fact that Shen Wan asked the Yun family to transport grain to Jizhou, he feels that this matter may also be related to Shen Wan.
Shen Wan was pregnant and could not enter the palace, so the emperor called Xie Jingyu over.
Shen Wan asked, “Then will the emperor reward me too?”
Xie Jingyu said, "Even if the emperor forgets to reward someone, he will never forget to reward you, but he didn't do that this time."
Shen Wan, “…”
Shen Wan thought he had misheard, "Why?"
Xie Jingyu said, "Because I told the emperor that you would be happier if he gave your share to the Yun family, so the emperor gave your share to the Yun family as well."
Shen Wan, “…”
Why did she feel that this guy understood her better than she did herself?
Although the Yun family is rich enough to rival a country, there are some things that the Yun family cannot use even with their money. The rewards from the emperor are different.
Besides, she just opened her mouth, and it was her cousin who ran around, so the emperor should reward her cousin handsomely.
Xie Jingyu sat down to drink tea. Shen Wan asked Shanhu to bring the painting over. Just as she was about to tell Xie Jingyu that someone had sent a painting to the princess, she heard Young Master Ling's urgent cry from outside the door, "Brother Jingyu, help..."
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