Capital city, general's mansion.
Old Madam An had been living in the general's mansion for several days. When they were three days away from the capital, Tian An asked Zhuifeng and Zhuyue to send a message back to the general's mansion.
After receiving the letter, Madam An and Yunxu sent people to wait at the city gate every day. Although it was not yet the time stated in the letter, what if the journey went smoothly and they arrived early?
The mansion had long been decorated by her and Yunxu to be festive and warm. Everywhere was spotlessly clean, hung with bright red lanterns, and the rooms and halls were decorated with vases that the two had personally arranged.
On the wall hang paintings drawn by Xiaokang and Xiaoqi. At the door stands a welcoming pine tree that Yuntian dug up from somewhere, hoping it will bring his godmother back soon.
On the day mentioned in the letter, everyone in the mansion got up early, changed into festive clothes and prepared to welcome An Wan.
The table was constantly being replaced with fresh fruits, snacks, and the finest tea specially brought by Old Madam An. The hot water prepared for An Wan's welcome home was also constantly boiling in the kitchen. Yuhong and the others had also prepared anti-fatigue medicine packs early on.
Everything is ready, just waiting for Tian Mingwu and the others to return with An Wan.
Just as the morning hour arrived, Duke Anguo and his wife came with An Yichen, Zuo Yunshu and his wife, and An Yiku.
As soon as they sat down, Han Xun and An Rong helped Grandma Qin into the house.
Soon after, a servant came to report that the newly married Prince Chen and his wife had entered the palace with Princess Yaoguang.
Yaoyao has not been to the General's Mansion since she was kidnapped and rescued together with Tian An in the Empress Dowager's Palace. However, she has not been idle either. In addition to going to the East Palace every day to pester the Prince about Tian An's whereabouts, she also studies with the imperial doctors without fail.
Tian An laid a solid foundation for her. This time, the imperial doctors no longer lied to her and taught her everything they knew. Her medical skills improved rapidly.
Compared to Yuhong and the others, who only had Old Doctor Qin and a few doctors who were on good terms with Tian An to teach them in turns during their rest days, she had made a lot of progress.
When she came, she specifically asked the Queen for royal court supplies of nourishing health products and medicinal materials such as donkey-hide gelatin, bird's nest, fish maw, ginseng, and Polygonum multiflorum.
The queen also prepared various good things such as jewelry, fabrics, and jewels for her to bring along.
After exchanging greetings with everyone, Yaoyao found the bird's nest and ran to the kitchen as if she was familiar with the place, preparing to make bird's nest soup for the chef and the mistress.
When Mrs. An heard this, she wanted to stop it. Yaoyao was a legitimate princess, and only the emperor and the empress could eat the food she cooked. No one else had that blessing.
Xiao Chen said, "Once a teacher, always a father. An An is Yao Yao's master, and she deserves respect from him."
"But, but this is against etiquette! How can the royal family be compared with ordinary families?" Old Lady An looked at Duke Anguo with a worried look on her face.
Duke Anguo pondered for a moment and said, "This is the princess's wish. If we refuse, she will be sad."
Thinking of the relationship between Yaoyao and Tian An, who was both a teacher and a friend, and they were related, Tian An was still Yaoyao's elder. Old Madam An sighed: "Oh! Okay"
As everyone was talking, the cry of an eagle was suddenly heard in the yard. Xiaokang, Xiaoqi, Anyikun and Yuntian, four young men, ran out quickly and saw Zhuifeng and Zhuyue standing on the trunk of a big tree in the yard.
Seeing the three people coming out, Zhuifeng flew down from the tree trunk and landed in front of them, allowing Xiaokang to step forward and take the letter off its feet.
After reading the letter, Xiaokang shouted into the house, "My sister has returned with a message. They have already reached the city gate."
"Wan'er is back." Old Madam An was suddenly very excited. She staggered towards Xiaokang and took the letter from his hand.
After reading it once, he walked towards the gate, "I, I'm going to pick up Wan'er."
The Duke of Anguo and his wife looked at each other and hurriedly stopped her, "Mother, it won't take long to get from the city gate to the General's Mansion. Let's wait inside the mansion!"
"Yes, mother! The roads are slippery in the snow. We have waited for so many years. A moment or two won't hurt."
An Rong also came over to persuade her, "Mom, the roads in the capital are well connected, they must have already entered the city by now. If we go now, it will be a big loss if we miss my sister and the others.
Besides, we haven't seen my sister for so many years. If we meet again, I'm sure we won't burst into tears. It would be a small matter for us to laugh at her. My sister must be very tired after such a long journey. Wouldn't that disturb her rest?"
After being persuaded by several people, Madam An finally gave up the idea of going out to pick someone up, "Then let's go to the gate of the mansion and wait."
There is naturally no problem in just going to the gate of the mansion.
So, the Duke of Anguo and his wife personally supported the old lady on both sides, followed by a large group of people, and walked towards the gate of the mansion.
The gate of the general's mansion, which was originally quite wide, was now blocked by them.
After entering the city gate, Tian Mingwu and Zhao Yiming should have gone to the palace to report on their work first, but Zhao Yiming understood that Tian Mingwu was eager to bring his mother-in-law home, so he asked him to escort An Wan and Tian An back to the general's mansion first, and he was responsible for escorting Xiao Qingheng and those children of officials into the palace.
When Tian An and her companions' carriage arrived at the gate of the mansion, everyone gathered around them before they even got out.
Deng Xue and Ye Zi got off the car first, and then went to help Tian An, while Tian Mingwu personally helped An Wan.
"Wan'er..." As soon as An Wan got off the carriage, Old Madam An couldn't help but let go of the hands of Duke An and his wife and went to pull her.
"Mom, my unfilial daughter An Wan is back." Although she hadn't seen her mother for more than ten years, An Wan recognized her biological mother at a glance.
"No, it's mother who is sorry for you. If I hadn't been careless back then, you wouldn't have gotten lost, and you wouldn't have suffered for so many years." When she said this, tears in Mrs. Poland's eyes couldn't stop flowing.
Seeing that Old Madam An was crying, An Wan hurried to wipe her tears. "Mother, how can I blame you? There are only thieves who can steal for a thousand days, but there is no such thing as guarding against thieves for a thousand days. You can guard against them for a while, but how can you guard against them forever?"
Looking at her mother's self-blaming expression and the white hair on her temples, An Wan couldn't help but have tears welling up in her eyes.
Seeing this, Tian An hurriedly comforted the two elders, "Today is the happy day of mother's return. We should be happy. Stop crying."
The people on the side also advised: "An An is right, we should be happy and laugh today."
After greeting each other, Duke Anguo and Tian Mingwu hurriedly invited the sentimental women into the house. "It's getting colder. Don't stand outside. Let's talk again at home!"
"Yes, yes, Wan'er must be exhausted! Everything is ready in the mansion. Go in and rest for a while first, then we can talk later." As Mrs. An said this, she took An Wan's hand and prepared to go into the mansion.
An Wan held her back and said, "Mother, wait a moment." Then she turned to look at Tian Mingwu, "Mingwu, we're already home. Just go into the palace and report on your work. It's not good to keep His Majesty waiting."
Tian An also said: "Don't worry, Dad! Go quickly and come back soon. I will take good care of Mom."
Duke Anguo also patted his shoulder and said, "There are so many of us here! Don't worry!"
Tian Mingwu nodded. "Okay, then please help me take care of Wan'er first. I'll be back soon."
He turned around and told Tian An and Xiaokang to take good care of their biological mother, and Xiaoqi, Yuntian and Yunxu to take good care of their godmother. Then he mounted his horse, looking back every few steps, and hurried towards the palace.
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