When Huo Youcai received the note from the sparrow, he thought it was a love letter from a girl who was sending it to him by bird.
Upon opening it, a few words were written crookedly on the note: "Come to the Prince's Mansion immediately."
Huo Youcai: "?"
What are you going to do at the Prince's mansion?
Didn't Prince Gan lead his troops to fight in Tongzhou?
Who wrote the letter to him?
"Chirp chirp chirp..." The sparrow chirped twice at him, as if reminding him not to forget to keep the appointment, and then flew away.
Huo Youcai then recognized the sparrow as the one kept by the Gan Wang family; he had seen it around Yuandan.
So, this letter really did come from the Prince Gan's residence?
But who could have written it?
Having nothing else to do today, Huo Youcai changed his clothes and headed to the Prince Gan's residence with his servant.
The sparrow, returning with the letter, excitedly boasted to New Year's Day, "Master, I delivered the letter!"
On New Year's Day, I pushed a piece of fruit to a sparrow and said, "Thank you for your hard work."
"It's not hard work." The sparrow landed on the table and happily pecked at the fruit.
On New Year's Day, she squatted in her fluffy little nest, staring out the window with her tiny, beady eyes.
The sparrow raised its head and said, "Master, it's going to snow again."
On New Year's Day, he gave a curt reply: "Mm."
The original work also mentions this continuous heavy snow.
The heavy snow continued until February, and it was snowing heavily on New Year's Day as well.
Unlike today, in ancient times, there was no heating or air conditioning in winter. High-ranking officials could burn charcoal braziers, and the imperial palace had heated chambers. However, ordinary people could not afford charcoal at all, so winter was the most difficult season for them.
Many people froze to death during the winter.
It truly lives up to the saying, "Behind the red gates, meat and wine go to waste; on the road, frozen corpses lie."
On New Year's Day, I may not have grand ideals for the world, but I really can't bear to see so many innocent people die in the cold winter.
So she summoned Huo Youcai not only to ask him to collect grain and send it to Tongzhou, but also to quickly stockpile charcoal before people realized that the heavy snow would continue for several days, and sell it to high-ranking officials and nobles at a high price, and then exchange it for grain to distribute to the people.
While secretly making plans in his mind, Yuandan and Sparrow moved all the Xuan paper to the table.
When Huo Youcai arrived with the note, the head steward glanced at the crooked handwriting on the note, his eyes flickered slightly, and after only two seconds of hesitation, he invited Huo Youcai into the palace.
"Steward Zhou, this letter is..." Seeing that the old steward seemed to know who wrote the letter, Huo Youcai couldn't help but ask in confusion.
The head steward, leading the way, smiled and said, "It was written by Xiao Yuanyuan."
"Little Yuanyuan?" Huo Youcai frowned. "You mean the chubby little bird that the prince keeps?"
"Yes," the old steward said with a smile, "Little Yuanyuan is a clever little bird. She learned to write after only a few days of learning from the prince."
Huo Youcai: "??"
Did he hear that right?
Can birds write?
"Steward Zhou, are you sure that what Gan Wang is raising are birds?"
Not some kind of fairy?
Manager Zhou smiled so much his eyes narrowed, and nodded: "Naturally, it's a bird."
Even if it's not a bird, they have to make outsiders believe that their prince is raising a fat, greedy little pink bird.
Huo Youcai was even more confused. Did that mean that birds raised by powerful people were always smarter?
But... wouldn't a bird that can write be too smart?
On New Year's Day, Huo Youcai usually stayed in Xiao Changqi's courtyard, but not everyone could go to the Gan King's courtyard, so the old steward took Huo Youcai to the Qique Courtyard. Coincidentally, Huo Youcai was also playing with sparrows in the Qique Courtyard today.
"Little Yuanyuan, your guest has arrived." The old steward pushed open the door and smiled, his wrinkles crinkling into a smile.
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