After finishing her business, Xiao Yunying stopped her mother from preparing food and left, making an excuse to go home and pack her things.
The moment she stepped out the door, the smile on her face vanished.
I took a deep breath to calm myself down and hurried home.
Old Man Dai had already arrived at her house. Xiao Yunying took out a pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and while instructing her on the precautions for the vegetable garden, she wrote down various things.
"The corn in the field is almost ready to be harvested. This kind of sweet corn is different from ordinary corn, so we can't let it ripen too much. The corn harvested every day is divided into two batches: 30% is sent to Huiweilou and 70% is sent to Shijinfang."
When she first started planting corn, she considered it a long-term business. She had people plant it in batches every few days so that she could harvest it continuously and always ensure that it was the freshest and tenderest.
Zheng Yunwan was grinding ink for her. She felt that Sister Yunying seemed a bit too hasty today, lacking her usual leisure, as if she was in a rush.
Xiao Yunying was indeed in a hurry. After instructing Zheng Yunwan on the vegetable garden, she asked Zheng Yunwan to see Old Man Dai off.
Madam Luo noticed her unusual behavior and asked, "Yun Ying, why are you in such a hurry? Has something happened?"
Xiao Yunying put down her brush and let the ink on the paper dry: "Luo Sheng sent a carriage to pick me up. I will be going to the capital soon to meet the Emperor and express my gratitude. I may have to trouble Madam Luo to look after the children for me during this time."
Madam Luo's expression turned serious: "You're lying. The situation in the capital is unclear right now, and Sheng'er won't let you enter the capital at this time."
Zheng Yunwan asked with concern, "Sister Yunying, what exactly happened?"
Xiao Yunying didn't expect Madam Luo to expose her lie so directly. But after thinking about it carefully, she realized that Madam Luo was from the capital and knew the situation there better than anyone. Her fabricated stories might fool her family members who didn't know the situation, but they wouldn't fool Madam Luo.
Xiao Yunying divided the written material into three parts and put them into envelopes. She spoke casually and truthfully: "On the way back, eight men in black stopped my carriage and said that their master invited me to the capital as a guest. I don't know who they are, but it seems that I can't refuse. So I told them that I was coming back to pack my things and to let you know so that you won't worry if I suddenly disappear."
"Is he Young Master Luo's enemy? What... what should we do?" Zheng Yunwan panicked: "Sister Yunying, you should run!"
Xiao Yunying laughed: "What nonsense are you talking about? What will you do if I run away?"
Seeing that Zheng Yunwan was indeed anxious, he patted her hand reassuringly: "Don't panic. Although they look intimidating, they may not be bad people. The fact that they are willing to talk to me while I am conscious, instead of knocking me unconscious and taking me away, means that they do not intend to harm me."
She handed over the envelope: "Yunwan, I have a few things to ask of you. This is a list of some new corn-based desserts I've written. This envelope contains the designs I drew for Jinxiu Pavilion. This is a new recipe. There's also a letter for Chen Yuancheng. Please deliver them to him tomorrow."
Seeing that Xiao Yunying could still calmly arrange things, Madam Luo was even more satisfied with her.
She instructed, "I will immediately send a message to Shen'er, telling him that you have gone to the capital, and that once you arrive, you should try to contact Shen'er as soon as possible."
"Thank you for reminding me, Madam Luo. I understand."
Madam Luo suddenly frowned: "Yun Ying, why do you always call me Madam Luo? Do you not want to acknowledge me as your mother, or do you not want to acknowledge Sheng'er as your husband?"
Xiao Yunying hadn't expected Madam Luo to ask this question. She couldn't directly admit she didn't want to, so she could only say somewhat embarrassedly, "I'm just not used to it, I always forget to address you differently..."
Madam Luo sighed, "It's not your fault. Your marriage was rushed. The Luo family didn't even prepare a decent dowry, and then that incident happened just a few days after the wedding. Now he's not even by your side..."
Xiao Yunying stood up and said, "Madam Luo, you're overthinking it. I'm not dissatisfied with these things, I'm just not used to them yet."
Give me some time to adjust. I'll get used to it. Their carriage is waiting for me at the village entrance. While Xin'er is still asleep, I'll go pack my things.
Madam Luo knew this wasn't the time to talk about these things: "Go."
Xiao Yunying returned to the room and saw that Luo Xin was fast asleep, so she went up and kissed her little face.
Luckily, the little girl didn't wake up, otherwise she would have cried her eyes out.
The supermarket had all her spare necessities, so she didn't need to bring too much. She opened the wardrobe, grabbed two sets of clothes to make it look like she was dressed up, tied a bundle around her neck, and left the room.
Madam Luo asked, "Is it all packed up already?"
Xiao Yunying said, "Pack a few clothes, and buy new ones for the rest when we get to the capital."
Madam Luo took the prepared silver notes from Granny Chang and put them into her hand: "When you're away from home, don't mistreat yourself. After you arrive in the capital, buy yourself a few more sets of clothes and jewelry. You are the young mistress of the Luo family, so you can't let anyone look down on you."
Xiao Yunying asked the question that had been bothering her: "Madam Luo, why are you so good to me? Don't you think that someone like me is not good enough for your son?"
From their first formal meeting, Madam Luo never once showed me a look of contempt or disdain. Perhaps she was somewhat distant at first, but she never looked down on me.
Madam Luo smiled slightly: "Has my background not been told to you by Sheng'er?"
Xiao Yunying shook her head. Why would Luo Sheng tell her about Madam Luo's background for no reason?
Madam Luo said, "I was originally an ordinary peasant girl from a border town. Because of frequent wars there, there were many bandits and robbers. One day, a group of bandits came to our village to burn, kill, and plunder. My parents died under their swords in order to protect me. It was my husband's father who led the army to drive away those villains and save me."
Xiao Yunying became interested: "Oh, a hero saving a damsel in distress."
Madam Luo was probably a little shy and didn't elaborate: "In short, I am just an ordinary peasant girl, so how could I look down on you? Besides, the Luo family has never coveted power or formed cliques. When we marry, we naturally want a wife with good character. What does background matter? It's of no use to the Luo family."
Xiao Yunying's doubts were resolved, and she felt relieved.
She handed the banknote back: "Mother Luo, you don't need this banknote. I have to go now, so they won't get impatient and come looking for me again. Please help me keep it a secret from my parents and the children. I'll have to trouble you to take care of them during this time."
Madam Luo pushed it back: "Take it if you want. Don't worry about the family. Just take care of yourself."
Left with no other option, Xiao Yunying could only tuck the silver notes into her bosom and say, "Then I'm leaving."
Go ahead, and be careful on your journey.
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