Chapter 64
The sunset glows in the sky, leaving a faint bright color.
After Xie Yunchu had his dinner, he went to the yard to digest the food. Ke Jieer, taken by Dong Ning, played with a spinning top in the yard.
Nanny Lin took out a small box from the inner room, which contained a solid gold longevity lock.
"In three days, the young master of the Princess's Mansion will be one year old. What do you think of this birthday gift?"
Xie Yunchu stopped walking, holding his waist, took a look, and thought, "One longevity lock is still a little short. My aunt treats me as her own daughter, and Youran is my biological sister. You can secretly put another five hundred taels of silver notes underneath."
Nanny Lin agreed, and after a while she continued, "When you were leaving today, the eldest lady from the second house of the Nan residence came over and said that she had made a pair of small backpacks, one for her brother and the other one made of lotus root powder for our sister Ke. I will help you put them in the box in the side room."
Xie Yunchu is very popular in the Wang family and never puts on airs. Everyone who sees her likes her. The Nan Mansion is the Wang family's concubine house, and they often visit each other. Among them, Xie Yunchu is best friends with the eldest lady of the second house, Jin. When she was seriously ill in her previous life, Jin herself was not in good health, but she still came to visit her at the bedside every now and then. She was an extremely kind person. Not only was she kind, but she was also willing to serve her parents-in-law and take care of the housework without complaint. She was no different from Xie Yunchu in her previous life. They were the two most virtuous people in the Wang family.
A few days ago, at Xie Yunchu's birthday party, Jin gave him a jacket that she had sewn by hand. Although the style was homely, it was very comfortable to wear.
"She is always like this, warm to everyone."
Nanny Lin continued, "She's such a pity. She has to look at her mother-in-law and husband's faces for every penny she spends. She has to earn all the money she needs to make money."
Xie Yunchu looked at Jin as if he was looking at himself in his previous life, and couldn't help but want to help her.
"We can't accept her gift for nothing. She's good at sewing, so we can find some work for her in our shop, give her the best price, and help her save some money so that we can slowly take her on her way."
Nanny Lin said, "Okay, tomorrow morning I will ask Xia An to go to Linglong Embroidery and deliver it to Grandma Jin in the afternoon."
Xie Yunchu sighed, "She is a few years older than me, so I should go visit her. But her mother-in-law is a nagging person. Last time on my birthday, I saw her gossiping in front of our wife. If I go, she will definitely question Sister Jin again. You should find a way to invite her over."
Nanny Lin agreed and went to give instructions to Xia An.
After a while, Xie Yunchu remembered the two shops that Wang Yining had given to Ke Jie'er, and asked Dong Ning, "Did Uncle Lin check the shops?"
Dong Ning supported Ke Jie'er and replied loudly, "We went. My aunt's manager was very good. He came to the mansion to look for Uncle Lin and handed over all the account books. One of them was engaged in the rice and oil business, with considerable turnover. The other had a very large shop with three floors. Now it is rented out to someone to open an inn. The rent is paid on time every month, so we don't need to worry about it."
Xie Yunchu was very satisfied after hearing this. "If my aunt can give it out as a thank-you gift, it must be a good shop."
As for the two estates given to her by the eldest princess, she would probably have to find time to find someone to help her travel to Tongzhou and Jiangnan.
Xie Yunchu has plenty of other things, but he lacks manpower.
There are quite a few farmers on the farms within Guangqumen, but unfortunately they are all simple and honest people who have not seen the world. Minggui's younger brother Minglan is a character, with a sharp tongue and a clever mind, but unfortunately he is the son of the mistress's companion, Nanny Fang Ming. Xie Yunchu is wary of the Jiang family and does not plan to use him. He can only pick some capable male managers from the farmers to follow Uncle Lin to run the shop.
On the night of late February, the wind was still cool.
After playing for a while, Xie Yunchu took Ke Jie'er into the house.
Following the mage's instructions, he placed the amulet on the northeast corner of Kejie's bed, coaxed the child to sleep, and returned to his room.
Xie Yunchu went out today and felt that her body was covered with dust, so she washed everything for a while. When she was done, it was 2:15 pm. Nanny Lin came in to see her and saw that she was reading a book, so she sat down and chatted with her.
"Today, several ladies came to the palace to pay their respects to the eldest princess. They said that the queen will celebrate her birthday next month and asked the palace to prepare a birthday gift. They were all fine when they left, but when they came back, for some reason, the second lady's eyes turned red."
Xie Yunchu replied, "Did he get scolded?"
Nanny Lin smiled and said, "Who knows? I only know that Nanny Ming, the maid next to the Madam, is looking for people to ask for needlework. I'm afraid it's not a good thing."
Xie Yunchu ignored this and was not interested. He threw the book in his hand away and said, "I'm going to sleep."
Nanny Lin smiled bitterly and said, "What about the Second Master's matter?"
Xie Yunchu raised his eyebrows slightly, "Just like in the past, we should save water and prepare clothes, everything remains the same. He is holding back a lot of energy now, so we should cooperate with him. When he is feeling better, we can stop worrying and do what needs to be done."
In his previous life, Wang Shuhuai didn't move his bedding from the study back to the back house for eight years. How long can he last in this life?
In Xie Yunchu's eyes, Wang Shuhuai was so angry about Prince Xin that he lost his mind. He would be fine once he calmed down.
She closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Late at night, Wang Shuhuai returned to the palace from the government office area.
He caught a glimpse of a man standing next to the stone lions at the palace gate.
The man was wearing a green robe, leaning against the stone lion with his arms folded across his chest, looking towards the gate with a clear brow.
Wang Shuhuai got off the horse, threw the reins to the servant, and walked slowly to Gao Zhan's side.
Gao Zhan caught sight of him, straightened up immediately, and grinned at him.
"Why are you back so late?"
There is always a sense of indifference on Gao Zhan's brows.
Two tall men stood side by side, looking towards the closed door at the same time. One was tall and mighty, seeming to exude a strong aura, while the other was tall and graceful, seeming to have a sense of otherworldliness.
The waning moon slowly came to a stop over the treetops, casting a thin layer of frost in front of the door. The moonlight and the lights in the corridors intertwined, as if weaving a hazy web.
Wang Shuhuai did not comment on Gao Zhan's behavior, but only said politely,
"Don't get cold late at night."
Gao Zhan glanced at Wang Shuhuai with a smile, "By the way, I got the news that Prince Xin seems to be interested in making friends with the Jiangnan Governor's Office?"
Wang Shuhuai's face was indifferent. "Don't be fooled by him. He did this to trick His Royal Highness the Crown Prince into revealing his true colors. Then he will take the opportunity to leak the news to His Royal Highness the King of Han. He will see you two fighting while he is the fisherman."
Gao Zhan's sister married the prince as his principal wife, and the Gao family had long been a staunch supporter of the prince.
Gao Zhan bowed to him and said, "Thank you Shu Huai for your advice."
Since it involved party disputes, the two of them stopped at that point.
Wang Shuhuai looked at Gao Zhan, who was full of determination, and became curious, "When do you plan to wait?"
Gao Zhan smiled, took something out from under his sleeve and handed it to him, "I'm not waiting for her, but for you. This time, thanks to your couple's smartness and decisiveness, she was saved. Shu Huai, put aside the disputes in the court. From now on, as long as you and your wife need anything, I, Gao Zhan, will do whatever you and your wife need."
"Madam, you are very close to her. Please help me pass this medicine to Madam. Please help me give it to her. She is very upset and in poor health. I have spent a lot of effort to get this purple dendrobium. It can be boiled into water or stewed into soup. Don't say it was given by me. Just use it to nourish her body."
Wang Shuhuai looked at Gao Zhan and suddenly felt some sympathy. After all, he could see Xie Yunchu day and night, and he had a legitimate reason to stand by her side, unlike Gao Zhan, who was so humble.
"I can't help you with this."
He was still having conflicts with Xie Yunchu, so how could he have the time to act as a matchmaker for Gao Zhan?
"It's just a purple-skinned Dendrobium. Our Wang family can still get it."
Wang Shuhuai thought that he would rest in the backyard tonight and did not want to chat with Gao Zhan, so he bowed and entered the mansion through the corner gate.
Stepping onto the corridor of Chunjing Hall in the thin moonlight, Wang Shuhuai vaguely saw a light left on in the east room. He felt relieved and tiptoed into the bathroom. Hearing the sound, Nanny Lin stood up yawning and prepared hot tea for him.
Wang Shuhuai tidied himself up and went to the inner room.
Glancing towards the bed, I saw the exquisitely figure bending in the night.
Xie Yunchu was sleeping inside, and there was obviously room left for him.
The bed sank and Xie Yunchu suddenly opened her eyes. Wang Shuhuai had just gone to the bathroom to take a shower and she was woken up by the sound of water. Although Wang Shuhuai's movements were gentle enough, she had not yet gotten used to having a man in the room in the middle of the night. Look, the man wanted to stay overnight just to torment her.
Xie Yunchu closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep.
There were two quilts on the bed, one on which Xie Yunchu was sleeping, and the other neatly folded. Wang Shuhuai naturally wanted to sleep next to Xie Yunchu, but he was worried about disturbing her sleep, so he gently lifted his own quilt and lay down in it.
Xie Yunchu was relieved when he saw that he didn't make any unnecessary movements.
I woke up at midnight because I was hungry.
The baby is almost four months old and is growing fast.
As she stood up, Wang Shuhuai also opened his eyes.
In the dark night, their eyes met.
Although they couldn't see each other clearly, they knew each other's existence.
With the experience of the last two times, Wang Shuhuai asked her softly, "Do you want to go to the toilet?"
Xie Yunchu nodded in confusion.
"I'll help you."
The tall man in the darkness got off the bed first, then bent down and stretched out a hand to her.
Xie Yunchu looked at him silently for a while, then slowly took his hand and got out of bed.
Just when she was about to get up, the man suddenly bent down, picked her up horizontally, and walked out of the bed.
Xie Yunchu was shocked and subconsciously hugged his neck, "Second Master, this is very dangerous. The light in the room is dim. What if you bump into someone?"
Wang Shuhuai looked at his wife in his arms as a matter of course. Her hair was disheveled and covered her face, her eyebrows and cheeks. Only her fox-like eyes were looming, which was particularly charming. Wang Shuhuai's breathing tightened a little, and he slowly let out a breath.
"I have good night vision, I won't bump into you."
The tone was surprisingly easy-going.
He carried Xie Yunchu to the toilet at the back of the bathroom. Just like last time, Xie Yunchu was inside and he was waiting for her outside the screen.
A faint light swayed in from outside the yard. Looking at the swaying light, he suddenly recalled the childhood scene when he was pregnant with his sister Ke.
He actually couldn't remember what she looked like. He was busy building a career and getting promoted as soon as possible, and he ignored her. He was immersed in his thoughts and didn't even notice that Xie Yunchu had come out.
She washed her hands in a bucket beside her, and lazily sat on the high table outside the screen, looking at him.
"What happened to Second Master?"
There was still some light in the bathroom, and she could see that his face was slightly blue.
Wang Shuhuai met his wife's clear and curious eyes. Without saying anything, he bent down again, picked her up, and put her back on the bed.
To be fair, Xie Yunchu was a little uncomfortable with his kindness.
But right now he is a thorn in the side, and since we don't want to provoke him, we just let him do what he wants.
Xia An, who was on guard, heard the noise, lit a silver lamp, and brought in a bowl of bird's nest.
Xie Yunchu was sitting beside the bed eating, Xia An was waiting outside the bed, and Wang Shuhuai was sitting on the couch with his legs up and his eyes closed.
Xie Yunchu ate slowly, glancing at him from time to time and smiling softly.
"Second Master, why are you doing this? If you live here, I will inevitably bother you. You have to go to the government office during the day, and you wake up repeatedly at night, which is not good for your health. We have a long life together, so why are you in such a hurry?"
She sounded as if she was giving him some advice.
Wang Shuhuai was really angry.
"You are my wife and you are carrying my child. We should share weal and woe. This little thing is nothing." He just didn't want to do what she wanted.
Hearing this...Xie Yunchu almost laughed.
She suspected that he was deliberately trying to annoy her.
Xie Yunchu didn't want to pay attention to him.
After having a midnight snack, Xie Yunchu rinsed his mouth and went to bed. Xia An blew out the light and left the inner room again.
At this time, Wang Shuhuai came over, hugged her, and almost pressed his chest against her back.
"Yun Chu, I really ignored you in the past. Please give me a chance to make it up to you slowly."
Xie Yunchu didn't speak for a long time.
She used to look forward to it, but now she doesn't need it.
"I understand what you are thinking, but you must not interfere with government affairs while taking care of me, and don't hurt yourself."
Sure enough, just as Xie Yunchu had expected, Wang Shuhuai was extremely busy and was unable to return home the next day.
On the 25th, Xie Yunchu went to the Zhu family to attend the full moon banquet for Xiao Youran's child, and heard Xiao Youran talking to her about the prince Zhu Kangping.
"You made him behave himself last time. He shamelessly got three thousand taels of silver from his mother and borrowed another two thousand taels from outside to redeem the token. He has been staying at home honestly for a while. When I tried to ask him to take a concubine, he flatly refused."
"Chu'er, thank you so much. I got five thousand taels of silver for nothing, and my husband has behaved himself. Tell me, how do you want me to thank you?"
Xie Yunchu smiled and pushed her, "Give me your mother, and I will spare you."
Xiao Youran smiled, "My mother is your mother, why should I give in? Oh, by the way, the Jiangnan Governor's Office sent a valuable gift. I guess it was given to me by my aunt. What do you think I should do in response?"
Xie Yunchu looked indifferent, "Don't worry about me, just respond as you should. I am not that petty. To be honest, I don't blame her, I just don't want to have anything to do with her."
Today was the first time that Xie Yunchu took little Ke'er out to a banquet. Xiao Youran and Madam Xiao both gave them gifts. Xiao Youran put a big necklace on Ke'er. The little girl had two buns on her head and tied them with two red ribbons, looking like a majestic Nezha.
Next, Xie Yunchu was busy with the business in the shop. Linglong embroidery was already on the right track, and the business of the monopoly bureau was also in full swing. With the money, the progress of the reconstruction of the farm and the Jiangnan Silk Shop was accelerated. She counted the income and calculated the expenditure at the same time, and was busy all day long.
Wang Shuhuai still goes out early and comes back late every day. Sometimes he comes back to coax his children before they go to bed, and sometimes he comes back in the middle of the night.
When he came back for dinner, she told the nanny to entertain him politely. When he played with the children, she was either looking at the accounts or lying down to rest, and never once glanced at him.
If he took the initiative to talk to her, she would smile softly again, just like an ordinary couple living in harmony.
He was good to her, she accepted it, and even said a few words of concern to him occasionally.
If she was like an impenetrable wall before, which he could not break through no matter how hard he tried, now she was like a piece of dough, which he could knead or flatten as he pleased.
This is not what he wants.
Wang Shuhuai had never been so helpless against a person. A deep sense of frustration hung over his brow like a dark cloud. His slender figure leaned against the antique shelf, staring at the dark sky outside in a daze.
On the night of March 15th, the wind was blowing wildly, and layers of dark clouds were piled up in the sky. Suddenly, a bright silver lightning flashed a bright light, illuminating a pot of lush green calamus in the study. The shiny green leaves were blown up by the wind and rustled.
For a whole year, she hardly ever came to the study.
Everything here was still as it was before that night: the paintings she had hung up herself, the books she had bookmarked herself, and the exquisite nine-panel screen she had sewed by hand.
Each item was selected by her personally, but their owners waved goodbye without taking away any memories.
Thunder and lightning suddenly exploded in the dark night sky. He was standing tall and slender in a snow-white shirt, with thin eyelids filled with a strong green aura, like a cold ghost in the ink.
After standing there for a moment, Wang Shuhuai suddenly walked up and turned to Chunjing Hall.
A strong wind blew in the yard and a heavy rain was about to come. The maids rushed to every corner to carry the potted plants back to the corridor. The wooden ladder beside the wall was overturned to the ground and hit the osmanthus tree in the corner of the yard, scattering green leaves all over the ground.
The noise outside did not disturb the sleeping child at all. In the room, Sister Ke was sleeping soundly on the Luohan bed. Under the light, her baby-like fine hair was clearly visible. Xie Yunchu sat beside her, gently patting her vest, and then fell asleep.
Suddenly, a pair of arms stretched out from behind her and gently embraced her. When Xie Yunchu turned around, she had been picked up by him.
Xie Yunchu suddenly came to his senses and looked up into his eyes, "Second Master?"
Wang Shuhuai lowered his eyebrows and stared at her, his tone was particularly gentle, "I still have some memorials to read in the study, will you accompany me?" The coldness of his handsome eyebrows was faded by the smile, making him look particularly beautiful.
Xie Yunchu's heart skipped a beat, and she glanced out the dark window, "It's going to rain, it's not convenient for me to go to the study." Seeing his eyes unconsciously fixed, she discussed again, "Why don't you move here?"
Stay here and continue to treat him perfunctorily?
This is her territory.
He wanted to take her to the study and let her accompany him wholeheartedly like before.
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