Pei Weixuan returned home only once in late summer. On the island, the colored glass workshop had been built and the first batch of colored glass had been fired. Most of the first batch of colored glass were used to hold things, such as tea sets and kitchen utensils. They were complete sets, colorful and very beautiful.
Huo Ye looked at the first batch of utensils and couldn't help but say, "Your Highness, these things are quite beautiful. No wonder they are so popular. However, these utensils are not as beautiful as the hairpin Your Highness made."
Huo Ye still remembers that hairpin. It was truly dazzling, with golden light flowing in the crabapple color.
The hairpin was made with great care.
These utensils were all made by the craftsmen in the workshop, who were either the black-armored guards on the island or people selected from Chen Yi's gang of pirates. They were also taught by Pei Weixuan, who had been busy teaching these craftsmen how to make glassware in the past two months.
Pei Weixuan said, "Go find Zhou Yan and send these glassware to Tongzhou."
Although Tongzhou is not as wealthy as the capital, it is well connected due to its geographical location and its products are easy to sell.
Rare handicrafts like this should have been presented to the palace for use in the first place.
Huo Ye asked, "Your Highness, would you like to go home?"
"Yes." Pei Weixuan said, "You will escort the vessels this time."
"Okay, Your Highness, go back without worry."
Pei Weixuan did not set out immediately, but asked about the progress of crop planting.
Among these crops, the ones that Yuniang calls potatoes and sweet potatoes have the highest yield. They can be used as food and as vegetables in cooking. They are delicious whether cooked alone or with meat. Several other crops, which Yuniang calls peppers, tomatoes, pumpkins, corn and onions, are also planted, but the most planted ones are potatoes and sweet potatoes.
"Remember it's time to harvest the potatoes and sweet potatoes."
The potatoes and sweet potatoes harvested this time are enough to plant almost the entire island.
By this time next year at the latest, these two crops will be fully planted in the southwest.
After discussing business for a while, Pei Weixuan set off back to Yuanbao Town. The island was only a day's journey away from Yuanbao Town at a fast pace.
When Pei Weixuan returned to Laixi Lane, it was just evening dinner time. Only his grandmother was at home with Fengger and Yanjieer. The two children were practicing calligraphy. They were very happy to see him come back. Yanjieer stammered and called him "Uncle".
Pei Weixuan asked, "Have you had your evening meal?"
Sister Yan nodded and said, "I have eaten it. My aunt sent it to me."
Yan Jie'er is talking more and more now. Xu Qinyu would hug her and ask her questions when she had time. When she came back in the evening, she would ask her how her classes were going in the private school and how the teacher was teaching her. She didn't want to make her aunt sad, so she would stammer when talking to Xu Qinyu, so the little girl spoke more fluently now.
Zhu said, "Brother Xuan is back. Would you like to go to the restaurant to eat something? Yu Niang and your mother should be back soon. Sister Ning is still busy in her Linglong Pavilion and should be back with Yu Niang and the others."
"No need." Pei Weixuan said, "I'll just cook some noodles at home."
He didn't want to go over and ask Yu Niang to make him dinner.
Zhu nodded and went to the backyard to cut some leeks.
She had nothing to do on weekdays, and there happened to be a vacant space in the backyard, right next to the grape trellis. She cleared it out and planted some small vegetables such as eggplant and leek, which she could eat on weekdays. If she couldn't finish them, she would send them to Yu Niang's restaurant.
Pei Weixuan washed the leeks, cooked a bowl of leek noodles and ate it.
As soon as they finished eating and cleaned up the kitchen, Yu Niang and the others returned.
Xu Qinyu was still chatting and laughing with Wen and Ning Jie'er. Just as she walked around the screen wall, she saw Pei Weixuan standing by the wooden pavilion in the courtyard. She was startled for a moment, then shouted happily, "Fourth brother is back."
In the past two months, the winery has started to wind down. There are not many wild grapes in the mountains, and the last batch of wine has just been brewed in the past two days. The previous batches of wine have been delivered to the capital one after another. It was still the eunuch who handed over the wine. There was no money owed, and the wine had not been used for any purpose. The money was paid very readily, so Xu Qinyu also received her share in the past two months, a silver note of 28,000 taels. For a moment, she really couldn't figure out who in the palace bought the wine.
But she did feel a little more at ease, at least not as worried as she had been in the first two months.
Seeing her fourth brother now, she felt even more relieved. She wanted to talk to him about this matter and ask him to help her analyze who in the palace bought the wine and whether anything bad would happen.
When Mrs. Wen saw her son come back, she was relieved. She was really worried that if Xuan Ge'er didn't come back, Yu Niang would have to go directly to Raozhou City.
A few days ago, Yu Niang told them that she planned to go to Raozhou City to see if there were any idle large shops or extra land for her to buy. She wanted to build a big restaurant. She even wrote and drew on rice paper every night after returning from the restaurant. They were probably the drawings for building a restaurant.
Pei Weixuan raised the corners of his lips slightly, and said softly, "I'm back."
Xu Qinyu hurriedly lifted the hem of her skirt and trotted over to Pei Weixuan, smiling and asking, "Has Fourth Brother eaten his evening meal? If not, I'll cook something for you."
There is nothing busy at the winery, and the restaurant now has Dong Qian and Chef Wang helping to cook, so she has more free time. Tao Qi and his friends have recently gone to the mountains to pick a lot of wild persimmons to make persimmon cakes.
But even when it came to making persimmon cakes, only Cheng Ge'er and Feng Ge'er helped out. This year's persimmon cakes were basically all made by them, so Xu Qinyu didn't have to worry much.
Persimmon cakes sold very well last year, and this year Xu Qinyu still plans to sell them for five cents each.
I don’t make much money from persimmon cakes, but I will continue to send some back to my family in Beijing this year.
Pei Weixuan said, "I've eaten."
Xu Qinyu thought about the wine and her marriage with her fourth brother, and planned to talk to him.
"Fourth brother, you're back just in time. I have something I want to talk to you about. How about we go to the pavilion and talk?"
Pei Weixuan's eyes darkened, and he said in a hoarse voice, "Okay."
Seeing this, Wen and Ning Jie'er hurriedly said, "Then we'll go back first."
Even Sister Ning knew what Fourth Sister-in-law was planning.
She is almost fifteen years old this year, and Wen and Xu Qinyu will discuss any matters at home with her.
As she was already a grown-up girl, she naturally knew the relationship between her fourth brother and his wife, but she could also see that her fourth brother seemed to treat his wife in a special way.
Fourth brother and his wife's problems should be solved by themselves.
The two of them entered the room silently. Zhu had already taken Yan Jie'er and Feng Ge'er into the room to wash and sleep.
Xu Qinyu entered the wooden pavilion first. The grape racks next to them were full of lush grape leaves. Some vines had even climbed onto the pavilion and hung down, covering half of it. In addition, it was already very dark, so after the two of them entered the pavilion, if they didn't look carefully, they wouldn't be able to see that there were two people inside.
There were benches on all four sides of the wooden pavilion. Xu Qinyu sat down. Seeing her fourth brother sitting down opposite her, she finally revealed her worries. "Fourth brother, this is what's going on. This year's wine, just like last year, Zhen Biaotou will send the first batch to the capital..."
She told her fourth brother the story in detail.
This was what she was most worried about. As for the divorce with her fourth brother, she felt that it was not a big deal and there was no problem. It should be easy to resolve. Her fourth brother would agree to the divorce, but he would probably not agree to her moving out of the Pei family because he would worry about her safety when she was alone outside.
Xu Qinyu stopped talking about wine after she finished speaking.
As soon as she finished speaking, Pei Weixuan said, "Don't worry, Yu Niang. It's probably not the new emperor or the queen mother. I guess it's the King of Handong's people."
King of Handong?
Hearing this title of prince, Xu Qinyu was a little bewildered for a moment. She mentally calculated how many brothers the new emperor had. Besides the eldest prince and the fourth brother, the remaining princes should have been made princes. However, the new emperor would not allow princes who could leave the palace to stay in the capital. Who was this King of Handong? How could he leave the palace and not be sent to a fiefdom by the new emperor?
The new emperor has no brothers or sisters from the same mother, so he is very wary of his other brothers who have been made kings and usually does not allow them to stay in the capital.
Even if brothers from the same mother were crowned kings, some emperors, being suspicious by nature, would still send people to the fiefdoms.
Pei Weixuan saw Yu Niang's appearance and told her, "The King of Handong is the Queen Mother's biological brother."
Xu Qinyu was shocked. You know, in the Great Sheng Dynasty, no matter how great the merit was, no one with a different surname would be made a king, only a title would be granted. Empress Dowager Fu's father had long been made a duke, but after her son ascended the throne, she actually made her own brother a king with a different surname. This was really audacious, and she was not afraid of being reported to death by the censors.
Xu Qinyu murmured what was in her mind.
Pei Weixuan then told her that because of this matter, the empress dowager was reported again and again by the censors in the court, but the empress dowager didn't care at all.
Not only that, some things have happened in the capital recently, but the southwest is far away and the people in the southwest are not very aware of it.
In fact, it was not a big deal. It was just that the new emperor and the empress dowager in the palace built a temporary palace in a wasteful manner. They also built a temporary palace for Prince Handong. It was full of extremely luxurious gold, silver and jade wares. Even the floor was paved with luxurious white jade. Even the glass crafts that Pei Weixuan brought back from Erlai last year, most of them ended up in Prince Handong's palace. Prince Handong was the empress dowager's younger brother, and his food and clothing were the same as the new emperor and the empress dowager in the palace. There were groups of slaves in the palace, and the prince in the mansion was even more arrogant and domineering, bullying men and women. He dared to snatch back any woman he liked, even the granddaughter of the Duke.
Fortunately, the previous emperor had a great reputation and had accumulated a lot of wealth in the early years, so the national treasury was full. But with the extravagant behavior of the new emperor and the empress dowager, I am afraid that the national treasury will not last for a few more years.
Even the military pay allocated to the border military camps was embezzled by some officials. This year, the military pay in military camps across the country was reduced by half, which made the soldiers guarding the border cities very dissatisfied. Even the general leading the military camp was so angry that he submitted a memorial to the court.
Governor Zhu was also extremely busy with this matter.
After listening to her fourth brother talk about the developments in the capital and various other matters, Xu Qinyu felt a little uneasy and muttered, "Will there be an increase in taxes and labor service in the future?" She felt that the world was going to be in chaos.
You have to know that the rulers of feudal dynasties were so extravagant and wasteful. If there was a little famine, and they were unwilling to use the money in the national treasury to provide disaster relief, once the money in the national treasury was squandered, they would naturally increase taxes, making the people miserable, and the world would easily become chaotic.
Xu Qinyu felt that the Empress Dowager and the new Emperor in the palace were simply sick. If it was all about pleasure, wouldn't it be much happier to be a concubine or an idle prince? But they were determined to gain power, even harming the previous emperor and the eldest prince to get to that position.
Pei Weixuan chuckled. Even Yu Niang could see through it, but the new emperor and Empress Dowager Fu in the palace did not understand.
Because they not only want pleasure, but also want the greatest power in the world, to make everyone crawl at their feet. They want the most honorable status, not for the sake of a prosperous future for the Great Sheng Dynasty, not for the sake of making the people live in peace and happiness, but just for their own selfish desires. It is only a matter of time before problems arise, and now signs of this are beginning to appear.
Since it was the King of Handong who ordered all the wine, and he was just greedy for pleasure and gave money, and didn't use the wine to implicate the Pei family, Xu Qinyu had nothing to worry about.
She spoke again, "Fourth brother talked to me, and I feel at ease. I went to see Fourth brother today because I have another matter to discuss with him. My marriage with Fourth brother was just a plot by the new emperor, the old lady of Dechang Marquis, and Xu Qinhui. But I have never blamed Fourth brother or the Pei family. We are all innocent. It has been almost three years since I came to Border Town. Fourth brother, mother, and Ning Jie'er have been getting along for three years. I have long regarded you as my family. But Fourth brother is already twenty-three, and it's time for him to think about himself, so I thought about divorcing Fourth brother. I also plan to open a larger restaurant and a restaurant in Raozhou City."
"Once I sell this year's wine, I'll have more than 50,000 taels of silver notes on me. I'll go to Raozhou City and take a look. Xu's Restaurant has Dongqian and Chef Wang, so I don't have to worry. If I go to Raozhou City, I'll also bring Xu Feng and the others with me, so Fourth Brother doesn't have to worry."
She chattered to her fourth brother about her future plans.
Pei Weixuan's expression had turned pale since she started speaking. He lowered his eyes, motionless, and listened to Yu Niang finish the rest of her words.
After Xu Qinyu finished speaking, she saw that her fourth brother didn't move at all and didn't say anything. She couldn't help but look at her fourth brother, but the sky had completely darkened. She couldn't see her fourth brother's expression clearly, and she vaguely felt that something was wrong. Her fourth brother didn't move at all, like a statue in the dark.
The atmosphere seems wrong.
"Fourth brother?" Xu Qinyu couldn't help but shout.
"Yu Niang."
Xu Qinyu heard her fourth brother finally speak. He said, "Don't divorce."
His voice seemed to tremble a little.
Xu Qinyu was stunned, not understanding what her fourth brother meant for a moment.
But when she heard what her fourth brother said, she didn't know why her heart trembled.
"Fourth, Fourth Brother." Xu Qinyu stammered, "If we divorce, Fourth Brother can still get married. Fourth Brother is already twenty-three..."
She felt that in the darkness, her fourth brother finally raised his head, his eyes fixed on her.
She heard her fourth brother say, "Yu Niang, don't divorce me. From the beginning to the end, the person I want to marry is only you."
His voice was trembling slightly, with a barely perceptible hint of pleading.
Even though he knew that he would have to support Dasheng and lead troops to fight in the future, and he didn't know what his fate would be, he didn't want to let Yu Niang leave. He didn't have the idea of letting the woman he loved leave just because he didn't know what her fate would be. He just wanted to keep Yu Niang by his side.
The moment he heard her talk about divorce, he felt an urge to destroy the world. He even wanted to take Yu Niang away, lock her up, and keep her by his side forever.
But he was more afraid of scaring Yu Niang, so he forced himself to suppress these thoughts.
Xu Qinyu was struck by lightning, her heart pounding. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but nothing came out. She thought Fourth Brother just treated her like a younger sister, but Fourth Brother actually wanted to marry her? Fourth Brother liked her?
Xu Qinyu only knew that her heartbeat was abnormal. She finally stammered, "Fourth, Fourth Brother, you mean to be my real husband and wife."
Pei Weixuan hummed, staring at Yu Niang's somewhat panicked eyes in the darkness, "Yu Niang, are you willing to be my real husband and wife?"
Hearing him say it so bluntly, Xu Qinyu felt a little dry in the mouth for some reason. She was a little confused. In her two lives, this was the first time she had experienced such a thing. She was inevitably a little overwhelmed in her heart, but she did not seem to reject her fourth brother's words.
But this was really a bit sudden. She had always reminded herself that her actual age was 28. When she first came here, her fourth brother was only 19, a nine-year age difference. She must not be fooled by her fourth brother's beauty and have any inappropriate thoughts. She herself followed this rule very well. Every time she saw her fourth brother's face, she would quickly remind herself not to be confused.
As a result, Fourth Brother suddenly said this.
Xu Qinyu thought for a moment and said, "Fourth brother, give me some time to think about it."
She didn't know what to think for a moment, and now her mind felt like a mess.
"good."
After a while, the fourth brother finally replied with a good word.
Xu Qinyu stood up hurriedly. "Then I'll go back to the room and wash up first. Fourth brother must be tired from the journey, so you should also wash up quickly and go back to bed."
"Um."
After Yu Niang entered the room, Pei Weixuan sat in the wooden pavilion for a long time before slowly getting up. His tall figure blended into the darkness.
He thought, if Yu Niang still insisted on getting a divorce tomorrow, if Yu Niang really didn't like him at all and only treated him as a brother, what should he do?
The palms of his hands hanging on the outside of his thighs slowly tightened into fists.
…
Xu Qinyu returned to her room. It was dark in the room and she could not see anything. Her heart was beating fast. After a long while, she fumbled for the tinder on the table and struck it. The faint light allowed her to see things. She lit the oil lamp with the tinder, and light began to slowly come out of the room.
She stared at the lights in a trance.
After three years together, is it really just a brother-sister relationship?
Suddenly there was a crackling sound from the wick, and Xu Qinyu came back to her senses and calmed down. She sat down at the square table, looking at the inkstone, brush, and rice paper on the table. On the paper was the blueprint of the restaurant she had drawn, and she began to continue drawing.
She just couldn't put pen to paper. Her heart still couldn't calm down, but she didn't know whether her fourth brother had washed up and gone to bed. She still had to go to the kitchen to fetch water, but she was worried that it would be embarrassing if she ran into her fourth brother. She could only listen to the noise outside, planning to hear her fourth brother wash up and go back to the room before going to the kitchen to fetch hot water.
Just as I was listening to the noise outside, there was a sudden knock at the door.
Xu Qinyu was startled and asked hurriedly, "Who is it?"
Pei Weixuan's voice came from outside, "It's me, bringing hot water to Yu Niang."
Xu Qinyu responded, lifted the hem of her skirt and went to open the door. It was her fourth brother. He was holding a bucket of warm water and standing in front of the door. In the light from inside the room, she saw that her fourth brother's face was the same as usual, with handsome and gentle eyes. Her fourth brother was always very gentle in front of her.
On weekdays, when Fourth Brother is at home, it is always He who brings her bath water.
At this moment, Xu Qinyu felt a little embarrassed.
Pei Weixuan asked, "Do you want to help Yu Niang carry the water in?"
It would feel even weirder if I didn't let my fourth brother fetch water right now.
Xu Qinyu nodded, "Thank you, Fourth Brother."
Pei Weixuan made two trips to fill the bathtub in the room with water before saying, "Yu Niang, wash up and rest early." He glanced at the rice paper on the square table and said, "Don't paint for too long at night. It hurts your eyes."
The light from the oil lamp is still a little weak and can hurt your eyes.
Xu Qinyu nodded obediently to show that she understood.
After her fourth brother left, she took off all her clothes and got into the bathtub.
Although it was late summer and the temperature had gotten slightly cooler, she was sweating from staying in the restaurant kitchen during the day.
Xu Qinyu entered the bathtub and couldn't help but raise her snow-white arms to smell if there was any sweat. She was worried that her fourth brother would smell the sweat on her body. Just as she raised her arms with this thought, Xu Qinyu was stunned and put down her arms awkwardly. She half-lay on the edge of the bathtub, revealing her snow-white shoulders, with her black hair scattered on her shoulders and beautiful white shoulder blades.
Her shoulder blades were like beautiful butterflies, their wings slightly spread, slender and weak.
She always felt that her appearance could not compare with that of her fourth brother. Although she was also good-looking, her fourth brother's appearance was the most handsome she had ever seen in her two lives.
Xu Qinyu had no idea how alluring she looked at the moment.
After lying on the edge of the bathtub and thinking for a while, Xu Qinyu washed her hair and body, changed into soft silk clothes, and sat down under the window.
Normally, after washing her hair, she would go sit in the wooden pavilion outside and slowly wipe and dry it. But now she was too embarrassed to go out to the wooden pavilion, so she could only open the window in her room and sit under the window looking at the starry sky outside.
She had a lot of hair, and it took her half an hour to wipe and blow-dry her hair until it was half dry. She felt a little sleepy, but she couldn't help going to bed thinking that her hair was almost dry. She thought she would have dreams at night because of her upset mood, but she had to do it anyway. She had a sleepless night and woke up with a headache and a groggy head.
It seems that it was caused by the fact that she went to bed yesterday before her hair was completely dry.
I'll go to the restaurant later and ask them to add more shredded ginger when cooking porridge. A bowl of steaming hot porridge with shredded ginger and raw fish slices will basically make me feel better.
Xu Qinyu rubbed the back of her head, and put on her clothes listlessly. After all, she had a headache and was not very energetic.
When she went to the kitchen, Pei Weixuan was there, boiling water. Seeing her, he asked, "But you went to bed with your hair wet last night, so you have a headache?"
It seemed that nothing could be hidden from Fourth Brother, Xu Qinyu nodded dejectedly.
She thought it would feel weird to see her fourth brother, but actually it was fine, no different from usual. She didn't know what to do, but she definitely couldn't bring up the matter of divorce anymore. She had to wait until he figured out his feelings before saying anything.
Pei Weixuan stretched out his hand towards her and said, "Come here, I'll give you a massage and it will stop hurting."
Xu Qinyu hesitated, but still walked over and sat down on the small stool in front of her fourth brother.
Even when Pei Weixuan was sitting behind her, he was still more than a head taller than her.
He loosened Yu Niang's hair, which was usually not very pretty, and her black hair mixed with a faint fragrance fell behind her.
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