Chapter 3282 Winter
The result of sending out invitations widely was that there were a lot of guests, even more than the banquet for Zhou Man’s wedding.
When the sky was just getting light, the servants in the princess's mansion got up, opened the door and saw a silvery white outside.
Jiulan and Xibing brought hot water into the room. Zhou Man was still sleeping soundly in the quilt. When he heard the noise, he gently turned over and continued to sleep.
Xibing put the water on the shelf, walked over and nudged her, "Madam, it snowed last night. It looks like there aren't many clouds today, so it should be sunny."
Zhou Man responded, barely opened a crack, and asked, "Are there enough people?"
It snowed last night, so a lot of people are needed to shovel the snow today.
Xibing: "I will ask the old lady later."
Zhou Man responded and stayed in bed for a while before getting up.
It snowed heavily last night. The roofs were all white, snow was piled on the trees in the yard, and the flower beds and grass were all white. The servants were shoveling the snow on the road under the trees and onto the grass.
Zhou Man took a deep breath, and the cold yet sweet air entered her throat. She felt very happy and couldn't help but smile.
She gathered her fox fur coat and said with a hearty smile, "This snow is nice."
Xibing smiled and said, "Everyone says that auspicious snow means a good harvest. Next year will definitely be a good year."
"Even so, please keep an eye on the snow on the roof and have someone sweep some of it down."
Xibing agreed.
Jiulan brought the servants up with a food box, "Madam, breakfast is here, please eat it while it's hot."
Zhou Man then turned back to the house and asked, "Have Grandma, Mother, and Eldest Sister eaten?"
"The old lady and the mistress have both used it, but the young lady hasn't woken up yet."
Zhou Man: "Let her sleep. It's so cold, she should sleep in. She will grow taller if she sleeps more."
Zhou Man lived in the main courtyard, and there were still not many servants. In addition to the main house where he lived, the side room with the best light was converted into a study, and next to it was Zhou Man's pharmacy. The left and right side rooms were occupied by Xibing Jiulan on one side and a small room prepared for the little Bai Jingxing on the other.
Of course, she doesn't live here. Compared to her mother whom she can only see in the evening, she is often taken care of by her grandmother.
Whether in Beihai County or in the capital, she lived with Zheng most of the time.
The princess's mansion is not small and has many courtyards, so you can choose the one you like to live in.
Madam Liu and Zheng chose two adjacent courtyards, which were close to the garden and had good lighting.
Zhou Man chose a courtyard in the second courtyard as a library. The houses inside had been renovated and were filled with rows of bookshelves.
In addition to some books that she often uses in her small study, Zhou Man puts all the other books in the library.
Including the Bai family's collection of books, only half of the bookshelf is now filled, and the remaining half is still empty. Zhou Man and Bai Shan said in a letter that one of their goals for the rest of their lives is to fill the bookshelf.
Noble families pass down their heritage through books. As long as there are books, there is the possibility of learning knowledge, and the family will be invincible.
This is what Old Lady Liu said to Zhou Man when she placed the books from the Bai family collection one by one on the bookshelf. Zhou Man and little Bai Jingxing both said they had taken note of it.
In accordance with regulations, the Palace Department sent palace servants to Zhou Man, mostly palace maids, but there were also eunuchs, a total of eighteen people, including six eunuchs.
Madam Liu didn't give Zhou Man any of these people. In her words, "I don't doubt the people sent by the Palace Department, but you are now working in the palace, which inevitably requires you to treat His Majesty and the Crown Prince. It is inconvenient to keep these people in the courtyard."
"Don't employ those you doubt. Since we can't completely trust them, then we won't employ them," Old Lady Liu said. "That's the first reason. The second reason is that you and Zhishan don't like to employ servants. You have very few servants around you. If you put them in the main courtyard, you wouldn't feel comfortable either."
Zhou Man nodded, "Grandma, what are you going to do with them?"
Madam Liu smiled and said, "I plan to keep them in the two courtyards of mine and your mother-in-law. The eldest sister is also grown up. In addition to Wu Yue who you put with her, we need to add some more people. I think they are very good."
"Those who come from the palace are all well-mannered and knowledgeable. With them guiding our eldest sister, she will definitely be well-mannered in the future."
Zhou Man thought about it and nodded, "Grandma, please make the decision."
So when Zhou Man arrived at Old Lady Liu's courtyard, it was a palace maid who opened the curtain. She bowed and invited Zhou Man in. As soon as she sat down, she bowed and went out to make tea.
Madam Liu said, "The ingredients were almost ready last night. The guests will arrive around noon. Please wait for your fourth brother and his friends to arrive and help greet them at the front."
Zhou Man agreed.
Madam Liu touched Zhou Man's hand and was relieved to see it was warm. "It's cold today. You're pregnant, so it's not good for you to go out in the wind. Be careful on the snowy roads. Oh, and have someone check around again. There are many guests coming today, including many women. The snow must be cleared to prevent guests from falling."
Madam Liu gave detailed instructions, and Zhou Man sat there for a while, only to find that there was little he could do to help.
After a while, Zheng also arrived, and everyone from Zhou's family also came over.
When Old Lady Liu saw them, she smiled and entrusted the task of looking after the kitchen to Xiao Qianshi, the task of entertaining the female guests to Zhou Lijun, and the arrangement of dishes and the management of the servants to Zhou Sisao and the others.
Zhou Man and Zheng were also in charge of entertaining the female guests. Old Madam Liu pointed at Zhou Man and Zheng and said, "The Bai family will also have quite a few people coming this time, and Ziqian still doesn't know many of them. You can point them out to her when the time comes. You don't have to get to know them too well, but at least you have to recognize them."
Zhou Man and Zheng agreed.
Everything was arranged, and the Princess's Mansion began to operate in an orderly manner. Before the guests arrived, Zhou Man was leisurely sitting in the study with a cup of goat's milk, watching a group of children.
Oh, she doesn't need to look. In the Zhou family, the older children have always taken care of the younger children. Now, it is the fifth and sixth children who are taking their younger brothers and nephews and nieces to play.
After watching for a while, Zhou Man beckoned over the oldest two, Five and Six, and asked, "Where are you in your studies now?"
Wu Tou said, "I have finished reading the Spring and Autumn Annals."
"Do you still remember what we learned from the Analects?"
Wu Tou: "...I can still memorize a lot, but I can't remember everything."
Zhou Man nodded. "Do you still remember the names of the medicines and the recipes I asked you to memorize?"
"I remember some."
Zhou Man said, "Recite it to me."
Wutou then put his hands behind his back. Zhou Man nodded slightly when he heard it. "I haven't been home these past few years. Who has been teaching you?"
"My third sister and eldest sister-in-law always asked me to memorize the names of medicines and soup recipes. Usually, they would just let me read the Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine, but nothing else."
Zhou Man said, "You can go and take the Imperial Medical Examination. Now I'll ask you again, do you really want to be a doctor in the future?"
Wutou nodded seriously, "Of course, my parents both said that I only need to learn 50% of my aunt's skills."
(End of this chapter)
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