At the end of February, the beginning of spring has passed, winter is gone and spring is here.
The snow stopped on the south bank of the Cangjiang River. After the war subsided, everything in Heqinwei returned to normal.
They had to leave Xicang for Yongzhou tomorrow morning. At daybreak, Guo Honglei led his horse out of the camp gate, whipped the horse, and patrolled the shore for the last time with Pan Kui and others.
As usual, they patrolled until the sun set before returning to the camp.
When they were six or seven miles away from the camp gate, Guo Honglei suddenly reined in his horse and shouted, "Whoa!"
"Boy, what are you stopping for?" Pan Kui asked in surprise.
Guo Honglei dismounted and led the horse towards the riverbank. "I want to take a walk."
"Hey? Okay, I'll take a walk too." Pan Kui dismounted, threw the reins to his personal guard, and took big strides to chase after him.
It is chilly in spring and the wind is strong on the shore.
Guo Honglei stood still, his robe fluttering, his eyes fixed on the surroundings, slowly scanning his surroundings with a mixture of emotions.
"What? Are you reluctant to leave?" Pan Kui covered his blind left eye with a leather mask and gradually adapted to the life of being one-eyed.
As departure approached, Guo Honglei was extremely reluctant. He pointed his whip around and replied with emotion, "Over the past few years, I've patrolled the area around the south bank of the Cang River countless times. I'm familiar with every blade of grass and every tree. But tomorrow I have to leave for Yongzhou Tuning."
"Hahaha, it's just a defense change, what's the big fuss?"
Pan Kui was also reluctant to leave, but he acted bold and unrestrained. He patted the other man's back with his palm like a palm-leaf fan and said comfortingly, "It's okay. There's only a river between the two places. Your family is in the county town now, so you can come back and visit them when you're on your way. When we have time in the future, we might go to Tuning for a stroll. The grasslands there are endless, and I heard that horse racing and hunting are particularly interesting."
"Okay! Brothers, if you have the chance, you must get together often."
"Of course!" Pan Kui agreed.
Guo Honglei felt very uncomfortable and couldn't help but sigh, "Last night, I went to say goodbye to the general. The general taught me that 'a man's ambition is to travel far and wide' and asked me to serve Lord Song diligently... Sigh."
"Tsk, what are you sighing about?" Pan Kui raised his head and asked in feigned anger, "You've had a son, and you've been promoted to a captain. You've had a series of happy events, but you're so depressed. Can't you be a little happy? Do you want to stay in Heqin forever? It's impossible to stay in Heqin forever without changing guard."
With a flick of his whip, Guo Honglei lashed at the rocky cliffs along the riverbank and sighed, "I understand."
"Then cheer up!"
Pan Kui put his arm around the man's shoulders, strode forward with his head held high, and said loudly, "Let's go back to the camp, call a few brothers, and ask the kitchen to cook a few of their specialties for you!"
Guo Honglei pulled himself together and said with sincere gratitude, "Thank you, Brother Kui, for your continued care."
"Brothers don't say thank you. You're being too polite again." Pan Kui laughed.
In the twilight, they mounted their horses and returned to the camp, talking and laughing.
In a blink of an eye, it is the tenth day of March.
The ice and snow melted, grass and trees sprouted, all things revived, and spring came again at the border.
Jiang Yushu showed great patience and finally finished her confinement.
It was a bright spring morning. She had put away her thick fur coat and donned a light padded jacket, combing her hair in the mirror. She had spent the entire winter cooped up in her room, cooped up for months. The bronze mirror reflected a flawless face, white with a rosy glow, smooth and rosy, unparalleled in its beauty.
Just as she finished combing her hair, she heard the sound of children chasing and laughing outside the window. Jiang Yushu stood up, stretched herself, and looked out the window:
Outside the window is a corridor, and below the corridor steps is the courtyard. The courtyard is square, with trees planted in the four corners, several flower beds, and a small rockery.
“Hahahaha~”
"Let's fly a kite!" Six-year-old Guo Yu was overjoyed. The chubby little boy was pulling an eagle kite with a string only a few feet long, and he shouted happily: "Oh, oh, let's fly a kite!"
"Brother, wait for me." After more than a month of recuperation, Gong Baozhu had long since recovered from her illness, but she was still frail. The two-year-old girl took short steps and tried her best to catch up. "Let me help you."
Guo Yu stopped and turned back to urge: "Want to help? Then run faster! Mammy, don't stop her. Come quickly, sister, I will teach you!"
"Here I come." Gong Baozhu ran over, panting.
Guo Yu wiped the sweat off his face with his sleeve and said, "Here, hold it while I run forward. When I tell you to let go, let go immediately. Remember?"
"I remember." Gong Baozhu nodded repeatedly, followed his instructions, and held the kite obediently.
Guo Yu sniffed, then immediately rushed forward, "Go ahead—let's fly the kite! Sister, let go!"
"Yeah." Gong Baozhu responded and let go.
The kite fell to the ground and was dragged away by the fat little boy.
The two wet nurses followed, trying to persuade them, but they couldn't stop. They were worried, looking towards the east wing anxiously, and with bitter faces, they tried to persuade them: "It's so early in the morning, and the old lady and the others haven't woken up yet. You two should keep your voices down."
"Stop yelling, stop yelling! Hey, little ancestor, slow down, be careful not to fall."
"Baozhu, Baozhu, come back and rest for a while. You just recovered from your illness and you've been running around sweating. Be careful not to catch a cold again."
Guo Yu was having a great time and refused to listen to any advice. He sometimes ran around the rockery, sometimes around the flower bed, full of energy and tireless.
As he ran past the east wing, a sudden gust of morning wind blew, causing the kite to fly askew. It hit the porch pillar with a "bang" and then fell down. The rope was entangled in the branches with new buds.
"Oh no!" Guo Yu was forced to stop, standing on tiptoe and pulling and tugging, shouting: "Oh no, my kite is tangled! What should I do?"
Jiang Yushu stood in front of the window and asked with a smile, "Is it entangled?"
Hearing his second aunt's voice unexpectedly, Guo Yu looked up in surprise, quickly put on a smile, and replied crisply: "Good morning, aunt! Yu'er was just about to greet you."
Jiang Yushu nodded, "You're here earlier than Auntie." Then, she left the window and walked out of the room. She quickly walked to the tree, reached out to untie the kite, and said softly, "While everyone is resting, we should be quiet. Taking a walk, reading, or writing would be fun, wouldn't it?"
"But I think flying a kite is more fun."
Jiang Yushu laughed dumbly. "Well, but try to be quiet in the early morning. Actually, the wind in the yard isn't strong enough, and it's not spacious enough, so I'm afraid the kite won't fly."
"I'm trying. Once it's launched, I'll definitely invite Auntie to see it." Guo Yu looked up, his height not even reaching his slender Second Aunt's waist, and said angrily, "This tree is so annoying! Be careful, or you might get scratched by the branches."
At this time, the wet nurses hurried over and Baozhu was in her wet nurse's arms.
"Madam, take a rest. I'll do it!" Guo Yu's nurse hurried over, raised her hand to grab the kite, and asked apologetically, "Did you get woken up? Alas, Master Yu got up early. As soon as he opened the door, he started running, jumping, and playing with the kite. I really can't stop him."
Jiang Yushu shook her head. "No, I usually wake up at this time."
The Gong family's nanny put the girl down and reminded her, "Hurry up and pay your respects to the elders."
"Baozhu pays her respects to my second aunt." The girl bowed very straight.
Jiang Yushu bent down, casually brushed her sweaty, thinning yellow hair, and replied gently, "Good girl, you're really polite. You've been running around sweating, be careful not to catch a cold, it's time to change clothes."
"Hey, change it right away!" Gong's nanny bowed and replied.
The next moment, the Guo family's nanny untied the kite. Guo Yu immediately jumped up and grabbed it, cheering excitedly: "Hahaha, it's untied! Fly the kite, fly the kite! Sister Baozhu, come on, the two nannies come too, let's play together!"
Just as Jiang Yushu was about to offer some words of advice, the window of the first bedroom in the east wing was suddenly flung open. Wang Qiaozhen, wearing a padded jacket and with uncombed hair, leaned forward with a sullen face and shouted:
"Yu'er!"
Guo Yu stopped in his tracks, stuck out his tongue in fear, turned around and replied with a smile, "Mother, are you up? I greet you."
"Greetings? What greetings?" Wang Qiaozhen, dizzy from being woken up so often, scolded him angrily, "Play, play, play! All he does all day is play! So early in the morning, instead of studying seriously, he's running around the yard, shouting and making a lot of noise. How disrespectful! Don't you know the elders are resting? Why didn't the nanny stop him?"
The nanny looked embarrassed and stammered, "I have tried to persuade him, but he won't listen."
"Are you itching for trouble again? Come here and hand over the kite!" Wang Qiaozhen raised her hand threateningly.
When Guo Yu saw his mother slap him, he made a face, grabbed the kite, turned around and ran, sprinting towards the main room, pretending to cry as he ran, shouting, "Grandma! Grandma, please save me! Wuuwuwu, old grandma, help me! My mother is going to hit me again."
"Yu'er——"
"You, you deserve a beating!" Wang Qiaozhen gritted her teeth. Her son was becoming more and more naughty, often making her furious.
Jiang Yushu couldn't help laughing and sighed, "Sister-in-law, calm down. Yu'er is at the age where he loves to play. He will be sensible when he grows up."
"Oh, he is so naughty. He can't be quiet for more than fifteen minutes all day long. He gives me a headache." Wang Qiaozhen yawned with her hand covering her mouth.
Nearby, Gong's nanny, holding Baozhu, stood awkwardly under a tree. She saw the right moment and hurriedly urged the little girl, "Hurry and pay your respects to the Madam!"
Gong Baozhu was young, but she wasn't completely ignorant. After living with Wang Qiaozhen for over a month, she vaguely realized that Wang Qiaozhen didn't like her. She felt timid and hesitant, moving closer, bowing and whispering, "Baozhu pays her respects to my aunt."
Wang Qiaozhen leaned against the windowsill, looking down from above, took a peek across the eaves, and replied calmly, "It's Baozhu."
"Yeah." Gong Baozhu stood upright.
Wang Qiaozhen and Liao Xiaodie held a deep grudge against each other. She deeply despised the "vain vixen," and consequently, her dislike for the vixen's daughter. The morning breeze was chilly, and she wrapped herself tightly in her jacket. She said nonchalantly, "Yu'er loves to play, making a lot of noise all day long, even irritating cats and dogs. I just gave her a good scolding. It's better for a little girl to be quiet and gentle. Don't become like your brother Yu in the future."
The little girl nodded in confusion, and the Gong family's nanny replied awkwardly: "I will definitely teach our girl well."
Every family has its own problems. Jiang Yushu frowned and said nonchalantly, "The morning breeze is cool, let's add some clothes to Baozhu."
"Yes, yes." The Gong family's wet nurse felt as if she had been pardoned. She immediately picked up Baozhu and went back to her room with her head down.
After watching the stranger walk away, Wang Qiaozhen curled her lips and complained, "It's been over a month, why haven't the Gong family sent anyone to pick up the child? Don't they want him anymore?"
Jiang Yushu walked up to the porch and said, "How can I bear to 'give up' my own flesh and blood? I heard that the case will be decided soon. I guess Baozhu's parents will come to pick her up soon."
"Tsk." Wang Qiaozhen smoothed her hair, sighed sarcastically, and said slowly, "What on earth does the Guo family owe the Liao family? Back then, cousin Xiaodie took refuge in the Marquis' Mansion and lived there until she got married. Now, she's shoving her daughter in here and leaving her there for a month or so. Does that mean Baozhu has to live there too until she gets married? Oh my God, this is terrible, so terrible, who can afford to support her?"
Jiang Yushu reminded her, "Baozhu's last name is 'Gong'. No matter what, her grandparents are still alive, and she has uncles and aunts. It's impossible for her to live in the Guo family until she gets married."
"I hope so." Wang Qiaozhen covered her mouth and yawned repeatedly. "I'm so sleepy. I want to sleep a little longer."
Jiang Yushu smiled and nodded.
Wang Qiaozhen closed the window and went to rest.
Afterwards, the door of the third room was half open. Jiang Yushu heard the noise and immediately walked over quickly.
"Madam," Madam Pan looked outside for a few seconds and asked in a low voice, "What happened just now?"
Jiang Yushu said casually, "It's nothing, just a child flying a kite. Is Ye'er awake?"
"I was woken up for a while, drank milk and fell asleep again."
Jiang Yushu walked into the inner room. The wet nurse, Qiu, was squatting there, gently tucking the baby in. She asked, "It's hard work nursing a baby. Why don't you sleep a little longer?"
"It's not hard. I woke up after getting enough sleep." Qiu hurriedly stood up and whispered, "The little master rarely cries. Three feedings at night are enough. Look, he sleeps so soundly."
When a baby is one month old, his skin is no longer red and his complexion gradually turns white.
Jiang Yushu looked at it for a while and said happily, "It has become whiter and a little fatter. In two months, I think it will be white and plump."
"Of course, she'll definitely grow plump and white!" Nanny Pan leaned closer and asked with concern, "Madam, you have to go to the county government office today. Will you have lunch when you come back?"
Jiang Yushu straightened up and tiptoed out of the inner room, full of energy. She answered seriously, "No, I took office today and have many things to discuss with two colleagues. The county magistrate's wife invited me to lunch, so I won't be home until the evening at the earliest. I'll leave Ye'er to you."
"Don't worry, I will take good care of the young master." With a generous monthly salary and a kind employer, Mrs. Qiu has always been conscientious and responsible.
Nanny Pan sighed, "Cui Mei, Xiao Tao, and Zou Gui are all in Yuehu. Madam, when she goes out, she can only take other servants with her for the time being. I don't think they are used to it."
Jiang Yushu smiled and said, "I'm just going to the county government office, not going on a long trip. It doesn't matter who I bring with me. Yuehu is busy buying land and building a farm. I told Cuimei and the others to wait until they've finished their work before going to the county town, so as not to miss out on other things."
"In short, you must be careful when you go out, and it's best to bring a few more people with you." Nanny Pan looked at the young and beautiful female official with some concern.
Jiang Yushu replied briskly: "Be careful!"
At the same time, the county government
Wei Xu had a stomach upset a few days ago. He had just stopped vomiting and having diarrhea when he developed symptoms of acclimatization. He became thinner and thinner day by day and was in great pain. He was full of anger but had no place to vent it.
The servant shook out his coat, put it on him, and fastened it. Unable to conceal his anticipation, he excitedly reported, "Just now, Madam Liu sent a maid to say that a small banquet will be prepared at noon for you, Ambassador Liang, and Special Envoy Jiang. Ah! After waiting for more than ten days, I finally have the chance to see Ambassador Liang and Special Envoy Jiang in their true form!"
Wei Xu's face turned grim. "What's there to be happy about? We've been left out in the cold for over ten days!"
"Not really—well, I guess it wasn't intentional." The servant scratched his head and said cautiously, "Ambassador Liang arrived first and immediately went around inspecting farmland and busying himself with official business. He only returned to the county government office today. Special Envoy Jiang, on the other hand, happened to be in confinement after childbirth. After all, women can't be exempted from confinement."
Wei Xu took a deep breath, but couldn't suppress his anger. Deeply prejudiced, he said coldly, "A woman should focus on taking care of her husband and children and managing the household. She's not suited to being an official. If she's busy with official duties in the future, and she's busy giving birth and recuperating after childbirth, what kind of nonsense is that? It's a joke!"
"Sir, calm down, calm down, calm down. Today is the first time we meet, so don't get angry. Don't be petty with a woman."
Wei Xu flicked his sleeves and said disdainfully, "I don't want to argue with a woman."
"I have never seen a female official before. I will be honored to have seen her."
Wei Xu's face was expressionless, and he was extremely unconvinced. He said, "Jiang was once a convict, and she was granted an official position due to her 'skill in storing grain.' A woman who has been exposed to the sun and rain and is good at farm work must be dark and strong. You might get scared."
The author has something to say:
Aunt Pan: It's incomprehensible. You are the one who is 'dark and strong'!
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