Chapter 152: The Festival Gift Sent to the Palace
Xiao Yan's thoughts were indeed touched upon.
This is also the reason why, even though he was deeply in love, he didn't dare to mention it to Lu Qiniang.
The feeling of "unworthiness" engraved in Lu Qinniang's bones will only make her escape.
She would think she was crazy, would distance herself from him, and would leave him in order not to delay him.
That was a burden that Xiao Yan could not bear.
For Lu Qiniang, a refusal is a refusal, not a half-hearted attempt to refuse.
This decisiveness made Xiao Yan respect her more, but also made her more distressed.
Including Daya, who also thinks so.
Daya is Xiao Yan's "military advisor".
Daya asked him to take it slowly.
People are already in position, can there be any other changes?
Be patient, boil the frog in warm water, and make yourself a habit of Lu Qinniang, and then she will naturally accept it.
It's just a matter of time, he can afford to wait.
Besides, every day with her is happiness for Xiao Yan, not endurance.
Speaking of men's desires——
He does.
But the things that I could handle on my own before, I can handle on my own now.
"Keep your mouth shut in front of Qi Niang and don't force me to slap you." Xiao Yan warned Yun Ting.
Yun Ting: “…”
Okay, okay, the love-brained, scheming man has been demystified.
"By the way, the Duke said that on August 15th, he wants you to return home to be with your grandmother."
"I won't go back! He said to send me away, so he sent me away. He told me to go back, so I went back. Don't I have any dignity?"
"Your grandmother is very old. How many more Mid-Autumn Festivals can you spend with her?"
This made Yun Ting silent.
But after a moment of silence, he was still the domineering Yun Ting.
"Then tell my dad I don't want to see him and ask him to stay away. Also, I'll just spend the holiday with grandma and then be back. I won't stay the night!"
Xiao Yan: "..."
The next day, the fifth young master said goodbye and returned home.
Lu Qinniang's worry was evident in her words.
The Fifth Young Master smiled at her and glanced at Xiao Yan behind her. He was no longer as embarrassed as he was last night, but looked calm and composed. "Sister, don't worry, brother-in-law. I know what's going on. I'll send Song Yan to report safety from time to time."
After sending him away, Erya grumbled, "How could Fifth Young Master be such a good man, so unlucky?"
In her memory, the Fifth Young Master was gentle and humble, good-looking, well-educated, and had a good temperament. Everything was good, except that he had an unfortunate fate.
It would be perfect if he were reborn in the eldest lady's womb.
"He's already an official in the Imperial Academy, so why doesn't the Emperor care about him? The First Lady and the Sixth Young Master are so hateful!"
"What do you care about?" Lu Qiniang said unhappily, "Do you think the emperor can control everything?"
Even if the emperor divided it into 100 pieces, he would not be able to interfere in Zhou Xiaoyao's family affairs.
Matters of family and country cannot even take priority!
Erya sighed, "Fifth Young Master is such a good man, why is it so difficult?"
Daya said, "I hope that the Fifth Young Master can find a good in-law family in the future, one that can rival the First Madam's family. That way, his future path will be easier."
"That's not easy," Lu Qiniang sighed. "We want to pick a good family, but will they be willing to let their daughter marry down and find a mother-in-law like that? Anyway, as a mother, I don't want that."
"He can marry into the family." Xiao Yan said.
"We can't let the Zhou family go," Lu Qiniang said. "Besides, marrying into the family is a life of hardship. The Fifth Young Master has been bullied for over twenty years, he can't suffer forever."
"Find a good family." Xiao Yan said, "We'll see later. If they encounter any difficulties, we'll help if we can and treat them like relatives."
Yun Ting: Your relative was seriously injured last night!
The culprit, speaking nonsense, bah, shameless!
He had supported Xiao Yan before, but perhaps the fact that they were both motherless children and shared the same suffering aroused his sympathy, so at this moment, he supported the Fifth Young Master.
Lu Qiniang began to prepare Mid-Autumn Festival gifts.
Xiao Yan delivered the copy for the emperor to Teng Wenfu, who brought it into the palace.
The emperor was originally reading a memorial with a frown on his face.
When he heard that Lu Qiniang had sent him a Mid-Autumn Festival gift, he immediately put down the memorial, smiling broadly, "Give it here, give it here, let me see what gift Qi Niang prepared for me."
Teng Wenfu placed the wicker basket on the emperor's desk with a smile, removed the floral cloth covering it, revealing what was inside.
There were twenty homemade salted duck eggs, eight mooncakes, a small jar of pickled cucumbers, and a small jar of something they said was a sauce made from crab roe and crab meat, which was reserved for mixing with rice.
"Qi Niang specifically asked me to give you this small jar of crab roe sauce, which is equivalent to two large baskets of crabs. It's not valuable, but it's a token of my appreciation. I want you to keep it for yourself and not give it to others." Teng Wenfu said with a smile.
He didn't dare tell the emperor that he also got a small jar, but of course it was not as big as the emperor's jar.
But it is also very fragrant.
"Two large baskets of crabs? That's not cheap!" the emperor asked. "Has Qi Niang been living comfortably lately?"
"Yes, we're well off now," Teng Wenfu said with a smile. "Xiao Yan said yesterday that the family now has an income of twenty or thirty taels a month, so he spent one tael of silver to buy you two baskets of crabs. Please don't feel bad for them. He said that Qi Niang was worried that you would miss her, so she specially asked you to bring them. Her efforts are not worth the money, but she thinks of you."
"How much?" the Emperor asked. "How much for two baskets of crabs?"
"Tell me, say it's one or two taels of silver." Teng Wenfu realized something and said cautiously.
"Teng Wenfu, go to Qi Niang's house soon and bring her something. Don't give her anything too expensive, or she'll guess my identity—"
That's really boring.
It is so rare to find someone who treats him like an ordinary elder, caring and filial, without being concerned about this or that. The emperor cherishes him very much and hopes that this relationship without distance can last a little longer.
"Well, take some of the snacks from the palace and the rare fruits that were tributed. The mangoes that the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi brought in are quite good. Bring her a few big ones so that Qi Niang can enjoy them."
The emperor would be happy as long as he imagined Lu Qinniang's excited reaction and her grinning face when she saw the rare toy.
"Yes, Your Majesty, don't worry, I will make all the arrangements."
"Also, tell Qi Niang that I like crab roe sauce, but I also like crabs. Ask her to buy me two baskets of crabs, and you can go along with her."
Teng Wenfu said yes, but he was thinking in his heart, those who are in charge of purchasing, the emperor is going to be lenient with you.
What a coincidence, yesterday was Concubine Shu’s birthday and a banquet was held in the palace.
The emperor naturally had to give some face to the old concubine who had served him for many years.
The crabs were very big and fat. The emperor was concerned about the prices and specifically asked how much each pound of crabs cost.
Concubine Shu didn't know either, so she asked the buyer, who said it was two hundred coins per catty, and there were three pieces per catty.
The emperor thought the price was acceptable and did not ask any further questions.
But the prices of the goods that Lu Qiniang had someone bring today don’t match.
The emperor was cautious, thinking that perhaps Lu Qinniang was afraid of the psychological burden on her, so she underestimated the amount of money.
It may also be that she has never seen any real big crabs, so it is normal for the prices to vary.
But no matter what, two baskets of crabs must weigh at least fifty or sixty pounds, and it only cost one or two taels of silver, and one pound of crabs must be at most twenty cents.
The price of crabs in the palace is ten times higher.
The emperor wants to see if anyone is playing tricks on him.
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