Chapter 76 High-Sugar Breakfast: In winter, dawn comes late, and getting up in the morning becomes even more of a challenge for those accustomed to sleeping on a heated kang bed in the side room…
In winter, it gets light late, and getting up in the morning becomes an even bigger challenge for those who are used to sleeping on a heated kang bed in the side room.
The footsteps in the courtyard and under the eaves were deliberately lightened. Everyone who was supposed to get up had already gotten up. A quarter of an hour ago, Qing Shuang came over and knocked on the window lattice, which startled her awake, but she couldn't get up no matter what. Shen Wanqing, who was just about to take another nap, even softened her breathing.
After standing outside the window for a while and not hearing any movement from inside the house, Qing Shuang turned and walked away. She casually beckoned a maid to go to the kitchen to tell her that breakfast from the east courtyard would be delivered half an hour later.
Last night, Yulang was invited to drink by Akdun and several of his subordinates who were skilled in martial arts and archery. When he went there, he patted his chest and told Shen Wanqing that he definitely wouldn't get drunk. However, when he came back, he couldn't even walk in a straight line.
He entered the East Courtyard on a freezing cold day and stood there without coming in. He even pushed away the servants who were supporting him on either side and stood swaying in the middle of the courtyard until he took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. Then he took a step and fell to the ground with a thud.
When people are drunk, their minds aren't clear, and they often come up with unusual and whimsical ideas. For example, Yu Lang still remembers what he promised Shen Wanqing before he left home. Now that he's back, he needs to be able to walk in a straight line. As long as he can walk in a straight line on his own, Lord Yu feels that it proves he's not drunk.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. His ambitious aspirations were thwarted as soon as he took the first step. On a cold day, Yu Xiaolangjun, wearing a cloak, sat in the courtyard. He looked up at his grandmother, who had come out of the house and stood in front of him, blinked, and said nothing.
Shen Wanqing reached out to him, gesturing for him to take her hand and stand up, but he didn't move. He just let out a loud, earth-shattering hiccup, then buried his head in his hands and leaned his entire upper body against Shen Wanqing's legs, humming and groaning as if he were saying something but couldn't make anything out.
It wasn't until she got him back inside, where he sat obediently in a chair and Changlu helped him change his clothes, bathe, wash his face, rinse his mouth, and put on a clean, slightly worn long robe, that Shen Wanqing realized what he had been muttering about in the courtyard.
He felt he shouldn't have come out. He thought that if he got up and walked through the house again, he would be able to walk straight into the house, which would prove that he wasn't drunk and that he hadn't broken his promise to Shen Wanqing before leaving.
You can't say he's not drunk, he's so drunk he can't even think straight. You can't say he's drunk he still remembers what he said before he left home.
Hearing this, Shen Wanqing lost all interest in dealing with the drunkard. She could only let Chunxian come in to take away the paper and pens on the kang table, make the bed, and lead Yulang, who was sitting honestly in a chair and was already sleepy, to bed.
The man, now sober, felt thirsty in the middle of the night and crawled out of bed to get some tea. The water on the table in the side room had long since gone cold, and Shen Wanqing, still half-asleep, was awakened by the noise of him getting up and told him to go to the corner room to get some water. It was winter, and the tea room had hot water on hand all day long.
Yu Lang shook his head. At times like this, drinking herbal tea would be the most comfortable. After downing a cup of herbal tea, the last bit of the alcohol's effects dissipated.
She then realized that there were no candles lit in the room and Shen Wanqing couldn't see herself nodding or shaking her head. She added that cold tea was more comfortable, then put down her teacup, turned around, climbed back onto the heated kang, and crawled into Shen Wanqing's quilt.
I was just about to fall back asleep when I turned over, but Yulang, that little rascal, insisted on crawling into my blanket, and my sleepiness quickly faded away.
"After the New Year and when spring arrives, we'll take some people out hunting."
"This is the eighth time. I'll remember this one, old man."
Hunting in the autumn was a common occurrence. Every time Yu Lang returned from his duty at the palace, he would hug Shen Wanqing and mutter to himself that it had been a long time since he had gone hunting, and that he would definitely take Shen Wanqing out for a few days of fun when he had some free time.
These words were heard from late autumn to the dead of winter, and the romantic trip that Lord Yu and Madam Shen had agreed to take had been moved from before the New Year to after.
The last time Shen Wanqing heard Yu Lang mention this was when she accompanied him to the stables in the dead of winter to bathe his precious horses.
He said he hadn't taken them out to run around for the past six months, and with the New Year approaching, he absolutely had to clean them up and feed them the best hay.
While talking about the best fodder, Lord Yu secretly glanced at Madam Shen. The 1,500 taels that Shen Wanqing had given him earlier, which he had saved up as much as he could, still didn't last until the twelfth lunar month.
He didn't know how the money had vanished so quickly; he even felt like he hadn't done anything for the past few months. In fact, he hadn't done anything at all; he was either on duty at Yuqing Palace or at home with his mistress.
So this is what marriage feels like. Before, when I was single, I could manage anything. Now that I have a wife, it seems like I can't manage anything anymore. If I don't do something right, I'm always worried about it, afraid that I'll wrong her again.
He fell asleep, and somehow, after his eyes adjusted to the darkness, when he looked at his wife's fair and jade-like face with only a faint trace of weariness in her eyes, Yu Lang felt the urge to speak again.
She had originally intended to ask how she planned to help the dozen or so households under the command of Zuo Ling to make a living after spring arrived, but then she felt it was too strange to talk about this in the middle of the night, so she swallowed back the words that were on the tip of her tongue.
“It’s true, Aktun said he recently found a great spot where he can sit down after a long hunt and enjoy a panoramic view of the scenery below.”
“Then let’s go. When we get there, we can ask Akdun what spices he used for the barbecue last time. Or you can ask him for some. This time, it’s just the two of us going, we won’t bring so many people, they’re so noisy.”
Shen Wanqing still has the nerve to criticize others for being noisy. This year, during the Spring Festival, the eldest grandmother was in charge. Now everyone in the family knows that the eldest grandmother has a fiery temper and does things quickly, accurately, and ruthlessly. No one can slack off.
Fortunately, as long as the tasks at hand are completed properly, Shen Wanqing usually turns a blind eye and doesn't interfere much, whether it's taking a nap or chatting and drinking together, as long as nothing goes wrong.
On the contrary, Urgun disciplined the servants and servants in his household much more strictly than before, which made many maids and old women think that Old Urgun was willing to do anything to please the eldest mistress.
Shen Wanqing and Wuergun both knew about this, but neither of them said anything about it. The division of labor between master and servant was such that everyone was satisfied with the current situation at home, and there was no need to say anything too explicit.
On the contrary, Yu Lang saw this and more than once secretly lamented to Shen Wanqing how his great-grandmother was so good at managing people.
Yu Lang had initially worried that Steward Shen Wanqing might ruin her reputation by being too ruthless, just like when she regained control of the household. But he later realized he was too naive. How could someone only a year older than him make such a big difference? What happened to the stereotype of women being confined to the inner quarters and having a narrow perspective? He would never believe such nonsense again.
Disbelieving these nonsense, Lord Yu huddled closer to Shen Wanqing like a caterpillar, waking her up from her drowsy state. Shen Wanqing even felt a faint dog smell lingering in her nose.
"Speak! What do you want? If you don't tell me, I'll have to go sleep in the next room."
"The eldest daughter of the Shi family has sent an invitation to the eldest mistress to go admire the plum blossoms. Eldest mistress, please take me with you tomorrow."
Shen Wanqing couldn't even remember whether she had agreed or not. When she woke up again, she lay in the warm bed and didn't want to get up no matter what. But when she heard the footsteps coming and going outside, she knew she couldn't stay in bed any longer. So she kicked Yu Lang's shin lightly twice to get him to get up first.
"Ancestor, I've already remembered even though you don't want to. I have to go to the palace to work again tomorrow. It's so cold that the water under the eaves can freeze into icicles. I don't want to get up."
That makes sense. No matter how tired I am, I am at home. And now I am the matriarch. Even when I go to pay my respects to Madam Tongjia in the morning, I go early if I get up early and late if I get up late. Twice I got up too late and ended up having lunch with Madam Tongjia in the main courtyard.
Anyway, the excuses are always ready. Since I'm in charge of the household, they might call me anytime. Even if no one calls me, I can call someone else because of various things at home.
In any case, as long as there is a reason, Madam Tongjia will never ask any questions. After all, the supplies for the main courtyard are managed by Shen Wanqing. Madam Tongjia is living a more comfortable life now than when Madam Shumulu was in charge of the household. She would never make trouble for herself.
Thinking about it this way, Yu Lang, who spends more than half the month in the palace serving as a servant to the Crown Prince, is working even harder than I am.
However, his hard work did not prevent Shen Wanqing from getting up. The eldest grandmother was good at coaxing people. She raised her hand and hugged Yu Lang, affectionately and sweetly pecking his chin twice.
"It wasn't that you said you were coming to the Shi family with me today, but my invitation was personally written to me by the future Crown Princess. If I were to bring you along today, I'd have to be shameless. You'd better get up first and serve me breakfast before we talk about anything else."
The Shi family returned to Beijing a few days ago and, just before the Lunar New Year, posted an invitation to a plum blossom appreciation banquet. This served two purposes: to reconnect with old friends still in Beijing and to let everyone know that the Shi family was now a prominent name in the capital.
Secondly, it was for the emperor in the palace to see, to tell him that the Shi family had returned smoothly from Fuzhou, without any missing limbs or illnesses, and that only a family like this was worthy of marrying their daughter to the crown prince, and only then would the crown prince be able to use her.
Originally, Shen Wanqing hadn't accepted the invitation, or rather, no one in the Hesheli family had any direct connection with the Shi family. Even though those who were interested now knew that the Crown Prince, Yulang, the Shen family, and the Shi family were all connected, they still had to maintain appearances.
If I didn't receive the call, so be it. It doesn't matter whether I attend or not, as I have a handwritten note from Mr. Shi. I'm not worried about not having opportunities to interact with him in the future.
These past few days, Yu Lang has been at home. Shen Wanqing and he are busy preparing for the New Year at home, while Shen Wanqing is busy with various miscellaneous matters under the command. They can forget about not receiving an invitation.
To her surprise, the invitation arrived unexpectedly, even though she hadn't wanted it. It was delivered by the Shi family themselves, who personally handed it to Shen Wanqing and repeatedly emphasized that the invitation was specifically requested by their eldest daughter. This forced Shen Wanqing to skip her own day to attend a banquet at the Shi family's house; otherwise, she would have been seen as ungrateful.
It's hard to say who would leave the warm bed first, since neither of them wanted to get out of bed. Once they got up, they realized it was getting late and they had to hurry. When they got ready, they boarded the carriage and arrived at the Shi residence. The place was bustling with activity, a stark contrast to the previous scene where only Shen Wanqing and the Shen family's servants were busy inside and out.
These banquets are all attended by invitation only, and the invitations are not necessarily sent by just one master of the mansion. There is a large patch of plum blossoms in the backyard of the Shi family that are blooming exceptionally well. Shen Wanqing had already admired them before. Even if Yulang hadn't asked her to come today, she would have brought him anyway. It would be a pity not to see such beautiful plum blossoms.
Butler Shi greeted the guests at the door, and his smile became even more sincere when he saw Shen Wanqing arrive. If it weren't for her help in arranging everything in the manor, given his own stubbornness, this plum blossom viewing banquet might not have been able to happen today.
"Greetings to Madam. How have you been lately?"
"Thanks to Butler Shi, everything is fine except for being a little busy and tired."
Shen Wanqing waved the invitation in her hand and deliberately tugged at Yulang, "The invitation was sent to me by your eldest daughter. Today, she shamelessly brought my master along as well. Steward Shi, please take the trouble to take him to the front to pay his respects to General Shi. If General Shi is busy, please send him to my father."
"What are you saying? With you here, how could Lord Yu not come?" Butler Shi smiled, his face full of wrinkles. He beckoned over a maid who looked to be in her thirties and had her take Shen Wanqing directly to the backyard.
He then led Yulang in another direction. Shen Wanqing glanced back and saw that it was the way to Shi Wenbing's study.
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Monday was so dark, so I'll write a sweet morning routine, it's a little short.
A red envelope will be given away in the comments section of this chapter! [Orange Heart]
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