The head maid named Qingliu replied with a smile, "Yesterday, Granny Lu instructed us not to wake the young ladies in the morning. She told them to sleep as long as they wanted. But this was Granny Lu's order. Granny Lu is the most disciplined nanny in our household."
Xu Mian naturally knew that Granny Lu was the best-mannered nanny in the mansion, and that all the young ladies in the family were taught proper etiquette by this nanny.
Xu Mian was relieved and asked, "Have the other girls gotten up yet?"
Aoyu said, "I went out to check just now, and they haven't gotten up yet. We haven't dared to sleep soundly at night on this journey. The girls have really worked hard."
It wasn't that they were afraid something might happen, but they had grown up in the deep courtyards of the Marquis's mansion since they were young. The few times they had spent the night outside the mansion, it was on a manor in the suburbs of the capital. The manor was heavily guarded, especially after the young ladies of the family went there, the guards became even more stringent. But on the way to Ganzhou, although there were guards protecting them, they were always uneasy. Not only did Xu Mian not dare to sleep soundly at night, but even the youngest Xu Li would wake up at the slightest noise. During the day, everyone was on the carriage, swaying and unable to sleep even if they wanted to.
Xu Mian yawned and asked, "Are Third Aunt and Auntie up yet?"
Qingliu shook her head and said, "Several young ladies live in this courtyard. The gate wasn't opened this morning, and no one else went out. Since I saw that no one else was going out, I didn't go out either."
Xu Mian knew that her maid was a steady person. Besides, they were not in the Marquis's mansion. They were in an unfamiliar place, and if she made a mistake, it would embarrass her mistress. It was better to stay still than to make a move. The safest thing to do was to stay quietly in her room and wait for someone to call her.
Exhausted from the journey, Xu Mian woke up and, hearing that no one had gotten up yet, lay down again, a rare occurrence for her. Qing Liu smiled and said, "Third Miss, it's not very early yet, why don't you rest a little longer?"
Xu Mian said, "Then I'll lie down for a while longer. It's so comfortable to sleep on this heated kang in Ganzhou."
In the capital, girls usually sleep on beds. Although it has been almost a month since the New Year, the north is still cold. Most families in Ganzhou still heat up their kang (heated brick bed) to sleep at night. Xu Mian has slept on a heated kang at home before, but she feels that the heated kang in Ganzhou is much warmer than the kang in the capital. And even though it is cold outside, the house is warm with both kang and heated walls, so it is not cold at all.
It wasn't until mid-morning that the girls who had been sleeping in their rooms started to get up one after another. The servants who were guarding outside the courtyard heard the commotion and waited until the girls had washed up before bringing in breakfast.
Xu Mian saw that the servants who came to deliver the food were well-mannered and the food was hot, and she felt that her third aunt was really taking good care of them.
The day after Xu Di and Li Yuexi returned, they rushed back to the Li family in Hexi to visit Xu Di's parents-in-law. Since the Hou family was coming over, they did not stay overnight. Li Yuexi told her mother that she would come and stay for a few more days after her sister-in-law's wedding, and this was allowed by her mother-in-law. Madam Li was happy then.
Upon returning, Li Yuexi took over all the household affairs. Granny Lu was getting old and her energy was waning. Xu Zhi, a young woman of marriageable age, couldn't handle everything herself. As for her mother-in-law, Zhang Zhaoci, Li Yuexi felt that her mother-in-law seemed much more relaxed since Li Yuexi's return. The more relaxed she was, the more attentive Li Yuexi became to the affairs of the household.
Last night, Granny Lu told Li Yuexi that the girls had come from afar and suffered a lot along the way, so they shouldn't be woken up too early in the morning. They could sleep as long as they wanted and have breakfast after they woke up.
Li Yuexi got up early in the morning and sent people to guard the courtyard where the girls lived. Meanwhile, people in the kitchen were arranged to prepare hot breakfasts at any time. Li Yuexi took good care of not only the girls in the back courtyard, but also the aunts living in the back courtyard and the younger brothers living in the front courtyard.
Xu Di got up early and, as usual, practiced his boxing a few times. After sweating it out, he washed up and saw Li Yuexi busy making arrangements. He then invited her to have breakfast with him. Li Yuexi said, "Husband, there are still some things over there that I haven't told you yet."
Xu Di pulled her back, saying, "You're all grown up. If you feel uncomfortable, just say so. You're not a three-year-old who needs to be taken care of from head to toe. You've been through this too. They're tired, and so are you."
Li Yuexi said shyly in a low voice, "Husband, you're going to spoil me."
Xu Di said, "You're my wife, if I don't spoil you, who else should I spoil? Come on, let's go back and have dinner first. We need to eat well to have the energy to do things, right?"
Li Yuexi had gotten used to Xu Di's way of doing things. Seeing his persistence, she was able to let him take her hand and lead her back to her room for breakfast.
There weren't enough servants in the house, so Xu Di brought breakfast back from the kitchen himself. He pulled Li Yuexi back to the room, pressed her down to sit at the table, and said, "You sit down first, I'll set the table for you."
Li Yuexi quickly stood up and said, "Husband, you mustn't! If people find out, they'll say I'm being unreasonable. Let's do it together, let's do it together."
Xu Di knew that Li Yuexi had been raised by her mother since childhood. Although her mother was a free-spirited woman, she was still influenced by the traditional Chinese virtues of obedience to father, husband, and son. He knew that he and Li Yuexi would not be a modern couple.
After the two had breakfast, Xu Rao called Xu Di to the study in the front yard. There were quite a few things to prepare for Xu Zhi's marriage. Although the marriage was somewhat rushed, both Xu Rao, Xu Di, and Zhang Zhaoci wanted to make it a grand affair, as it was a major event in Xu Zhi's life.
After Xu Di went to the front yard, Li Yuexi took out a red box carved with intertwined flowers from her luggage. Inside was a small embroidered kang screen, but it was not framed. Li Yuexi knew that although Xu Zhi was getting married in Hexi, the young couple did not know where they would go in the future, so it was better not to frame it. It would be more convenient to leave it in the box.
Li Yuexi took the box and went to Xu Zhi's courtyard.
Xu Zhi had just finished breakfast and was tidying up when she saw Li Yuexi coming over. She quickly invited her sister-in-law into the house and served her tea.
Li Yuexi placed the box on the table and said, "Ninth Sister, this is a small kang screen that I embroidered myself. I'm giving it to you."
Xu Zhi opened the box with delight and said, "Sister-in-law, thank you. I love your embroidery the most."
Li Yuexi and Xu Zhi learned embroidery together since they were young, and even Granny Lu said that the things Li Yuexi embroidered had a kind of spirituality.
Li Yuexi said, "Time was a bit tight, so I didn't have time to embroider something too big. Ninth Sister, I didn't know when you would be going to go elsewhere with the young master of the Zheng family, so I didn't frame it for you. Just take it as is."
After listening to Li Yuexi's words, Xu Zhi unfolded the kang screen depicting flowers in full bloom and symbolizing wealth and prosperity, then carefully folded it up and put it in the box. She said, "Sister-in-law, I am about to get married. I don't know where I will go with Brother Zheng. Please take good care of my parents, nanny, brothers and sisters."
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