Chapter 269 Boundless
Song Zhimian and her group did not bring many people with them when they went to the Ye family's estate outside Suzhou. They traveled light and only brought their personal servants.
Even so, there were still six large vehicles.
Including the Ye family's cars, the procession consisted of twenty vehicles heading towards Ye Family Village outside the city.
The estate that Old Madam Ye invited Song Zhimian and the others to was located at another city gate in Suzhou, one to the south and one to the north of the city gate where Song Zhimian and the others had entered the city before.
...
The Ye family's estate is exquisite and unique, with each courtyard being different, truly achieving a scene at every turn.
After entering the manor, Song Zhimian, Princess Shou Kang, and Princess Yongxin followed the steps of the old lady of the Ye family.
"Grandma, isn't that a lake over there? How long will it take to see the lotus flowers?" Princess Shou Kang asked with a smile, pointing to the lake not far from the Ye family estate.
"That would spoil Her Highness's mood."
There were no lotus flowers or lotus roots planted in that pond, only water caltrop, also known as fox nut.
If Your Highness wishes to see the lotus flowers, you must come after June. There is a large pond behind our estate where lotus roots are grown.
"In summer, we admire the lotus flowers and eat the lotus pods. In autumn, we admire the withered lotus leaves and dig out the lotus roots from the bottom of the pond," the old lady of the Ye family explained to Princess Shou Kang with a smile.
Princess Shou Kang felt it was a bit of a pity.
That beautiful scenery is no longer visible.
She also wanted to see what truly boundless lotus leaves reaching to the sky looked like!
“Alright, when that time comes, I will definitely beg my elder sister, the Emperor, to send me here on official business again,” Princess Shou Kang said immediately.
Everyone smiled.
Grandma Ye introduced everyone to the various sights in the village, and as they walked and looked around, they felt more and more relaxed and happy.
It is said that Nanjing has many gates and Suzhou has many bridges.
I thought Suzhou lived up to its reputation when I saw it before, with bridges every few steps. Today, when I arrived outside the city, I saw that there were indeed many bridges.
And they are all kinds of small bridges.
Stone bridges, wooden bridges, arched bridges—each has its own beauty and unique characteristics! Princess Yongxin felt overwhelmed by the sights.
She rarely left the capital; at most, she would go horseback riding in the outskirts of Beijing.
She had only heard about the scenery of Jiangnan from Wei Yanli and Shen Yunchuan when they were together.
And then there's the travelogue that describes how beautiful and wonderful Jiangnan is!
Princess Yongxin knew that Jiangnan was beautiful, but she didn't really know just how beautiful it was.
Upon seeing her today, Princess Yongxin immediately felt that her trip had not been in vain.
Just for the scenery I've seen these past few days, even if I fail to complete my mission and get scolded by His Majesty when I return, it's all worth it.
Even Song Zhimian felt overwhelmed by the sight.
She had finally seen what true beauty in Jiangnan was like; it was truly natural and unadorned!
For a moment, Song Zhimian felt that the old lady of the Ye family really had brought them out to enjoy the scenery.
...
After taking a stroll outside the courtyard, it was soon time for lunch. There were several pavilions outside the Ye family's courtyard, and the eldest madam of the Ye family had lunch set up in one of them.
Insect repellent packets were placed in the corner of the pavilion, and the insects that emerged after the Awakening of Insects dared not come this way.
Song Zhimian and the others enjoyed local Suzhou delicacies in the pavilion with the old lady of the Ye family.
"Many of the vegetables are grown on our own farm, so we can eat them fresh."
The fish and shrimp are all from our own lakes and ponds. When August comes, it's the perfect time to eat crabs.
For several years in a row, my grandson has been hosting his classmates here.
"Young students here drink wine, compose poems, admire lotus flowers, and eat crabs. Ah, back then, I felt like I had wasted my life," said the old lady of the Ye family with a laugh.
Everyone laughed.
After lunch and tea, Old Madam Ye led Song Zhimian and the other two to stroll around the other side of the estate.
The scenery here is completely different from what I just saw.
The side we saw earlier was mostly ponds, giving it a feel of small bridges, flowing water, and traditional houses.
On the other side of Zhuangzi's view... was an endless expanse of fields, the kind that stretched as far as the eye could see.
Upon seeing such a scene, Song Zhimian, Princess Shou Kang, and Princess Yongxin were all taken aback.
This endless farmland in front of me gives me a feeling of military farmland in northern China!
Farmers were still cultivating the fields, and from a distance, it presented a completely different scene.
"Madam, could this be the Ye family's ancestral fields? It's such a large expanse; it must be even more beautiful when it's harvested in the fall," Song Zhimian teased with a smile.
But to everyone's surprise, the old lady of the Ye family just smiled and shook her head.
"Shanggong Song is joking! How could our Ye family have such a large sacrificial field? The Ye family's sacrificial field is in another place, and in total, it is less than three hundred acres."
"They're not all connected like this, they're all separate." Old Mrs. Ye said with a smile.
Song Zhimian was taken aback. Was it not the Ye family's land?
How come such a large piece of land doesn't belong to the Ye family?
Isn't the Ye family the wealthiest family in Suzhou? If such a large piece of land doesn't belong to the Ye family, then whose is it?
Not only Song Zhimian had this question, but Princess Shou Kang and Princess Yongxin also shared the same sentiment.
How could the Ye family, the richest family in the country, not be the owners of that land?
Whose land could it be? Military farmland? Impossible! There is no military farmland in the Jiangnan area, especially in Jinling and Suzhou.
Most of the military farms were located in the southwest and north, while the Pingnan Army relied mainly on crops from some islands overseas.
This vast expanse of farmland doesn't actually belong to the Ye family.
In Suzhou, besides the Ye family, who else could own such a large tract of farmland?
"Really not? Madam, we always thought it was the Ye family's land!" Song Zhimian joked with a smile.
Grandma Ye smiled and shook her head, also looking at the endless farmland.
"The Ye family has many businesses, but most of them are shops. As for estates and farmland, they just prepare a few casually."
There are estates in the sacrificial fields, but they are only passable on the surface.
The Ye family mostly acquired farms as dowries for their married daughters; in reality...
"Land has limited potential and is not easy to take with you, so the Ye family will not acquire too much land," the old lady of the Ye family continued to explain.
Princess Shou Kang was about to ask a few more questions when she saw a group of scholars walking towards a large manor further away.
"What are those people doing over there?"
"Weren't the crops in the fields just planted? It's not harvest time yet. Are they just enjoying the scenery?" Princess Shou Kang asked疑惑地.
"Oh, that's the estate of the former educational commissioner of Jiangnan. Those students must have gone to visit him."
"Those farmlands over there belong to that Provincial Education Commissioner," the old lady of the Ye family said with a smile.
Song Zhimian, Princess Shou Kang, and Princess Yongxin all darkened their eyes.
How could a former Jiangnan provincial education commissioner own more land in his estate than the richest man in Chongqing? There must be something fishy going on here!
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