When the palace banquet finally ended, it was already midnight. Yuan Bohua and Sun Changkun naturally chose to return home immediately.
When Yuan Bohua arrived at the palace, Zhou Qiongyue had already fallen asleep.
Of course, Princess Yongchun also stayed at the palace. It was so late, even if she was with someone, Zhou Qiongyue was worried about her friend going back home in the middle of the night while she was pregnant.
The main reason was that it was still snowing outside and the roads were slippery. Princess Yongchun was pregnant, so it was even more impossible for Zhou Qiongyue to let Princess Yongchun go.
After Yuan Bohua arrived at the mansion, the first thing he did was to inquire about the situation there, focusing on the princess's condition.
After asking around, he learned that nothing serious had happened in the mansion. He also learned that Princess Yongchun was staying there, so he washed and changed his clothes, then warmed himself by the stove and made tea.
It was obvious from Yuan Bohua's words that he was waiting for someone.
Since Princess Yongchun was staying at their residence, her husband, having returned empty-handed, would definitely come to the palace. Yuan Bohua prepared to wait for Sun Changkun to arrive before he went to the backyard to rest.
Yuan Bohua hadn't waited long when Fang Fu came in to report that Prince Consort Sun had arrived.
He immediately asked Fang Fu to go out and pick someone up. When Sun Changkun came in, he bowed to Yuan Bohua and said, "Sorry to bother you, Your Highness!"
Yuan Bohua smiled and waved his hand, "Your Highness has a good relationship with my princess, so Prince Consort Sun should not be polite to me."
After he finished speaking, he invited Sun Changkun in to drink tea and warm his hands by the fire.
Sun Changkun also responded calmly. Since he was already there, he didn't care about the time.
Maybe men's friendships are established so quickly. The two drank a few cups of hot tea together and each ate a bowl of chicken noodle soup from the mansion. Yuan Bohua and Sun Changkun went from being polite to unfamiliar with each other.
It became Brother Sun and Brother Fu'an.
After meeting Sun Changkun, Yuan Bohua felt that he was a good person. Although he was interested in doing small business, he was very sincere and polite, and his words were meaningful.
The main reason is that Zhou Qiongyue and Princess Yongchun have a good relationship, so these two men are willing to maintain a good relationship so that they can keep in touch with each other if anything happens.
Both parties get along with each other with the intention of becoming friends, and of course they have a good impression of each other.
After Yuan Bohua and Sun Changkun finished their chicken noodle soup, Yuan Bohua asked Fang Fu to take Sun Changkun to the courtyard where Princess Yongchun lived.
He took his servants and went to Zhou Qiongyue's main courtyard.
However, when Yuan Bohua went to Zhou Qiongyue's main courtyard, he just tiptoed in and looked at Zhou Qiongyue for a while, and then went to the next room to sleep.
The main reason was that it was still dark tomorrow, and he would have to get up and go to the palace to kowtow, which would easily wake Zhou Qiongyue up.
Zhou Qiongyue has been getting older recently and it is not easy for her to get a full night's sleep, so Yuan Bohua couldn't bear to disturb her sleep.
When Zhou Qiongyue got up the next day, it was already bright.
As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Gulan reading the account book by her bed, probably waiting for her to wake up.
Seeing Gulan's seriousness and the occasional frown on her face, Zhou Qiongyue couldn't help but advise, "There are too many account books to keep up with. Why not train a few young girls to look after them? Don't tire yourself out."
Seeing that the princess had woken up, Gulan immediately put down the account book in her hand, stepped forward and offered her hand to help the princess up, "Don't worry, princess, I just have nothing to do, so I just took another look.
The servants are all tired now, and can only look at the account books or something. They haven't done work like making clothes for a long time."
Zhou Qiongyue just hummed, and then cooperated and let Gulan help her dress and wash. Then Zhou Qiongyue sat at the dining table in her casual clothes, with only a hairpin to hold her hair in place.
Zhou Qiongyue looked at the table full of delicious breakfast and couldn't wait to pick up one for herself with chopsticks.
After eating, Zhou Qiongyue asked, "Where did the prince rest last night?"
Gulan used a serving chopstick to serve food to Zhou Qiongyue while replying, "The prince slept in the room next to the princess last night.
The prince came to see the princess before he went to bed, and he also came to see the princess before he left this morning."
Zhou Qiongyue's mood brightened when she heard Gulan's words. "Is Princess Yongchun up?"
Zhou Qiongyue asked, and Gulan replied seriously, "Princess Yongchun sent someone to ask about the princess just now. Seeing that the princess had not yet woken up, she told them not to disturb her. Princess Yongchun has already returned with her people, and it is difficult for us servants to stop her."
After Gulan finished reporting, Zhou Qiongyue nodded gently, indicating that she understood. Zhou Qiongyue did not mean to blame them, after all, there was a huge difference in status.
If Princess Yongchun insisted on leaving, even she might not be able to stop her, let alone Gulan and the others.
After Zhou Qiongyue finished her breakfast, she did not leave the yard, but personally gave a purse to each of Gulan and the others around her as a New Year's reward.
This year is special, as Guju and Gumei are both married. Guyu is also engaged to a scholar her family found for her.
Zhou Qiongyue also asked Yuan Bohua to send someone to investigate. This scholar is good-looking, still young, and has some talent for studying. He should have a good chance of passing the imperial examination.
But his family was relatively poor, so he wanted to find a wife with a generous dowry, and even better if she had some connections.
That is why the ancient language caught the attention of this scholar.
According to Zhou Qiongyue, she did not think that this scholar was a good match. With his brothers in his family, there would be endless trouble.
The whole family has supported this scholar's studies. When Gu Yu gets married and her conditions improve, she will definitely take care of her brothers' children's studies.
There is no division in this era, so we don’t know when it will end.
But Gu Yu couldn't help but fall in love with the man after meeting him at the arrangement of her family. Zhou Qiongyue also tried to persuade her, but Gu Yu insisted on getting married. If she said anything more, it would hurt the relationship between master and servant.
"It's hard to persuade a damned ghost with kind words." Zhou Qiongyue agreed directly. According to the ancient saying, one should get married in May after the New Year.
So this year, Zhou Qiongyue gave the four of them a very large purse, fifty silver notes per person. It was a good start for each of them!
After Zhou Qiongyue gave purses to Gulan and the other three, she asked Gulan to arrange for people to distribute them to everyone in the palace. It was considered the New Year and everyone wanted to share in the good cheer. These were all prepared in advance by Zhou Qiongyue.
She also asked the kitchen in the mansion to add two more meat dishes to everyone today, so that those who were not on duty could rest early to celebrate the New Year in a lively manner.
After Zhou Qiongyue had arranged all the matters in the mansion, she sat in front of the window, warming herself by the brazier, eating snacks, and looking at the snow scene outside.
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