On the evening of March 18th, Li Mai and his group returned to Qing Shi Town.
After Yang Rui arranged for ten people to stay with him at the Li residence, the other two hundred or so Imperial Guards were stationed at the garrison camp in the northwest of the town.
There were Yun Wang's men over there, and Yang Rui went over and made arrangements for them.
When he returned to the Yun residence, the meal had already been prepared, and the group enjoyed a comfortable dinner.
After dinner, Li Mai and Zhou Quan went to the Zhou residence and met with the Zhou family.
The two elders were relieved to see that they had returned safely.
When asked how things were going in the capital, Li Mai gave a brief account of what had happened there.
They said that my sister-in-law gave birth on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month and could only return after the baby's full moon celebration.
Upon hearing that Xu Changhuan had given birth to a son, the Zhou family was overjoyed. Zhao Shi and Xu Yue discussed visiting Xu Changhuan the next morning.
Zhou Tao said she went to the shop to arrange things and also to visit Sister-in-law Yun.
Yang Rui stayed in Qingshi Town for five days. Zhou Quan took him around to see the surrounding villages and also took him back to Zhoujia Village to experience a day of rural farming life.
Aside from the years he spent growing up in the border regions, this was his first time visiting a rural area and experiencing the lives of farmers; everything was new and exciting to him.
Actually, there were villages not far from their camp when they were in the frontier, but the people there lived a hard life and were terrified when they saw them coming. How could they let them experience the beauty of rural life like that?
This time, he truly experienced what life was like for ordinary people in a peaceful world.
This trip to Qingshi Town was a rare experience for Yang Rui. He broadened his horizons and learned some of the true meanings of life. After returning home, he told his grandfather about it.
The old general was also very pleased. He had always felt that he had harmed the child by bringing him to the Yang family. He and Chu Yan were brothers, but now the two brothers were very different, and he had even regretted it at one point.
General Yang gave Yang Rui a suggestion: to set aside one month each year to travel. Previously, his life had revolved around martial arts training, military strategy, troop deployment, and figuring out how to kill as many enemies as possible.
Yang Rui readily agreed. He had seen a lot on this trip and felt that he had grown a lot.
In the few days since Li Mai returned, she has gone through all the family matters and is relieved to know that everything is proceeding normally as it did last year.
She went to check out the shops in Yongzhou City, and the business was pretty good. For a newly opened shop, her business was considered good.
The next day, when the Zhou family elders saw their grandson and granddaughter come to visit, they were overjoyed. They hugged Yanbao and Yubao and kissed them several times. They also took out the delicious treats they had saved for Zhuzhu and gave them to her to eat.
Mrs. Zhao touched her granddaughter's head and said that Zhuzhu had grown taller since she last saw her in a few months.
Zhuzhu ate happily, smiling as she thanked her grandparents and gave everyone the small gifts she had brought for the family.
The gifts she gave to Zhou Tao and Xu Yue were two sets of jewelry that the Empress had bestowed upon her; she said she would give one set to her aunt and one to her second aunt.
Zhou Tao and Xu Yue didn't know the origin of this set of jewelry at first. They thought it looked luxurious and extraordinary and kept praising the quality of things from the capital.
Fearing that Zhou Tao and Xu Yue might not know the value of the item and give it away, Zhou Quan whispered to them about its origin. Zhou Tao's hand trembled, and a gold hairpin inlaid with jade almost fell to the ground.
The family members were also very surprised. No wonder the items bestowed by the Empress looked so extraordinary; they were all jewelry made by the Imperial Workshop of the palace specifically for the royal family.
Fortunately, neither of these two sets had a phoenix design, otherwise they would have had to keep them as collectibles and wouldn't have dared to wear them out.
Xu Yue never expected that Zhu Zhu would give her such an expensive gift.
Zhuzhu said that after her second aunt and second uncle got married, they gave her a lot of valuable things, and this was her way of returning the favor.
Xu Yue smiled and patted Zhuzhu's head. This return gift was too precious, and she thanked Zhuzhu sincerely.
Xu Yue gave birth to a baby girl on the ninth day of the second lunar month. Now she is a month old, and both the Zhou and Xu families adore this little baby. The little one is very cute, with big round eyes, and she even looks somewhat similar to Zhuzhu.
Everyone in the family says that Zhuzhu is growing up to look more and more like them, especially Limai.
Actually, if they thought about it more carefully, Li Mai and Xu Yue's appearances were somewhat similar, especially the upper part of their faces, such as their eyes and foreheads.
However, the family had been together for so long that they hadn't paid attention to this matter.
Upon first meeting Li Mai, the little one waved his hands and babbled, wanting Li Mai to hold him.
Zhou Lin and Xu Yue couldn't help but laugh when they saw this; this little guy really knew how to make these elders happy.
Xu Yue handed the child to Li Mai, who held the baby for a while. Li Mai found the child very cute and felt a great fondness for him.
Zhou Lin's daughter was named Zhou Mengying, with the nickname Yingbao.
Li Mai immediately gave the child a luminous pearl the size of an egg, a golden lock symbolizing longevity, a jade pendant with a peony pattern, and a pair of gold bracelets.
These were prepared when she returned. The luminous pearls were found among the gifts the Emperor had given her; there were about ten of them, and she planned to give one to each of her children.
It was the first time anyone had ever seen such a large luminous pearl, and they took turns holding it and admiring it.
Zhou Quan said that this was a gift from the Empress after Li Mai cured the Empress Dowager.
The family was astonished, never expecting that their sister-in-law would go to the capital and even take the opportunity to treat the Empress Dowager's illness.
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