Yun Chang's letter to Li Mai mainly stated that the bestowal of this official title upon her was made by the Crown Prince after he sought her consent, and only then did he suggest it to the Emperor.
The Emperor already knows about the Crown Prince's murder and is secretly cooperating with the Crown Prince in the investigation. Yun Chang told Li Mai not to come to the capital unless necessary. If the Emperor needs her, he will issue an edict to summon her to the capital.
Li Mai's reply gave him a general overview of the situation here, and also mentioned that she would be focusing on developing her business after the New Year, and estimated she wouldn't be going to Beijing next year. You
...
After the New Year, everyone got busy.
Last year, Zhou Quan and Lu Qian's greenhouse project was a success. The first batch of fresh vegetables they grew was snapped up by the wealthy people in town who heard the news.
The crops that Zhou Erleng and Zhou Ermao planted were all sold by Zhou Quan and Lu Qian.
In just one winter, they earned more than ten taels of silver from the vegetables in that greenhouse, after deducting the cost. These two people had tasted the joy of earning money through hard work this year with Zhou Quan. The first batch of vegetables was sold just in time for the New Year.
After harvesting the first crop of vegetables, they asked Zhou Quan to help them buy seeds and plant a second crop. This second crop would probably be available to eat in the spring, when there are no other vegetables available.
The vegetables from the bamboo garden are mostly sold in small quantities. Zhou Quan gives some to each family during the Lunar New Year so that everyone can have some fresh vegetables to eat. He gave some to the Lu family and the Xu family, who are related by marriage, as well as those who work for him. This year, he packed a small bamboo basket of fresh vegetables for each person and family, with a little of each of the four kinds.
Xu Shun also experienced the benefits of greenhouses and said that he would build another one in the bamboo garden this autumn to offer a variety of dishes.
On the eighth day of the first lunar month, a sudden heavy snowfall occurred. It hadn't snowed all winter before the Lunar New Year, but it snowed heavily during the first lunar month, lasting for a day and a night, leaving a thick layer on the ground.
The snow gradually stopped around noon on the ninth day, and everyone started shoveling snow.
Not many shops on the street were open.
Inside the Li family residence, instead of shoveling snow, they built snowmen and had a snowball fight, thoroughly enjoying themselves.
Seven-year-old Zhuzhu, along with her three-year-old younger brother and sister, and Fubao, who had just learned to walk and was still prone to falling, had a great time playing together, filling the yard with laughter.
Li Mai and Xu Changhuan sat by the window, propping it open to watch them play outside.
Zhou Quan and Xu Changhe protected the children, and the Xu family head joined in the commotion, laughing and joking.
"I wonder if my elder brother will be able to come back before the fifteenth. If he's on his way now, it will be difficult for him," Li Mai sighed softly.
Xu Changhuan shook his head. "He's not coming back. He said in his letter that he just returned and there are still matters to attend to in the court. He also has to take care of the military deployment in Chen State. He probably won't be able to leave the capital until the end of February."
Then the eldest brother will miss Fu Bao's first birthday celebration.
Xu Changhuan saw Li Mai looking at her with a worried expression, but she smiled nonchalantly and said, "Don't worry about us. I knew he was a great general when I married him. Such situations are bound to happen. In front of them, the greater good comes first, then the family."
"I don't care whether he can be with the child for his birthday. As long as he can come back from the battlefield healthy, one day he will be able to come home," Xu Changhuan said softly.
"My sister-in-law is the best woman I've ever met!" Li Mai exclaimed. Her sister-in-law was truly magnanimous and had a broad perspective. Such a woman was also the most suitable for someone like her brother.
My sister-in-law is right. In my brother's heart, the greater good comes before his own family. And she understands him and supports him. That's the vision of a military wife. She is truly great.
On the tenth day of the month, Mr. Yang came to visit and brought three paintings for Li Mai. Li Mai had always liked his paintings and had even bought a few paintings from him a couple of years ago to decorate her house.
Last year, he gave her several paintings on the theme of flowers and plants.
Taking advantage of the snowy scenery, he painted five snowscapes and brought three of them to her.
I'll take this opportunity to show you three ink paintings of plum blossoms in the snow.
I'll take this opportunity to show you three traditional Chinese style ink paintings of plum blossoms in the snow.
After taking the medicine prescribed by Li Mai, Li Mai said that his condition had improved a lot and told him to take the medicine for another two months this year and then stop taking it and let him rest and recover.
Li Mai invited him to stay for lunch, Mr. Yang chatted with Zhou Quan over tea, and she happily went to admire the paintings.
I was thinking of hanging it up, but looking at the room, I think it would be more appropriate to hang it in the study another day.
After closing the door at night, Li Mai put all the paintings into the cabinets inside the room.
When Zhou Quan saw how much she liked Mr. Yang's paintings, he raised an eyebrow. A few days later, he secretly went to become Mr. Yang's student and spent his free time learning to paint with him.
When Li Mai noticed that Zhou Quan would disappear for half a day when he was free, she asked him what he was doing, and he said he was busy.
She was curious, but she couldn't use her spiritual power to track his whereabouts, otherwise he would find out, and the trust between husband and wife would be gone.
But she was genuinely curious. It seemed impossible that he was having an affair behind her back, and she believed he wasn't that kind of person, but his recent behavior had indeed been rather unusual.
But she couldn't bring herself to secretly send someone to follow him. Besides, given his abilities, he would have noticed immediately if he were being followed, whether by himself or someone else.
Until one day, Zhou Quan saw Li Mai sitting quietly designing clothes. He also sat down and took out paper and pen, drawing something. Li Mai didn't pay any attention to it.
When she looked up, tired, she discovered a person on the paper in front of Zhou Quan.
She walked up behind him and saw clearly that he had drawn himself, and it looked very much like himself, capturing his very essence.
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