Chapter 98 Under the Old Pear Tree
Xu Shuyao said "oh" and nodded.
I think he should give the letter directly to Madam Xiao. Is it possible that I, the person who reads the letter, am irreplaceable?
She looked towards the archway exit and saw that it was quite far away from where they were. She said to her fifth cousin under the car, "Why don't we go back?"
Cui Zhaoran quickly stopped chatting and asked her with a smile after getting on the carriage: "How is it? Is it too big?"
Xu Shuyao nodded, "It truly deserves the word spectacular."
Cui Zhaoran sighed, "It has taken so many years, generation after generation, for the Cui family to have grown to its current size."
After a long pause, the teenage girl continued, "It's finally declining. My great-grandfather once said that the Cui family's sons shouldn't enter officialdom for the time being. But the Cui family's descendants haven't given up studying and practicing calligraphy, still upholding the family tradition of passing down poetry and rituals. Perhaps, one day, the imperial court will still need the Cui family."
Xu Shuyao didn't know how to respond to her. A tall tree attracts the wind.
The Cui family still seems to be strong nowadays, not to mention that they have the marriage-relatives in the Chengguo Mansion.
How did the old Duke get into this marriage?
Isn't this obviously causing discomfort to the family?
But when she thought of the wise Old Madam Xiao, she felt that the Xiao family was lucky to have her.
On their way back, perhaps because of Cui Zhaoran's words, both of them were silent.
After getting off the carriage, the fifth cousin returned to her own courtyard, while Xu Shuyao took the letter and went to the old lady.
The yard is not big, but the old man seems quite comfortable living in it.
Seeing her walking towards the dusk, Old Madam Xiao smiled kindly: "Where did you go today, Yaoyao? Are you tired?"
Xu Shuyao sat beside her and told her everything: "My fifth cousin took me to a nearby farm. We went fishing, picked mushrooms, and even had whitebait soup made by my third cousin from the Cui family. There's an old pear tree in the yard, and the flowers are in full bloom right now. Madam, do you want to go see it? If you don't go now, they will all wither."
Madam Xiao smiled and said, "Is that pear tree still there? It's been so many years!"
As he spoke, he felt a little emotional.
Madam Cui grasped the key point of her words: "Brother Xuan is cooking again? This girl is in for a treat!"
After she finished speaking, Madam Xiao looked at Xu Shuyao and smiled.
His eyes seemed to be saying: You smart girl, you have cooking skills but you don’t show off, and instead let your cousin show off your skills.
Xu Shuyao immediately said seriously: "Third cousin is a true gentleman!"
It made the two old men laugh for a moment.
Xu Shuyao then took out the letter from the prince, which simply explained some of the things that happened in the mansion and in the capital.
This time, he didn't talk about loneliness, but said, "Grandson, I know you have arrived in Qinghe. I wonder what the scenery is like there? It is late spring now, and the grass and trees are growing. Grandma, have you gone out for an outing?"
Before Xu Shuyao finished reading, the old man knocked on the table, "He is deliberately trying to irritate me, thinking that I am too old to walk..."
After saying that, he nodded at Xu Shuyao and said, "Write back to him and write down what you just said to me."
Xu Shuyao: “…”
Isn't this cheating?
However, when Xiao Mo went to Songhe Hall before, he always advised the old lady to go out for a walk. The old lady agreed on the surface, but she did not take his words seriously in her heart.
It can be seen that this trip to Qinghe took a lot of determination!
Listening to the old lady's firm words, Xu Shuyao could only say, "Okay!"
After returning to her own courtyard, she wrote the letter as the old lady had said, describing her experience of riding in a carriage along the Cui family's ancestral home from beginning to end, and also mentioned the whitebait soup of the third son of the Cui family because it was so delicious.
In the end, she had to ask her younger brother in a roundabout way, otherwise wouldn't it be a waste of this rare opportunity to have a direct conversation with the prince?
But the letter read: "I asked you to take care of Yaoyao and his younger brother. Please don't forget. Did you send anyone to the Imperial College recently? Is the young master in good health?
Don't let yourself be bullied again."
After Xu Shuyao finished writing, she folded the letter with satisfaction.
Seeing her sly smile, Qiao Wei couldn't help but ask, "Master, do you have any good news?"
Xu Shuyao smiled but said nothing.
Writing in the tone of an old lady inexplicably makes the letter feel funny and quite addictive!
It turns out that everyone likes to be in a superior position.
No wonder that prince likes to look down at people. Xu Shuyao pursed her lips, lowered her head and put the letter in.
Not long after, Wuying came.
After she handed the letter out, the prince's personal guards did not leave.
"Anything else?"
Wuying glanced at her and said sternly, "I'm going to say something inappropriate. Although you've left the capital, you should still be mindful of the differences between men and women. The two young men of the Cui family are of the right age. If you don't want to stay in Qinghe, you should stay away from them."
Perhaps she didn't expect him to say such a thing. Xu Shuyao was stunned for a moment before she remembered to refute him. Unexpectedly, the man ran faster than a rabbit and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Xu Shuyao: “…”
In the end, I could only say in my heart: It turns out that the prince's guard is as bad as he is.
After returning to the house, the two maids looked at her face which had suddenly turned dark, and were also somewhat confused.
Xu Shuyao sat for a while, and suddenly remembered something: "When I was lying on that bamboo chair, what did the fourth master of the Cui family do?"
Qiao Wei frowned and said, "The fourth young master picked up a pear blossom that fell from the girl's hair..."
It’s like this…
Xu Shuyao felt something was wrong at the time, but when she saw him smiling so sincerely, she decided not to make trouble.
Could it be that Wuying saw it?
Is it just related to him?
She is even more nosy than the old lady in the mansion.
After Xu Shuyao muttered to herself for a while, she became secretly alert.
The two old men asked them to go out together. Regardless of whether they had any intention of getting along with each other or not, Xu Shuyao knew that she had no chance of staying in Qinghe.
If she leaves, what will A-di do?
Qinghe is good, but not suitable for her.
After thinking for a while, I was not so angry anymore.
No matter from whose perspective Wuying reminded himself this, it was not completely useless.
Xu Shuyao was thinking about this, and before she knew it, two days had passed. One morning, when she came out of Mrs. Cui's yard, she met Cui Shixuan, the third son of the Cui family, on the road.
"Is your cousin's surname Xu?" the young man suddenly looked at her and asked.
Xu Shuyao nodded and waited for the person to continue.
After a while, Cui Shixuan asked again, "Did Cousin Xu like the whitebait soup we had that day?"
It’s not just delicious, it’s also a delicacy!
Xu Shuyao raised her head and saw her third cousin in front of her with a smile in his eyes. The morning light shining on him was very soft and warm.
Xu Shuyao wanted to leave, but couldn't move.
Thinking of the aroma of food that I smelled when I was lying under the old pear tree that day, my heart gradually became a knot.
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