After entering the mansion, Hua Fushu walked towards Rongli Courtyard. Sanqiao said, "Miss, shouldn't we go to Feiyuan first? After all, the old general is the most respected in the general's mansion."
When the old general was mentioned, Hua Fushu thought of his ferocious face like a devil and his attitude towards her, and she couldn't help but shudder. She and the old general were not in harmony. She had just returned and was in a good mood. If she left for Feiyuan first, the old guy would ruin her good mood. She didn't want to offend the old guy.
"No." Hua Fushu said two words and entered Rongliyuan.
Inside the house, Madam Ouyang and Gu Du Lanxi were busy preparing for the Qixi Festival. Hua Fushu greeted them as soon as she entered the room, "Mother-in-law, sister-in-law."
"My sister-in-law is back." Dugu Lanxi smiled.
"Just came back?" Madam Ouyang looked concerned.
"Just got back and came to see mother."
Hua Fushu pulled out a round stool and sat down. He saw three porcelain basins on the table. In the basins were wheat seedlings, mung bean seedlings, and red bean seedlings. The sprouts were about three inches long and tied with red and blue colored threads.
Seeing Gu Du Lan Xi tying a red string around the wheat seedlings, Hua Fu Shu asked, "Sister-in-law, why are you tying a red string around the wheat seedlings?"
Gu Dulanxi said, "This is the Five Life Basin, used for praying for blessings on Qixi Festival."
Hua Fushu didn't know much about Qixi Festival customs, so he asked, "What is the Five Life Basin and what is it used for?"
Gu Du Lanxi patiently explained folk customs to Hua Fushu. She said, "There's a folk custom. Before the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, people soak grains like mung beans, red beans, and wheat in water and place them in a porcelain container. When they sprout and grow a few inches, they tie them up with red and blue colored threads and place them in a small basin. On the Qixi Festival, they offer them to the Altair. This is called "Zhongsheng." The malt tied with the colored threads is called "Wusheng." The basin that holds the "Wusheng" is called a "Shenghuapan," or "Wushengpan." Malt isn't the only ingredient in a Wushengpan; mung bean sprouts and red bean sprouts are also acceptable. In the south, people also use rice seedlings."
Hua Fushu nodded to show that he understood.
Madam Ouyang added, "Lan Xi didn't finish. The Five Life Basin is used to pray for children."
Hua Fushu first glanced at Gu Du Lanxi, then slowly widened his almond-shaped eyes and looked at Madam Ouyang in surprise: "Mother, you also want a child?"
Her mother-in-law was at least forty years old, and her son was already married. Wouldn't it be inappropriate to pray for a child again? She was a doctor and knew that childbirth was dangerous for an older woman, and even worse, both mother and child could die.
Lonely Lanxi laughed.
Cuizhi and Sanqiao couldn't help laughing.
Madam Ouyang was furious and scolded her with a smile, "You damn girl, I'm already old enough to be a mother-in-law, why would I want to have a child?"
Hua Fushu said honestly, "Old clams do give birth to pearls. I haven't seen it, but I've probably heard of it."
Madam Ouyang was both amused and confused. She pushed the small basin of malt toward Hua Fushu and said, "It's yours. Do it yourself. It shows sincerity if you do it yourself."
He then pulled Lonely Lanxi's pot of malt over to help Hua Fushun, "This is also yours. You have to tie all the colored strings. Show your sincerity and give me a little grandson next year."
Hua Fushu was stunned. After spending half a day on it, this Five Lives Basin was actually prepared for her?
She and Ye Zelin have not yet become husband and wife. Even if she holds a five-birth basin to pray for a child, she cannot get one. Moreover, she does not want to have children yet, at least not in the next two or three years.
She had no interest in fiddling with the Five Life Basin, so she pushed it back to Madam Ouyang and Gu Du Lanxi, and laughed dryly. "Let mother and sister-in-law take their time with it. I'm leaving now."
Hua Fushu stood up, afraid that Madam Ouyang would force the birth like her mother did, so she grabbed Sanqiao's hand and pulled her away.
Madam Ouyang was not the only one who didn't want Hua Fushu to give birth, she just thought she was thin-skinned, "This child is shy."
Dugu Lanxi smiled. Like Madam Ouyang, she also thought that Hua Fushu was shy and that was why she ran away in a hurry.
After Ye Shiheng returned home, he heard from the servant that the flowers were lush, so he went straight to Penglai Residence.
The door of Penglai Residence was open. Lizhi was sitting on a low stool, sewing under the eaves. Seeing Ye Shiheng coming, she stood up and bowed, "General, the young lady said she was tired from the journey and wanted to rest for a while. Now she has fallen asleep."
Ye Shiheng said calmly: "Serve your young lady well."
Litchi replied yes.
Ye Shiheng walked out of Penglai Residence and turned into the Feiyuan next door. When the old general saw Ye Shiheng, he sneered and said, "You really miss that damn girl. You went to Penglai Residence first and then came to my Feiyuan."
Ye Shiheng waved his hand, sat down in the armchair, and said, "No, your son came to see you. He passed by Penglai Residence and heard that Hua'er had returned. He stopped by to check on her, but she wasn't there. Lizhi said she was exhausted and had already gone to bed and fallen asleep."
Ye Shiheng was full of energy, and it was really hard to tell that he was speaking in a sarcastic way. As the saying goes, a son is best known to his father, and the old general saw through Ye Shiheng's words at a glance.
The old general snorted coldly, "I just did it by chance."
When Ye Shiheng heard this, he knew that his father was serious.
After talking to the old general for a few words, Ye Shiheng said goodbye and returned to Rongliyuan. He chatted with Madam Ouyang about the folk customs of Qixi Festival, and told Gudu Lanxi about the scenery he saw on the streets when he returned home, which was prepared by the people of Beijing to welcome the Qixi Festival. He also asked her to go out with her eldest son Yunlu to see the lantern festival and not stay at home and get moldy.
After sending Gu Du Lan Xi away, Ye Shiheng suggested that he and Madam Ouyang go to the Qixi Lantern Festival tomorrow night. Madam Ouyang felt that she was too old to join in the fun with the young people, so she declined.
General Ye Shiheng looked resentful.
After Ye Zelin and Yu Xuanji left the palace, they parted ways. Yu Xuanji was originally in charge of the Yuezhou case, and now that the case had been reviewed and concluded, it was inconvenient for him to intervene, and it would be best if he didn't investigate or intervene. Yu Xuanji went to the Ministry of Justice, while he returned to the General's Mansion.
It was already dark when he returned to the General's Mansion. He first went to Rongliyuan to pay his respects to his father and mother, sat there for about two quarters of an hour, and then went to Feiyuan. He just bowed and greeted the old general outside the house. He went in to ask for trouble, and the old general didn't want to see him.
He said, "I have returned from Yuezhou and come to pay my respects to grandfather."
There was no response from the people in the room, and the dim candlelight reflected on the door wall.
Ye Zelin smiled slightly, feeling a little helpless, and returned to his yard.
"Have you eaten?" Hua Fushu was practicing calligraphy. When he heard footsteps, he looked up and saw Ye Zelin coming in.
"No." Ye Zelin walked over and watched Hua Fushu write. The strokes were quite straight, not a single word was crooked. It was a world of difference compared to before. "Not bad, a lot of improvement."
"I am talented and hardworking." Hua Fushu said proudly.
Seeing that she was getting carried away and not being modest at all, Ye Zelin said, "You can actually write better. In the past, you were so inconsistent that your handwriting was not good. Look at your handwriting. It hasn't taken long to practice and it's already quite good. It shows that it has nothing to do with talent."
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