After roughly understanding that the maids in the West Courtyard were not the ones who loved to scheme, Wen Ye asked Taozhi to move the two boxes of books out of the dowry.
Two boxes, one large and one small.
Yunzhi and Taozhi unlocked the two boxes respectively.
The big box that Taozhi opened was filled with miscellaneous books and storybooks whose covers had been changed, so they didn't have that much of an impact.
Yunzhi was in a bad situation. She was a rather old-fashioned person to begin with, and the small box of books that the Fifth Lady gave her so kindly really stumped her.
She looked at the words on the cover of the book, "The Passionate Little Widow" or something like that, and she really didn't know where to start.
Meanwhile, Taozhi, looking at a box of the Four Books and Five Classics, said with a smile, "Madam, do you want to review the old or learn something new?"
Yunzhi: “…”
What did the lady usually teach Taozhi?
It is early winter and the cold has arrived.
Wen Ye lay down on the couch at one side of the inner room and picked up a woolen quilt to cover her waist and below. There was a small snack table next to her with two plates of her favorite snacks and a pot of tea on it.
He said slowly, "Get a new one."
Taozhi took out the new story book from the small box and handed it to Wen Ye.
After Wen Ye took it, he glanced at the slightly bold name on the outer cover and said before he even opened it, "Go ask Liu Ya to ask her to find someone to move another bookshelf into the west study."
The study on the west side also belongs to Xu Yuejia, but it is probably not used often. Apart from the bookshelf against the wall filled with books, there is almost no trace of anyone using the long desk.
I guess it was because after the death of his first wife, Xu Yuejia seldom went back to the backyard to stay overnight.
In that case, it would be fine to give her half of the west study.
"Also, remember to change the covers of those new books." Wen Ye thought for a moment and added.
Taozhi replied skillfully, "Yes, ma'am."
After saying that, he poked Yunzhi with his elbow.
Yunzhi replied helplessly: "I'll go find a new book cover right now."
Their wife is good in every way except that she loves reading storybooks too much.
Wen Ye looked at them with satisfaction: "It's worth it that I love you so much."
The study room on the west side is not small, slightly larger than the main room Wen Ye lived in before she got married.
Liu Ya was very efficient in her work. Within a quarter of an hour, the new bookshelf was carried from the warehouse into the main house.
Wen Ye instructed the maids to move the original bookshelf a little to the left and place the new bookshelf close to it.
After doing all this, Wen Ye asked the old women to leave.
Soon, half of the bookshelf was filled with books by Yunzhi and Taozhi.
That’s it for now, starting with the bookshelf.
There is still a long way to go.
Wen Ye returned to the soft couch in the inner room, sipped his tea and read a storybook to kill time.
That's the only downside to getting up early.
In the entire Duke's Mansion, as the mistress of the house, nothing can escape Lu's eyes.
The West Courtyard was naturally no exception. After Wen Ye returned from the main courtyard, everything that had happened reached Lu's ears within half an hour.
In the main room, Lu asked Nanny, "Are you saying that Wen had someone move a new bookshelf over there?"
Nanny Xian replied, "That's what Qingxue said."
Mrs. Lu still trusts Nanny Xian and Qingxue, the mother and daughter.
"It seems that this Wen family is not bad." Mrs. Lu showed some satisfaction, "My second brother also likes reading. I'm sure the couple can have something to discuss on this point."
Nanny Xian continued, "Qingxue also said that the Second Madam did not take over all the affairs of the West Courtyard, and still let Liu Ya and Liu Xin continue to take care of it."
This surprised Lu: "Does Wen know the identities of Liu Ya and Liu Xin?"
Nanny Xian nodded: "The Second Madam called all the servants in the West Courtyard into the main hall and checked them out one by one."
Mrs. Lu was a little confused: "Could it be because of me? I was the one who sent Liu Ya and Liu Xin to the West Courtyard. Could it be that Wen was worried that if they rashly removed Liu Ya and Liu Xin, I would be upset?"
Nanny Xian helped analyze, "Perhaps the Second Madam has just arrived at the West Courtyard and is still unclear about many things. Is she thinking of waiting for a few days?"
After hearing what she said, Mrs. Lu felt that it made sense: "Then let's wait and see."
I hope the Wen family will not let her down.
"Oh, right." Nanny Xian mentioned another thing, and said hesitantly, "Should we take the little master to the West Courtyard to have lunch with the Second Madam today? It would be good for the mother and son to get to know each other better."
Mrs. Lu thought of the mother and son who had not said a word to each other at 7:00 am, and paused before saying, "I'll do as you say."
Nanny Xian replied, "Yes."
Looking at the cold wind outside the house, Mrs. Lu couldn't help but sigh.
In the west courtyard, Wen Ye didn't know that Lu was going to send the kid over.
She had asked Liu Xin earlier, and she knew that Xu Yuejia usually left home early and returned late when she had official business.
So she asked the kitchen to prepare a hot pot for lunch.
Eating hotpot in early winter is just the right way to warm up your body.
After reading the storybook for the whole morning, Wen Ye lay there with his body stiff.
A copper pot was placed on the table, with silvery charcoal burning underneath, and almost no pungent smoke.
From a nest of silver to a nest of gold, food and daily necessities have become more expensive.
There were all kinds of meatballs and vegetables on the table, even a small piece of the most difficult beef.
If one person eats warm leaves, the amount does not need to be too much, about ten slices of each meat and three to five slices of each vegetable.
Wen Ye didn't let the maid serve her. She just had a bowl of sesame sauce and a bowl of oil sauce, and ate while they were boiling.
As a result, just as he put the first piece of meat into his mouth, Liu Ya came over to report that the young master was here.
Wen Ye swallowed the mutton slices dipped in oil, paused for two breaths, and asked, "He's here, what's the matter?"
Liu Ya raised her eyes to look at Wen Ye, then lowered her head and said, "...it was said that the young master missed the second lady, and when the first lady found out, she asked Nanny Ji and the others to bring the young master over to have lunch with the second lady."
Wen Ye put down her chopsticks. She discovered that Liu Ya was not only gentle and smooth-tempered, but also very good at telling lies with her eyes open.
She and the kid had only met once this morning. After several hours, it was difficult for the kid to still remember her.
It is obvious that this matter was arranged by the Lu family.
What the intention is is self-evident.
The kid has already been brought here, so he can’t just send him away like that. Wen Ye glanced at Yun Zhi.
Yunzhi understood, and then went out with Liuya to welcome the young master.
Xu Yuxuan seldom came to the West Courtyard, and only stayed there occasionally, so Wen Ye's place was very unfamiliar to him.
As soon as they entered the room, Nanny Ji put Xu Yuxuan down from her arms and encouraged him to go to Wen Ye. Wen Ye took a calm look at him, and he immediately stuck to Nanny Ji's body, his eyes revealing strangeness and resistance.
I even forgot to greet you.
Wen Ye didn't care, she raised the piece of meat in her chopsticks and asked him, "Do you want to eat it?"
He didn't realize that the person he was questioning was a two-year-old kid, and how could a tiny kid understand anything.
The copper pot base prepared by the kitchen is made from the soup base made from bones. It is light and fragrant, and even children can eat it.
Without waiting for the kid to react, Wen Ye asked Taozhi to put a new set of bowls and chopsticks in front of him.
Nanny Ji, who originally wanted to let the young master sit next to Wen Ye: "......"
This new second wife is really hard to figure out.
The young master of the Duke's Mansion was well taken care of by someone, so Wen Ye only asked Taozhi to teach Nanny Ji, who was taking care of Xu Yuxuan, how long to boil meat and vegetables, and then she stopped caring about it.
Children don't need to dip the food in any sauce, just eat it as it is, so there was only an empty bowl in front of Xu Yuxuan.
Xu Yuxuan was small and didn't eat much at each meal, so he naturally got hungry quickly.
At this moment, smelling the aroma of the big bone soup bubbling in the copper pot, the little mouth has already become greedy.
He pointed at the steaming soup with his little finger and shouted to Madam Ji: "Madam! Eat some!"
Nanny Ji had no choice but to step forward to help Xu Yuxuan boil the meat and vegetables.
Eating hotpot in winter is not new. The Duke's Mansion has eaten it several times before, but this way of eating is not very elegant after all, so Lu rarely prepares it.
The lunch ended in a hurry of two quarters of an hour, and Wen Ye did not enjoy the meal.
Who can eat happily under the gaze of a room full of strangers?
Xu Yuxuan ate happily under the careful care of Nanny Ji.
After eating, Nanny Ji carried him off the stool. Without the copper pot mist blocking his view, Xu Yuxuan looked at Wen Ye again. He seemed to remember who she was. He stared at Wen Ye with his puppy eyes for a while, and suddenly called out in a baby voice, "Mother!"
The teacup in Wen Ye's hand trembled, then he calmly put it down and said, "Are you full?"
Xu Yuxuan moved closer to Wen Ye along the table: "Full!"
At about an arm's length away, Wen Ye couldn't help but rub the other person's head.
The moment his head was touched, Xu Yuxuan subconsciously took a half step back. When he realized that there seemed to be no danger, he stopped moving.
Wen Ye thought to herself, this kid reacts pretty quickly.
After satisfying her desire to play, Wen Ye asked Taozhi to take out the playing cards she had made before.
In this long winter, you can't just rely on storybooks.
Playing cards are similar to poker cards in later generations. Yunzhi and Taozhi were both taught by Wen Ye personally over several years, and now their skills are not inferior to hers.
However, it was not appropriate for the three of them to gamble, so Wen Ye set the rule that whoever loses will have a note stuck on his face.
Three people are most suitable for fighting landlords.
When the cards were taken out, everyone except Wen Ye and his servant looked curious.
It seemed that the Second Lady was not playing the leaf cards that they had seen before.
Wen Ye no longer paid attention to Xu Yuxuan and focused on playing cards. After seeing the cards in her hand, Xu Yuxuan found it novel and was reluctant to leave.
Nanny Ji saw that the Second Madam had no reaction at all, so she had to ask her maid to bring another cushioned chair.
Let Xu Yuxuan sit next to Wen Ye.
Maybe it was because there was a child next to him, but Wen Ye had very bad luck today. Soon, his face was covered with notes.
It was a rare occasion for Taozhi to win so many times in one go, and she became more and more excited the more she played. Even Yunzhi, who was usually calm, laughed more often.
The number of strips of paper on the faces of both of them was not half as many as that on Wen Ye's.
Taozhi, who only had three pieces of paper stuck on her face, shouted, "Madam, come again!"
After playing a few more rounds, Wen Ye's face was completely covered with cards, and he even blocked his sight when looking at the cards.
So she took advantage of the gap when Taozhi was shuffling the cards, looked down at the child beside her, who was holding the table with his hands, staring at the cards with his eyes wide open, and said softly, "Xuan'er, what should you call me?"
Xu Yuxuan's eyes lit up when he saw Wen Ye paying attention to him. He had long been interested in playing cards, so he responded enthusiastically: "Mother!"
Wen Ye touched his head and said with a smile: "Do you want to play too?"
After all, Xu Yuxuan was not very familiar with Wen Ye. He hesitated for a while and said nothing, but the desire in his eyes could not deceive anyone.
Nanny Ji opened her mouth to say something, but when she thought of what Miss Qingxue had told her when she came here, she closed her mouth.
He looked at the second lady "torturing" the young master with disdainful eyes, but the young master was very happy.
The mother and son seemed to be becoming more familiar with each other.
Nanny Ji couldn't help but think, this can be considered as completing what Miss Qingxue asked, right?
Lunch was served a little later in the main courtyard.
Duke Xu had gone to the western suburbs camp and would not be back by noon, so only Lu and her two sons had dinner together.
Xu Jingrong had been copying articles for the whole morning. When he came to the main courtyard to eat, he did not see Xu Yuxuan. He immediately asked Lu: "Mother, where is Brother Xuan? Don't we usually eat together?"
Mrs. Lu scooped two spoonfuls of steamed eggs for her son and said, "In the west courtyard with your aunt."
Upon hearing this, Xu Jingrong was very worried and said, "Mother, how can you let Brother Xuan be alone with that... er... Second Aunt!"
We should have asked him to go with us. With him around, that vicious stepmother wouldn't dare to bully Brother Xuan.
Xu Jingrong clenched his fists and was about to get up and go to the west courtyard.
No! He has to go and see.
"Sit down." Lu said sternly, "Your third brother has Nanny Ji here, what are you going to do?"
In front of everyone, how could Wen bully Xuan'er?
Although she said this, Lu was still worried in her heart.
She was afraid that Xu Yuxuan would not be used to the meals in the West Courtyard, that he would not want to be close to the Wen family, and even more afraid that the Wen family would treat him badly.
Xu Jingrong dared not disobey Lu's words, so he had to sit down and continue eating.
But the speed of eating is much faster than before.
Xu Jingrong ate two bowls of rice, wiped his mouth hastily and said, "Mother, I'm going to the west courtyard to pay my respects to my second aunt."
He didn't say he was going to look for his younger brother, but just said he was going to pay his respects to the elders, and his mother would not stop him.
As soon as he walked out of the house, Lu heard him shouting angrily: "Mother! You said you wouldn't bully me! Look at what's on Xuandi's face?!"
Lu was shocked when she heard this, and hurried out to ask, "What happened to Xuan'er's face?"
Xu Yuxuan was seen sitting in Nanny Ji's arms with his face covered with notes. The maids beside her tried to help tear them off several times, but Xu Yuxuan kept blocking them with her little hands and refused to let them do so.
When he heard Xu Jingrong's voice, he used his little hands to lift up the two long pieces of paper on his eyebrows that were blocking his vision, revealing a pair of small round eyes, and giggled at Xu Jingrong.
Xu Jingrong looked sad and angry. He turned to Lu who had chased him out and said, "It's over, mother. Brother Xuan has been fooled by his vicious stepmother!"
Lu: “…”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com