Half of the money from buying seedlings went to Ma Xiuyuan.
He Youyou immediately asked Cheng Tingrui to write a letter for her to Ma Xiuyuan, informing him of the matter.
After Cheng Tingrui finished writing the letter, he asked her, "Are you still going to buy the seedlings next year?"
He Youyou pondered for a moment.
"No rush, let's see how things go. Grain is expensive this year, but next year might be different. If it's a good year or a bad year, it won't be easy to get out if we rush in. I'll talk to you again once I've made up my mind."
"good."
Seeing that it was getting late, He Youyou invited Cheng Tingrui to stay for a meal.
"Minzhi, today is my first day here, let's have a welcome meal together."
Cheng Tingrui gladly accepted the invitation.
The cooks in this courtyard are all people brought by Zhao Changqing.
He Youyou is shameless and has no psychological burden in ordering these people around.
I just don't know what kind of dishes the cooks in the Prince's mansion can make.
She asked the housekeeper to go to the kitchen to make the arrangements.
Master Cheng is no outsider, so there's no need to be too polite. Just make a few simple home-style dishes.
Half an hour later, the kitchen staff came to the front hall to report that the food was ready.
He Youyou then ordered the meal to be served.
Once the dishes were laid out, it became clear that they were not ordinary home-style dishes.
He Youyou pointed to the dishes on the table and asked Butler Qian, "Did our family buy the deer tendons in this braised deer tendon dish?"
Steward Qian was silent for a moment: "...It was...sent by someone from the King of Yue."
He Youyou then pointed to the two plates next to her: "What about the sea cucumber and shark fin?"
"It was also sent by the King of Yue."
"Bear paw?"
"Too."
"Which plate wasn't delivered by him?"
"...These were all sent from the Prince of Yue's residence."
He Youyou propped herself up with her chopsticks, unsure of what to say.
It must have been really hard for him to go to so much trouble.
In the neighboring Yue King's mansion, Zhao Changqing was sulking against the wall.
With the back of his head against the wall, he complained to himself: Why didn't they ever invite me to have a meal?
It's one thing for He Youyou to be so ignorant, but Lao Qian doesn't even offer a word of support.
All those years with him were for nothing.
They weren't on his side at all.
After dinner, after seeing Cheng Tingrui off, Ali went back to her room to read.
He Youyou was strolling around the courtyard alone.
What I like most about this courtyard is its location.
First, it's close to the Imperial College.
Secondly, places where officials, nobles, and high-ranking officials gather tend to have better public security.
Thieves and robbers dare not easily walk into the line of fire.
As she walked to the courtyard wall, He Youyou looked out over the courtyard.
There was a tall ginkgo tree planted next door.
Judging from its age, it must be at least a hundred years old.
The tree has lush foliage and a dense canopy.
It was late autumn, and the leaves were beginning to turn from green to yellow.
"It would be so beautiful if this tree turned completely yellow," He Youyou murmured to herself.
Suddenly, the ginkgo tree moved on its own without any wind, and a few leaves drifted down and landed at He Youyou's feet.
He Youyou bent down and picked up a leaf, holding it in her hand.
The edges of the leaves have begun to turn yellow.
The next day, He Youyou had a sign that read "He Residence" hung outside the gate.
There wasn't time to make a plaque, so we just got a wooden sign and nailed it to the wall.
Upon seeing this, the housekeeper quickly took it down.
“Mistress, you can stay in Jizhou, where the emperor is far away and no one cares. But it’s different here. There are many government officials coming and going, and we have many eyes and ears. We can’t be so casual.”
He Youyou asked in confusion, "Why?"
Steward Qian said, “Madam, you may not know this, but according to the Great Etiquette, the residences of princes and dukes are called ‘Wangfu’ (王府), the residences of dukes and marquises can only be called ‘Fu’ (府), and the residences of officials below the rank of dukes and marquises but above the third rank can only be called ‘Di’ (第), the residences of other officials can only be called ‘Zhai’ (宅), and ordinary people can only call them ‘Jia’ (家). Once you hang up this ‘He Zhai’ (何宅) sign, you are overstepping your bounds. You must not, you must not.”
He Youyou said dejectedly, "So all my preparation of this sign was for nothing?"
“Mistress, there’s no need to be discouraged. It’s not like all the preparations were for nothing. Keep this plaque for now. When our young master passes the imperial examination and becomes an official, he can naturally hang it up. Right now, since he doesn’t have an official position, it’s better for us to keep a low profile.”
He Youyou said helplessly, "Fine, I'll choose another one."
She then had a sign made with the words "He Family" written on it and hung it outside the door.
After hanging up the plaque, he remarked to Steward Qian, "If Ali had lived up to expectations, we could have hung up a plaque with 'Top Scholar' or 'Imperial Scholar' in the Imperial Examination' or something, how impressive that would have been."
When Zhao Changqing heard about this, he almost couldn't resist hanging his own family's plaque over there.
The "Prince's Mansion" is even more magnificent.
Zhao Changqing also did not forget his nephew who was suffering in the deep palace.
In order to have an excuse to go see He Youyou, he made a special trip to the palace and first met his poor nephew.
As soon as Zhao Wenqi saw him arrive, he immediately rushed over with a pitiful expression.
"Uncle, my dear uncle! I can't stay here a moment longer, please take me away!"
Zhao Changqing suppressed a laugh.
He also secretly wanted to take him out of the palace to see He Youyou.
but……
"His Majesty's decree orders you to study under three great Confucian scholars. Who dares to disobey? Take you out of the palace? Do you want to die?"
Zhao Wenqi said with a long face, "I told you a long time ago that I wouldn't come back, but you insisted on bringing me back. What's the point of coming back? A month in the palace is not as enjoyable as a day with my aunt in Jizhou."
Zhao Changqing's face darkened.
I felt a pang of sadness.
He tried to compose himself and get back to the main point, reminding himself that he couldn't forget the purpose of his visit.
"I have good news for you."
"What good news?"
"He Youyou and Ali have come to the capital."
"What?" Zhao Wenqi was like a wind-up rabbit, instantly starting to hop around and not stopping for a moment.
"Oh no! I have to leave the palace now! What should I do? What should I do? Uncle, you have to help me! I have to go out and see my aunt! I miss her so much..."
Zhao Changqing stretched out both arms and pressed him down hard: "Stop jumping, stop jumping! You're making me dizzy..."
Zhao Wenqi was forced to quiet down by him.
My body is still, but my mind is still racing.
One idea after another, one thought after another, popped into his little head.
"Uncle, how do you think I can sneak out? Should I hide in your sedan chair? Or, at night, sneak over the wall in the dark? Or... fake my death! Fake my death to escape! Uncle, you're good at this, can you teach me..."
Before he could finish speaking, Zhao Changqing covered his mouth.
"What kind of fake death are you talking about? This is deceiving the emperor, don't you understand? Don't you want to die?"
"Mmm...mmm..."
Zhao Changqing ignored his protest and finished speaking first: "I can't secretly take you out of the palace. If my brother finds out, I won't escape punishment. Write a letter to He Youyou, and I'll send it to her for you. If she replies, I'll bring it back for you."
Since the imperial uncle refused to help, Zhao Wenqi had no other choice.
I had no choice but to do as they said.
He hunched over his desk and wrote a long letter pleading for help.
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