Chapter 211 Chapter 211 The Duke's Wife
Uncle Zhong found it a little funny when he saw the two people sitting side by side on the tree.
When he was young, he had fought on the battlefield with the Duke of Zhenguo and was a personal guard beside the Duke of Zhenguo. He was loyal to the Fu family. Later, he was injured and could no longer fight on the battlefield. He had no choice but to return to Beijing to recuperate. Then he became the general manager of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.
As an old man who has served the Fu family for a lifetime, Uncle Zhong naturally knows Fu Wenxiao's private side. He also knows that the prince used to climb trees and sit here to think quietly when he has nothing to do.
I just didn't expect that the prince would actually bring his wife to climb a tree together. This is really...
Chu Shaoyu was stunned for a moment, then he rubbed his hands together and was ready to climb up the tree to find them.
Uncle Zhong: “…”
Sure enough, this Prince of Rui could climb onto the roof just as the rumors said, so climbing a tree was normal for him.
But Chu Shaoyu seldom climbed trees. After trying a few times, he failed to climb up and almost fell. It was Uncle Zhong who helped him up.
Seeing this, Yu Li decided not to tire the old man out, so he went downstairs with Fu Wenxiao.
"Forget it, don't come up, let's go down."
After the two came down, Uncle Zhong couldn't help but look at Fu Wenxiao. He saw that his brows were warm and there was a smile on the corners of his lips. It was obvious that he was extremely relaxed at this moment.
He suddenly laughed.
Although it's a bit inappropriate, as long as the prince is happy.
"Cousin Chu, why are you here?" Yu Li asked while wiping his hands with a handkerchief.
Fu Wenxiao saw that her face was also stained with some tree moss, so he wiped her face with a towel. She raised her face so that he could wipe it cleaner.
The movements of the two were very natural. Uncle Zhong's face turned red as he saw them and he quickly bowed and took his leave.
Chu Shaoyu has become accustomed to some of the couple's behaviors and doesn't think there's anything wrong with them. He even thinks that this is how a couple should be. When he gets married in the future, he will also be as loving with his wife as this.
He said, "I have a day off today, so I came to see you guys."
He wanted to come and help when they moved yesterday, but Fu Wenxiao felt that since the servants were there, there was no need for him to do anything, so he should just do his job.
The three of them went to sit for a while in the nearby Xiangshan Yashe.
The elegant house is built on the top of a mountain, with its doors and windows open, a breeze blowing, blue sky and white clouds in the distance, and the aroma of tea wafting through the room.
Chu Shaoyu held a cup of tea in his hand, and felt that at this moment, all the troubles in the world had gone away, and his heart was peaceful and clear.
"It's great here." He said with emotion, "It would be great if I could stay here forever."
Don’t worry about the disturbance and complexity of the outside world, be free and worry-free.
Fu Wenxiao sat upright, took a sip of tea, and asked, "How are you doing at the Wucheng Bingmasi?"
"That's about it." Chu Shaoyu scratched his head. "Nothing happens usually, so those people don't pay much attention to me. Maybe they think I'm a playboy with no ability."
He originally thought that the saint would just give him a sinecure, but he didn't expect that he would actually let him join the Five Cities Military Department. This shows that his father is indeed trusted by the saint.
Chu Shaoyu didn't feel anything about this. He didn't grow up in the capital, nor did he show up in front of the saint. The saint remembered him thanks to his father.
Anyway, since this task has been given to him, he will just do it and try his best to do it well.
He felt happy especially when he saw the jealous faces of his half-brothers. Every day when he got home from the government office, he would go to them on purpose to stimulate them.
Hehe, it’s quite interesting to see them getting so angry but not daring to hit him.
Chu Shaoyu quickly put aside all this and asked, "Cousin Fu, the saint has restored your status. When do you plan to host a banquet for the guests?"
When the Prince of Zhenguo returns, in addition to the emperor's attitude, a banquet must also be held to announce his return.
These are all very common things, just like when he returned to the capital, his father held a banquet for him and introduced him to the people in the capital.
Fu Wenxiao said: "Wait until the saint's will comes down."
Chu Shaoyu was stunned at first, but soon realized that the Duke of Zhenguo had passed away, and Fu Wenxiao was going to inherit the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion. Once the saint's order was given, he would be the Duke of Zhenguo.
He inherited the title of the Duke's Mansion and became the Duke of Zhenguo, so naturally he would hold a grand banquet for his guests.
Chu Shaoyu raised his eyes to look at him, wanting to say something but stopping himself.
He suddenly felt sad for Fu Wenxiao. The Duke of Zhenguo died in the northern border. It was said that the couple and the father and son never saw each other before his death. Not long after, Fu Xiao also met with an accident.
The hardships he went through to return to the capital and restore his identity are beyond the imagination of outsiders.
Chu Shaoyu had nothing to do today, so he spent most of the day in the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion and asked Yu Li to teach him some physical skills.
Ever since he took on the job at the Five Cities Military Division, he didn't have much free time during the day, so he practiced physical training at night without interruption, and he persisted no matter how hard or tiring it was.
Every time he finished practicing, his eyes turned red, making his grandmother and mother think that he had suffered some injustice.
When Chu Shaoyu finished his training, he was sweating profusely and was also very hungry.
During dinner, Zhou saw Chu Shaoyu's eyes were red and he was eating rice fiercely, and she couldn't help but find it funny.
The two children looked a little stunned, and considerately picked up some food for him, "Uncle Chu, please eat more."
Chu Shaoyu touched the two children's heads with emotion, thinking that they were so well-behaved.
He is not yet at the age where he likes children and thinks they are noisy, but the two children from the Fu family are still quite likable.
Now he already knows that these two children have nothing to do with Fu Wenxiao. They are the orphans of Fu's cousin Fu's uncle Fu Yusheng.
When the Fu family got into trouble, Fu Yusheng died in order to protect the poisoned Fu Wenxiao.
These two children were orphans left behind by him. Fu Wenxiao recognized them as his nephews and nieces, and it was only right for him to properly place them. The situation of these two children was similar to that of Fu Lieyun. They were also the adopted sons and daughters of the Fu family and were registered under the name of the Fu family.
All the servants of the Fu family knew about this and respected them as their masters.
In the next few days, Fu Wenxiao and Yu Li stayed in the Duke Zhenguo's Mansion to learn about the affairs of the mansion, some of the Fu family's assets, and to look through the account books.
As a long-standing aristocratic family, the Fu family owns a considerable amount of property and land.
When the Fu family encountered trouble, many of their industries were hit, and they could only move some of them from open to secret. The rest were either confiscated by the national treasury or divided up by others.
Now that Fu Wenxiao is back, the old emperor has ordered the return of all the things confiscated from the national treasury, and also given a lot of subsidies.
Fu Wenxiao even saw that some of them were things from the old emperor’s inner treasury. He probably felt guilty about them, so he gave more subsidies.
He saw it but said nothing.
In addition, some forces that took the opportunity to devour the Fu family's assets also returned them.
Back then, they all thought that the Fu family had fallen, and they fished in troubled waters and made a lot of money. Who would have thought that Fu Xiao would return one day, and even the saint treated him as always.
These people were afraid of Fu Wenxiao's revenge. In addition to returning the Fu family's property, they also found some people to act as lobbyists, hoping that Fu Wenxiao would be more lenient in the future because of their understanding.
Fu Wenxiao ignored these people and refused to let them in.
This also made those people feel uneasy, as they always felt that the prince of the Duke of Zhenguo was planning a big move and would raise his butcher knife sooner or later to kill them all.
Yu Li didn't know all this.
Many things in the mansion need to be reviewed by the masters. Fu Wenxiao is naturally a bit busy. As the mistress of the Duke's Mansion, Yu Li also needs to understand something. She can't be blind and know nothing.
The couple stayed in the study, either looking at the account books or meeting with the managers, and were extremely busy.
Of course, the only one who was busy was Fu Wenxiao. Yu Li was only responsible for recognizing people and getting to know them briefly. Whether it was checking the account books or managing the directors, Fu Wenxiao was there.
Fu Wenxiao knew that she didn't like to care about these trivial matters, and he didn't want to bother her with them. He just wanted her to have an idea and understand it.
She shouldn't be confined to the inner house, and he never thought of confining her to the trivialities of the inner house.
He said, "In a few days, I will ask mother to send two maids over. Mother and the maids will be in the inner courtyard, and Uncle Zhong will be in the outer courtyard. You don't have to worry."
Yu Li said "oh", handed a piece of cake to him, fed it to him, and said, "Xiao brother, you have worked hard."
Naturally, she had no objection to his arrangement.
Although there are not many masters in the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion and not many things to take care of, she is really not good at these things. Just let her take charge of the big things. Those trivial matters of the housekeepers are a headache just to hear about them, and she has no experience, so it's better not to touch them.
Zhou came over with tea and saw that one of them was busy looking at the account books in the mansion, while the other was huddled there eating snacks. She didn't think there was anything wrong.
"Mother Li, Brother Xiao, thank you for your hard work."
Yu Li stood up and helped her to sit down.
Zhou came to discuss the matter of making clothes with them. There was a lot of cloth in the mansion, so they had to make more clothes for them. When the imperial edict came down, Yu Li, as the wife of the Duke of Zhenguo, would not only entertain guests in the mansion, but also attend many banquets. She would probably have to prepare more than 20 or 30 sets of clothes.
This is how it is in the capital, you have to have a noble person to avoid being looked down upon.
Especially Yu Li, many people are extremely curious about her.
In fact, she did not hide her origins. When those people heard that she was just a country girl from the south, many of them laughed at her secretly, thinking that Fu Xiao had fallen to such a state that he could only marry an ignorant country girl.
Fu Wenxiao said: "Mom, please arrange this matter. I trust you."
Although Zhou was gentle in nature, she was actually very capable. She was trained and educated in the princess's mansion. As his wet nurse, she followed him into the palace and stayed in the palace for quite a while. She saw a lot of people and things.
Zhou glanced at Yu Li and did not refuse.
She was also afraid that Yu Li would be wronged, so she was naturally very concerned about these things.
Then Fu Wenxiao said, "Mother, I will leave the mansion to you in the future. I'm sorry to trouble you to take care of it. I'm not good at this."
Zhou smiled and said, "I will teach Li Niang."
Yu Li looked at her, "Mom, what if I can't learn it?" These days, she watched how Fu Wenxiao handled the affairs of the mansion and felt that it was really troublesome and laborious, which was not what she liked.
"It's okay. If you can't learn it, then don't learn it." Zhou said with a smile, "Li Niang, just do whatever you like. There are stewards in this house." With so many servants, it's easy to manage a house.
It sounds like someone is doting on his child.
In Zhou's heart, Yu Li was indeed like a child, and she was always worried that she would be wronged.
Yu Li was very happy to hear that and held her arm affectionately, "Mother is so kind."
Zhou touched her head and felt that this child was more suitable for the outside world where she was free.
A few days later, the imperial edict from the palace finally arrived, and Fu Wenxiao officially became the Duke of Zhenguo.
Yu Li was also canonized as the wife of the Duke of Zhenguo, a first-rank lady.
Yu Li didn't feel anything about this until he found out that a first-rank lady had a salary, and that the annual salary was actually quite a lot, then he finally began to feel it was somewhat real.
"I also have a salary, how can it be so much?" Yu Li was surprised.
Nothing can compare to the numbers written in the booklet, cold numbers, each one sparkling with the brilliance of money.
Fu Wenxiao saw her holding the golden book bestowed by the emperor and reading it again and again, with a smile in his eyes, "Yes, do you like it?"
She said without hesitation: "Of course I like it. Who doesn't like money?"
It sounded cheesy, but he knew she didn't really like these yellow and white things, but thought they could be used to buy food and do many things.
After Yu Li savored the feeling of suddenly becoming rich, he had the imperial edict, the golden book bestowed by the emperor, and the standard clothes and jewelry of a first-rank lady be put away.
These things will be worn when you enter the palace to attend palace banquets in the future, so they must be kept well.
Later, the two went to the princess's mansion.
When he met Princess Yuan'an, Yu Li gave her treatment first.
Recently, because she has been busy settling down after moving, she has reduced the treatment she provides to Princess Yuanan. However, if she has nothing to do every night, Yu Li will come over at night and give her treatment before leaving.
Princess Yuanan's health has now mostly recovered, and her complexion is much better than before.
Because she rarely went out, other people did not know her physical condition except for some trusted servants who served her. They thought she was still sick and would not live long.
Only when Princess Yuan'an, who is about to die, can people feel at ease.
After seeing Yu Li treating her, Princess Yuan'an sat aside and started eating snacks. Her cheeks were puffy, like a little squirrel, so adorable.
She couldn't help but smile and poured her a glass of sherbet.
"Thank you, mother." Yu Li swallowed the snack in his mouth and said crisply.
Yu Li sat aside eating, while the mother and son discussed the banquet at the Duke's Mansion.
This was a banquet held by Fu Wenxiao after he became the Duke of Zhenguo. It was also the first time he showed up in front of the world after his return. And Yu Li, the Duke's wife, would also appear in front of the world, so it was naturally important to take it seriously.
Both mother and son have experience in this kind of thing. They only need to discuss some things that need attention, and the servants will take care of the rest.
After the discussion was almost over, Fu Wenxiao said, "Mother, please send two nurses to my son. I don't have many people I can use."
"Okay." Princess Yuan An did not refuse. "I'll ask Nanny Hai and Nanny Chen to go over and help you."
In fact, when it comes to help, it is more about helping to manage the Duke Zhenguo Mansion, so Yu Li doesn't have to worry about it.
Princess Yuan'an naturally realized that her daughter-in-law was not the kind of woman who could manage the household affairs, but what did that matter?
With Yu Li's ability, he should not be confined to the inner house.
If she doesn't like it, she doesn't need to learn those things. She will have a broader world in the future.
When the couple left, they took two maids back from the princess's mansion.
Although they are called maids, they are actually not very old, only about 40 years old. They are the elderly people left behind by the Empress Dowager. After the Empress Dowager passed away, Princess Yuan'an took them to the Princess's Mansion.
There are many people in the princess's mansion, and even if the two maids are capable, there is not much they can do.
Now that they have arrived at the Duke's Mansion, the Duke's wife is the one who doesn't like to meddle in other people's affairs. The two maids are finally able to use their abilities to manage the huge Duke's Mansion properly.
Yu Li was very satisfied with this.
The Duke's Mansion scheduled the banquet for late March and sent out the invitations a few days in advance.
The servants in the mansion were extremely busy. With the presence of two maids, they were able to do their work in an orderly manner. Fu Wenxiao only needed to control the general direction. Yu Li would occasionally pay attention and found that there seemed to be nothing for her to worry about.
Before going to bed at night, she sighed with Fu Wenxiao, "The people around my mother are very capable."
There is no need to talk about the mother-in-law. The two maids are really good at managing the household affairs. There are some things that Yu Li doesn't understand, but as long as they talk to her, she will understand.
Although the two maids took over the affairs of the Duke's Mansion, they never thought of sidelining Yu Li, the Duke's wife. They would report to her everything she should know. Yu Li actually learned a lot and found it quite easy.
Fu Wenxiao smiled and said, "They used to be palace maids around my grandmother, working with her."
If their grandmother were still alive, perhaps they would become ladies-in-waiting in the palace and make better use of their strengths.
pity……
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