Chapter 652, Shortening the Gap
On March 30th, Daohua knew Xiao Yeyang was leaving, so she got up early and personally went to the kitchen to make him a bowl of longevity noodles: "Eat quickly, I'm afraid you'll have to celebrate your birthday in Northern Xinjiang this year."
Xiao Yeyang smiled, picked up his chopsticks and started eating.
After breakfast, Xiao Yeyang went to say goodbye to Gu Jian. Gu Jian gave him some highly toxic medicine that he had prepared himself, gave him a few more instructions, and then waved goodbye to Daohua to see him off.
"I won't take the people from the new house with me. If anything happens, go find Deshou. He can contact the Jinling Guards in Zhongzhou."
Xiao Yeyang led Daohua down the mountain, gave her detailed instructions, and gave her the token of his commanding officer.
He didn't know how long he would be away in the northern border this time. He was really afraid that while he was away, some ignorant people would bully Daohua.
Daohua looked at the token and asked, "What will you do with yourself if you give it to me? Don't you need to prove your identity to others?"
Xiao Yeyang laughed and said, "Do I need a token to prove my identity?"
Seeing that he didn't care, Daohua stopped refusing and put the token into her purse.
Soon, the ferry arrived.
Xiao Yeyang pulled Daohua and said, "Thank you for taking care of my uncle."
Daohua glanced at him and said, "He is my master."
Thinking of being separated for several months or even longer, Xiao Yeyang was filled with reluctance. He reached out and hugged Daohua tightly, burying his head in her neck. He was silent for a long time before muttering, "Wait for me to come back!"
Daohua's heart was also blocked at this moment. She nodded and said, "You must be careful when you go to the Northern Frontier."
Xiao Yeyang took a deep breath, let go of Daohua, and got on the boat without looking back. Only after the boat started did he turn around to look at the people on the shore.
Rice Flower silently watched the boat go away until it disappeared and could no longer be seen. Then she turned around dejectedly and returned to Taohua An.
Young lovers are most afraid of separation. Gu Jian was ready to comfort his apprentice, but as soon as his apprentice came back, he asked Wang Man'er to bring over a pile of account books.
Daohua was looking through the spring plowing progress of the various villages when she saw her master standing at the doorway, staring at her. She asked in confusion, "Master, is there something wrong?"
Gu Jian glanced at his apprentice's expression and felt that he had worried for nothing. He snorted and said, "It's okay." After that, he put his hands behind his back and turned to tend to the medicinal field in the backyard.
Daohua was worried that Gu Jian would be lost in his sorrow again, so she quickly said, "Master, after I finish the spring plowing, can you teach me how to use the whip?"
Gu Jian glanced at her and said "hmm" lightly.
With something to do, Daohua had no time to think about random things. After observing the spring plowing conditions in several villages, she asked Wang Maner to call Yan Shouhou.
"Have you cleaned up the two barren hills we bought before the New Year?"
Yan Shouhou nodded: "We have cleared it, but the land we have reclaimed is all barren mountain land. If we grow crops on it, the yield will not be very high."
Rice Flower wasn't too worried: "It depends on what I plant."
Hearing this, Yan Shouhou thought of something and his eyes lit up: "Miss, do you want to grow potatoes on the mountain land?"
Daohua smiled and nodded. "I've already prepared some potato seeds. Go and gather some temporary workers. Make sure both hills are planted with potatoes before mid-April."
Yan Shouhou nodded quickly: "I will do it right away."
After everyone left, Daohua put down the account book and became distracted as she looked at the peach blossoms in the yard.
Although her mother-in-law made the decision and arranged her marriage with Xiao Yeyang, it did not mean that everything was fine.
In ancient times when family background was very important, the Yan family had a shallow foundation, so marrying the son of a prince was considered marrying up. Xiao Yeyang might not care, but in the eyes of outsiders, she was definitely not worthy of Xiao Yeyang.
Three people make a tiger. If you hear something too much, the person involved will definitely be affected. What she wants is an equal relationship between husband and wife, not some kind of climbing up the social ladder or giving in.
But the gap in status between her and Xiao Yeyang is real. What she can do now is to shorten the gap as much as possible.
In this era, a woman's status and identity depended on her family and her father and brothers.
She didn't expect anything from the Yan family, and her father and brother.
Although my eldest brother has already passed the imperial examination, he still has a long way to go before he can become an official in the court.
Now the only person I can count on is my father.
In recent years, although my father's political achievements have been good and he has been loved by the people because of his high-yield grain varieties, the promotion of grain varieties has been relatively short, and his reputation is limited to the surrounding areas of Zhongzhou. He is just one of the many fourth-rank officials in Daxia, and there is nothing particularly outstanding about him.
Furthermore, promotion to an official position requires time and accumulation. Even if my father could be transferred to the capital after completing his term as the prefect of Ningmen Prefecture, he would at most be promoted one level and would be a third-rank official in the capital.
Such a family background is still not enough to match that of a prince's son.
She couldn't get promoted to a higher position, and accumulating foundation couldn't be accomplished overnight. Now, what she could do was to raise the reputation of the Yan family.
During this period, she heard Xiao Yeyang talk a lot about the situation in the northern border. The eight kings were plotting a rebellion and seizing border cities. It was obvious that they were going to confront the imperial court for a long time.
The war in the northern border will not end so quickly.
War consumes the most money and food. At this time, what can better enhance your reputation and make you more widely known than donating food?
Thinking of this, Daohua got up and went down the mountain, walking around the village. She had accumulated a lot of seeds over the years, and now she had planted them all. She thought this year would definitely be a year of bumper harvest.
After that, Daohua replaced Xiao Yeyang and became the target of abuse by her master. Although she was not as miserable as Xiao Yeyang, she was still whipped several times every day.
Gu Jian controlled the strength of the whip, and there were no marks on Daohua's body, but the pain was deep in her bones.
Although he nodded in frustration, Daohua's reaction speed, flexibility and whipping skills had all improved significantly.
In the blink of an eye, it was May.
After May 15th, Yan's mansion began to decorate with lights and colorful lanterns.
It's nothing special. May 20th is the wedding day of Yan Wenxiu, the eldest son and grandson of the Yan family.
Old Madam Yan looked at Madam Li and asked, "Have the Han family's bride escorts been properly arranged?"
Madam Li smiled and said, "Don't worry, mother. Everything has been arranged. In a few days, you will be able to see your granddaughter-in-law."
Old Madam Yan nodded with a smile, and then said with a look of relief, "The date for Wenxiu and Miss Han's wedding is really a good one, it just happens to be after Sister Gu's mourning period."
Yan Zhigao and Madam Li looked in agreement.
It is understandable that other families did not observe the mourning period because they did not know Granny Gu's identity, but their family knew it but did not follow it, and the emperor would definitely be dissatisfied.
Yan Zhigao smiled and said, "Boss, this daughter-in-law is a blessing."
Mrs. Li smiled and nodded.
Old Madam Yan asked, "When will Daohua come back?"
Speaking of her daughter, Madam Li also missed her very much. Because she had to observe mourning for Madam Gu and take care of Grandpa Gu, she hadn't seen her daughter for more than three months. "She said she would be back today."
Old Madam Yan also missed her granddaughter and sighed, "Although Daohua and Yeyang's marriage has not been announced to the public, they have been married after all, so they are considered the daughter-in-law of someone else's family."
Mrs. Li also sighed. Who said it wasn't true?
I feel uncomfortable when I think about my daughter already being someone else's.
(End of this chapter)
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