Chapter 272 Warm and Cozy at Rongyue Courtyard
Rongyue Courtyard was as lively as ever.
When Daiyu lived in Rongyue Courtyard, her sisters often came over to practice Baduanjin (Eight Pieces of Brocade) with her, enjoyed delicious food together, and tended to flowers and plants...
Even now, there are still many of the potted plants they planted back then in Rongyue Courtyard, and the ginseng planted under the brocade screen vines last year is still living tenaciously.
“Granny, this is the best way to pass on the tradition!” Daiyu walked onto the stone bridge, looking at her eldest daughter playing in the snow in the courtyard, and felt a pang of emotion.
Yuan Hongqu understood Daiyu's meaning.
Rongyue Courtyard, which was originally Jia Min's residence when she was at her parents' home, was kept for her during her lifetime, so that she could stay there for a while after returning to her parents' home.
Jia Min has been dead for three years now, and Daiyu no longer lives in Rongyue Courtyard.
It would indeed be a waste to leave it empty like this.
It would be better to let this yard realize its best value!
Let the next generation of Rongguo Mansion continue to live here. Only with people can the house be sustained. No matter how well the house is maintained, it will fall into disrepair very quickly if there is no people.
“Yes, make the best use of everything.” Yuan Hongqu smiled calmly and stepped forward to take Daiyu’s hand. “Let’s go see how Second Mistress has done with the renovation of Rongyue Courtyard.”
"Aunt Lin." The eldest girl in the courtyard was also dressed in red. When she saw Daiyu coming over, she waved happily and ran over excitedly. Her wet nurse chased after her. The little girl walked unsteadily on the snow and almost fell.
"It's been a few days since I last saw you, eldest sister, you've gotten a bit fatter." Daiyu pinched the eldest sister's round cheeks.
The eldest sister grinned and reached out to pinch Daiyu's cheek. "Aunt Lin is round too. My mother says she needs to eat more so she can grow tall and strong, just like a daughter from a military family!"
"Oh dear, then I've just gained weight for nothing!" Daiyu sighed, feigning a sigh. "My family has no military officers. If I grow stronger, people will laugh at me."
"You're so mischievous." Wang Xifeng also came out to greet them, and laughed so hard she almost fell over when she heard this. "Your family may not have any military officers, but aren't you one yourself! I've heard that you've been getting close to that girl from the Liu family this year. She uses a nine-section whip, and you use a precious sword. When you wield them, you're evenly matched."
"Nonsense." Daiyu covered her face and scolded, "Sister Liu is the daughter of a military officer. How can I compare to her? Sister Feng, don't talk nonsense. If Sister Liu hears this, she can come and spar with me again. I am no match for her."
The group walked into the reception room, laughing and talking.
As soon as Daiyu stepped into the hall, she noticed something was different.
She moved back to the Lin family home because Rongyue Courtyard was near the water and she was afraid it would be too cold in winter. But Rongyue Courtyard was not only not cold, the living room was also warm and cozy, almost as warm as her own Jiaoyun Courtyard.
"I had several firewalls added around this room, and every space that could be converted into a kang (heated platform bed) was converted. While it's not as comfortable as your underfloor heating, it will make winters much easier," Wang Xifeng explained to Daiyu with a smile.
"There's also a fireplace built next to it, which is the biggest guarantee that this reception room will always be warm and cozy."
"Sister Feng is so wise," Daiyu praised with a smile, yet also seemed puzzled.
"We're here to celebrate your housewarming today, but it's just us? Aren't your sisters coming?"
Having been here for a while, Daiyu hadn't seen the three sisters yet, which made her a little curious.
"I was going to come over this morning, but then an imperial decree came down, ordering the Second and Third Misses to go to the palace to keep the Virtuous Consort company, so they all went. The Fourth Miss had someone from the East Mansion pick her up, saying she was going to the Taoist temple outside the city to kowtow to Master Jing." Wang Xifeng said, it was such a coincidence that the Second Madam had wanted to go to the palace for so many days but hadn't been able to, and then today, while she was having her confinement period, an imperial decree came down ordering her to go to the palace.
"That's unfortunate. I was just thinking of asking them if they wanted to go to the academy together next year. Now that Sister Feng is so wealthy, I think she should be able to come up with the money for the academy, right?" Daiyu didn't feel anything special when she heard that they had gone to the palace. She had been to the palace more times this year than she had been to the Rongguo Mansion.
The Empress would summon her over every now and then, and she would never leave empty-handed.
Upon hearing this, Wang Xifeng glanced at her eldest daughter, who had been playing in the snow outside. Her wet nurse had taken her to change into a new set of cotton clothes because she was worried about her getting wet. Now, the eldest daughter was happily drinking a hot beverage.
When her eldest daughter reached school age, she intended for her to attend the academy.
If the eldest daughter goes, there will inevitably be gossip, saying that the housekeeper only lets her daughter go to the academy, and none of the younger sisters in the family go to the academy.
But she couldn't bear to spend those several thousand taels of silver for nothing.
"I intend to send Yingchun to the academy. As for Tanchun, that depends on what the Second Madam thinks. The Fourth Miss isn't really part of our household. I'll have Jia Lian discuss it with Brother Zhen later."
"Granny, given the academy's admission requirements, will the sisters have any problem passing the interview?" Daiyu suddenly remembered the incident last year when Xue Baochai was discovered to have impersonated someone else and was ultimately unable to enter the academy.
"Sister Yuan, if our Second Miss, with her temperament and personality, can't pass the interview, then there are very few people who could pass your academy's interview!" Wang Xifeng said, half-jokingly, looking at Yuan Hongqu.
"Sister Yuan, could you do us a favor and waive the interview? Second Miss is too shy, she might be embarrassed."
Yuan Hongqu glanced at Wang Xifeng with a half-smile, then said,
"As for matters concerning the academy, you should ask Mi Ling. I don't usually interfere."
"Then I'll ask Vice Dean Mi about it another day," Wang Xifeng said, deliberately emphasizing her words.
“Yes, go to her if you need anything, I’m busy.” Yuan Hongqu said in a high-sounding manner, and Wang Xifeng couldn’t help but pat her on the shoulder.
"Sister Yuan, can't you be a little more ambitious!"
"Oh my, it's so rare to hear you say that!" Yuan Hongqu laughed.
Wang Xifeng blushed slightly.
Sigh, who told Yuan Hongqu to hold my little secret and know that the real me had no ambition at all, and was just playing a maid every day despite having the face of a leading lady!
So when she said that, she didn't really sound very confident.
After joking around for a while, Daiyu remembered a question she had discussed with Granny Yuan earlier and casually asked,
"Sister Feng, I heard that the newly appointed ladies-in-waiting are all going home to visit their families. When will your lady-in-waiting be coming back?"
"Let's wait until next Mid-Autumn Festival," Wang Xifeng replied, without feeling any reluctance.
This surprised Yuan Hongqu, and she couldn't help but glance at Wang Xifeng again.
"So, will it take a year to finish repairing your courtyard?" Daiyu asked curiously.
Their family spent several years just repairing the old Lin family house.
It would probably take more than ten years to build such a large courtyard!
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