One evening a few days later, the doorman brought in a letter. Xiao Jingkang and Tong Mingyu hurried to Ninghetang with the letter. When the family members heard the news, they put down what they were doing and followed them because they were also worried about their relatives far away.
When Xiao Yao heard the news, before Xiao Yuan could react, she forgot to even say hello to Nanny Ruan. She put down the purse she was embroidering and ran towards Ninghe Hall.
"Mammy, what happened to my sister?" the naive Xiao Yuan asked in confusion.
"Maybe it's a letter from your grandfather." Ping'an was sometimes more responsive than adults, and sometimes completely off-kilter. For example, everyone saw what happened between Yun Can and Tang Hao, but she hadn't considered it at all. Nanny Ruan had never taught a child like Xiao Yao before!
"Will they? These maids didn't say it clearly, so how can I guess! Qianyu, quickly help me change my clothes. Oh! No need to change, I want to go chase my sister. Mammy, I will come back later and continue learning, okay?"
"Go ahead."
The care and concern among the Xiao family members for each other were completely genuine, without any desire for fame or fortune. Nanny Ruan had never seen a family like mine in all her years in the palace.
As a master, I could see how much my young apprentice cared about General Xiao. From her reaction just now, I could tell that nothing was more important than General Xiao's letter. Because I hadn't finished my story yet, she ran away without even saying hello, which would never happen before.
"Is it a letter from grandpa?" Before Xiao Yaoren even entered Ninghe Hall, the question was already raised.
"Master's love for this child is not in vain." Qin said with relief. The little granddaughter looked indifferent, but she was actually a kind and loyal child.
"Don't run, the letter won't fly away." Tong Mingyu stopped her daughter who was running fast and took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from her forehead.
"Mother, I'm asking you if it's a letter from my grandfather. Please answer me!" Mother, please get to the point.
"Yes, and it's good news."
"What good news? Is grandpa coming back?"
"They should be on their way back now. We just calculated that they will be back in Kyoto in about twenty days."
"Great! I'm going to pick up Grandfather and Second Uncle from outside the city. Oh, and will Fourth Uncle come back too?"
"Your grandfather and uncles are back." Xiao Jingkang said with some jealousy. The people who had snatched his daughter from him were coming back, and there were three of them coming back together. Ping An looked so happy. If he had been away for so long, he wondered if she would miss him like this!
"Your grandfather instructed in the letter not to let you and Ruyi go to the city gate to greet them, saying that there will be a lot of people that day, and it would be inconvenient to go if there was a conflict. You should just wait at home obediently." Tong Mingyu repeated her father-in-law's instructions.
What she didn't expect was that her usually obedient daughter suddenly became stubborn this time. No matter how much she persuaded her, she insisted on going to pick up the person.
Seeing that the mother and daughter were at a stalemate, Xiao Jingkang had to step in to act as a peacemaker.
"Let Ping An go, and let A Yi stay by their side all the time."
"I will be a good boy and stay in the carriage. Just let me watch my grandfather and two uncles from a distance."
Having said that, Tong Mingyu had no way to refuse and had to agree.
"Ping'an, you said you wanted to exchange gifts with your fourth uncle. I wonder if you are ready." Xiao Rui finally found an opportunity to speak and reminded Xiao Yao.
"I'm ready. I promise to give Fourth Uncle a surprise when the time comes." Xiao Yao responded to her fourth brother with a smile on her face.
Everyone present had a premonition that Xiao Jingyan might fall into Ping An's trap again this time. Seeing her naughty expression, everyone began to sympathize with Xiao Jingyan who had not yet returned.
In the following days, the Xiao family became busy. Tong Mingyu and Li Jiaoying made various preparations to welcome their father-in-law. When Prince Jing returned to Beijing, undercurrents surged in the court. Some old ministers or people with ulterior motives began to gather information everywhere. Who would believe that someone would be gone for more than a year to suppress a bandit?
Some speculated about the true purpose of Prince Jing's visit, while others wondered if the Xiao family had become the emperor's most trusted family. Otherwise, why didn't the emperor send someone else to meet Prince Jing, instead of sending General Xiao and his son? Furthermore, Prince Jing had Xiao Jingyan by his side when he left.
Some of the more shrewd wives of officials had already begun to inquire about the Xiao family's grandchildren, and they discovered a strange phenomenon: no male Xiao family member from Xiao Jingyan onwards was married or engaged. While there were fewer girls, they knew what was wrong with those who had been taught by Nanny Ruan. So everyone was eager to try, waiting for the Emperor and Prince Jing to announce their intentions before making a proposal.
Xiao Yao had already started embroidering. She loved drawing her own patterns and then embroidering. At first, she thought she wouldn't be able to sit still, afraid she wouldn't have the patience to tinker with handkerchiefs, purses, and so on, stitch by stitch. It was Nanny Ruan's words that calmed her down, allowing her to quietly prepare gifts for her grandfather, father, and brothers.
"Master has never seen more favored girls than you two. Although family members don't expect anything in return for their efforts, don't you want your grandfather to have a purse embroidered by you hanging around his waist? Don't you want your parents to look at other adults with envy as they wear new shoes and clothes made by your daughters and nieces? Don't you care that your brothers are teased by their friends and classmates for carrying school bags embroidered by the maids every day?"
"Master, please stop talking. I will definitely study hard and never let others laugh at my grandfather, father and brothers." Xiao Yao did what she said and practiced embroidery skills at the rate of one purse a day. She decided to wait until her skills were more sophisticated before she could officially embroider purses for her family.
Xiao Yuan got a headache whenever she saw embroidery, but she couldn't just not learn anything. After weighing the pros and cons, she decided to learn cooking. She believed that with her love for delicious food and her ability to appreciate it, she would be able to make delicious snacks.
The family members all agreed with the choices of the two girls, especially Xiao Yao. They had high hopes for her and hoped that they would be the first person to receive the purse she embroidered herself. Xiao Rui even made his own request.
"I want to bring a tiger, the majestic kind."
"Since I cannot meet your request now, please wait three years. I will definitely give you a purse with a tiger on it." The fourth brother wanted her to embroider such a big animal on such a small object. His requirements for his sister were extremely high!
"Ping'an, just embroider a few bamboo leaves for your second brother." Xiao Yi especially likes bamboo, and he doesn't want his sister to suffer, so he proposed a method that would satisfy himself and reduce his sister's burden.
"Don't worry, I will do my best to meet everyone's requests. Except for Tiger, who will be handed over three years later, the rest of the people will receive gifts after grandfather comes back." What the nanny said was absolutely right. Being able to do things for the people you love makes you feel different. Xiao Yao vowed to learn needlework well, not only to embroider jewelry for everyone, but also to make clothes and shoes for them in the future.
"You can't blame me entirely for this! My mother has never done this for me before. I had no idea that embroidering a tiger would be so troublesome. Otherwise, Ping An, you can do whatever you want. Just don't leave Fourth Brother alone at the end."
Among the three daughters-in-law of the Xiao family, Tong Mingyu is very good at sewing, but she has no time to do these things. Except for the underwear of her husband and son, she has to rely on the sewing room for help for everything else.
Li Jiaoying's clothes-making ability was okay, but her embroidery was not so good. Xiao Jingtai often teased her and said that it was a good thing that the second wife had no daughter, otherwise she would have to ask the eldest sister-in-law to help embroider little skirts, and she, as the mother, would only be able to wear plain clothes. Speaking of Yuan Yutong, it was hard to say, because she had hands that could wield knives and guns, but had never held an embroidery needle.
So everything poor Xiao Rui has on him is made by the embroiderer at home. Now he is finally going to use the purse embroidered by his sister. No wonder he is so looking forward to it!
Xiao Yao put away the first few embroidered purses that were a bit inferior. When she felt her skills were good enough, she picked up the material and pattern she had chosen for her grandfather and began to embroider...
By the time Xiao Yao finished embroidering the eleven purses, General Xiao and his troops had already entered the Central Plains and would be able to return to Beijing in a few days.
The family members are getting happier day by day because three relatives are coming back at once, so everyone's face is filled with smiles these two days.
Xiao Jingmin and his wife also rushed back, and the family naturally gathered together. Xiao Yuan presented the snacks that he had researched and improved, and looked forward to everyone's affirmation and support.
"It tastes good." Qin thought it was a bit too sweet, but she had to give encouragement when it was necessary.
"Why do I feel that it's not as delicious as the one made by Ping'an!" Xiao Rui picked up a piece, turned it over and over, and looked at it again and again, and said pickily.
"It's good enough that you have something to eat. Where do you get so many opinions from?" Xiao Jingmin slapped his son hard and scolded him loudly.
"From now on, A Rui is not allowed to eat snacks." Yuan Yutong thought her daughter was much better than herself. She was only a few years old, but she could make snacks. She was more thoughtful than her mother. It seemed that her daughter still had hope of becoming a lady. Talented women were not completely hopeless.
"Auntie likes the snacks made by Ruyi very much." Tong Mingyu spoke in support of her niece.
"It's on par with Ping'an's." Li Jiaoying couldn't say Ruyi's dim sum was better than Ping'an's. While it might not be quite as delicious, there's still room for improvement! She believed that in three to five years, Ruyi's craftsmanship would definitely improve.
Xiao Yao was very considerate and ate two pieces. She planned to explain the key points of making dim sum to her sister in private. It is good to be innovative, but some traditional things should not be discarded.
Only by learning from each other's strengths and overcoming each other's weaknesses, having patience and perseverance can we do things well.
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