535 Warm Family, Favored
There was a hint of coldness in Nanzhao in October. The little black eggs, who were about to become steamed eggs, could finally stop spreading themselves in the courtyard to tan their stomachs. They grabbed the candied hawthorn that their father had bought and slipped to Yu Shaoqing and Madam Jiang’s room.
Yu Shaoqing woke up early. He went to the small kitchen to make food for Madam Jiang and the little black eggs. Of course, he also made some for his daughter and stinky son-in-law. He also made some for the Old Madam and the general of the Helian family.
In the end, he made breakfast for the whole family. When he finished making breakfast and returned to his room to wake up Madam Jiang, he saw three naked little black eggs using the sparkling candied hawthorn in their hands to wake up the little sleeping beauty on the bed.
Pop! Dabao kissed Little Sly Jiang’s cheek.
Soon. Pop, pop! Er’bao and Xiaobao also kissed her.
Sleeping Beauty was woken up by the kisses of her three little black princes. She opened her eyes in a daze (excitedly).
“Good morning, Ah Shu.” Xiaobao said.
“Good morning, Ah Shu.” Er’bao said.
Dabao didn’t know how to say it, but he let the candied hawthorn speak for him. He handed it to Ah Shu.
Because Yu Shaoqing and Yan Jiuchao had become “father and son”, Yu Wan told the three little fellows to change their addressing. When they called Yu Shaoqing, Xiaobao and Er’bao obediently called him “Grandpa”. When it was Madam Jiang’s turn, it became Ah Shu.
Yu Shaoqing’s face darkened. Ah Shu was his! Don’t call her that, you brats! And don’t hug her with your hands! Not only did the three little black eggs hug her, they even climbed onto the bed and crawled into the blanket. They hugged Ah Shu and slept happily.
Yu Shaoqing was so angry that he pouted. Y-you guys won’t have pig buns like this…
In October, the East Manor welcomed two major events. The first was that Yue Gou and Qing Yan, who had been hiding in the State Preceptor Hall for more than half a month, had returned to the manor safely. They had brought back a handwritten note about the Saintess and the Sorcerer. The handwritten note was placed in a metal mechanism box.
The two of them brought the mechanism box back to Xixia Garden.
Yu Wan immediately rushed over after hearing the news, but she only saw the two of them. She could not help but be puzzled. “Why are there only the two of you? Where are Jiang Hai and Ah Wei?”
Qing Yan said in a complicated manner, “They stayed in the State Preceptor Hall.”
“What do you mean by staying in the State Preceptor Hall?” Yu Wan asked in confusion.
Qing Yan sighed and said, “We searched the Myriad Book Pavilion for a long time and finally found what we wanted. Just as we were about to slip out of the State Preceptor Hall, a disciple of the State Preceptor Hall discovered us. At that time, we had already set up a mechanism. We could have left together, but Jiang Hai suddenly said that he’s going to lure them away and really lured the guards away.”
Yu Wan touched her chin. “From what you say, Jiang Hai deliberately stayed?”
Qing Yan nodded. “That’s what I suspected. I discovered it when we were in the Myriad Book Pavilion. We were all looking for the handwritten note, but he seemed to be looking for something else other than the handwritten note. Then, Ah Wei went to look for him and returned to the State Preceptor Hall.”
As Qing Yan spoke, he looked at the little thing in Yu Wan’s hand and said, “This box has a mechanism. We can’t forcefully pry it open, or the box and the things inside will be destroyed at the same time.”
Yu Wan extinguished the thought of smashing it with a hammer. “Then how do I open it?”
“The key,” Qing Yan said.
“Where’s the key?” Yu Wan asked.
Qing Yan paused. “It’s in Ah Wei’s hands.”
Yu Wan : “…”
Qing Yan cleared his throat and quickly said, “You don’t have to worry too much. Jiang Hai seems to be very familiar with the State Preceptor Hall. In addition, the two of them are not weak in martial arts, so they should be fine. Yue Gou and I came back to hand the thing over to you. We’ll go to the State Preceptor Hall to receive them later. We’ll get the person and key safely.”
Yu Wan nodded.
“Did anything happen in the manor while we were gone?” Qing Yan asked.
Yu Wan told Qing Yan and Yue Gou about the East Manor and her parents.
The two of them did not expect so many big things to happen in the manor during their absence. Of course, the last thing they expected was that Yu Wan was really the child of the Helian family. The Helian family had been loyal to the country for generations, loyal to the royal court but far away from disputes. They would probably never dream that the heir of the Helian family would marry the princess.
Qing Yan suddenly wanted to know Helian Beiming’s expression when he found out the truth. It must be very interesting. Then, Qing Yan asked about Yan Jiuchao’s illness.
“It’s under control. It won’t flare up for the time being.”
Qing Yan was relieved. He thought of something and said to Yu Wan, “Although the Red Lingzhi is rare, there’s more than one in the world. We’ll look for it later. We’ll definitely find it. Don’t worry.”
Yu Wan smiled in relief. “Okay.”
Although it was Yan Jiuchao’s medicinal primer, it was also something that everyone had worked hard to find. She was glad that no one was resentful because of this and even comforted her not to worry.
“Let’s go.” Qing Yan raised his hand and subconsciously wanted to rub Yu Wan’s head. Unexpectedly, Yan Jiuchao walked in. Qing Yan’s hand paused and he changed direction to rub Yan Jiuchao’s head.
Oh. Little Jiuchao’s head was so round and his hair was so soft. Yan Jiuchao looked at him coldly. Qing Yan retracted his hand resentfully. “Ahem, I’m really leaving. By the way, I’ll return this to you.” As he spoke, he returned the Qianji Box that Jiang Hai had given him to Yan Jiuchao. They were already very familiar with the State Preceptor Hall and knew how to sneak in.
Qing Yan and Yue Gou did not stay in the manor for long. They replenished some hidden weapons and pills and returned to the State Preceptor Hall.
The second big thing that was about to happen in the East Manor was Madam Jiang’s birthday.
Logically speaking, if it wasn’t the full-year, she wouldn’t be able to celebrate in the countryside. However, Yu Shaoqing doted on his wife. When he was in the village, he would celebrate Madam Jiang’s birthday every year, not to mention that he had missed six birthdays after leaving the army for six years. This time, he couldn’t be careless.
Actually, it was only Madam Jiang’s birthday at the end of the month, but at the beginning of the month, Yu Shaoqing had started preparing. As soon as he prepared, everyone in the East Manor knew that the Second Madam’s birthday was coming.
“Which day?” In the study, Helian Beiming asked Yu Shaoqing, who was busy at his desk.
Yu Shaoqing snorted. “I’m not telling you!”
Helian Beiming’s gaze landed on a note with the number thirty written on it. The corners of his lips curled up slightly. “Yes, you’re not telling me.”
The East Manor became busy with Madam Jiang’s birthday. The Old Madam got someone to open the storeroom and waved her hand. “Take out all the valuable things! Take them all out!”
The corners of the servants’ mouths twitched. It was true that they had to take it, but why did these words sound so wrong? Why did it feel like a robbery when they were clearly taking their things?
The Old Madam got someone to take out all the gold, silver, jewelry, and antique paintings in the storeroom and began to choose gifts for her daughter-in-law. “This, this, this, this…”
The servants looked at the gifts that were quickly piled into a small hill and thought to themselves, Don’t say what you want, just say what you don’t want!
The Old Madam was picking gifts for her daughter-in-law when the butler of the East Manor suddenly came. “Old Madam, there’s an invitation from the palace.”
“What invitation?” The Old Madam had a golden abacus. She felt that it wasn’t big enough. It was a little petty to give this to her daughter-in-law.
The butler didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when he saw that his ancestor didn’t take it to heart. “There’s an invitation from the palace. The Queen’s birthday is coming soon. The Emperor has set up a family banquet and wants to invite you and the general to attend.”
“I’m not going!” The old lady said without thinking. “Beiming is not allowed to go either!”
The butler reminded her, “It’s the Queen’s birthday…”
The old madam said fiercely, “What does her birthday have to do with me! She’s not my daughter-in-law! Why? Do you still want me to congratulate her? Dream on!”
She-she’s not your daughter-in-law, but she’s the Princess of Nanzhao, the future Emperor. The butler broke out in cold sweat for his Old Madam. Forget it, Old Madam was silly and probably couldn’t figure out the pros and cons. It was true that the Helian family rarely interacted with the Queen Manor, but after all, this was an invitation from the Emperor.
The butler decided to look for the general.
In Helian Beiming’s courtyard, the butler told his general about the invitation from the palace. “…It’s not the full-year. Logically speaking, it shouldn’t be a problem, but who asked the Emperor to dote on her? It’s just that he didn’t make it too public. It’s just a family banquet. Those who go are all the royal relatives. Our family is the only one among the ministers.”
It was the glory of the entire Helian family to be able to compare with the royal family.
The butler thought that the Great General was more rational than the Old Madam and could weigh the pros and cons. Unexpectedly, Helian Beiming only nodded indifferently and said, “Got it. Go back and say that Old Madam and I can’t go.”
The butler was dumbfounded. “Ah…”
Helian Beiming said coldly, “What? Do we still have to listen to the royal family when my mother and I are celebrating our family’s birthday? The Helian family didn’t get their position today by currying favor with the Emperor. When I was bleeding on the battlefield, the palace didn’t ask me to attend the banquet, so I can choose not to attend now.”
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