Chapter 69: The Father-in-Law's Family Has Been Exiled

The first day of the Lunar New Year.

Last night, Yan Ning stayed up late with the Bai Family to see in the New Year.

When Yan Ning woke up on the morning of the first day, she could barely open her eyes.

However, there was a lion dance today; thinking of this, Yan Ning climbed out of bed at once.

Fortunately, winter in Lingnan is not cold, otherwise she would not have wanted to part with her quilt for anything.

Early in the morning, Yan Ze and Ji Lan each handed her a Pouch.

Yan Ze said with a smile, "A New Year red envelope."

As early as the day before yesterday, Yan Ning and the others had found a shop to exchange for copper coins; one tael of silver could be exchanged for one thousand copper coins.

They exchanged several dozen taels, wrapping them in red string in amounts of one hundred or five hundred, giving one to every child they saw, and also giving them to the young maidservants and manservants they encountered.

The New Year money here is not much, mainly to seek a good omen.

Yan Ning also received the copper coins given by the Bai Family; they were also not many, all strung together with red thread.

Bai Yu asked Yan Ning with a smile, "Do you want to watch the lion dance?"

Yan Ning said with a beaming smile, "I want to watch!"

As he spoke, Bai Yu brought Yan Ning and her parents outside the Bai Mansion, where two lions were shaking their heads and wagging their tails as they walked, while people nearby beat drums and gongs, making it very lively.

Every so often they would lie down, and then jump up to offer New Year greetings; it was truly a sight to behold.

The most difficult part was the Plum Blossom Stakes; those two lions jumped up in an instant and performed all sorts of movements on the stakes.

This was truly impressive.

After a good while, the lion dance finally ended.

Just as the lion dance finished, those who had come to the Bai Mansion to offer New Year greetings all arrived.

Yan Ning even saw the young master of the Lu Family; she heard his name was Lu Heng.

When the young master of the Lu Family saw Yan Ning, he raised his hands to give her something, and Yan Ning was stunned.

He even had a Jade Pendant? In the young master's hands were two red raw stones; they were not very large, only the size of a thumb, but this was very rare Pigeon Blood.

Lu Heng said with a smile, "Happy New Year, Sister, this is for you."

Remembering that she had not accepted his gift before, this little tyke had even cried, but this Pigeon Blood was truly too precious.

Yan Ning then said, "I cannot accept this; it is very precious."

Lu Heng replied, "Sister is the most precious, Sister, please accept it first."

Seeing his son wandering in front of Yan Ning again, Lu Wanshun felt somewhat helpless.

Lu Heng is nine years old by nominal age this year, but his actual age is only seven.

Lu Wanshun really could not understand why this seven-year-old child, who hadn't even reached enlightenment yet, was so insistent on giving things to Yan Ning.

Lu Wanshun walked up and said to Yan Ning with a beaming smile, "Miss Yan, please just accept it; consider it an apology for the trouble my son caused you earlier."

Yan Ning was not coy and accepted the red Jade.

But she was not the type of person who liked to take advantage of others.

Yan Ning began to rummage through her space, clearing out the Jade.

Sorting them by value, each variety of Jade or jadeite was piled together.

After much thought, she put her hand into her pocket, actually taking a piece of top-quality Hetian Jade from her space, about the size of an infant's fist.

She handed the Hetian Jade to Lu Heng, "This is for you."

Lu Heng took it happily.

Lu Wanshun glanced at Yan Ning, thinking to himself, how is this young girl so wealthy?

First Fireworks, and now Hetian Jade.

He really hadn't expected that someone in exile would bring Jade with them.

Recalling when their family first arrived in Lingnan, two carriages were piled high with all sorts of silks, satins, and treasures.

Lu Wanshun sighed; it was a pity that a marriage contract had been set so early, otherwise, since his son was so good-looking, there might have been a chance.

On the third day, Yan Ze and the others prepared to return.

Yan Ning scanned her space; apart from the uncarved Jade, the other Jade was marked as items from the palace and could not be taken out and used casually.

Yan Ning then handed a piece of Jade to Bai Yu, "Thank you for your hospitality these past few days; this is for you."

Bai Yu hurriedly declined, "This is rare Mutton Fat Jade; how could I accept such a large piece?"

Yan Ning thought for a moment and swapped it for a slightly smaller piece of Hetian Jade, "You can accept this, right?"

Bai Yu laughed in spite of himself, but in the end, he accepted it.

Bai Yu asked, "Are you not considering staying a few more days?"

Yan Ning shook her head, "We need to go back and check on things."

Bai Yu did not press them to stay and asked, "Where do you live? Now that we have Fireworks to make together, who should I look for if I encounter difficulties?"

Yan Ning thought for a moment; she trusted Bai Yu, so she said, "Near Taohua Village in Shawan County, there are several tall Watchtowers; you will see them once you reach Taohua Village."

"However, my family chose this plot of land precisely because it is remote and hard to find; you must not tell anyone else."

Although Bai Yu did not understand why they had to be so secretive, who doesn't have a little secret?

Bai Yu did not ask further and gave them some pastries and fruit made by the Bai Mansion to take back.

After returning, Yan Ning felt that their home was still a bit cold and cheerless, not as lively as the Bai Mansion, but once the silversmiths and Li Dachu brought their families, it would be lively then.

Yan Ning had given them time off until after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, but she did not expect the three silversmiths and Li Dachu to return so quickly.

It was only the fifth day, and Wu Dashi had already brought his sons, daughters-in-law, two grandsons, and one granddaughter.

Wu Dashi brought two strips of meat and twenty taels of silver, "Master Chen, you must accept this; my two sons have already begun their schooling, and the teacher says they have high aptitude."

Chen Yuan saw the granddaughter behind him and asked, "Is the little girl not studying?"

Wu Dashi was stunned: "Can a little girl learn it?"

Chen Yuan smiled and said: "Why not? As long as one wants to learn, anyone can learn."

Wu Dashi went to take out money again.

Chen Yuan hurriedly said: "No need, no need, twenty taels is already a lot."

Wu Dashi knew Chen Yuan's ability and hurriedly said: "You must accept it; twenty taels is already very little. Any less, and our conscience would be uneasy."

With such a formidable person as a teacher, Wu Dashi felt that paying ten thousand or eight thousand in tuition wouldn't be too much, but Grand Tutor Chen simply didn't want it; mentioning meat was enough, and at most, he would just take a few more taels of silver.

After some pushing back and forth, Chen Yuan accepted it.

The other families were all the same, and Chen Yuan almost couldn't finish eating all the meat.

Yan Ning then bought this meat at the market price, first put it in the Cold Storage, and would give it to those building the houses when they arrived.

Yes, they were still building houses.

He should be able to return for the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet in May, and at that time, he would bring his father-in-law and mother-in-law over. He heard that his father-in-law and eldest brother-in-law had both been dismissed from office.

When Yan Ze learned the news, he only felt it was absurd.

His father-in-law was the Prime Minister, Ji Lan's eldest brother was the Minister of Revenue, and her third younger brother was the Junior Minister of the Dali Temple; they had actually all been dismissed.

There was likely no one left in the current Court who could be of use; either dismissed or exiled, the entire Court had been turned upside down.

Yan Ze felt that his cheap father had lost his mind.

He might as well just come to Lingnan together.

There wasn't much time; they would return by June at the latest. In half a year's time, he didn't know if these houses could be finished.

But what Yan Ze didn't expect was that over a hundred people from the Ji Family had already come to Lingnan.

They had been exiled here.