Chapter 135: Yo, Yellow-Haired Girl! [Thank You All for Your Support! Again]

Hua Lan was also happy for her grandmother; after squatting to bow once toward Grandmother Sheng and Sheng Hong, she said, "Yes, Father."

The old lady held Xu Xu Zaijing's two hands, rubbing them gently, then extended a third hand to signal Xu Xu Zaijing to hand it over. After grasping it, the old lady smiled and asked Xu Xu Zaijing, "On these hands, have you practiced brush, spear, and bow and arrow? Are you skilled in all of them?"

Xu Xu Zaijing looked at the elder's concerned gaze, shook his head, and replied, "Great-aunt, it is not that I am skilled."

The old lady was stunned: "Ah?"

Everyone else in the main hall was also stunned.

"I am proficient."

"Hahaha, truly mischievous!"

Seeing Xu Xu Zaijing's cunning eyes, the old lady laughed; upon hearing this, the others also smiled, and the two nannies, Fang and Cui, smiled even more gratified.

"However, the calluses on your hands are almost gone, Brother Jing. Do not blame this old woman for speaking out of turn, but you must not slacken," the old lady admonished earnestly.

Xu Xu Zaijing smiled and whispered a few words into the old lady's ear.

Seeing the old lady's surprised expression, Lady Feng said with a smile, "Old Lady, do you not know that Brother Jing obtained the Empress's Jade-Smooth Skin Gel?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Shi was also stunned on her face; she had truly never heard of such a thing.

Grandmother Sheng wore an expression of "so that's how it is," causing everyone in the main hall to cover their mouths and laugh.

Xu Xu Zaijing looked at Grandmother Sheng and said, "Great-aunt, are you reassured now?"

"Reassured!"

If one could still develop calluses while using a treasure item exclusively supplied by the imperial family, it was sufficient proof of Xu Xu Zaijing's diligence.

In the midst of the conversation,

Wang Shi, with bright eyes wide open on the side, asked, "Brother Jing, during the grand morning court assembly on the first day, were the Northern Liao nobles truly as rude as the official dispatches reported?"

Xu Xu Zaijing's smile diminished slightly; he bowed slightly and said, "Replying to Aunt, yes. Both nations came prepared. They did not compete with our Great Zhou's elite in literature, but insisted on competing in fists and feet."

Inside Shou'an Hall, they were speaking.

Lin Qige.

When Dong Rong entered the Sheng household, Lin Lin Qinshuang received his report and learned that the third legitimate son of Hou Fu had already entered the Sheng household's main gate.

At this moment, Lin Lin Qinshuang began to dress Sheng Changfeng and Mo Lan.

Sheng Changfeng was easy enough to discuss, but whether to dress Mo Lan in bright or plain clothes left Lin Lin Qinshuang somewhat conflicted.

Looking at Zhou Zhou Xueniang beside her, Lin Lin Qinshuang said, "By rights, those noble military generals prefer brighter colors, yet I also heard the Master say that the young man from the Xu family has studied literature. What clothes should I dress Mo'er in!"

Mo Lan frowned and said, "Mother, let it be plain. I do not like bright colors."

Lin Lin Qinshuang looked at her daughter, her thoughts swirling as she pondered for a moment, then said, "Brighter colors show off one's complexion. Come, change into this!"

Saying this, she changed Mo Lan into a peach-red silk padded jacket.

She made Mo Lan turn around, and Lin Lin Qinshuang nodded.

"Go then. Speak many pleasant words when you reach Shou'an Hall! Mo Lan! Take this poetry collection!"

Watching the two children leave the courtyard of Lin Qige, Lin Lin Qinshuang said to the maid Zhou Xueniang, "With my Mo'er's talent and beauty, she will surely make that young man from the Xu family's eyes light up!"

"Wei Xiaoniang speaks truly."

"By the way, what did Dong Rong just say to you? I only heard half before Eldest Miss interrupted you," Lin Lin Qinshuang asked.

Zhou Zhou Xueniang looked around and spoke in a low voice, "Dong Rong said that a major incident occurred in the Yuan family of Bianjing. Eldest Miss's marriage prospects are likely completely hopeless."

Lin Lin Qinshuang looked at the plum blossoms in the courtyard, a smile on her lips, and said, "Won't that shrew Wang Wang Ruofu be so angry she dies?"

"Dong Rong said, the Big—" Seeing Lin Lin Qinshuang's expression, Zhou Xueniang hurriedly said, "That shrew was literally fainted with anger at the dock."

"Hmph, truly deserved. I see her still showing off that her daughter married well. Why does that fox spirit in the side courtyard not make a sound?"

Zhou Zhou Xueniang replied cautiously, "It is Wei Xiaoniang. These past days, no matter how we handled the side courtyard, they would not make a sound. With noble guests here, should Wei Xiaoniang and we tone it down?"

"Tone down what? Yesterday, didn't that side courtyard receive a basket of pastries? At this time, we must strike even harder; otherwise, how will that enchantress fall into the trap? Withhold all charcoal, fire, and food."

"Yes, Wei Xiaoniang."

After Zhou Zhou Xueniang went down, Lin Lin Qinshuang muttered to herself, "Mo'er, you must perform well."

Hua Lan arrived at the side courtyard but saw no one; the maid Sister Cuichan beside her shouted ahead, "Wei Xiaoniang? Sixth Miss?"

In a sheltered corner of the side courtyard, Sister Sister Xiaodie poked her head out and said, "Sister Sister Cuichan, Eldest Miss! Our Wei Xiaoniang is here."

She then shrank her body back inside to support Wei Wei Shuyi as she stood up before the embroidery frame.

The reason she stood up quickly, combined with some lack of nutrition, made Wei Wei Shuyi's vision go dark; she had to rest for a while before feeling better.

Seeing Hua Lan's concerned gaze, Wei Wei Shuyi hurriedly waved her hand and said, "I stood up too abruptly~ Eldest Miss, what is wrong? Has someone from the Yuan family arrived?"

A flash of awkwardness crossed Hua Lan's face, then she said, "No. Grandmother has sent the children in the household to Shou'an Hall."

Upon hearing this, Ming Lan's eyes were full of eagerness and joy, because going to Shou'an Hall meant she could bring back delicious food.

Wei Wei Shuyi keenly noticed Hua Lan's expression; combining it with what Sister Sister Xiaodie had told her earlier, she reached a conclusion and said, "Ming Lan, go inside and find that new padded jacket."

Once only she and Hua Lan remained outside the room, she stood solemnly beside Hua Lan and said, "Eldest Miss, do not overthink it. When the old man loses his horse, who knows if it is not a blessing?"

Hua Lan naturally knew what followed; she also heard the sincere concern and advice in Wei Wei Shuyi's words, so Hua Lan said with a smile, "Thank you, Wei Xiaoniang, for your advice."

Several people entered the room; Hua Lan frowned slightly because the room felt somewhat cold and desolate.

But she did not think much of it; after Wei Wei Shuyi finished dressing Ming Lan, she took Ming Lan and walked together toward Shou'an Hall.

Ming Lan, standing beside Hua Lan with her eyes curved into a smile, whispered, "Sister, have the people bringing the betrothal gifts arrived?"

Hua Lan glanced at Ming Lan and said, "No. A relative from Hou Fu in Bianjing, whom you should call Jing Jing Biao Ge, has arrived."

Seeing Ming Lan's confused gaze, Hua Lan said, "They are our grandmother's maternal relatives from Bianjing."

"Oh, is Hou Fu's rank higher than Father's?"

Hua Lan looked at Ming Lan with a smile and said, "A bit higher."

While speaking, the two sisters arrived outside Shou'an Hall. Ming Lan stopped her skipping steps, and only then did she hear a voice inside say, "Great-aunt, the flower lantern erected outside Xuande Gate this year is in the shape of a dragon, quite magnificent..."

Seeing someone enter, Xu Xu Zaijing stopped speaking. Wang Shi beside him hurriedly introduced, "Brother Jing, this is our sixth daughter, named Ming Lan. Ming Lan, this is Jing Jing Biao Ge Jing from Bianjing."

Xu Xu Zaijing looked at the sixth Miss of the Sheng family, who appeared somewhat thin with weak hair, yet possessed a fair complexion and spirited eyes; Xu Xu Zaijing stood up, smiled, and clasped his hands in greeting, saying, "Sixth Sister."

Minglan, over eight years old, squatted and performed a proper bow, saying, "Jing Jing Biao Ge Brother."

"Jing Jing Biao Ge Brother Jing, continue speaking; just how high was that lantern?" Hearing Rulan asked bluntly from the side.

Xu Xu Zaijing looked at her and said, "Roughly as high as the palace wall beside Xuande Gate." Seeing the confused expressions on the faces of the younger children, Xu Xu Zaijing added, "The height of two front halls."

Hearing this concrete description, Hearing Rulan suddenly understood.

Sheng Changbai had grown up without ever visiting Bianjing; upon hearing Xu Xu Zaijing's words, he also nodded slightly.

Seeing that all the younger members of the Sheng family had arrived, Xu Xu Zaijing glanced at Grandmother Sheng and called out, "Seeing Qingcao."

Outside the door, Brother Qingyun placed a wooden box the size of a food carrier into Seeing Qingcao's arms.

Seeing Qingcao slipped through the door curtain, bowed to everyone in the hall and at the entrance, then approached Xu Xu Zaijing; Xu Xu Zaijing gestured for Seeing Qingcao to open the wooden box, saying, "Great-Aunt, this is a gift Mother asked me to bring for all my brothers and sisters."

"Hua'er, come help your young cousin distribute these to your younger brothers and sisters."

"Yes, Grandmother."

As she spoke, Sheng Hualan approached Seeing Qingcao; Seeing Qingcao hastily handed the wooden box to Sheng Hualan, and while walking outward, she saw Minglan watching her, so she quickly nodded in acknowledgment.

Sheng Hualan placed the wooden box on the table to the right hand of Lady Feng and opened it.

Inside were six compartments, each containing a jade-like, moist hairpin and an animal-shaped gold ornament of similar size; only when Sheng Hualan picked them up did she realize the ornaments were solid gold.

Looking at these animals, Sheng Hualan quickly realized these represented the zodiac signs of the Sheng family's children.

Sheng Hualan placed a small solid gold pig into the hands of the staring Minglan, saying, "Here, this is for you."

Hearing Rulan, standing nearby, widened her eyes in disbelief at her older sister; shortly after, Sheng Hualan took another one out, saying, "Here, Hearing Rulan."

Upon receiving the gold ornament, a smile appeared on Hearing Rulan's face, and she began examining it carefully.

Next came the portions for Seeing Mo Lan, Sheng Changfeng, Sheng Changbai, and Sheng Hualan.

The jade hairpins were divided into two styles for males and females; the sisters' hairpins were inlaid with large, round Eastern pearls offered as tribute and unseen in the markets, while the brothers' hairpins featured various exquisite patterns.

Lady Wang saw that the children's gifts were identical; though her face did not show ugliness, neither did it look particularly pleasant.

Sheng Hualan then took out the velvet cloth lining the compartments from the box; it turned out to be a cloth pouch, which she then distributed to several younger siblings to pack their items inside.

Everyone chatted a while longer in Shou'an Hall; Lady Feng rose to take her leave, but since it was nearly lunchtime, Lady Wang insisted on keeping her.

Although Xu Xu Zaijing was an honored guest, it was improper for him to share a table with the elders in the inner room of Shou'an Hall, so Grandmother Sheng dined together with Lady Feng, Lady Wang, and Sheng Hualan, who was learning propriety.

Sheng Hong became the leader of the children, accompanying Xu Xu Zaijing, Sheng Changbai, and Sheng Changfeng at a banquet table set up in the outer room of Shou'an Hall; under the service of Nurse Cui, the three drank quite a bit of wine together.

In the outermost area were the three sisters, Hearing Rulan and the others; Seeing Mo Lan was refined, Hearing Rulan was willful, and they looked down on each other, while Minglan cunningly stuffed quite a few dried fruits and pastries into her clothing pouch.

In the afternoon, during the Wei hour (around three o'clock).

After eating, Lady Feng once again bid farewell to Grandmother Sheng and Lady Wang; Lady Feng had been away from home for nearly two days, which was somewhat long.

Seeing Lady Feng's determined attitude, Lady Wang could not insist on stopping her; as Lady Feng departed, Sheng Hong and Xu Xu Zaijing also rose, but Lady Feng left them in the room of Shou'an Hall.

Lady Wang also had matters on her mind, so she accompanied Lady Feng to the second gate; as Lady Feng boarded the carriage, Lady Wang said, "Sister-in-law, I feel Grandmother is not very concerned about Sheng Hualan's marriage; please speak with Mother and pay more attention to finding good matches for her in Bianjing."

Lady Feng, hesitating to speak fully, said, "Fujie'er, you should ask Grandmother more directly."

Having spoken, Lady Feng lowered the carriage curtain; Wen Ye and Nurse Wen also nodded to Lady Wang and Nurse Liu before entering the carriage.

When Lady Wang returned to Shou'an Hall, Sheng Hualan came out to stop her; in the inner room, Grandmother, who had drunk a few cups of wine due to today's joy, had already been helped onto the couch by Nurse Fang, so Lady Wang took Sheng Hualan and Hearing Rulan, who had been quarreling with Seeing Mo Lan, back to Weirui Pavilion.

Seeing no opponent left, Seeing Mo Lan also returned to Linqi Pavilion; at the banquet, Minglan had filled Xiao Xiao Xiaotao's clothing pouch to the brim, and upon seeing Xu Xu Zaijing return from changing clothes outside, she hastily stood honestly by the wall.

Xu Xu Zaijing had also drunk wine and felt slightly tipsy; looking at the two little ones, he then waved to Seeing Qingcao, who hurried over and addressed him as "Young Master."

Xu Xu Zaijing said, "Go, ask Nurse Cui for a food carrier."

"Yes, Young Master."

"You two, do not run around; put the things in your pouches into the food carrier to take back."

"Oh," Minglan said somewhat embarrassedly.

"Relatives will be arriving tomorrow as well," Xu Xu Zaijing said before walking into the main hall of Shou'an Hall.

Sheng Hong stopped drinking; with his two sons beside him, seeing Xu Xu Zaijing approach, Sheng Hong said in a low voice, "Mother is happy and drank some wine; let us not make noise here. Let us continue at your aunt's Weirui Pavilion."

Xu Xu Zaijing hastily clasped his hands and said, "Uncle, your nephew has not rested well along the journey, and you have also been weary all day; perhaps we should rest."

Sheng Hong smiled slightly and said, "Very well, Brother Jing; let us discuss it tomorrow then."

Having spoken, Sheng Hong and his two sons clasped their hands and departed.

Nurse Cui, standing attentively to the side, saw this scene and said, "Brother Jing, this servant will take you to the side chamber Grandmother has prepared."

"Thank you, Nurse."

The massive convoy of Lady Ningyuan Hou Fu entered the Bai family residence in Wuyi Lane.

Supported by Wu Tan, Lord Bai came to the second gate; looking at his daughter, grandson, granddaughter, and Xu Xu Pingmei, his suspended heart finally settled.

Bai Shi, disregarding others, went before her father and, looking at her weary father, said, "Father."

The Lord of the Bai family patted Bai Shi on the shoulder.

Gu Gu Tingye and his sister also hastily paid their respects.

The Lord of the Bai family instructed Wu Tan to take Gu Gu Tingye and the others to the separate courtyard to play, while he entered the main hall of his own courtyard with Bai Shi.

"Father, what exactly happened?" Bai Shi asked with concern. The Lord of the Bai family sighed and recounted the events.

It turned out that a servant had been bribed to push the Lord of the Bai family off the boat while he was viewing the scenery.

Fortunately, Wu Tan was extremely familiar with water skills, and the Lord of the Bai family had spent over ten years on boats; moreover, most people on the Bai family boat were members of the Wu family from the sea vessels that had entered the capital with Wu Tan, and everyone worked together to rescue the Lord of the Bai family and Wu Tan.

However, the servant who pushed him committed suicide; the Lord of the Bai family had caught a chill during winter, and although he took medicine promptly, he was ultimately advanced in age, so his health remained poor.

The Lord of the Bai family suspected the salt gang rivals of Yang Zhou Prefecture were responsible; on the way, he sent a letter to the Gu family and simultaneously notified the Department Magistrate Hong.

Upon returning to Yang Zhou, the Lord of the Bai family realized that those Bai family members whom he had previously expelled from the genealogy, who then sought refuge with him upon hearing of his success and were taken in by him, might have colluded with the rivals.

Indeed, previously he had worried that Bai Shi had returned to Yang Zhou infrequently during this period, spending most of the last few years in Bianjing; consequently, his own forces within the Yang Zhou Bai family had been somewhat severely corrupted by others.

Some matters could not be discussed openly in official circles; the Lord of the Bai family could only handle them personally, yet he found himself somewhat unable to cope.

Because the official in the Military Affairs Bureau who had previously been on good terms with him had already been transferred to the north, his own strength had diminished considerably.

After another conversation between father and daughter, Bai Shi, having already learned from Gao Gao Yuhou about the adversary's schemes and intelligence, relayed it all to the head of the Bai family.

"They are truly vicious! To actually think of using fire attacks! If they really exploited the northern wind to assault you, the outcome would be dire! Zhao'er, you say it was only with the aid of the Imperial City Bureau that you remained safe?"

"Yes, Father."

The head of the Bai family fell into silent contemplation for a moment, reflecting on his actions over the years; the Imperial City Bureau was, after all, the royal secret service, and he had always treated every successive director of the bureau with utmost respect, nor had he kicked someone while they were down even when the Military Affairs Bureau came here.

"Good, in that case, our Bai family shall overcome this calamity!"

Father and daughter exchanged a few more words; upon hearing that Xu Xu Pingmei was pregnant, the head of the Bai family instructed Bai Shi to take good care of Xu Xu Pingmei, then summoned the children to the courtyard and presented each with a gift.

That night, the head of the Bai family returned to his own quarters, where behind the bedroom lay a chamber dedicated to burning incense and making offerings.

Gazing at the slip of paper in his hand bearing the verdict 'This trial is hard to pass,' the head of the Bai family heaved a deep sigh and murmured softly, "Trial after trial is hard to pass, yet somehow we have passed."

Then he sneered coldly, "Let the Imperial City Bureau see the account books of your several families; I wonder how many of you will survive!"

Truly unable to write any more, I shall sleep for a while.

No, first I must listen to the audiobook once to check for any problems.

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Thanks to everyone for your support.

There is no oil in my bowl; readers' support resolves a thousand sorrows—donations, monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, this author begs, begs, begs.

Updates will generally occur around seven o'clock each evening; if there are matters requiring leave or similar, I will inform my esteemed readers in advance.

(`) Heart fingers.

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(End of Chapter)