Chapter 512: Start of Winter [Deep Gratitude! Bowing Again! 45K Chapters in Arrears]

Seeing Qingcao, crouching low as she stepped out of the carriage, had just opened her oil-paper umbrella when

a chilly autumn breeze swept past.

"Rustle~"

The fine autumn rain, stirred by the wind, struck the umbrella with an audible patter.

Standing on the carriage shaft, Seeing Qingcao glanced around before withdrawing her gaze from several exquisite carriages parked not far away beneath a teahouse.

Seeing Brother Qingyun standing beside the carriage, wearing a conical hat and rainproof oilcloth clothing, with one arm raised to hold an umbrella,

Seeing Qingcao stepped down while clutching her arm, smiling as she said, "Thank you, Brother Brother Qingyun."

Brother Qingyun smiled in return. "Mind the puddles ahead."

"Ah!"

Seeing Qingcao responded, raising her umbrella to look toward a shop nearby from which white steam was billowing.

Seeing the signboard hanging above the shop that read 'Jufang Zhai,' and then observing a line outside composed of female servants and young attendants holding umbrellas and carrying food boxes, Seeing Qingcao pressed her lips together slightly before walking over.

The female steward standing beneath the colorful archway at the entrance had cast several glances when the Xu family carriage approached, her eyes filled with a contemplative expression.

Once Seeing Qingcao disembarked, this female steward hurried out into the rain with a smile and spoke in a somewhat uncertain tone: "Miss, forgive this humble woman's presumption, but are you from Marquis Marquis Yongyi's Hou Fu?"

Seeing Qingcao, holding her umbrella, performed a formal bow and nodded with a smile. "This humble servant is Seeing Qingcao, attending Young Master Han Wulang! Madam has such keen eyes!"

Hearing this, the female steward smiled and waved her hands repeatedly. "Where, where! It is only because I followed the Third Miss out on previous occasions that I have seen you a few times! Please, come inside, come inside."

Smiling, Seeing Qingcao tilted her paper umbrella slightly to shield the female steward as the two walked into the shop.

"The young lady is truly kind-hearted!" The steward, looking up, praised with a laugh.

Seeing Qingcao smiled somewhat shyly and asked, "I have yet to learn Madam's honorable surname?"

"What 'honorable'? This humble woman's humble surname is Wu."

Hearing this, Seeing Qingcao asked tentatively, "Could it be the Wu family, the maternal clan of Lady Gu, the Marchioness?"

Mother Wu nodded with a smile. "Indeed!"

While the two were speaking, many of the young attendants and female servants waiting outside pricked up their ears.

Upon entering the shop and handing her oil-paper umbrella to a maid inside, Seeing Qingcao smelled the highly tempting aroma of milk in the air and smiled, saying, "This scent is truly fragrant!"

Mother Wu laughed. "How else could it be, when the recipe originated from the imperial palace? The first time I smelled it, it made me swallow my saliva uncontrollably."

Seeing Qingcao joined in the laughter and said:

"Madam, today I come on Young Master Han Wulang's orders, requesting the shop to prepare some pastries; perhaps you could first note them down?"

"Certainly, certainly! Miss Seeing Qingcao, please speak." Mother Wu nodded hurriedly, signaling to the Shopkeeper in the store.

"Fifty portions for Marquis Marquis Yongyi's Hou Fu, ten portions for the Hu Yan family in Chunming Ward, twenty portions for the Sheng family in Jiying Lane, ten portions for the Zhu family on Bianhe West Street, ten portions for the Fang family at Lijing Gate, and on Xishui Sect Avenue..."

Listening to Seeing Qingcao's words, the Shopkeeper holding the brush looked startled; just as he opened his mouth to speak,

"Greetings, Miss!"

the voices of maids offering salutations came from outside the door.

Seeing Qingcao fell silent, turned to look, and saw Chai Chai Zhengzheng, wearing a beaming smile and accompanied by two female servants, walking into the shop.

"Greetings, Miss Chai Zhengzheng!"

Seeing Qingcao hurriedly lowered her head, composing her emotions and gaze while performing a formal bow.

Chai Chai Zhengzheng walked over with a smile and asked kindly, "Seeing Qingcao, what brings you here today?"

"Replying to Miss, my Young Master tasted these pastries this morning, found the flavor excellent, and thus ordered this humble servant to purchase more for Hou Fu and for our relatives in the capital to sample."

After speaking with her head lowered, Seeing Qingcao raised it.

It was no wonder Seeing Qingcao needed to compose herself; as Young Master Xu Xu Zaijing's personal female servant, she knew that the armor her young master had worn was currently located in the Chai residence.

Moreover, it was not merely in the Chai residence, but specifically within the boudoir of the noble young lady standing before her.

Furthermore, since this noble young lady's former personal female servant was Seeing Qingcao's fellow townsman, her emotions were naturally somewhat complex; she feared making any slip in her expression or gaze.

"Oh!" Chai Chai Zhengzheng nodded.

The Shopkeeper behind the counter bowed with clasped hands and said, "Proprietress, regarding the households this Miss Seeing Qingcao mentioned, we have already delivered to most of them."

"'Most' implies there are some to which we have not yet delivered?" Miss Yun Mu, standing beside Chai Chai Zhengzheng, asked with a furrowed brow.

"Yes, we have not delivered to the Fang family at Lijing Gate mentioned by Miss Seeing Qingcao, though we have delivered to the Huang family, holders of the Earl of Shoushan title, who reside nearby."

Chai Chai Zhengzheng smiled and looked at Seeing Qingcao. "Seeing Qingcao, who is this Fang family?"

"Replying to Miss, the Fang family belongs to the elder sister of Hou Fu's Lady; they were previously serving as officials outside the capital and have only recently returned to Jing."

Chai Chai Zhengzheng nodded slightly. "Prepare them and send them over."

"Yes, Miss," the Shopkeeper standing nearby said, bowing with clasped hands.

Seeing Qingcao performed a formal bow. "For the pastries to be delivered today to the Fang and Sheng families, this humble servant must pay in silver."

Seeing the Shopkeeper's glance seeking instruction, Chai Chai Zhengzheng smiled and nodded, saying, "Collect the payment, and also bring today's account ledger over."

She then turned to Miss Yun Mu and said, "Keep Seeing Qingcao company and chat for a while."

After speaking, Chai Chai Zhengzheng smiled and walked toward the rear.

Miss Yun Mu, standing nearby, spoke in a low voice: "Sister Seeing Qingcao, it will take quite some time before these pastries are ready; why don't we sit over there?"

Seeing that the place Miss Yun Mu indicated was in a different direction from where Chai Chai Zhengzheng had gone, Seeing Qingcao smiled and nodded.

After the two sat down, Mother Wu brought over two cups of hot tea.

Seeing Qingcao nodded in thanks, after which Miss Yun Mu whispered, "Have you been well these past days? Have you exchanged letters with your family?"

Seeing Qingcao smiled and nodded, leaning close to Miss Yun Mu to whisper, "Yes! Sister Miss Yun Mu, my mother wrote to say that next... Sister Qingxue's family has adopted a boy to continue the family line, is that not so?"

Miss Yun Mu's smile faded, and she nodded slightly. "Zhang Zhang Fu Ren also feels grateful for Sister Qingxue's devoted service to the young lady..."

"Lady Chai truly possesses the heart of a Bodhisattva," Seeing Qingcao sighed.

Miss Yun Mu smiled and nodded in agreement.

Before long,

Chai Chai Zhengzheng walked out from behind, waved to the two who had stood up, gesturing for them to continue their chat, then headed out of the shop.

After Seeing Qingcao and Miss Yun Mu chatted about some amusing matters, Auntie Wu, who had been attending to Seeing Qingcao, approached carrying a food box.

"Miss Seeing Qingcao, everything is ready."

Seeing Qingcao rose, bade farewell to everyone in the shop, and boarded the Xu family carriage.

On the way back to the Sheng household,

Brother Qingyun, driving at the front, swallowed the fruit in his mouth, turned around, and said, "Seeing Qingcao, this fruit is truly excellent; no wonder we could smell the shop's rich fragrance from outside! How much does one cost?"

After speaking, Brother Qingyun waited a moment; seeing no one answer, he leaned sideways and lifted the carriage curtain: "Seeing Qingcao?"

"Ah? Brother Brother Qingyun, what did you say?"

Seeing Qingcao, startled from her reverie, hastily replied.

"What were you thinking about? I spoke to you and you didn't even hear?"

Seeing Qingcao shook her head: "Brother Brother Qingyun, nothing!"

"I said—"

Hearing Brother Qingyun repeat the question once more.

Seeing Qingcao smiled: "The shop just opened; prices are reduced by thirty percent. Eight hundred wen each."

"How much? Eight hundred wen!? And that's after a thirty percent reduction?" Brother Qingyun exclaimed in surprise.

"Mm! Auntie and Sister Miss Yun Mu at Jufang Zhai also said there might be even more expensive fruits in the future."

"Did they mention the price?"

"I heard a box ranges from over ten guan to several dozen guan."

Brother Qingyun, still driving, shook his head: "Heavens above! In the future, a single box of these fruit pastries will cost nearly as much as Chu Zhan's new mount."

Seeing Qingcao nodded in agreement.

At the end of the You hour (before seven in the evening)

The autumn rain continued to patter down,

Under an overcast, rainy sky,

Although the hour was not yet late, the daylight had already grown exceedingly dim.

In Jiying Lane,

At the Sheng household,

Within the courtyard of Jin'an Zhai,

The flagstones, soaked through by the autumn rain, together with the wet leaves of the plants and trees in the yard, reflected the warm yellow candlelight from the nearby room.

In the covered corridor beneath the eaves,

Although a roof provided shelter, the autumn wind blew relentlessly, and raindrops had still managed to soak half the corridor floor.

A lantern appeared at the moon gate,

and soon someone carried it to the doorway.

Just as the person before the lantern was about to lift the door curtain, their hand suddenly stopped, listening to the sounds from within the room.

"When a messenger replies, the vessel's desire is hard to fathom.

Mo mourns the silk dyed black, the poem praises... praises..."

"Wei Xiaoniang, I've forgotten what comes next," a child's voice came.

"Zhen'er, think again... Baa~" The woman imitated the bleating of a sheep.

"The poem praises the lamb! Jing... Jing... Mother, I want to eat—"

"Zhen'er, if you cannot recite it all, you are not allowed to eat!" the woman said gently yet firmly.

At that moment,

the person at the door lifted the curtain, laughing as they walked in: "Hahaha! Wei Shuyi, how old is Zhen'er! To recite the Thousand Character Classic up to this point is already quite impressive."

Inside the room, seeing Sheng Hong enter by lifting the curtain,

Wei Wei Shuyi hastily rose and performed a formal bow, her face showing some surprise: "Master, why have you come today..."

"Father!"

Sheng Changzhen stood up, clasped his hands, and cheerfully called out.

Glancing at Wei Wei Shuyi, Sheng Changzhen stepped forward to stand before Sheng Hong.

Sheng Hong untied his cloak and handed it to Seeing Qiujiang, the female servant who approached; the smile in his eyes diminished slightly as he said, "Nothing! Am I not welcome?"

Wei Wei Shuyi hastily shook her head.

Seeing Wei Wei Shuyi's reaction, Sheng Hong looked down at his young son before him, lifted him up in his arms, and said, "Zhen'er, what did you want to eat just now? Tell Father. If your Wei Xiaoniang won't let you eat it, Father will!"

Sheng Changzhen's throat moved; after glancing at Wei Wei Shuyi, his gaze shifted to a food box in the room.

Sitting down at the table while holding Sheng Changzhen, Sheng Hong looked at Wei Wei Shuyi, who was still standing before him, and said, "Don't make things difficult for the child; bring it over."

"Yes."

After Wei Wei Shuyi responded, she walked to the side and brought over an exquisite food box.

Sheng Changzhen watched intently as his mother opened the food box,

and seeing the exquisite pastries taken from the box under the candlelight, smelling their enticing fragrance, Sheng Changzhen's eyes lit up.

"Seeing Qiujiang, bring a soup spoon."

"Yes, Wei Xiaoniang."

Subsequently,

Sheng Hong took the soup spoon from Seeing Qiujiang's hands, smiled, and placed it into Sheng Changzhen's: "Eat."

After speaking, Sheng Hong lifted his head and said, "I heard from Mother that Brother Jing sent over quite a few of these pastries, yet it seems yours have hardly been touched. Do you not like them?"

Wei Wei Shuyi nodded. "They are too fragrant and cloying."

At this moment, Changzhen, nestled in Sheng Hong's arms, scooped up a piece of pastry, glanced around with his eyes, and then moved it toward Sheng Hong's mouth. "Father, eat first."

Hearing these words, Sheng Hong immediately felt immensely comforted, his face brimming with smiles. "Good child, you eat. Father has already had plenty at Grandmother's."

Changzhen nodded, then held the spoon out toward Wei Wei Shuyi. "Xiao Niang, eat first."

Wei Wei Shuyi shook her head.

Seeing this, Changzhen finally began to eat.

But after a few bites, Changzhen gradually stopped his movements.

"Zhen'er, what is wrong?"

With great effort, Changzhen set down the spoon in his hand and whispered, "The Master said, 'A gentleman does not seek to be satiated with food.'"

Sheng Hong looked at his youngest son in his arms in disbelief. "Zhen'er, how do you know this?"

"Xiao Niang tells me this often."

Sheng Hong nodded thoughtfully. "Good child."

Shou'an Hall,

the bedchamber,

Mama Fang brought the calming medicinal soup before the Old Lady.

Noting the Old Lady's furrowed brow, Mama Fang said, "Old Zhang Fu Ren, I kept aside a portion of the pastries Brother Jing sent. Why not eat some to suppress the taste?"

The Old Lady waved her hand. "Too sweet and cloying."

Having said this,

the Old Lady drank the medicinal soup with a frown.

As soon as she finished, the Old Lady urgently beckoned. Mama Fang, understanding, quickly stepped aside, brought over the plate holding the pastries, and fed a piece to the Old Lady.

After using the pastry to suppress the medicinal taste and drinking some water, the Old Lady looked at the pastries in Mama Fang's hand and said, "In the past, when Han Wulang sent food, he never sent so much. Today is strange indeed."

"I heard several noble families in the capital opened shops; this counts as supporting their business!"

"As a result, good things were sent in, but Old Zhang Fu Ren, you did not eat much. Apart from this plate, the rest all went to benefit the young maids in the courtyard."

The Old Lady smiled. "Let it count as letting them see something of the world."

Mama Fang sighed with emotion. "The Master said they cost several hundred coins each!"

The Old Lady waved her hand, and Mama Fang did not continue speaking.

The next day,

the Sheng family academy dismissed,

having left the academy courtyard,

Hua, carrying a book box, walked quickly beside Xu Xu Zaijing, whispering as they went, "Young Master, I asked Xiao Xiao Xiaotao; she ate those pastries yesterday."

Xu Xu Zaijing smiled and nodded. "What about you? Do you still want to eat them?"

"Mm-hmm!"

"Very well, then let Jufang Zhai deliver them once every two days."

"Thank you, Young Master!"

Time flowed on,

and it was October once more.

After Li Dong,

the grapevine in Xu Xu Zaijing's courtyard, no longer lush as in summer and autumn, had shed its leaves, appearing much sparser.

Although it had already been swept clean,

under the blowing of the north wind,

leaves often danced within the courtyard.

On this day,

the sky was clear,

the Sheng family academy was on holiday,

and the shadow of the grape trellis still reflected upon the courtyard ground.

Inside the study,

Xu Xu Zaijing was doing his Zuo Zhu Gong,

and from the large fish tank placed in the room, the sound of fish turning over in the water came from time to time.

Suddenly,

Xu Xu Zaijing stopped the brush in his hand,

listening to the sound of footsteps crushing fallen leaves coming from the courtyard.

A moment later,

the closed study door was knocked upon. "Young Master, the Rong family brother has arrived!"

"Invite him in."

Having said this, Xu Xu Zaijing put down his brush and walked out of the study.

Arriving in the main hall and seeing Rong Rong Xian looking utterly dejected, Xu Xu Zaijing asked in confusion, "Brother Rong Xian, what brings you free time to visit me today?"

Rong Rong Xian drew a red invitation card from his sleeve and handed it over, saying, "I came today to deliver an invitation to your home."

Xu Xu Zaijing paused in surprise, took the card from Rong Rong Xian, who seemed on the verge of sighing, opened it, and laughed. "Oh! Brother Rong Xian, your wedding date is already set? Is Lady Fu Fu Chang Hou in the main hall?"

"Yes! I also came to ask you to serve as my groomsman."

"Best man? Excellent!"

Hearing this, Rong Rong Xian smiled and nodded, then stood up and walked over to the sword rack displaying the Great High Swords in the main hall to examine them.

Xu Xu Zaijing walked over, took down a Great High Sword, and handed it to Rong Rong Xian: "Take it and look; why be so polite?"

Rong Rong Xian accepted the Great High Sword but did not draw it; instead, he looked at Xu Xu Zaijing with a rare seriousness, and after a moment said, "Brother Jing, are you really going to wait until after the metropolitan examination to discuss your own marriage?"

Xu Xu Zaijing was momentarily stunned, then smiled: "Why the sudden concern for my marriage? And so serious too; this isn't like you. Did Consort Rong ask you to inquire?"

Rong Rong Xian shook his head in denial, saying, "After my wedding date was set, I suddenly realized that the next person to have marriage negotiations would be my younger sister. Having mingled in Bianjing for so long, I know exactly how many people are suitable to negotiate marriage with my sister, and I know their true nature!"

"That is why I still feel that you, Brother Jing, are the most reliable."

(End of Chapter)