Lady of Fortune, Jiao Niang

Chapter 143

Ye Jiao was holding her teacup when she heard this and said, "What does Hui Niang want?"

Hearing this, Princess Huaning smiled and replied, "You should call her Empress Mother now. She told me she knew you were coming to the Capital recently and misses you terribly. She also wants to meet your children and have some fun together."

Upon hearing this, Ye Jiao changed her form of address, "Does the Empress want me to bring Xu Bao, Ning Bao, and Ruyi into the palace together?"

"Just bring Xu Bao. The twins are still too small, we can talk about it later."

When Princess Huaning said this, she sighed inwardly.

Actually, for Princess Huaning, the one she was close to was Chu Chengyun, but the one she spent the most time with was Meng Hui Xian.

Empress Meng might be decisive and ruthless toward others, but she was always gentle and virtuous toward those close to her. Especially when dealing with Princess Huaning, she was as kind and affectionate as if treating her own sister, and the two never concealed anything from each other.

Princess Huaning was very clear about Empress Meng's current worries.

Whether or not to select consorts was secondary. After all, the Emperor had no such intentions, and Empress Meng was capable enough that even if the harem was filled, she could still maintain her position.

But being an empress without sons yet enjoying exclusive favor had truly become a thorn in her heart.

Saying she wanted to find Ye Jiao and her children for some fun might not be without psychological envy, wanting to bask in the children's good fortune.

Ye Jiao didn't think that much. She had no interest in speculating about inner circumstances and simply nodded in agreement, "I'll bring Xu Bao to see her when the time comes."

Princess Huaning smiled and nodded, then pushed the tea snacks on the table toward Ye Jiao, "There's no rush though. Right now both inside and outside the palace are busy preparing for the metropolitan examination, and many people have their eyes on the inner palace. You focus on your own affairs first and just follow the Empress's arrangements."

Those watching the inner palace were nothing more than officials wanting to send their daughters in.

It was just unclear whether their future would be fortunate or disastrous.

Thinking of this, Princess Huaning couldn't help but shake her head, "Everyone says being emperor is good, but I think there are bad parts too. Before, he could go wherever he wanted. Third Imperial Brother always talked about wanting to travel the entire world, but now he sits in that golden house and can't even leave without a bunch of people following him."

It was fine for Princess Huaning to say such things, but not everyone could hear them.

If it were someone else, hearing Princess Huaning say this, they would probably cover their ears and pretend not to hear.

But Ye Jiao looked at her curiously, thinking that story books all said being emperor was good, but now hearing her say this, it seemed there were also personal hardships.

Around dinner time, Manager Qin from the shop came to invite them.

Manager Qin looked to be about thirty years old, with an upright appearance and bright, open features. When he smiled, rather than looking like a merchant, he seemed more like a scholar.

Since Princess Huaning was also a celebrity in the Capital, Manager Qin naturally recognized her. After entering, he first greeted Ye Jiao and Princess Huaning, then said gently to Ye Jiao, "Second Young Mistress, may you be well. Please come to the front hall for dinner."

Ye Jiao nodded and instructed Little Su to accompany Nanny Mo in caring for the three little ones, then went to the front hall with Princess Huaning.

However, when they arrived, Ye Jiao didn't see Qi Ming, so she looked toward Manager Qin, "Where is Third Brother?"

Manager Qin still had his gentle demeanor, lowering his eyes and smiling as he bowed and replied, "I just went to invite him, but Third Young Master said he had an appointment with someone and wouldn't be back for dinner tonight. He asked Second Young Master and Second Young Mistress not to wait for him."

Upon hearing this, Ye Jiao had no particular reaction, but Qi Yun was stunned for a moment.

This was everyone in the Qi Family's first time in the Capital. If he had any connections, it would be this shop and Commander Ye, his brother-in-law.

Qi Ming was young and had never even left their hometown before. Now, with not many examination candidates having arrived in the Capital yet, where would he have friends?

If he had a friend, there was probably only one.

Thinking it over, Qi Yun could only think of that letter Commander Ye had said to burn after reading.

...No wonder he said to burn it after reading. It turned out to be an invitation to meet outside. Imperial traces indeed couldn't be seen by others.

Qi Yun couldn't help but look toward Commander Ye, and coincidentally Commander Ye also looked over. The two men's eyes met, and both saw surprise and understanding in each other's gaze.

However, Ye Jiao never thought in that direction. It wasn't until after seeing off Commander Ye and Princess Huaning, when Ye Jiao and Qi Yun returned to their room to rest, that Qi Yun told her, "That person probably snuck out to see Third Brother."

That person? Which person?

Little Ginseng was obviously not suited for such implied speech, her eyes full of confusion.

Qi Yun leaned close to Ye Jiao's ear and said something. Ye Jiao's eyes widened slightly.

She had just heard from Princess Huaning that the Emperor also had inconvenient aspects, and now Qi Yun was telling her that Chu Chengyun had snuck out to find Qi Ming...

What happened to not being able to leave casually?

Qi Yun thought Ye Jiao was frightened and reached out to stroke the woman's back, saying gently, "It's nothing. He's just catching up with Third Brother and testing his studies a bit. Nothing else will happen."

Ye Jiao wasn't worried about that, but tugged at Qi Yun's sleeve and asked, "Is it safe for Third Brother to run out like this? Things are never peaceful around that person. I'm afraid something might happen to Third Brother."

Upon hearing this, Qi Yun knew his wife still remembered the assassination attempt after his meeting with Chu Chengyun last time.

If the situation were still uncertain, Qi Yun would definitely send someone to drag Qi Ming back. He had managed to save his own life, but Qi Ming might not be so lucky. He was still a half-grown child who probably wouldn't even know to run if he encountered real danger.

But now that person was already the Son of Heaven, with the most peaceful circumstances around him. There was naturally nothing to worry about.

The man gently held Ye Jiao's hand and said, "It's nothing. Manager Qin sent people to follow and protect Third Brother. He should be back soon."

Seeing Qi Yun say this, Ye Jiao felt relieved, and a smile appeared on her face.

Seeing it was getting late, Qi Yun had Ye Jiao sit properly while he went outside to have hot water brought, but didn't have it sent into the room. Instead, Qi Yun went to carry the basins into the room himself.

One large and one small. The large one had medicinal herbs soaking in it, the small one had flower petals, placed side by side next to the bed by Qi Yun.

The man looked up at Ye Jiao and beckoned, "Come here, soak your feet."

If it were other wealthy households, having earned money and acquired servants, these tasks would naturally be done by subordinates, not requiring personal involvement.

But Qi Yun firstly wasn't accustomed to having people serve him in everything, and secondly, he had always felt that caring for Ye Jiao was particularly enjoyable.

This was a habit Qi Yun had developed when Ye Jiao was pregnant with the twins. At that time, Ye Jiao was carrying two babies, her belly much larger than others, making it difficult even to sit down, let alone bend over.

Qi Yun would help her massage her legs, give massages, and even handle things like bringing water basins.

He continued this way even now.

Seeing Ye Jiao about to take off her own shoes, the man had her sit properly and crouched down slightly to remove her shoes and socks himself. He held the woman's ankle and carefully placed it in the wooden basin, then looked up at her and asked gently, "Is it too hot?"

Ye Jiao first pulled back a bit, but quickly adapted and smiled, "Not too hot."

Qi Yun then stood up, first went to wash his hands, then used a damp cloth to help Ye Jiao wipe her hands before sitting beside her. But he didn't immediately put his feet in the other wooden basin. Instead, he covered it with a lid, waiting for the medicinal herbs inside to dissolve.

Ye Jiao looked down at the two basins and suddenly used her knee to gently bump Qi Yun's thigh, "Husband, thank you."

Qi Yun smiled, "It's nothing, as long as you're happy."

Ye Jiao looked up at him again and hesitated before saying, "Actually, I'm a little hungry."

While eating earlier, she had been talking with Princess Huaning and her mouth was occupied with conversation rather than eating. It was fine then, but now with the hot water soaking and her body relaxing, she felt her stomach was hungry.

Qi Yun reached out and pinched the woman's face, "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Ye Jiao's voice was muffled, "I didn't think of it earlier. It's fine to eat later... Eh?"

But before she finished speaking, she saw the man place a paper package in her palm.

Ye Jiao was very familiar with this paper package, her eyes brightening slightly, "Feng Sheng Zhai?"

"Yes, osmanthus cakes from Feng Sheng Zhai." This was something Qi Yun had already had Tie Zi buy. Seeing there was also a Feng Sheng Zhai in the Capital, he thought to buy some osmanthus cakes that Ye Jiao liked. But after buying them, he hadn't taken them out, waiting for his wife to say she was hungry.

Ye Jiao leaned over and gave him a "smack" on the face, then happily unwrapped the paper package to eat the cakes.

Qi Yun slowly opened the lid on the basin, thinking that his wife should eat more. Tonight they had finally settled down peacefully, and surely they could do some things they hadn't been able to do before.

But just as he soaked his feet in, Nanny Mo's voice came from outside, "Second Young Master, Second Young Mistress, the young master and young ladies are crying, making a fuss looking for people."

When children are small, they always like having their parents with them. Not seeing them even for a moment makes them cry anxiously.

If it were one child, Nanny Mo could still handle it.

But now there were three babies, and two of them couldn't talk yet, so you couldn't reason with them. When one made a fuss, it could get the other two going too. Even someone with Nanny Mo's rich experience with children couldn't manage them all.

Usually Qi Yun would go comfort them, but Ye Jiao saw he was currently "inconvenienced," so she put the paper package aside and quickly dried her feet and put on her shoes and socks, saying, "I'll be right back." Then she put on her outer robe and went to the adjacent room, leaving Qi Yun sitting there looking at the two red candles before him with an unreadable expression.

In the end, Second Young Master Qi never did wait for his wife to return. After Ye Jiao coaxed the three little ones to sleep, she stayed with them and didn't come back.

The next day, when everyone left the shop to move to the newly bought residence, Ye Jiao didn't quite understand why the children's courtyard had to be separated from the one where she lived.

Qi Yun's reason was, "When they grow up a bit more, they'll need to be independent. It's good for them to get familiar with it early."

However, come evening, it was still Second Young Master Qi who took the initiative to bring the three children into their room. In the end, the family of five slept together most of the time. No one could bear to be apart from the others.

Before they knew it, more than half a month had passed.

Qi Yun had originally wanted to find an academy for Qi Ming and a good teacher to guide him properly. But now Chu Chengyun came out of the palace one day out of every five to meet with Third Master Qi. They conversed happily, and each time Qi Ming gained something from their talks, so Qi Yun dismissed the idea of finding an academy.

As the ruler of a nation, Chu Chengyun naturally had his own dignity and certainly wouldn't do something like leaking exam questions. But his understanding of current affairs, court politics, and the people's hardships was probably much deeper than someone like Qi Ming who was shut up in a room. Having Third Brother talk more with him was obviously better than just studying with his head buried in books.

Moreover, Qi Yun could see that Qi Ming truly admired Chu Chengyun. Each time he returned, he could tell Qi Yun a bunch of things about him, praising Chu Chengyun as if he were unparalleled in heaven and earth.

If before there had been some nervousness about the upcoming exams, now he was happy every day. Qi Yun thought this relaxed state was also good for exam preparation.

No longer managing Qi Ming, Qi Yun focused wholeheartedly on the Capital's business operations, spending several hours each day reviewing account books.

Ye Jiao was equally busy with her own affairs.

This new residence wasn't too big or too small. Compared to others it was somewhat large, but it couldn't compare to the original Qi Family home.

However, the Qi Family home was built in a village where you could make it as big as you wanted, naturally not needing to be stingy with land. But this place was in the Capital, where every inch was worth its weight in gold. Having a residence at all was precious.

This place had a total of four courtyards plus a garden, which was quite sufficient when calculated.

Little Ginseng had wanted to make use of the garden early on, giving the medicinal herb seeds she'd brought a place to settle. But since it wasn't really spring yet and the ground was still hard, she had to wait a bit longer.

She used this time to get to know everyone in the back residence completely and assign everyone their proper positions.

It sounded simple, but actually completing all this was quite difficult.

By the time she had truly managed the back residence affairs and things gradually settled down, time had already entered March.

Seeing the good weather today, after coaxing the three children to sleep, Ye Jiao quietly took Little Su and two young servants out to the streets.

This time she didn't take a carriage but strolled leisurely through the streets.

Since arriving, she had been busy the whole time and hadn't had time to look around the Capital. Now finally having some free time, Ye Jiao still felt fresh excitement. Little Su was even happier, her eyes seeming unable to see enough, looking left and right, but always staying close to Ye Jiao, afraid of losing the Second Young Mistress.

However, if it were trips to town before, Ye Jiao would more or less buy some things to bring back. But this time Ye Jiao had no intention of buying anything. She just wandered around the neighborhood, mentally noting what lanes and streets were nearby.

After all, they would be living here long-term in the future. She should know what was in the neighborhood. Moreover, Qi Yun had said that neighborly relations should be harmonious. Many merchants in the Capital also wanted to build good relationships with their family. In a few days, they would also invite the neighbors for tea. Even though she didn't know them yet, having a general idea of who lived nearby would give her some foundation.

But as she walked, Ye Jiao saw a crowd gathered ahead.

Three layers deep they stood around something, and through the gaps she could only see an old man crouching inside, looking particularly pitiful. In front of him stood two women who, from their dress, appeared to be young ladies from wealthy families.

Anyone passing by would take a second look to see the excitement. Little Ginseng didn't like crowding into excitement and was habitually lazy about going to crowded places. Seeing this, she wanted to go around and avoid it.

Although Little Su was curious, she also withdrew her gaze and followed beside Ye Jiao, preparing to leave.

But they had only taken a few steps away when they heard a woman's voice from the crowd, "Do you know who my young lady is? This is a relative of the Qi Family, a family that even His Majesty values, one that cares most about face. Since you said it could be sold separately, then it should be sold separately. You want to go back on what was just agreed?"

...A relative of my family? How come I don't recognize them?

Ye Jiao's steps paused, then she turned around and said softly, "Come on, let's take a look."