Lady of Fortune, Jiao Niang

Chapter 166

Hearing this, Qi Yun knew his wife was drunk again.

However, she seemed more lucid than the last time she got drunk, without that confused and tearful appearance. The current Little Ginseng wasn't crying or making a fuss, just smiling, smiling very sweetly, her soft face nuzzling against Qi Yun's neck back and forth.

Little Su was somewhat at a loss, only able to ask quietly: "Second Young Master, what... what can I do?"

According to Qi Yun's thinking, when Ye Jiao was drunk, she only clung to him, so Little Su probably couldn't help much.

Before Qi Yun could answer, Ye Jiao turned her head first, her misty eyes looking at people with particular brightness, her voice soft: "Little Su, I'm thirsty, I want water."

At these words, Little Su felt her spine tingle and her face burn hot.

It wasn't her fault... Second Young Mistress's words, that voice, and those eyes, anyone who saw and heard them would be nervous.

Ye Jiao saw her not moving and murmured again: "Very thirsty."

In her urgency, Little Su stood up directly from the cushions, preparing to get the teapot, but got up too forcefully and her head hit the carriage roof directly, making a muffled "thud" sound.

Ye Jiao was startled, instinctively moving closer into Qi Yun's arms, turning to nestle back in the man's embrace, hugging him tightly without moving.

Qi Yun looked somewhat helplessly at Little Su, who was crouching down holding her head, but didn't blame her, just said quietly: "You go sit in a carriage with Xu Bao and the others. Leave Jiao Niang to me, just take good care of the children."

Little Su immediately agreed, brought over the teapot and teacup to place on the low table, then covered her head and got out of the carriage.

From outside came Tie Zi's voice: "Second Young Master, First Young Master says he wants to ride home with Little Shi Tou, but Third Young Master and Liu Si are still inside talking, saying they'll return later."

Qi Yun held his wife in his arms to prevent Ye Jiao from sliding down, then replied: "No matter, just leave someone to watch and make sure nothing goes wrong."

If it were before, Qi Yun would definitely have someone bring Qi Ming back, but now, Qi Ming was already a court official with his own social connections, so he didn't need to interfere.

Tie Zi agreed and after making arrangements, sat beside the carriage driver as the carriage slowly moved forward.

Ye Jiao, who had been obedient just moments before, looked around somewhat confused after the carriage started moving. Her arms were still hooked around the man's neck, tightening slightly, causing Qi Yun to be pulled even closer to her.

Surprised at how much stronger Ye Jiao was than expected, he asked gently: "Jiao Niang, what's wrong? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?" Then Qi Yun stroked her back to help her feel more settled.

Ye Jiao shook her head, her cheeks flushed, her bright eyes staring at Qi Yun for a while, then leaning over to kiss him before saying: "Husband?"

Qi Yun nodded patiently: "I'm here."

Ye Jiao's face lit up with a smile as she reached up to touch her own hair, touching while saying softly: "Look, I've bloomed."

Ordinary ginseng blooms once every three years, but Ye Jiao, being a thousand-year ginseng, only bloomed once every three hundred years.

The somewhat confused Little Ginseng stubbornly grabbed the pearl hairpin on her head, touched it, and smiled: "This time it bloomed really well, so long."

Qi Yun looked over and saw a hairpin on Ye Jiao's head that he hadn't seen before.

Earlier it had been chaotic, and he had been busy caring for his dear wife, so he hadn't noticed. Now seeing this magnolia pearl hairpin, he could tell at a glance it wasn't ordinary, probably obtained when entering the palace.

Whether given by Princess Huaning or Empress Meng, these were bestowed items that couldn't be easily damaged.

But the Qi family already had quite a few imperial gifts, and right now Jiao Niang was most important. Qi Yun casually pulled out the hairpin, saying: "Look, it came off, no problem."

But Ye Jiao froze, staring straight at the hairpin in Qi Yun's hand, then looking up at him, suddenly pouting with a somewhat aggrieved expression.

This frightened Qi Yun. The usually steady and calm man had no way to calmly face his wife's sadness, quickly asking: "What's wrong?"

Little Ginseng pressed her lips together, and after a while said softly: "You picked my flower."

Qi Yun wanted to say, last time you said you grew grass, I helped you "pluck" it, now you grew a flower, shouldn't it also be plucked?

But seeing Ye Jiao seemed a bit unhappy, he tactfully said: "I was wrong, Jiao Niang don't be angry, it's all my fault."

But Ye Jiao gently gripped Qi Yun's hand, saying softly: "I originally wanted to use this to cure your illness, but you plucked it off, so now you should eat it, it's good for your health."

Qi Yun: ......

He could handle other things, but eating a raw pearl hairpin was truly too difficult.

Qi Yun could only deflect: "Isn't Jiao Niang thirsty? Come, drink some water first." As he spoke, he poured a cup of water from the nearby teapot and handed it to Ye Jiao.

Though Ye Jiao was confused now, she wasn't completely muddled yet. She reached out to take it, holding the water cup with both hands close to her mouth, sipping in small gulps.

Second Young Master Qi took this opportunity to stuff the hairpin into his sleeve.

When Ye Jiao put down the cup and looked over, Qi Yun said with a straight face: "Jiao Niang is so good, I ate the flower and feel much better."

Little Ginseng always trusted him, so hearing this, she smiled and snuggled back into the man's arms, saying softly: "That's good, husband, you must take good care of your health, you must be well."

These words made Qi Yun's heart feel warm, only able to nod, unable to even speak.

At this time, the carriage had entered the Qi residence. Because Ye Jiao was drunk, Tie Zi had the driver drive the carriage directly into the courtyard, making it easier to help her down later.

But Ye Jiao obviously wasn't ready to go back so quickly.

Now it was nearly June, and though not yet sweltering, it was time to wear thin shirts. When the night breeze brought coolness, Ye Jiao, who felt hot from the alcohol, found it particularly refreshing.

So when it was time to get out of the carriage, she stopped her movement, withdrew her hand from Qi Yun's palm, slowly sat on the low stool placed outside the carriage, and said softly: "I don't want to go back yet."

Qi Yun was slightly stunned: "What does Jiao Niang want to do?"

Ye Jiao didn't know what she wanted to do either. She just didn't want to go inside, so she looked around, then looked up at the sky, then smiled: "I want to look at the stars."

Qi Yun felt the evening wasn't cold, and the wind was gentle and not harsh, so he turned to instruct them to take good care of the children, had Tie Zi and Little Su go rest first, then got on the carriage. Instead of going inside the carriage compartment, he sat beside Ye Jiao, saying gently: "I'll accompany you."

Ye Jiao nodded, reached out to hook Qi Yun's arm, slightly tilting her head to rest on his shoulder.

This scene made Qi Yun feel somewhat dazed.

Actually, such scenes often appeared in story books, with men and women sitting together under the starry sky, gazing at the stars, both poetic and romantic, making people yearn for it.

But for the two of them, this was the first time.

It wasn't that the stars back home weren't beautiful, but because Qi Yun's health was poor. Even on summer nights, they had to keep doors and windows tightly closed and cover with blankets, fearing he might catch cold.

After all, Second Young Master Qi had a paper-thin constitution then, even a common cold could be life-threatening.

Ye Jiao spent her evenings busy nervously caring for him, naturally unable to think of other things. Things like looking at stars and moon, she had never considered.

Now the man's health had improved considerably. Though still not comparable to ordinary people, it was incomparable to before, and finally he was qualified to look at stars with his wife.

Though it seemed like a small matter, being able to do it made Qi Yun feel moved.

Ye Jiao didn't sense the man's emotional change. She just looked up at the sky, and after a while, said softly: "Really beautiful."

Qi Yun gently kissed the woman's face and asked: "What's beautiful?"

"The stars," drunk Ye Jiao wouldn't consider her status, being particularly honest, "I used to look at the stars for many, many years, but back then they were never as beautiful as now."

Ye Jiao said this sincerely.

She had once gazed at the starry sky in the mountain forests, always with great devotion.

Because she didn't harm lives or cultivate methods that absorbed human essence, Little Ginseng's cultivation, besides treating illness to accumulate merit, was absorbing sun and moon radiance, occasionally eating soil and drinking dew.

For a thousand years, evenings were when she needed to concentrate her spirit. Now seemed leisurely in comparison.

Qi Yun smiled, gripping Ye Jiao's hand and squeezing, saying gently: "Probably because there are few clouds today, making them appear clearer."

But Ye Jiao shook her head, intertwining fingers with the man, looking at him with bright eyes: "It's because of you."

Because of Qi Yun, she could have such a comfortable life, having a husband and children, and a home, making Little Ginseng willing to be human.

Before, staring at the stars was hoping to one day transform into human form and live that kind of carefree life, instead of being half-buried in soil. Now, also because of him, Ye Jiao had what she considered a fairy-like life.

This person was her greatest fortune since becoming human.

So being human was this interesting.

Though Qi Yun didn't know the cause and effect, he heard the tender affection, making his heart soften completely.

Hugging Ye Jiao tightly, Qi Yun said: "Then we can come out to look at stars from now on, alright?"

He originally thought Ye Jiao would nod directly, but unexpectedly Little Ginseng yawned and replied drowsily: "No, we have more interesting things than looking at stars."

Second Young Master Qi wanted to ask what this was, but he quickly realized, and his ears immediately turned red.

His fingertips gently pinched the soft flesh at the woman's waist. Qi Yun wanted to hold her and try right now how interesting those interesting things could be, but then thought that his wife wouldn't remember anything after sobering up from alcohol, feeling he shouldn't do such things when she was confused, and became somewhat conflicted.

But Ye Jiao was completely natural, looking up at the sky, and as she looked, she began to smile.

Then she tugged Qi Yun's sleeve: "Husband, I think these stars look particularly like something."

Qi Yun was having an internal struggle, hearing this, he instinctively replied: "Like what?"

"Like sesame cakes." After Ye Jiao finished speaking, she touched her stomach and said quietly, "I'm hungry."

The thoughts he had just raised immediately disappeared without a trace. Second Young Master Qi immediately called someone to make cakes for Ye Jiao.

But in the end, Ye Jiao still didn't get to eat the cake. Drunk and tired, she fell asleep leaning against Qi Yun.

This sleep was truly comfortable and peaceful. Even when Qi Yun carried her back to the room and bumped the door frame, she didn't wake up.

The sesame cakes weren't urgent to make, they could wait until tomorrow.

After the two entered the room, two people with lanterns hurried past outside the courtyard, it was Third Young Master returning late with his servant.

Liu Si followed behind Qi Ming, looking somewhat strangely at his Third Young Master's smile.

Actually, Qi Ming loved to smile, whether it was his previous youthful cheerfulness or his current steady gentle smile, he was always a warm person.

But Liu Si looking at Qi Ming now felt his master's smile... was a bit foolish.

Liu Si didn't dare say this directly and didn't ask much. After all, his tongue wasn't nimble and he couldn't ask much anyway. But he was worried in his heart, so he could only wait by the door after sending Qi Ming back to his room, until the candles in Qi Ming's room went out before returning.

Third Young Master Qi lying on the bed tossed and turned, his mind full of the person he had just seen.

That was Fifth Miss Meng from the Meng family, who came with her family. Qi Ming only saw her from afar but knew she was the woman who had dropped the jade flower hairpin before.

Though nowadays the separation between men and women wasn't so strict, and banquets didn't rigidly separate male and female guests, Qi Ming still didn't dare approach, fearing to disturb the beauty and ruin her reputation.

He could only endure and delay, until the banquet ended and he dared follow them out, pretending to accidentally encounter the Meng family.

One side was the Prime Minister's family, the other a newly appointed Third-Place Scholar, both the Emperor's close associates, so mutual greetings were appropriate.

This was also Qi Ming's first time speaking to Fifth Miss Meng.

He said: "Fifth Miss, good health."

She said: "Master Qi, good health."

Just this one sentence, nothing else, yet Qi Ming remembered it until now.

But he couldn't tell others, couldn't do anything, could only take out the jade flower hairpin in the dead of night, looking at it again and again, thinking, she called me Master Qi, so many people call me that, why did only Fifth Miss sound so pleasant?

Thinking and thinking, he smiled, smiling and smiling, he fell asleep.

Little did he know this matter had already been reported to the palace, where His Majesty the Emperor, who had orchestrated this meeting, happily ran to the Empress's palace and chatted with Empress Meng all night.

By the next day, when Little Black had just crowed, Qi Ming was already arranging his attire for court, while Second Young Master Qi's courtyard remained quiet.

When the sky brightened, the two finally woke from their dreams.

Ye Jiao remembered drinking a cup of wine before, and she also remembered personally watching her brother and sister-in-law marry and perform the ceremony, but she couldn't remember the rest.

Ye Jiao had thought about the reason for getting drunk.

Probably because she was originally nourished by ginseng essence, her body was already hot inside, so she couldn't handle alcohol. As for other reasons, Little Ginseng couldn't guess.

Forgetting things after drinking wasn't the first time, so Little Ginseng didn't find it strange.

But what surprised her was that while she could say she was sleeping late due to hangover, when she looked up and saw Qi Yun, whom she was tightly hugging, had also just woken up, Ye Jiao blinked and said: "Husband, why haven't you gotten up yet?"

Qi Yun didn't speak, but Ye Jiao's gaze was particularly persistent, so he could only vaguely say: "No problem, yesterday was probably... tiring."

As soon as he said it, Qi Yun wanted to cover his eyes.

Yesterday he had only carried his wife for a while, probably less than a hundred paces in total, yet he slept until now.

But Ye Jiao lifted the blanket to look, then said somewhat puzzled: "That's not right, we're both dressed properly, where's the tiredness?" Usually her husband only slept late after intimacy.

This made Qi Yun's ears even redder. Not knowing how to answer, he could only get up and help Ye Jiao up too.

After the two washed and dressed properly, they had the table set.

The first dish brought up was sesame cakes.

This was what Qi Yun had ordered last night, but Ye Jiao had fallen asleep then and couldn't eat them, so it was delayed until today. The kitchen lady had prepared them early in the morning, hoping to receive a reward.

Indeed, seeing them, Qi Yun said to Little Su: "Give everyone in the kitchen an extra qian of silver at month's end."

Little Su agreed, while Ye Jiao's eyes were drawn to the sesame cakes.

These cakes had filling of sugar mixed with black sesame inside, crispy cake skin outside, and white sesame on top. Biting down filled the mouth with sweet fragrance, most delicious.

Especially since Ye Jiao loved sweets, they had added extra sugar, making them crispy and crunchy. Little Ginseng immediately smiled with curved eyes.

After eating one, she said to Qi Yun: "Husband is amazing, how did you know I wanted to eat this?"

Qi Yun showed a smile, saying gently: "Telepathic connection."

At these words, Little Su looked up in surprise, feeling her Second Young Master was fooling people again, but then saw Ye Jiao's face full of surprise and joy.

Little Su, who had been dazzled, quietly retreated to the side, learning that this wasn't called fooling, this was called loving affection.

In the following days, Qi Ming packed up and moved to his new courtyard. Ye Jiao selected five capable servants to follow him, and picked two sharp-tongued, efficient women to accompany him. Though she didn't give the contracts, these people would listen to Qi Ming alone in the future, and keeping the contracts with Second Young Master was actually safer.

First Young Master Qi also left the Qi household, preparing to return home.

It wasn't that he didn't want to spend more time with his second and third brothers, but calculating the time, Fang Shi would give birth in a month or two, so he should be by her side.

Little Shi Tou was sad for two days about Qi Zhao's departure, then played with Xu Bao again, reading and learning characters every day, quite fulfilling.

On the ninth day after Ye Ping Rong and Princess Huaning's marriage, the Second Young Master Qi family visited the Prince Consort's mansion again.

Princess marriages were different from ordinary people's, especially since Princess Huaning was an eldest princess with noble status, making it even more special.

Ordinary new brides had to pay respects to family and mother-in-law on the second day, but princesses could wait until the ninth day, and had to first visit the palace to see the Emperor, Empress, and imperial relatives before returning to wait for the prince consort's family to visit.

Since Ye family elders had died early and Ye Ping Rong had severed ties with Second Brother Ye, now only Ye Jiao's family was close to him.

When the carriage arrived, it was nearly noon.

Ye Jiao held Ning Bao, Qi Yun held Ruyi, while Xu Bao held Nanny Mo's hand and walked through the door himself, with someone leading them to the main hall.

As soon as she entered, Ye Jiao saw Princess Huaning.

Married Princess Huaning was no longer dressed as a maiden, with hair pinned up and luxurious clothes. When sitting still without speaking, she truly radiated noble bearing.

But seeing Ye Jiao, she smiled, stood up and quickly approached, her voice still crisp and carefree: "Jiao Niang, come, I specially got a shad fish from Imperial Brother today, come taste it."

Hearing this, Ye Jiao's mouth curved up. The simplest way to make her happy was having delicious food.

Since they weren't outsiders and were quite familiar, this meal was particularly harmonious.

Then came time for the address change. Ye Ping Rong had indeed prepared red envelopes, one for each child and his sister and brother-in-law, containing real gold ingots, very much in line with Princess Huaning's consistent approach.

However, when receiving red envelopes, the twins, who couldn't speak yet, also received them.

Ruyi loved playing, but her strength was small. Though the gold ingots looked modest, they were quite heavy. The little one pawed at it briefly then stopped moving, instead laughing as she played with a ball.

But Ning Bao directly hugged the gold ingot to his chest.

He could already stand holding the railing, and when everyone looked over, they saw Ning Bao standing against the railing, his chubby little arms holding the gold ingot, very steady.

Ye Jiao and Qi Yun weren't surprised, having seen Ning Bao throw balls far when only a few months old, so they didn't find this strange.

But Ye Ping Rong made a sound of surprise, walked over to pick up Ning Bao, and tugged at his arms and legs.

Ning Bao knew Ye Ping Rong was good, acquainted with his parents, so he was a good person.

But the little one didn't like others fussing with him, and Ye Ping Rong kept handling him, making Ning Bao frown. Soon he used his free hand to pinch Ye Ping Rong's earlobe.

But this made Ye Ping Rong laugh. He held Ning Bao up high, then laughed loudly: "Good, truly a fine young man!"

Ye Ping Rong, being from military background, usually spoke in a low voice. Now suddenly letting out such a shout made Ning Bao directly cover his ears, and the gold ingot fell to the ground.

This made Commander Ye crouch down to help him pick it up, putting it back in Ning Bao's arms to hold, but his eyes looked excitedly at his little sister: "I see Ning Bao has considerable strength, naturally gifted, absolutely excellent material for martial arts."

Hearing this, before Ye Jiao could speak, Xu Bao asked first: "Uncle, what does martial arts mean?"

Ye Ping Rong happily explained: "Martial arts means becoming a general, becoming a hero, not having to study for imperial examinations and suffer."

Ye Ping Rong originally meant to coax Xu Bao, but Xu Bao took it to heart.

Until leaving the Prince Consort's mansion and sitting in the carriage, Xu Bao kept frowning, looking extremely worried.

Finally he lay beside the small bed, chattering to Ning Bao inside: "Little brother, don't listen to Uncle, reading books is good, reading books is really good. Big brother wants to read books with you and Ruyi in the future. Little brother, did you hear? Big brother is talking to you. Little brother, why can't you talk yet..."

He chattered on, making Ye Jiao laugh. Qi Yun also found it interesting and didn't stop him. Ruyi clapped and encouraged Xu Bao to continue.

Only Ning Bao, who had originally been sleeping peacefully holding his yarn ball, was woken by Xu Bao's voice and couldn't fall back asleep.

But Xu Bao was particularly persistent about reading. Being young, he didn't understand big principles, only felt he liked reading and found it very fun, so he wanted to share what he liked with his little brother, wanting his brother to like it too.

But Ning Bao just wanted to sleep now and didn't want anything else.

If it were another small child, they probably would have started crying, but Ning Bao was never a child who cried and made a fuss. Seeing Xu Bao's mouth still not stopping, Ning Bao dropped his yarn ball, sat up, and opened his mouth toward Xu Bao.

He first made two "ah" sounds, then two clear words came out:

"Big brother..."