Lady of Fortune, Jiao Niang

Chapter 188

Wu Miao'er was startled upon hearing this, then suddenly stood up, nearly knocking over the table in front of her.

But she immediately sat back down, pulled the tilted table toward herself, closed the book in front of her, then opened it again, and only then calmed her thoughts to look at Little Shi Tou.

She saw Little Shi Tou looking at her with complete bewilderment.

Little Shi Tou didn't know where he had displeased his Brother Wu. In his view, they had a good relationship, and Brother Wu had always called him "brother." If they became sworn siblings, they would be brothers of different surnames in the future, which should be a good thing.

But now seeing that Wu Miao'er seemed unwilling, Little Shi Tou couldn't ask directly and could only probe tentatively: "Brother Wu, are you... alright?"

Wu Miao'er pressed her lips together. She felt she was not alright, not alright at all!

She was a girl and Little Shi Tou was a boy. Even though they were still young, Wu Miao'er understood the principle of distinctions between men and women. How could they become sworn brothers?

Could it be that in the future they would have to act out the eighteen farewells like Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai?

But Wu Miao'er couldn't say this directly and could only endure it.

Previously disguising herself as a man was because Wu Miao'er, as a woman, needed to study and read. As the heir to Wu family porcelain, Wu Miao'er knew the old man was getting old and couldn't accompany her for life. If she wanted to manage things independently in the future, she would need to learn skills.

Originally Qi Yun had wanted Wu Miao'er to come to the residence to study with Master Feng, but Wu Miao'er knew clearly in her heart that her family owed the Qi family far too much. This kindness should be repaid, but if after the Wen family fell she continued to receive favors from the Qi family, she might never be able to repay them in this lifetime. By then, it would be uncertain whose surname the Wu family porcelain would bear.

Though Wu Miao'er was young, she could see that Qi Yun was an extremely shrewd person. Nothing obtained from him would ever be given freely.

Perhaps understanding this point, Wu Miao'er chose to disguise herself as a man to attend the academy.

But before finishing her studies, she had gotten herself a sworn brother...

But Wu Miao'er wouldn't say this out loud. She knew Little Shi Tou had an honest temperament. Telling him the truth would probably frighten him, and this matter was originally her own deception. She couldn't very well blame Little Shi Tou. Wu Miao'er hesitated for a moment and could only say vaguely: "I don't want to become sworn siblings..." After saying this, she lowered her head, appearing somewhat apologetic.

After all, it was someone's sincere intention, yet she was concealing things. Wu Miao'er felt sorry about it.

But what surprised Wu Miao'er was that Little Shi Tou waved his hands at her, saying repeatedly: "It doesn't matter. I was too hasty. Brother Wu, don't take it to heart. Being friends is also wonderful."

These words made Wu Miao'er's ears turn red, and she looked up at him.

The little girl's eyes were beautiful, round, and particularly charming when she lifted her eyelids.

Qing Feng, who was serving nearby, was slightly startled and looked at Wu Miao'er with some confusion, but didn't say anything.

Then she heard Wu Miao'er say: "What I mean is, we're still too young and can't become sworn siblings yet. We have to wait until we're older."

This confused Little Shi Tou greatly, and he pulled her to ask: "Why is that?"

Wu Miao'er's eyes darted around as she answered crisply: "To become sworn siblings, you have to drop blood into wine and drink it. At our age, we can't drink alcohol, and dropping blood is very painful. I'm scared."

This reason was quite far-fetched. Even Qing Feng felt something was wrong everywhere.

But Little Shi Tou believed it and nodded thoughtfully: "Brother Wu, you're right. Second Uncle also told me I can't drink alcohol. I was being inconsiderate just now and was presumptuous." After saying this, Little Shi Tou stood up and bowed to Wu Miao'er in apology.

Wu Miao'er also quickly stood up to return the courtesy. When bowing, she thought of something that made her ears burn red, but her face no longer had the stiffness from before, and her smile was the same as always.

Just then, Master Feng returned with his little teapot. Seeing the two bowing to each other, he was startled: "What are you two doing?"

Wu Miao'er was stunned for a moment, then immediately replied: "Master Feng, we were... studying the article."

Little Shi Tou quickly nodded along and even smiled at Master Feng.

Fortunately, Master Feng only asked once and didn't think deeply about it. Then he set down his little teapot and had the two children bring up the unfamiliar characters they had written. He explained them one by one, and after they had all memorized them, Master Feng picked up the book and read aloud: "Yi Yin assisted Tang in attacking Jie, ascending from Yi, then battled Jie at Mingtiao Plain..."

Little Shi Tou listened attentively, Wu Miao'er watched intently, and neither thought about what had just happened.

It wasn't until they finished reading today's lesson and completed the academy's homework under Master Feng's guidance that Wu Miao'er got up to take her leave, seeing it was getting late. Little Shi Tou followed to see her off.

When leaving, Little Shi Tou specifically took Wu Miao'er to see the peach blossoms. The two wanted to recite some peach blossom poems they had learned before, but the academy taught the Four Books and Five Classics. They hadn't studied poetry composition deeply yet, and the poems taught were limited. After thinking, they could only remember one line: "I recall when I was five or six years old, the blossoms were brilliant and fragrant."

Fortunately, their knowledge was about equal, so just reading one line to match the atmosphere was enough.

When seeing Wu Miao'er to the door, Little Shi Tou said: "Second Aunt said the family made peach blossom cakes. There wasn't time today, but tomorrow when we go to school together, I'll bring some for you, alright?"

Wu Miao'er smiled and nodded in agreement, then bowed to take leave of Little Shi Tou.

But as she bent over, Wu Miao'er remembered this person's silly look when he pulled her to become sworn siblings, and couldn't help muttering quietly: "Silly boy."

She often called Little Shi Tou this way, without malice, but rather with some affection. Now when Little Shi Tou heard Wu Miao'er's words, he looked up and asked: "Brother Wu, are you calling me?"

Wu Miao'er looked at him without answering, just smiled and turned to run away.

Little Shi Tou looked confused, watching Wu Miao'er's retreating figure. He asked his book boy Qing Feng: "Don't you think Brother Wu was acting strange today?"

Qing Feng nodded and hesitated before saying: "I always feel Young Master Wu has somewhat feminine features..."

As soon as he said this, Little Shi Tou raised his hand to stop him, saying seriously: "Brother Wu doesn't like people saying he's effeminate. Those aren't nice words. Don't say them anymore."

Qing Feng quickly nodded in agreement and said no more.

Then Little Shi Tou's face brightened with joy as he walked through the main gate, muttering: "When Second Aunt returns, I'll ask for some peach blossom cakes to bring to Brother Wu."

Qing Feng was somewhat curious: "I saw the small kitchen made quite a lot earlier. Couldn't young master just go get some directly?"

Little Shi Tou shook his head: "No good. Xu Bao said those were all for taking to others. They're probably all gone now. We'll talk about it later."

Those two food boxes full of peach blossom cakes were now sitting on the table in the inner palace of Weiyang Palace.

This was Empress Meng's residence, and also the only palace in the imperial harem with a mistress. The number of servants was more than double that of other palaces.

But though there were many servants, it was exceptionally quiet. The palace people came and went trying not to make any sound, extremely well-disciplined. Even seeing Ye Jiao bringing three children into the palace, they pretended not to notice and didn't gossip at all.

Ye Jiao had seen this many times. Every time she entered the palace, the atmosphere was similar, so she was used to it. The three children, however, were frightened by the palace people's quiet and solemn manner and hadn't spoken the whole time. Even when seeing Empress Meng, they weren't as lively as usual.

Empress Meng could see the children's thoughts and said calmly with a smile: "Go bring the Crown Prince. The children can play together, and it would be good for him to meet people too."

A palace servant agreed, and soon a servant woman carefully carried swaddling clothes over, wanting to hand them to Empress Meng. But seeing Empress Meng glance to the side, the palace person immediately curtsied and placed little Jingming in the small bed on the soft couch.

This small bed looked very much like the one the twins used to sleep in, with thick soft padding inside and wooden railings wrapped in layers of soft cloth so it wouldn't hurt even if bumped.

Under the small bed were two rocking wooden legs. Moving inside would make the small bed rock, and the small cloth balls hanging above would sway back and forth, with yellow tassels fluttering conspicuously.

Chu Jingming had just woken up and was quite alert. The three-month-old little fellow was round and plump, even fatter than the twins had been as babies. Though he was chubby, his face was particularly endearing, especially his eyes which were very much like Chu Chengyun's, large and bright, curving into lines when he smiled.

Seeing him, the three children's attention was all drawn over. After being hugged and kissed by Empress Meng one by one, the children relaxed.

After all, having their own mother sitting nearby gave small children a sense of security and enough courage. Soon Xu Bao and Ruyi were playing with Empress Meng.

Xu Bao was well-behaved and Ruyi was lively, both with clever temperaments. Sitting on either side of the bed couch, rolling balls back and forth, Empress Meng smiled and asked Xu Bao: "Do you still remember Auntie?"

Empress Meng was just asking casually. Whether Xu Bao remembered her or not didn't matter, since it had been several months since she last saw Xu Bao. Forgetting after so long would be normal.

Who knew that Xu Bao, who was using a cloth ball to make Ruyi happy, looked up and answered: "I remember. Auntie said she would give Xu Bao a pearl string, a green one, very long."

Upon hearing this, Empress Meng was first startled, then remembered that last time she had promised Ye Jiao and Xu Bao that if she truly had a son, she would give that emerald pearl string to Xu Bao. Less than a month later, she had received the joyful news.

But Empress Meng was somewhat puzzled: "I already sent the pearl string to the Qi residence. Didn't Xu Bao receive it?"

Xu Bao immediately looked at Ye Jiao, muttering: "Xu Bao only has one bead."

Only then did Ye Jiao remember. She reached out to pinch Xu Bao's little cheeks: "We did receive it, but the pearl string was too long, and I was afraid he might hurt himself, so I kept it for him."

Empress Meng, now a mother herself, naturally understood Ye Jiao's concern for Xu Bao and nodded. Then she smiled and touched Xu Bao's big head: "No hurry. When Xu Bao can also get married in the future, give this pearl string as a betrothal gift to his future wife. Wouldn't that be good?"

Xu Bao blinked and immediately nodded, memorizing this matter.

Even if he didn't understand what marriage or wife meant, he would know in the future. He'd remember it first and ask about it later.

Ruyi saw them talking but no one was playing with her anymore, so she threw down the cloth ball, supported herself on the bed couch to stand up, then wobbled as she tried to go to Ye Jiao.

But before reaching Ye Jiao, she swayed and fell into Empress Meng's arms.

Empress Meng quickly held her tight, thinking Ruyi would fuss, but Ruyi just giggled twice and hugged Empress Meng back, saying: "Auntie smells nice. Ruyi's tummy is hungry."

Ye Jiao leaned over to smell and caught the scent of peach blossoms on Empress Meng, then smiled: "My family's peach blossoms are in full bloom recently. Ruyi loves them very much and usually enjoys wandering among them. Now whenever she smells peach blossoms, she can't move. I happened to bring peach blossom cakes. Would Hui Niang like to try some?"

Speaking of delicious pastries, probably even the most skilled masters couldn't compare to the exquisite and delicious creations of the imperial kitchen.

Empress Meng wasn't a gluttonous person and usually didn't like sweets.

But now holding a soft little baby in her arms and hearing Ruyi's sweet voice, Empress Meng naturally smiled and nodded: "Jiao Niang is always so thoughtful." Then she had the nearby palace servants prepare.

Xu Bao's first reaction upon hearing about food was to look at his little brother.

Actually, in the Qi Er household, neither Qi Yun nor Ye Jiao had ever told Xu Bao he needed to yield to his younger siblings. At most, they would mention that his brother and sister were still small and ask him to protect them when playing.

But Xu Bao read many books and always took the principles from books as his life's creed. Brotherly love and respect was one of them.

He always remembered his siblings' preferences clearly. Ruyi loved to play, Ning Bao loved to eat. Whenever he heard about food, Xu Bao would think of his little brother.

But Ning Bao, who usually walked unsteadily at the mere mention of good food, was now sitting silently beside the small bed, staring straight at Chu Jingming inside.

Ning Bao had a quiet temperament. Unlike Xu Bao, who was curious about the world, or Ruyi, who was lively and didn't know strangers, Ning Bao preferred to hold his ball of yarn and nap quietly in a corner.

Originally, Ning Bao hadn't been particularly curious about Chu Jingming, but when little Jingming reached out his small hand toward him, Ning Bao first sat there steadily, staring at Jingming for a while, then slowly put his hand through the railings and gently grasped Chu Jingming's little chubby hand.

The attending palace servant wanted to stop him but remembered what the empress had said and didn't speak, just watched closely, ready to pull Ning Bao away at any moment.

Just then, the two children's hands came together.

Ning Bao had no particular reaction, but Jingming's face showed a smile first.

Actually, a three-month-old baby didn't have much strength, and being premature and somewhat round, little Jingming couldn't even roll over yet. But his smile was quite endearing, and he made no sound. Having seen his lively brother and sister often, Ning Bao found this equally quiet companion fresh and therefore somewhat likeable.

Without even eating the peach blossom cakes, Ning Bao sat by the small bed, lying on the railings to look inside, letting Jingming play with his fingers.

Little Jingming had never seen other children since birth, so seeing one now was naturally fresh, and he also looked endlessly.

So when Empress Meng and Ye Jiao noticed them, they saw two children gazing at each other across the railings, looking quite sincere, making Empress Meng laugh continuously. She didn't disturb them, just had the palace people watch more carefully.

Then Empress Meng had thick spreads laid on the floor with many children's toys for Xu Bao and Ruyi, and the two children immediately played together. Empress Meng got up to sit at the table with Ye Jiao, smiling: "Your children are all raised so healthy. They're delightful to look at."

Ye Jiao was holding a teacup and said: "I just looked, and the Crown Prince is very healthy too."

This made Empress Meng beam with joy, and her heart relaxed somewhat.

Even though the imperial physician always said Jingming was well-raised and would surely grow up smoothly, Empress Meng still felt somewhat uneasy inside. Perhaps she trusted Ye Jiao to an extreme degree, so hearing Ye Jiao say the child was physically sound put Empress Meng at ease.

Ye Jiao lifted the lid of her teacup and looked at it before drinking.

Peach blossoms floated in the tea bowl. Apparently, they had bloomed from being steeped, and the originally dried peach blossoms seemed to be in full bloom. The tea was very light in color. Taking a sip revealed added honey and the fragrance of peach blossoms, not strong but faint, yet particularly pleasant.

This was Ye Jiao's first time drinking peach blossom tea. Finding it tasty, she looked at Empress Meng and asked: "Is this difficult to make?"

Empress Meng usually enjoyed tinkering with such things in her leisure time: "Not difficult, but peach blossom tea shouldn't be drunk often. Only during spring to try something new, drinking a little for the occasion."

Ye Jiao nodded and memorized this, then took a piece of peach blossom cake but didn't eat it. Instead, she looked at Empress Meng: "I went to see Princess Huaning before. Calculating the time, she'll give birth in about a month."

Empress Meng's smile faded somewhat, with some worry between her brows: "Unfortunately, there's bandit trouble at this time. Among the court officials, Commander Ye is the most suitable, but it's hard on Princess Huaning. I wonder how she's feeling?"

Ye Jiao replied: "She's doing well. She even asked me for some peach blossom branches before, saying she wanted to try raising them to see if she could keep them alive." She paused: "Hui Niang, is there truly no danger for my elder brother on this trip?"

Empress Meng wasn't an ordinary palace concubine. Her father was the chancellor, and usually Chu Chengyun would discuss court matters with her. Empress Meng naturally knew that on the battlefield, swords had no eyes, and no one could be certain of victory.

But since it was his own sister asking, Empress Meng naturally wouldn't deliberately frighten her. She just smiled: "There should be none. Commander Ye is extremely familiar with frontier conditions. This trip brings mostly former subordinates, all elite troops with capable generals. It should naturally be secure."

Only then could Ye Jiao eat her peach blossom cake with peace of mind, and her face showed a smile.

But Empress Meng waved away the palace servants, keeping only the close ones. After the room was quiet, she said to Ye Jiao: "There's something I need to tell you."

Ye Jiao had pastry in her mouth and couldn't speak properly, so she could only nod while looking at Empress Meng.

Empress Meng smiled and poured her a cup of tea, saying: "Now that the two princes and their families have carelessly fallen off cliffs, their bones lost..."

Ye Jiao had been drinking tea to wash down the peach blossom cake in her mouth when she heard this and quickly said: "Hui Niang, wait." Then she bent down and scooped Xu Bao into her arms, directly covering Xu Bao's head and blocking his ears with her arms before saying to Empress Meng: "Continue."

Empress Meng also remembered Xu Bao's good memory, so she nodded and even lowered her voice: "Since their entire families are gone, their properties need to be dealt with too."

Ye Jiao blinked: "They were the emperor's brothers. Shouldn't their properties go to the emperor too?"

"That's true, but some can be absorbed by the court, some can be added to the private treasury, but there are quite a few that can't be gathered together." Empress Meng picked up her teacup and took a sip, then said: "There are about ten shops and two estates that can't be managed. The estates aren't easy to handle, with many old servants who each have backing and are difficult to deal with. But the shops have clean personnel. If your Second Master has the capacity to handle them, just take them over."

Regarding business matters, Ye Jiao wasn't familiar, but even so, she could hear that Empress Meng was giving her family benefits.

Currently, the largest thing Qi Yun operated in the capital was the wine shop. The rest were mostly restaurants and tea houses. Even though they made abundant profits, he hadn't expanded further.

It wasn't that Qi Yun didn't want to, but because land in the capital was extremely expensive. Residential compounds couldn't just be bought with money, and many shop fronts were passed down through families and couldn't be easily bought or sold. Having money didn't mean you could buy them.

Now ten shop fronts had directly fallen into their hands. Regardless of location, this was excellent.

Ye Jiao wasn't the type to be falsely modest. She just said happily: "Hui Niang, you're truly good to me. I'll tell my husband when I return."

Empress Meng also smiled. Actually, this was privately giving benefits to the Qi family, which anyone could see.

Compared to those who pushed back and forth with false courtesy on the surface, Empress Meng preferred Ye Jiao's frankness. Happy meant happy, thankful meant thankful. She never hid anything, and when favors should be remembered, she was clear about it. Such interaction was much more refreshing.

However, Empress Meng looked at Chu Jingming, who was still holding hands with Ning Bao, and said slowly: "Jiao Niang, you're good to me, so naturally I should be good to you. Giving anything is worthwhile."

This was said very quietly. Ye Jiao didn't hear clearly, and Empress Meng didn't repeat it, just took a piece of peach blossom cake to eat.

This peach blossom cake was made extremely well, with soft pastry skin and sweet, fragrant filling. Usually Empress Meng ate very little, but now she ate two pieces consecutively, making the nearby palace servants quite surprised and looking at Ye Jiao with particularly kind eyes.

Everyone said that on the day of the empress's delivery, it was this Lady Ye who pulled the empress back from the brink of death, thus saving the lives of an entire palace of people.

Whether this was true or false, just seeing how Empress Meng joyfully ate an extra piece of pastry after seeing Lady Ye was enough to make the palace servants look at Ye Jiao with the eyes of seeing a fairy.

When Ye Jiao was preparing to leave, the palace servants' eyes were full of reluctance, wishing they could have Ye Jiao live in the palace and watch their mistress eat more every day.

However, Ye Jiao didn't linger long. When Xu Bao and Ruyi had played themselves tired and fallen asleep, she gently picked up Ruyi and said quietly to Empress Meng: "Hui Niang, I'll go first."

Empress Meng nodded and likewise softened her voice: "Give my regards to Princess Huaning and tell her to take good care of herself."

Ye Jiao nodded in agreement, then handed Ruyi to Nanny Mo while she went to pick up Ning Bao.

But Ning Bao, who usually slept more than he was awake, was now wide awake with no trace of sleepiness, staring straight at little Jingming.

Although Jingming had napped at noon, being so young, he had fallen asleep again not long after. Now he was sleeping soundly with closed eyes, his little hand tightly gripping the red string on Ning Bao's wrist.

This red string was one Ye Jiao had braided for him, and Ning Bao had always treasured wearing it.

Now seeing Ye Jiao coming to carry him away, Ning Bao didn't say much, just continued looking at Jingming, obviously quite fond of this quiet and chubby little brother.

Unfortunately, Jingming's hand gripped the red string very tightly and wouldn't let go even while sleeping.

Ye Jiao couldn't bear to pull hard and looked to Empress Meng for help.

But before Empress Meng could come over, Ning Bao gently used his other hand to slip off the red string, finally separating them. He looked at the red string gripped by Jingming and muttered: "Giving it to little brother." Then he turned and hugged Ye Jiao's neck, lying in Ye Jiao's arms without a sound.

It was unclear whether he was reluctant to leave or felt sorry about the red string.

Though Ye Jiao didn't understand the friendship between small children, she could sense Ning Bao was somewhat downcast. She patted the little fellow's back and carried him to the carriage.

After the carriage started moving, Ning Bao fell asleep. When Ye Jiao placed him on the soft cushions, the little fellow naturally turned to hug Ruyi, and little Ruyi also slightly raised her head to let Ning Bao hold her. The twins returned to their most familiar sleeping position.

Ye Jiao watched and laughed, patting their backs, then touching Xu Bao's head. Xu Bao mumbled drowsily: "Mother, love Xu Bao..." and hugged Ye Jiao's hand.

Ye Jiao lifted the curtain to look outside, feeling the spring light was wonderful. Even just looking at the lush trees made her feel cheerful.

After entering the city, because the roads in the capital weren't always clear and sometimes required detours, this time the carriage detoured to the streets behind the Qi family wine shop.

Ye Jiao looked around and turned to ask: "Are we almost at Third Brother's place?"

Nanny Mo was watching the three children and hadn't looked outside, but Little Su glanced once and said: "Yes, it's just ahead."

Ye Jiao smiled: "Then let's go over and see if Third Brother needs anything so we can supply it."

Hearing this, the coachman turned a corner into the alley.

But soon the coachman stopped the carriage and turned back: "Second Young Mistress, there's a carriage blocking the alley ahead."

Ye Jiao was startled, thinking Qi Ming had guests, and poked her head out to look.

She immediately recognized that the carriage was Qi Ming's vehicle, then saw a woman in moon-white dress and skirt collapsed on the ground in front of the carriage, clutching her leg as if injured.

Ye Jiao squinted, feeling the woman's face looked somewhat familiar, but couldn't remember where she had seen her.

She said to Nanny Mo: "Watch the children carefully." Then to Little Su: "Come, let's go take a look."